How Does Insulin Resistance Affect Weight Loss?
If you find that you’ve been gaining weight and having a hard time losing those pounds, then you probably have insulin resistance, which causes changes in your body’s metabolism.
More seriously, insulin resistance is also a trigger for a variety of health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more. There are natural ways you can improve insulin sensitivity and improve your overall health.
What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. Your body sends different signals to the pancreas and secretes the right amount of insulin depending on the type and amount of food you eat. It is secreted in the highest amounts when you eat sugary foods.
The main role of insulin is to regulate blood sugar and help the glucose in food enter the body’s cells. The carbohydrates in food are broken down in the body and converted into glucose and enter the circulation, which causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. The pancreas receives the signal and secretes large amounts of insulin to quickly lower blood sugar. This rise and fall have a significant impact on brain tissue, which is why some people feel sleepy and weak when they eat too much.
What is Insulin Resistance All About?
If insulin is sensitive, it works properly to ensure the normal metabolic function of the body. However, if cells are resistant to insulin, they cannot properly send signals to the pancreas and brain, leading to metabolic disorders and a host of health problems.
How does insulin resistance occur? Consider one more graph:
If you eat a high-carbohydrate diet for a long time, the pancreas keeps secreting a lot of hormones to control blood sugar and deliver nutrients to the cells. Over time, the cells become resistant to insulin and no longer accept its help to absorb glucose from the blood.
This resistance directly affects the cells without a normal supply of nutrients, which in turn sends false signals to the brain, making it think that the body is starving, so it sends out another command-hunger to keep eating.
Your body is not lacking in nutrients, those eaten high in carbohydrates glucose is converted into fat stored. This fat accumulation is especially evident in the internal organs, abdomen, and hips.
In addition to a high-carb, high-sugar diet that can cause cellular insulin resistance, inflammation in the body, inactivity, and dysbiosis of the intestinal flora can all affect insulin sensitivity.
How to Determine if There is Insulin Resistance?
The more professional measurements are:
- High fasting blood glucose.
WHO criteria – 110-125 mg/dL (6.1mM-6.9 mM)
ADA standard – 100-125 mg/dL (5.6 mM-6.9 mM) - High HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin): between 5.7% and 6.4%
- Oral glucose tolerance test: Ingestion of high concentration of glucose with carbohydrates (usually administered as a 75g pure glucose drink). Two hours later the diagnosis is a blood glucose level of 140-199 mg/dL (7.8-11.0 mM).
These are the technical criteria doctors use to screen you for type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, and they indicate moderate to severe insulin resistance, which can last for decades. But without going to the hospital for a clinical diagnosis, how do we know for ourselves if we have an insulin problem?
See if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Constant inability to control your weight
- High waist circumference-more than 100 cm for men and 85 cm for women
- Feeling hungry all the time
- Like to eat sweet food after dinner
- Easily tired, fatigued, and depression
- High blood pressure
- Frequent hypoglycemia: tremors, excessive sweating, palpitations, pallor, tachycardia, and other manifestations
If you have one or more of these symptoms, then there is a high probability that you are insulin resistant and must pay great attention to it!
How to Improve Insulin Sensitivity?
It is entirely possible to prevent or improve insulin resistance by changing your diet and lifestyle. You can try these methods.
1. Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the best ways to control insulin levels. It helps transfer sugar to muscle for storage and promotes a rapid increase in insulin sensitivity that can last from 2-48 hours, depending on the type of exercise.
A study of overweight men found that when participants performed resistance training (resistance or strength training) over three months, their insulin sensitivity increased. While both aerobic and resistance training can help improve insulin sensitivity, a combination of the two seems to be the most effective.
2. Weight loss
Being overweight or obese, especially with excess abdominal fat, can reduce insulin sensitivity and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Trying to lose weight and reduce visceral fat through a healthy diet and exercise can help improve insulin sensitivity. If you already have prodromal diabetes, losing weight can also help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
3. Add cinnamon or cinnamon powder to your diet
Cinnamon is a spice rich in plant compounds that have the effect of lowering blood sugar and increasing insulin sensitivity.
For example, one study found that consuming 1-6 grams of cinnamon per day significantly lowered short- and long-term blood sugar levels. Cinnamon helps the glucose receptors on muscle cells to transport sugar more efficiently into the cells, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity.
4. Drink more green tea
Green tea contains the powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and many studies have found that they increase insulin sensitivity. Studies have found that drinking green tea can significantly lower fasting blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. This is a good health treatment for people with or at risk of type 2 diabetes.
5. Drink apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a very popular drink in the natural health community. Apple cider vinegar slows down the rate at which the stomach releases food into the intestines, thus allowing the body more time to absorb sugar and less time for it to enter the bloodstream.
One study found that consuming apple cider vinegar increased insulin sensitivity by 34% in people with insulin resistance and by 19% in people with type 2 diabetes.
6. Eat less sugar
There is a big difference between added sugars and natural sugars. Natural sugars are found in plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, both of which provide many other nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
In contrast, added sugars in processed foods contain almost no nutrients other than empty calories and can increase insulin resistance and raise blood sugar levels. So eat less or no sugary diets, such as candy, cakes, cookies, chips, and other processed foods.
7. Reduce carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrates are the main stimulus for increased blood sugar and insulin levels. When the body digests and metabolizes carbohydrates into sugar and releases it into the bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin and transports the sugar from the bloodstream to the cells.
But chronic and high carbohydrate intake can easily lead to insulin resistance, making it less able to control blood sugar and thus increasing the risk of obesity type 2 diabetes. Reducing your carbohydrate intake can help improve insulin sensitivity.
Also, the type of carbohydrate you choose is important. Low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates are best because they slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream, allowing insulin to work more efficiently.
8. Adequate sleep
Sleep deprivation can lead to inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. A study found that people who slept for only four hours had significantly reduced insulin sensitivity and the ability to regulate blood sugar compared to those who slept enough for eight hours a night. Fortunately, timely improvements in sleep quality can help improve insulin sensitivity and improve overall health.
9. Reduce stress
Long-term mental stress and excessive stress can interfere with metabolism, affect the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, and cause insulin resistance. Stress can stimulate the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and glucagon. These hormones break down glycogen into glucose, which enters the bloodstream and serves as a source of energy for the body.
However, constant stress keeps your stress hormones at high levels, which encourages the body to become more insulin resistant, stimulating the breakdown of nutrients and increasing blood sugar. You can relax and de-stress yourself through meditation, yoga, exercise, and sleep, all of which help improve insulin sensitivity.
10. Intermittent fasting
Light fasting is a very effective way to control blood sugar and insulin. In human studies on intermittent fasting, fasting blood sugar was reduced by 3-6%, while fasting insulin was reduced by 20-31%. This means that light fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
11. Eat more soluble dietary fiber
Fiber can be divided into two categories: soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber mainly acts as a filler, helping the stool to pass through the intestinal tract. The soluble fiber in addition to laxatives, there are many other benefits, such as reducing appetite and lower cholesterol.
Studies have found that soluble fiber also helps feed the probiotics in the intestine, which improves insulin sensitivity. Foods rich in soluble fiber include beans, oatmeal, flaxseed, vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, and fruits such as oranges.
12. Take nutritional supplements
Some natural nutrients help improve insulin resistance:
- Magnesium: this is a mineral that stores blood sugar together with insulin receptors. Studies have found that low blood magnesium is associated with insulin resistance, and magnesium supplementation may help to increase insulin sensitivity.
- Flavopiridol: This is a plant compound derived from a variety of herbs, which some studies have found to increase insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar.
- Priligyol: This is a polyphenol found in the skins of red grapes and other berries. It may increase insulin sensitivity, especially in people with type 2 diabetes.
Conclusion
Insulin resistance can lead to obesity, diabetes, and even high blood pressure and heart disease. The best way to improve insulin sensitivity is to eat a healthy diet and lifestyle, stay away from junk food, and make sure you have a regular work schedule. When your body is healthy and your metabolism is normal, losing weight becomes easier and easier.