Insulin Resistance

During your annual wellness check-up, your doctor may not test or discuss insulin. But from a functional medicine perspective, it is a crucial hormone. Excessive insulin can cause type 2 diabetes and various chronic diseases.

Insulin resistance is tricky because you might not notice any symptoms at first. Yet, certain clues can signal that you have insulin resistance:

• High cholesterol and low amounts of “good” (HDL) cholesterol
• Excess belly fat
• Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods
• Inactivity/lack of exercise
• High inflammation levels
• Poor sleep habits/not enough quality sleep
• Sleep apnea
• High triglycerides
• High blood pressure
• Obesity, particularly around the abdominal area
• Cardiovascular disease
• Other metabolic disorders
• Metabolic Syndrome/Syndrome X (a combination of hypertension, elevated glucose levels, abnormal cholesterol/high triglycerides, and excess belly fat)

Not everyone who has insulin resistance is obese. Thin people can have it, too; it depends on where they carry their extra weight. Having a waist size larger than 40 inches for a man or 35 inches for a woman puts you at greater risk.

Insulin resistance does not happen overnight. It can take years to develop, with different stages. That’s why our providers check your insulin levels as part of your regular lab panel.

This is vital, as we can reverse many diseases and disorders caused by insulin resistance. And the earlier we catch them, the easier they are to treat.

For More Information, Call Us at our Southlake, TX Clinic at 817-539-6168

Insulin Resistance Risk Factors

According to the National Institute of Health, people with genetic or lifestyle risk factors are more likely to develop insulin resistance or prediabetes. These can include:

• A parent, brother, or sister with diabetes
• African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Island American ethnicity
• A history of gestational diabetes
• A history of heart disease or stroke
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Taking medications such as glucocorticoids, some antipsychotics, and some medications for HIV
• Hormonal disorders such as Cushing’s Disease or Acromegaly
• Sleep problems, especially sleep apnea

People with these risk factors can still maintain a lifestyle that can help keep insulin resistance under control. That’s because the most common cause of insulin resistance is diet. Millions of people in the US follow a “Standard American Diet,” high in sugars and carbohydrates and low in exercise.

How Does Insulin Resistance Happen?

Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas in response to energy taken in as food. 

• The stomach breaks down food into simple sugars, which are then absorbed in the small bowel and taken to the liver. Then the liver stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin.

• Insulin carries this energy throughout the body via the bloodstream and delivers it to the muscles and organs that need it. Insulin also carries triglycerides and cholesterol into the bloodstream.

• It is normal for insulin levels to rise after a meal, but once the digestive process is complete, they will fall again.

• A healthy balance of insulin levels and energy expenditure promotes proper blood vessel dilation. When we consume more energy than we use, it can lead to cardiovascular disease because of disrupted balance in the body.

• When you consume an excessive amount of the wrong high-carb foods, your body responds by producing more insulin to process the energy.

• Once the muscles and organs have received the energy they need, they send any excess glucose to the fat cells for storage.

• The cycle continues, resulting in elevated insulin levels in your bloodstream with no other destination. As your muscles, organs, and fat cells become “saturated,” they resist the effects of insulin.

Stages of Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance has different severity levels, each with its own set of consequences for health. If not addressed early, this process will continue to get worse, which can lead to long-term adverse health problems.

Stage 1

In this stage, you may not experience any symptoms at all. However, you may notice slight weight gain, and the insulin levels in your blood may be slightly higher than normal on a fasting blood test. Even if your fasting insulin levels are higher, your cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar may still be normal.

Stage 2

Stage 2 insulin resistance causes internal fat cells to surge, causing weight gain. Your resting heart rate rises, and dysfunction can occur in the blood vessel lining from too many carbohydrates. Too much energy is coming in, and not enough is going out. As fat cells increase, you will see a little more weight gain. In stage 2 of insulin resistance, your labs may still show normal triglyceride and blood sugar levels.

However, higher levels of insulin floating throughout your bloodstream begin a domino effect since insulin causes increases in cortisol. Higher levels of cortisol can then increase the levels of glucose in your body, starting a vicious cycle.

Additionally, cortisol is a stress hormone, and if levels of cortisol are higher, this can make you more stressed. Types of stress include physical, mental, and emotional stressors. You may have a sleep problem, which also increases stress levels and contributes to the cycle of too much insulin and glucose in your body.

Stage 3

Stage 3 insulin resistance affects other lab values; fasting insulin levels are higher. Again, you can expect to see a lot more weight gain in this stage, especially around the belly area.

Blood sugar levels are higher: A normal fasting blood sugar level should be less than 100. Once levels get between 100 and 120, your body becomes prediabetic, and hemoglobin A1C will be higher.

One purpose of red blood cells is to carry oxygen to the cells; the higher your blood sugar is, the more glucose will be attached to the red blood cells. If your physician or provider has not been testing your insulin and other lab levels routinely, stage 3 insulin resistance is when the alarm bells will sound as your fasting blood sugar levels and hemoglobin A1C will be higher.

You may be told that you are in a prediabetic state, or if things have progressed further, you may already have diabetes. A fasting blood sugar value of over 120 and a hemoglobin A1C higher than 6.4 confirms that you are diabetic. Diabetes carries serious health risks, including, but not limited to:

• Impaired circulation
• Kidney disease
• Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
• Compromised immune system
• High levels of inflammation
• Higher risk of cancer
• Death

Stage 4

By the time you reach stage 4 insulin resistance, your liver has been affected and is resistant to insulin. More and more insulin is produced to push excess amounts of energy into the muscles, fat cells, liver, etc., and all of that excessive blood sugar is very toxic to your body. It causes oxidation of your blood vessels and your organs and creates an overwhelming amount of inflammation throughout the body as well.

Oxidation and inflammation increase cytokines. Cytokines are molecules that allow your cells to talk to each other and are crucial for healthy immune system function. Too many cytokines, however, can have a negative effect and result in what’s known as a “cytokine storm.”

When cytokines are increased to this level, and the entire body is markedly inflamed, you have very little resistance to any type of infection or disease, both acute infection and chronic. This situation puts your body in an extreme state of being unwell. It makes you susceptible to increased hypertension, increased heart rate, damage to your organs, and greatly increased risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, which are three of the biggest causes of death in the United States.

For More Information, Call Us at 817-539-6168

How is Insulin Resistance Treated?

The best news is that both insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are reversible. How these conditions are treated is going to depend in part on what stage of the disease you are in. Regardless, treatment will require some diet and lifestyle changes, including:

• See a medical provider who is knowledgeable about insulin resistance.
• Lose weight. We offer a medically supervised weight loss program that has been getting great results for our patients.
• Change your diet and eat healthy foods.
• Exercise/Move your body. Exercise will help you lose weight and has the added benefit of making your muscles more insulin-sensitive.
• Avoid processed and sugary foods, including alcohol
• Eat more proteins and healthy fats
• Adopt healthier sleeping habits
• Manage stress; this can include spending quality time with friends and family, going outdoors and enjoying nature, taking up a hobby that you enjoy, meditating, or anything that helps to ease your body, mind, and spirit

Our Providers at Dynamic Life Health Center Can Help You Regain Your Health!

Both Lyn Berutti, D.O., and her P.A., Melanie Martin, are functional medicine providers who are knowledgeable and experienced in addressing the root causes of disease. We spend the necessary time with our patients to gain an understanding of their health concerns and medical conditions.

By taking a whole-body approach, we will run a comprehensive set of labs to give you the big picture of what is going on in your body and treat you appropriately for optimal health and wellness. We prescribe medications as needed, but we don’t prescribe a drug with the sole intent of masking a symptom.

Our goal is to restore you to wellness and help and support you every step of the way!

Contact our New Patient Coordinator for more information

When many patients come to see us, they have lost hope because they’ve felt unwell for so long and don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. It’s rewarding as a practitioner to be able to help so many people realize a much-improved quality of life and a regained sense of vitality!

Please call us to learn more about how our clinic and Dr. Berutti or P.A. Melanie Martin can help you achieve your health goals and to schedule an appointment.

We look forward to the opportunity to restore your health and regain your vitality for life!

For more information, Call Us at 817-539-6168

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