Insulin Resistance is the consequence of poor hormonal health. In a healthy person, the pancreas produces insulin in exactly the right amounts. In someone with Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cannot produce it, so it has to be injected. Years ago, people with this type of diabetes simply deteriorated and died. Today, it is a manageable condition rather than a disease. In Type 2 diabetes the body does produce insulin, but it is not usable – the cells cannot respond to it as they should. Medication is used to correct this, and diet and exercise also play a key role. In many cases Type 2 diabetes is reversible with a good regime.
You can also be insulin resistant without being diabetic. Menopause is often linked to IR because it is a time when hormones are out of whack and poor hormonal health is very often the result of poor dietary habits. Menopause in and of itself doesn’t cause insulin resistance but if you have a bulge of fat around your middle that you cannot shift no matter how much you exercise then it’s important to know about how IR is created – the GOOD NEWS is that insulin resistance can be controlled AND reversed. Since insulin resistance is a major cause of menopause symptoms, you can also reduce the discomfort associated with menopause when you reverse it.
Insulin Resistance is also the cause of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS (an imbalance of hormones that can cause serious health problems and infertility), because hyperinsulinemia (high insulin) has an impact on ovarian function. There is also a strong link between IR and the adrenals as the whole endocrine system has to be in balance for optimum health.
The reality is that most people who are obese are probably insulin resistant. If you think about the word ‘resistant’, it gives you a clue as to what the condition means; something is preventing something else from happening. Have you ever tried to unlock a door with a key that seems to fit into the lock, yet the mechanics aren’t quite right, and the key won’t turn? That’s exactly what happens with insulin resistance; the lock on the cell doesn’t recognize insulin as the right key and prevents it from working. In IR blood sugar levels don’t go down (as insulin is struggling to get it into cells), so the body produces more and more insulin to try and get the job done. It’s a bit like shouting if someone can’t hear you because they are deaf, it doesn’t matter how loud you shout, they won’t hear. Because of this increase in insulin production, fat burning is blocked.
Here are some of the non-medical symptoms of insulin resistance:
• Feeling tired even after a full night’s sleep
• Inability to get to sleep, or waking in the early hours
• Giddiness when moving from a seated position to standing
• Stretch marks and brown pigments in the skin
• Unexplained fatigue
• Weight gain – especially in the mid-section
• Erratic or painful periods
• Inability to focus or concentrate
• Intestinal bloating and gas
• Tired after eating
• Difficulty losing weight
• Facial hair, or any excessive hair (in women)
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Excessive hunger and food cravings
• Medical symptoms include:
• High circulating insulin levels
• High blood glucose
• Increased blood triglycerides (fats)
• Increased blood pressure.
Although insulin resistance is a relatively ‘new’ condition, the association between a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism (balancing blood sugar) and the endocrine system (glands and hormones) was first described as early as 1921. Even today, many GPs are only just being informed of the significance of this condition, and as a result many people must seek a private diagnosis because traditional glucose tolerance tests can’t diagnose insulin resistance and the IR test is not available through many GPs. For more information on how to get tested privately visit www.medichecks.com. They will send a nurse out to collect your blood and give you a professional analysis and report as well as a telephone consultation when your results are ready.
Even if you are IR, the nutrition guidelines an endocrinologist would give you, are the same as I’m teaching in the Colour Code System. In addition to what you eat, you must exercise to change your hormonal production and balance. Sitting around and being inactive is a cause of fatness. If you are IR and you do not address it, you are at increased risk of heart disease and other conditions, not just diabetes.
My Colour Fast Reset programme has two key elements that help address Insulin Resistance: (1) cleansing your liver, which is the key digestive organ and is largely responsible for controlling blood sugar, and (2) various forms of fasting to improve your microbiome which will boost not just weight loss, but your immune system and overall health.
It’s a fully interactive programme with all the nutritional benefits of a detox PLUS practical mind changing exercises and resources, including 3 “Change Your Mind Fast” audios and several TFT (tapping) and other practical exercises plus nutrition guidelines to help cleanse your digestive system and boost your immune system. You can purchase now for just £95 for a program that will change the way your body burns fat, resets many of your bodies’ systems and set you up for a healthier lifestyle – this programme gives results FAST!