The prevalence of insulin resistance may be increasing, but being diagnosed with it does not mean that you can not restore your levels back to optimal ranges.
Insulin is a hormone that is produced and released by your pancreas after consuming any food that has sugar in it. For example, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and pastries are all triggers for your body to release insulin(3). The goal of this hormone is to get your cells to remove sugar from your blood. Bringing sugar into the cell is one of the ways in which your cells fuel themselves. (1,2)
The more foods you consume that contain sugar, the more this pathway gets activated and eventually results in insulin resistance (1,2,3).
If you have noticed an increase in your sugar cravings, you might be on the verge of becoming insulin-resistant, but getting blood work is going to be the best way to truly assess how well your body is processing sugar and saves you from guessing as to what it could be.
Blood work can also provide you with two very important values that can then be used to determine the severity of your insulin resistance. The Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) is an extremely helpful tool that can help to guide you as you work to lower blood sugar levels.
HOMA-IR requires you to know your blood glucose levels and insulin levels. From there a simple calculation is used to determine how insulin resistant you are (7).
Your value will guide things like therapeutic dosing and dietary changes that need to be made to return you to optimal insulin sensitivity.
Sources Cited:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 20). Insulin resistance and diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/insulin-resistance.html#:~:text=The%20pancreas%20pumps%20out%20more,and%20blood%20sugar%20keeps%20rising.
Dansinger, M. (2021, March 7). How secreted insulin works in your body. WebMD. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/insulin-explained
Homa ir – insulin resistance calculator. The Blood Code. (2014, February 6). Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://thebloodcode.com/homa-ir-calculator/
Insulin resistance: What it is, causes, symptoms & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. (2021, December 16). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22206-insulin-resistance
Jacob, A. (2018, December 12). Does fruit cause insulin to go up? Healthy Eating | SF Gate. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/fruit-cause-insulin-up-1905.html
