My fasting blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin are very standard. I am far away from diabetes!
But, is this really the case?
Diabetes is a disease that everyone is familiar with, but many people’s understanding is limited to the detection of fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin. However, to fully understand diabetes, we must realize that it is the function of insulin that is most critical.
First, let’s understand the importance of the pancreas. The pancreas contains a special section called the islets, which contain beta cells that secrete a hormone called insulin. It is responsible for maintaining your blood sugar within a normal range. But when insulin resistance occurs, problems arise !
What is insulin resistance? It refers to a decrease in the response of your body's cells to insulin, causing blood sugar to not be delivered into the cells properly, ultimately causing your blood sugar to rise. To compensate for this, your pancreas has to keep secreting more insulin, which can eventually tire your pancreas and even stop producing insulin. This is the root of diabetes - the pancreas goes on strike!
So, how does insulin resistance arise? It can be affected by a variety of factors, including excess body fat, unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, chronic exposure to high-stress environments, hormonal imbalances, age, poor lifestyle habits, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. It should be noted that in the early stages of insulin resistance, fasting blood sugar is likely to still be within the normal range, which is easily ignored by everyone. Therefore, from the perspective of functional medicine, it is necessary to detect the function of insulin at the same time.
When your insulin resistance increases, it can lead to a host of problems, including weight gain (especially abdominal fat accumulation), an inability to lose weight despite your efforts to control your diet, constant fatigue, irritability, mood swings, and even armpit pain. The lower part of the neck, the back of the neck, the folds of the body, and the lower edge of the breast will become darker . But don’t worry, the good news is that insulin resistance doesn’t have to be lifelong. You can reverse insulin resistance through lifestyle adjustments.
However, if you do not take proactive action, insulin resistance may gradually lead to the development of a series of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, polycystic ovary syndrome ( PCOS ), inflammatory diseases, and certain Cancer, and neurological diseases, etc.
Therefore, to maintain your endocrine health, lowering insulin resistance is crucial. This not only helps stabilize blood sugar, but also reduces the risk of various chronic diseases mentioned above. Through lifestyle changes such as nutritional supplements, dietary modifications, exercise , sleep and stress adjustments, and quitting smoking and drinking, you can begin to defeat insulin resistance, keep your pancreas healthy, and extend its lifespan.
"To master diabetes, start by understanding the function of insulin"
Literature reference :
【 1 】 HOMA estimated insulin resistance as a marker for angiographic severity of coronary artery disease in non-diabetic and non-obese patients Caspian J Intern Med. 2023 Summer; 14(3): 495–506. doi: 10.22088/cjim.14.3 .495
