Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is one of the fastest-growing health problems. 

It seems that it is becoming almost as common as diabetes, and they usually go hand-in-hand…

Whilst the number of people with diabetes has grown exponentially, and it is affecting younger people and even children where it used to only be a problem amongst older people. But what about insulin resistance? Where does it fit into the picture?

Insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity are some of the biggest as well as the fastest spreading health disorders in the world – and they all go hand-in-hand. But when we look at them, they all have one thing in common: Insulin. 

But what is insulin? What does it do? And why can it cause diabetes and obesity? 

What is the function of insulin in the body?

First things first: Insulin is a good thing. It is the hero in the fairytale of our health. It is when we do things that make insulin ineffective or non-existent that it becomes the middle point of many health problems. 

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, and its main function is to regulate the sugar in our bloodstream. When we eat food that contains sugar or carbohydrates, it triggers the pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream to help regulate this sugar and make sure it finds its way to the right places in our bodies. 

The insulin takes the glucose (sugars) from the food we eat and helps the body use it as fuel to perform our daily physical and mental activities and functions. However, any excess sugar that is not used for energy gets stored in the body’s cells as fat, which leads to weight gain and even obesity. 

Now that we know what insulin does, we can see what happens when it isn’t able to do its job…

What is Insulin Resistance?

If you have ever wondered exactly what insulin resistance is, then you have come to the right place…

Insulin resistance is when the body’s cells do not respond properly to the insulin, thus not taking up the glucose from the bloodstream as it should. This renders the insulin that is released less effective, or even completely useless. In order to make up for insulin resistance, the pancreas releases more insulin. However, it eventually reaches a point where it does not matter how much insulin is released, it is ineffective and unable to control the blood sugar levels. 

This then results in constantly high blood sugar levels, which lead to type-2 diabetes.

Some misconceptions about insulin resistance are:

• It only affects people who are overweight and eat too many sweets
• There is nothing you can do about insulin resistance

These statements are however completely false, as insulin resistance can happen to anybody and there are most certainly things one can do about dealing with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can be naturally prevented or even reversed.

How Is Insulin Resistance Diagnosed?

There is no specific test to identify insulin resistance. However, your doctor may suspect the syndrome if you have at least three of the following:

• • A waist size of more than 102cm for men and 89cm for women.
  • High levels of triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood).
  • Lower levels of magnesium.
  • Sodium is retained, which leads to holding excessive water in the system, which causes high blood pressure levels.
  • High amounts of inflammatory compounds in the bloodstream. This can lead to damage to the blood vessel walls and help cause blood clots which can cause heart attacks and respiratory failures.
  • Low HDL level (Less than 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women).
  • High blood pressure (130/85 or higher).
  • Fasting blood glucose levels (5.55mmol/dL or above).
  • Consult your doctor for a fasting insulin test. Less than 10 IU/mL is recommended. Anything more than 10 IU/mL suggests your diet is stimulating excessive insulin to be released by your pancreas, which leads to all the above-mentioned problems.

The current condition of childhood obesity is also a huge risk of insulin resistance in the upcoming generation. Luckily it can be prevented by staying active, eating healthy, and making sure blood sugar levels stay under control by taking the Manna Blood Sugar Support tablets with every meal. 

What Are The Symptoms of Insulin Resistance?

Here are some common insulin resistance symptoms:

• Fatigue

• The inability to focus or concentrate –

This is due to fatigue which does not only affect a person physically but also mentally.

• High blood sugar –

Long periods of hyperglycemia (very high blood sugar) along with some of the following insulin resistance symptoms are:  Feeling irritated, nervous, moody, nauseous,  or having a headache that does not go away after eating.

• Intestinal bloating –

Most intestinal gas is due to a  microbial imbalance inside the body, called dysbiosis. For example, impaired gut health when using antibiotics. When insulin resistance sufferers eat carbohydrates, they are inclined to suffer from gas.

• Sleepiness –

When an insulin resistance sufferer has eaten a meal containing more carbohydrates than their body can tolerate, they tend to become very sleepy after the meal. They also tend to crave sugar after a meal.

• Weight gain or difficulty losing weight –

Because the body does not absorb the sugar, it is stored as fat. Especially around the midsection of both men and women.

• High cholesterol and triglycerides.

• Increased blood pressure –

People with high blood pressure have too much insulin in their bloodstream thus they are usually insulin resistant. As insulin levels increase, so do blood pressure levels. We can thus say that these two are directly related.

• Depression –

Depression is common among people who suffer from insulin resistance, as carbohydrates are a natural “downer”, and the ineffectiveness of insulin cannot help process the carbohydrates properly.

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should have your insulin and blood sugar levels checked. Even if you just suspect that you may be at risk of insulin resistance, stop playing with your health and start getting into some serious healthy habits. Eat the right type of food. Get exercise every day. And take the Manna Blood Sugar Support with every meal. 

What causes insulin resistance?

Genetic Factors:

• • A family history of diabetes,
  • high blood pressure,
  • or heart disease.

Lifestyle Factors:

• • Being overweight.
  • Bad eating habits.
  • Insufficient exercise.

Obesity is said to lead to insulin resistance. However, it also works the other way around, since Insulin resistance causes weight gain. It is thus a vicious cycle. Some signature symptoms that cause insulin resistance are abdominal obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides, and low HDL (“good cholesterol”) levels. These all occur together, thus it is difficult to say what causes what. 

However, one thing is certain; insulin resistance is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Although insulin resistance usually occurs among people who suffer from obesity, people that are not overweight can also develop it, and suffer from all the other problems mentioned above.

What medical conditions are associated with insulin resistance?

• Impaired fasting blood sugar – 

In which a person’s blood sugar levels during fasting are consistently above the normal range.

• Impaired glucose tolerance –

This means that blood glucose is raised beyond normal levels, but not high enough to warrant a diabetes diagnosis

• Type 2 diabetes –

This occurs due to the pancreas being unable to secrete enough insulin to eliminate insulin resistance. This causes blood sugar levels to rise and results in diabetes or pre-diabetes.

• High blood pressure –

Studies show that the higher the blood pressure, the higher the degree of insulin resistance.

• Abnormal cholesterol levels –

Normally there are high levels of triglycerides present and low levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”).

• Heart disease –

Insulin resistance develops into atherosclerosis, which is a hardening of the arteries. This increases the risk of blood clots forming.

• Obesity –

Obesity is one of the biggest factors. Especially abdominal obesity. Obesity lessens the working of insulin even further. Weight loss can help the body use insulin properly.

• Kidney damage –

This can be identified by protein in a person’s urine.

How are insulin resistance and diabetes-related?

Since insulin does not function properly during insulin resistance, the blood sugar levels cannot be controlled. This means that the blood sugar in the body is constantly extremely high. When this continues for a while, it leads to diabetes. We can thus see that insulin resistance is a direct trigger of diabetes. 

In order to fight diabetes and insulin resistance at the same time, you need to tackle them both at their root cause – high blood sugar levels. The Manna Blood Sugar Support is an all-natural supplement that helps to bring balance to blood sugar levels. And as mentioned above, balanced blood sugar levels help to battle diabetes and insulin levels. 

How to Treat Insulin Resistance

The most effective treatments are weight loss and exercise. Further treatment is doing things that improve one’s overall health for example: If somebody is a smoker, this is a habit that should be given up as soon as possible, as it contributes to insulin resistance.

Other treatments are medications prescribed by a doctor, such as the medication used to treat type 2 diabetes.

• Dietary improvements:

1. 1. 1. The base of your diet should consist of non-starchy vegetables. Dark green leafy lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, cabbage, Swiss chard, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. are good options.
      2. Decrease or completely stop consuming sugar and all foods that contain sugar. Some of the biggest sources of sugar are soft drinks, cookies, chocolates, pastries and ice cream.
      3. Minimize the usage of sweeteners such as molasses, high fructose corn syrup, pasteurized honey, and maple syrup.
      4. Drink less fruit juice. Due to the liquid form of the juice, fructose is more easily absorbed into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to rise. Rather eat whole fruit as the fibres, vitamins and minerals help slow down the absorption rate, giving the body enough time to release a sufficient amount of insulin.
      5. Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. You can do this by eating things such as cold-water fish like wild salmon and sardines. Omega-3 helps increase the effectiveness of insulin by making the body more responsive to the insulin. An alternative is to take good omega 3 supplements daily.
      6. To avoid spikes in the blood sugar level during the day, eat smaller meals, more frequently.
      7. Follow the Manna Weight Loss Program as stipulated in the free e-book. This program is easy to follow and contains recipes and exercise examples.

• Exercise:

Full out cardio exercise decreases the body cells’ resistance to insulin. Do more intense exercise for 30-40 minutes at least 4 times a week.

• Supplements:

Manna Blood Sugar Support caplets have been proved to lower the Glycemic Index of any food you eat by up to 43%. This means that the product, when taken with food, helps to control blood sugar levels to such an extent that the bodies requirement for insulin is reduced. This will be helpful in the process to reverse insulin resistance.

How does Manna Blood Sugar Support work?

The Manna Blood Sugar Support can help to control your sugar levels and also help to increase energy. It does this by slow-releasing the sugar from the food we eat into our bloodstream, ensuring stable blood sugar levels which also means longer lasting high energy levels. It also means that you don’t get blood sugar spikes and crashes, which means it takes away fatigue as well as sugar cravings.

Balancing your blood sugar levels when you have insulin resistance or diabetes is absolutely CRUCIAL. 

Get the Manna Blood Sugar Support from any of these outlets