How you can start improving your insulin resistance

If you’ve been in my office with PCOS, acne, weight retention, a history of gestational diabetes, family history of diabetes, or high Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) on bloodwork - you’ve likely heard me talk about insulin resistance.

Insulin is the hormone that allows your body to take glucose from all of the food that you eat out of the bloodstream and put it in our cells to use or store for fuel.

Insulin resistance occurs when your cells aren’t responding as effectively and efficiently to insulin.

Your body tries really hard to maintain a certain level of blood glucose and not get too high, or too low. To compensate for your insulin resistance, your body will make more insulin.

Rising insulin can make blood sugar regulation more difficult and increase susceptibility to metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and Type II diabetes.

Insulin is a storage hormone- contributing to weight gain, fatigue as it’s tiring to produce so much all of the time, and androgen levels elevations (testosterone and metabolites of testosterone) - this can be a problem for women especially; contributing to PCOS, other hormonal conditions, and to acne for some.

Insulin resistance is something that we can measure on blood work! 

There are a few different tests that can be run - fasted cholesterol, HbA1C, and fasting glucose and insulin can all give insight. These tests are inexpensive, but give so much valuable preventative information.

We’re seeing more and more information on insulin resistance as a precursor of gestational diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, Alzheimers, and even more conditions.

Insulin resistance is treatable. We can improve insulin sensitivity by:

- Making changes around food choices

- Increasing protein and fiber

- Changing eating patterns in terms of time of day and volume at each meal, exercise, and supplements

The exact plan that is created depends on a person’s lifestyle, complicating factors, and end goals. 

If you feel like your blood sugar and hormones are out of whack, or have a family history of diabetes this is important to investigate to start with to understand your risk and prevention plan!