Mastering Metabolism: Insights into Insulin Resistance

What if the key to unlocking better health and a longer life lies in understanding how your body handles insulin? Discover the intricate web of factors contributing to insulin resistance and its profound impact on your body's metabolism, glucose levels, and overall well-being. This episode uncovers the ten distinct types of insulin resistance, revealing how this condition can lead to devastating metabolic issues and elevate your risk for type 2 diabetes.

By peeling back the layers, we explore the alarming connection between insulin resistance and obesity, and how it affects everything from your liver's ability to metabolize insulin to the longevity and energy of your skeletal muscles. Learn about the ripple effects on hormone imbalances and inflammatory conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome, Cushing's syndrome, and Hashimoto's disease. We also dive into the critical role of diet, distinguishing the harmful impact of saturated fats from healthier alternatives like avocado oil. Tune in for actionable insights that could transform your health journey and equip you to make more informed lifestyle choices.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:30

Okay, so let's talk about what insulin resistance is, and is there just one type of it? I would like to tell you that you can have about 10 different types of insulin resistance and how it can affect the body. Now, what does that really mean? So insulin resistance is when the body has an accumulation of insulin within the bloodstream and it is not able to kind of distribute it properly. That does not mean that the pancreas has been overworked. It just means that the body has not been able to dispense throughout the cells, cells, and it makes it less responsive to the insulin, so um, which leads to an elevated blood glucose and causes metabolic issues.

Speaker 1: 1:14

There's so many things that happen with metabolic issues and hormones that have disrupt our life. So through time, through age and such, we have some disruptions, but insulin resistance is caused and has many effects in the body. So let's go by the number one, okay, obesity. Everyone talks about the body fat. You know the stomach and how that visceral fat. Well, that in itself causes inflammation and it is increasing in glucose, blood sugar, and it will eventually at some point cause your body to have type two diabetes. But that's not the initial reason. You know, when you're have fat and it sits in the fat cells. That in itself has a hard time releasing and getting rid of that excess insulin. And getting rid of that excess insulin Now, how does this affect the liver?

Speaker 1: 2:13

This affects the liver by the insulin becoming less responsive. And, as I've talked about this and we'll go more extensive, is the importance of how the liver is metabolizing many things in addition to insulin, and it does not. Let us reduce that flow. And because what that can do long-term is you'll hear fatty liver. Now you'll hear some individuals say, okay, they were alcohol induced cirrhosis, of some sort of problem with the liver. The liver does so many wonderful things and it's a magnitude of things to metabolize and we as individuals need our liver. We cannot be without it. And most individuals are coming with fatty liver and actually that's caused because of insulin resistance excess fat, not just fat itself, but an access to positive insulin, because the body's not able to metabolize and break down that excess muscle. It affects our muscles, our skeletal muscles. So long-term, long-term longevity, you're going to hear, you need skeletal muscle to live longer. You need a stronger bone density to live longer. It's not about necessarily just being thin or heavy or such. It's really about, you know, getting up, walking around, and that skeletal muscle also takes in glucose and when you take in too much of the sugars and they're not processed properly, it will affect your energy and it will actually deteriorate over time. Reduce your energy intake.

Speaker 1: 4:03

How does insulin affect inflammation and what is that really that reflects our life and inflammation due to stress, your diet, autoimmune and worsening metabolic issues, fat storage, elevated sugars and such. Now individuals ask about what is that reference to hormone imbalance? Hormone imbalance is affected through insulin resistance by such individuals that may have polycystic ovary syndrome or may have Cushing's or may have endometriosis. Those inflammatory responses and excess insulin resistance within the bloodstream will affect different parts of the body, even the thyroid, so in that sense they usually call it like a Hashimoto's, and what happens is we're just not discussing that insulin resistance affects many parts of the body throughout. It's not a one system approach and that's kind of the issue that I find that we just look at one thing and then we think, okay, that's it, that's all it is, but really it's not. You know, it is what you're putting in your body, but then until once your body's then reacting into this insulin resistance, why haven't we made changes. We can't make changes if we don't, you know, identify what is going on. And so that's why when someone's like, oh, it's just hormones, it's their imbalance, it's not just the hormones, there's obviously something else there. So how does that affect your fatty acids? Your fatty acids are affected when you're thinking about your diet. And is it more saturated fats or is it the good oils you know, like avocado? Or are you eating kind of that, seed oils? And that is a big factor because those saturated fats are harder to get out of the body. So that will also affect the amount of insulin that is accumulated within your bloodstream.

Speaker 1: 5:59

Now I mean, yes, there are some genetic components. Why are some individuals more insulin resistant than others? There's a genetic component and there is an inherited composition. Like I'm inherited to have type two diabetes and I may have it in my seventies, eighties or nineties. But I really have a choice of how I can manage my life from now until then and long-term effects. And I know that exercise, strength training, what I put into my body, lifestyle management and maybe even a microdosing of medications is needed. But I know what I need for my body and the genetics are not going to be that full answer. Just because something says one thing does not mean that will be the outcome.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Stress induced can also cause a spike in insulin within the body and cause a resistance and that's due to, like your inflammatory response and the markers and it will just kind of wreak havoc and then you hear the oxidase and stress and the inflammation will cause problems, will cause a dysregulation and that will affect the way your body is.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Now what you put in your body medication-wise that also has an effect. A lot of like steroids, antipsychotic medications, beta blockers for the heart, even excess insulin use or inappropriate diabetic medications or inappropriate hormones or anabolic medications, like things that are not regulated I'm a big fan of. If I'm going to use pharmaceutical drugs or medications for clients, it's slow, low and slow and modified as needed, and most of the time it's food, nutrition, lifestyle management, then low and slow and modified as needed, and most of the time it's food, nutrition, lifestyle management, then low and slow if needed for intervention. So if you know me, you know that's kind of where I stand. That's my quick overview about insulin resistance and kind of like top 10 possible reactions or where the insulin can increase within the body. If you have any questions for me. Reach out and I will talk with you soon.