Sugar Warriors: How to Win the Battle Against Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance presents a significant metabolic challenge that affects blood sugar regulation and contributes to type 2 diabetes when cells stop responding effectively to insulin signals.

• Functional medicine approaches address root causes rather than quick fixes
• GLP-1 hormones help regulate blood sugar by enhancing insulin secretion
• Natural methods like whole foods and fiber support metabolic health
• Strength training and aerobic exercise improve glucose uptake
• Chronic stress contributes significantly to weight gain and insulin resistance
• Sleep quality directly impacts metabolism and cortisol regulation
• Key symptoms include increased hunger, fatigue after meals, and difficulty losing weight
• Insulin resistance affects brain function and may contribute to dementia
• Diagnostic advances include metabolic scoring to determine insulin sensitivity
• Prevention strategies include anti-inflammatory foods and daily movement

For more resources on mindfulness, sleep optimization, and anti-inflammatory food lists, visit my website or reach out directly for personalized support.

Chapters

• 0:48 Understanding Insulin Resistance
• 2:26 Blood Sugar Regulation Strategies
• 6:27 Root Causes of Insulin Resistance
• 9:14 Signs and Complications of Insulin Resistance
• 10:08 Natural Approaches to Reverse Insulin Resistance
• 13:21 Research and Diagnostic Advances
• 15:47 Prevention and Long-Term Management

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:25

So we're talking about module two, functional medicine approaches, type two diabetes, insulin resistance, and when we first initially talked about integrative approaches in the metabolic health type two diabetes, we're talking about how do we understand insulin resistance. What is that? So type two diabetics and insulin resistance is a real metabolic dysfunction, metabolic challenge for individuals, and it plays a role in the GLP-1s because GLP-1 is for blood sugar regulation and helps manage to reverse or helps manage these conditions. So when you understand that insulin resistance occurs when the cells stop responding effectively to insulin instead of being less, you know they're not as sensitive then there's a problem and a disconnect. Glp-1s will help improve insulin sensitivity, whether it's medication or naturally boosting it, and it's key in targeting diabetes management and just overall metabolic health dysfunction, which is a big problem in today's society. So integrative approaches to this are type 2 diabetics. It's a complex metabolic disorder. It's conditions influenced by insulin resistance, inflammation and lifestyle factors. When I consider it as an integrative approach, it's combining conventional and a functional strategies and this is to address not just root cause but to understand the optimization of an individual so that they can have long-term quality management and not just, you know, a quick fix. So insulin resistance occurs when the body cells become less responsive to insulin, so they're leading to elevated blood sugar levels. There's that metabolic dysfunction. The key driver is that it's linked to poor diet, it's linked to chronic stress, it's linked to gut health imbalances and a sedentary behavior. When you put all this in there in addition I haven't added is sleep. You put those in there, those key components that is going to affect your metabolic health. Glp-1's glucagon-like peptide 1 is a crucial hormone that helps regulate this by enhancing insulin secretion and slowing gastric emptying, promoting satai and helping the medications, such as with semiglutide, terzopatide and lorturotide, gaining the attention in the diabetes medications. In addition, natural ways we had spoken with about in the previous module, like fiber foods, fermented foods, intermittent fasting, stress reduction, can all support GLP-1 management and GLP-1 metabolic health. So what's the role of this and how does it regulate the blood sugar? So think, maintaining and stabilizing your blood sugar within your body. This can be done, not just medication. This is done by improving your energy, helping with cognition. It's helps with your overall wellbeing. And main strategies. Here we are. Let's think about it Whole nutrition, the more whole foods you know, the more apples you're eating.

Speaker 1: 3:29

The more oranges, the more broccoli, um that have lower glycemic index, such as um. I'll give you many, you know recipes at the end of this, these module, but think just even basics, you know. Apples, um little bit of quality, high protein yogurts with no sugars, um, carrots, even even though they have, uh, anti-inflammatory foods. There is a variety of fiber rich vegetables that are um, quite well in improving your insulin and lowering um your choice of protein and water intake early in the morning, targeting supplements if necessary for an individual. Berberine is a low helping with regulating the blood sugar. There's a lot of research on that. Magnesium, alpha-lipidic acid and certain probiotics are for regulating the blood sugar.

Speaker 1: 4:27

Now, always exercise and movement. When you think about some strength training and aerobic exercise that will also uptick the glucose but actually manage some of the insulin resistance, depending upon what kind of strength training and exercise that you are doing for your individual body and what year is available for you. Stress and sleep management as I had briefly stated, is that chronic stress can kill you. Chronic stress is a big component of why individuals sit with so much extra weight. So they go not only with medications or they're doing these diets and plateau. It's because they have at 10 to 15 pounds of stress sitting there, or inflammatory, um, individuals that have that extra weight, um, things of helping with this is working on some adaptogens and we'll go further into questions on that. But really think of it like you manage that and you balance that on a daily basis, whether it's breath, work, adaptogens, you know um quiet time, reset, then you will do better. And then um sleep. Sleep is so important. We just don't really realize how it affects our metabolism, affects our cortisol levels and insulin regulation.

Speaker 1: 5:48

So see how that is for you, mindfulness is like super important and effectiveness, I mean. That's something why I, you know, call this mindfully integrative and it's really about being mindful in many ways of your life and finding that for yourself. So how do you do this? In like a holistic, personalized approach, you're addressing more of what is underlying. You know what is the reasons. Is it inflammation? Is it gut health, hormone imbalance, is it lifestyle factors? What can we do to do that? You know how do we manage it and you know it's not that you're may completely reverse your diabetes, but you are going to manage it. You're trying to become not diabetic, you're trying to not have insulin resistance. Then we want to have a sustainable long-term life and we can do that with you know these approaches and these strategies.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Overall, you know it is a complex metabolic dysfunction between type two diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic issues. But the best ways to look at it is really trying to see, by taking some of these strategies and making them your own, and how that would work for you. So think of it as once you get there you'll be at another level and I think it really kind of gets you to the next level Because, thinking about why you're getting insulin resistance, most people don't even realize why. So insulin resistance occurs because the pancreas compensates by producing more insulin and forces the glucose into the cells. The overproduction can work for a while, then it keeps the blood sugar levels normal, but over time the pancreas may struggle to keep up, leading to a higher blood sugar levels and eventually prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Factors that contribute to insulin resistance poor diet, excessive intake of refined carbohydrates, lack of physical health, like physical activity, which we spoke to, what will be helpful? Obesity, especially in the visceral fat. So think about that donut, that surrounding area around your belly. Chronic stress, elevated cortisol levels can promote insulin resistance and increasing blood sugar and improving insulin function. Sleep deprivation, um hormone imbalances, um toxin toxin exposure. So things um hormone imbalances of, like PCOS, metabolic dysfunction, um your even testosterone dysregulation, estrogen or progesterone irregularity, toxin exposures, such as environmental there's a lot of endocrine disrupting things that are out there in food products and receipts, in the environment, the air pollution and such. And how do you know? You even have insulin resistance. So main key components of this are increased hunger, cravings of sugar and food fatigue after a meal, difficulty losing weight, brain fog or trouble concentrating, high fasting blood sugar levels, darkening patches of skin in the areas. Elevated triglycerides, low HDL just considered supposedly the better of the cholesterols that you would have.

Speaker 1: 9:13

Complications. You can manifest into type 2 diabetes, you can end up with metabolic syndrome. You will be pre-diabetic. Cardiovascular issues, fatty liver issues, pcos for females, hashimoto's. Insulin resistance can or they call it also hyperinsulinemia, which is an excess of insulin within the body can cause an array of health issues that need to be balanced.

Speaker 1: 9:41

How do you reverse it or at least modify it more on the natural side? If we're not taking the GLP-1s? I know people are going to ask me on a regular what do you do Now? Like I said before, glp-1s is a tool. It's mimicking. These medications are mimicking ways that our body has already produced this. And how do we do that?

Speaker 1: 10:01

So ways of reversing insulin resistance and getting yourself back into the right balance is adopt a low glycemic, anti-inflammatory diet. I will have a list of foods and anti-inflammatory diet at the end of these modules that you can take a look at and you can see prioritizing whole foods, nutrient dense foods. Instead of thinking about what I have to take away, think about what I can put into my diet that will be optimal, putting in the right pack of protein, reducing the carbohydrates and sugar. You know, if it's too sweet, it's probably not good for you. You know, having that once in a while is okay, but having it every single day, not a great idea. It just becomes something that's problematic.

Speaker 1: 10:47

How do we manage our stress? Managing your stress? I have many videos on mindfulness, meditations, sleep, relaxation and lowering the cortisol. This is done in many different ways, whether it's breathing, meditation, movement, yoga, you name it. It's there. If you want more information, reach out to me, but I also have a lot on my website or on podcast, and, of course, reach out for more. Now. Optimizing your sleep I think I have a podcast just alone on sleep and the importance of sleep. I will talk about this day in and day out on lifestyle management. So we will. You know some of it will seem like repetitive, but I promise you, the more you understand the simplicity of some of it and the like, the mindful ways each day you will do.

Speaker 1: 11:38

So well, consider supplements like magnesium, berberine, chromium, um, aflopectic acid and anastol. That's also very effective for those with um, insulin sensitivity or PCOS. And then intermittent fasting. Now, that varies for each person, so that's time restricted eating. And that also varies from men to women. Um, for the most part. Think of it like if it's dark out, stop eating. If it's light out, you can eat. Think of it like if it's dark out, stop eating. If it's light out, you can eat. That's a circadian rhythm. Intermittent fasting, or you can do like a 12 hour fast, so seven in the morning to maybe seven at night. Stop eating big heavy meals about two to three hours before you go to sleep.

Speaker 1: 12:19

Insulin resistance occurs because you know it's in the cells, it's particularly in the muscles and the liver and the fat is just. You know it's in the cells, it's particularly in the muscles and the liver and the fat is just, you know, building up and what happens is that glucose and glucagon is not being metabolized in the liver and eventually it will turn into fat. And it is just. I mean, insulin is key to, you know, allowing glucose to enter the cells and make energy. But when you have insulin resistance, the cells become less sensitive and it signals the glucose in the bloodstream rather than being used efficiently in the body for energy. So then it ends up being fat and ends up just being in. You know inflammatory processes in different parts of the body and the pancreas and the liver are overworked. So when insulin resistance occurs, the pancreas compensates by producing more and more insulin and forces the glucose back into those cells, which then in turn more sugar is in the cells, more, you know, and everything's struggling and then you become eventually pre-diabetic, other metabolic dysfunctions and type two diabetes.

Speaker 1: 13:26

So it's just one of those things where you know you're trying to improve this, you know not change it. So how do we do this? Like I've said previous, you know the top lifestyle management needs and then from there we're, you know, working on the ways to become insulin sensitive. So I mean, the research has shown that, um, insulin resistance is very, very big in our society now and it's due to foods, it's due to environmental and it's due to us not changing our lifestyle. Um, medicine protocols to do better? Um, yeah, in the research also there's a lot on the inflammatory pathways. So issues with the insulin resistance within the body, how can this be influenced overall? Obviously, dietary things and things that you choose not having ultra processed foods and I had briefly discussed, you know, physical activity and timing. So like intermittent fasting, exercise and how to. That would help not only just with your glucose metabolism but also let's consider it, regular exercise in improving your insulin signaling. So then it helps with your overall brain function. Because they have stated you know, there's more and more research that the insulin gets excess within the body. Eventually that excess becomes dementia and they consider it like the type three diabetes, which is dementia of the brain because there's so much synapses of irregular signals and an overflow, and there has been more and more research that that has happened.

Speaker 1: 15:38

More diagnostic advances to help us know if you're insulin sensitive or if you're insulin resistant. That there's a metabolic score that you can get. Usually, when I am giving lab work to individuals, there is through the labs that you can find someone's insulin resistance score and see if they're more insulin sensitive or more insulin resistant. If they're low in the 25 percentile then they're more insulin sensitive. They'll start reaching up into the 50, 60, and 70 percentile. That means most of their body and their blood stream has more glucose and it's causing them insulin resistance and it's a problem. So that does have to be addressed and it's super important or they will cause more and more inflammatory issues.

Speaker 1: 16:23

Other biomarkers that have come up that can be used to check for fasting insulin are derived. Usually if I look up fasting insulin or I look up it's called SpinaGR. It's not usually done in normal blood work. You have to go usually to an endocrinologist and that's really demonstrates by an individual usually that has already have diabetes or going toward that direction. More ways of prevention for insulin resistance are incorporating more foods that are helping your body, you know, get rid of that excess or not having as much of the, minimizing the process, minimizing the ant-sex sugar. So, of course, engaging in physical activity, that movement every single day, and early detection is always helpful. So you know how can you do that. You know each person is different, but the main goal think of it as I'm trying to stabilize my body and the less junk that I have in there and the more protein and, let's say, balanced macronutrients within my body, I will have less of this insulin resistance overall and it benefits you from long-term other illnesses. No-transcript.