Insulin Resistance – Starving Cells
Insulin resistance is a very common hormonal imbalance that makes acheiving and maintaining a healthy weight very difficult. It is very commonly diagnosed in women who are experiencing the hormonal changes that coincide with the onset of menopause, but can also affect women, children and men of various ages.
If you have insulin resistance, your chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers is much greater.
Normal, healthy cells are able to transport glucose inside cells with the help of insulin. When you have insulin resistant cells, the cell is having a difficult time allowing glucose inside cells, because insulin isn’t working properly. Therefore, the cell becomes starved for energy, while at the same time there is excess sugar in the blood stream, and this is easily and readily converted into fat.
The human body can carry extra weight, but at the same time have starving cells that need to be fed. When your cells are starving, the body sends out multiple chemical signals (cytokines, adipokines) which instruct the body to crave sugars and starches. Unfortunately, these are exactly the types of foods that cannot enter the cell properly.
If someone is struggling with weight, their first step is often to reduce their dietary intake of foods. If that person is insulant resistant, I often find they begin craving sugars and starches imediately, because the body is percieving a threat of starvation. When the body is starving, it signals your metabolism to slow, and it begins to convert all extra energy into fat, and it gets stored, especially around the liver.
Insulin resistance easily progresses, and if not corrected, the most common outcome is diabetes, excess weight, heart disease, cancer, and stroke. I have been very successful in correcting insulin resistance with a balanced meal plan designed to feed starving cells, while at the same time allowing the body to draw on stored fat for energy in order to lose weight.
To learn more, please call our office at 239-288-2789.
