Insulin resistance is your body’s way of not responding well to insulin. Your body can not make glucose from the blood when this happens. As a result, the pancreas starts to make insulin. This increases the levels of sugar in your blood. There are many negative impacts of this resistance. It includes a group of problems. Read this article to know more about its development and negative impacts.
Development And Effects
Insulin is important for maintaining the amount of sugar in our bodies. Cells absorb glucose for energy. It also acts as a significant chemical messenger. It gives instructions to the liver to store glucose. The liver then stores the glucose in the form of glycogen. It helps the body maintain the right amount of sugar. There are many reasons for the body becoming resistant to insulin. The body cells become less affected by insulin. It will lead to having increased production of insulin by the pancreas. Your body will face negative effects when the pancreas is not able to hold the excessive insulin. Insulin resistance will lead to prediabetes. A person can become diabetic if proper interventions and treatments are not taken.
Leading to Diabetes
When the body shows no response to insulin, the pancreas will work as an alternative to produce insulin. It will work harder to maintain the blood sugar levels down. It will somehow overcome the resistance of the body as well. A point comes where the ability of the pancreas to release insulin will decrease. This will lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. This resistance is the major factor for causing type 2 diabetes. Patients are prone to many skin conditions, heart diseases, and kidney diseases when they have type 2 diabetes.
There are many harmful effects of type 2 diabetes. You will have an increase in thirst. Frequent urination is common among patients. Doctors also observe unintended weight loss in these patients. Fatigue, pressure sores, and slow-healing wounds are common as well. The areas around the neck and armpits will get dark as compared to other parts of the body. Patients also experience numbness and tingling sensation in their upper and lower limbs.
Symptoms And Side Effects
The symptoms of this resistance only reveal when diabetes occurs. Research shows that the majority of people are unaware that they have this condition. Two common health issues that happen in this condition include Acanthosis nigricans and PCOS. The former one is a particular type of skin condition that only occurs in people with insulin resistance. There are dark patches that are visible on the armpits, groin, and back of the neck. PCOS, alias polycystic ovary syndrome, is a condition including painful periods, irregular menstrual cycle, and infertility. This resistance makes it even worse.
Risk Factors For Resistance
There are many risk factors for this resistance, prediabetes and diabetes. If someone is overweight, they are at high risk of having resistance to insulin. If you are not active and prefer a sedentary lifestyle. An active lifestyle keeps many diseases away from you. A resting lifestyle will make you vulnerable to resistance to insulin. Not getting enough sleep is also a major risk factor. Disciplined sleeping patterns help in maintaining general health. They have a great impact on the hormones as well. If your hormone regulation is not right, you will be prone to diabetes. Smoking also plays a major role. High blood pressure levels increase the risk as well.
Doctors recommend changing the lifestyle choices for improving your health.
Diagnosis
You have to go through tests to check if you are resistant to insulin. These tests will also show results about you being diabetic and pre-diabetic. There are three tests to know if you have the resistance or not. A1C test, fasting blood glucose test, and random glucose test.
A1C test helps in measuring the average blood sugar levels. These levels include the previous 2 to 3 months’ levels.
Fasting blood glucose test is another important test. For this test, the patient has to refrain from drinking or eating for about 8 hours. Random glucose test involves the measuring of glucose levels in the body at different times. These tests are often done twice to ensure an accurate diagnosis. If the levels of your blood sugar levels are always out of the normal range, this is a sign. It is a sign that your body is becoming resistant to insulin. There is a genetic predisposition as well. You should consult with your general physician to have complete knowledge about your condition.
Prevention
Some of the risk factors cannot be avoided, such as genetic makeup and family history. There are still many ways to prevent the risk of this resistance. People can change their lifestyles to improve their health. This is among the most recommended ways to avoid this unwanted situation.
Increasing physical activity is the primary step. Muscles in our bodies become sensitive to insulin after a workout.
The resistance can be reversed with an active lifestyle. The sedentary status will only increase your chances of having the disease. If you are diagnosed with resistance or pre-diabetic condition, make changes. Don’t expect the condition to go away at once. It will take time. Replacing your one item per meal with low-carbohydrate sources and healthy options will prevent it. Prediabetes is only a warning. Making essential changes will benefit you a lot in the future.
Insulin resistance often occurs when the cells of your body do not absorb the sugar from your blood. It is an alarming situation and requires lifestyle changes. Patients suffer from skin conditions. If it occurs in women, it makes the polycystic syndrome worse. It decreases the quality of life. High blood pressure, smoking, inadequate sleep patterns are predisposing factors for this condition. Shifting to an active lifestyle can increase the prevention of this resistance.
