Insulin Resistance

29 February 2024

This week Dr Shiv and The Ü Team will be focussing on Insulin Resistance.
A condition predisposing to Diabetes but connected to so much more. It is important to identify early if this process is happening in the body.

What is Insulin?
A hormone made in your pancreas and its job is to transport sugar (glucose) from you blood stream into your cells where your cells convert the sugar to energy.
What is Insulin Resistance?
Insulin resistance is a condition where your body's cells don't respond as effectively to insulin as they should. To understand insulin resistance, it's important to know what insulin does in your body. In response to rising blood sugar levels after a meal, your pancreas releases insulin.
In insulin resistance, your cells shut the doors (become less responsive) to insulin. This can lead to higher-than-normal levels of insulin in your bloodstream.

Signs of insulin resistance can be a rising blood pressure, high cholesterol, signs of inflammation and weight gain particularly around the abdomen.

When insulin resistant you may not exhibit all of these signs, and some symptoms may be subtle or attributed to other factors. If you suspect you may have insulin resistance, it's essential to consult with a healthcare professional for proper evaluation, diagnosis, and management.

What can you do to reverse insulin resistance?
Move your body and build muscle. Muscle improves the uptake of glucose into cells.

Prioritise protein. Protein helps with improved blood sugar control, satiety, muscle maintenance and supports our metabolism.

Time restricted eating by having a 14 hour fast overnight. Stop your eating by 6pm and then don’t have breakfast until 10am. Alcohol and any milky tea/coffee will break this overnight fast. This fast trains your mitochondria to burn ketones rather than glucose for energy. This allows your body to cultivate metabolic flexibility which helps with insulin resistance.

Limit sugar intake. A diet high in sugar, soft drinks and ultra processed sweet food will just drive insulin resistance. The good news is that you can still enjoy some fruit and dark chocolate!

At the Ü Clinic our Enhanced Health Check consists of a blood test that will test for markers associated with insulin resistance. We specialise in preventative healthcare with simple diet and lifestyle changes at the heart of what we do.

If you have high blood pressure, central weight gain, poor sleep, digestive issues, diabetes, pre-diabetes or cholesterol concerns then we can help.

Call TheÜTeam Now on 07539035999 or emails us on info@theuclinic.com