Insulin Resistance:
When the body’s cells no longer respond properly to insulin, then there is more glucose or sugar in the blood supply than is desirable. Too much glucose or sugar in the blood can damage the kidneys, eyes and nerves as well as causing obesity as the 2 carbon chains found in glucose can be recombined to form the longer chain fat molecules. When the body develops a problem using insulin this condition is called initially Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, pre-diabetes or Syndrome X. 25% of people with Insulin Resistance go on to develop the more advanced condition called Type 2 Diabetes which is characterized by a general breakdown and damage to all body systems if not controlled properly. Obesity is the major risk for developing both insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Smoking also raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
There are some systems of the body that do not need insulin to introduce glucose from the blood supply into their cells. These are the eyes, the nerves and the kidneys. It could be that we were designed this way so that in survival conditions the body could send glucose preferentially to the systems of the body necessary for survival. When other cells of the body are resisting insulin’s action the concentration of glucose in the blood is rising, forcing more and more glucose into these systems. Too much glucose creates damage to these systems causing conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, blindness, heart disease, stroke, peripheral neuropathy, edema, endothelial derived hypertension, and kidney disease. These usually occur first in the type 2 diabetes patient and there is usually a high hemoglobin A1C test result to confirm poor glucose management over time. Hemoglobin A1C or Glycosylated Hemoglobin are the two names for the test that provides the average of your blood sugar levels over a period of the previous 6 to 12 weeks. The higher the percentage, then the higher your blood sugar levels. A hemoglobin A1c level of 5-7% is desirable while poor levels range in the 10-12%. Every 1% in A1C levels adds significantly to the risk of heart disease.
