Insulin resistant?
Take steps to fight back against diabetes
People with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes react differently to the hormone insulin than healthy people. In a healthy person, eating a typical meal causes blood glucose levels to rise, triggering the pancreas to produce insulin. The insulin travels through the body and induces fat and muscle cells to absorb excess glucose from the blood, which the cells use for energy. As the cells take up glucose, the level of glucose in the blood drops and flattens out to a normal range. Insulin also signals the liver to hold on to its glucose stores for later use.
People with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes—and sometimes those with type 1 diabetes—have built up a tolerance to insulin, which makes the hormone less effective. As a result, more insulin is needed to help the body use glucose. The pancreas increases insulin production, but insulin resistance tends to get worse, and eventually the pancreas can't make enough insulin to overcome the cells' resistance. Higher blood glucose levels (prediabetes) and ultimately, type 2 diabetes result.
There are different degrees of insulin resistance, and the more insulin-resistant a person with diabetes is, the more difficult it is to manage his or her diabetes.
Fight back
If you're insulin-resistant, there are steps you can take to make your body more receptive to insulin:
- Increase physical activity. Exercise makes muscle cells more sensitive to insulin and builds more muscle mass that can absorb blood glucose.
- Lose weight. The mechanism that makes overweight or obese people prone to insulin resistance isn't well-understood. But a major diabetes prevention study found that people at risk for developing type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes by losing 5 percent to 7 percent of their body weight through regular physical activity and a diet low in fat and calories. People who undergo weight-loss surgery may also use insulin more effectively.
- Use medications prescribed by your health care provider. Although not as effective as physical activity and weight loss at reducing insulin resistance, some diabetes medications may increase the body's ability to use insulin.
Click here to learn more about Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s Joslin Diabetes Center.
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