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Writer's pictureJen Brueton

Insulin Resistance the root of all Chronic Disease?

WHAT IS INSULIN RESISTANCE?



ALL carbohydrates turn into sugar in the body (yes, even the apple is a carbohydrate), causing your blood sugar levels to rise after eating them. The body can not handle too much sugar in the blood, so the pancreas releases insulin to bring the sugar levels down.


Insulin works by opening channels in the cells to take in the excess glucose (sugar) to be used for energy, and stores what isn’t used as fat in the liver and fat cells.


Chronic excessive consumption of carbs and sugar means that your blood sugar levels keep rising and remain high throughout the day, and the pancreas has to release more insulin to reduce the glucose levels in the blood.


Eventually, the pancreas becomes faulty (Type 2 Diabetes) and/or the cells don't

respond properly to the insulin - this is called insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.


Insulin resistance leads to:


🔴 Hypertension (high blood pressure)

🔴 High blood fat levels (triglycerides)

🔴 Low levels of good cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins)

🔴 Weight gain (increased BMI)

🔴 Increased waist circumference


All these illnesses, together with insulin resistance, is called metabolic syndrome.


Metabolic syndrome (and insulin resistance) can be seen as the root cause of many of the chronic diseases we see and treat in practice today, including Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, Dementia, Cancer, autoimmune disease and inflammatory conditions.


The obesity explosion that we see in South Africa is because of a number of factors.


Apart from the genes we received from our parents, our lifestyle and behaviour also play a role in our overall health.

- Less exercise 📺

- Poor sleep 🥱

- Eating more junk food 🍔🍟🍕

- Stress 😫


The good news is that reversing insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes is possible by following a low-carb lifestyle to prevent or manage chronic illness. 🙌 🙌








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