Understanding Insulin

Insulin is released from your pancreas when you eat and it plays an important role in brain function, glucose (blood sugar) levels, cell growth and repair, metabolism, and weight control.The more sugar in your meal, the more insulin that gets released.

If you consistently eat more carbs and sugar than your body  can store, insulin directs the body to deposit them inside the fat cells which can cause weight gain.

When insulin levels are elevated du to habitually overeating too much sugar and refined carbs, you can develop insulin resistance.This means your cells are less receptive to insulin and therefore don’t allow insulin to move glucose from the bloodstream into the cells. 

Insulin resistance is undesirable because it can lead to type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and it can create conditions that are favorable for weight gain. For peri-menopausal and menopausal women, low estrogen, fluctuating blood sugar, and other factors can cause hot flashes and night sweats. If you are insulin resistant, you can expect more pronounced hot flashes and night sweats.

As if that isn’t enough, imbalances in insulin makes women more susceptible to:

• An imbalance in dopamine + serotonin

• Bloating

• Cravings for carbs and sweets

• Estrogen dominance

• PCOS

If you suspect you are insulin resistant, begin making changes to your diet and lifestyle:

• Add more fruit and vegetables to your diet; go for color

• Avoid trans fats

• Cut back on carbs

• Eat more soluble fiber

• Exercise more (especially resistance training)

• Get more sleep

• Reduce stress

• Reduce your intake of added sugars/highly processed foods

• Supplement with: Berberine, Chromium, Magnesium, Resveratrol

Insulin is such a big player in our overall health that instead of running just glucose, I am now running fasting glucose and fasting insulin with every set of labs I order. If you’d like to know what your glucose and insulin levels are, book a Discovery Call and learn how I can help you.