If you’ve been diagnosed with insulin resistance, you’re on a collision course with type 2 diabetes.
Make no mistake, insulin resistance – though it may sound rather benign – is a setup for the No. 1 cause of blindness and amputation in the U.S.: type 2 diabetes!
Insulin Resistance: Forerunner for Type 2 Diabetes
“In type 2 diabetes, the body becomes resistant to insulin,” says Susan L. Besser, MD, with Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore; Diplomate, American Board of Obesity Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
Dr. Besser explains, “That means, even though the body is still producing insulin, it is working less efficiently to move glucose (sugar) from the blood into the body cells where it is used as energy.
“In the insulin resistant stage (prediabetes), the body is able to manufacture enough insulin to offset its inefficiencies.
“However, over time the pancreas (where insulin is made) tires and can’t keep up with the demand. Then you go from insulin resistance to frank type 2 diabetes.”
Insulin resistance may also be referred to as impaired glucose metabolism.
Call it what you may, but it is a stealthy condition that creeps up on men and women … even though it has very identifiable causes and risk factors.
Do you know your numbers?
Many people have NO idea what their fasting glucose number is or what their A1c number is.
These are easily determined with a simple blood test. Have you had yours taken?
Prediabetes IS reversible.
This is not achieved with a magic pill, but with sensible lifestyle changes.
And don’t think for a second that being thin protects you from insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
Nevertheless, obesity is a major risk factor for disorders of glucose metabolism.
Did you also know that anxiety and stress can cause insulin resistance?
And that lean fit people who exercise can get insulin resistance?
