Understanding insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

Duration: 5 minutes and 41 seconds

Hi there and welcome to this video on insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is an important topic that anyone affected by type two diabetes should know about whether you live with the condition yourself or care for someone who does.

That's because it affects one of the key players in developing type two diabetes, insulin.

In this video, we'll explore what insulin resistance is and how it can impact people with type two diabetes. We'll also review some tips on how you can help combat insulin resistance.

To understand insulin resistance, you need to understand the role of sugar and insulin play in the body. Glucose also known as sugar is the main source of energy used by our bodies. Our bodies break down the food we eat into blood sugar. When blood sugar enters our bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin, which is a hormone that helps control the amount of sugar in our blood. Insulin helps move blood sugar from the bloodstream into the body cells where it can be used for energy or stored for later use. This helps keep blood sugar levels in a healthy range. Sometimes the cells in our body stopped responding to insulin like they should. This is called insulin resistance.

The pancreas will make more insulin to try to make the cells respond, but eventually the pancreas is unable to keep up. When this happens, sugar stays in the blood rather than moving into the cells. This causes high blood sugar levels also known as hyperglycemia. Over time, this can lead to type two diabetes.

Insulin resistance can be long term or short term. Long term or chronic insulin resistance seems to be caused by two main factors increased body fat, especially around the belly and a lack of physical activity, family history some genetic conditions and certain medications can also cause insulin resistance.

People living with diabetes usually have some level of insulin resistance cells already, but it is still possible to also experience short term insulin resistance this increases blood sugar levels even more.

Short term or temporary insulin resistance is caused by many other factors, most of which are lifestyle related. These may include physical stress, including illness, infection, injury and pain, poor sleep, having a sedentary lifestyle where too much time is spent sitting, eating high carbohydrate foods or having a highly processed diet, emotional and or mental stress like anxiety or depression, stress hormones, untreated obstructive sleep apnea, steroid medicines, such as prednisone and dexamethasone, or hormones made by the body during pregnancy.

It's important to remember that everyone has unique insulin needs and may have different levels of insulin resistance.

Although many factors can contribute to high blood sugar levels due to insulin resistance, the good news is there are also many things you can do to help.

Here are a few examples: • Avoid eating large amounts of carbohydrates at one time. Even one carbohydrate rich meal can cause insulin to not work well for several hours. • Eat more non starchy vegetables, nuts and legumes such as lentils, beans and check these get at least six to eight hours of sleep. • Avoid eating shortly before bedtime. • Treat obstructive sleep apnea, practice stress reduction techniques reduce time spent sitting and increase physical activity with a goal of 150 minutes per week.

You can start by making little changes to daily life so they feel less daunting. Try walking around your house for three to five minutes every hour or going for a shorter walk rather than a longer one. If you prefer cycling, then go for a short bike ride. Small steps can make a big difference.

Remember, living with type two diabetes is a journey and like any journey it can have many twists and turns. Insulin resistance may be one of them, but you won't be facing it alone. You and your healthcare provider will work together to manage any impact insulin resistance may have on your blood sugar levels.

Talk with your health care provider if you have any questions about diabetes or insulin resistance. You can also learn more@diabetes.ca

Presenter: Chantal Sayers, Uncategorized, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Uncategorized