Is this the answer to TYPE 2 DIABETES and INSULIN RESISTANCE? Suffering from any of the following?

1. Brain fogginess and inability to focus.
2. High blood sugar.
3. Intestinal bloating – most intestinal gas is produced from carbohydrates in the diet, mostly those that humans cannot digest and absorb.
4. Sleepiness, especially after meals.
5. Weight gain, fat storage, difficulty losing weight – for most people, excess weight is from high fat storage; the fat in IR is generally stored in and around abdominal organs in both males and females.
6. Increased blood triglyceride levels.
7. Increased blood pressure. Many people with hypertension are either diabetic or pre-diabetic and have elevated insulin levels due to insulin resistance. One of insulin’s effects is to control arterial wall tension throughout the body. 8. Increased pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with cardiovascular disease.
9. Depression. Due to the deranged metabolism resulting from insulin resistance, psychological effects, including depression, are not uncommon.

10. Increased hunger.
11. Acne (cystic)
12. Imbalanced adrenal and ovarian hormones (estrogens, progesterone, cortisol, Dhea, Testosterone)
13. Sugar and/or carb craving
14. Waking in middle of night (between 2-4)
15. Suffering from osteoarthritis
16. Notice “skin tags” on body

Insulin resistance (IR) which is a physiological condition in which cells fail to respond to the normal actions of the hormone insulin. The body produces insulin, but the cells in the body become resistant to insulin and are unable to use it as effectively, leading to hyperglycemia.

Beta cells in the pancreas subsequently increase their production of insulin, further contributing to hyperinsulinemia. This often remains undetected and can contribute to a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.

One of insulin’s functions is to regulate delivery of glucose into cells to provide them with energy. Insulin resistant cells cannot take in glucose, amino acids and fatty acids. Thus, glucose, fatty acids and amino acids ‘leak’ out of the cells. A decrease in insulin/glucagon ratio inhibits glycolysis which in turn decreases energy production. The resulting increase in blood glucose may raise levels outside the normal range and cause adverse health effects, depending on dietary conditions. Certain cell types such as fat and muscle cells require insulin to absorb glucose. When these cells fail to respond adequately to circulating insulin, blood glucose levels rise. The liver helps regulate glucose levels by reducing its secretion of glucose in the presence of insulin. This normal reduction in the liver’s glucose production may not occur in people with insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance in muscle and fat cells reduces glucose uptake (and also local storage of glucose as glycogen and triglycerides, respectively), whereas insulin resistance in liver cells results in reduced glycogen synthesis and storage and also a failure to suppress glucose production and release into the blood. Insulin resistance normally refers to reduced glucose-lowering effects of insulin. However, other functions of insulin can also be affected. For example, insulin resistance in fat cells reduces the normal effects of insulin on lipids and results in reduced uptake of circulating lipids and increased hydrolysis of stored triglycerides.

Increased mobilization of stored lipids in these cells elevates free fatty acids in the blood plasma. Elevated blood fatty- acid concentrations (associated with insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus Type 2), reduced muscle glucose uptake, and increased liver glucose production all contribute to elevated blood glucose levels.

High plasma levels of insulin and glucose due to insulin resistance are a major component of the metabolic syndrome. If insulin resistance exists, more insulin needs to be secreted by the pancreas. If this compensatory increase does not occur, blood glucose concentrations increase and type 2 diabetes occurs.

Because insulin is one of the “major” hormones, it’s also impossible for your body to balance its minor” hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone among them) until your insulin metabolism is balanced first. To put it simply, if you have hot flashes and you are insulin resistant, it’s going to be nearly impossible to cure the hot flashes without first healing the insulin resistance. As women approach menopause, they become increasingly intolerant of carbohydrates and find it easier to gain weight, especially around their waists. Afternoon blahs, sugar crashes and carbohydrate cravings may all be early insulin resistance symptoms.
When the cells won’t absorb the extra glucose, the liver has to convert it into fat. Fat cells are loaded with glucose receptors, so this is a vicious cycle. Ironically, while the insulin-resistant woman is gaining weight, her cells are actually “starved” for glucose, so she feels exhausted and tends to eat carbohydrate-heavy foods in search of energy.

These extra fat cells are also little estrogen factories. So weight gain contributes to the estrogen dominance that causes so many symptoms during the early stages of perimenopause.