When you start getting information on Type two diabetes you may often hear the words insulin resistance thrown about. What exactly does that term mean? This medical term refers to the decreased ability of some body cells to use insulin to convert blood glucose into glycogen. In a normal person, a person’s body turns carbohydrates into glucose during digestion. That glucose travels through the body until a cell picks it up. The cell needs to turn the glucose into a form of energy it can burn, namely glycogen. That is where insulin comes in. The cell grabs insulin out of the blood and uses it to turn glucose into glycogen.
When insulin resistance develops, the cells appear to ignore the insulin in the blood stream. They continue to send signals that they need the insulin. In response, the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas start overproducing insulin. This will help lower levels of glucose for the short term. However, over a long time period, an over production of insulin can have dire results. One is that the islets of Langerhans cannot keep up the pace of overproduction. This is likely from damage due to the overproduction of insulin or from the overconcentration of
Who is likely to develop insulin resistance? Excess weight and a sedentary lifestyle are major factors in developing this resistance. Genetics may also be a part of the picture as well. Be careful, don’t be comforted if no one in your family has Diabetes 2. Anyone, despite a clean family history, can develop type 2 diabetes if they carry too much weight or do not exercise enough. Insulin resistance develops without looking into your genetic history background. In the past, this resistance developed more in older age. In any case, more and more people get a diagnosis of Diabetes Type 2 at much younger ages. The most alarming is in children and teens.
Insulin resistance is reversible in many people before type 2 diabetes develops. It requires making the proper alterations early enough to count. Exercise has a direct link with diminishing the condition. The more you exercise the less insulin resistance is likely. Losing weight also helps reduce the resistance. These changes are the same pre-diabetics and diabetics need to make. They are smart ones for just about anyone else as well.
