Saturday, January 31, 2009

Insulin Resistance

Introduction

Insulin resistance is a condition that increases your chances of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. When you have insulin resistance, your body has problems responding to insulin. Eventually, your blood glucose (sugar) levels rise above normal. The good news is that cutting calories, adding physical activity to your daily routine, and losing weight can reverse insulin resistance and lessen your chances of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Risk factors for insulin resistance

You’re more likely to have insulin resistance if you

• are overweight
• are physically inactive
• are a woman with a waist measurement at your belly button over 35 inches or a man with a waist measure over 40 inches
• have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
• have polycystic ovary syndrome
• are over age 45
• have a blood pressure over 140/90 mmHg
• have low HDL (good) cholesterol levels (35 mg/dl or lower)
• have high levels of a fat called triglycerides in the blood (250 mg/dl or higher)

All of these risk factors put you at risk for heart disease as well.

How is insulin resistance diagnosed?

At this time, there is no commonly used test to diagnose insulin resistance. People with insulin resistance usually have no symptoms. Your doctor can review your risk factors and then consider whether you’re likely to be insulin resistant. If you have a risk factor for insulin resistance, your doctor should check your fasting blood glucose levels to see whether you have pre-diabetes or even diabetes.

How can I prevent or reverse insulin resistance?

You can cut calories and be physically active. If you do, it’s more likely you’ll lose weight. Remember, you don’t have to lose a lot; even a loss of 10 pounds can help.

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