What is Insulin Resistance and How Does it Affect Your Body?

By Bob Held

There are 17 million diabetics in the United States and 80 million more who are in some stage of insulin resistance. A diet high in carbohydrates and lack of nutrition are the two main factors in creating insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a "pre-diabetic" condition, which, when it gets extreme, becomes type 2 diabetes. Below are two doctors clarifying how this condition develops and its effects on the body:

"When cells become resistant to insulin, the receptors on their surfaces designed to respond to insulin have begun to malfunction."

"It simply means that the receptors require more insulin to make them work properly in removing sugar from the blood. Whereas before they needed just a touch to lower it, now they need a continuous supply of excess insulin to keep blood sugar within normal range."

"As time goes by, blood sugar rises higher and stays up longer after the carbohydrate meal despite the enormous amount of insulin mustered to lower it. Bear in mind that were your doctor to check blood sugar during this stage of developing insulin resistance, your blood sugar would be perfectly normal. The major silent change taking place is the ever-growing quantity of insulin needed to keep it that way."