Alternative Medicine Information

To understand insulin resistance, it helps to understand a little about how insulin works and its role in the body. Insulin is an essential hormone created in the pancreas, which is involved in the metabolism of sugars in the body. Without it, we can not turn the food we eat into usable energy.

When we eat something, a lot of digested food is converted into glucose, the main energy source of the body. The pancreas then responds to blood sugar levels by secreting insulin in increasing the flow of blood. Most cells in your body contain insulin receptors that help insulin bind to the cell. Once insulin binds to the cell, activate other receptor sites, allowing glucose to enter the cell and provide energy for life.

Insulin also plays other vital roles in the body such as storage of excess food and magnesium, sodium retention and management of other hormones in the body including growth hormones, testosterone, and progesterone. Insulin is also responsible for stopping the liver to release fat, a potential metabolic fuel in the blood after a meal.

Insulin resistance occurs when even though the body produces insufficient amounts of insulin in the body cells become resistant to its effects. When this happens, the body requires more than the normal amount of insulin to take effect, and consequently, the pancreas produces more insulin.

While the pancreas can continue with the high demands of insulin, blood sugar levels remain normal, however, rising levels of insulin may have other negative health effects such as weight gain, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, fatty liver disease and hormone-related conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). If the pancreas can no longer continue with the demands of insulin, Type II diabetes can occurred.

Diagnosing insulin resistance

The diagnosis of insulin resistance is not based solely on levels of insulin, but includes a careful medical history and physical examination. Your doctor will want to check your blood pressure, measure body fat or abdominal circumference, and take some tests to measure glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting levels of insulin.

What causes insulin resistance?

There are a number of possible causes of insulin resistance and is a condition that tends to have a strong genetic factor and therefore often works with families.

Causes of insulin resistance

Other causes of insulin resistance include:

* Voltage

* Obesity

* Metabolic syndrome

* Pregnancy

* Infection or illness

* Steroid Use

* Side effect of certain medications

Help for insulin resistance with conventional treatment

The primary treatment for insulin resistance is exercise, weight loss and changes in lifestyle.

The reduction of glucose and carbohydrates in the diet and the choice of carbohydrates with low glycolic index rather high is the first step in managing insulin resistance. Carbohydrates with low glycolic index are absorbed at a slower rate and so the glucose is released slowly, reducing the need to increase insulin levels.

In addition, weight loss exercise, improves cell sensitivity to insulin by increasing the rate at which glucose is absorbed into body cells. Medications such as Met forming (Glucophage) and thiazolidinediones such as Actors and Acadia are often used to treat Type II diabetes is sometimes recommended for insulin resistance while increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin. While many of these medications are reasonably effective, often have unwanted side effects such as liver problems and gastrointestinal toxicity.

Natural Remedies

There is much evidence to suggest that the use of herbal and homeopathic remedies carefully chosen and dietary supplements can help prevent diabetes and keep it under control to those who have already developed.

Along with the correct changes in lifestyle, herbal remedies and dietary supplements can reduce or eliminate the need for prescription medication and can also help in preventing damage to tissue and organs associated with sugar levels uncontrolled blood.

Herbs such as Gymea Sylvester, Galena officinal is and cranberry are some of the herbs that have proven successful in the control and treatment of diabetes while the Chromium iodinate has been shown to improve the effectiveness of insulin.

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