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Insulin Resistance

T

Twickers

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello! Something just occured to me and I wondered if anyone might be able to comment please?

As a typical Type 2, one of my key issues is insulin resistance ie my body has problems making insulin do its job properly. Yet at the moment my treatment seems to be focussed on my taking more and more insulin (which I have to say is not making much difference.)

My question is, if my body can’t deal with insulin anyway, why am I flooding it with more and more? Is it ever going to work? Or am I just creating extra stress for my system?

Is there another way of looking at it?

Thanks!
 
I think you have it in a nutshell. The standard treatment for hyperinsulinaemia is insulin which makes logic seem to fly out of the window. Cutting down on the foods which exacerbate hyperglycaemia i.e carbs should address hyperinsulinaemia in theory. In practice because we are all individuals it is a much more complex problem.
 

Exercising will help insulin sensitivity. Strength training and HIIT workouts especially have tremendous effects on insulin sensitivity, and up to 24-36h AFTER you finish your workout
 

You are quite correct. If you already produce a normal amount of insulin, and especially if you have a high insulin production, and if your body is resistant to insulin, then adding more is just not logical and in effect makes the insulin resistance worse. There are easy tests a doctor can do to discover how good or bad your insulin production is. Goodness knows why they don't do these tests before prescribing drugs that cause us to make even more.

Yes, exercise will help with insulin resistance, but more than that, diet will. All carbs turn to glucose once eaten. The more glucose in the body, the more insulin is needed, and the worse resistance will become. Reduce the carbs, which will reduce the glucose, which will reduce the need for so much insulin, which will help improve resistance to it.
 

why: 'more than that, diet will'? I believe both are equally important?
 
Go to Youtube.. search for Dr Jason Fung watch as much as you can.
A man who thinks treating insulin resistance with more insulin is madness.
 
Yep. The key to it all, is to reduce the amount of Insulin sloshing about inside you, which will ultimately improve your resistance to the stuff.

You can achieve that by burning off the glucose with exercise, or by not eating the foods that raise your glucose levels or a mixture of the two.

Eating in a way that raises my glucose levels the least, and then exercising to burn off whatever glucose I do produce works for me.
 
Broomthebeast said:
why: 'more than that, diet will'? I believe both are equally important?
Click to expand...
Not really, I would say that for a Type 2 diet is way more important. Exercise can be helpful but certainly isn't essential whereas dietary changes (avoiding carbs) are.
 
Broomthebeast said:
why: 'more than that, diet will'? I believe both are equally important?
Click to expand...

You are type 1. The OP is type 2 with metabolic insulin resistance. Diet will help enormously. Exercise will help to a much lesser extent. I'm not decrying exercise. It is good for body and soul, but not at the top of the tree for combating IR in a T2. A 20 minute brisk walk every day works just as well.
 

Aside from the fact that exercise decreases the risk of heart disease, improves flexibility and may decrease blood pressure and lower stress levels, I still don't understand why diet is *better * than exercise in fighting insulin resistance for type 2? I would like to know please
 
The phrase "You can't outrun a bad diet" is especially true in the case of Type 2. By not causing insulin spikes in the first place (by not eating carbs) then exercise becomes a secondary measure. For example I drastically reduced my HbA1c by cutting carbs without increasing exercise one jot. I think I would have had to spend weeks in the gym to achieve the same through exercise.
 
@Broomthebeast it is not a case of diet being the only way, or exercise not helping.

It must be obvious that in order to improve resistance to something, the best way must be to reduce your use of it.

The right diet will reduce your need for insulin, so the less insulin you use the better your resistance should become.

None of that means exercise is not very important for a whole number of reasons, and won’t also help in the battle to improve insulin resistance.
 
As a T2 I low carb. I can not do more than mild exercise without raising my BGs. T1 and T2 are very different .
 
zand said:
As a T2 I low carb. I can not do more than mild exercise without raising my BGs. T1 and T2 are very different .
Click to expand...

Not that different, my BGs go up when I do HIIT or strength training, I usually add a bit f steady state cardio afterwards and usually readings are fine. Afterwards though I have to drastically lower my insulin levels for the next 24ish hours as my muscles replenish glycogen levels.
 
You don't have a metabolic disorder. You have an auto immune disease. I agree that exercise is good for everyone, but I can't do HIIT, I can only manage gentle walking.
 
zand said:
You don't have a metabolic disorder. You have an auto immune disease. I agree that exercise is good for everyone, but I can't do HIIT, I can only manage gentle walking.
Click to expand...
This word " exercise " is so vague. All so often it conjures up images of sweat, grunting, tight Lycra ( not me ) people pushing themselves beyond the comfort zone.
Gentle walking, a brisk 20 min walk post #9. It's all exercise, don't undermine it.
Whatever you do it's exercise it's not a form of hiearchy.
Keep on walking
 
As I understand it, insulin resistance and insulin production can be a vicious circle. So with insulin resistance your body produces more insulin to better deal with blood sugar which can lead to even more insulin resistance. If you keep your blood sugar well controlled by diet by minimising carbs then there will be less insulin sloshing around. And this will help reduce insulin resistance.
Exercise can help your cells use blood sugar for energy, but doesn't fundamentally change the level of insulin resistance. Which eating less carbs would do. So diet is more effective in minimising insulin resistance than exercise. Although exercise does help alleviate some of the symptoms.
It is certainly all very complicated and what works for different people will obviously vary. As always!
 

As others above have said ....

Most T2s begin with hyperinsulinaemia. In other words, high insulin swirling round the body, which causes insulin resistance and also weight gain (and other disorders). IR in turn causes even higher insulin production. Vicious circle. The way to combat it is through an eating plan that keeps insulin levels as low as possible. I don't know of any other foolproof way to keep insulin levels down throughout every day.

In my case, if I started doing all the strenuous exercises you mention, I would need a paramedic and probably end up in hospital, which would increase my insulin resistance with having to eat all that carby slosh they feed us with. I will stick to my 2 x 20min brisk walks a day and keep my little dog happy, plus as little housework as I can get away with. .
 

I find ironing brings mine down and I don't "exercise" but I do keep busy.
I do find not eating less stressful than pumping myself full of insulin as when that resistance pendulum swings back then wham.!

Tony
 
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