Print Article

Insulin Resistance
The real culprit behind weight gain, high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and more

More and more scientists are beginning to agree that “insulin resistance” is the common denominator in many serious health conditions. When cells become resistant to insulin, major system malfunctions occur.  Diseases associated with insulin resistance are heart disease, hypertension, stroke, high blood cholesterol and diabetes.  According to respected research scientist, Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, the way to treat virtually all the so-called chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and osteoporosis, is to treat excess insulin itself.

In order to know how to balance insulin levels, it’s helpful to understand a little more about what insulin does and how it affects so many of the body’s functions.

Insulin, produced and released into the blood by the pancreas, is a master hormone of metabolism. It affects virtually every cell in the body. It regulates blood sugar, controls the storage of fat, helps direct the functions of amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates, and it regulates the liver’s synthesis of cholesterol. It also functions as a growth hormone, affects appetite control, kidney function and much more.

Without it you would die in a matter of days. But insulin can be a double edged sword... too much of it, on a consistent basis, creates a whole other set of serious problems; raising blood pressure and cholesterol levels, storing food as fat instead of using it for fuel, causing the kidney’s to retain excess fluid, damaging arteries, elevating triglycerides, and changing needed protein and sugar into fat.

What is insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance is a decreased sensitivity to the actions of insulin within the body.   The body’s demand for fuel varies greatly throughout the day, but blood sugar needs to remain stable, so the body is in a never ending cycle of regulating blood sugar.  

But what if eating patterns throw this range outside the level of normal fluctuations?  Wild swings in insulin levels are what set the stage for insulin resistance. 

25% of the population of the U.S. has insulin resistance; with the percentages being highest for people aged 60 to 70.  Insulin resistance is the precursor to Type II Diabetes.

How does the cycle of insulin resistance begin?
Most people are aware of the effects that certain foods and drinks have on blood sugar.  Too much sugar and kids are zooming around in a frenzy of energy.  Low blood sugar levels leave you tired, foggy headed, and craving sweets.  Neither of these extremes is healthy on a long term basis.

When the body senses a rush of sugar, (from eating too much of the wrong kind of food, such as pasta, breads, sweets, cakes, sugary drinks and other refined sugars and starches) the pancreas panics and overcompensates, producing an overabundance of insulin in an effort to normalize (lower) blood sugar levels. This rush of insulin then causes blood sugar to plummet too low. Some people experience nervousness, shaking, mental fogginess, and profuse sweating if blood sugar drops too low.

To get blood sugar back up, hormones including cortisone and epinephrine, are released that stimulate the brain to crave sweets, or breads. If you give in to these cravings and have a sugary treat, or refined grains, or a big bowl of cereal for example, then it starts all over again...your blood sugar spikes up, causing the pancreas to release more insulin...then it falls...on and on.  Many people live this scenario daily without even realizing it.  They just think they have a “sweet tooth”, and don’t realize the serious impact to their long term health.

This rollercoaster effect will ultimately disrupt the finely tuned regulation mechanism, causing some elements to remain in a constant state of activity, while others simply become worn out and ineffective. Cells become insulin resistant when they are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin; receptor cells begin to malfunction, and the pancreas pumps out more and more insulin because the cells are no longer reacting properly to it.

As insulin sensors become more and more overloaded they become sluggish. Now, you’ll need more and more insulin for it to have any affect on the cells. This loss of sensitivity is insulin resistance. Eventually, some people become so resistant to insulin that their pancreas can no longer manufacture enough insulin to effectively lower blood sugar, therefore leading to Type II Diabetes.

Children are even more sensitive to the affects of blood sugar ups and downs because their cells are extremely sensitive to insulin. Because of this extreme sensitivity, a small amount of insulin is able to easily handle a large amount of sugar…but not forever. Years of high insulin levels will eventually take their toll.

Learn to recognize the signs of insulin resistance
Some of the common complaints from people suffering from insulin resistance are:

• Unexplainable fatigue
• Low blood sugar and sleepines
• Mental fogginess
• Intestinal bloating
• Increased fat storage
• Increased triglycerides
• Increased blood pressure
• Depression

__________________________________________________________________________________

High insulin levels are single handedly responsible for many serious health issues  

Let’s start with Cholesterol
The majority of cholesterol is made by liver cells, along with the intestines, and the skin. Cholesterol provides the structural framework for cells. High insulin triggers the fat storage cycle, and therefore the creation of new fat cells. Since cells require cholesterol for their creation, when fat cells are created, then cholesterol is created. So, fat storage, triggered by high insulin, ultimately results in the overproduction of cholesterol.

Although it is true that fat is the raw material the body uses to create cholesterol, new fat cells cannot be created without raised insulin levels. Dietary fat (i.e. the fat in food) has no affect on raising insulin; it is an overload of simple carbohydrates that create skyrocketing insulin levels. You can basically eat all the fat you want, and unless insulin raising carbohydrates are present, it will not be converted to cholesterol. Remember, fat doesn’t raise insulin levels, carbohydrates do, and high insulin creates cholesterol.

How excess insulin affects arteries and blood pressure
Excess insulin causes the smooth muscle cells in the linings of arteries to both grow in size and increase in number. These larger muscle cells make arterial walls thicker, and less elastic. When arterial walls are less elastic, plaque tends to form, as well as causing arterial spasm, which is the underlying cause of heart disease. Plaque forms after cracks and stress fractures appear when the arteries, which need to be flexible and bend, are stiffened by the thickening we just talked about. Cholesterol basically comes to the rescue to plug the holes.

Because of the thickened arterial walls, the heart must use greater pressure to force blood through a narrower opening, so now you’ve got high blood pressure. And to make matters worse, insulin causes the kidneys to retain salt and fluid, adding to the blood volume, and increasing pressure even more. Drugs that reduce blood pressure do nothing to treat and restore the elasticity of arterial walls – which is the underlying problem.

Another way excess insulin leads to high blood pressure;
it interferes with magnesium storage
If your cells become insulin resistant, you can’t store magnesium, and it is excreted in the urine.  Magnesium plays an important role in muscle relaxation. Intracellular magnesium is required for all energy producing reactions that take place in the cell.  Without it blood vessels constrict, which increases blood pressure and reduces cellular energy.

Hypertension and Heart Disease
Statistically, treating heart disease with drugs does not decrease deaths.  Studies have shown that people who ignore their condition didn’t develop heart disease at any greater rate than those taking daily medications. A tidal wave of new research has shown that high insulin is actually the real culprit. Ironically, many medications such as diuretics and beta-blockers, designed to reduce blood pressure in hope of preventing heart disease, actually increase insulin levels…the very thing that is believed to cause the problem. It has now been shown that correcting insulin problems can reduce both high blood pressure and heart disease.

Insulin resistance and osteoporosis…
As we said earlier, excessive insulin causes the excretion of magnesium in the urine, but along with magnesium it is also excreting calcium. Both calcium and magnesium are instrumental in building bone matrix, therefore an ongoing deficiency of calcium and magnesium sets the stage for osteoporosis.

Anyone who is working to prevent or correct osteoporosis by supplementing with calcium and magnesium will obviously not be receiving the benefit if they are unable to retain and utilize these valuable supplements. If you supplement with calcium and magnesium, these supplements will just pass right through you unused if your body is in a state of having excess insulin.

Vitamin C and Insulin
White blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C for proper function. And vitamin C is essential to the manufacture of Collagen, the main structural protein that makes bone, muscle fiber, tendons, ligaments, skin, hair, and strong arterial structure. Since Vitamin C and glucose (sugar) have similar chemical structure, they compete when entering cells. If there is more glucose, then there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell.

Remember when we were talking about how high insulin levels cause arterial walls to thicken, form plaque, then crack and become filled with cholesterol to plug the holes? Well, collagen helps artery walls remain strong, flexible, and plaque free. If vitamin C is essential to the production of collagen, but it cannot be absorbed because it is competing with high glucose levels, then you can see how a breakdown in the system is inevitable. High insulin, and its far reaching affects, leaves nothing untouched. 

Typically, many people with high blood pressure are familiar with this scenario…

1. You gained weight, and then subsequently develop high blood pressure.
2. Your doctor tells you to cut back on salt, and prescribes a mild diuretic.
3. Your blood pressure drops, but now you are showing an increase in your cholesterol.
4. The low fat diet your doctor encourages has little affect on your cholesterol
5. The next thing you see is a rise in both triglycerides and blood sugar.

If you see yourself in this progression, then you may want to stop and evaluate your diet.  Understanding which foods create excess insulin is crucial.  Simply reducing the portion size of sugary and starchy foods can be very effective.   Keep reading and we’ll help you understand the crucial difference in natural carbohydrates and processed carbohydrates.  It really is possible to make dietary changes that will give you significant, beneficial results in as little as 2-4 weeks. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s talk about insulin and body weight

The number one food consumed by Americans is refined carbohydrates; white bread, rolls, and crackers.  Next are doughnuts, cookies, and cake, with alcohol being number three.

Refined sugars and starches are handled very different by the body than natural sugars and starches.  Which foods are refined carbs and which are natural carbs?  Here’s a short list to give you an idea of how to tell the difference:

Refined Carbs are “processed” foods. The more “refined” the carbohydrate is, the stronger and more rapid the insulin reaction.

Generally, foods that are highly refined will have a very long list of ingredients in the label.  For example, highly processed bread will have a list of ingredients a mile long, they’ll probably have several forms of harmful vegetable oils, multiple forms of sugar, colorings, preservatives, and more chemicals than you can comprehend.   Healthy breads will only have 3-5 ingredients, and you’ll be able to understand what each ingredient is. 

Highly refined sugars and starches enter the blood stream in a rush, causing a radical and sudden increase in blood sugar. Insulin and other hormones flood into the bloodstream in an attempt to bring blood sugar levels back to normal. Processed, or refined, carbohydrates are foods like bagels, pasta, cookies, cakes, breads, crackers, snack foods, cereals, etc.- basically foods that are not in a natural form.

The food refining process creates “sugar concentrates” that spike blood sugar, because they lack naturally occurring fiber. In addition, refining strips food of vital nutrients necessary for the body’s energy requirements, repair, and digestion. Artificially adding synthetic nutrients back into refined foods so they can be labeled “fortified and enriched” creates harmful nutrient imbalances and a false sense of security.

How does high insulin create body fat?
Eating foods that cause a spike in blood sugar create excess food “energy.” Excess food energy triggers an increase in insulin, and the fat storage cycle begins.  In order to have someplace to put this excess energy, the body must make new fat cells.   

When new fat cells are created, cholesterol is created. Remember that fat storage starts with insulin, so if you don’t eat foods that cause an excess of insulin, you won’t trigger the fat storage cycle. Foods that enter the bloodstream slowly don’t spike blood sugar up, therefore don’t cause excess insulin to be produced, and don’t contribute significantly toward fat storage. Your food choices are really the key here.

What you eat and portion size, are a big key to controlling insulin levels.  If you were to take all day to eat a huge 800 calorie bagel, the effect on your blood sugar would be significantly different than consuming it all in one sitting.  Your body would be able to control the release of insulin from just a few bites of the bagel, then a few more bites a couple hours later, and so on.  But when you consume the entire thing it hits your blood stream all at once causing the “spike” we talked about earlier. 

Insulin resistance decreases the body’s ability to burn fat
After a while, when your body is continually in the state of having to deal with excess insulin, it makes a shift and no longer knows how to properly burn fat anymore. It now requires high blood sugar for fuel. As a person becomes more and more resistant to insulin, their body actually stops burning the excess sugar for fuel, and directly stores it as body fat.  If you have reached this point in the process, you can see why it is so difficult to lose weight, or maintain a consistent weight.   It’s a common joke for women to say food goes directly to their hips, but they don’t realize how true this really is if they’re eating foods that constantly spike blood sugar.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dietary fat is not the bad guy it’s been
made out to be

What’s surprising for most people to learn is that eating healthy, natural dietary fat does not create body fat unless it’s eaten with an excess of blood sugar raising carbohydrates.

In the absence of insulin raising carbohydrates, the body uses natural dietary fat, and stored body fat, for energy. The key to maintaining normal body weight is to have the food you eat be used as energy to fuel your body. Remember, dietary fat has absolutely no effect on raising insulin levels; refined carbohydrates and sugar are responsible for creating too much insulin, and excess insulin is what triggers the fat storage cycle.

Both fat and fiber in natural foods help to slow the rate of entry of carbohydrates. Plus healthy fat contains the hormone cholecystokinin (CKK) that tells the brain you’re full and to stop eating. This is why non-fat foods are disastrous for people trying to lose weight. And to make matters worse, many non-fat foods replace the fat with extra sugar. Take a look at the labels and you’ll notice fat has been replaced by various forms of sugar, such as corn syrup, fructose, etc. – all insulin raisers.

It can be very discouraging for people following mainstream recommendations for low fat diets when their efforts show little results.  Many supposedly “healthy” low-fat foods actually cause insulin levels to spike off the charts because of the hidden refined sugar and starch they contain.

If you’re eating processed foods then you MUST read labels.  Hidden forms of sugar such as High Fructose Corn Syrup are in many items. 

We’ll say it one more time…Dietary fat is only fattening when eaten with an excess of blood sugar raising carbohydrates.

The more normal insulin levels are…
the more the body will use stored body fat for fuel
The slower the rate that carbohydrates enter the bloodstream, the lower insulin production will be. The more normal insulin levels are, the more likely you are to use stored body fat for energy.

• Use natural dietary fat for energy
• Use stored body fat for energy
• Discourage the storage of fat

• Limit the immediate use of dietary fat for energy
• Encourage fat storage
• Prevent the use of existing body fat for energy.

Did you know heart attacks are 2 to 3 times more likely to happen
after a high carbohydrate meal?
Here’s why.  A high carbohydrate meal has an immediate affect of raising blood sugar, which then raises insulin levels. This triggers the sympathetic nervous system, which causes arterial spasm, or constriction of the arteries.  If any other factors are present that make an individual susceptible to a heart attack, then this high insulin condition is likely to bring one on.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Be aware of how you feel

Start noticing if you are experiencing low blood sugar symptoms after a meal. Learn to recognize drowsiness or lack of energy, and unhealthy cravings, as a sign that your system is out of balance. If you’ve just recently eaten, but are still craving “something else”, or sweets, be aware that you are in that dangerous roller coaster zone – and day after day it’s only going to get worse until you make some dietary changes.  Analyze what you just ate; were the starches excessively high compared to the vegetables or protein?  Did you eat a lot of bread with your meal, or have a large soda pop or other sugary drink?

It is possible to change your metabolism if you make dietary changes. Start making better choices at your meals. For example, instead of having a big bowl of pasta with a little tomato sauce on it, flip your proportions around and have a tiny amount of starchy pasta, with a generous serving of sauce. If you eat out a lot, this could take some effort. Ask your server to bring the pasta and sauce in separate bowls so you can regulate your proportions. Take the bun off your hamburger, and skip the starchy fries all together. Or better yet, cook your meals at home and replace the starchy pasta with spaghetti squash, or kelp noodles.

Protein stimulates a reduction in insulin secretion, and fat and fiber slow down the rate at which carbohydrates enter the blood stream. Eating primarily unprocessed carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables is a huge key to avoiding, or correcting insulin resistance.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Why “Natural” foods keep the blood sugar
system at an even keel

Sugars and starches in their natural, unrefined form, enter the bloodstream at a moderate rate. Because they are digested slowly, they provide a steady, even supply of fuel over a period of several hours. Natural carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables that contain beneficial soluble, natural fiber, enter the blood stream much slower and therefore don’t create the volatile spikes in blood sugar that processed and refined sweets and starches do.  Learn to recognize what is “natural” and what is not.  Fruit is unprocessed; but fruit juice is processed because the fiber, skin, etc. has been removed.  If you have insulin issues, juice should only be consumed in very small portion sizes, if at all.

Processed foods such as bran, rice cakes or breakfast cereals that are perceived to be high in fiber, and therefore “healthy,” are deceiving because the fiber has been artificially manipulated and is now insoluble. The type of beneficial fiber that naturally occurs in these foods is soluble fiber.   The insoluble fiber in refined foods provides no benefit in slowing or regulating the rate at which it enters the bloodstream.

The more a carbohydrate is “processed” (using man-made processing methods), the more you break down its cell structure, and the more it negatively affects insulin levels. This also applies to foods that are specifically processed to make them “instant”, like instant potatoes, instant rice, and instant oatmeal. Processing negatively affects the beneficial soluble fiber. Consumers are paying the high price of health for convenience and time saving foods.

Natural, unprocessed foods also provide many vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other nutrients that have been removed or destroyed in the refining process. These nutrients contribute toward keeping the whole body in good repair. When cells are not insulin resistant, as they should be, the entire process of sugar regulation is kept at an even keel. Then, if the body goes for a long period without food, fuel reserves stored in the liver, are called upon, giving a steady supply of glucose, or fuel.

__________________________________________________________________________________

It’s not too late ...
You CAN turn insulin resistance around
It’s simple. Reduce your consumption of insulin spiking processed carbohydrates; that means reduce refined grains, starches, and sugar. The biggest key for many people who just can’t give up starches is to reduce portion size.  Bigger portions of simple carbohydrates will cause greater spikes in blood sugar.  Smaller portions are manageable by the body. 

Diet choices and portion control of refined carbohydrates are the only answers to breaking this vicious cycle. With proper diet, you can retrain your brain into regulating this powerful hormone, insulin, and maintaining the proper balance for its many functions.

Take note of this important statement – there are currently no drugs that can significantly lower insulin levels. There is no pharmaceutical “quick fix” for this one. It can only be treated by dietary manipulation. Diet causes this malfunction, and diet is the way to bring insulin resistance back into check. Restructuring your diet to reduce excess insulin and returning insulin sensors to normal, can reverse many serious conditions, especially high  blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and triglycerides. Thickening of the arteries and early plaque formation can take much longer, sometimes years, to correct…but think of it this way, you’ll be getting better and better over time, instead of worse.  All in all, diet can be extremely beneficial in both reversing and preventing further damage.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Tips for eating, and things you can add to
your diet to help increase sensitivity

Protein: You should eat protein with every meal, and it should be eaten first, before any other food. Eating your protein first will stimulate the hormone glucagon, causing the release of stored carbohydrate in the liver, and reducing insulin secretion. The release of glucagon helps keep the brain satisfied, making it easier to control the intake of carbohydrates.  (Ever wondered why Italians typically eat an antipasto dish of before their pasta?  Well now you know!)

Water: Drink at least 64 ounces of pure water every day. Don’t drink chlorinated water.

Reduce caffeine consumption: Caffeine tends to increase insulin levels.

Natural fats: Add some healthy, natural fat to your diet. Cold pressed olive and coconut oil are very beneficial. Natural fats create a chemical reaction that tells your brain you are full, making you naturally feel satisfied. Raw or germinated nuts are a great source of natural fat.

Fulvic Minerals:
Fulvic is very effective for balancing hormones, and insulin is a hormone.  Many people find that consistent use of fulvic, combined with dietary modifications, is extremely effective in maintaining balanced blood sugar levels.  Fulvic is also a powerful detoxifier and helps to remove the toxins that build up in stored fat.  It also helps reduce body acidity which is almost always a result of eating too much processed starches, and too much sugar. 

Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acid:
To help make cell membranes more fluid, so nutrients and waste pass in and out of cells as intended, increasing your consumption of Omega 3 oils can be very beneficial. You can increase cell sensitivity by increasing the fluidity of cell membranes. Omega 3 oil, or alpha linolenic acid, can be found in flaxseed oil, deepwater fish, fish oil, eggs, and walnuts. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are essential to the body and must be provided by diet.

The correct healthy proportion of Omega 3 and Omega 6 should be a 1 to 1 ratio; one part Omega-3 to one part Omega-6. Unfortunately, because of our high consumption of man-made vegetable oils, the typical American diet is about 1 to 15; in other words, one Omega-3 to fifteen parts Omega-6. This disproportionate ratio of 15 times too much Omega-6 dramatically interferes with the absorption of Omega-3.  To return to the proper proportions, the use of vegetable oils should be eliminated and Omega-3 should be increased. Neptune Krill Oil is one of the most absorbable forms of Omega-3 available.

(Note: unhealthy vegetable oils/hydrogenated oils are in virtually every baked good, cracker, bread, bagel, and donut – AVOID THEM!)

Many health challenges come back into balance in as little as weeks or a couple months. Typically cholesterol drops substantially by three weeks, and high blood pressure within a week or two. Diabetes can greatly improve and blood sugar levels normalize within just a few weeks.

By eating a healthy balance of natural foods you can ward off health disasters and alter what goes on inside your body in a positive way.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Additional Info:
Read our latest report on eating healthy in a world of fast food, and convenience pre-packaged foods:
Are You Eating Healthy? Read this to make sure!

Be sure to read our report on MSG, a dangerous food additive that damages the hypothalamus gland, which regulates weight control: MSG - A dangerous excitotoxin

Recommended Reading:
Protein Power, by Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D.
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.

Liquid High Potency,
Max Absorption Vitamins & Minerals



Vital Earth Minerals offers maximum absorption, liquid fulvic ionic minerals, a high potency liquid multi-vitamin, liquid joint/arthritis support, highly absorbable liquid calcium/magnesium, as well as a living "Greens" formula in capsule form, and Neptune Krill essential fatty acids, all formulated for superior utilization and effectiveness.

Feedback Form