Reverse weight gain with insulin control

By Weight Loss Consultant • Related • Filed Under

Many people wonder why they continue to put on weight in spite of consuming less number of calories. The reason could very well be the work of the “key player,” insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for managing how the body uses the sugars and starches that are eaten. These sugars and starches are converted into fat and not burned as fuel, if the body’s insulin balance is disrupted. If this imbalance is left unchecked, it can lead to serious illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes mellitus.

Insulin is produced by the beta cells and glucagon by the alpha cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Human insulin comprises two polypeptide chains, the A that contains 21 amino acid residues and B chain that contains 30 amino acid residues. They’re interconnected by two cystine disulphide bridges. One of insulin’s major functions is to lower blood glucose, or blood sugar more commonly, by stimulating peripheral glucose uptake and suppressing the hepatic glucose output. The secretion of insulin is a regulated process that, in normal status, produces stable concentrations of blood glucose during both fasting and feeding. Insulin resistance refers to the decreased insulin sensitivity.

Diabetes mellitus is a biological disorder involving improper carbohydrate metabolism. It is the most common endocrine disease in which the ability to utilize glucose is partly or completely lost. Diabetes is characterized by abnormalities of glucose metabolism which results in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) and eventually causes complications of multiple organ systems, including eyes, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. Diabetes mellitus results from insufficient production of insulin due to the decreased insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance is prevalent in overweight people, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes who produce sufficient insulin but whose tissues have a reduced ability to adequately respond to the action of insulin. Type 1 diabetes is diabetes that is insulin dependent and usually first appears in young people. Type 1 diabetes is resulted from the loss of the insulin-producing beta cells. In Type 1 diabetes patients, the pancreatic islet cells cease producing insulin primarily due to autoimmune destruction. As a result the patient has to inject himself with the missing hormone. Management of diabetes mellitus includes increasing normal blood glucose levels to delay or prevent microvascular complications. This therapy typically requires insulin control therapy and is generally used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Exogenous insulin is administered to reduce hyperglycemia in situations when circulating insulin levels are either low or ineffective.

It is important to restore insulin health with proper diet, nutritional supplements and other alternative therapies. This will help keep blood sugar levels in check, control the appetite and help shed all those unwanted pounds.

The body produces insulin based on what is eaten during the previous meal and if meals containing too many carbohydrates are eaten consistently, the body then has to produce more and more insulin. Finally, it gets to a point where, even if a meal with less number of carbohydrates is eaten, the body ends up producing too much insulin. This in turn makes us want to eat more sugar and this becomes a cycle. If this cycle continues, the pancreas may have trouble producing enough insulin, leading to adult-onset diabetes.

Everyone knows that sugar is high in calories and contributes to weight gain. Excessive consumption of foods high in sugar or starch permanently damages the body’s ability to utilize these substances as energy sources. Once the body loses the capacity to process sugar or starch, it resorts to converting and storing these substances as body fat. The result is that whenever sugar is consumed, weight is gained, even if the calorie-intake is cut down.

Insulin is the chief sugar regulator and key appetite hormone, affecting what, when and how much food is eaten. In people who are healthy, insulin controls the appetite by keeping the sugar levels (glucose) in the blood constant. However, this mechanism can go off balance when it is forced to work too much for processing the extra sugars and starches consumed, thus causing too much insulin to enter the blood.

It has been seen that there is a clear connection between chronic obesity and high insulin levels. A survey revealed that the percentage of obese Americans increased despite the fact that the intake of calories had been reduced in both men and women. Earlier, researchers were puzzled when there was rise in obesity in spite of a decline in calories and fat consumption. The answer to these paradoxical trends was the increase in sugar and corn sweetener consumption, which led to this problem of obesity.

This shows that the goal of every person who wants to lose weight and maintain health, should be to bring about lifestyle changes, including dietary changes. They should aim at having a healthy body, one that is willing to do what they like to do and one that they are comfortable with.

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