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Insulin, a hormone in the body, is the key player that regulates blood sugar and keeps it in balance. However, raised insulin levels arising from a condition called insulin resistance are bad and harmful. In insulin resistance, your body resists the action of insulin, and does not allow it to control blood sugar as it should. Raised insulin levels are involved not only in causing diabetes, but they also heighten the risk for heart disease.
Excess of insulin tends to promote the overgrowth of specific cells, called endothelial cells, in the arteries. Overgrowth of these cells in the coronary arteries tends to clog them, resulting in decreased blood flow to the heart, which, in turn, leads to heart disease. Recent studies have shown that raised insulin levels also contribute to the reoccurrence of blockages in the coronary arteries treated by such procedures as angioplasty and implantation of stents.
Insulin resistance and raised insulin levels are the major cause of type 2 diabetes, and are also believed to be responsible for the presence of high blood pressure, and blood cholesterol disorder in people with diabetes. These disorders, in turn, increase the heart disease risk.
TESTING INSULIN LEVELS
A test, called glucose tolerance test, is used to measure the insulin level in the blood. For this test, you go to a laboratory in a fasting state where a blood sample is drawn from a vein to test the fasting insulin level. Then you drink a measured amount of a sweetened drink, and after 2 hours, another blood sample is taken for testing. If the insulin level in your blood is still very high such as 12 milliunits per milliliter (mU/ml) or greater, insulin resistance will be diagnosed. Insulin resistance, as noted above, increases the risk for heart disease.
LOWERING INSULIN LEVELS
In most cases, raised insulin levels in the blood (arising from the body’s resistance to the action of insulin) are linked to such factors as obesity, lack of physical activity, tobacco smoking, fatty meals, and stress.
To tackle insulin resistance, adopt a healthy lifestyle: lose weight if you have excess weight; exercise regularly; eat a low fat diet; relax; and do not smoke. Each of these measures plays a crucial role in sensitizing your body’s own insulin, thereby minimizing its insulin resistance.
Sometimes, when you are genetically prone to developing insulin resistance, lifestyle modification may not work and you are still at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In such a situation, you must take medication to overcome insulin resistance in the body to control diabetes. Diabetes pills of the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class such as pioglitazone (Actos) and rosiglitazone (Avandia), are available that enhance the activity of your own insulin and make it more effective.
The use of cinnamon has also been shown to help enhance the efficiency of insulin. Cinnamon contains compounds (mainly a substance called MHCP) that help decrease insulin resistance. Taking 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) of cinnamon per day has been shown to be safe for most people. You can add a pinch of cinnamon in your breakfast cereal, milkshakes, and make cinnamon tea by boiling water with a cinnamon stick.
PREVENTING AND CONTROLLING DIABETES
Diabetes, characterized by raised blood sugar levels, increases the risk for heart disease 3 to 4 times higher than the normal risk. The reason is that raised blood sugar, over time, tends to damage and deform all large and small blood vessels, including the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart. The coronary arteries, when damaged, carry reduced amount of blood and oxygen to the heart. Such a condition increases the risk for heart disease. By the current standard of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), you will be diagnosed with diabetes if your blood sugar in a fasting state is 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or greater in a laboratory test.
The good news, however, is that type 2 diabetes that accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all cases of diabetes can be prevented. The landmark clinical study, namely, the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) carried out in the United States and concluded in 2001, has firmly proved that even people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes can dramatically reduce their chances of getting this disease when they make simple lifestyle changes. These changes include:
- Regular exercise, usually walking for 30 minutes every day.
- Reduction of excess weight by about 5 to 7 percent. Research suggests that keeping a BMI range of 21 to 23 can significantly cut the chances of getting type 2 diabetes. The BMI ranges represent your body fat in relation to your height and weight.
- Consumption of a low fat diet. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods, which are rich in fiber and low in fat and cholesterol, help prevent and control diabetes. Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol such as present in whole milk, red meat, and fast foods produce insulin Controlling Insulin and Blood Sugar Levels 59 resistance in the body, and lead to increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Even when you have diabetes, the above noted lifestyle measures can help you control your blood sugar. When these measures fail, you will need to add medication to control diabetes and prevent its complications, including heart disease. The medication may include diabetes pills, insulin injections, or the powdered form of insulin (Exubera) that you can inhale through the mouth into the lungs. These medications may be taken alone or in combination as prescribed by the doctor.
Keep your blood sugar as close to normal as safely possible. By the current standards of the ADA, the normal range of blood sugar in healthy people is less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) in a fasting state. People with diabetes, however, should aim to keep their fasting blood sugar within the range of 90 to 130 mg/dL (5 to 7.2 mmol/L). Hemoglobin A1C of less than 6 percent in healthy people and less than 7 percent in people with diabetes are the recommended goals. Hemoglobin A1C is a blood test that represents average blood sugar over the last 2 to 3 months. This test is a good indicator of how good or bad you have been controlling your blood sugar during the period. The reputed journal Annals of Internal Medicine reports that each 1 percent reduction in hemoglobin A1C, which is equivalent to 35 mg/dL or 2 mmol/L value in a blood sugar test, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack by 21 percent.
nice post. thanks.