THE HORMONE THAT MAY BE SECRETLY WRECKING YOUR HEALTH - MEET INSULIN

Insulin is a hormone at the heart of some of our most common chronic health conditions, and a huge contributor to the rise in obesity.
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It is a hormone that is connected to what and how we eat, sleep and move. Insulin works to control our blood sugar levels by providing fuel for all cells in the body so they can do their work.  However, the role it plays in fat storage is one that maybe unfamiliar.

Insulin is made in the pancreas and released when our blood sugar levels rise, after we eat carbohydrate foods.  Its top job is to get those circulating blood sugar levels back to normal. When circulating blood sugar levels remain high over time, this can damage blood vessels, nerves, organs and lead to chronic health conditions.

The food and insulin connection.
We have three macronutrients, (nutrients needed in big amounts), which provide the energy that our bodies require to carry on all the activities of daily life.  They are protein, fat and carbohydrates.  Carbohydrates are the group of foods that contain sugars and starches that further break down into glucose, which we call blood sugar.  Glucose is the fuel that the cells use to do their job, kind of like gas for our cars.

​The connection works like this. You eat carbohydrates either alone, or in a meal.  They break down and are sent into blood circulation as glucose. The pancreas is signaled to release insulin into the bloodstream.  Insulin works to escort glucose into the cells and if the cells are full, the rest is stored as fat.  In healthy bodies blood sugar levels return to normal over a period of hours.

What are carbohydrate containing foods and are they all the same?
Carbohydrates are mostly found in plants and in milk.  Plants containing starches and sugars are responsible for blood sugar rise when they break down into glucose.  Milk has naturally occurring sugars which also break down into glucose.

These are foods grown on the farm and are the healthiest options:
Starchy carbohydrate whole food examples include:

• Root vegetables - potatoes, winter squashes, parsnips, yams, etc.
• Grains - rice, oats, wheat, rye, quinoa, corn, millet, etc.
• Beans & legumes - peas, dried beans, lentils, other pulses
  
• Nuggets:  If a plant has to be cooked to be edible, it has starch and will trigger insulin release. High fiber foods like beans slow down blood sugar rise.

Sugar as carbohydrate whole food examples include:

• Fruits - fresh and dried (dried have very high sugar content)
• Milk - lactose and galactose
  
• Nuggets:  Berries tend to be the lowest in sugar and the tropical, sweet fruits are higher (think bananas) all fruits will trigger insulin release.

Non-Starchy carbohydrate whole food examples include:

• High water content vegetables-all leafy greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.
• Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc.
• And there are many more…
  
• Nuggets: If a plant is grown above ground and is edible even without cooking, it is non-starchy and unlikely to trigger insulin release

These are foods made in a “Pharm” which are manufactured, highly processed carbohydrates and are the unhealthy options that contribute to making you both sick and fat.

• Highly processed foods - cookies, muffins, cakes, bagels, pretzels, pancakes, breads, pasta, any grain flour, chips, etc.,
• Sugars - sucrose (table sugar), honey, maple syrup, agave nectar,
• Sugar alcohols - Maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol
• Artificial non-nutritive sweeteners - high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, saccharine, sucralose, acesulfame, neotame
  
• Nuggets:  Even zero calorie sweeteners trigger insulin release; all the items above cause very high blood sugar levels and insulin levels to soar, and in turn triggering higher levels of fat storage and cause damage to the body.

Is insulin bad?
Absolutely not!  Without insulin we die.  Insulin is essential to life!   

Things start to go wrong with our insulin function in most cases because of poor nutrition habits, poor sleep habits and sedentary lifestyles. High reliance on processed foods, eating out, overeating, and grazing all day long can be part of unhealthy patterns with negative impact on insulin output.

Over time we develop something called insulin resistance.  This resistance causes us to make ever-higher amounts of insulin because the cells begin to resist allowing sugar into them. This creates a detrimental cycle of constant hunger and cravings, fatigue, foggy brain and increasing body fat.  This is the road map toward developing more serious health conditions.

Nuggets:

• Insulin is not “bad” or “good” - it is critically necessary!
• High insulin drives fat storage and accumulation. Low insulin allows for fat release and fat loss.  You cannot do both at the same time.

Health-related conditions related to overproduction and poor insulin control:

• Insulin resistance also called “pre-diabetes”.
• Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOS). - Insulin resistance is a root issue.
• Diabetes Type 2 - a condition of overproduction and/or high requirement for insulin.
• Diabetes Type 3 - is a condition of insulin resistance in the brain, being investigated as possibly having a role in the development of Alzheimers Disease.
• Metabolic Syndrome -  is a cluster of conditions, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
• Weight-loss resistance - (actually fat-loss resistance).

*(note - Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the pancreas are unable to make insulin and is completely different from Types 2 or 3).

Here at 10 actions you can take immediately to improve your insulin control:

1. Eliminate use of artificial sweeteners, this includes “sugar-free” diet foods and diet sodas. 
2. Eliminate added sugars and natural sweeteners in your diet.  
3. Move everyday! Walk, ride a bike, garden, clean your house, dance, go to the gym - bring in joyful and fun movement into your life.  
4. Swap out processed foods and transition to a whole foods, real food diet. 
5. Cook at home and minimize eating out.  
6. Improve your sleep habits,  sleep quality and sleep environment poor sleep contributes to insulin resistance.
7. Do eat generous amounts of nutrient and fiber-rich non-starchy vegetables and enjoy the starchy vegetables and grains in small portions.
8. Eat balanced meals to include:  protein, healthy fat and high quality carbohydrates in each in each meal.  Eat enough to reach satiety with a goal of eating about every 4 to 5 hours, because you had enough food to carry you that long. No grazing or frequent eating, that just triggers more insulin release.  Fat and protein are the two nutrients that keep you fuller, longer and help blood sugars lower.
9. Stop eating 3 hours before bedtime and see if you can give yourself a 12 hour window before eating your first meal of the day. This is a form of intermittent fasting that helps improve insulin sensitivity (e.g. eat dinner at 7:00 pm, then breakfast at 7:00 am or a little after.
10. Don’t skip meals! This will cause you to be overly hungry and set you up for getting on the blood sugar rollercoaster!

Photo by Yakynina Anastasia on Unsplash