Today let's have a look at Insulin in the body and what it is. Insulin is an important hormone for everyone, it is created in the pancreas, it performs many functions in the body that most people are completely unaware of. For example, the uptake of both amino acids and potassium into the cells cannot take place if insulin is not present.
Some of us know that it is used to transport energy in the body and that people who are type 1 or 2 diabetics have issues with proper usage/creation of insulin.
Now with the increase of fast food and higher processed and sugary snacks in our society, we commonly see cases where people's cells have stopped absorbing the insulin their body produces. This insulin resistance creates problems with the body being able to produce energy for our day to day activities and is more susceptible to putting on fat tissue. The fat tissue gain directly correlates with our muscles not being able to store the energy we eat (carbohydrates which transfers to glucose in the bloodstream) so the only back up option for this energy is storage in the form of fat. Many of us have insulin resistance to some degree. The resistance can be partially caused by aging, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, genetics etc.
Also did you know? One of the most important jobs insulin fulfils is to carry magnesium into the cells. Magnesium helps relax blood cells and in turn reducing blood pressure, so we need to be able to create and transport this hormone efficiently.
The good news is you can avoid the insulin resistance and even prevent diabetes type 2 by the following few lifestyle changes-
-An exercise routine weekly consisting of weight training or cardio or both.
-A balanced diet of quality food choices with high micronutrient quality content, i.e. vitamins and minerals.
-As well as a balanced diet, choosing foods which have a lower G.I rating (gylcemic index ).
-Limit processed food and alcohol consumption.
With the increasing rate of obesity in Australia, some small lifestyle changes in day to day activities may prevent these long-term health risks that stem from insulin resistance and in turn weight gain.
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