Encompassing your Wellness

So, maybe you have started Intermittent Fasting to improve your health and lose weight? You hear that fasting improves insulin resistance but don’t really know what that means. I hope the following helps you to become more educated on this important topic.

First let’s start with insulin. Insulin plays a big part in your weight as well as your wellness. Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. This hormone regulates blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels in the body. By doing this it plays a big part in impacting our health.

When we eat or drink, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose which enters our bloodstream. The pancreas then detects the increase in glucose and releases insulin into the bloodstream. This signals the cells in the muscles, fat and liver to pick up the glucose from the blood to be used for energy or storage. To help you visualize this process think of insulin as a lock and key. Insulin then unlocks the “cell” doors, which allows the glucose to enter.

With weight gain the high levels of insulin and glucose in the bloodstream signal the body to convert the excess glucose to fat for long-term storage. Many times, this is the visceral fat (intra-abdominal), which surrounds our vital organs and can lead to serious health problems.

There are many factors that lead to insulin resistance, but the primary cause is frequent eating patterns of highly processed carbohydrates that have been stripped of their fiber and nutrients.

Unfortunately, we are not even aware of what is going on in our body until symptoms alert us. An insulin resistance level, called a fasting insulin test, is not routinely done by most physicians. Our healthcare systems test for blood glucose more routinely but by the time you have a abnormal blood glucose or A1C you probably have had insulin resistance for many years. If a fasting insulin test was more routinely done, patients and physicians would be alerted, and lifestyle changes could be made in efforts to reverse the metabolic processes that cause many of the diseases that would follow if left untreated.

Here’s the good news! Intermittent Fasting reduces your insulin resistance and lowers your blood glucose naturally. Every time you eat or drink you spike your insulin causing your blood glucose to rise. Think of those times when you sipped a soda or sweet creamy coffee throughout the morning or afternoon hours or snacked multiple times throughout the day. Both habits kept your insulin and glucose levels elevated which increases insulin resistance and eventually Type 2 diabetes. By allowing your body the time to rest and digest you are allowing those glucose levels to decrease and improving your insulin resistance as well as your overall metabolic health. What a winning solution to improving your overall wellness.

Want to learn more or get started on your own journey to wellness just check out the services I offer on my website or send me a message.

I am here to help you become more metabolically healthy. If I can do it, I know you can too. Join me in creating ripples of wellness felt across the world.

Wishing you wellness always,

Donna