Evaluating Your Insulin
So… how is your insulin?
Do you know what your insulin levels are? Do you even know what insulin does? In simple terms, insulin is a hormone we all produce, and it plays a vital role in regulating your blood sugar.
This balancing act is key — when you’re in balance, your blood sugar and insulin levels are both healthy. When this balance is abused by lifestyle choices, you may be at risk of developing insulin resistance.
When your body breaks down the food you eat into the sugars that become your energy, they’re deposited into your bloodstream. Some of this energy you use immediately, while some is removed from the bloodstream and stored in your body’s cells for later.
Your blood sugar levels are a balancing act. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can be accompanied by symptoms like tremors, lightheadedness, and in serious instances, loss of consciousness or even seizures.
On the other end of the spectrum…
…you have hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar. This is where insulin comes into play: when you’re hyperglycemic, a gland in your body called the pancreas releases more insulin into your bloodstream. This insulin acts like a key: it unlocks your blood cells, allowing them to absorb excess sugar to be cleared out by your circulatory system. When everything’s in working order, your pancreas and insulin keeps the amount of sugar circulating in your bloodstream at its ideal level.
If your insulin key doesn't work as well as it should, your high blood sugar levels may lead to some dangerous problems down the road.
Insulin resistance (or hyperinsulinemia) is self explanatory: your insulin no longer works as well as it should. This means if your blood sugar levels are elevated, your pancreas continues to churn out insulin, secreting the hormone into your bloodstream in an attempt to correct the sugar imbalance. When you’re insulin resistant, the pancreas is working overtime and producing more insulin than is normal to try to keep your blood sugar at a safe level. This is the first sign of dysfunction.
Even though this is the beginning of a major problem, test results may be misleading. While your blood sugar might read as ‘normal’ or safe, your insulin could very well be elevated without your knowledge. Remember: insulin is needed when blood sugar is too high and needs to be handled immediately. Considering our bodies are forever seeking balance, the elevated blood sugar’s preferred next option is to be converted to fat (a process referred to a lipogenesis), commonly across the midsection, chest, and back. Even our liver can develop unnecessary fat deposits.
How does this happen?
Because many traditional medical providers test blood sugar only, most people don’t have their insulin levels tests regularly (if at all). Unfortunately, this means many more serious conditions or diseases may go unnoticed, and early detection may be eliminated entirely. Conditions like metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, obesity, heart disease, and type II diabetes may all be exacerbated by untreated insulin resistance.
See our blog post on obesity to learn more about how insulin resistance can create massive impacts on your health and wallet.
Ultimately, it’s very important to monitor and evaluate your insulin. We want to help you find the root cause of whatever is ailing you — if your cholesterol panel changes unexpectedly, your weight keeps creeping up, or your mood is less stable and more volatile — and rest assured, insulin will be one of the lab markers we evaluate!
Call today to schedule a complimentary consult with one of our doctors, or get started right away and book your functional medicine consult online now!