Another diet, another cleanse, another fad, the latest exercise craze. You've tried it all. Yet you still feel tired and sluggish, still can’t lose weight or keep it off and still can’t focus or concentrate. Why, you ask?
Well, for most of us the answer is simple: Insulin Resistance. It's a condition so common it’s practically an epidemic.
So, what is Insulin Resistance? Insulin is a hormone secreted from your pancreas. It instructs the cells to "open" for the glucose, or sugar, in your blood, so that the glucose can get into the cells and be used for energy. When we eat a meal and our food is digested, glucose is absorbed into the blood stream. Our brain tells our pancreas to secrete insulin, and the insulin tells the cells to open up and take in the glucose. Our cells get the energy they need, and then our blood sugar and insulin levels regulate until our next meal. Or at least, that's what should happen.
But what happens when we spend our days (and nights) eating junk food – foods predominantly made with white flour and white sugar? We frequently have more sugar in our blood than our cells can use, and as a result, insulin is almost continuously attempting to get our cells to take up that sugar. Our cells start to “ignore” or “resist” the insulin the pancreas is secreting to deal with all of that sugar. Hence, we become Insulin Resistant. Our blood is overloaded with sugar, yet our cells can't get enough of it for energy. All that extra sugar gets stored in the body as fat, resulting in weight-gain and fatigue.
What are the symptoms of Insulin Resistance?
Sound familiar? And the list of problems untreated Insulin Resistance can cause long term reads like a catalog of chronic illness: obesity, hypertension, elevated triglycerides, lowered HDL (good cholesterol), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, cancer.
So, how do we heal – or better yet, prevent – Insulin Resistance?
The answer is surprisingly simple: EAT WHOLE FOODS. Turn your back on foods made with white flour, the sugar, and the host of chemicals, additives, and preservatives that are making your body miserable. You are absolutely worth the little bit of work that goes into changing habits that have been draining you physically and mentally.
I know that making these new, healthy food choices is challenging. You may feel you don't have time or don't know where to begin. I can help.
Contact me to learn more about how to integrate whole foods into your lifestyle, what to eat and how to prepare it. We'll work together to restore your health, and I'll teach you how to maintain it.
Imagine a day when you feel enthusiastic, full of energy and mental clarity – a day when you don’t feel exhausted from the moment you wake up. That happy day is a whole lot closer than you think. Send me an email and we'll get started: maffetonewellness@gmail.com.
© 2013 Therese Maffetone, MSACN
Well, for most of us the answer is simple: Insulin Resistance. It's a condition so common it’s practically an epidemic.
So, what is Insulin Resistance? Insulin is a hormone secreted from your pancreas. It instructs the cells to "open" for the glucose, or sugar, in your blood, so that the glucose can get into the cells and be used for energy. When we eat a meal and our food is digested, glucose is absorbed into the blood stream. Our brain tells our pancreas to secrete insulin, and the insulin tells the cells to open up and take in the glucose. Our cells get the energy they need, and then our blood sugar and insulin levels regulate until our next meal. Or at least, that's what should happen.
But what happens when we spend our days (and nights) eating junk food – foods predominantly made with white flour and white sugar? We frequently have more sugar in our blood than our cells can use, and as a result, insulin is almost continuously attempting to get our cells to take up that sugar. Our cells start to “ignore” or “resist” the insulin the pancreas is secreting to deal with all of that sugar. Hence, we become Insulin Resistant. Our blood is overloaded with sugar, yet our cells can't get enough of it for energy. All that extra sugar gets stored in the body as fat, resulting in weight-gain and fatigue.
What are the symptoms of Insulin Resistance?
- Feeling tired after meals, especially those high in refined carbohydrates (breads, bagels, pasta, donuts, sweets, soda)
- Craving refined carbohydrates and needing them, in addition to coffee, to get through your workday
- Feeling moody between meals: Feeling like you "crash," or get weak, shaky, and dizzy
- Putting on weight – especially the dreaded “belly fat” – that you just cannot lose
- Feeling like your hormones are totally out of whack (this is especially common for women)
Sound familiar? And the list of problems untreated Insulin Resistance can cause long term reads like a catalog of chronic illness: obesity, hypertension, elevated triglycerides, lowered HDL (good cholesterol), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, cancer.
So, how do we heal – or better yet, prevent – Insulin Resistance?
The answer is surprisingly simple: EAT WHOLE FOODS. Turn your back on foods made with white flour, the sugar, and the host of chemicals, additives, and preservatives that are making your body miserable. You are absolutely worth the little bit of work that goes into changing habits that have been draining you physically and mentally.
I know that making these new, healthy food choices is challenging. You may feel you don't have time or don't know where to begin. I can help.
Contact me to learn more about how to integrate whole foods into your lifestyle, what to eat and how to prepare it. We'll work together to restore your health, and I'll teach you how to maintain it.
Imagine a day when you feel enthusiastic, full of energy and mental clarity – a day when you don’t feel exhausted from the moment you wake up. That happy day is a whole lot closer than you think. Send me an email and we'll get started: maffetonewellness@gmail.com.
© 2013 Therese Maffetone, MSACN