Insulin Resistance:
Causes and Effects, and How to Reverse it
If you visit any Sri Lankan hospital, you will find great long hallways, galleries even, lined with beds each one with a Sri Lankan in emergency care due to the condition of insulin resistance also known as diabetes. Today, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans are ill due to insulin resistance. Diabetes is the third or fourth greatest killer after heart attacks and strokes, not those diseases caused by viruses or bacteria as you may think. There is some evidence that our diet, the food we eat, raised insulin levels and uric acid also play a big role in causing a whole list of other diseases, too!
Nobody is sounding the alarm about our eating habits; we are eating excessive amounts of carbohydrates. All the cafes and restaurants in the towns and cities are displaying the most mouthwatering selections of cakes, buns, donuts, chocolate iced cakes, chocolate cream cakes, rolls covered with sugar, sugary drinks, even machine tea and coffee comes with sugar added automatically. But, they are killing their customers! Sri Lankans are not warned or protected and fall into the trap of this great marketing effort. Finally, they are admitted to hospital.
Insulin is a hormone created in the human pancreas.. You can say it is the hormone of life. Type I diabetes is where a patient has little or no insulin production, therefore Insulin must be injected frequently. Type II diabetes is where there is excessive insulin production, arising from the consumption of frequent and excessive amounts of carbohydrate foods and the generally unbalanced diet we eat. This excess of insulin over time, wears out the receptors on some of the cells of our body. These cells stop responding to the insulin arriving to deliver glucose from the blood.
Anyone who is a little overweight and is diagnosed as having high blood pressure, can be said to be on the way to insulin resistance, diabetes. A certain progression has been identified: the initial or optimal stages; the ‘slipping’ stage; then comes “pre-diabetes;” and finally, full blown diabetes.
The process is not friendly. It starts in the fat cells. These become overloaded and release pro-inflammatory proteins which then cause inflammation in the body which may then drive more insulin resistance. This inflammation is hard for doctors to control. Other contributing factors of the onset of diabetes are stress, and also omega 6 oils – oils from plant seeds which cause existing fat cells to release pro-inflammatory proteins.
Reversing Diabetes
Diabetes is considered reversible in its early stages. This can be done by eating a range of colourful foods, namely tomatoes, kale and broccoli, with meat protein, fat or egg. People need Vitamin B12 and folate from meat. It is important to eat just a minimum of carbohydrate – only a few grams are allowable. After a heavy meal it is advisable to go for a walk.
Exercise
Keeping fit by walking, better, by robust exercise, is recommended, but the effects of a good diet has ten times the benefit of a walk. Sitting for long hours at a computer or reading is considered unhelpful. See how children are restless: that should be your model.
Uric Acid
Excess uric acid is certainly contributing to diabetes. Some doctors consider uric acid at the root of many of our diseases. Uric acid rises due to eating purines, or the DNA of animals in the form of kidneys and liver meat. Your own strenuous exercise will release your own purines, drinking beer is also a source of purines.
Vitamin C is prescribed for gout as it drives uric acid out of the body. Taking vitamin C must therefore also be considered good for controlling uric acid and diabetes.
CAVEAT: The information given above has been gained from the large amount of information in short film clips to be found on YouTube. Always consult your doctor for advice on health matters.
ROS. 22/10/ 2022