Questions & Answers
WHAT IS INSULIN RESISTANCE?
This is a condition in which the insulin receptors in the body become less effective over time and
the pancreas is required to produce more and more insulin to normalize the blood sugar.
When we eat, food causes an elevation in the existing blood sugar or glucose
level. The body then attempts to return the blood sugar (glucose) to a normal (fasting) level. In
a normal, non-diabetic individual this entire process from eating to normalizing the blood glucose
level should take 2 hours or less. However in a diabetic it will take considerably longer or the
blood glucose levels may never return to normal.
Type II Diabetes is a condition, which requires more insulin and time to
normalize the blood glucose, and this is caused by the inability of the body’s insulin receptors
to adequately utilize the secreted insulin. The insulin is not defective it is the receptors which
utilize the insulin which are defective or resistant.
The flip side of this problem is insulin sensitivity, which is a beneficial
effect. The more sensitive the receptors are to the secreted insulin the less will be required to
normalize the blood glucose after a meal.
Excess insulin is so deleterious to the body that many authorities believe that
within the next few years insulin blood levels will become as, or more, important than serum
cholesterol as a predictor of coronary heart disease. Even today we know that an individual with
Type II Diabetes statistically has the same chance of having a heart attack as someone who has had a
previous heart attack. In addition to coronary heart disease the other problems with diabetes are
well know. It is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU HAVE DIABETES TYPE II?
The goal is to reduce the amount of insulin required to normalize blood glucose. This can be
accomplished by making the receptors more insulin sensitive. A correct diet is the cornerstone of
treatment but lets not forget exercise. Study after study indicates that just 20 minutes of
exercising on a daily basis will markedly improve insulin sensitivity as much as a correct diet.
Therefore if you must have that muffin at least walk to the bakery. The best plan would be to
only have the muffin on Sunday and control the other carbohydrates as well.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SIMPLE & COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES.
During the low fat era, a reliance on complex carbohydrates was advised as the basis for any diet. A
simple carbohydrates is a sugar. All other carbohydrates are called complex. Complex carbohydrates
are supposed to be hard to digest and metabolize. However, this is not the case. A baked potato
raises the blood glucose level higher and faster than an equal amount of table sugar (sucrose).
WHY ARE CARBOHYDRATES THE ENEMY?
The problem with a high carbohydrate diet is that carbohydrates raise the blood glucose faster and
higher than protein or fat which results in the secretion of great amounts of insulin that either
protein or fat would cause. In addition to the previous problems we discussed that insulin causes
it also causes an increase in the appetite and promotes the formation and storage of body fat.
In the final analysis the older we get, the more fat we have, or the less
exercise we do the more problems the body has handling carbohydrates. Therefore, any meal plan
that reduces the carbohydrate content would be desirable. (At Coastal Medical Weight Loss Centers)
we have had considerable success with the Medifast 55 & 70 formula (55 or 70 refers to the protein
content) both in weight reduction and normalizing blood sugar in Type II Diabetics. That is why we
are so excited to have this new formula which further reduces the amount of carbohydrates.
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The Medical Weight Loss
Specialists, Since 1988
CALL 1-800-884-SLIM (7546)
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