Insulin resistance symptoms
Dear Susannah,Today I want to pick up where I left yesterday and talk about insulin resistance symptoms. I know you go early to bed, a very good practice, but I just finished my last counseling session.
As I told you in my previous emails, our cells need glucose to produce energy. However, glucose cannot go through the cell membrane by itself unless insulin opens the door first.
Insulin, the key molecule
Our cells are protected by a membrane. Attached to this cell membrane there are some molecules called receptor sites that act like a keyhole. A key molecule, in this case insulin, unlocks the door and allows glucose to enter. And here is where a diabetic person has a problem because several things may malfunction at the same time:
1. The pancreas can produce insulin keys, but in insufficient amount to open all the doors at the cell membrane.
2. The pancreas secretes insulin keys, but they are defective and cannot open the 20,000 or so insulin receptors located on muscle, fat, and liver cells.
3. Sometimes the cell membrane doesn’t have enough receptor locks. The average overweight person has only 5,000 glucose receptors in the membrane versus the 20,000 in healthy people. So, most insulin keys are useless as there are
Cells in pancreas
no keyholes.
4. it can happen also that there are enough keyholes but they don’t work properly, thus the key insulin can’t open the doors.
5. Insulin comes with glucose transporters (GLUT-2) attached. The role of these transporters is to usher glucose into the cell once insulin has opened the doors. It could happen also that there are not enough glucose transporters to carry the glucose into the cell.
How the pancreas “thinks”
As a result, glucose levels remain high. The pancreas, thinking more glucose has arrived to the blood, secretes still more insulin which causes both insulin and glucose levels to be high. The result and the consequent symptoms: hyperinsulinemia or high levels of insulin in the blood and hyperglycemia, high levels of glucose.
As you can see, the whole process can become a mess. Let me know if you have any questions on insulin resistance symptoms.
Have a good night sleep.
Emilia Klapp, RD, BS
Your Diabetes Coach
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.MediterraneanDietForTheHeart.com
Dear Reader: Were you familiar with these symptoms? Have you experienced any of them? Leave as a comment.
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