Insulin resistance, a factor that causes type 2 diabetes

Insulin resistance is said to be one of the factors that cause you to develop type 2 diabetes. This condition makes your body not respond to insulin, making it difficult for the body to break down glucose. However, one of the factors that cause type 2 diabetes can still be prevented. How to?

Insulin resistance, when the body is no longer sensitive to insulin

Insulin resistance is a condition that indicates that your body is no longer able to respond to insulin work properly, aka immune and to insulin. Generally, this is prone to occur in people who are overweight or obese. This condition is one of the factors that increase your risk of developing diabetes mellitus, especially type 2.

The hormone insulin is needed to help glucose enter the body's cells to be broken down into energy. When the body is no longer sensitive to the presence of insulin, glucose cannot enter the body's cells to be broken down into energy, so that it remains in the bloodstream. As a result, your blood sugar is high (hyperglycemia).

People who experience hyperglycemia are usually diagnosed by a doctor as having prediabetes. However, the value of blood sugar levels is not as high as diabetes blood sugar levels so that usually there are no significant health problems.

Described in the American Diabetes Association study, insulin resistance will further trigger the pancreas to release too much insulin in the blood, causing hyperinsulinemia.

This condition does not make glucose absorption more effective, but instead makes it more difficult for the body to store glucose as an energy reserve.

The release of insulin into the blood causes the liver to convert stored glucose into fat. The accumulation of fat then causes the body's cells to become increasingly resistant to insulin.

Slowly, the pancreas, which is constantly working to release insulin, becomes "tired" and can no longer produce enough insulin. As a result, high blood sugar levels get out of control and eventually lead to type 2 diabetes.

Signs and symptoms of insulin resistance

Insulin resistance may not cause any symptoms for years, making it difficult to detect. Although generally asymptomatic, you also need to be vigilant if there are several health problems that are similar to diabetes symptoms that may lead to insulin resistance, such as:

Fatigue
Hunger easily
Difficulty concentrating
There is acanthose nigricans, namely skin disorders such as black patches on the back of the neck, groin, and armpits

Usually this condition is also accompanied by signs, such as:

The occurrence of accumulation of fat around the stomach
Increased blood sugar levels
Cholesterol levels go up

However, this increase in cholesterol and blood sugar levels may be a little difficult to notice if you don't regularly check your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Symptoms that are followed by additional complaints, such as frequent urination, sores that are slow to heal, frequent tingling of the feet and numbness are signs of type 2 diabetes.

Causes of insulin resistance

The cause of insulin resistance is not known with certainty. However, researchers agree that there are several trigger factors that can make the body lose the ability to use insulin optimally.

The investigators' findings suggest a link between being overweight and genetic factors with the development of this condition.

The following are some of the factors that can cause insulin resistance:

1. Excess weight

In the book International Textbook of Diabetes Mellitus, it is explained that being overweight leads to accumulation of fat. This is the most dominant causative factor for insulin resistance.

The accumulation of fat causes the cells in the body to enlarge, making it more difficult for cells to respond or recognize the hormone insulin. Accumulation of fat also causes levels of increased levels of fatty acids in the blood which also interfere with the work of body cells in using insulin.

In addition, excess fat stored in the liver and muscle cells also disrupts insulin work so that the body's cells become immune (resistant) to insulin.

2. Genetic factors

A study entitled Pathophysiology of Type-2 Diabetes explains the influence of genetic factors on this condition. According to the study, insulin resistance can be lowered if both parents have a genetic history of diabetes mellitus.

This genetic factor causes various disturbances in both the insulin hormone and the insulin receptors (signal receivers) found on the body's cells. Disorders of the insulin hormone are caused by changes in the shape of the molecule that inhibits its function to bind to body cells. While at the cell receptor, these genetic factors make it mutate so that it is difficult to bind insulin.

Several other factors also increase the risk of causing insulin resistance, including:

Using high doses of steroids over a long period of time.
Chronic stress.
The habit of eating foods high in carbohydrates, such as noodles and white rice, is excessive.

How to prevent insulin resistance?

Apart from diabetes, insulin resistance is also a factor that can increase the risk of chronic diseases related to blood vessels, such as heart disease and stroke. This condition can also make you more at risk of nerve damage to the eyes, feet and hands, and kidney failure.

Regular exercise and a good diet are the best ways to help maintain a healthy weight while reducing the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes.

Although it is not 100% guaranteed, maintaining an ideal body weight still provides the best chance for you to keep glucose levels balanced.

Insulin resistance that causes prediabetes is a warning before you actually have diabetes. This means that this condition can still be controlled by maintaining normal blood sugar levels. That way, you can reduce your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.