Treating Insulin Resistance And Metabolic Syndrome

Insulin resistance can destroy your health and make you much more liable to develop illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. But understanding the contributing causes to insulin resistance points the way to avoiding this health-robbing condition.

Causes

Consider the more common factors that contribute greatly to insulin resistance:

• A diet of mostly high-glycemic, trans-fatty foods and a lack of raw and cooked whole foods.
• Allergens from food dyes and additives.
• Environmental chemical toxins such as petrochemicals and xenobiotics.
• Dysbiosis (unhealthy bacteria) of the small and large intestine.
• Adrenal fatigue from too much stress in life.
• Lack of exercise (sedentary lifestyle).
• Toxic metal exposure (mercury, cadmium, etc.).
• Infections (dental and gastrointestinal).
• Visceral adipose tissue (abdominal obesity).
• Hormone deficiencies (i.e., DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, melatonin or growth hormone).
• Genetic propensity toward insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Already, you may be thinking about how to reduce or reverse some of these causative factors. Dietary modification may be your first clue. Things like stress reduction, exercise and limiting toxic exposures are also things you can do. Therapeutic nutrients are also often recommended.

I’ll begin with a brief discussion on what foods are the main culprits.

Dietary Modification A Must

What are we eating as a Nation? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each American, on average, consumes 29 pounds of French fries, 23 pounds of pizza, 24 pounds of ice cream, 53 gallons of soda, 24 pounds of artificial sweeteners and 2.7 pounds of sodium (table salt) a year. These are high-glycemic (simple sugars and processed carbohydrate foods) and trans-fatty foods.

I’m sure you’re saying, “They are not talking about me here.” Maybe not, but you at least should be thinking about what you don’t want to include as part of your dietary routine. These types of refined, processed, “dead” foods clearly contribute to inflammation. These high-glycemic foods cause insulin to surge and contribute to inflammatory chemicals (cytokines, adipocytokines) that are stored and released from belly fat (visceral adipose tissue or VAT).

Damage Control

One way to mitigate the sugar load to your system is to always eat some raw fruit or vegetable along with sweet foods. The raw-food fiber helps carry the sugar out of your intestinal tract so it won’t be absorbed. For example, try eating an apple next time you have a dessert and you’ll feel much more energy for hours to come.

Other foods that too quickly turn into sugars in your body are white rice, potato chips, white bread, pasta and crackers — even though they are not as high in the glycemic index as sweet foods like table sugar, syrup, candy, fruit juice, carbonated drinks, alcohol, cakes and cookies.

None of these products have any substantial micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, fiber, healthy oils); they just overload your body with sugar. And it’s not just insulin resistance I am talking about: The constant sugar overload contributes also to illnesses ranging from allergies and ADHD in children to depression and fatigue in adults to sinus infections and irritable bowel syndrome. A high sugar diet also makes you more vulnerable to metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes and hormone imbalances.

In contrast, nutrient-rich, low-calorie foods are anti-inflammatory and reverse insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. What are these? To make this concept easier to understand, I’ve made a food list that gives nutrient ranking to foods.

Foods that are the most nutrient-rich are listed first and have the highest value to your health (score of 100). The foods are listed in descending order from the healthiest to least healthy.

NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION RANKINGS
Most micronutrients per calories = 100 Least micronutrients per calories = 0
100	Raw leafy green vegetables (darker greens have more nutrients) Spinach, kale, Swiss chard, parsley, dark leaf lettuces, collards
95	Solid green vegetables Artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sprouted grains, cabbage, celery, cucumber, peas, green beans, peppers, zucchini
80	Non-green, non-starchy vegetables Beets, mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomatoes, yellow/red peppers, water chestnuts, cauliflower
60	Beans and legumes Kidney beans, red beans, black beans, navy beans, lima beans, soybeans, black-eyed peas, lentils
50	Fresh fruits Fresh fruits of all types; dried fruits have a higher glycemic index.
35	Starchy vegetables White potatoes, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, turnips, corn, carrots, chestnuts
30	Whole grains Barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, wild grain, quinoa, wheat
25	Raw nuts and seeds
20	Fish
18	Un-pasteurized fresh dairy, fermented cheeses
15	Eggs, fowl, wild meats
10	Fat-free dairy
8	Red meat, pork
5	Full-fat dairy (milk, cheeses)
3	Processed cheeses
2	Refined white flour foods
1	Refined oils
0	Refined sugars

Your Goal

Your goal should be to decrease insulin stimulation by eating foods high in fiber and micronutrients and low in refined sugars and processed grains. Many of you should consider wheat, dairy, soy and simple sugars as inflammatory foods to be avoided.