Insulin is actually a hormone prepared by the pancreas. It helps glucose in your blood to enter cells in liver, fat and muscles for energy. The glucose usually comes from what you eat and the liver makes glucose during need like while fasting for insulin test. When the blood sugar levels increase after eating, the pancreas produces insulin into your blood. The insulin lowers blood glucose to remain at the normal stage.
About insulin resistance
Insulin resistance is when the cells in your liver, muscles and fat fail to respond properly to insulin. This takes up the glucose from your blood easily and pancreas makes more insulin to help glucose enter your cells. When pancreas makes sufficient insulin to overcome weak response of cells to insulin, the glucose levels remain at healthy range.
About prediabetes
Prediabetes is about the blood glucose levels becoming higher than normal. But it is not high enough for getting diagnosed in the form of diabetes. Prediabetes generally happens in people who have some insulin resistance. This also occurs when beta cells in pancreas do not make sufficient insulin to keep glucose in normal range. Without having sufficient insulin, the additional glucose remains into the bloodstream than entering cells for type 2 diabetes.
prediabetes is a common thing
Nearly 84 million people who are 18 years and above have prediabetes.
Who is more to get prediabetes or insulin resistance
People who suffer from lifestyle risk factors or have genetic problems may develop prediabetes or insulin resistance. Some risk factors are:
- Age is 45 years and above
- obesity or overweight
- physical inactivities
- any of your family member has diabetes
- past history of stroke or heart disease
- previous record of gestational diabetes
- polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS
People with metabolic syndrome have the combination of unusual cholesterol levels, large waist size and high blood pressure can have prediabetes.
Other than these risk factors, other things leading to insulin resistance include
- certain medicines which are glucocorticoids, some antipsychotics, and medicines for HIV
- hormonal disorders like acromegaly and Cushing’s syndrome
- sleep problems such as sleep apnea
It is not possible to change risk factors such as age, family history or ethnicity. You may alter lifestyle risk factors such as physical activity, eating and weight. These lifestyle changes can lessen the chances of developing prediabetes or insulin resistance.
Being overweight are risk factors to develop insulin resistance or prediabetes.
What causes insulin resistance and prediabetes?
Excess weight
Having too much fat in your abdomen and around the organs is the major cause of insulin resistance. There should be a waist measurement of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women. This is somewhat linked to insulin resistance when the body mass index or BMI is within the normal range.
According to studies, belly fat makes hormones and other substances lead to chronic and long-lasting inflammation in your body. Inflammation plays a role in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.
Physical inactivity
When you do not perform physical activity, this is linked to prediabetes and insulin resistance.
Symptoms of prediabetes and insulin resistance
Insulin resistance and prediabetes usually have no symptoms. Some people with prediabetes can have dark skin on the sides and back of neck or in the armpit. This condition is acanthosis nigricans and small growths in skin are called skin tags that appear in the same areas.
Though glucose levels are not high to cause symptoms, some people with prediabetes may have changes in eyes causing retinopathy. This problem usually occurs in people who have diabetes.
How doctors diagnose prediabetes and insulin resistance
They use fasting plasma glucose or FPG test or A1C test to diagnose prediabetes. They use oral glucose tolerance test or OGTT which is more costly and not easy to give.
The A1C test reflects blood glucose for the past 3 months. The OGTT and FPG show your glucose level at the time of test. The A1C test is not sensitive like other tests and it can miss prediabetes for some people. Often doctors use the OGTT to check for a type of diabetes or gestational diabetes that develops in pregnancy.
People who have prediabetes usually suffer from 50 percent chance of developing diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years. Take proper steps to manage prediabetes and prevent type 2 diabetes.
The following test results show Prediabetes
- A1C which is 5.7 to 6.4 percent
- OGTT which is 140 to 199 mg/dL
- FPG which is 100 to 125 mg/dL
You should test for prediabetes when you have obesity and are overweight. Also, if you have at least one or more risks with diabetes or anyone in family is having type 2 diabetes. So, if you do not have the risk factors, do necessary tests as soon as you reach 45 years.
When your results appear normal but there are other risk factors for diabetes, you should retest yourself for at least every 3 years.
How to reverse or prevent prediabetes and insulin resistance
Physical activities and weight loss can help your body to respond better to insulin. Eat healthy foods and move more to reduce weight and reverse insulin resistance. This prevents or postpones type 2 diabetes for people who have prediabetes.
You should prepare a suitable plan, track your progress and get complete support from the health care provider. This makes some changes in your lifestyle to reverse or prevent prediabetes and insulin resistance also. With a homa-ir test in UK, you know the insulin your body requires to keep blood glucose level in check also.
