Insulin is a hormone produced in the body as part of metabolism. Most people know it as the thing that the body needs in order to move sugar from the bloodstream into cells so that it can be burned for energy. Insulin also converts a lot of carbohydrates into fat that is then stored for later. High insulin levels keep the body from burning fat, which makes it very hard to lose weight. Insulin is also responsible for moving other nutrients into cells as well, including proteins and salt. Consumption of sugars and simple carbohydrates raises insulin levels the most, consumption of protein raises the levels less, and fat consumption results in the lowest release of insulin.
Glucose is quite toxic to the body so the body works hard to maintain the levels of glucose in the bloodstream to stay within certain limits by releasing insulin. As blood glucose levels rise the body has to release increasingly higher amounts of insulin to maintain these limits, but elevated levels of insulin are also problematic. Symptoms of high insulin include high blood pressure, belly fat, fatigue, high cholesterol, poor memory and focus as well as other cognitive deficits, mood swings and depression, frequently hungry, and craving carbs.
High insulin or high blood sugar can be a contributing factor, or even a cause, for so many symptoms and disorders. These include- difficulty losing weight, mood problems including depression, tinnitus,
Insulin resistance is when the cells become less sensitive to insulin such that the body releases more and more insulin to try to get sugar and nutrients from the bloodstream into the cells where they can be used. Most people who have it don't know that they do. It is the precursor to Type 2 Diabetes.
Tests that can detect insulin resistance and diabetes include:
Fasting Blood Glucose levels (levels above 126 mg/dl are indicative of diabetes, levels ranging from 100 to 126 indicate impaired glucose functioning, and levels below 100 are considered normal). This test is more helpful in diagnosing diabetes and can be within the normal range for people with insulin resistance, it can be helpful and is easy to do.
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test in which the patient drinks a substance containing glucose, and the blood glucose level is measured 2 hours later. Levels above 200 mg/dl indicate diabetes, levels between 140 and 200 are considered impaired glucose functioning, and levels below 140 mg/dl are healthy.
HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin). This test measures how much glucose is bound to red blood cells and is a more reliable measure of glucose metabolism, as it measures blood glucose levels over several months rather than the tests listed above which give a one-time "spot" measurement. This number tends to slowly increase with age as people gain weight, exercise less, etc. Results between 5 and 5.7 are good, while 5.7 to 6.4 indicates pre-diabetes and above 6.5 indicates diabetes.
HOMA-IR stands for Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance and measures how hard the body is working to maintain it's glucose levels. Fasting glucose levels and fasting insulin levels are used to calculate the result by multiplying the two numbers and then dividing by 405. There are online calculators that can help with this. Results closest to 1 are best, indicating insulin sensitivity, while results above 3 indicate diabetes.
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Glycation is the process by which a sugar molecule (monosaccharide) sticks to either a protein or a lipid without the involvement of enzymes. This interferes with the proper functioning of our tissues and cells. Glycosaltion is a related process in which sugar molecules are attached to lipids and proteins by enzymes, using ATP, in a specific way that is beneficial. Glycation occurs when blood sugar levels are high.
Advanced Glycation End Products are molecules that result from glycation and which are currently thought to be significant causes or contributors to the aging process and in tissue, cellular, and organ dysfunction. Low levels of glycation are normal and healthy, it's when levels rise that glycation causes damage. The three basic types of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose. A sucrose molecule contains one glucose and one fructose. Lactose is made of one glucose and one galactose.
The HbA1c is a fairly common blood test used to measure the amount of glycation on red blood cells, but this test only measures glycation from glucose, NOT from fructose or galactose. This is especially important because both fructose and galactose are 7 to 10 times more "glycating" then glucose. Also, the HbA1c test only looks for glucose attached to either of two amino acids- valine or lysine. This means it also misses glycation of lipids. Currently there is no test that can detect fructose glycation.
Direct enzymatic assay for %HbA1c in human whole blood samples
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Fructose consumption as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Immunological detection of fructose-derived advanced glycation end-products
Fructose, but not glucose, impairs insulin signaling in the three major insulin-sensitive tissues
Formation of Fructose-Mediated Advanced Glycation End Products and Their Roles in Metabolic and Inflammatory Diseases
Role of Glycated Proteins in the Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes: Research Gaps and Future Directions
Long-Term Fructose Consumption Accelerates Glycation and Several Age-Related Variables in Male Rats
Fructose overconsumption causes dyslipidemia and ectopic lipid deposition in healthy subjects with and without a family history of type 2 diabetes
Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans
Fructose and NAFLD: The Multifaceted Aspects of Fructose Metabolism
Effects of fructose vs glucose on regional cerebral blood flow in brain regions involved with appetite and reward pathways
The effect of a fruit-rich diet on liver biomarkers, insulin resistance, and lipid profile in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized clinical trial
Fructose-induced leptin resistance exacerbates weight gain in response to subsequent high-fat feeding
Raw orange intake is associated with higher prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in an adult population
