Insulin Resistance – November 26th, 2017
Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
November 26th, 2017
I reviewed the following article on insulin resistance and wrote a few words about it here – lets discuss on the net site. I’d love to hear your perspective.
Recall from last week, that these articles were presented to me as evidence that fat, not sugar, is the primary cause of insulin resistance.
This article discusses the impact of excess fatty acids on insulin resistance, not a high fat diet, calorically sufficient diet. Increased free fatty acids are the result of excess calories, regardless of source, as the body converts sugar into fatty acids for storage.
In fact, the author concludes that excess calories, regardless of source, will cause insulin resistance. Here are paraphrases from the last 2 paragraphs.
“…it was reported that a 20% higher energy intake was associated with a 2.4-fold higher risk of developing diabetes. This effect appeared to be due primarily to the fact that higher energy intake was associated tightly with higher body fatness. This reinforces the robust link between excess energy intake, insulin resistance, and the development of diabetes.
In summary, a variety of lines of evidence suggest that insulin resistance, in large part, is a cellular defense mechanism against energy excess. Cellular energy excess is caused primarily by the chronic consumption of energy in excess of what is expended. Fat tissue can mop up the excess energy for a while, but if the excess is chronic and fat tissue enlarges (particularly abdominal fat), other tissues will be exposed to progressively more energy (fatty acids and glucose), and cells will act to protect themselves by reducing insulin sensitivity.”