Beyond Blood Sugar: The Hidden Dangers of Insulin Resistance
Asalamualaikum,
my name’s Farooq,
and welcome to this get-together, ‘Beyond Blood Sugar: Exploring the Hidden Dangers of Insulin Resistance’
"A recent study hints that up to 85% of all US adults may have this hidden disorder, along with half of all adults in Mexico, China, and India, and more than one-third of adults in Europe and Canada.”
And the problem is at least as prevalent across the Pacific Islands, North Africa, and the Middle East.” - Benjamin Bikman, Why We Get Sick
It also plays a huge role in the development of the top four causes of death worldwide;
Heart Disease, Cancer, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Type-2 Diabetes.
I highly encourage you to read this article in full and not assume that it doesn’t apply to you or your loved ones.
And! We’ll do a personal self-test that you can do right now, to know with great certainty, if you have insulin resistance.
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to our health.
Ignorance can lead to poor health, and a poor quality of life, which at the end of the day can even limit our efforts in the Deen.
May Allah reward you for being curious.
Let’s tie our camel.
Chapter 1: The Elephant In the Room
Abu Bakr (RA) said that The Messenger (PBUH) mounted the pulpit, then wept and said, "Ask Allah for forgiveness and health, for after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health.”
Growing up as a kid I was pretty skinny and very active.
You could say, hyperactive.
I could run around outside for hours.
I loved running.
Unfortunately, as I got into my early teens, I was introduced to video games, and slowly fell victim to the bad consequences of processed fake foods and inactivity.
I gained a lot of weight and was always hungry.
I had…insulin resistance.
“Insulin resistance is the most common health disorder worldwide.” - Benjamin Bikman, PhD
But to understand insulin resistance, we need to learn a little bit about insulin.
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that’s made in the pancreas, which is a small organ that’s located beneath the stomach.
It’s called anabolic because it helps build and store substances in the body, including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
As for glucose management, anytime we consume food or beverages that increase blood glucose (aka blood sugar), the pancreas, via beta cells, releases insulin, which acts as a key to open the door of our cells to allow glucose, among other things, to enter.
Now, these can be cells in the brain, heart, muscles, and fat tissue.
But what happens if insulin can no longer open the doors for glucose?
And…how or why would that even happen?
This brings us to insulin resistance.
Chapter 2: What is Insulin Resistance?
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time."
So what is insulin resistance?
Over time, after eating high glucose-producing foods and beverages and having a sedentary lifestyle, glucose could no longer fit into my cells.
My blood became saturated with the glucose that needed to get into my cells.
Which caused the beta cells of my pancreas, to keep sending more and more insulin to open the cells.
And because it couldn’t, my system stopped responding entirely to the insulin, causing the insulin to store the glucose as fat for later use.
Which for me was a lot of belly and body fat, for others, it may be fat under the abdominal muscles, stored around the organs.
And by the way, this is the more dangerous fat.
So that condition created what is known as hyperinsulinemia; a higher-than-normal baseline of insulin hanging around in the blood; trying to keep glucose levels normal.
And the bigger problem, the elephant in the room, no pun intended, is that it went undetected for years, even decades before turning into pre-diabetes, depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Chapter 3: How Does Insulin Resistance Go Undetected?
“The most insulin-resistant people have a four-times greater risk of developing kidney failure than those with mild insulin resistance. Importantly, this happens even when glucose levels are still normal! - Bikman, Benjamin. Why We Get Sick
So how does insulin resistance go undetected?
Well the medical community, for some time now, has been taught and trained to focus primarily on two tests in detecting type-2 diabetes.
And that’s blood glucose and an HbA1C, which is basically an average of your blood glucose over 3 months.
But these only tell part of the story.
Remember, these tests are looking for diabetes; aka hyperglycemia; high levels of glucose, but we’re more interested in hyperinsulinemia.
High levels of insulin.
“Insulin is a much better predictor of type 2 diabetes than glucose, predicting the problem up to 20 years earlier.” - Benjamin Bikman, PhD
Chapter 4: There Can Be More Than One
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "A man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, which kind of charity is best? He said: 'Giving charity when you are in good health and feeling stingy, hoping for a long life and fearing poverty.”
So what are the symptoms of insulin resistance if you haven’t had a fasting insulin test and aren’t sure?
Let’s now do a self-test to know where we stand inshAllah, by looking at 8 symptoms of insulin resistance.
Ya ready?
Alright.
Do you have fat around your belly?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you have a family history of heart disease?
Do you have high levels of blood triglycerides?
Do you retain water easily?
Meaning, do you feel puffy or have bloating in your face, hands, or feet, or have darker urine.?
Do you have patches of darker-colored skin, or little bumps of skin (“aka skin tags”) at your neck, armpits, face, or other areas?
Do you have a family member with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes?
Do you have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS; for women) or ED (for men)?
If you answered “yes” to one of these questions, you likely have insulin resistance.
If you answered “yes” to any two questions (or more), you most definitely have insulin resistance.
You could have insulin resistance for years, even decades, and not even know until it’s too late, when it shows up after downgrading you to a chronic disease.
So if you have one or more of the symptoms mentioned, schedule a fasting insulin test إن شاء الله
Chapter 5: Fire Starters
Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There are two blessings in which many people incur loss. (They are) health and free time (for doing good)".
So what are some of the causes of Insulin Resistance and how can we prevent or reverse it?
Dietary Factors:
A diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar can rapidly spike blood sugar levels, leading to repeated insulin surges and eventually desensitizing the cells to insulin's effects as we discussed.
So cutting these foods out of your diet will greatly push your health in the right direction inshAllah.
Sedentary Lifestyle:
Physical inactivity leads to reduced glucose uptake by muscles, impairing insulin sensitivity.
Exercise, on the other hand, enhances insulin sensitivity by increasing glucose uptake and improving the body's metabolic functions.
So be sure to do something at least 3 days a week to improve your health.
Chronic Inflammation:
Chronic inflammation is a key underlying factor in many diseases, including insulin resistance.
Inflammation disrupts the normal signaling pathways involved in insulin action, leading to reduced insulin sensitivity.
Cutting out processed food and seed oils is a quick way to reduce inflammation.
Sleep Deprivation:
Lack of quality sleep has been linked to increased insulin resistance and a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Sleep disturbances disrupt the delicate balance of hormones involved in glucose metabolism, leading to impaired insulin action.
And let’s not forget, that the Prophet (PBUH), would go to sleep after Isha, and wake up early to pray during the night.
Conclusion
“Living longer isn’t living longer with a disease, living longer means living longer without a disease.” - Peter Attia, MD, Outlive
So today, we’ve learned about insulin, insulin resistance, the symptoms of insulin resistance, its causes, some preventions, and even ways to reverse it.
I encourage you to get a fasting insulin test scheduled along with your normal blood panel if you haven’t already.
Once I was able to identify it, I changed my diet and cured my depression, anxiety and panic attacks, alhumdulillah.
And if there is one takeaway to remember and implement right now to improve your health it’s to…
Stop drinking soda, juice, and sports drinks.
This alone can immediately get your health headed in the right direction inshAllah.
The solution is simple but not easy.
What can make it difficult is the addiction factor which I covered in my addiction series.
If you haven’t watched it, and you’re struggling to eat properly, I encourage you to watch it inshAllah.
I’ve put the links in the description below.
Please be sure to leave a comment and share any other information you might have about insulin resistance.
If you found this beneficial or learned something new, please share it with others inshAllah.
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May Allah reward you for being curious.
And keep tying your camel.
Salamualaikum.
