Learn about insulin resistance: a growing epidemic

The more foods you eat that spike your blood sugar, the more insulin your body has to produce to handle the load. Over time, your body has to pump out more insulin to do the same job. This is insulin resistance.

• About 25 percent of adults are insulin resistant. And if you're overweight and over 45, the chances that you have it are nearly one in two.
• You're much more likely to develop insulin resistance if you're overweight and sedentary.
• If you have insulin resistance, your blood sugar levels may still be normal, although they may be on the high side after meals. You don't have diabetes yet, but you're going in a direction that's putting a lot of stress on your blood sugar control system, and you're doing damage along the way.
• The extra insulin your body has to churn out can raise blood pressure, cause cholesterol problems, and even make it easier for certain cancers to grow. It also paves the way for weight gain.
• There's growing evidence that the brain itself can become insulin resistant, which impairs the function of nerves and leads to the buildup of toxic deposits, increasing the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
• And of course, insulin resistance increases the risk of diabetes. High blood sugar and extra insulin can damage the beta cells in the pancreas (the ones that make insulin) so that they become fatigued or die off. When that happens, you have diabetes.
• Insulin resistance creeps in without showing symptoms. Once you have it, it's easy for it to get worse.
• The more insulin your body has to produce to keep blood sugar down, the more insulin resistant you become.

Insulin resistance may seem scary, and that's because it is. However, it's also something that you can fight. If you start making positive lifestyle changes now, you can battle back against the condition or even prevent yourself from developing it in the first place. Speak with your doctor to get started.