Those who have insulin resistance in the muscle generally have a higher baseline insulin level because the body is always fighting to overcome the resistance.
But it isn't the insulin that is causing the problem.
When you reach the point of muscle insulin resistance, the problem is excess triglycerides.
This exposes the muscle fibers to excess fatty acids being made by the liver, as well as dietary fats.
Excess being the key word here.
And when this happens, just like in the liver, fat tends to be laid down in the muscle, which then causes the muscles to become resistant to insulin.
This increased fatty acid availability and decreases glucose utilization in the muscle, since fats compete with the available glucose. If the fatty acid wins, the muscles are unable to store glycogen very well, and the excess glucose provides the stimulus for insulinemia.
With the muscles' diminished capacity to store glycogen, everything that is not immediately used for fuel either backs up in the bloodstream, causing both glucose and insulin to rise, or is stored in the liver, muscles, and fat cells.
Problems Associated with Muscle Insulin Resistance
With muscle insulin resistance, fatty acids can't be converted into fuel fast enough to supply the body with immediate energy.
And since the build up of fats in the muscles can also cause a defect in muscle-fat oxidation, the result is:
- increased insulin resistance
- nausea
- tiredness
- brain fog
- disorientation
- and just flat-out feeling like crap
This caught my attention, because it is a perfect description of what happens to me when I go too low in carbs for any length of time.
I start out feeling pretty good for a couple of days, but around the time that liver glycogen gets depleted, I feel tired and nauseated. I'm more prone to vertigo attacks. And yep, just as the description says, I flat-out feel like crap, which only gets worse as the dieting at that carb level continues.
What I didn't know was that glycogen stores are supposed to refill, even on a low-carb diet. And that the body will do whatever it has to do, to make that happen.
However, since the liver is resistant to insulin, and in constant glucose production, and since the muscles are not able to store the glucose being made by the liver, and probably the liver either, for that matter, it's no wonder that one can suffer from runaway glucose production, even on a zero-carb diet.
Fat Deposits in the Pancreas
At this point, the muscle is unable to protect other tissues from a daily influx of dietary fatty acids. The result is more and more build up of fat deposits in muscle, liver, fat cells, and now the body starts to store fat in the beta cells of the pancreas.
In the case of the beta cells, fat deposits can cause impairment of insulin release in response to glucose, creating a situation which is sometimes called Diabetes 1.5.
In some of my own, personal dietary experiments, I've often wondered about that.
Am I insulinemic, or do I not put out enough insulin?
Because sometimes it seems like I don't make enough insulin to handle what is going on.
However, resistance itself can cause the same symptoms. So without proper testing, one cannot know for sure.
Standing in a Place of Partial Healing?
The thing to remember, is that glucose issues don't fit into a single mold. It isn't always about an insulin spike from eating too many carbs.
Sometimes it's a matter of not putting out enough insulin.
Sometimes it's a matter of being insulin sensitive, rather than insulin resistant, and that means the very plan that one looks to for salvation -- a low-carb diet -- could actually be fighting against you.
And then again . . .
It could just be that we are now standing in a place of partial healing, and more aware of the symptoms we didn't notice when we first went through the progression of insulin resistance.
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