Insulin Resistance

What is insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance develops when muscle, fat, and liver cells stop responding to the hormone insulin. Your pancreas makes insulin to regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels.

Digestion breaks food down into glucose, which becomes your body’s main energy source. When glucose enters your bloodstream, your pancreas releases insulin to help the glucose enter the muscle, fat, and liver cells for immediate energy or storage for later use.

When insulin resistance develops, the cells can’t use or store glucose efficiently. In response, your pancreas produces extra insulin to manage the rising blood glucose levels.

If your cells develop excessive insulin resistance, it can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is also involved in several other conditions, including:

• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
• Metabolic syndrome

A significant risk factor for all these conditions is excessive body weight.

What’s the link between insulin resistance and weight?

Insulin resistance is most likely to develop in people carrying excess body weight, especially fat around the abdomen. Low physical activity levels are also a risk for both insulin resistance and obesity.

Losing weight significantly reduces insulin resistance. You could prevent Type 2 diabetes and other insulin resistance-related conditions by tackling your weight challenges, which may reverse the problem altogether.

Achieving a healthy weight and maintaining it long-term can be challenging, but the benefits are so extensive that the effort is worthwhile. If you struggle with weight loss, Dr. Amersi can help.

How is insulin resistance treated?

Insulin resistance treatment varies depending on how severely affected you are. Losing weight is vital, so Dr. Amersi focuses on helping you reach your ideal weight using proven medical weight loss methods.

Exercising helps your body use insulin more effectively, so regular physical activity will likely form part of your weight loss plan. Other aspects of successful weight loss include:

• Choosing healthy foods like fresh fruit and vegetables
• Watching your portion sizes
• Moderating carbohydrate (sugar and starch) intake
• Changing your attitude about food

To support your weight loss efforts, Dr. Amersi might prescribe medications such as semaglutide (WEGOVY® and Ozempic®), tirzepatide (Mounjaro® and Zepbound®), or metformin (Glucophage®). These drugs all help you lose weight when combined with a personalized diet and exercise program.

Call Dr. Amersi’s office to learn more about preventing or overcoming insulin resistance. You can also request an appointment online at any time.