When you start getting information on Type 2 Diabetes you will often hear the term insulin resistance bandied about. So what specifically does that term imply? Did you know this medical term refers to the decreased capability of some body cells to utilise insulin to convert blood sugar into glycogen. In a normal healthy situation, the human body turns the carbohydrates into glucose in the digestion process. Understand that that the glucose travels around the body waiting for a cell picks it up. The cell needs to turn the glucose into a form of energy it can burn, namely glycogen. That is where insulin comes in. The cell grabs insulin out of the blood and uses it to turn glucose into glycogen.

When insulin resistance develops, the cells seem to ignore the insulin in the blood stream. They continue to send signals that they need the insulin. In response, the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas start overproducing insulin. This will help lower levels of glucose for the short term. However, over a long time period, an over production of insulin can have dire results. One is that the islets of Langerhans cannot keep up the pace of overproduction. This is likely from damage due to the overproduction of insulin or from the overconcentration of

Who is likely to develop insulin resistance? Did you know excess body weight and a sedentary life-style are major components in developing such resistance. Genetics may also be a part of the picture as well. Be careful, don’t be comforted if no one in your family has Diabetes Type 2. Anyone, despite a clean family history, can develop type 2 diabetes if they carry too much weight or do not exercise enough. Insulin resistance develops without looking into your genetic background. In the recent past, such resistance was seen in the later years or an older age. Unfortunately, more and more people now receive a diagnosis of Diabetes Type 2 at a younger age. The most alarming is certainly in children and teens.

Insulin resistance is reversible in many people before type 2 diabetes develops. It requires ensuring the correct changes early enough to count. It is an undisputed fact that exercise has a direct link with reducing the condition. The greater you undertake physical activity the less insulin resistance is likely to develop. Losing weight also helps reduce the resistance. These changes are the same pre-diabetics and diabetics need to make. They are smart ones for just about anyone else as well.