The Dreaded Insulin Resistance
What is insulin resistance?
To be as concise as possible, insulin resistance means that it becomes harder and harder for insulin to attach to our cells and tell them to let in glucose to be burned as fuel.
Why is it massively important?
Insulin resistance is a proven precursor to all of the metabolic diseases, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers and dementia. YOU DON'T WANT IT! NOT to mention that it keeps us overweight and holding onto body fat.
How do we become insulin resistant?
1) Processed Foods and Sugar
Processed foods and sugar are digested very quickly in our system, turned into blood glucose and subsequently moved into our bloodstream for our cells to use as fuel. From there, insulin is injected into the bloodstream and tells our cells to burn the glucose.
Processed foods and sugar give us the biggest and longest lasting glucose spikes, so they make our body produce the most insulin. The process of digestion to burning the fuel isn't the problem. It is the amount of glucose we're getting and the consistent flow of glucose that's the big issue. The more we have to use insulin to deal with glucose, the more resistant our cells become to its effect. This happens for the exact same reason that we become tolerant of alcohol and it takes more for us to feel a buzz. It is a defense system our body uses so we don't over use any chemical our body produces or ingests.
Unfortunately with glucose we have no choice but to utilize it somehow. To do that, we have to produce more and more insulin to direct it around the body.
2) Snacking
In the spirit of being thorough, just know there is much more to how we become insulin resistant based on our sleep, stress, exercise levels, gut health, breathing and much more. We'll cover most of these as well, hooray! Processed foods and snacking are just the easiest places to start.
Summary
Insulin resistance is a precursor to all of the end of life diseases.
The more glucose in our blood stream, the more insulin we have to make and the resistant our cells become to its effects.
Processed food, sugar, and snacking are the prime culprits for insulin resistance.
Bottom Line
Insulin resistance, brought on primarily by snacking, processed foods and sugar, will sabotage our weight loss efforts and can lead to disease.
How We Control Our Insulin
Although there are many ways that we can control our insulin levels, one of the best places to begin is by eating a whole foods diet. You are probably wondering, what does that entail? Well, continue reading and I will be happy to share with you!
How we control our insulin response - Eating whole foods
Swapping processed foods for whole foods can be a transformative step to managing insulin (weight loss), lowering inflammation (anti-aging) and creating a sustainable source of energy for the body and the brain.
What is a whole foods diet?
Simply put it's a diet consisting of nothing but non processed fruits, vegetables, and animal products.
What are processed foods?
Processed foods are whole foods that have been refined in an attempt to make food products taste better and have longer shelf lives. In doing so, food manufacturers simplify the chemical structures of food and strip it of fiber, fat and micronutrients. If it comes in a box or a wrapping, it's probably man made and should be avoided.
What are the downsides of processed foods and what does that mean for weight loss? Unfortunately the down sides are immense:
Insulin Resistance: Processed foods are made from simple carbohydrates. When we eat simple carbs we digest the food faster. This leads to rushes of glucose and bigger spikes of insulin. Over months and years of eating simple processed foods, we become resistant to the effects of insulin and get all the negative outcomes. Remember more insulin means more weight gain.
Digestion Issues: We lose all the fat and fiber. Fat and fiber are essential for your health in MANY ways, but in the context of this course they are extremely essential for controlling our blood sugar levels. Fat and fiber have both been proven to slow down the digestion process and slow down how fast glucose enters our bloodstream. That happens in two ways, one, it literally takes longer for whole foods to reach the gut bacteria that can digest complex foods and two, it literally takes longer for the gut bacteria to break down the food once it gets there. The slower the breakdown, the less insulin we need and the less fat we'll make.
Increase Inflammation: Through the physical or chemical alteration process of refined foods we lose the micronutrients that the whole food once had. For example, when we mill wheat products we remove the fibrous husk that contains most of the fiber, b-vitamins and phytochemical. Micronutrients usually come in combinations that make them more bioavailable to us. That means when we refine the food and lose some of the micronutrients, we may render some of the other nutrients unavailable to us, because they aren't digested in the proper combinations. Less micronutrients means our cells work less efficiently and we create more inflammation, both of which lead to weight gain.
Poor Gut Health: We are feeding the bad gut bacteria. Processed foods get digested early in the intestines and feed bacteria that can be harmful to us. On top of that the bad gut bacteria produce waste products that inflame our system and poke holes in our gut lining. All of that causes a lot of inflammation in our body and the more inflammation the more trouble we'll have losing weight.
Adding some quick historical context:
Humans have been hunter gatherers for 99.5% of our existence, subsistence level farmers for .5 % and industrialized for .008 % of it. We simply have not had enough time to evolve into eating the processed foods we have access to now. Whole foods are what we have evolved on.
Summary
Processed foods digest too quickly and spike our insulin.
Processed foods are stripped of fat, fiber, and micronutrients.
Processed foods feed bad gut bacteria.
All of the above increase inflammation and increase visceral fat gain.
Other benefits of a whole foods diet:
Keeps hunger at bay- we won't need to snack as often when we get the full spectrum of fiber and fat that whole foods offer, which are proven to stop the hunger response.
Better absorption of nutrients- we obtain the nutrient combinations that we have evolved to use together.
Less expensive than eating out- when you use whole foods you don't get the high markups that happen when others are preparing foods for you. Yes, it may take a little more time for you but the health benefits are more than worth it.
Utilizes essential nutrients- fiber from whole foods keeps us regular and is made into essential nutrients by our gut bacteria.
Lowers systemic inflammation- essential for warding off disease, feeling energized and slowing down the aging process.
Top Tips: Whole Foods Diet
Shop the perimeter of the store. Most processed foods are always in the middle of the store. Most whole foods are on the perimeters.
Learn a few easy recipes. Look up some of your favorite dishes and pick two that have easy recipes to follow. Use these dishes as staples for your weeks and expand on them one recipe at a time.
Buy a crock pot. Crock pots are amazing tools for people who just want to throw a few things in a pot and not think about it until dinner time. Try to make more than necessary so you have leftovers for lunch.
Plan your lunches. Lunch is the easiest way to stray from a healthy path. Try planning out your lunch for the week on Sunday so you can just take it with you to work. It will save you time and headspace for important things, it will also transform your health.
Don't be afraid of fat, even saturated fat. Fat is essential to every cell in our body. More importantly in the context of losing weight, fat helps keep us full. Choose quality fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, olive oil, hard cheeses, fish, beef and eggs.
Don't get mad at yourself for eating something you know isn't good for you. Everyone makes mistakes on their health journey and nothing is ruined in one sitting. Just acknowledge that wasn't the best choice and do better the next meal.
Shop only for necessities. When we have snacks around the office and house, we are much more likely to eat them. Choose smart snacks like dark chocolate, berries and nuts.
One Meal at a Time: Plan one meal a day where you eat all whole foods. For example, instead of having pasta, enjoy roasted veggies or sweet potatoes. Slowly increase the meals where no processed foods are present.
