What is Insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance is: 

when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond well to insulin and can’t use glucose from your blood for energy. To make up for it, your pancreas makes more insulin. Over time, your blood sugar levels go up. Insulin resistance syndrome includes a group of problems like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. It could affect as many as 1 in 3 Americans. You might also hear it called metabolic syndrome.

Whose victim to it and what is the causes it?

Anyone can become insulin-resistant. In particular, people with excess weight are at a higher risk, compared to the general population. Risk is further increased with a family history of type two diabetes, age over 45, African, Latino or Native American ancestry, smoking, and certain medications, including steroids, anti-psychotics, and HIV medication. There are other medical conditions associated with insulin resistance, like obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, also known as PCOS, Cushing's syndrome, and lipodystrophy syndromes. Lipodystrophy syndromes are conditions that cause abnormal fat loss. So carrying either too much or not enough fat tissue in your body can be associated with insulin resistance.

What are the symptoms?

Very often people with insulin resistance don't have any symptoms at all. It is usually picked up by their doctor during an annual health exam or routine blood work. There are some signs of insulin resistance that your doctor may look for. These includes a waistline over 40 inches in men, and a waistline over 35 inches in women. Skin tags or patches of dark velvety skin called acanthosis nigricans. A blood pressure reading of 130 over 80 or higher. A fasting glucose level equal or above 100 milligrams per deciliter. Or a blood sugar level equal or above 140 milligrams per deciliter two hours after a glucose load test. An A1C between 5.7% and 6.3%. A fasting triglycerides level over 150 milligram per deciliter. And an HDL cholesterol level under 40 milligrams per deciliter in men, and an HDL cholesterol level under 50 milligrams per deciliter in women.

common signs of blood sugar imbalance


Irritability


Excessive sleepiness after a meal


Craving carbs / sugar


Headaches


Dizziness


Poor sleep


Mid-day sleepiness


Excessive hunger shortly after eating


Fatigue relieved by eating

The symptoms of Insulin Resistance:

You can't tell that you have insulin resistance by how you feel. You'll need to get a blood test that checks your blood sugar levels.

Likewise, you won’t know if you have most of the other conditions that are part of insulin resistance syndrome (high blood pressure, low "good" cholesterol levels, and high triglycerides) without seeing your doctor.

Some signs of insulin resistance include:

A waistline over 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women

Blood pressure readings of 130/80 or higher

A fasting glucose level over 100 mg/dL

A fasting triglyceride level over 150 mg/dL

A HDL cholesterol level under 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women

Skin tags

Patches of dark, velvety skin called acanthosis nigricans

Risk Factors and Causes of Insulin Resistance

Things that can make this condition more likely include:


Obesity, especially belly fat

Inactive lifestyle

Diet high in carbohydrates

Gestational diabetes

Health conditions like nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and polycystic ovary syndrome

A family history of diabetes

Smoking

Ethnicity -- it’s more likely if your ancestry is African, Latino, or Native American

Age -- it’s more likely after 45

Hormonal disorders like Cushing’s syndrome and acromegaly

Medications like steroids, antipsychotics, and HIV medications

Sleep problems like sleep apnea

Insulin Resistance Treatment and Prevention

You can take steps to reverse insulin resistance and prevent type 2 diabetes:

Exercise. Go for at least 30 minutes a day of moderate activity (like brisk walking) 5 or more days a week. If you're not active now, work up to that.

Get to a healthy weight. If you're not sure what you should weigh or how to reach a weight loss goal, ask your doctor. You may also want to talk with a nutritionist and a certified personal trainer.

Eat a healthy diet. Think fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, legumes, and other lean protein.

Take medications. Your doctor may prescribe a medication called metformin (Fortamet, Glucophage, Glumetza, Riomet) to help keep your blood sugar in check.

The complications of Insulin Resistance

If metabolic syndrome goes untreated, it could lead to:

Severe high blood sugar

Severe low blood sugar

Heart attack

Stroke

Kidney disease

Eye problems

Cancer

Alzheimer’s disease.

How to repair mitochondria

What is mitochondria?

Known as the “powerhouses of the cell,” mitochondria produce the energy necessary for the cell's survival and functioning. Through a series of chemical reactions, mitochondria break down glucose into an energy molecule known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used to fuel various other cellular processes.

What the mitochondria causes in the human body if they become defective?

Mitochondrial disorders vary in severity and age of onset from one person to the next.

They can present at any point in life, though they generally first cause symptoms in childhood. If your child has a mitochondrial disorder, the brain, muscles and gastrointestinal (GI) tract will most likely be affected because each of these body parts require high amounts of energy to function properly, though virtually any organ system can be affected. Mitochondrial disorders may be inherited in a number of ways, but the exact pattern in a given family may be difficult to determine.

Some symptoms of mitochondrial disorders include:

Abdominal distention

Blindness

Cardiomyopathy

Deafness

Dementia

Developmental delay

Feeding problems

Frequent infections

Heart rhythm problems

Increased fatigue

Low muscle tone

Migraine headaches

Muscle weakness

Nausea

Seizures

Severe constipation

Sleep apnea

Stroke-like symptoms

Trouble moving the eyes

Vomiting

What causes mitochondrial disease?

A lack of energy production from mitochondria in your cells causes mitochondrial disease. Mitochondria are responsible for producing energy within your body. When your mitochondria don’t receive the instructions they need from your body’s DNA to make energy, it can damage your cells or cause them to die early. This affects how your organs and organ systems function, which leads to symptoms of the condition.

How is a mitochondrial disease diagnosed?

A healthcare provider will diagnose a mitochondrial disease after a series of examinations and tests that may include:

A review of your medical and family history.

A complete physical examination.

A neurological examination.

A metabolic examination that includes blood and urine tests and, if needed, a cerebrospinal fluid test (spinal tap).

DNA testing.

How to repair mitochondria؟

Oral natural supplements containing membrane phospholipids, CoQ10, microencapsulated NADH, l-carnitine, α-lipoic acid, and other nutrients can help restore mitochondrial function and reduce intractable fatigue in patients with chronic illnesses. The combination of these supplements can result in a safe and effective method to reduce fatigue and help restore quality of life.

Another Ways to Boost the Powerhouse of Your Cells

1. Calorie Restriction

Reducing calorie intake (through fasting diets, for example) is the most successful approach to enhance longevity. This success can be attributed, at least partially, to an increase in mitochondrial bioenergetic efficiency.

Calorie restriction acts as a stress signal that triggers a number of adaptations in mitochondria:

It improves the activity of the electron transport chain and regulates the production of ROS and oxidative stress.

It supports mitochondrial quality control mechanisms, responsible for preventing and/or repairing damage.

It promotes the renewal of the mitochondrial network through the elimination of damaged mitochondria (autophagy) and the production of new mitochondria (biogenesis)

2. Exercise

Exercise requires a great deal of energy to power our muscles. That puts a burden on muscle mitochondria, which signal that energetic demand to the rest of the cell. muscle cells respond by producing more mitochondria and more mitochondrial enzymes. This increases the respiratory capacity of muscles, i.e., their ability to produce ATP from nutrients to power muscle contraction. It is an adaptation of our muscle cells to exercise and one of the reasons why exercise performance improves with training. Exercise is also one of the best ways to improve mitochondrial biogenesis and function in aging muscle, helping delay the age-related decline in mitochondrial activity and muscle health.

3. Mitochondrial Nutrients

There are many nutrients that can help mitochondria do their work and maintain their fitness. Mitochondrial nutrients provide substrates and cofactors that support and/or stimulate mitochondrial enzyme activity, they enhance cellular antioxidant defenses, they scavenge free radicals and protect mitochondria from oxidation, and they protect and repair mitochondrial membranes. Mitochondrial nutrients include B vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and other nutrients, such as L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, pyrroloquinoline quinone and creatine, for example. They can be taken as supplements, or they can be found in natural, unprocessed foods, i.e., fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, seafood, and meat.

4. Sleep

The human brain requires a lot of energy, and because of its high metabolic rate, the brain accumulates a lot of metabolic waste. During sleep, the brain gets rid of products that can be toxic to mitochondria. An example is the molecule beta-amyloid. At normal levels, beta-amyloid protects neurons and supports their activity. However, when it accumulates excessively, beta-amyloid becomes harmful to neurons, in particular to their mitochondria, which can trigger neurodegenerative processes. Because neuronal mitochondria power every brain function, it is very important to avoid this accumulation of toxic waste. Poor sleep damages mitochondria, but a good night’s sleep helps the brain keep mitochondria healthy.

5. Relaxation Techniques

Psychological stress influences physical health, and mitochondria have a key role in this influence. Stress can alter mitochondrial structure and function through stress hormones and other stress signals that are sensed by mitochondria. Chronic stress can cause mitochondrial dysfunctions and modify cellular and biological processes. Stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunctions can be particularly harmful to the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, from which a generalized negative impact on the body can develop. Therefore, practices that help manage stress — meditation, yoga, tai chi or breathing exercises, for example — may help prevent the effects of stress. In fact, regular practice of relaxation techniques has been shown to upregulate genes that are linked to healthy mitochondrial function.

8. Cold Exposure

When we’re cold, two types of tissues respond immediately by generating extra heat. One is skeletal muscle, which produces heat through shivering. The other is brown adipose tissue (BAT or brown fat), responsible for non-shivering heat production. Shivering releases heat in the process of burning fuels and using ATP to power muscle contraction. Shivering thus recruits mitochondria to indirectly generate heat.BAT, unlike other tissues, has a molecule that can uncouple respiration from ATP production and use it instead to actively produce heat. BAT thus uses mitochondria to directly generate heat. In both skeletal muscle and brown fat, cold stimulates an increase in mitochondrial activity and mitochondrial biogenesis. Therefore, cold exposure in the form of cold showers or cryotherapy can boost mitochondria to keep us warm.

9. Heat Exposure

Heat can also trigger beneficial biological responses. Heat acts as a mild stress signal and triggers cell responses that promote adaptation. One of the main agents of that adaptation are mitochondria, as it has been shown that heat stress triggers beneficial adaptive response in mitochondria that increase their functional capacity. These effects have been shown in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, for example. This stands in line with studies showing that routine sauna bathing can improve endurance performance and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, for example.

10 - You can support your mitochondria by eating:

Colourful vegetables

Some fruit

Herbs

Spices

Other healthy foods that supply essential nutrients.

antioxidants can support your mitochondrial health

There are two special antioxidants which support mitochodrial health. These are alpha lipoic acid and Coenzyme Q10. Both of these antioxidants help with energy, protect the mitochondria and support mitochondrial ‘biogenesis’. Biogenesis is the process of renewal and increase of the mitochondrial cells. The more mitochondria we have, the less they are ‘overworked’ and the more we gain from them. This all supports optimal energy.

Magnesium can support your mitochondrial health

Many of us are low in magnesium. This special mineral is essential for maintaining mitochondrial health and optimising energy. When we are busy and hit by life’s challenges we are also more likely to dip into our magnesium stores so keeping them topped up is important. It is worth taking magnesium supplements as well as eating foods like dark green vegetables, meat and nuts.

healthy fats can support your mitochondrial health

Fats are ‘fuel’ for the mitochondria. To support your mitochondrial health, make sure to include some of the following foods in your diet:

Oily Fish

Avocados

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Flaxseed Oil

Healthy fats also protect the mitochondria by providing anti-inflammatory support.

 fructose aware can support your mitochondrial health

Fructose (fruit sugar) impairs the production of cellular energy. We are not saying to stop eating fruit. However, try to be mindful of sticking to two portions of fruit per day. Choose ‘whole’ fruit rather than juices and avoid products with added fructose syrups.

Intermittent Fasting

Restricting calories and fasting intermittently, such as for fixed hours of the day, decreases energy levels in the body. To compensate, levels of NAD+ increase, which increases the ability of the mitochondria to produce ATP. This results in a subsequent rise in ATP levels due to improved mitochondrial function. This is still only a scientific hypothesis, though

Chinese skullcap

A plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese skullcap may benefit mitochondrial function.

he effects of Chinese skullcap on mitochondria are being investigated in cells. This herb can increase SIRT3, a protein involved in maintaining only normal mitochondria and sensing dysfunctional activity within the cell, In rat cells, Chinese skullcap protected against mitochondrial dysfunction caused by Antimycin A, a component of bacteria. It did so by reducing the free radical formation and promoting the activity of the electron transport chain, We can’t draw any conclusions about the health benefits of Chinese skullcap from cell-based studies.

Thank you