The most common "silent killer," Insulin Resistance, is the most important component of Syndrome X and The Metabolic Syndrome. Here's how insulin resistance works...

As we get older, our bodies lose the ability to manage high levels of dietary carbohydrate intake. Over forty, most people begin to develop "insulin resistance." Sooner or later this pushes up your blood sugar level, causing a great assortment of health problems, not the least important of which is accelerated hardening of the arteries, which results in much greater risk of heart attack and stroke. Here's how insulin resistance works:

Insulin is a pancreatic hormone that helps the body utilize blood glucose (blood sugar) by binding with receptors on cells in the muscles and liver. Once insulin has attached to an insulin receptor, blood sugar can enter the cell, where it is either utilized immediately for energy production or transformed to a storage form known as glycogen.

Insulin resistance occurs when the insulin receptors--for reasons that are not yet clear--become less responsive to the insulin signals, and so the pancreas must secrete larger amounts of insulin to process the same amount of glucose. As a consequence glucose can build up in the bloodstream, resulting in high blood glucose or even type 2 diabetes.

Insulin resistance is aggravated by obesity and physical inactivity. Exercise and weight loss have been shown to reduce its severity or even cure it.

Individuals who have insulin resistance usually have blood lipid imbalances as well. This is because the body turns excess sugar into fats in an attempt to get rid of it. The result is increased triglyceride (blood fat) levels and a decreased level of HDL (good) cholesterol. Higher triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol increase the risk for heart disease.

Syndrome X is a cluster of risk factors for heart disease associated with insulin resistance. These include: hypertriglyceridemia (high blood lipid), low HDL-cholesterol, hyperinsulinemia (high blood insulin), often hyperglycemia (high blood glucose), and hypertension (high blood pressure). Almost all individuals with type 2 diabetes and many with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are insulin resistant.

There are no outward physical signs of insulin resistance. If your fasting glucose level is above 98, you are insulin resistant, and on the path to atherosclerotic disease. (A glucose tolerance test, during which insulin and blood glucose are measured, can provide even more definitive diagnostic information.)

No one knows for sure what causes insulin resistance. Perhaps a gene deficit may cause the propensity for developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Whether or not you are genetically predisposed to this disease, you can prevent and reverse it: exercise and weight control.

High carb diets cause insulin resistance, Syndrome X, and type II diabetes. A low carbohydrate diet is essential. Research indicates that low fat diets aggravate insulin resistance, probably because the caloric shortfall is replaced with carbohydrates. A diet low in saturated fat (less than 5 percent of total calories) and more moderate in total fat content (40% of total calories) is indicated.

Certain nutritional medicines have been shown to improve insulin function and forestall the tissue damage caused by elevated blood sugar levels. The botanical medicines in Glucose Control normalize blood sugar levels and reverse insulin resistance.

Lipoic Acid (300 - 600 mg per day) increases the effectiveness of insulin by reversing insulin resistance. It thus prevents and cures many of the detrimental side effects that occur as a result of Diabetes Mellitus (both Type 1 and Type 2), the worst of which is atherosclerosis. Lipoic Acid improves blood flow to nerve cells, reduces oxidative stress, and improves nerve conduction. Lipoic Acid prevents the diabetic neuropathy that is a common side effect of diabetes. It is a powerful antioxidant and potent scavenger of free radicals. It inhibits the protein cross-linking that is associated with accelerated aging.

Green tea catechins significantly lower blood glucose levels in Type II diabetics. Green tea extract decreases insulin resistance and restores insulin response to normal.

One of the most powerful and essential strategies for reversing insulin resistance is a low glycemic index diet. Glycemic index is a way of measuring how rapidly a given food increases blood sugar. The idea is to avoid foods with a high glycemic index. These include most breads and baked goods, corn, potatoes, rice, most cold cereals, snack and other foods made with refined flour. Low glycemic index foods include: all vegetables except carrots, beans and peas, whole grain pasta, oatmeal, sprouted grains, whole rye bread, whole wheat pita bread, whole wheat tortillas.

Maintaining an appropriate body weight is crucial because obesity can aggravate insulin resistance.

Many alternative physicians now prescribe the drug metformin (500-1000 mg. a day) when nutritional methods fail to control blood sugar. Metformin is believed by many anti-aging specialist (including yours truly) to be an anti-aging drug. Because it stabilizes blood sugar in persons with insulin resistance, it blocks the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which, in turn, prevents heart attacks and strokes. Taken together, these two diseases account for 75% of all premature deaths.