High levels of insulin and glucose are strongly associated with increased inflammatory processes in the body. The prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes have reached epidemic proportions. For years the medical literature has pointed to the reality that the primary marker associated with cardiovascular risk is elevated insulin.The higher your glucose levels, the more the pancreas is called on to produce insulin. The higher the insulin levels, the more de-sensitized cells become to insulin. Consequently, the less efficient is a person’s metabolism.
High levels of insulin is correlative with elevated markers for inflammation, particularly with C-Reactive Protein (CRP). Inflammation is synonymous with cellular damage, tissue destruction and catabolic, degenerative processes.
It is also very common for diabetics to have other associated inflammatory processes. For example, AGE’s (advanced glycation end products) have been shown to tremendously increase inflammation.
What Constitutes “Normal & “Healthy” Insulin & Glucose?
It is very important to point out that laboratory reference ranges are only statistical averages. In the case of glucose and insulin, this is the case. Most labs’ reference range for insulin is between 0-30. This is totally absurd. Anyone with a fasting insulin level greater than 9-10 has very serious health issues and is already pre-diabetic or diabetic.
In my experience, more of an ideal range for fasting insulin is 0-5, or as low to zero as possible. I like to see fasting glucose levels between 80-90, and non-fasting blood tests no higher than 100.
There is a lot of evidence to show how high levels of fructose in the diet can inhibit the formation of nitric oxide in the body. This can be devastating because nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important molecules in the cardiovascular system, allowing the endothelial arterial muscles to relax. Deficiency of NO is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease.
Getting Glucose & Insulin Under Control
What is absolutely fundamental in my experience is to know your Metabolic Type® and to apply its adjacent nutritional strategies. Knowing your Metabolic Type® is so fundamentally important because Metabolic Typing® recognizes the inherent individuality of human metabolism.
This means that properly regulating glucose levels is not achieved by the same diet for everyone. In fact, I have witnessed how two very opposite types of diets have resolved even the most severe blood sugar imbalances.
Metabolic Typing® is so effective because it does not address symptoms or diseases. Rather, Metabolic Typing® addresses the root metabolic imbalances which have caused the symptoms to appear.
In order to thrive nutritionally, Protein types (fast oxidizers or parasympathetic dominants) must have a diet that is much higher in purine-rich proteins and fats and much lower in complex carbohydrates, starches and sugars. Carbo types (slow oxidizers and sympathetic dominants) must have far higher concentrations of vegetables, smaller amounts of lean protein and moderate amounts of fats in order to thrive. Mixed types (mixed oxidizers and autonomic balanced types) need a relative balance in their fuel mixture in order to thrive.
It is important to point out that there is no one way of eating that is right for everyone. Each person’s body is biologically unique to them. Metabolic Typing® provides the greatest nutritional starting point that I have ever used.
Free Radicals, Aging & Death
Free radicals are any atom or molecule with an unpaired electron. Free radicals destroy cells and tissues. They are a normal part of the innate immune defenses and are the result of oxidation of certain pathological fatty acids such as leukotrienes. While free radicals are an important component of the immune defenses, high levels of free radical activity is what causes run-away inflammation and destruction of cells and tissues.
Normalizing glucose and insulin are both correlative with decreasing free radical activity. insulin itself has very strong pro-inflammatory effects in the body, when the cells become de-sensitized to it.
Besides the right nutrition plan for your Metabolic Type®, regular exercise is strongly associated with normalizing glucose and insulin levels. When a person exercises in the right way, glucose is burned much more efficiently, and consequently it is much easier for the cells of the body to take up glucose, with a significantly less reliance upon insulin to do so.
Normalizing glucose and insulin through a Metabolic Type® appropriate diet and with added exercise makes the body healthier and more efficient, and consequently decreases inflammation and free radical formation.
Interested in our Health Consulting services?
We can help you with your complex health condition.
Are you a Health Practitioner? Learn about our Clinical Training Program & Tools for Health Professionals
