If you read much from me you know I am preventive minded, and I understand that insulin resistance may be an underlying factor in a range of health problems. My goal for everyone reading this is to feel energetic, lively, attractive, passionate, and excited for as long as you live, as opposed to feeling lethargic, irritable, and hormonally imbalanced.

Insulin's proper function is the key and you can do something about it but first you need to understand why it matters. The body uses glucose as its basic fuel, which is carried by the bloodstream to individual cells. All of the foods we eat — fats, proteins and carbohydrates — are broken down during digestion into proteins, micronutrients and glucose. The body uses the proteins and nutrients in cellular metabolism, immune function, and cell replacement. Glucose is used as fuel. Our demand for fuel varies from moment to moment, but the blood sugar level of the brain must remain stable. Getting the energy to the cells that they need without changing the brain blood sugar level is a critical function —insulin is responsible for this function.

The body monitors what we've digested, controls blood sugar levels, cell demands, and releases insulin in just the right amounts. That's why a healthy body is described as "insulin sensitive." Insulin signals the cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream.

The average diet consists of an excessively high percentage of sugars, in the form of simple carbohydrates and simple sugars added to the foods we eat. These simple sugars quickly enter the bloodstream. The body has to release high levels of insulin to keep the level of glucose or sugar in the bloodstream from spiraling out of control and leading to a diabetic coma. In time the cells quit responding to insulin. At this point the body is "insulin resistant."

One immediate consequence is that the body is forced to release even more insulin in attempt to control the blood sugar level. Letting blood sugar get too high is a matter of life and death. The resulting excess of insulin in the bloodstream is called hyperinsulinemia. The body was not designed to function with these prolonged high levels of insulin. High levels of insulin disrupt cellular metabolism, cause weight gain and spread inflammation. Diabetes occurs when the body fails to keep blood glucose under control. Diabetes is the most obvious of the diseases caused by insulin resistance. There are many negative health effects before full-blown diabetes.

When the blood cells won't absorb the extra glucose, the liver converts excess glucose into fat. Fat cells are loaded with glucose receptors, so they absorb the excess glucose and become fatter. Ironically, while the insulin-resistant woman is gaining weight, her cells are actually "starved" for glucose, so she feels exhausted and tends to eat carbohydrate-heavy foods in search of energy. These extra fat cells are also little estrogen factories. So weight gain contributes to the estrogen dominance that causes so many symptoms during the early stages of perimenopause. Like bloating, indigestion and irritability.

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