16 Feb Insulin – The Aging Factor
Looking for the fountain of youth? Control “this” hormone and prevent premature aging and chronic disease.
Ever wonder what makes your body age? Or what makes your body create disease? Well, once again science has pointed at the same implicating factor of aging. This most recent research follows the discovery of three different genes which all significantly increase the chances of living past 100. These genes indicate the implicating factor of aging is the sensitivity of our cells to “insulin”.
The human body and brain require a steady amount of glucose throughout the day. Glucose comes from the foods we eat. Insulin is a powerful hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates the level of glucose (sugar). Here is how it works:
- Insulin opens the door to your cells for sugar to get in. So, basically, insulin keeps our blood sugar under control.
- When blood glucose levels are high, insulin stimulates cells in the liver, muscles, and fat. These cells combine glucose into something called glycogen, which essentially stores energy for later use.
- BUT, if someone has too much sugar and carbohydrate intake over a long period of time insulin WILL get very tired of hearing the message over and over to store MORE sugar into the cells and it won’t be able to store the sugar anymore in the cells to be used for energy.
- The result is Insulin Resistance.
- Insulin Resistance is when insulin can not open the door of your cells for the sugar to be burned. Too much sugar begins to damage the tissues of the body and is also stored as fat and Triglycerides. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. It is also one of the most potent growth hormones that can generate cancers.
- Excess Insulin also wears down our “telomeres”. Telomeres are like socks at the end of our DNA that prevent our DNA from degrading. Too much insulin over a long period of time degrades (and ages) your DNA.
Insulin Resistance is a very serious matter and growing rampant in this country and around the world. It has been shown to increase systemic inflammation, degrade collagen (increase wrinkles), cause mismanagement of lipids (increase bad cholesterol & Triglycerides), increase risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. In other words, insulin (unmanaged) causes aging.
So, how do you prevent this? Well, it’s easy. You eat a glycemically balanced diet and exercise regularly. This means you eat an ideal proportion of clean lean proteins, healthy fats, low starch carbs, minimal high starch carbs and super foods. Watch out for the high starch, sugary foods since they turn into sugar quickly in the blood stream smf this requires excess insulin to be released.
Bottom line, too much insulin being released over a long period of time will lead to insulin resistance…this will lead to a decreased sensitivity to insulin and therefore higher insulin levels and sugar levels in your blood stream. Not good.
At the core of my process with clients, they learn how to balance their blood sugar and prevent insulin spikes, all the while eating yummy, satiating meals. Through my simple diet and lifestyle strategies they discover effortless weight loss, increased energy and focus, regulated blood sugar and less painand allergies too. Healthy lifestyle habits and eating nutrient dense, glycemically balanced meals (and snacks!) are the foundation to preventing chronic disease and premature aging.
Here are a few tips to incorporate into your life TODAY.
- Sleep – Get AT LEAST 7-8 hours of solid sleep per night. Research shows that just ONE night of LESS than 7 hours of sleep, increases your risk of insulin resistance. Yep, sleepless nights increase insulin AND lowers your Human Growth Hormone which keeps you young.
- Stress – Manage your stress. Research shows that high stress increases insulin. Try deep breathing exercises when feeling overwhelmed. Breath in for a count of 8 and out for a count of eight.
- Exercise Effectively – I mean exercise EFFECTIVELY with “burst” exercise. Short burst of about 30 seconds of all out effort (running, biking or walking) followed by a recovery for twice as long, ie. one minute. This decreases insulin. Long arduous aerobic actually raises our stress hormones thus raising insulin, your fat storage hormone.
- Glycemically balanced meals – Simple as this –
- Clean, lean protein
- Lots of low starch veggies
- Limited starchy veggie carbs
- Healthy fats (ie, olive oil, hemp oil, avocado, nuts and seeds)
You have the power to control your insulin spikes everyday and deeply impact your rate of aging. Everyday in my practice, clients are reversing Pre-Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes (Insulin Resistance). Given the right tools and personalized process so can you!
If you would like to take charge today so you can truly optimize your insulin and glucose patterns, contact us for a consultation. We will dive deep to begin exploring the root cause driving those patterns and a personalized approach to move you forward.
My team and I are ready and committed to help you reclaim your vitality.
May you be well & thrive!
- Monickaraj, Finny, et al. “Accelerated Fat Cell Aging Links Oxidative Stress and Insulin Resistance in Adipocytes.” Journal of Biosciences, vol. 38, no. 1, 8 Mar. 2013, pp. 113–122., https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-012-9289-0.
- Preuss, H G. “Effects of Glucose/Insulin Perturbations on Aging and Chronic Disorders of Aging: The Evidence.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition, vol. 16, no. 5, 16 Oct. 1997, pp. 397–403., https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.1997.10718704.