Hyperinsulinemia means high insulin levels. Persistent high insulin leads to conditions like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
The good news is there is something you can do about it.
What is Insulin?
Insulin is the primary hormone for fuel storage in the body. After eating, macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are broken down into easily absorbable forms like glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, respectively.
Glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Skeletal glycogen is used as fuel for physical activities.
The glycogen in the liver helps maintain a healthy blood sugar level for the whole body between meals.
What causes Hyperinsulinemia?
There are many theories about what causes Hyperinsulinemia, and one theory is the constant insulin release from frequent carbohydrate intake.
An example will be a three-meals-a-day diet with snacks in between. The constant supply of glucose makes the blood sugar go up.
High blood sugar is damaging to the body. The pancreas secretes insulin to make the sugar into the liver and muscles to prevent organ damage.
If a person has a sedentary lifestyle, the liver and muscle glycogen is not used, and there is not enough storage place for the excess sugar to go to.
This creates a situation where the liver and muscle both resist the action of insulin. A condition called insulin resistance.
More insulin is secreted in a desperate bid to reduce the high blood sugar. The constant high level of insulin in the blood is called Hyperinsulinemia.
Constant high insulin leads to more insulin resistance, leading to more Hyperinsulinemia. Thus creating a vicious cycle.
Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are the mechanisms that start other conditions leading to other states like metabolic syndrome, hypertension, obesity, and Type 2 or Adult-onset diabetes.
Insulin Secretion should be Periodic like other hormones.
Hormones are regulatory substances that control the function of other organs. Hormones should be secreted periodically, and if not, they cause diseases.
Constant high levels of hormones lead to the following disease conditions.
- Thyroid hormone – hyperthyroidism
- Growth hormone – Gigantism
- Adrenal Hormone – Cushing’s disease
- High Estrogen – blood clots, ovarian cancer, heart attacks
Insulin, like other hormones, should be released intermittently and not all the time.
The multi-organ effects of Hyperinsulinemia
Insulin is needed for healthy organs. However, if there is too much insulin, the different body organs get harmed.
Even if insulin resistance exists in the skeletal muscles, the other organs remain sensitive to insulin. The insulin sensitivity makes them prone to the harmful effects of high insulin levels, as manifested by the following image.
Organs Involved and Disorders Caused by Hyperinsulinemia
Liver – Hyperinsulinemia and high glucose (hyperglycemia) in the blood lead to fat deposition within the liver leading to an unhealthy condition called a fatty liver.
Fatty liver worsens insulin resistance and makes the liver produce more glucose than the body needs, exacerbating the already high blood sugar.
High blood sugar adds to the worsening of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes.
Circulatory system – Insulin is required to maintain the heart and the blood vessels. High insulin leads to the following.
- Atherosclerosis and blood vessel damage
- Decreased pumping of the heart or heart failure
- Hypertension
- Blood clot formation, also called thrombosis, leads to heart attacks and strokes.
Gastro-Intestinal:
Hormone Systems:
- Obesity
- Lack of Appetite Suppression
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Nervous System:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Vascular dementia
- Numbness of the legs
Eyes – Blindness, open-angle glaucoma
Ears – Vertigo, tinnitus, deafness
Skeletal:
- Osteoporosis
- Osteoarthritis
Urinary – Kidney diseases
Is there a medication for Hyperinsulinemia?
Metformin is commonly used, has a better safety profile, and is inexpensive. It can cause diarrhea and flatulence, so some people stop taking it.
Intermittent fasting and Hyperinsulinemia
Intermittent fasting or time-restricted feeding can reverse insulin resistance and Hyperinsulinemia by allowing the fatty liver to use its abnormally accumulated fat.
Intermittent fasting increases insulin sensitivity and decreases salt retention resulting in more fluid and salt excretion that improves edema and lowers blood pressure.
Intermittent fasting allows the return of the regular periodic insulin secretion and makes the insulin more effective.
Intermittent fasting is an inexpensive way to counter Hyperinsulinemia and many diseases.
Related Readings:
What is the Goal of Diabetes Treatment?
I’m Only Pre-Diabetic, So I’m Still OK, Right?
Prescriptions that Promote and Pharmaceuticals that Prevent Ischemic Preconditioning – Taking Sulfonylureas increases cardiac mortality
Early Time-Restricted Feeding is Intermittent Fasting In Sync with the Circadian Rhythm
Will Fasting Make My Muscles Shrink?
Autophagy – How to Recycle Yourself
A Case Report of 3 Diabetic Patients that are Weaned Off Insulin
The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting and Fitness during Disasters
References:
- Crofts, C., Zinn, C., Wheldon, M., Schofield, G. 2015. Hyperinsulinemia: A unifying theory of chronic disease?. Diabesity 1(4): 34-43. DOI:10.15562/diabesity.2015.19
- Rask-Madsen, C., Kahn C.R., Tissue-Specific Insulin Signaling, Metabolic Syndrome, and Cardiovascular Disease. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2012;32:2052–2059
Image from:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.241919?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
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