High insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) in adult-onset or Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unhealthy.
The Following are the Effects of High Insulin
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Stiffening of the heart leading to heart failure.
- Fatty liver
- Obesity
- Insulin resistance.
- Metabolic syndrome
- High triglyceride levels
- Problems with the inner lining of the blood vessels.
- 1-10 work with one another and lead to many other diseases.
Drugs like Glyburide Make High Insulin Worse
Sulfonylureas like glyburide are popular drugs for Type 2 diabetes. They lower the blood sugar by making the pancreas produce more insulin. The high insulin will lower the blood sugar and show it as “normal” when a blood test is done.
But the additional insulin worsens the ongoing high insulin already present.
Knowing this, it is not a surprise that diabetics are also obese, hypertensive, and have a high risk for cardiovascular diseases.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Get Rid of High Insulin?
During the fasting period, the stored calories in the liver and muscles are used, and no further calories are added. This makes room in the liver and muscles for the next meal.
When eating happens again, There will be plenty of room to store the new calories. There won’t be a need for additional insulin.
An analogy will be if you want hot coffee in your favorite mug, that mug has to be empty of old, cold coffee. Or else, there won’t be room for that steaming coffee.
On top of that, intermittent fasting makes the pancreas better in producing insulin. Eliminating the need for a drug like glyburide to produce more insulin.
That is why someone with diabetes who is taking sulfonylurea should not do IF without consulting their doctor for dose adjustment. The blood sugar can become dangerously low.
Conclusion:
Intermittent fasting is better than sulfonylurea in lowering high insulin levels.
Stay tuned for Round 3. What produces better outcomes in heart attacks? Intermittent fasting or sulfonylureas?
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You may like the following articles:
Know more about high insulin levels and what it means – Hyperinsulinemia
What needs to be measured to know that diabetes treatment is successful? What is the Goal of Diabetes Treatment?
Why is obesity bad? – What Does Waist Circumference Really Measure?
An introduction about metabolic syndrome – The Metabolic Syndrome
Why is there a need to get healthy right away? – If You Know Anybody Male who is 55 and Older, Read This!
How to get started with IF – How to Do Intermittent Fasting
Doing IF slowly by – The Kaizen Way of Fasting
Eating in the morning and not in the evening mat be better for you – Early Time-Restricted Feeding is Intermittent Fasting In Sync with the Circadian Rhythm
References:
- Thomas, Dylan D et al. “Hyperinsulinemia: An Early Indicator of Metabolic Dysfunction.” Journal of the Endocrine Society vol. 3,9 1727-1747. 24 Jul. 2019, doi:10.1210/js.2019-00065
- Del Prato S, Leonetti F, Simonson DC, Sheehan P, Matsuda M, DeFronzo RA. Effect of sustained physiologic hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in man. Diabetologia. 1994;37(10):1025–1035.
- Grajower, M.M.; Horne, B.D. Clinical Management of Intermittent Fasting in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Nutrients 2019, 11, 873.
Image Credit:
Fatty Liver By The original uploader was Countincr at English Wikipedia. (Original text: National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse) – https://catalog.niddk.nih.gov/catalog/ImageLibrary/detail.cfm?id=154, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2310132
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