Unveiling the Hidden Enemy: A Deep Dive into Insulin Resistance

Embark on an enlightening journey with me, Deborah Bigde, as we navigate the murky waters of insulin resistance. Discover the truth behind this silent affliction that creeps into the lives of 80% of people, often going unnoticed until it's too late. We strip down the complexities of our body's response to food, diving into the critical function of insulin and its role in maintaining balance. Prepare to have your perspective on health screenings transformed as we discuss why traditional A1C tests fall short, and how fasting insulin levels could be the key to unlocking a truer representation of your metabolic well-being.

We will expose the myths surrounding 'diet' labels and artificial sweeteners that masquerade as healthy alternatives. Learn about the traps of fruit juices and other sugary beverages, and why whole fruits are your allies in this battle against insulin resistance. But it's not all about what you eat; our dialogue ventures into the arenas of physical movement and gut health, two underrated champions in stabilizing blood sugar. Gain the insights needed to make empowered food choices, as we stress the significance of simplicity in ingredients for optimal health. This episode promises to arm you with the knowledge and strategies to take control of your nutrition and steer your wellness journey in the right direction.

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Transcript

Understanding Insulin Resistance and Health

Deborah Bigda 0:01

I'm Deborah Bigda , and this is the Restoring Hope podcast , where you can come to discover that , no matter how bleak your situation may seem , you can experience true hope and ultimate health . And I'm not referring to just your physical health . I'm talking about a holistic approach to your health , including your mental , emotional , spiritual and financial health . Join me as I share inspiring stories , incredible guests and tangible actions that will transform you into the healthiest version of you , that version of you that is fully restored and helpful for all that is possible . In today's episode , we're going to take a little bit of a turn and talk about something that I haven't really talked about much , but it definitely still has to do with the five pillars that I coach on , and that is your emotional , physical , financial , spiritual and mental health . But today we're going to focus on one of your physical pillars Now , in your physical pillar I always talk about , there's five pillars within the physical pillar as well , and that is your movement , your sleep , your hydration , nutrition meaning the types of foods that you eat and your supplementation . Today I'm going to focus kind of on the nutrition , the foods that we're eating , and I'm going to talk about a topic that is so near and dear to my heart . I get a little preachy up on my soapbox when I talk about this , so please don't get upset or offended , because I mean no offense and there is zero judgment . But I want to talk to you guys today about insulin resistance . Now , if you're like me , you may or may not know exactly what insulin resistance means , and the reason why this is so important to me is because there is a laundry list I mean a very long list of issues that are related to insulin resistance . I wrote a book by a doctor , dr Benjamin Bickman . He wrote a book called why we Get Back Now . He has been studying insulin resistance for decades . He's well known throughout the world on his research for this , and here is what became alarming to me is that he said in there that 80% of people are insulin resistant and don't know about it . 80% that means at a room of 10 people , eight people are insulin resistant and do not even know about it . Now , those are the kind of odds you want if you're looking to win a lottery or something like that . Right , you want 80% odds . It is not the kind of odds that you want when talking about insulin resistance . And why is that so ? And what is insulin resistance ? Because , again , if you're like me , you may or may not , I'm like you know well , it has something to do with my A1C numbers , you know . I think you know maybe it has something to do with diabetes , but I don't really understand exactly what they're talking about when they say you're insulin resistant . So I'm going to put this in very basic terms , mainly because that made it easier for me to understand .

Deborah Bigda 3:33

So when we eat food , our blood sugar goes up . Even if it's healthy food , we typically have some increase in our glucose levels . Insulin is inside our body and most people create insulin . Unless you're a type one diabetic , your body is able to produce insulin . This insulin goes and it helps to maintain that glucose level . So the more the higher sugar spikes or that you have , the more insulin potential that your body is having to generate to create your to keep your A1C levels normal .

Deborah Bigda 4:22

Now I have a picture of a little graph that I created . It is definitely not drawn to scale , but I like visuals . I'm going to see if I could try to show it . Put it down in my show notes , but if you could almost picture , okay . So let me back up one more second , sorry . So when we become insulin resistant , what that means is our body is now having to create more insulin to maintain the same level of like A1C . So when we eat food and our blood sugar spikes up , maybe wherever we , whatever amount of insulin we needed to produce before , as we become resistant to it , it means our body is not responding to that insulin , so that insulin is not lowering our glucose levels and therefore our body needs to produce more insulin to keep our sugar levels normal or to healthy balance . And the more we become insulin resistant , the more our body resists that insulin . It doesn't help our sugar levels , so our body has to now produce even more insulin to have the same impact or effect . And if you can almost imagine , if you were to take your hand or your arm and hold it out like in the horizon right , so that it's parallel with the horizon , and you wanna look at that and you wanna say , okay , that the horizon line going straight across right from side to side is your A1C level and you want to stay there . Now if you could take your other arm and put your elbow towards the ground and your fingers up towards the sky , so you have , like this angled line . That is the insulin that your body is having to produce to keep your A1C level normal . Again , I'll see if I can put the graph down below in the show notes , because when you see it visually it becomes glaringly obvious .

Deborah Bigda 6:43

So here's what happens when we go and we get tested for diabetes , the industry standard test is to test your fasting A1C levels . But here's what is happening as we become insulin resistant , there is a period of time and according to Dr Bickman it can be up to two decades Okay , that's 20 years , in case you need to know what decades means 20 years where your body is becoming insulin resistant but it's still able to produce enough insulin to keep that A1C level in check . So when you go to the doctor and you get your fasted A1C levels checked , they're like everything's perfect , you're good to go , your labs look fantastic , but nobody tested your fasting insulin levels . Nobody noticed that it's now taking double the amount of insulin that it took the last time you came in to create your A1C levels . The same and the following year when you go in and you get checked again for your fasted A1C levels , nobody notices that yet again your fasted insulin level is rising because that fasted insulin level is gonna be represented by that arm that is at that angle , pointing from the ground up to the sky , okay , and because your A1C level is being represented right , the second by the horizon , and it's staying normal , everything looks great . But it's not great For a couple of reasons .

Deborah Bigda 8:22

First of all , as our body becomes insulin resistant and therefore it is having to produce more insulin , our body is also producing inflammation . At this point , and if you have read , paid attention to even one magazine cover in the past couple of years , you know that inflammation is a silent killer . Inflammation is like one of the leading causes of chronic disease . So what's happening during this whole time period where you're being tested for your fasted A1C level ? Your insulin level is going up , your body is becoming insulin resistant , your body is now producing inflammation while it's producing insulin , and this whole time you have no idea . So there's potentially 20 years where you would know in advance if they would test for your fasted insulin level .

Deborah Bigda 9:20

Now here's the deal you can get tested for your fasting insulin level , but it's typically not covered by insurance and it's not considered industry standard , and so therefore , the majority of all doctors do not check it . Yeah , I did about two years ago I went and I had my fasted insulin level checked . I had to pay for that blood work and I also paid to have my inflammation markers checked because I wanted to have , you know , a basis to know what it is now , and then , every couple of years , I'm going to pay to get it checked . But one we will not get me started on how shame it is that the medical industry does not test for something that would be so simple to test for and it could tell us years in advance again , according to Dr Bickman , up to 20 years in advance . And this is why 80% people are walking around becoming insulin resistant and they have no clue that it's happening to them . Now you might be thinking , okay , well , big deal Like . So you know , eventually I'll figure it out . When I hit my you know doctor tells me I'm pre-diabetic . True , but here's what's happening as our body is becoming insulin resistant .

Deborah Bigda 10:42

These are some of the illnesses and diseases that are linked to insulin resistance . This does not mean that it is the only cause , that insulin resistant is the only cause of these diseases or illnesses . But if you are insulin resistant , your chances of getting these diseases or illnesses significantly increases . I'm going to read you some of them . Hang tight , it's going to sound like one of those side effect commercials of a prescription drug .

Deborah Bigda 11:11

So hypertension , otherwise known as high blood pressure , inflammation , alzheimer's , vascular dementia , parkinson's disease , migraine headaches , neuropathy , gestational diabetes , preclampsia , low milk supply for breastfeeding moms , over or underweight babies , pcos , erectile dysfunction , breast cancer is the most commonly cancer or the cancer that is most commonly linked to insulin resistance . Breast cancer , prostate cancer as well , colorectal cancer , skin tags , psoriasis , acne , fibromyalgia , muscle loss , reduced bone mirrors , bone mirrors , osteoarthritis , gout reflexes , gastroporice poracists , non-acoholic fatty liver , hyperlipidemia , gallstones , kidney stones , kidney failure and obesity that was just a few that he mentioned in his book that are linked to insulin resistance . So here's the deal If we could decrease our chances of becoming insulin resistant , we can decrease our chances of getting these diseases . So now I'm going to tell you some things that you can do to help prevent your body from becoming insulin resistant . Number one if you want to find out if you're insulin resistant , you could talk to your doctor about getting tested for your fasting insulin levels . Now , you might need to pay for that test , but it might be a test worth doing . Again , you would want to do that periodically so you could kind of check how is it going right , so you don't just have like a point in time , but you can see it over time to see is it increasing , is it staying the same .

Managing Insulin Resistance Through Diet

Deborah Bigda 13:10

So what are some things that you can do for insulin resistance ? First of all , you can decrease your sugar . I mean that's the obvious right Now that may . What that's going to do for some of you is it's going to cause you to buy these products that are considered diet or low in sugar . And I really want to raise some red flags , like huge red flags , jumping up and down , screaming , waving my arms , hollering at you . Red flags , right , because the last thing I want you to do is to say well , dad told me I should like , maybe , decrease my sugar , so I'm going to go out and get this XYZ product , zero right , or diet whatever , whether it's soda or I mean it's , it's an everything . Now , when you go out and you buy anything , it's like you know , zero sugar , low sugar , and I want you , the moment you see the words zero sugar or low sugar , I want you to immediately look at the label . Honestly , I want to tell you to look at the label all the time , because here's why you need to be paying attention to things like high fructose corn syrup . You should avoid that at all costs . You should also avoid any and all artificial sugars .

Deborah Bigda 14:36

I'll do another episode later talking about the dangers of artificial sugars and why you should avoid artificial sugars . But you need to become very familiar with what the names are for a lot of the artificial sugars , because they have some weird wounds . Okay , like sucralose . That kind of sounds almost like sugar . I mean it does start with the same two letters right , s , u , right , but no , that's an artificial sugar . You definitely want to avoid that . That has definitely been linked to cancer and other very harmful illnesses . Obviously , you know there's some sort of research out there saying that it's okay .

Deborah Bigda 15:16

But I'm also going to tell you a lot of the artificial sugars that we use here in the United States are not allowed in other countries . So let that sink in for just a moment . A lot of the ingredients that are allowed here by the FDA are not allowed in other country . Then I want you to think about how the fact is that , even though we are the wealthiest country , we are probably the sickest country out there as well . To hear what I said , we are the sickest country out there , which is really sad , but our food is literally we're gonna end killing us . There's just no other way to say it .

Deborah Bigda 16:07

High fridges corn syrup any artificial sugars you want to avoid . So when you're reading the labels , if it has either one of those , you need to put the product down and look for something else . You also wanna pay attention to see like so cane sugar . Cane sugar is much better than high fridges corn syrup , but if it's like the top three ingredients , you don't need that product . Look for a different one .

Deborah Bigda 16:31

I'm gonna give you an example . I used to buy well , I still buy spaghetti sauce , but one of the spaghetti sauces that I used to buy I don't remember the name of it , but I had no idea that they were putting sugar in it . When I started really paying attention to label reading , I was shocked at the amount of sugar . I started picking up jar after jar after jar and I actually found several brands that did not add any extra sugar at all . Now there are still grams of sugar in it from the natural sugars that come from the tomatoes . But I very purposefully look at my labels now and , in all honesty , most times if there's more than five ingredients in the product . I typically don't get it because beyond five ingredients unless it's something with a couple spices , and so it's like you know , salt pepper , paprika , oregano , that sort of thing where it makes the list long beyond five or six ingredients you're typically starting to get into preservatives , colorings , artificial flavors , artificial colors , artificial sugars , a lot of chemical type things . So read your labels , avoid anything with high-fritters , corn syrup and avoid anything with artificial sweeteners and then look for things where , if it does have sugar in it , it's lower in the label .

Deborah Bigda 17:52

The second thing that you can do to decrease your sugars I don't know about you guys , but I grew up in the era where it was like have a glass of orange juice every morning with your breakfast , like that was considered the thing to do . It was considered a very healthy thing . In fact , it was like literally on ads . I remember TV ads where it was like let's have my orange juice with my breakfast . Juices are one of the absolute worst things that you can have . It's literally like even if you've taken your own fruit yourself and you've juiced it , so you know there's no artificial sugar coming in here . There's no extra sugar , it's just literally the sugar from the fruits . The problem is you have removed all the fiber from the fruit and when you remove the fiber from the fruit , the sugar that is left in the juice spikes your sugar very quickly and very high . The fiber in the fruit when you're eating it like as a whole fruit , that helps your body stabilize the sugar , so it helps keep your sugar levels lower . Now if you are taking fruit and you're blending it like in a smoothie , that's a little bit better . Then that's definitely better than juicing it . But you wanna eat your fruit . You really wanna kinda chew your fruit . That is so much better . Movement is another great thing that you can do . It's a simple little thing that you can do to help stabilize your blood sugars . I'm not saying that movement is going to decrease your blood sugars , but it helps your body not become insulin resistant . God Health is another huge part of maintaining stabilized blood sugars and not becoming insulin resistant .

Deborah Bigda 19:46

Now I've talked about God Health . I think maybe a little bit I'm not sure how much I've talked about it here on the podcast . I talk about God Health all the time on social media because God Health is literally the source of all these and the source of all health . But I'm also here to tell you that not all products out there are created equal . There's a whole other story . I think I kind of told you a little bit about that periodically when I mentioned my son ending up in the hospital years ago and how I've always been that crunchy granola homeschool mom where we've always tried to eat relatively healthy foods and we've done all different types of probiotics and they just weren't working like I was expecting them to , even though they were super expensive and , according to all my research , they should have been the best freaking probiotics out there and they , by the way , were $65 a jar , refrigerated and everything else . So if you would love some advice on God Health , follow me on social media , reach out to me .

Deborah Bigda 20:49

I am happy to share with you the absolute best supplements that I have found that my family uses . That I swear by because I've tried a lot out there a lot , a lot , a lot and have had not very great results , and I've been able to help a lot of people change their gut health , decrease their their A1C numbers , come off prescriptions with their doctor's approval . I'm going to say that right now . I never tell anybody to go off a prescription without their doctor's approval . But with their doctor's approval , I've helped a lot of people be able to go off of prescriptions and you know every year that you're well .

Deborah Bigda 21:33

If you're able to decrease the amount of insulin that your body is having to use , it increases , like your lifespan . It decreases the chances of having complications from having to use too much insulin . So , even if you're already diabetic , I want you to know that these things that I'm talking about can help you , because do not believe that just because you have type 2 diabetes , that that is not reversible . I know so many people that are type 2 diabetics that have been on all the medications that have been on like the shot and have been able to reverse that . I'm not talking about type 1 , I will tell you . However , I even have type 1 diabetics that have been able to decrease the amount of insulin that they have to use on a daily basis and that right there is huge for them . So I hope that you guys have found this information helpful .

Deborah Bigda 22:29

I would plead with you to share this with people that you know I am so incredibly passionate about this . I really want every single person to realize that there are ways that they can find out if they're insulin resistant , if they're becoming pre-diabetic , long before they quote unquote test for pre-diabetic that there are simple things that you can do on a daily basis that are easy to implement that decrease your chances of becoming insulin resistant . What I want for you is to live with passion , purpose and vibrancy , and we cannot do that when we are sick , so let's work together to make our bodies the healthiest as possible . Please share this with people like , subscribe , leave me a review and I hope that you guys have an amazing day and find this so helpful for you and your family .

Deborah Bigda 23:25

God glass , thank you for joining us today on the Restoring Hope podcast with your host , me , deborah Bigdown . It would mean the world to me if you'd like and subscribe to this podcast . Share it with your family and friends , those that you think might benefit from what it is that we've shared today . Follow me on Instagram and Facebook . Check out my website . The link is listed below . My prayer for you , my friends , is that you are able to lean into the person that God has truly designed you to be Restoring hope for both yourself and all of those around you . Until next week , have an amazing day . Love you all . Can't wait to chat next week .