Blood sugar, insulin, and insulin resistance
- The sugar in the blood must be kept at just the right level.
- The body uses a hormone called insulin to lower blood sugar.
- Sometimes the body fights against insulin. This is called insulin resistance.
- Insulin resistance is a significant feature of poor metabolic health.
Blood sugar balance
There is sugar in blood. The sugar is called glucose. The body must constantly adjust blood glucose to keep it at a normal level. If blood glucose becomes too low or too high it can harm health. It can even cause death.
When blood glucose rises the body releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin reduces blood glucose by encouraging cells to take glucose out of the blood.
Sometimes the cells do not want to take the sugar out of the blood. They might do this if they are already too full of fuel. This means the cells try to resist the signal from insulin. This is known as insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is a core feature of poor metabolic health. The body has to fight to keep blood sugar normal. With insulin resistance the body is at war with itself.