Monday 120521

Hyperinsulinemia

Whoa there… how many syllables does hyperinsulinemia have?  Seriously, that’s a mouthful – but what exactly does that big word mean?

Well let’s start from the top: hyper.  The hyper prefix indicates an excess amount.  Too much insulin in this case.  Insulin is the hormone release by the pancreas in response to ingestion of carbohydrates.  It allows glucose into the cell to be used as fuel by the body.  Polishing our long fancy word off is the suffix emia.  When emia is used as a suffix, it means blood, or refers to the presence of a substance in the blood.  In this case it refers to too much insulin in the blood.  Shit.

Well what’s so wrong with a little extra insulin in the blood stream? Over time, whether it be through your genes or through poor dietary choices, your cells become resistant to insulin.  This causes your poor old pancreas to release larger quantities of insulin in order to get glucose into the cells.  Research is being published daily linking hyperinsulinemia to vast number of diseases, many of which you may know someone to have.  For instance: obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride count, immune disorders, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, hyper inflammatory states, and Alzheimer’s disease too name a few.

What’s truly remarkable about this fancy word and all the diseases associated with it is that it can be reversed.  How?  By eating a diet rich in lean proteins, heart healthy fats, and low glycemic impact carbohydrates you can effectively restore an insulin sensitivity.  Not only should the carbs be low glycemic load, but they should be limited to amounts that ensure a healthy insulin response.   

Curious as to what certain foods glycemic loads are?  Check out and poke around the Nutrition Data website.  Want more information?  Contact us, as we’d be glad to help.