Insulin is produced by certain cells in the pancreas and secreted into the bloodstream. Insulin enters the bloodstream and travels through the arteries to tell every single cell in your body that it must take up and consume or store sugar in the blood!
If there is not enough insulin, or if the body’s cells cannot detect insulin (insulin resistance), the blood sugar will rise so high that the accumulation of sugar in the blood is very harmful and has many consequences. Treatment will be very complicated and will even lead to death.
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What is Metabolic Syndrome?
For a variety of reasons, cells may not respond to insulin and may be insulin resistant.
Insulin resistance causes a set of signs and symptoms that doctors call a combination of insulin resistance syndrome; this syndrome is more commonly known as metabolic syndrome.
In the following, we want to introduce you to the symptoms of insulin resistance. Women have some symptoms in addition to the symptoms in men. Our focus will be on the general signs and symptoms of insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance
Insulin causes blood sugar or glucose to enter cells to use and provide energy. Insulin is required to enter cells if cells cannot recognize insulin and cannot open the cell entrance to recognize blood sugar by recognizing insulin. There is insulin resistanve and blood sugar is very high and will lead to inflammatory processes in the walls of arteries throughout the body.
It is these inflammatory vascular changes that will be the main cause of insulin resistance symptoms in men and women. Although doctors know insulin resistance, it is not yet clear exactly what causes insulin resistance. The exact cause of cells’ non-response to insulin is not yet known.
People may have been suffering from insulin resistance for a long time and may not be aware of it; we will introduce you to the symptoms of insulin resistance in the following.
What causes insulin resistance?
- overweight
- High blood pressure
- Cigarette and tobacco users
- Inflammations caused by oxidative substances in the body (oxidative stress)
- Being inactive
- Forms and disorders of intestinal probiotics
- Use added sugar
- Underlying diseases such as liver disease, heart disease, history of heart attacks or strokes, peripheral vascular disorders such as vascular problems in the legs and …
- Family history:
If your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes or the mother had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, you have a higher risk of developing insulin resistance.
- Metabolic syndrome:
Large abdomen:
In women, the abdomen is larger than thirty-five inches
In men, the abdomen is larger than forty inches
High triglyceride
Low HDL:
In women less than fifty milligrams
In men less than forty milligrams
Blood pressure higher than 0.2 mm Hg
High blood sugar as high as diabetes
You must have at least three of the above if you have metabolic syndrome
Remember that insulin resistance is associated with a variety of disorders, according to medical research. for example:
- Increased clotting inside the arteries
- Kidney problems
- Serious cardiovascular problems
- Liver problems
- Reproductive problems
- And rheumatoid arthritis
They are more common in people with insulin resistance
Obesity and insulin resistance
Doctors believe that an increase in blood lipids will lead to insulin resistance. Eating too much causes the fatty acids in the blood to increase, too much weight and obesity may lead to insulin resistance.
Visceral fats that accumulate around the viscera inside the abdomen carry a lot of fatty acids into your bloodstream, and it has been shown that inflammatory substances from these visceral fats are released into the bloodstream, making insulin-resistant cells.
Of course, people with normal weight may also develop insulin resistance, which means that insulin resistance is not limited to overweight people.
Race and insulin resistance
It is said that certain races are more susceptible to insulin resistance:
- Black people
- Spaniards
- Asian tribes
They are more likely to develop insulin resistance
Clinical signs and manifestations of insulin resistance in women
- Fatigue
- Darkening of the skin at the folds of the body
- armpit
- Under the chin
- The back of the neck
- groins
- And under the breasts
- Persistent hunger
- Abundant thirst
- Frequent urination
- Eager to consume sweet foods
- Eager to eat salty snacks
- Increased tingling of the hands and feet
Detection of insulin resistance
If your doctor sees any of the above symptoms in you, they will first order a blood sugar test
Fasting blood sugar or FBS
Glucose tolerance test or GTT
Polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance
One of the symptoms of insulin resistance in women is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). You may have heard of polycystic ovary syndrome called ovarian laziness.
In this set of symptoms, called the syndrome, ovarian function is not normal, too much testosterone or male hormone is produced in the body of affected women (more than normal).
In women with PCOS, normal monthly ovulation is disrupted and instead of releasing one adult egg per month, they will produce large numbers of immature eggs or follicles, which on ultrasound will show these tiny follicles as a pearl necklace on the affected ovaries.
Hormone balance in these women will be upset
Signs and symptoms of PCOS or ovarian laziness include:
- They have oily skin with acne
- They have less than eight normal menstrual cycles during the year
- They are obese and overweight
- The hair on the back of the upper lip, under the chin, on both sides of the face, in the middle of the chest and abdomen is thick and dark.
- They will have androgenic or masculine hair loss
- They often have difficulty conceiving and require insulin resistance drugs such as metformin and ovulation-stimulating drugs for ovulation and pregnancy.
If you are a woman who has the following signs and symptoms, be sure to see a doctor:
- Depression or anxiety
- Increased blood triglycerides
- Type 2 diabetes
- Sleep apnea, which is the short-term cessation of sleep breathing
- Darkness of the folds of the body such as the groin, armpits and back of the neck and… which is called Acanthosis nigricans
- Irregular menstruation
- Purulent acne
- Hirsutism or hair growth under the chin and on both sides of the face and in the middle of the chest and abdomen
- Excessive thirst and hunger
- Hair loss with a focus on the front of the hair and the middle of the head
By identifying insulin resistance and starting treatment and control measures in a timely manner, you can keep your quality of life at a good and high level.