Diabetes never crossed my mind. I generally choose healthy, whole foods, I exercise daily, and I have minimised my vices over the years. Type 2 diabetes runs down my paternal side of the family but I always assumed that was as a result of poor diet and virtually no intentional physical activity (my dad and his parents worked on their feet every day, all day, so why would they choose to exercise after hours?) Through my regular diagnostic tests over the years, my insulin resistance has gotten incrementally worse even though nothing in my lifestyle has changed. Recently, my doctors who practise from a functional perspective reviewed my lab results – red flags have been raised and I’m now “pre-diabetic”!
Insulin resistance can also cause PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome – something else I’ve developed recently. PCOS hasn’t affected me knowingly at all. My menstruation hasn’t changed. Nothing feels different. I have two kids and don’t plan on having more so I haven’t really been focusing on my reproductive system as of late. But now, as I dig my heels into pro-ageing, the next phase of hormonal life for me is perimenopause. Yes, I’m aware that’s a few years away, but nonetheless, something to prepare for. Our endocrine system is a beautiful network of hormones that regulates everything in our body from growth to menstruation to ‘fight or flight’ mechanisms. Everything is connected, and therefore everything needs to be functioning efficiently in order to achieve optimal health.
In trying to understand and navigate these new “pre-diabetic” and PCOS diagnoses, I have learned that insulin resistance is when insulin does not act upon the signal it receives as optimally as it should, leading to a state of irregular blood sugar levels, i.e. when sugar should be absorbed from the blood to cells in the body, insulin resistance hinders this from happening. In turn, irregular blood sugar levels can contribute to oxidative stress because when blood is oversaturated with sugar, oxygen carried in the blood can react and produce oxidants that can be harmful if they exist in large quantities. Oxidative stress occurs as a result of this and can contribute to various chronic health conditions including (but not limited to) heart and circulatory diseases.
Now, let me introduce you to Metformin. Metformin is an anti-diabetic drug commonly used for better control of blood sugar levels. It’s also used to treat PCOS, which women who have insulin resistance or high insulin levels are at risk of having. The drug targets multiple biochemical pathways and is extremely powerful. However, when the body is insulin sensitive (the ideal state of where we want to be), it should be able to regulate blood sugar effectively without the use of drugs. When we are insulin sensitive, our system works efficiently upon receiving signals from the brain so that sugar may be absorbed from or released into the blood, depending on the physiological state and need of our body at the time.
I am currently taking Metformin for my insulin resistance and the PCOS that has followed. LifeHub is working to wean me off of it while supporting my body’s anti-oxidising capacity with natural supplements like NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine), glutathione, and multivitamins. Glutathione is a powerful tri-peptide that helps convert harmful oxidants in the body into harmless products, which will then be removed from the body via a cascade of biochemical reactions.
Glutathione comes in multiple formats: reduced, liposomal, and intravenous. Reduced glutathione is the format that is ready for ‘scavenging oxidants’ in the body (the ‘active’ form). Liposomal glutathione is reduced glutathione being incorporated within fat molecules, which may improve its absorption. A glutathione booster is administered directly so that it can reach the targeted cells faster.
NAC, another supplement I am taking, supports glutathione levels in the body by being one of its raw ingredients. And to replete the micronutrients that may have been lost due to my metformin medication, I take a multivitamin for vitamin B12 and folate, which are both key for detoxification in the body.
It’s an oral challenge and a series of blood tests to check your insulin resistance and learn where your body lies on the spectrum of resistance to sensitivity. Knowing this can be incredibly helpful in determining how metabolically fit you are, the onset of type two diabetes, and a plethora of other health conditions that can flare up from oxidative stress. You can’t always feel the imbalances in your body until they turn into something chronic.
Editor
Lindsay Jang