Table of Contents
Introduction to Insulin Resistance Diet
Do you want to know about insulin resistance diet? If your answer is yes, then you’re at the right place. Insulin resistance has affected a large proportion of American population and the rest of the world too. Prediabetes due to asymptomatic in nature often remain unnoticed for a long period of time. Insulin resistance leads to prediabetes and if untreated leads to diabetes.
If you are insulin resistance, it is an indication that sooner or later it will cause prediabetes and eventually type 2 diabetes. However, the good news is that insulin resistance diet can reverse the problem. The following article discusses insulin resistance diet plan. If you’re interested to learn more about it, keep scrolling…
What Causes Insulin Resistance and How does it Develop?
Belly fat is one of the main causes of developing insulin resistance. Around the waist, there is something called visceral fat found in the abdominal cavity, and insulin resistance occurs when your fat cells refuse to respond to insulin, thus preventing sugar from entering the cells. The body attempts to correct itself by producing more insulin in order to stabilize your blood sugar levels. Insulin is not bad, as it helps regulate blood sugar levels. However, too much or an excessive amount of insulin production is damaging.
Symptoms of Insulin Resistance to look-out for
If you are not aware that you have insulin resistance, then look out for some of the common symptoms associated with it.
- Black spots around the neck
- Frequent urination
- Easily get tired
- Tingling or numbness in extremities
If the pancreas is producing enough insulin despite the resistance, you will not have any symptoms at all except some symptoms mentioned above. It is, therefore, always a better idea to have blood sugar checked regularly, at least two times in a year.
Insulin Resistance Diet Plan: What to Consider?
Eating the right food can actually reverse the process of insulin resistance. A diet, for instance, unprocessed whole foods is the essential key thing for increasing your insulin sensitivity or decreasing your insulin resistance. So, if you continue to eat white breads, cookies, and ice cream, then all these goodies will not help reverse insulin resistance and continue to pile up and you’re going to end up becoming a type 2 diabetic.
Eating food high in saturated fats such as sausage, bacon, cheese, butter etc, will definitely not help you get better. Additionally, if you are eating foods high in glycemic index, you’re going to be in trouble. So, you need to choose foods that are low in glycemic index. Consume foods that have a glycemic index of 55 or below. This helps digest, absorb and metabolize the carbs more slowly so that your body gets enough time to deal with carbohydrates and will not screed too much insulin at a time. And it will also help with the weight loss and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. It is because your pancreatic beta cells will not be working as hard.
Children with obesity are vulnerable to insulin resistance. It is important to check what kids are eating. A perfect diet would definitely be foods with low glycemic index carbohydrates. It is often hard to tell kids not to consume too much carbs. But there is always a solution to it – instead of eating grapes, you can give your kids to eat apples. Instead of eating candy, you can give your kids grapes because it is always better than eating candies.
Whole fruits have a lot of fiber in them – consume whole fruits to regulate your blood sugar and weight. However, it is important to eat small portion of fruits at frequent intervals. Fruits help remove toxins from the body including free radicals.
Fruits and their Glycemic Index
| Fruits | Glycemic Index Value |
| Apple | 36 |
| Blackberries | 25 |
| Grapefruit | 25 |
| Orange | 47 |
| Strawberry | 40 |
| Cherries | 22 |
| Banana | 62 |
| Pineapple | 66 |
| Watermelon | 76 |
| Apricot | 34 |
| Blueberry | 25 |
| Kiwi | 50 |
| Lemon | 20 |
| Papaya | 60 |
Consume Green Vegetables
Vegetables are the best source of vitamins and minerals. Besides, they are low in carbohydrates and high in fibres. Your body require nutrients to perform its functions, and therefore, consuming green vegetables is definitely good for health. Vegetables with various colours contain a lot of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that negate the effects of toxins that comes in the food or generated by the body. For instance, spinach and kale are two best examples of leafy greens which are super high in vitamin A, B, C, K, etc.
Red peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables are high in polyphenols. Radish, cabbage, etc are again super high in anthocyanins that help reduce your insulin resistance. Mushroom, garlic, onions, etc are great antioxidants to help fight against type 2 diabetes.
Are Dairy Products Good for Type 2 Diabetes?
Consuming dairy products also help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, what kind of dairy products you are consuming matters a lot. If you are consuming like raw cheese or dairy from grass-fed animals because you get enough calcium and vitamin D, and trans palmitoleic acid from dairy fat – they have been proposed actually to help prevent the mechanisms causing the diabetes.
Include Low-carbohydrate Diet
If you are going for a low-carbohydrate diet, then a full plate will include high fibre vegetables, some proteins, and healthy unsaturated fats. Fats that are good for the body are MUFA (Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids) and PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids) present in olive oil, avocado seeds, almonds, and salmon are excellent sources.