The Insulin Factor: Can’t Lose Weight? Can’t Concentrate? Can’t Resist Sugar? Could Syndrome X Be Your Problem?. Antony Haynes
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Summary of key points
Digestive problems are a hidden cause of Insulin Resistance. This is mainly because as much as 70 per cent of the body’s immune system is located within the gut, and if your gut immunity is taxed the gut is flooded with cytokines – if you remember these are immune messengers – and in large quantities these blunt receptors for insulin in your body. This means insulin becomes less effective at storing glucose away so the body produces more insulin to compensate. For example, this is why, if you have a food intolerance, you can have difficulty in losing weight: your immune system is battling with a perceived threat and, in producing cytokines to fight it, interrupts the usual efficient function of insulin.
It’s not just food intolerances that cause an immune reaction in the gut: yeasts such as candida albicans, unfriendly bacteria, parasites and maldigestion trigger cytokine activity as well. Poor diet is a major culprit since not only does it not provide adequate nutrients for optimal immune function but it creates an environment within the gut that favours and feeds unwanted bugs.
The other thing that causes or exacerbates the likelihood of both gut problems is stress. Stress directly weakens immunity within the gut, thereby leading to an inability to distinguish friend from foe (i.e. overreacting to an everyday food) and prevent the colonization of unwanted bugs.
Digestive problems are extremely common as the typical Western diet is high in refined foods and we lead high-stress lifestyles.
Gut Health Questionnaire
Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following questions. Each ‘yes’ answer is awarded a single point. Your total score will help you determine the likelihood of your digestive system contributing to Insulin Resistance.
Do you regularly (every few days) have:
1 Indigestion or heartburn?
2 Bloating after meals?
3 Nausea?
4 Excess flatulence?
5 Abdominal pain?
6 Cramps?
7 Irregular bowels?
8 Diarrhoea?
9 Constipation (less than one motion per day)?
10 Haemorrhoids (piles)?
11 Known or suspected food intolerances?
12 Antibiotics?
13 Anti-pain medications (e.g. aspirin or ibuprofen)?
14 Yeast or candida overgrowth?
15 Parasite or gut bacterial infections?
16 Food poisoning?
17 More than 14 units of alcohol per week?
Score out of 17 =
If you have any one of these regularly then your digestive health needs attention. If you’ve scored more than 5 then it almost certainly means it is compromising your Insulin Resistance, and warrants immediate action. If you have a pattern of any of these symptoms after eating specific foods then this suggests you have a food intolerance and this could be affecting your insulin sensitivity. It would be worth your while eliminating the suspected culprit food for a trial period of four weeks to see if your symptoms improve.
To address any digestive problems start the Insulin Factor Diet Plan and the Gut Supplement Plan rather than the Insulin Resistance Supplement Plan. It may take a number of weeks to reduce your questionnaire score, and only when you have reduced the score to 4 or less, and the symptoms are less regular, should you start following any of the Insulin Resistance Supplement Plans.
Summary of key points
The Insulin Connection
Mixed messages
With all this discussion about refined sugars and carbohydrates you may be wondering if you should still be eating them, particularly as we are bombarded on a daily basis with conflicting opinions and information on what we should and should not be eating. First we are told that ‘fat is bad’, then it’s carbohydrates. What are we to do – not eat either?