{"id":39,"date":"2026-02-08T08:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T13:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/?p=39"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T20:06:36","slug":"traversing-diabetes-what-is-insulin-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/traversing-diabetes-what-is-insulin-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Traversing Diabetes: What is Insulin Resistance?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Part 2 of 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am not a medical professional, but I have found some new to me information through my own research. Please do not consider this medical advice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0People with diabetes suffer from insulin resistance. Is it the cause of the diabetes, or is it a symptom?<\/p>\n

\u00a0What do the experts say?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I read three articles from the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, and the NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). All three articles discussed the causes and treatments of diabetes.<\/p>\n

In general, all three said about the same things: Obesity and inactivity are the leading causes of diabetes. Genetics, gestational diabetes, and some drugs can also contribute to diabetes. They talk about losing weight, eating right, and treating diabetes, but not how to actually manage it beyond general terms. And more importantly, they do not offer hope that it can be reversed.<\/p>\n

While the wording was different, each article blamed your cells for failing to respond to insulin. They also said that because of that resistance, your pancreas had to make more and more insulin until the amount needed exceeded the organ\u2019s ability to produce it. I assume that at that point, you start taking insulin.<\/p>\n

In summary, the two leading causes of diabetes are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond to insulin as they should and do not take in enough sugar.<\/li>\n
  • The pancreas can\u2019t make enough insulin to keep blood sugar at a healthy level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    I do not believe that to be completely honest.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    How insulin works<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I have an Associate\u2019s Degree in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture. While I am not as well-versed in human biology as doctors, I taught high school biology for three years and have studied every organ system in the human body.<\/p>\n

    To understand how insulin works, you need to understand diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of chemicals (food\/nutrients are chemicals) from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.<\/p>\n

    When you eat foods with sugar, it tries to enter your cells, but it cannot. The glucose (sugar) molecule is too large to diffuse through cell walls without help. Your cells have doors that need to open to let glucose in. Insulin rings the doorbell, and a special doorman molecule hears it and opens the door to let glucose inside. This is called facilitated diffusion. Molecules still move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, but they need help.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    So what is Insulin Resistance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The insulin rings the doorbell one time, and the doorman immediately opens the door. Glucose walks right in, no problem.<\/p>\n

    Over time, if the doorbell has been ringing too much\u2014maybe you\u2019ve been eating lots of sugary foods\u2014the doorman gets tired of hearing it. The doorbell rings, but the doorman thinks, \u201cUgh, again? I\u2019ll get to it later.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Now insulin has to ring the doorbell louder and more times to get the doorman\u2019s attention. The door doesn\u2019t open as easily anymore. The doorman has become resistant to the doorbell!<\/p>\n

    Think about your favorite song. If it played on repeat 100 times in a row, you\u2019d probably get sick of it, right?<\/p>\n

    Put simply, insulin resistance is when your cells stop reacting to insulin\u2019s doorbell as they used to.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What Happens Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    First, your pancreas (the organ that makes insulin) notices the doorbell isn\u2019t working well. It thinks, \u201cI need to ring louder!\u201d So it makes even more insulin.<\/p>\n

    For a while, this works. More insulin means a louder doorbell, which eventually means doors open.<\/p>\n

    But over time, even the loud doorbell gets ignored. And making all that extra insulin is exhausting for your pancreas!<\/p>\n

    This is why insulin resistance can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Your pancreas gets so tired from producing extra insulin that it can\u2019t keep up.<\/p>\n

    Sugar left in the blood damages capillaries and every organ in your body, including the skin and brain. To remove sugar from the blood, insulin signals the liver to take it up, causing fatty liver. When the liver is full, insulin triggers the fat-creation process and stores it throughout your body.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In my opinion, the problem is that the medical world blames your cells. It is not your cells. There is more sugar floating around in your blood than your body can effectively manage. The reality is that you are likely consuming too much sugar. I know I was.<\/u><\/p>\n

    As reported in the Jan\/Feb issue of LCE, the sugar in natural foods like apples and broccoli is not the main problem. Natural foods contain protein, fiber, and fat, which help slow the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream.<\/p>\n

    Sugar in any form consumed without the protein, fiber, or fat will rapidly enter your bloodstream. So drinking a regular cola and eating a candy bar on an empty stomach once your body can manage. It is the day after day, year after year consumption of products with excessive added sugar that leads to abuse of your cells, which eventually creates insulin resistance.<\/p>\n

    About 75% of the USA population is obese or overweight. About 12% of Americans have Type 2 Diabetes. For more statistics, go to diabetes.org\/about-diabetes\/statistics\/about-diabetes<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Some claim insulin resistance can be reversed. I don\u2019t know if that is true, but I do know that I can manage my sugar intake. I can control what I eat and when.<\/p>\n

    Intermittent fasting can help your body clear excess sugar. If you monitor and manage your added sugar intake, exercise to use the extra sugar in your cells, eat healthier foods, and lose weight, your cells may start listening to insulin again. It\u2019s like giving the doorman a good night\u2019s sleep so they\u2019re ready to work again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    My goal with these articles about my diabetic journey is to encourage you to consider your lifestyle. If you are prediabetic and diabetic, become your own advocate, get educated, and ask questions. There is hope to heal. Do not blindly accept medications as I did as the only solution. Dig deeper into how to best help yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Disclaimer: No medical treatment is being recommended. You should do your own research and consult your doctor to decide how to proceed with your treatment.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Part 2 of 4<\/p>\n

    People with diabetes suffer from insulin resistance. Is it the cause of the diabetes, or is it a symptom?<\/p>\n

    What do the experts say?
    \nI read three articles from the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, and the NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). All three articles discussed the causes and treatments of diabetes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diabetes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions\/44"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geraldthompson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}