As the following image demonstrates, Hyperinsulinemia is very dangerous to your health. Risk factors include numerous cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic conditions (including type 2 diabetes).
Hyperinsulinemia refers to an increase in insulin circulating in your blood relative to your blood glucose levels. It is seen in people with early stages of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Hyperinsulinemia is associated with being overweight, hypertension (high blood pressure) and glucose intolerance. It can result from a variety of metabolic conditions. As the following image demonstrates, Hyperinsulinemia is very dangerous to your health. Risk factors include numerous cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic conditions (including type 2 diabetes). The good news is that Hyperinsulinemia is entirely reversible through exercise and lifestyle changes. Research shows that exercise including strength training is an effective strategy for reducing this condition. Nutritional changes are also vital; including the elimination of processed carbohydrates which have been shown to result in insulin resistance.
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We have written extensively on this exercise physiology blog about the benefit of exercise for managing Type 2 diabetes. The research demonstrating the benefits of exercise for diabetes and lifestyle modifications is impeccable. In fact, the research demonstrates that exercise (and particularly weight training) has more longer term benefits than even the most popular diabetes drug – Metformin. As Exercise Physiologists, we have extensive clinical knowledge on diabetes; yet we believe when working with our clients and managing change it’s vital for our clients to have a good understanding of this chronic disease. Knowledge leads to better decision making and improved health. The following video is a simple explanation of diabetes. It’s useful to clarify your understanding of diabetes - if you or a family member has been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. If you require assistance starting with a structure exercise program to manage your type 2 diabetes – call our team of exercise physiologists at Inspire Fitness today on 9857 3007 for expert guidance.
The cost of Diabetes is threatening to bankrupt the UK medical system due to a 60% increase in the disease over the past 10 years. Medication for dealing with diabetes reflects 10% of the NHS drugs bill – which is 869 million pounds every year. The overall cost of dealing with diabetes is a staggering 10billions pounds annually in the UK; and these costs are continuing to grow.
The sad truth is that every week in the UK there are 130 people who have amputations due to complications with Diabetes. And the impact on quality of life is the greatest cost to the individual. This disease is entirely preventable as the two biggest factors driving this dramatic rise in the population are lifestyle and obesity. Whilst this is an ever growing disaster for the UK heath system; Australia is not far behind. Statistics for Diabetes in Australia show that 275 people are diagnosed every day and over 4% of the Australian population have the disease. This is growing unnecessarily as the research is unequivocal that changing lifestyle, modifying your diet and adding a structured exercise routine are vital to prevent and when required, treat type 2 diabetes. In Australia, nearly 850,000 people have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What is astonishing is that another 850,000 people are thought to have type 2 diabetes but they don't know it! It is a story that is repeated across the Western world: the diabetes epidemic. While the incidence of chronic disease is rising with our aging population, there's a reason why diabetes deserves special attention. Preventing and managing diabetes is important because diabetes affects every major system within your body if left unchecked or untreated. As you can see in the infographic below, this includes your heart health, your brain and nervous system, your digestive system, your eyes...even your skin! At Inspire, we have Accredited Exercise Physiologists who specialise in helping people prevent, treat, and manage diabetes by establishing healthy lifestyle habits, as a core part of a holistic health care plan. To learn more about our services and make a booking with an Exercise Physiologist, call us on (03) 9857 3007.
Once again, weight loss is at the top of the public health agenda, with a recent Victorian State Government campaign featuring graphic images of “toxic fat”. The rise and rise of obesity in Australia has contributed to exponential increases in health costs which are unsustainable in the long term. Given these dual health and financial burdens, the government is aiming to educate people on the health dangers of being overweight or obese. As I have written in previous blog articles, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is not only a high priority for people with chronic health conditions, but for all who wish to live life with vitality! So what are the major contributors to weight gain? EXCESS SUGAR AND CALORIES Sugar has been heavily added to our foods over the past decade and is a major contributing factor to the rapid increase of diabetes and obesity in our population. Sugar can be easily over-consumed due to its low satiety value (how full a food makes you feel), which ultimately means an excess consumption of calories. If you sustain a pattern of over-consuming empty calories over time, you will gain weight! So if this has happened to you, what can you do? My advice to clients wanting to lose weight is simple: consume less sugar and expend more energy. But if it’s a simple equation, then why should you know about GLUT4? What on earth is GLUT4 anyway? GLUCOSE TRANSPORTER 4 (GLUT4) Glucose Transporter 4, or GLUT4, is a naturally-occurring protein in your body that can do amazing things with the excess sugar and calories in your body. To expend calories, and in this specific example, sugar, you need three biological processes to happen:
When you start exercising, your body increases its delivery and use of sugar (in the form of glucose) to the working muscles in order to produce energy and sustain movement. As exercise intensity increases, glucose delivery and metabolism continues to increase. This is where GLUT4 steps in. GLUT4 is a protein that transports sugar into the muscle so that it can be metabolised. When you are not exercising, GLUT4 is only activated by the release of insulin from the pancreas. But what is really interesting is a process known as “exercise-induced glucose transport”: exercise is the only other stimulus that activates GLUT4 and, in turn, enhances the delivery of sugar into muscle cells for metabolism! In plain English, this means that an increased amount of sugar enters your muscles to be used for energy production. So what does all of this have to do with weight loss? If I told you that, in order to lose weight, you needed to expend calories (specifically those from sugar), and that GLUT4 is a key protein in that process…would you take a GLUT4 supplement? I’m sure most of us would. And you can. The supplement is exercise! And the best weight loss strategy is one where you replace sugar, sitting, and physical inactivity in your life with regular exercise. EXERCISE IMPROVES GLUCOSE TRANSPORT What sort of exercise will give you the most GLUT4 activity? Resistance training! That is, using and moving loads or weights. Research has found that resistance training improves insulin-mediated glucose transport, and increases GLUT4 activity through muscular contraction (Holten et al., 2004; Dela & Kjaer, 2006; Ivy, 1997). In other words, the stronger and more frequent your muscle contractions, the more GLUT4 is stimulated. For people with Type 2 Diabetes, this is more important as their muscles are insulin-resistant. That is, insulin does not work as effectively to move sugar into the muscles where it can be metabolised. As a result, high amounts of sugar accumulate in the bloodstream, which leads to weight gain but is also toxic for your organs and nerves. To optimise the function of GLUT4, we at Inspire Fitness recommend that you undertake resistance training at least 3 days per week for 45–60 min. The exercise program should include whole-body exercises and should become progressively more challenging as your fitness and strength increases over time. Cardiovascular training should also be undertaken on most, if not all, days of the week for a minimum of 30 min. Written by Rory Scott, Accredited Exercise Physiologist.
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