Protein Helps Improve Insulin Resistance

People with insulin resistance have a metabolism that stores fat rather than burns fat. They don’t obtain enough energy from the food they eat. Calories are stored away into body fat or the liver, meanwhile the cells of the body are starving for energy. That means insulin resistant people are prone to feeling tired, hungry and battling with cravings. Fortunately there are ways to out smarten your metabolism and correct insulin resistance.

Protein is the most important nutrient for people with insulin resistance. It promotes satiety, stabilizes blood sugar and helps you achieve a healthy weight. Interesting research has shown that whey protein concentrate can help to reduce post-meal spikes in blood sugar in type 2 diabetics. High blood sugar is dangerous; it can cause damage to any part of the body. Blood sugar is highest after meals. Research has shown that whey protein helps to blunt the usual rise in blood sugar, which should help to reduce the potential long term complications of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, as well as pre-diabetes.

The research was conducted at Tel Aviv University and published in the journal Diabetologia. According to Professor Daniela Jakubowicz, Dr. Julio Wainstein and Professor Bo Ahrén, the consumption of whey protein before meals might even reduce a diabetic’s requirement for insulin. This is good news because insulin has a tendency to promote weight gain around the abdomen and can make it impossible for diabetics to lose weight. Type 2 diabetes is end stage insulin resistance; when the condition has become so advanced that the body cannot regulate blood sugar any longer.

Professor Jakubowicz also said “What’s remarkable is that consuming whey protein before meals reduces the blood sugar spikes seen after meals. It also improves the body’s insulin response, putting it in the same range or even higher than that produced by novel anti-diabetic drugs”.

Whey protein powders are a convenient and healthy way for diabetics to achieve better blood sugar control. I recommend all of my patients with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, abdominal obesity or polycystic ovarian syndrome follow a low carbohydrate diet and increase protein. There is an easy to follow eating plan in my book Diabetes Type 2: You Can Reverse It.

Berberine is an effective remedy for improving insulin resistance, correcting elevated blood sugar and blood fats, and it even helps speed up weight loss. Berberine is a natural plant extract, found in several different herbs. Examples include Goldenseal, barberry, oregon grape and phellodendron. It has a long tradition of use in Chinese and Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine.

Including more protein in your diet has the following benefits:

• It improves insulin sensitivity. If the cells of your body are more sensitive to insulin, your pancreas won’t have to produce as much and you should experience better blood sugar control.
• It reduces the rise in glucose after a meal and the amount of glucose that is produced inside your liver.
• Protein is the most satiating nutrient. If you base your meals on protein, you are likely to start feeling full sooner, and thus not over eat. You are also more likely to keep feeling satiated for many hours after your meals.
• Protein improves levels of your appetite hormones. It suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and prevents leptin resistance. People who eat more protein find it easier to achieve their desired body weight.

Reference

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.