I’m talking about hyperinsulinemia—one of the key factors in the development of cardiovascular disease. Hyperinsulinemia is elevated serum insulin levels in the blood, and the results of this metabolic disaster are devastating. Symptoms include:

• Elevated blood pressure
• Elevated cholesterol levels, with a marked decrease in HDL
• Sky-high triglyceride levels
• Hardening of the arteries
• Adult-onset diabetes

And the list goes on and on.

So why have most people never heard of this condition? Good question, one I wish I had a good answer for, but I don’t. Scientists and doctors have known for years that elevated insulin levels was deadly over the long-haul, yet few recommend actual dietary changes to their patients. Instead they let the insulin remain high, run it’s course, and then put their patients on hypertensive medications, statin drugs, beta blockers, and eventually insulin itself as the pancreas literally stops producing it, worn out from the efforts.

In short, it pays more to treat the symptoms than cure the disease. Jaded? You bet. You should be, too.

Hyperinsulinemia is indeed a man-made plague, but one that for the vast majority of people is quickly controlled by diet and exercise. We’ll discuss each of these factors and how they effect insulin, but first let’s look at how insulin does it’s damage and how it prevents you from burning bodyfat.

Metabolic Checks and Balances

According to Dr. Rachael Heller, insulin is the body’s “saving hormone” while glucagon, the hormone you want super-active, is the body’s “spending hormone”. What does this mean? Insulin isn’t all bad in fact it’s the most anabolic hormone in the body! This is why many professional bodybuilders foolishly inject the stuff in high quantities. Insulin shuttles glucose, the by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, into either the muscle cells, the fat cells, or both. In the insulin sensitive person, someone who illicits a minor insulin response to ingested carbohydrate, insulin is usually quickly disposed of allowing its counterpart glucagon to work. This is a good thing in fact insulin can act as a facilitator of glycogen synthesis, packing the muscles full of glycogen, or muscle fuel. Tons of glycogen makes for a monster pump in the gym as well as providing temporary fuel during heavy resistance training or long endurance bouts.

However, most people are insulin resistant. Their bodies respond to ingested carbohydrates, especially simple carbohydrates, by drastically raising blood sugar levels. This forces the pancreas to secrete excessive amounts of insulin in response. Unfortunately their bodies are not genetically programmed to handle this large surge of insulin and therefore it remains in the bloodstream for long periods of time.

Bear in mind: When insulin is high, glucagon cannot function. And glucagon is the hormone responsible for get this releasing the energy stored in your fat cells. In other words, high insulin levels means zero fat burning. It’s metabolically impossible to do anything but store fat when insulin is high and the body is insulin resistant.

How Do I Know If I’m Insulin Resistant?

The complex way would be to run a fasting insulin text. If your insulin is over 8, you’re probably insulin resistant. However, even low insulin levels doesn’t guarantee you’re not having problems. Your body could be processing the insulin quickly. So, in essence, your insulin could be high most of the time—except for the test. That’s a drag.

There is a better way. Pinch your stomach, right below the navel. Have alot of fat there? Chances are VERY good that you’re insulin resistant. If you are naturally lean, then you’re probably insulin sensitive.

There are numerous methods for increasing insulin sensitivity, something everyone should be interested in. Let’s look at a few of them now.

Resistance Training

Training with weights drastically improves insulin sensitivity, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association as well as Ron Rosedale, M.D. Here’s what Dr. Rosedale stated at the Health Institute’s 1999 World Seminar:

“It has actually been shown by quite a number of papers that resistance training for insulin resistance is better than aerobic training. If you just do a bicep curl, you immediately increase the insulin sensitivity of your bicep. Just by exercising, and what you are doing is you are increasing the blood flow to that muscle. That is one of the factors that determines insulin sensitivity is how much can get there. It has been shown conclusively that resistance training will increase insulin sensitivity.”

The reasoning is quite simple: the greater the degree of lean muscle tissue one has the greater the chance of having insulin used for what it’s supposed to be used for shuttling nutrients into the muscle cells and away from the fat cells. After all, weight training increases the size of the cell, making that much more room for nutrients and, consequently, insulin. Also, weight training increases the body’s internal awareness of carbohydrate need. Living a sedentary lifestyle without having to struggle or strain simply isn’t part of our created physiology. This lack of activity and stress to the muscular system is a relatively new phenomenon. In fact it’s been said that our top three killers are predominantly “industrial-age diseases”.

Dietary Modification

Along with picking up the weights, an insulin-resistant individual must control insulin by adjusting his or her carbohydrate intake. Ever wonder why diets like Atkins work when the dieter is eating bacon and eggs? Simple: Insulin control. Don’t buy into the lie that it’s due to caloric restriction, although the diet works significantly better when calories ARE restricted. The success is due to controlling insulin by reducing the amount of carbohydrate ingested. Once again, all carbs end up as glucose (sugar) which illicits an insulin response. The question is how quickly these carbs are converted to glucose for many. However, for some, any carb is a bad carb. To this extent, dietary programming is individual and needs to be addressed with that in mind.

One thing I always advise my clients is to never consume carbohydrates by themselves. Always include lean protein and good fat with carbs and the digestion process is slowed considerably, as is the insulin response.

Supplementation

There are several supplements that I’ve found work quite well at increasing insulin sensitivity. They include:

Vanadyl Sulfate

Vanadyl works as an insulin-mimicker, taking the place of insulin by lowering blood sugar and shuttling nutrients into the muscle cells. Vanadyl is a great supplement to take with carb-heavy meals. You’ll also get pumps that will stretch your skin with this stuff if you weight train. I recommend 50-150mg/day for insulin control, taken only with carbohydrates.

Chromium GTF

The GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor) version of chromium works well to keep blood sugar levels stable. While not as powerful as Vanadyl, chromium helps keep the appetite under control as well as keep sugar cravings at bay.

Creatine

While creatine is well-known for its ability to increase strength, few people think of it as a way to control insulin. It works actually by allowing the resistance trainer to increase muscle mass, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity.

Three Categories of Dieters

When it comes to carbs, I divide all dieters into three categories:

Carb-Tolerant

These individuals are usually naturally lean or have boosted their insulin-sensitivity to the roof using every trick in the book. For these individuals a diet high in carbs (about 50-55%) is just fine. These are the lucky ones!

Carb-Neutral

I put myself into this category—well, sort of. I carry almost all my bodyfat (even at 9%) in my midsection and chest a clear sign of insulin resistance. However, my body responds fairly well to merely limiting the amount of carbs I eat. I was able to reduce my bodyfat to 9% eating about a 45% carb diet, but I was taking insulin-mimicker (and still do) like Vanadyl Sulfate, weight training, cardio training and keeping the majority of my carbs in the low-glycemic zone. These are carbs that are processed more slowly, illiciting less of an insulin response. Food sources include whole grains, hard breads (like Ezekiel Bread), lentils, veggies, and some fruits. So, while I’m naturally insulin resistant, I’ve managed to become somewhat insulin sensitive with proper supplementation, diet and training. However, to get really lean, I need to drop my carbs to a very low level. Therefore I’m “Carb Neutral”. Carb Neutral individuals usually need to decrease their carb intake of any type to fully lean out. My bodyfat didn’t budge after I hit 9% without dumping some of the carbs and increasing my lean protein. I personally take carbs down to about 35% of my diet, eaten predominantly earlier in the day, during a peaking phase. (Nowadays this goes much lower.) A few days a week a eat one carb-heavy “free meal” to keep things interesting.

Carb-Intolerant

This, unfortunately, is the vast majority of the population. In fact, one of the most disturbing facts the AHA announced this year is that obesity among children has risen to an all-time high: 40%. Just think about that…almost HALF of our children are obese. All that Nintendo and no dietary discipline (Micky D’s anyone?) has all but ruined their chance at an active, healthy life. It’s a sin beyond imagination. Carb-Intolerance is just as it sounds: People who either haven’t altered their lifestyle to accommodate a carb-heavy diet or people who simply cannot ingest carbs without serious insulin surges. For these people, a healthy version of a low-carb diet is recommended.

I recommend dietary programs for each of these three categories of individuals. No matter what category you fit into, there’s a nutrition plan that will work for you and it doesn’t have to be something you suffer through. Email me for more details.

Conclusion

It’s sad when we realize that we’re literally digging our graves with our forks and spoons. It’s sad that we’ve turned celebrations into sugar-fests rather than true communion with each other. It’s sad that the consequences of such actions had led to the plague of hyperinsulinemia, the mother of cardiovascular disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and more.

What’s not sad is that you can do something about it right now. Today. Take a hard look at your body. Get to know it and learn your level of carb tolerance. Then apply a diet and exercise strategy that will allow you to live life to the fullest.

This is one plague we don’t need science to find a miracle cure for. The cure is found on your dinner table or rather, on what’s missing from it.