Blood sugar and the metabolic syndrome

Tricky blood sugar

Aperson does not need to be diagnosed with diabetes to have problems with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. Actually, once a person is diagnosed with diabetes, the problems do not begin. They have started long ago and a lot of damage has already been done. It is therefore important for everyone to prevent the condition, because once you are diagnosed with diabetes, you will just be treating thesymptoms.

Tomost people, high level of sugar in the blood mean diabetes, which, in a way, is true, as diabetes is referred to as a disease characterized by elevated blood sugar. Still, this way of thinking is binary, 1 or 0, level of sugar in the blood is either normal or high and you are either a healthy person or a diabetic. The truth is that there is a whole scale of possible levels of blood sugar between normal and high. As soon as level of blood sugar is above normal, although that condition does not qualify as diabetes (yet), it is time for alert. The truth is that you should not rely on safety margins, but try to keep your blood sugar level as low as possible.

Whathappens in the blood stays in the blood

Levelof sugar in blood rises either after you consume foods that contain carbohydrates or when your cells release stored sugar. When the level of sugar in the blood rises, pancreas releases insulin. This is a hormone that helps cells to absorb sugar. This serves both to use the sugar for energy, to store it for later use, and to reduce the sugar level in the blood. However, if there is insufficient insulin or cells do not react to insulin and then level of blood sugar will continue to rise. This is a slow, gradual process, and about ninety percent of people develop diabetes over a period of time.

Theproblem usually begins because the cells are resistant to insulin, although it is produced in sufficient quantities. Such condition is known as insulin resistance- It is associated with a group of symptoms which are known as the metabolic syndrome. These include high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, obesity and high blood pressure, insulin resistance, system – wide inflammation and some other problems. Metabolic syndrome sufferers usually test negative for diabetes, which does not mean they are not in trouble. But they are on the fast track for health problems. What happens is that insulin is overproduced to compensate for its inefficacy. Sugar gets stored in the form of fat, more and more, causing obesity. And since so much sugar gets stored, there is not enough sugar in the blood every now and then, which triggers a sense of hunger which will lead to consumption of more sugar. Eventually, the pancreas will fail to keep up with the demand and insulin production will fall below necessary levels. This will cause onset of diabetes.