How Do Hormonal Disorders Affect Your Relationship With Insulin

Understanding Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance, also known as impaired insulin sensitivity occurs when the body’s cells do not respond effectively to insulin. This increases the blood glucose (sugar) levels. How? Let us understand!

When you eat food, it is broken down in the body to produce glucose. The pancreas produces insulin as the amount of glucose in the blood rises. Insulin helps the fat cells, tissues, and liver utilise glucose and produce energy.

If you develop insulin resistance, your cells do not respond to insulin and therefore fail to utilise the glucose, leading to increased blood glucose levels. In response to the increase in blood glucose levels, pancreatic cells start producing more insulin.

This excessive insulin production over a long period can damage the pancreatic cells, and they may ultimately get worn out. There are many factors responsible for causing insulin resistance, we will have a look at them one by one, but first, let us understand the symptoms of insulin resistance.

Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

You may not have any symptoms during the earlier stages of insulin resistance. However, as time passes, your pancreatic cells wear out and stop producing the excess insulin in an attempt to use up the glucose in your blood.

This is the time when you start experiencing symptoms because the glucose in the blood starts rising.

High glucose levels in the blood can cause:

• Headache
• Blurry vision
• Increased hunger
• Increased thirst
• Frequent urge to pass urine
• Vaginal and skin infection
• Delayed wound healing

If you notice any of these symptoms, reach out to your doctor.

Causes of Insulin Resistance

Scientists are still figuring out the exact mechanism of the development of insulin resistance. Several factors and conditions can cause insulin resistance to some extent. These conditions are:

• Excess body fat: Body fat, especially around the belly is a major cause of insulin resistance.
• Diet: A diet rich in high carbohydrates and highly processed food items causes spikes in your blood glucose levels that can put excessive pressure on the pancreas and lead to insulin resistance.
• Lack of physical activity: Adequate physical exercise makes your body sensitive to insulin. Lack of physical activity may lead to weight gain and cause insulin resistance.
• Certain medications: Medications like steroids, psychiatry medication, anti-HIV treatment, and blood pressure medicine can cause insulin resistance.
• Genetic disorders: Certain inherited genetic conditions can cause insulin resistance. For example, Donohue syndrome.
• Hormonal disorders: An imbalance among hormone levels in your body due to certain conditions like acromegaly can lead to insulin resistance.

Your healthcare provider will help you determine the cause behind your condition. For the scope of this article, let us understand the hormonal disorders that cause insulin resistance in detail.

What Hormonal Disorders Can Cause Insulin Resistance?

You are now aware of the general causes of insulin resistance. Let us understand how certain hormonal disorders can also cause insulin resistance.

Your body is full of chemical messengers called hormones. Hormones coordinate different functions in your body by carrying messages from the blood to different organs, tissues, and muscles in the body. Hormones also affect how your body uses insulin. This is why, an imbalance between these hormones disrupts glucose metabolism and insulin function.

Let us learn about some of the conditions that cause insulin resistance.

• Cushing’s syndrome: Cushing’s syndrome happens when there is excess cortisol in your body. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is released in response to stress. Having the perfect balance of this hormone is important as it helps regulate blood glucose levels and turn food into energy. Increased cortisol levels can counteract the effects of insulin, leading to insulin resistance.
• Hypothyroidism: Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland is underactive and fails to produce enough thyroid hormones. The thyroid is a key hormone responsible for regulating metabolism (the process of turning food into energy). When the thyroid gland produces less of the hormone, the metabolism rate is lowered, which in turn reduces the metabolism of glucose. Slow glucose metabolism can lead to insulin resistance.
• Acromegaly: Acromegaly is a rare but serious medical condition caused by high levels of growth hormones in the body. Growth hormones are chemical messengers that help the body grow by regulating our height, muscles, and bone length. Excess growth hormones can lead to increased glucose production, which can cause insulin resistance.

In addition to these hormonal disorders, studies suggest that an imbalance in sex hormones in women, namely progesterone and estradiol, may lead to insulin resistance. A trial conducted in men suggested the role of testosterone in insulin sensitivity. The study found that low testosterone levels promoted insulin resistance in men.

So, in case you have any of these disorders or hormone imbalance, you can consult your healthcare provider as they can make you prone to high blood glucose. Taking precautions and following your doctor’s advice can help you navigate these conditions without affecting your blood glucose levels.

Conclusion

Familiarising yourself with the concept of insulin resistance and the hormonal disorders that can lead to this condition can help you in the early identification of their symptoms. Being aware of these conditions and their relationship with blood glucose and insulin resistance can help you take precautions and manage the symptoms better. If you are suffering from any hormonal disorders, ask your doctor if it can affect your blood glucose levels. This way you can make well-informed choices and live a healthier life.