How to Treat Insulin Resistance Naturally

               How to Treat Insulin Resistance Naturally?

Step 1

Lose seven percent of your body weight to reduce the risk of your insulin resistance progressing to diabetes by 60 percent, according to the National Institutes of Health. To avoid the dangerous practice of having your weight yo-yo up and down, George Blackburn, M.D., of the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine at Harvard University, recommends that you stop after losing 10 percent of your body weight and remain for six months at this new weight before resuming weight loss efforts. To lose one pound a week establish your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, on an online BMR calculator. This is the number of calories you need to survive. Then multiply this number by 1.2 if you are not walking an hour a day or 1.35 if you have this level of exercise. Finally, subtract 500 from this result to find the number of calories you need to eat daily to lose one pound a week. Take as long as you need to reach a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9. Calculate body mass index by diving your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared.

Step 2

Plan three meals and two snacks a day within your target daily calorie count. To optimize nutrition and reduce the level of glucose your body has to contend with at one time, select foods from the Mediterranean Diet Plan. In an article published in the July 27, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine Mediterranean-style eating strategies include maximizing consumption of fresh vegetables and whole fruits; whole grains; and omega-3 fatty acids such as olive oil, avocado, salmon and walnuts while eliminating white flour, sugar and saturated dietary fat. This eating style resulted in a significant correction of of both blood insulin and blood glucose levels.

 

Step 3

Walk 30 minutes per day at least five days per week to decrease insulin resistance and circulating insulin levels. This strategy, derived from the research of British physicians at Kent and Canterbury Universities, is free, not too time consuming and effective. For a greater degree of fat loss, especially in the abdomen, they recommended increasing the intensity of the walk periodically. Walking in locations with an incline, taking longer strides or walking faster each can achieve this goal. Wearing a pedometer--a device that measures your daily step count--may inspire you to increase the length of your walk slightly each day, but if you don't have one you can use landmarks to determine that you are increasing your mileage over time.

Things You'll Need

Bathroom scale

Tape measure

Measuring cups and spoons

Sneakers and socks

Pedometer, preset and not requiring calibration

Warnings

Anyone with obesity and especially abdominal obesity is at risk for diabetes as well as insulin resistance. Because many cases of diabetes are not diagnosed until significant damage has already occurred and insulin resistance can not be measured at home, scientists have looked for an accurate sign that can predict these disorders. It has been determined that a waist circumference of 100 cm or 39.34 inches is associated with a 61 percent risk of insulin resistance in men and a 42 percent risk in women, according to results published by researchers from Stockholm in the April 2005 issue of the British Medical Journal. If you waist measurement is 100 cm or more have a hemoglobin A1C blood test done at your physician's office to rule out insulin resistance and diabetes.