If you have been diagnosed as being pre-diabetic, you might have heard your doctor mention your blood glucose levels and that you need to eat a certain way to prevent your insulin levels from skyrocketing. You may have heard about insulin levels and blood glucose levels from reading about a low glycemic diet that you are thinking about trying. Regardless of how you came to learn about these terms, it is important to know what they mean and what the difference is between them.
Blood Glucose
Your blood glucose levels indicate how much sugar is in your blood. When you eat a carbohydrate-containing food, these carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, the simplest form of sugar, which is absorbed in to the bloodstream and used for energy. Normal blood glucose levels are maintained by your body between 70 and 110 mg/dL, which can be determined with a simple blood test. After you eat, your blood sugar levels may rise above 110 mg/dL, especially if you eat sugary foods or starchy carbohydrates.
Blood Insulin
When your blood glucose levels rise after eating carbohydrates, the hormone called insulin is released from your pancreas into your bloodstream. The job of insulin is to inform your body's muscle cells, red blood cells and fat cells that it is time to absorb the extra glucose from your blood, bringing your glucose level back to its normal range. Insulin is important, because without it, you would have high blood glucose levels, which can cause damage to your blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart.
Insulin Resistance
If you are insulin-resistant, your cells do not respond to insulin as they should, leaving unused glucose to build up in your blood. As a response, more insulin is secreted into your blood from your pancreas to try to get your blood glucose levels back into the normal range. Insulin resistance can be diagnosed as pre-diabetes, which means that your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Specific factors can increase your risk of developing insulin resistance, such as excess body weight and lack of physical activity.
How to Improve Your Insulin Response
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that one in four adults aged 20 years or older had pre-diabetes in 2007. That is 57 million Americans. If you have pre-diabetes, you will most likely be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes later, unless you make some serious commitments to lifestyle change. To improve your odds for a healthy adulthood, lose weight if you are overweight, start exercising, and eat a healthy diet full of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and low fat proteins, with sugary foods eaten in moderation.
