Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance. A topic that not as many health care providers talk about or understand. I myself was caught up in this topic. A short time ago I began gaining weight with no change to diet, no changes to exercise. I reached out to a more holistic MD as well as DO for some blood work. The solution I got from one of the doctors was that my lab results were normal and that I just needed to workout more, drink more water, and watch calories in / calories out.
As someone who works in healthcare I was a little shocked for this to be my response as a doctor to doctor interaction. Was he serious, did he not listen to my intake that said I work out on average 4-5 days a week with high intensity interval training, drink over a gallon of water a day, with a relatively healthy diet. Shock. Totally and utter shock. I was looking for answers or at least a different perspective. As someone who can self diagnose with the best haha. I wanted to look at a different approach, see if I was missing something. What I realized was…. Not all doctors or health care professionals have all the answers. Sometimes you just need to keep looking, when you know in your gut that something just isn’t right.
This week I want to discuss how insulin resistance could be contributing to miscarriages (it can contribute to a lot more as we will discuss, but if you are currently in the rut of multiple miscarriage and infertility, unexplained infertility… consider this topic could be the culprit).
Do you know someone who is hangry and brand new after eating, has difficulty losing weight, constantly craves sugar, thirsty, anxious, sluggish, has difficulty concentrating / hard to stay focused, trouble sleeping through the night, cuts and bruises tend to take longer to heal; they likely have a blood sugar issue or hydration issue, potentially even both.
High insulin levels lead to insulin resistance making someone metabolically inflexible. Our cells are supposed to be squishy and move like a water balloon does when you poke it. When someone has insulin resistant cells they are hard and not as moveable, more like a dodgeball. It has a little give, but not as much as that water balloon.
What causes or leads to insulin resistance: too much refined carbs like crackers and bread, terrible sleep patterns, and lack of mobility. Risk factors that impact insulin resistance: unexplained weight gain, family history of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, cognitive decline, autoimmune diagnosis, and hormonal diagnosis (pms, pcos, endometriosis, low sperm count, erectile dysfunction).
The biggest tip I can give you this week is walk 5-10 minutes after eating to help with insulin sensitivity.
With metabolic flexibility, you want to be insulin sensitive, no food cravings, wake with ease, and have high energy.
Think of this like how you fuel a car. As examples you have standard gasoline and hybrid. The standard is insulin resistance. Your ONLY fuel source is only gasoline. You have one option. You have easy access to process high carbs and depend on carbs which creates metabolic inflexibility. If we think of a hybrid as the metabolic flexible person. With this fuel source you are able to easily switch from gas to electric, you can use gasoline, electric, or both, depending on the situation for efficiency. Good metabolic flexibility does this. It lets you break down carbs or fat to maintain your ideal weight easily, to have increased energy, and increase health overall.
When blood sugar is balanced - you happy, energetic, productive, focused and sleep well
The goal here for men and women on their trying to conceive journey or overall health journey is metabolic flexibility. A ‘side effect’ if you will, of a healthy body is fertility. Health is the ability to get pregnant and stay pregnant.
It wasn't until utilizing the Schaefer Protocol that I noticed changes in my health. The ability to poop daily. My hydration restored despite drinking over a gallon a day and being dehydrated overall.
I love to utilize this protocol to create baseline health prior to conception, but if you let it, this program creates baseline health in general. For those of us that aren’t ready to conceive yet, but want to make sure our bodies have the best chance when the time comes ;)
If you would like to take my 8 point health assessment for baseline health to see where you fall, please message ‘baseline’ and I will send it over.
<3 Dr. Ashley
As a reminder. This is not medical advice. This is a different perspective. Please consult with your chosen provider on your journey. If you would like to discuss your individual case please reach out.
