What happens in the body when glucose levels rise?

When blood glucose levels rise, insulin is produced. This substance helps glucose move from the blood into muscle tissue. When insulin performs this important role, its levels drop sharply to normal.

When a woman gets old

...insulin can no longer perform its role as well as before. Insulin receptors become weaker, they can no longer bind glucose and transport it throughout the body.

And then the insulin level no longer decreases after fulfilling its role. Moreover, it has a very bad effect on glucose, in other words, it is of little use.

The glucose level in the body remains high, especially after eating. The brain immediately reacts to this situation by sending signals to the pancreas to produce more insulin to process and suppress the glucose level.

And then the body's cells and blood are filled with insulin, there is a lot of it, much more than normal. It supplies glucose to the cells, and its level in the blood decreases significantly.

Recurrent hypoglycemia

Doctors call this reaction recurrent hypoglycemia. This is a condition in which the blood sugar level drops significantly. This causes a person to feel attacks of brutal hunger, he may feel sick, sweat appears on the forehead and bridge of the nose, the head spins, the heartbeat quickens, it feels like the heart is jumping out.

This state can only be stopped for a while by eating sweets and starchy foods. And then it all starts again.

Due to the increased glucose level, a person feels sluggish, exhausted, weak, gets tired quickly, sleeps poorly. And again - a vicious circle: insulin increases, glucose decreases. Then the person again has cold sweat and all the other symptoms listed above.

If a woman is in the period before menopause

...changes in the menstrual cycle can also weaken her. There is an incorrect balance of hormones and, as a result, poor health.

If a woman has discovered all these mood swings and other symptoms, it is time to consult an endocrinologist. You should not attribute your condition only to fatigue and life in constant stress.

This additional sign can be used to determine whether a woman has insulin resistance. First of all, you need to measure your waist. If your waist is more than 83 cm, then it’s time to sound the alarm and get tested for insulin resistance and blood glucose levels.

What is insulin resistance?

Excess insulin in the blood leads to increased fat deposits and weight gain. This is glucose that is stored as fat instead of giving you energy to live.

With insulin resistance, this substance is no longer able to transport glucose into muscle cells, and then the appetite suddenly appears - greater than usual. It seems that the person is not getting enough food, but this is not true.

In addition, glucose, not penetrating the cells, but remaining in the blood, does not provide the body with sufficient vital energy. And then a paradoxical situation arises: there is a lot of glucose in the blood, but you are still ravenously hungry. And you eat: it is very difficult to fight hunger. Therefore, you gain weight.

At the same time, glucose fills the fat cells with excess, and the amount of fat in the body increases. But the cells again and again require "fuel". They receive it, divide and grow. This is where excess weight appears in women with insulin resistance. Even though you reduce calories in your menu as much as possible.

Consequences of insulin resistance

1. Weakened immunity
2. Susceptibility to infections and colds due to weak immunity
3. The build-up of muscle tissue inside the walls of the arteries, which slows down blood flow and prevents blood from reaching the internal organs, depriving them of nutrients.
4. Plaques in the arteries, which increases the risk of heart attacks
5. Platelets (blood cells) begin to stick together, which increases the risk of blood clots.

You have already understood that when the blood glucose level increases, a person risks not only gaining excess weight - he or she may begin to have serious problems with blood vessels and the heart. A heart attack or other heart attack is very likely.

This condition is aggravated by the emergence of the so-called syndrome X.

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Syndrome X

This is a complex disease that is associated with metabolic disorders. It especially often affects women. Syndrome X is also called the deadly quintet. That is, its deadly components are as follows.

• Elevated insulin levels
• Immunity to it
• High blood pressure
• Weight gain (especially around the hips and waist)
• High cholesterol
• Elevated triglyceride levels
• At the behavioral level – increased anxiety, restless sleep

Syndrome X is also called syndrome W, but its effect is much narrower - doctors call this disease a disease of women. Its symptoms are the same as with syndrome X.

How to prevent insulin resistance?

If a woman has enough estradiol (a female hormone) in her body, then insulin resistance is less likely to occur. This is because estradiol has the ability to improve the cells' response to insulin.

But here's the rub: when insulin resistance develops, it affects the functioning of the ovaries, which, it turns out, have insulin receptors inside.

Insulin, moving inside the ovaries, changes the hormones that the ovaries produce. For example, androgens begin to be produced more than estradiol, a female hormone. And beta-estrol, which has the ability to participate in weight control, becomes less.

When there are too many androgens in a woman's body, glucose levels become very difficult to control. Even more insulin is produced, as well as fat deposits.

This problem can occur at any age, even in women under 30.

A woman in menopause and insulin

Such a hormonal imbalance, as we described above, can also occur in women after menopause. They have a lot of androgens in their bodies, estradiol is catastrophically low, and testosterone no longer performs its beneficial functions.

Because there are too many androgens, which suppress the action of female hormones, fat deposits accumulate and the woman gains weight.

Moreover, this weight is already difficult to control. Fat deposits mainly appear in the waist and stomach area, and the woman's figure becomes more like a man's.

If a woman is also on a diet, the pancreas begins to produce even more insulin. It contributes to the fact that fats continue to be deposited, even on the walls of organs. This is the so-called visceral fat, which is not very noticeable at first by the shape of the figure, but significantly increases weight and leads to poor health.

At the same time, the body's rejection of insulin becomes increasingly evident.

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To prevent this situation, you need to do the following:

• Eat regularly and in equal portions
• Not eating a lot in the evenings leads to increased insulin levels in the blood and fat deposits as a result
• Avoid eating foods with a lot of carbohydrates (sweets, flour) – this increases insulin levels
• Exercise

And, of course, be sure to get examined by a doctor - this will give you the opportunity to see the full picture of your health