The best way to get the body you want is......

Valentine’s Day is the chocolate holiday, or is that Christmas, or Easter? Inevitably unless you’re very self-disciplined you’re going to indulge on sugar during this holiday whether it’s a chocolate pudding after a romantic meal with a loved one, or whole tub of ice cream sitting on your own watching Bridget Jones. How does this short sharp hit of sugar affect your body? The answer all revolves around one hormone, insulin. 



When you eat sugars, the speed at which they get into your blood stream, i.e. how easily digestible they are, is what the glycaemic index (GI) measures. Examples of high GI sugars include table sugar and chocolate, low GI sugars include blueberries and oats. High GI sugars result in the same amount of glucose in the blood stream but in a shorter period of time and so in response the body secretes more insulin.

When released this insulin binds to the cell membranes in the body and encourages them to absorb and store the glucose, clearing it from the blood. The speed at which the cells absorb the extra glucose when stimulated by insulin is what is termed ‘insulin sensitivity’. When sensitivity gets very low, to the point where very high levels of insulin do not enable the body to clear the glucose effectively Type 2 diabetes is present. This is extreme insulin resistance.

Insulin does not just affect blood sugar though, it also affects free proteins and fats, meaning that having cells which are sensitive to insulin means that muscles cells absorb more fuel from these sources resulting in more energy. They also clear dangerous fat from the blood vessels, reducing the risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke and heart disease.

Insulin suppresses the use of adipose tissue as fuel because the priority is to clear the macronutrients in the blood not add more from our tissue. When there is less insulin needed on a daily basis due to increased sensitivity fat is more likely to be used as a fuel source resulting in better body composition.

So a healthier cardiovascular system, stronger muscles, more energy and less fat are all promoted by increasing your insulin sensitivity. How do you do it?

1. Manage your carbohydrate intake; obtain all carbs from fibrous veg, the lower GI the quicker the sensitivity will change.
2. Exercise; high intensity exercise and resistance training work the best
3. Take Omega 3 fish oils*

A study (Simopoulos in 1999) compared a Palaeolithic diet which is high in fibrous carbs and omega 3 acids with a recommended American Heart association diet which gave low omega 3 fatty acids and high amounts of high GI carbohydrates. The Palaeolithic diet clearly illustrated reduced risk for heart disease as a result of increased insulin sensitivity.

*A good estimate for those wanting to improve insulin sensitivity is to take 1g of fish oil per day for every % of body fat that they have. As their body fat drops then the dosage will drop similarly.

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Refs
Haag, M, Dippenaar, N. (2005)Dietary fats, fatty acids an insulin resistance: short review of a multifaceted connection. Med Sci Monit. 11(12) p359-367

Simopoulos, A. (1999) Evolutionary aspects of omega-3 fatty acids in the food supply. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 60 (5-6) p421–429


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