You might think it would be easy to tell if you’re making too much insulin–just measure it in the blood, right? The problem is that insulin disappears from the bloodstream so fast it’s impossible to tell how much you’re producing with a blood test. Scientists measure insulin production with a procedure called a glucose clamp test, but this examination is only done in research laboratories.
Doctors diagnose hyperinsulinemia by looking for signs of its effects on the body. The earliest and most reliable sign is excess visceral fat. While scientists sometimes use computerized scans to measure fat in the abdomen, they’ve learned they can estimate the amount of visceral fat with reasonable accuracy simply by measuring the circumference of people’s abdomens with a tape measure and comparing it to their height. (Pants size doesn’t count. You need to wrap a tape measure around your belly at the level of your navel.) If your abdominal girth is more than 50 percent of your height, you probably produce too much insulin.
The “Metabolic Syndrome”
If in addition to excess belly fat you have two or more of the following signs, doctors call it the “metabolic syndrome.” Having this increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease and polycystic ovary syndrome.
–High blood levels of triglyceride (Higher than 150)
–Low blood levels of HDL—so called “good cholesterol” (40 or lower for males, 50 or lower for females)
–Borderline high blood pressure (130/85 or higher)
-Borderline high blood glucose levels (110 or higher)
These test are often done as part of routine physical examinations, so you might be able to get the results with a call to your doctor’s office. If you have the metabolic syndrome you are probably producing between two and six times the normal amount of insulin .
Type 2 Diabetes
Years of insulin overproduction often wears out the insulin producing cells (beta cells) of the pancreas. When insulin production can’t keep up with demand, your blood sugar rises and you develop type 2 diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you’ve been overproducing insulin for years.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Another condition brought on by hyperinsulinemia in women is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), America’s number one cause of infertility. If you have been diagnosed with PCOS you have probably been overproducing insulin for years.
Most women who have PCOS don’t know it. This is unfortunate because PCOS is preventable and treatable by taking measures to reduce insulin levels.
The Double Whammy: High Glycemic Load Plus Insulin Resistance
