If there is one physiological concept that plays a very important role in an individual's ability to lose weight, it would be the secretion of insulin. The elevated secretion of insulin and the resultant insensitivity of insulin receptors are some of the major causes of excess bodyweight gain and can also be considered as factors that have made it pretty difficult for several millions to effectively lose weight.
The human body is a marvel when it comes to creating systems of checks and balances to make sure that the body operates optimally. This process is known as homeostasis and is a complex set of biological regulatory systems employed by the human body to maintain an optimal physiological and chemical equilibrium in order for cellular reactions to occur. Examples of these homeostatic functions include the body's self-regulation of hormone and acid-base levels, the composition of body fluids, and also that of cell growth and body temperature.
When it comes to insulin, it is a hormone which helps the body to regulate the amount of glucose available in the bloodstream. Whenever there is an excess amount of glucose in the blood, the body in a counteracting move secretes insulin which consequently instructs body cells to take up the excess glucose and convert it to either glycogen for storage in liver and muscle cells or fat to be stored in fat cells.
However, it is important to state at this point that besides insulin, other hormones such as glucagon, cortisol, growth hormones, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, also have certain amount of influence on overall blood glucose levels. While insulin is generally known to help in lowering blood glucose (sugar) levels, virtually all the others work in one way or the other to increase blood glucose levels with glucagon having the most significant effect.
After eating, the amount of glucose (the final product of the digestion of carbohydrate-containing foods) in the bloodstream increases. The amount of glucose that is produced and the rate at which they are absorbed into the bloodstream to cause an increase in blood glucose level is influenced by a number of factors.
The major factors that can significantly influence glucose absorption include the glycemic index of the consumed carbohydrate food and also the co-ingestion of fats and proteins. Generally, carbohydrate foods with high glycemic index (above 65) are very quickly absorbed into the blood and cause a quick rise in blood glucose level while those with a low glycemic index (below 50) are absorbed slower and cause a gradual rise in blood sugar levels.
In fact, the body is very sensitive to the overall amount of glucose in the bloodstream and works vigorously to ensure its stability. Therefore, when blood glucose levels increase above normal, specialized cells in the pancreas secrete insulin to help remove the excess glucose for storage. Unfortunately, constantly high level of glucose in the bloodstream can destabilize this delicate system making the body incapable of effectively removing glucose from the bloodstream.
This is due to the fact that when there is a constant high amount of glucose in the bloodstream due to overeating, with time the insulin receptors on the surface of cell membranes (that normally carry out the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream) may become "de-sensitized" or "numbed" to the effect of insulin.
The excess glucose removed from the bloodstream is stored mainly as fat because under normal circumstances the body can only store a certain amount of excess glucose in the muscles and liver cells. When the muscle and liver options become filled up, the body has only one alternative left and that is to store the excess glucose as fat in fat cells (adipose tissues).
Furthermore, excessive insulin secretion does not just stimulate the storage of excess glucose as fat in the body but it also hinders the body from releasing and utilizing fat for use as an energy source. Thus, insulin not only causes the storage of excess body fat but it also stops the body from burning fat. Therefore, excessive insulin secretion results in insulin resistance which encourages the storage of fat in major fat-storage areas such as the hips, thighs, and stomach. This condition practically makes permanent weight loss almost impossible.
Fortunately, insulin levels can be reduced through engaging in regular physical exercise which has been demonstrated to be capable of making insulin receptors on cell membranes more sensitive to the effect of insulin.
Also, a reduced insulin level can be achieved through a reduction in the overall amount of consumed carbohydrates especially the high glycemic index types. Reducing carbohydrate consumption can be argued to be the best way to go about reducing the amount of glucose in the bloodstream and thereby a reduction in the secretion of insulin.
When blood glucose level is low, the body secretes the hormone glucagon which instructs body fat cells to release their stored fat for use as energy. Therefore, by producing less insulin, the body can concentrate on mobilizing and oxidizing fat stores as a fuel source for energy.
Considering the effect of carbohydrate on insulin and its attendant weight loss complications, a lot of diet promoters started taking advantage of this concept and applying it as the underlying principle behind the development of their diet plans. The majority of these diets promote weight loss through the drastic reduction in the amount of consumed carbohydrates in order to substantially reduce insulin production.
In order to make up for the overall reduced energy occasioned by the reduced carbohydrate consumption, most of these diet plans promote the consumption of high amounts of either proteins or fats. Although it is a fact that most of these high-protein and high-fat diets cannot be sustained for long, it would however be worthwhile embracing the underlying principle on which they are found - the reduction in insulin secretion.
Therefore, it is important to realize the fact that our food choices have a dramatic effect on our hormones which are the body's most powerful set of chemical messengers. Consumption of the wrong types of foods is therefore bound to trigger undesirable hormonal variations such as the secretion of insulin which is often elevated through the consumption of high glycemic index carbohydrate foods.
In summary, the maintenance of a healthy and stable blood glucose level throughout the day should be of utmost importance to any individual who is seriously interested in losing weight and keeping it off in the long-term.
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