Antony Haynes - The Insulin Factor - Can’t Lose Weight? Can’t Concentrate? Can’t Resist Sugar? Could Syndrome X Be Your Problem?

Can’t Lose Weight?

Can’t Concentrate?

Can’t Resist Sugar?

Could SYNDROME X Be Your Problem?

For Bharti and Ben

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Introduction

Part One What is Insulin Resistance?

Chapter 1 Tell Me About Insulin Resistance

Chapter 2 Are Refined Carbs and Sugar the Bad Guys?

Chapter 3 What’s My Risk of Insulin Resistance?

Part Two Let’s Take a Look at Diet

Chapter 4 How Your Digestion Affects Insulin

Chapter 5 Carbs and Proteins – Your Key to Reverse Insulin Resistance

Chapter 6 What’s So Essential About Essential Fats?

Chapter 7 Antioxidants: Your Defence Against Excess Insulin

Chapter 8 Key Nutrients to Reverse Insulin Resistance

Part Three Could Your Lifestyle Be Contributing to Insulin Resistance?

Chapter 9 Is Stress Affecting You More Than You Think?

Chapter 10 Are You Exercising Enough?

Chapter 11 Is It In My Genes?

Part Four The Insulin Factor Plan

Chapter 12 Your Plan to Reverse Insulin Resistance

Chapter 13 The Insulin Factor Diet Plan

Chapter 14 What Supplements Should Take and When?

Final Word

Resources

Glossary of Key Words and Terms

References

Bibliography

Index

Copyright

About the publisher

Do you always struggle with your weight despite watching what you eat?

Do you store most of your body fat around your middle?

Do you always crave sugary or starchy foods?

Do you have a poor memory or concentration and get ‘fuzzy’ brain, especially after eating?

Do you regularly feel tired or lethargic even if you’ve had a good night’s sleep?

Do you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol?

Do you have a history of heart disease or diabetes in your family?

If your answer is ‘yes’ to one, two or more of these questions you may well have an imbalance of a hormone in your body called insulin. And you are not alone: as many as four out of every five people have some degree of what is known as Insulin Resistance. Most of us aren’t even aware of it and, generally speaking, it is only the 22 to 25 per cent of the population who have full-blown Insulin Resistance who are more likely to get a proper diagnosis.

A staggering 80 per cent of the population have some degree of Insulin Resistance, 22 to 25 per cent of which have full-blown Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance, also known as Syndrome X and the Metabolic Syndrome, is a condition that occurs when, for a variety of reasons, your body makes too much insulin.

Insulin is a powerful hormone secreted by the pancreas in order to control the way the body stores and uses carbohydrates in the body. Under normal conditions, insulin is produced within moments of blood glucose levels increasing, which occurs after we eat something. In simple terms, its purpose is to enable the muscles and other tissues to take up the glucose they require for activity and to keep blood sugar levels to an acceptable level by storing any excess glucose for future use. However, for a variety of reasons – which of course we’ll look at in detail – this mechanism can become faulty, with the result that some tissues become resistant to the effects of insulin and the pancreas has to produce more insulin to get the blood glucose level down. This has many important implications for your metabolism and your general health – in essence, it makes you overweight and tired, and it dramatically increases your risk, first of heart disease and then of type II diabetes. If left untreated, Insulin Resistance will often lead to type II diabetes.

Insulin Resistance is also known as Syndrome X and the Metabolic Syndrome.

The good news is that whatever degree of Insulin Resistance you may have, you can completely reverse it by following the Insulin Factor Plan. This means that you will:

Lose weight safely and permanently

Feel energetic and alert

Stop feeling tired or dizzy before or after meals

Improve your memory and concentration

Stop craving sugary and starchy foods

Stop digestive problems causing bloating, pain, constipation, etc.

Slow down your body’s ageing process – look younger for longer!

Lower cholesterol and high blood pressure

Improve fertility and, if you are a woman, reduce your chance of developing PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)

Lower your risk of getting heart disease and cancer

Alleviate inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and gout

Never get type II diabetes

In short, you’ll feel healthy, energetic and ready for anything – it will dramatically improve your quality of life!

The Insulin Factor Plan is not a one-solution-fits-all programme because there are a range of imbalances that together or individually cause Insulin Resistance, and there are also different degrees of Insulin Resistance. With the help of questionnaires throughout the book you will be able to identify what degree of Insulin Resistance you have and which imbalances are causing it. Once you have pinpointed your imbalances – some of you will only have one or two, while others may need to address them all – you can turn to the end of the book and find out how to put together your personal plan of action. Generally speaking, you will need to make changes to your diet, take particular nutritional supplements and look at your lifestyle. The Insulin Factor Plan will help you with all three. You will of course need to commit yourself to making these changes, but the fact that you have this book and are already reading it is a very positive first step. Whilst Insulin Resistance doesn’t happen overnight, it can take only a few weeks before you notice an improvement in your symptoms. However, do also be patient since it will take an average of six months to permanently rebalance your insulin levels. Also, the more weight you need to lose the longer you will need to allow.

Balancing insulin and glucose and eating a healthy diet is something that everybody would benefit from, so the Insulin Factor Plan should complement any medical treatment you are receiving. However, you should always check with your doctor before embarking on any dietary or lifestyle changes, particularly if you are taking any medication. This is because the improved diet and lifestyle may alter your dosage needs.