An obstacle to health: when the body blocks insulin from doing its job.

摘要

THE BODIES OF MANY people with diabetes are fighting a quiet war against the essential hormone insulin. This conflict is called insulin resistance, and while it's a hallmark of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, it can also affect those with type 1. Just why a person fails to respond properly to insulin is something of a mystery. But there are ways to make the body more receptive to insulin, which can help prevent or ameliorate diabetes. Building Up Resistance In people who have neither diabetes nor insulin resistance, eating a typical meal will cause blood glucose levels to rise, triggeringthe pancreas to produce insulin. The hormone travels through the body and induces fat and muscle cells to absorb excess glucose from the blood for use as energy. As the cells take up glucose, blood glucose levels fall and flatten out to a normal range. Insulin also signals the liver-the body's glucose repository-to hold on to its glucose stores for later use.