Eating Too Quickly Doubles the Risk of Insulin Resistance - By: A. Ray

Yet another reason to listen to your mother and slow down and chew your food properly - eating too quickly has been associated with a doubled risk of developing impaired glucose tolerance, or pre-diabetes. As the name suggests, pre-diabetes is the forerunner to developing type 2 diabetes. Most diabetics have type 2 diabetes – a form of diabetes where your body no longer responds properly to insulin (called insulin resistance). Type 2 diabetes used to be described as non insulin dependent diabetes.

Insulin is the hormone that moves sugar (glucose) from the blood to the body's cells to provide them with energy. If your cells do not use insulin properly, the pancreas produces more insulin that normal to cope with the body's demands. Eventually, the pancreas cannot keep up, and excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream. Type 2 diabetes is characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood.

A recent Japanese study followed over 170 healthy individuals for three years, monitoring their eating habits. Snacking, eating late at night, skipping meals and eating out were not associated with developing pre-diabetes. The one and only eating habit associated with the development of insulin resistance was eating too quickly.

The researchers aren’t sure why eating faster makes an individual more likely to develop pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, but suspect that eating rapidly results in higher post-meal blood glucose levels. Some doctors also point out that eating too quickly results in an overall increase in the amount of calories taken in, and a resulting weight gain. Since it takes about 20 minutes for the brain to receive the signal that the stomach is full, those who eat quickly continue eating without realizing that their stomach is filled.

Previous research has also shown that eating quickly results in increased weight gain. Insulin resistance generally increases with increased body fat, and there is a pronounced connection between obesity and diabetes. The two are so closely connected that it gave rise to the term "diabesity". Diabesity is currently epidemic across the developed world.

Insulin resistance has no symptoms. Pre-diabetes is sometimes called impaired glucose tolerance, and can be diagnosed with a fasting glucose test or a glucose tolerance test. The American Diabetes Association recommends that adults who are overweight and have one or more additional risk factors for diabetes should consider being tested. Additional risk factors include:

• Having a parent or sibling with diabetes
• Being physically inactive.
• Being African American, Alaska native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic or Latino, or a Pacific Islander
• Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or being diagnosed with gestational diabetes
• Having high blood pressure or being treated for high blood pressure
• Low HDL ("good") cholesterol levels or high triglyceride levels
• Having polycystic ovary syndrome
• Having a history of cardiovascular disease

People with pre-diabetes can avoid becoming diabetic and having to take diabetes medication by losing weight, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and, as we now know, not eating too quickly.

About the Author

Alex Ray blogs about news and views of interest to diabetics at Long Acting Insulin. She feels strongly about affordable access to diabetes medication, and recommends Big Mountain Drugs as a licensed Canadian pharmacy from which to buy Lantus and the convenient Lantus SoloSTAR insulin pen.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/A--Ray/163334

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