What is the connection between insulin & weight gain?
I have a friend who has started injecting Rx insulin – she claims that it causes her to gain weight. But she has not been able to describe to me how the medication works.
When she is going to eat, she checks her blood sugar for her insulin dosage…. If she is in need of insulin, does she have a healthy reason to eat? Could she only eat when her blood sugar level dropped to a normal range? Wouldn't that be healthier? And if there are circumstances when she eats with high blood sugar & insulin, isn't that a time to eat very sparingly?
It seems to me that the insulin injection converts the blood sugar to fat storage, so the when she eats more, the blood sugar level won't be dangerous for her health. But, doesn't it mean that she already ate more than she needs – that's why her blood sugar is high? Is there a correlation between insulin injecting and weight/fat gain?
Correction- insulin does not remove glucose from the urine. It removes it from the bloodstream, and redirects it to glycogen, to be stored in the tissues. It can also be stored as fat. IF her blood sugar is too high, she is eating the wrong things. She needs to watch her diet, and have a low carb profile. IF she eats low-carb, then her blood sugar will not spike like that, and the insulin will have nothing to act upon in a negative fashion.
Her blood sugar is high to begin with because of a lack of natural insulin in her body, which then needs to be supplemented by injected insulin. The job of insulin is to remove excess glucose from the bloodstream. Excess sugar in the blood is like having a thick syrup circulating around. This is bad for the body, and causes the blood pressure to go up, which can cause strokes and heart attacks. When insulin acts in a normal body, it brings the sugar level back down to normal after a meal.
She does not need to eat more. This will really make her fat. She needs to eat low carb more frequently. This will keep her blood sugar more normal.
The higher the blood sugar, the more insulin is needed, and the more the glucose will be stored as fat or glycogen.
She should never take insulin if her blood sugar level is normal or low, because insulin will still act in the same way, and drop her level to below normal. If it does go too low, she could go into a diabetic coma.
It all has to do with keeping the sugar level in balance – both with diet and with the insulin.
Does that make sense yet?
Posted in insulin
January 8th, 2006 at 7:18 am
What happens is that the insulin removes glucose from her urine. All that sugar that would normally be waste is instead kept in the body. Weight gain is associated with insulin treatment, it's nothing to be worried about (in moderation, of course).
As for your questions about eating, those are really questions for her doctor. I'm sure they can give you some very specific information.
References :
http://www.diabetesuffolk.com/Living%20with%20Diabetes/Insulin%20treatment%20and%20weight%20gain.asp
January 9th, 2006 at 3:24 am
Correction- insulin does not remove glucose from the urine. It removes it from the bloodstream, and redirects it to glycogen, to be stored in the tissues. It can also be stored as fat. IF her blood sugar is too high, she is eating the wrong things. She needs to watch her diet, and have a low carb profile. IF she eats low-carb, then her blood sugar will not spike like that, and the insulin will have nothing to act upon in a negative fashion.
Her blood sugar is high to begin with because of a lack of natural insulin in her body, which then needs to be supplemented by injected insulin. The job of insulin is to remove excess glucose from the bloodstream. Excess sugar in the blood is like having a thick syrup circulating around. This is bad for the body, and causes the blood pressure to go up, which can cause strokes and heart attacks. When insulin acts in a normal body, it brings the sugar level back down to normal after a meal.
She does not need to eat more. This will really make her fat. She needs to eat low carb more frequently. This will keep her blood sugar more normal.
The higher the blood sugar, the more insulin is needed, and the more the glucose will be stored as fat or glycogen.
She should never take insulin if her blood sugar level is normal or low, because insulin will still act in the same way, and drop her level to below normal. If it does go too low, she could go into a diabetic coma.
It all has to do with keeping the sugar level in balance – both with diet and with the insulin.
Does that make sense yet?
References :