h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nige, I've just typed in a message reply to anew poster on the H and N board! Did I use my Wp to do the message, then cut and paste. Nope, I bashed it straight in. As it was a newbie, I put none of my usual flippant garbage in, all good sincere stuff. And I was stuffed, bang goes my post, and up come thes message This board is now closed!
Drat and double drat, infact triple drat!

I hope you won't mind that I had a look down your thread with Fonzarelli! The subject is of interest to me too for reasons you are aware of!

How do you know your liver is insulin resistant?

I' m doing about 45 mins on the exercise bike, during which I vary my pace, and twiddle the knob to vary resistannce when I remember!

My weights are pretty light, they are those plastic water filled ones. So are pretty light! I do two bursts a day of waving them around, as I haven't yet bought the book Ruth recommended. Yikes I do hope she doesn't read this!

The main strength exercise I do are press ups, which I can now manage 12 before I fall in a heap. I haven't taken moment about my centre of gravity, but I asssume I'm lifting about 5 stone with each arm. This may explain why the arms ae getting bigger!

Got to go a client has arived. IH

Ah now where was I? Yes, got it! So I on't really know what I'm doing with exercise yet, but will be tackling me ignorance soon. However my main goal right now must be to lose weight, and as I am in ketosis currently is it worth trying to tackle the insulin resistance, will it help with losing weight, or do I put it on the back burner, and look to trying to do something when I've reached target! Your views would be mot welcome! Ian

Ah now where was I? Yes, got it! So I on't really know what I'm doing with exercise yet, but will be tackling me ignorance soon. However my main goal right now must be too lose weight, and as I am in ketosis currently is it worth trying to tackle the insulin resistance, will it help with losing weight, or do I put it on the back burner, and look to trying to do something when I've reached target! Your views would be mot welcome! Ian

Ah now where was I? Yes, got it! So I on't really know what I'm doing with exercise yet, but will be tackling me ignorance soon. However my main goal right now must be to lose weight, and as I am in ketosis currently is it worth trying to tackle the insulin resistance, will it help with losing weight, or do I put it on the back burner, and look to trying to do something when I've reached target! Your views would be mot welcome! Ian

Whoops didn't expect that to happen!

To keep it short and sweet, I know my liver is IR as my fasting blood glucose is 6mmol/l instead of 5mmol/l. The liver produces glucose (Hepatic Glucose Production, or HGP) by gluconeogenesis. When insulin is high and glucagon is low, it shouldn't produce glucose. My insulin is double what it should be and my blood glucose is still too high. Therefore, my liver is ignoring the insulin and continuing to churn out glucose.

Hopefully, Milk Thistle should help.

Ok I understood that! So how do you know your muscles are insulin resistant? Is it a priority to tackle it too? Ian

By deduction. When I ate carbs, my serum glucose went high for a long period of time. If my muscles had been insulin-sensitive, the glucose would have been shuttled into the muscle cells and stored as muscle glycogen. This didn't happen, therefore my muscles are resistant. Luckily, strenuous exercise should sort that out.

As I've got more muscles than liver, I'm putting muscle improvement at No. 1 priority.

I don't know how effective Milk Thistle is on the liver. If I get my muscles sorted, my serum insulin level should drop. This in itself may be sufficient to reduce IR in the liver.

Understood that too! So is tackling it while I'm losing weight of benefit to me, or is it something to look at later on? Thanks Ian

Reducing IR should be a high priority. Getting your insulin levels down is good news for your arteries, blood pressure, kidneys, bones, uric acid levels etc.