INSULIN RESISTANCE

INSULIN RESISTANCE

Insulin resistance is simply a condition in which insulin released from the pancreas encounters resistance to function in target tissues, especially muscle and liver tissues. In order for insulin to reach the target tissues, it must be at high levels in the blood; thus, the pancreas must release more insulin. This causes the pancreas to work harder, and eventually to exhaust all of its reserves, and be unable to release insulin as before, which we call diabetes.

There are various ways to calculate insulin resistance. We often use the HOMA-IR test, which is a simple method. Fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin are enough to do the test. Values 0 to 2.5 are considered normal in test HOMA-IR test. We consider the values above 2.5 as insulin resistance.