It’s important to recognize and diagnose insulin resistance, because it is the root cause of type 2 diabetes and most heart attacks, and Alzheimer’s disease (Type 3 Diabetes). Insulin resistance usually occurs 10 to 15 years before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are characterized by brain insulin resistance.

Insulin and leptin resistance causes your blood pressure to increase.

What this means is that, if testing for insulin resistance began as part of a standard physical examination, we could catch people who are at high risk of developing diabetes at a stage where it is reversible. This is truly proactive and preventative medicine.

Besides having a predisposition to diabetes, insulin-resistant people may have other health issues, too, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility issues. And finally, insulin resistance is associated with increased risk of developing cancers, including breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. It’s no surprise that hyperinsulinemia is a risk factor for most, if not all cancers.

Unfortunately, there is no home test for insulin, or insulin resistance, and we cannot judge them from our blood glucose levels.