Читать книгу Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Dummies - Artemis Morris - Страница 51

Inflammation and blood sugar have a somewhat tumultuous, circular relationship. When you have high blood sugar, chemicals are released throughout your body, weakening your immune system and kicking inflammation into gear to help protect the body. Because the immune system has been weakened, however, inflammation goes into overdrive and raises the blood sugar, further weakening the immune system.

When you eat, your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, a simple sugar that travels through your blood and that your muscle cells and other cells take in and use as an energy source. Insulin serves as the glucose police in that it regulates how much glucose remains in your blood. When glucose begins to build up, the pancreas (the organ behind the stomach) releases more insulin.

In the ideal situation, the pancreas produces the insulin the body needs, and the body cells respond by taking in sugar. But a condition called insulin resistance inhibits the way glucose can get into the body’s cells. Inflammation may be behind the poor reception between the cells and the insulin signals. The glucose builds up in the blood, leading to further inflammation and intensifying the problem.

Inflammation from multiple causes increases insulin resistance because the cells become less responsive to the role of insulin in trying to get the glucose into the cell. Likewise, high blood-sugar levels caused by eating too many sweets, empty calories, and simple carbohydrates force the pancreas to produce more insulin to try to clean up the glucose and bring it into the cells. The more you tax your pancreas by eating sugary foods, the more likely your cells will become insulin resistant, increasing your risk for diabetes.

Figure 3-2 shows how inflammation both causes and is caused by insulin resistance. Infection, stress, toxins, genetic factors, and poor diet increase inflammation, which contributes to increased insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to decreased glucose metabolism, which leads to high blood sugar and high insulin levels. High blood sugar and insulin levels contribute to weight gain and increased adipose (fat) tissue. High blood sugar, insulin levels, and bad fats contribute to further inflammation by blocking delta-6 desaturase, an enzyme that’s important in decreasing inflammation, and enhancing delta-5, an inflammatory enzyme.

The key to stopping the cycle is to find ways to lower the inflammation, which then works to lower the blood sugar levels.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 3-2: Insulin resistance is both a cause and an effect of inflammation.