Police Psychology | What the Heck is “Insulin Resistance”?

by Doug Gentz, Ph.D. – Psychological Services

1. A specific form of Receptor Site Resistance
2. The condition that immediately precedes a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes
3. A condition that used to show up mostly in old people and is now appearing in teenagers
4. A condition, which like most addictions, causes the development of a higher and higher “tolerance” for a given substance – in this case a person’s own insulin.
5. All of the above

Every cell in a person’s body requires two things: Glucose which is the fuel and O2, which is required to burn it. O2 gets to each cell via red blood cells, glucose gets inside each cell only with an insulin escort. The insulin molecules are provided by the pancreas which is signaled to release insulin into the bloodstream any time there is the slightest rise in the blood glucose (sugar) level (above approximately 100 mg per deciliter of blood). The insulin molecules “unlock” the portal thru which the glucose enters the cell by engaging special insulin receptor sites on the cell wall.  (more…)