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What We Weren't Taught in School About Health: Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Our Bodies

Asif A. Kasim

Insulin Resistance

In school, we learn about basic biology, maybe even a little nutrition, but the complex relationship between what we eat and how our bodies process it is often overlooked. One of the most important health topics left out of our education is how our bodies handle sugar and the dangers of insulin resistance.


 Sugar and How It Affects Our Bodies


When we think of sugar, we often associate it with the sweet taste of desserts or snacks. However, we weren’t taught how sugar, particularly refined sugar, impacts our body on a deeper level. When you eat sugar, your body breaks it down into glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. This spike in blood sugar prompts your pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that helps your cells absorb glucose to use as energy.


The problem arises when you consume too much sugar, especially over a long period. Your body starts to become overwhelmed by the constant influx of glucose, and your cells begin to resist the effects of insulin. This is where insulin resistance comes into play.


 Insulin Resistance: The Silent Health Issue


Insulin resistance happens when your body’s cells become less responsive to insulin. In simple terms, your body has to produce more and more insulin to keep your blood sugar levels in check. Over time, this can lead to **type 2 diabetes**, obesity, and other metabolic disorders. Unfortunately, most of us weren’t taught how chronic high sugar intake can lead to insulin resistance and how it affects almost every part of our health, from energy levels to heart disease.


Processed foods, sugary drinks, and high-carbohydrate diets contribute heavily to this issue. Yet, we were never really educated about how detrimental this can be, not just in the short term, but over decades.


 What Can We Do?


The good news is that lifestyle changes can reverse or prevent insulin resistance. Lowering sugar intake, eating more fiber, and including healthy fats and proteins in our diet can help stabilize blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. Regular physical activity is also key.


Understanding the relationship between sugar, insulin, and our health is critical for long-term well-being, and it’s something that should be part of the basic curriculum. By educating ourselves now, we can make better choices to protect our bodies from the long-term consequences of poor diet and lack of nutritional awareness.

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