Understanding your Labs- Fasting Insulin and HOMA-IR
The above results were some that I asked for on one of my new patients, and is the perfect example of how things can be missed when we don’t get all the lab testing done to see a complete picture.
The last two newsletters looked at Blood Glucose and Hgb A1c. These are markers that measure the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. This isn’t the whole picture!
Today we are looking at Fasting Insulin as a lab and what HOMA-IR measures. By the way, you have to have both fasting glucose and fasting insulin to get HOMA-IR which is calculated score.
Fasting Insulin is the amount of insulin currently on patrol in your blood stream. Insulin is a hormone released by our pancreas when the body needs to clear glucose from the bloodstream and get the glucose into the cell for use or storage. When our diets are mostly filled with carbohydrates, we have to release more insulin on a more continuous basis. This steady release of insulin causes the cells to become deaf to insulin and it takes more and more to get the cell to uptake glucose. We call this insulin resistance. There are far reaching effects of this throughout the body.
Blood Draw - stand alone; ask for this one separately
Conventional Range: 3-19 uIU/mL
Optimal Range: 2-8 uIU/mL
HOMA IR is a calculated score that lets you know if you are at risk for insulin resistance.
When we are only looking at blood glucose levels or A1c %, we can miss this picture of insulin resistance. (As seen in results above) That is why this lab is one that I think should be tested on a regular basis for every person.
The goal for insulin resistance is to create an environment where the cells become more responsive to signaling. One way we can do this is through what we eat. When we are eating real, whole foods in the right balance, that is one step to getting our body more receptive to insulin again.
If this is an area you are interested in getting tested or feel you need someone to work with because you are dealing with insulin resistance…good news, we currently have slots open for 1:1 consultations.
