The Hidden Hormone Behind Weight Gain: Understanding Insulin Resistance
Sugar gives the body energy. But in the bloodstream, too much of it behaves more like a problem that needs urgent control.
Every time we eat carbohydrates — from soft drinks and pastries to bowls of rice or large servings of fufu — the body quickly breaks them down into glucose. That glucose enters the bloodstream, and almost immediately, the body scrambles to clear it out. The hormone responsible for this cleanup job is insulin.
Insulin works like a key. It unlocks cells so glucose can move from the blood into muscles, the liver, and other tissues where it can be used or stored. When this system works well, blood sugar rises after a meal and then gradually returns to normal.
Trouble begins when the body is asked to repeat this process constantly.
Many people snack throughout t...
