What Are Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Pre-
Diabetes? Learn about the conditions that greatly increase your
risk for type 2 diabetes Many people who develop type 2 diabetes
are first diagnosed with one of its precursors: Let’s go over
each of them so you can understand how they affect the body and
how they develop into full-blown diabetes. If you have insulin
resistance, your body produces insulin but does not use it
properly. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that helps
the body burn glucose for energy. Glucose is a simple sugar and
a major source of fuel for cells. Most of the food we consume is
converted into glucose. In the bloodstream, insulin helps
glucose and other nutrients enter cells. However, if there is
not enough insulin in the bloodstream to “unlock” the cells so
that nutrients can get in, the cells literally starve to death.
When you are insulin resistant, your body requires extra insulin
in order for this “unlocking” process to work. The pancreas will
try to keep up with t