Stress
Recovery from type 2 diabetes is dependent upon a lowering of glucose and insulin levels. These come hand in hand with weight loss. Bad diet aside, the biggest barrier to this in my opinion is stress.
Stress is a natural part of life and is a response to a perceived threat. This is a good thing and can save our life or well being. However, it can also be a response to a situation that is out of our control or that we cannot change and is causing us harm.
I can say with mathematical accuracy that when under stress and using a libre device I have measured my glucose levels to be high, sometimes dangerously so, depending upon the level of ‘control’ I have of my diabetic condition. So even when your diet is the best it can ever be to control glucose and insulin, stress can still push your body into a state close to hyperinsulinemia.
My job is stressful and although I enjoy what I do, the nature of the work demands efficient delivery and control of risks where by failure to mitigate these risks can lead to financial damage to say the least. Coupled with the increase of competition and aggression in the workplace that we all face on a day to day basis these days makes for a nasty cocktail of stress.
If you have in your life stress that is out of control and this causing your body to go into a ‘fight or flight’ reaction as it is sometimes called, then you need to take steps to reduce this stress. Some would suggest that you need to vacate completely from the situation that is causing this level of unhealthy stress. I am not sure that this is always possible but it is something to consider.
I have thought to myself that elevated glucose due to stress can block weight loss. When insulin is released to control it and then the glucose remains persistently high, the body will inevitable become resistant to insulin. It has been said by some that the very hormones that the body produces when under extreme stress can cause the body to retain body fat.
So whilst I would not reason that stress is the primary cause of type 2 diabetes, I would suggest that it is a contributory factor and that it can be a barrier to losing weight and recovery from type 2 diabetes.