Chapter 1- Contrasting Type I and Type II Diabetes

it as hunger. Then, because of the hunger, we unwittingly crave more foods and snacks, usually carbohydrate-rich ones. And the cycle repeats over and over. So when someone’s pancreas has become overly responsive with its insulin release, the result is usually constant hunger. People in this situation will eat until they’re full and, within a half an hour or so, find themselves hanging on the refrigerator door, hungry again, even though they’re still full, not knowing why. They’ll have days when they’re not all that hungry until they eat something in the morning. Then all day long they’re munching on something, but never getting satisfied. They go to bed stuffed, but still hungry. This is a classic sign of a person who is hyperinsulinemic, pre-diabetic — whose pancreas habitually releases far too much insulin and whose cells have become resistant to that insulin.

In these people, instead of releasing adequate amounts of insulin to manage the blood sugar slowly and efficiently, the pancreas is mostly either all the way on or all the way off. The presence of blood sugar simply turns it on and it pumps insulin out in inappropriately massive doses, which in turn, causes the blood sugar to plummet past normal, safe levels and the cells to become more and more resistant to insulin. Then more insulin is need to overcome the resistance and the cells become even more resistant - and the cycle spirals out of control.

Ironically, if these people had fasting glucose tests done in a medical laboratory, they would likely read normal; however, if they looked at the insulin levels, the insulin would be very high. Unfortunately, very few doctors ever think to order tests for insulin levels.

In this pre-diabetic person with hyperinsulinemia (hypoglycemia), or type II diabetic steadily gaining weight, the insulin is actually carrying most of this blood sugar into the cells despite their resistance. However, any time there’s more glucose coming into the cells than the cells are actually using, the body turns it into fat and stores it. Even though there are certainly adequate amounts of food coming

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