A doctor has explained a noticeable feature about your body that could mean that you're at risk of having health complications.
Dr. Pradip Jamnadas has revealed that there is a bodily feature that could indicate a condition that puts you at higher risk of diabetes or obesity.
Having high insulin levels can be difficult to spot due to a lack of symptoms, and you'll often need to get a health professional to look at your family and medical history, and carry out a series of tests.
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Then you'll know if you have high insulin, scientifically known as hyperinsulinemia.
What is hyperinsulinemia?
While it may not be the easiest word to say, hyperinsulinemia is essentially when you have a higher level of insulin in your blood compared to the average person.
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Insulin is a hormone that helps to regulate blood glucose (sugar levels), according to Cleveland Clinic.
The condition is often caused by insulin resistance, which is when your body doesn't respond properly to the production of insulin.
When your body struggles to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, it could lead to type 2 diabetes. Hyperinsulinemia also puts you at higher risk of obesity.
What are the symptoms of hyperinsulinemia?
Dr. Jamnadas explained the telltale signs of the condition as part of a clip that has gone viral on TikTok, explaining that if your arms 'are nice and thin or normal', but you find that weight has gone to your belly, 'you have a high insulin level'.
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Cleveland Clinic also notes: "The two main factors that seem to contribute to insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are excess body fat, especially around your belly, and a lack of physical activity."
Dr. Jamnadas further explained that a low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as the 'good cholesterol' as well as a high triglyceride can indicate having the condition.
Other symptoms he mentioned include high blood pressure, high uric acid level and underlying vascular disease.
While it may be hard to spot at first, these signs can be spotted and are measurable.
What are the causes of hyperinsulinemia?
Prevention is always easier than dealing with it when it comes, as insulin resistance has been pinpointed as the main cause of hyperinsulinemia.
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This causes your pancreas to release extra insulin to keep your blood sugar levels healthy.
To avoid having high insulin, you should change three aspects of your lifestyle.
Eating more carbohydrates and greens while avoiding the likes of unhealthy sugar, red meat and fat is a good way to stimulate excess insulin output.
Exercising regularly should also be a target, regardless of the condition, as it puts you in good stead going into your older years.
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Weight loss is directly associated with improvement in hyperinsulinemia, so making the necessary changes to lose weight if you notice some belly fat gain could save you from a world of trouble.
How common is hyperinsulinemia?
The condition can affect anyone, and it can be either temporary or chronic.
According to Cleveland Clinic, the two main factors that contribute to insulin resistance are excess body fat, specifically around the belly, and a lack of exercise.
Unfortunately, there currently aren't any common tests that can check for the condition, while symptoms are hard to come by until it develops into type 2 diabetes.
The easiest way to look at it is to analyse the data around prediabetes cases in the UK.
3.6 million people in England had prediabetes in 2023, an 18 percent increase from the previous year, according to the NHS.
Joshua Nair