Other names: Impaired Fasting Glucose; Impaired Glucose Tolerance; Syndrome X

Insulin resistance is when the cells in your muscles, start ignoring or resisting the signal that the hormone insulin sends which tells these cells to uptake glucose (sugar) from the blood. Glucose is the body’s main source of energy, and we get it from grains, fruit, vegetables, and other foods that break down into carbohydrates. One in three Americans is reported to have insulin resistance. Insulin resistance may also be called low insulin sensitivity.

Experts believe that insulin resistance in addition to physical inactivity is a major reason behind the development of insulin resistance syndrome (also called the metabolic syndrome). Insulin resistance syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that includes obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol (dyslipidemia), and people with this deadly quartet are at a very high risk of death.

For more information about insulin resistance see here.

Drugs used to treat Insulin Resistance Syndrome