One of the harmful affects on our bodies of living our modern sedentary lifestyle that no longer has enough physical activity to keep our muscles strong is that our muscle cells become less responsive to the hormone insulin.

Insulin is the ‘key’ that tells the muscle cells to unlock the door and ‘open up’ to take in glucose from the blood stream that has been converted from the food we eat to be used for energy. But our muscles have grown flabby and weak from our inactive lifestyles so they cannot use the glucose.

So, with the cell door closed glucose remains in the blood stream circulating around with nowhere to go but eventually into the fat stores. But the levels are consistently higher than they should be so more and more insulin is produced to try and get the levels down. Then there are not only high blood sugar levels but high insulin levels as well hanging around where they should not be doing major damage to cells, tissue and organs.

You may be wondering why this is important but this is a condition called ‘Insulin Resistance’ which if you have it will lead you down a path to full blown diabetes. This devastating disease does major damage to sensitive organs like the brain, eyes and kidneys and that is what leads to a shortened life if you are unfortunate enough to go on to develop diabetes.

This condition is becoming more common and is affecting up to 50 percent of adults who either have this condition or are in the process of developing it and one third of all children. As we get older we become more prone to develop it as the combination o our no-exercise lifestyles together with a diet of refined foods takes it toll on our health.

It can easily be reversed though but it will take some action to restore good health. Firstly a strength training program done just 2-3 times a week will get those muscles toned back up so they can soak up excess sugar from the blood stream and burn it up harmlessly for energy. Muscle tissue is highly active and has high energy demands so taking this step alone will go a long way to getting a healthy body back.

The next thing is to get rid of as much refined and processed foods as possible as the more of them we eat the more insulin is required to metabolize them. The more insulin needed and present in our blood the less the cells can take it up and the more damage is caused to other organs and tissues.

Women especially around mid-life are especially prone to this condition. A waist measurement of over 35 inches (40 for men) is one sign, fatigue, climbing blood pressure and blood fats are all other indicators.

In essence our lifestyles along with our environment have all evolved and changed too rapidly for our bodies to keep up the pace. We still have the same genetic blue-print of our ancestors who thrived on a diet of natural, nutrient rich foods low in carbohydrates. They were also highly active on a day-to-day basis with much greater levels of vigorous movement and exercise than our modern sedentary lifestyles.

But we can put some of these things back into our life and make some changes that will keep us healthy and well. It will not be easy though as we are surrounded by mountains of processed ‘junk’ food and leisure activities that involve no more activity than sitting.