There are about 382 million people that live with diabetes and 40–50% of the global population
is labeled at “high risk” for prediabetes.
Thats almost half the earths population who is at risk for prediabetes.
And whats even more surprising, or maybe this wont come as a surprise for you, is that there
is almost 2 billion people that are overweight.
But what does that have to do with insulin resistance.
Well, 70–80% of obese patients and virtually every patient with type 2 diabetes has some
sort of insulin resistance and this video will be going over 5 of the most common signs
of insulin resistance that you can see on your skin that is super important to watch
out for.
By the end of this video, you will get to see what these 5 signs are, and hopefully
give you some sort of clarity on insulin resistance as a whole, so you dont want to miss this,
stay tuned till the end.
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Now without further ado, lets get straight into it.
Firstly, lets define our term, insulin resistance.
What is it, and to put this super easy to understand and to make sure it clicks.
Insulin resistance is when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond well to insulin
and can’t use the sugar from your blood, for energy.
So when it cant use the sugar in your blood for energy, your pancreas makes more insulin,
thinking that would help.
But since there is a resistance to insulin, Over time, your blood sugar levels go up and
up and up.
Because the insulin cant do its job.
Eventually, with more and more insulin, the insulin will be forced to tell the liver and
muscles to start storing sugar.
Because too much sugar in your bloodstream is damaging to the vessels.
But When they’re full, the liver sends the excess sugar to fat cells to be stored as,
you guessed it, body fat.
Which causes, weight gain.
And to fix this, you want to become the opposite—more insulin sensitive.
Which ill be discussing in another video.
But how does this even affect the skin?
How does insulin affect what happens on the surface of my skin?
Thats an important question.
Too much insulin or hyperinsulinemia activates, whats called insulin growth factor-1 or (IGF-1)
receptors located in fibroblasts and keratinocytes, both directly and indirectly, and when that
happens, it stimulates their proliferation, causes them to undergo change.
And as you know, Keratinocytes are the most prominent cell within the epidermis, about
90% of your skin, is made up of keratonicytes, and IGF 1 affects them, so that is how youre
seeing the connection of insulin resistance and its impact on the skin.
And right now, The gold standard for insulin resistance diagnosis, is called the euglycemic
insulin clamp, which is a complex, invasive, costly, and pretty much unfeasible test to
implement conveniently in clinical practice on an everyday basis.
So skin manifestations of insulin resistance, are a real time way to get a straightforward
and fast reading to what could potentially be going on with how the way your body responds
to sugar and insulin on the inside.
And we will be looking at 5 signs of insulin resistance on the skin that you can check
right now at home, starting with the first one.
Acrochordons or your fibroepithelial polyps.
Or better yet known as your skin tags.
I have a video on skin tags, that you should check out too after this video, if you want
to learn more about them.
Now, Many people have skin tags that hang from a stalk.
They are harmless and normal, but having numerous skin tags, may be a sign that you have too
much insulin in your blood, which is something to keep note of.
As far as where youll see them, most common places are on the eyelids, neck, armpit, and
groin.
In fact, after you turn 40, the frequency of getting skin tags is ~37% and are more
common in women and overweight or obese individuals; however, there is also a familial/genetic
relationship as well.
Usually treatment involves, cryotherapy of the skin tag or excision under a doctors care.
Secondly, you have whats known as acanthosis nigricans.
Which is going to be A dark patch or a band of velvety skin, thick velvety skin to be
exact, that has a velvety texture to the touch, that you find in the body folds and creases.
Like the armpits, groin and back of the neck.
It develops slowly and some find it to be itchy, with an odor and developed skin tags
around the area as well.
You often find it in patients with PCOS, as symptoms of PCOS could very well be insulin
resistance as well.
Which in the meantime could be treated with lifestyle changes, topical retinoids, and
lactic acid.
The third is whats known as diabetic dermopathy.
Otherwise known as shin spots since youll most likely see on the shins.
In rare cases though, you’ll see it on the arms, thighs, trunk, or other areas of the
body as well.
Most people mistaken them for age spots, but Unlike age spots, these spots and lines usually
start to fade after 18 to 24 months.
Diabetic dermopathy can stay on the skin indefinitely, so keep that in mind.
And If it produces dry, scaly patches, try applying a moisturizer to the area, as this
is known to help.
The fourth is, whats known as: Necrobiosis Lipoidica.
Its basically a skin condition that often begins as small raised solid bumps that look
like pimples.
But as it progresses, the bumps turn into patches of swollen and hard skin that could
be yellow, reddish, or brown.
Its usually painful and you can see blood vessels and the surrounding skin has that
shiny porcelain like appearance and it goes thru cycles where it is active, inactive,
and then active again, so if you have noticed this phenomenon, or any of the other ones
we have mentioned, it would be best to bring this up to your doctor to Get tested for diabetes,
if you have not been yet diagnosed.
The fifth one, is one that may be a little controversial because some argue that this
isnt related back to insulin resistance, whereas some studies look at it as it being related
as an early sign, and that is: androgenetic alopecia which can happen to men and women.
. For women, the Thinning is limited to the crown region; and notice that there is no
affection of the frontal hairline.
Keep in mind that insulin resistance isnt the only cause of this form of alopecia.
Which is why your doctor should test: thyroid-stimulating hormone, iron, and androgen levels to they
can be used to rule out other causes of alopecia, since there are many others.
I know this isnt a full list of every single skin sign of insulin resistance, which is
why i left a useful link down below from the american academy of dermatology association,
that will provide more helpful information, so definitely check that out.
Diabetes can cause many other skin problems.
And Most skin problems are harmless, but even a minor one can become serious in people who
have diabetes.
Which is why its important to talk to your doctor so they can recognize skin problems
due to diabetes and help you manage them.
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