THE HORMONAL CONNECTION: INSULIN RESISTANCE - "CHANGEIN-LIFESTYLE"

Many doctors and nutritionists advocate a less extreme approach, citing success with higher amounts of complex carbohydrates. Research performed by Dr. Bernard Wolf and published in the October 1995 edition of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology seems to support this approach. In this study, slight alterations were made to the diets of twenty people with markers for insulin resistance. Specifically, individuals began eating in the ratio of 50 percent carbohydrates (instead of their usual 65 percent), 25 percent protein (instead of their usual 10 or 11 percent), and 25 percent fat (an unchanged amount). Both health and appearance improved.

New York City nutritionist Colette Heimowitz uses this moderate approach to overcoming insulin resistance with her patients and cuts back further only when necessary. She begins with what she calls a "changein-lifestyle" plan in which people are taught to differentiate between complex and simple carbohydrates, guided toward appropriate food choices, and asked to record what they eat in a food diary. Often this alone is enough to make a dramatic difference in health and appearance. Heimowitz reports that at the beginning of treatment, laboratory tests commonly reveal high triglyceride and low HDL levels, which is the opposite of what should be found. But with a diet consisting of complex carbohydrates, sufficient protein, no sugar, and no chemicals, these levels often reverse. This reversal coincides with an improved appearance, where a thick waist and stomach paunch transform into a lean look.

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