Insulin Resistance Syndrome Diet

Some authorities recommend people with IRS avoid high-carbohydrate diets, and some recommend a diet lower in carbohydrate than current public health guidelines suggest. The rationale is that high carbohydrate intake stimulates increased insulin levels, which can lead to high triglycerides, low HDL, and other adverse changes in the levels of blood fats that contribute to heart disease risk. Other authorities disagree, however, because they believe a lower carbohydrate diet will result in higher calorie intake from fat, leading to more difficulties with overweight, insulin resistance, and heart disease risk. A recent preliminary study suggested that a healthy, balanced diet low in fried foods and sausages, and high in vegetables, fruits, fish, and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain rice and pasta, was associated with protection from many aspects of IRS.

The effect of dietary fat on insulin resistance seems to depend on the type of fat eaten. Preliminary studies in animals and humans suggest that insulin resistance is worsened with increased use of saturated fat and improved with increased unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids from fish, while the role of other unsaturated fats is less clear. However, recent research has reported that diets high in monounsaturated fat improve insulin sensitivity in both healthy people and people with diabetes. A diet low in saturated fat, but which allows both fish and monounsaturated fat makes sense for people with IRS, because such a diet is associated with protection from heart disease. Recently, alow-fat diet allowing fish was shown to decrease insulin resistance in people with IRS...