Dr. Ben Bikman

So when we can acknowledge a sort of common soil hypothesis, it starts to simplify the clinical approach.

So

All of this in my mind is a reflection of just how powerful the hormone insulin is.

Most individuals only think about insulin as being a hormone that controls blood sugar.

which is fantastically unfair.

Insulin is one of the few peptide hormones that will literally affect every single cell of the body, from brain cells to bone cells, lung cells to liver cells, and every cell in between.

There's no exception.

Insulin will have an effect at every cell of the body.

And the particular pathology with insulin resistance is unique because you have some cells that aren't responding very well to insulin,

Like in the case of erectile dysfunction, insulin is less capable at producing nitric oxide in the endothelium of the blood vessels.

So there's less vasodilation.

Less vasodilation means compromised erectile function.

So on one hand, you have some cells that suffer because they're not responding.

But on the other hand, you have some cells that are overstimulated because insulin resistance is insulin not working the same at all cells of the body and blood insulin levels are higher.

So there's too much insulin.

Some cells are responding too much to that insulin.

So with polycystic ovary syndrome, for example, that's not a problem of the insulin signal not working well.

That's a problem of there being too much insulin stimulating the ovary to inhibit the conversion of testosterone into estrogens, and thus she manifests with polycystic ovaries.

So

To some degree, most chronic diseases can be connected back to insulin resistance.