Contents:
- Medical Video: Cutting Edge: Why we get old and die, and what to do about it.
- What is hyperinsulinemia?
- What are the consequences if you have hyperinsulinemia?
- How can hyperinsulinemia trigger the growth of cancer cells?
- Types of tumors and cancers that can be triggered by hyperinsulinemia
Medical Video: Cutting Edge: Why we get old and die, and what to do about it.
Cancer is a chronic disease that is characterized by the presence of abnormal cells that damage the body and develop malignant. Research in the past decade shows that hyperinsulinemia is one of the main factors that can increase your risk of getting cancer.
What is hyperinsulinemia?
Insulin itself is hormones that the body needs to keep blood sugar levels within normal limits. Insulin is only released in a certain amount of time and when sugar levels need to be balanced. Excess insulin levels in the blood occur when the pancreas produces more amounts of insulin than usual to balance blood sugar levels. It triggers the condition of insulin resistance, where the body no longer responds to normal amounts of insulin.
If it occurs for a long time, the pancreas will still produce more amounts of insulin until it eventually experiences a malfunctioning function. At the same time the level of insulin in the blood will remain high and cause a condition of hyperinsulinemia.
Simply put, hyperinsulinemia is a condition in which the body has too high insulin levels. Hyperinsulinemia is a major characteristic of pre-diabetes conditions, but can also occur in individuals who are obese or even in people who look healthy.
Both the conditions of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are closely related to metabolic syndrome such as early and advanced symptoms of diabetes, obesity and accumulation of abdominal fat and lifestyle factors such as inactivity and consumption patterns, and the use of injectable insulin hormones as potential causes of hyperinsulinemia. In some rare cases the excess of insulin hormone in the blood can also be caused by tumors that grow in cells that produce insulin hormones or known as insulomas and nesidioblastosis genetic diseases that trigger excess insulin secretion due to cell abnormalities in the pancreas.
What are the consequences if you have hyperinsulinemia?
The effect of acute hyperinsulinemia will cause several symptoms, including:
- Sugary food cravings
- Easy to starve
- Weight gain
- Difficulty concentrating and easily losing focus
- Tends to feel anxious and panic
- Chronic fatigue
While hyperinsulinemia in a long time will trigger chronic inflammation which can cause damage to organs, especially the pancreas gland. Besides being a trigger for the development of diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia that are not controlled can increase the risk of cancer.
How can hyperinsulinemia trigger the growth of cancer cells?
Hyperinsulinemia is one of the factors that trigger cancer. Kthe possibility, this condition can affect the development of abnormal cell tumors to become cancer through a process of inflammation that lasts for a long time.
Changing tumor cells to cancer is strongly influenced by inflammation which can make it easier for tumor cells to spread and develop. This is easier to happen when insulin levels in the blood tend to be high for a long time like when someone is obese and diabetes. Here are two ways the condition of hyperinsulinemia can trigger the development of cancer.
- Speed up cancer growth - excess insulin in the blood will directly increase serum insulin concentration, C-peptide and protein insulin growth factor (IGF) which is mitogenic, so it can trigger tumor cells or cancer to grow and differentiate faster. In addition, an increase in IGF is also known to worsen the prognosis of cancer, increasing the risk of death from cancer.
- Reduces abnormal cell inhibitory proteins - Hyperinsulinemia can also reduce the number of sex hormone binding globulins so there is an increase in estrogen which can cause tumor inflammation. This is also followed by a decrease in the amount of adiponectin protein that plays a role in preventing the growth of abnormal cells, consequently abnormal cells from cancer will develop more easily.
Types of tumors and cancers that can be triggered by hyperinsulinemia
In several studies carried out in 2007 and 2008 excessive insulin conditions can increase the risk of endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. All three types of cancer are associated with increased C-peptide levels due to hyperinsulinemia. In another study in 2006 and 2009 found an increased risk of colorectal and pancreatic cancer due to hyperinsulinemia conditions triggered by the use of insulin hormone therapy. Breast cancer is also known to be one type of cancer caused by hyperinsulinemia due to inflammation from insulin growth factor (IGF) triggered by diabetes and obesity.
