The idea of insulin resistance first emerged in a study conducted in 1936. Although it wasn't until nearly 40 years later that insulin resistance became a more common occurrence in diabetes care - this study cited a cause and effect of injected insulin in Type 2 diabetes.

Patients were tested on two different days. One day patients were given a drink containing glucose and their blood sugar was measured for the following 90 minutes. On the other day, patients were given a drink containing glucose at the same time they were given an injection of insulin. The subjects were clearly definable into two groups based on their reaction to the glucose drink with the insulin injection. Some patients had an immediate response to the insulin injection lowering their blood sugar and others had little or no response to the insulin injection.

The doctor conducting this study referred to this phenomenon as insulin sensitivity, rather than insulin resistance. He hypothesized that there was a sensitizing factor rather than something causing resistance to the cells absorbing the insulin. Over 70 years have passed and research now shows that arginine, the champion of amino acids can help improve insulin sensitivity, which is the same as diminishing insulin resistance.

Although the A1c test provides important information about how blood glucose has behaved over the preceding three months, the blood sugar fluctuations after meals have a greater impact on diabetic complications. GlycoMark is a test that monitors mealtime spikes over 2 days to 2 weeks in a single sample.

For diabetics who have good control (A1c less than 7.3%), blood glucose levels immediately following meals account for up to 70% of their total A1c. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that controlling after-meal glucose levels is critically important in reducing diabetic complications. GlycoMark measures the brief blood glucose elevations (postprandial hyperglycemia) by reading 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG). 1,5-AG drops as blood glucose rises above the renal threshold of glucose. The renal threshold of glucose is the blood sugar at which the kidneys start excreting sugar into the urine.1,5-AG decreases rapidly in people with elevated blood sugar.

It is important to note that GlycoMark values decrease when blood sugar increases. An increase in 1,5-AG would indicate improvement, and decrease would indicate worsening of glycemic control. Upon return of better glycemic control, 1,5-AG increases at a constant rate. This consistent recovery rate in 1,5-AG levels provides a rapid indication of the patient's response to treatment. With the GlycoMark, perhaps now we can really evaluate the affects of certain types of foods and how they affect our ability to control our blood sugar after meals. Fore more details, checkout the full brochure online.