Summary of Benjamin Bikman's Why We Get Sick

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas and regulates our blood glucose levels. It has a wide range of effects on every cell in every tissue of the body, from the brain to the toes. It is an anabolic hormone.#2 Insulin resistance is a reduced response to the hormone insulin. When a cell stops responding to insulin, it becomes insulin resistant. Ultimately, as more cells throughout the body become insulin resistant, the body is considered insulin resistant.#3 One of insulin's main roles is to regulate our blood glucose. Because high glucose levels are dangerous, our bodies need insulin to usher the glucose from the blood, lowering blood glucose back to normal. But with insulin resistance, insulin levels are higher than expected relative to glucose.#4 The first recorded evidence of this family of diseases comes from ancient Egypt, where physicians noted that people with a certain condition experienced too great emptying of the urine. Later, physicians in India observed that certain individuals produced urine that attracted insects like honey.