According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1 in 6 American adults are now living with diabetes.1 In the year Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from August 2021 to August 2023 showed that the overall prevalence of diabetes in the United States rose to 15.8 percent.
This figure includes both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases. 11.3% of adults know they have diabetes and an additional 4.5% live with the disease without regular diagnosis. The increasing prevalence of diabetes is a major public health challenge, highlighting the importance of awareness, early detection and effective management strategies.2
Diabetes often affects your nervous system, kidneys, eyes, heart, and blood vessels leading to serious complications, making prevention and treatment essential for optimal health. Mitochondrial toxins that impair cellular energy production are the driving force behind chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Higher rates of diabetes in men, adults and obese people
If you’re a man, statistics show that you’re at a higher risk for both total and diagnosed diabetes than women. According to NHANES data, 18% of American men have diabetes, of which only 12.9% are diagnosed, compared to 13.7% and 9.7% of women.3 This gender difference suggests that men should be more careful about their health when it comes to diabetes.
Although the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes is not significantly different between men and women, the higher prevalence of diabetes in men emphasizes the importance of regular screenings and health measures. Factors contributing to this increased risk for men include lifestyle, biological differences, and possibly lower health care utilization.
As you age, your risk of developing diabetes increases. According to CDC findings, the prevalence of diabetes has increased from 3.6 percent of adults ages 20 to 39 to a staggering 27.3 percent among those 60 and older.4 Weight also plays a role in this risk. 24.2% of people with diabetes compared to 12.3% in the overweight category and 6.8% in the normal or low weight category.5
These trends show that both aging and weight gain significantly increase your risk of developing diabetes. Controlling your weight through a healthy diet and regular exercise can greatly reduce your risk.
NHANES data also show a clear inverse relationship between educational attainment and diabetes prevalence. Among adults with only a high school diploma, GED or less, the overall prevalence of diabetes was 19.6%, which decreased to 10.7% among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.6
Similarly, diabetes rates dropped from 14.6 percent to 7.3 percent in groups with less education. This correlation suggests that higher education levels may provide access to better health information, resources, and healthy lifestyles, all of which contribute to reduced diabetes risk.
Understanding HOMA-IR – a simple test for insulin resistance
It is important to recognize insulin resistance early because it is a warning sign for your metabolic health – often before type 2 diabetes. HOMA-IR (Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance) is a useful diagnostic tool for assessing insulin resistance through a simple blood test. In the year Developed in 1985, it calculates the relationship between your fasting glucose and insulin levels to assess how your body uses insulin.
HOMA-IR requires only one fasting blood sample unlike other complex tests, making it practical and accessible. This simplicity allows doctors and patients to diagnose the first signs of insulin resistance, control the risk of pre-diabetes, monitor the effectiveness of treatment over time and guide intervention strategies. The HOMA-IR formula is as follows:
HOMA-IR = (fasting glucose x fast insulin) / 405, where
- Fasting glucose is measured in mg/dL.
- Fasting insulin is measured in μIU/ml (microinternational units per milliliter), and
- 405 is a constant that normalizes the values
If you use mmol/L for glucose instead of mg/dL, the formula changes slightly.
HOMA-IR = (fasting glucose x fast insulin) / 22.5, where
- Fasting glucose is measured in mmol/L
- Fast insulin is measured in μIU/ml, and
- 22.5 is standard for this unit of measurement.
Anything below 1.0 is considered a healthy HOMA-IR score. If you are above that, you are considered insulin resistant. The higher your values, the greater your insulin resistance. Conversely, the lower your HOMA-IR score, the less insulin resistant you are, assuming you’re not a type 1 diabetic who doesn’t make any insulin. Insulin resistance is often present before there are obvious signs of a problem, quietly disrupting your body’s balance and setting the stage for more serious conditions later.
Interestingly, my personal HOMA-IR score is at a low 0.2. This low score is proof that my body is at a fuel-burning efficiency, a result of increased glucose availability. By including more carbohydrates in my diet, I gave my cells the energy they needed to work more efficiently.
This improved cellular function significantly boosted metabolic health, demonstrating how systematic dietary adjustments can lead to improved insulin sensitivity and overall metabolic performance.
Is malnutrition involved?
Lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are more effective than metformin alone in preventing type 2 diabetes.7 However, nutritional deficiencies can also play a role. Vitamin B6For example, it plays a role in controlling blood sugar through the “first responder” beta cells in the pancreas. Some cases of diabetes may be linked to vitamin B6 deficiency or dysfunction.8
Additionally, there is an inverse relationship between vitamin D and HbA1c levels, a key indicator of long-term blood sugar control – as vitamin D increases, HbA1c decreases.9 This suggests that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D, including regular sun exposure, can help control blood sugar and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Minerals such as zinc;10 Magnesium and chromium are also important for glycemic control. For example, magnesium supplementation has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in diabetics and improve symptoms of depression and anxiety.11
You can support both blood sugar control and brain health by ensuring you get enough of these vitamins and minerals through diet, targeted supplementation, or, in the case of vitamin D, exposure to sunlight. However, another dangerous dietary factor is involved in driving chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes – linoleic acid (LA).
The LA surge – decades of dietary change and metabolic impact
You may not know it, but your diet today is vastly different than it was a century ago, especially in your LA intake. Since the mid-20th century, consumption of LA, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid found in seed oils and many processed foods, has increased in Western diets. This dramatic increase is associated with an increase in chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.12
Although LA is essential for maintaining healthy skin and other bodily functions, excessive consumption raises concerns about its role as a metabolic toxin that interferes with mitochondrial function and disrupts glucose homeostasis. Historically, humans consumed very low levels of LA, and our bodies evolved to manage these amounts efficiently.
However, modern LA abundance disrupts these regulatory systems, contributing to insulin resistance and impaired glucose metabolism, as discussed in a review published on prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids.13 When making dietary choices, understanding LA intake and metabolic effects is key to avoiding diabetes and reversing it if diagnosed early.
How does linoleic acid disrupt glucose balance?
When LA is consumed, it undergoes various metabolic processes, leading to the formation of bioactive metabolites such as oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) and arachidonic acid (AA). These metabolites interfere with insulin signaling, which is part of keeping your blood glucose levels in check.
For example, certain oxalamines have been shown to disrupt insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, the cells responsible for controlling your blood sugar.14 Additionally, AA-derived eicosanoids promote inflammation and oxidative stress, further disrupting insulin sensitivity in your muscles and liver.
This biochemical chaos causes your body to use glucose more efficiently. Understanding these molecular disruptions highlights the importance of adjusting LA intake to maintain the delicate balance of glucose homeostasis and prevent metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Inflammation and insulin resistance – the hidden link of LA
Inflammation plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance, and LA is strongly associated with this process. When you consume high levels of LA, your body produces more pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that trigger chronic low-grade inflammation. This persistent inflammatory state disrupts insulin signaling pathways, making your cells less responsive to insulin’s effects.
As a result, your body must produce more insulin to achieve the same glucose-lowering effect, leading to hyperinsulinemia. Over time, this compensatory mechanism depletes pancreatic beta cells, reducing insulin production and exacerbating insulin resistance. In addition, markers such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, which increase with increasing LA intake, are associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.15
By promoting an inflammatory environment, excessive consumption of LA not only disrupts your metabolic balance, but also accelerates the progression to diabetes. Recognizing this hidden link highlights the importance of dietary strategies that reduce inflammation to maintain insulin sensitivity and metabolic health.
A lack of cellular energy drives chronic diseases such as diabetes.
The main reason that too much LA is bad for your health is because it disrupts your cellular powerhouses – the mitochondria. Think of mitochondria as tiny energy factories in your cells that produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an essential fuel that keeps your cells functioning and repairing themselves.
Without energy, your cells cannot repair and renew themselves. So, the main underlying issue for most chronic diseases is that your cells are not producing enough energy. In addition to LA, artificial exposure Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), estrogen, and pervasive electromagnetic fields (EMFs) also affect your cells’ ability to generate energy efficiently.
This energy deficit makes it challenging to maintain the oxygen-free gut environment necessary for beneficial bacteria like Ackermansia to flourish, further complicating the problem.
Instead, a lack of cellular energy creates an environment in the gut that favors endotoxin-producing bacteria, further damaging mitochondria, inducing insulin resistance, and creating a vicious cycle that worsens health. By fighting the “four E’s” – excess LA, estrogens (Xenoestrogens found in everyday things (like plastic), EMFs and endotoxins – will restore your cellular energy and start you on the path to optimal health.
