People with peripheral insulin resistance have built up a tolerance to the hormone, making it less effective. Normally when a person eats a meal, high blood sugar levels trigger the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin then induces the cells to take up the glucose in the blood, which they either turn into fat or energy. This in turn causes blood glucose levels to fall into a normal range. However, in peripheral insulin resistance, the cells do not respond to the insulin’s signal as well and blood sugar is left in the bloodstream.

When peripheral insulin resistance begins, the pancreas responds by deploying greater amounts of insulin to keep the cells energized and the glucose levels under control. Overtime, the cells become resistant to these insulin levels as well, the same way a person becomes tolerant to a drug in time. Beta cells that make insulin begin to wear out when …