PROVO, Utah — A professor at Brigham Young University has authored a book to help people improve their health wellness and build a defense against common diseases.
Dr. Ben Bikman’s book, titled “Why We Get Sick,” discusses the issue of insulin resistance.
According to Bikman’s research, insulin resistance is a common thread in health issues like Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and infertility.
“That was part of the main drive behind me writing this book, was to help people understand that these seemingly distinct health problems are all derivative of one common health problem,” Bikman said. “Because of our lifestyle, the way we eat and how we live and move and sleep, insulin is chronically elevated.”
Bikman, who has spent a decade as a member of the BYU faculty and has extensively studied the human metabolism, found those elevated levels of insulin lead the body to build a resistance. This is often caused by poor eating habits.
“We ensure we are pushing ourselves ever closer to insulin resistance because of our love, and dare I say, addiction to these insulin spiking processed, yummy carbohydrates,” Bikman said.
Improving nutrition and sleep can help regulate insulin, which is vital to survival.
This overall healthier lifestyle and moderated levels of insulin can also be a defense against COVID-19. That disease is known to have a greater impact on people who have pre-existing health conditions.
“If you look at pre-existing condition number one, the single most common is obesity. The second is diabetes. The third is hypertension. All of those problems are related to metabolic health and insulin resistance,” Bikman said. “It’s a sad fact COVID-19 is here to stay. I firmly believe the virus is part of the global ecosystem. It’s a virus we are going to have to live with. We are all going to get infected at one point or another. Let’s take care of our own immune defenses.”
Bikman added that social distancing and wearing face coverings are also vital in the fight against COVID-19.
“Why We Get Sick” was published in July. It is available wherever books are sold.
