Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder. Too much sugar remains in the blood because the body’s cells no longer respond adequately to insulin.
Insulin is present, but its effect is weakened. This is called insulin resistance.
Insulin works like a key. The cell is like a door.
Normally, insulin opens this door and sugar moves from the blood into the cell.
With insulin resistance, the door reacts slower. The key still fits, but the door opens only with difficulty.
The body responds by releasing more insulin. Blood sugar initially remains within the normal range — but only because the body must produce more insulin to move sugar into the cells.
Before diabetes is diagnosed, often 10 years or more pass.
During this time, the following conditions may already exist:
Blood sugar levels may still appear normal. However, the body is already operating under increased stress.
In this phase, silent inflammation plays a central role. Chronic, low-grade inflammation makes cells less responsive to insulin.
The longer this condition persists, the greater the strain on the pancreas. At some point it can no longer keep up with the increased workload.
Only then does blood sugar rise permanently. Diabetes becomes visible — while the process began many years earlier.
During the phase of insulin resistance and increased insulin production, the process is often still reversible.
The pancreas may already be working at high capacity, but it is still functional. Metabolism is disturbed — but not yet permanently damaged.
This is where the opportunity lies.
If it is possible to:
insulin sensitivity can improve significantly.
In early stages it may be possible to stop the progression toward manifest diabetes — and sometimes even partially reverse it.
However, the longer one waits, the more the pancreas becomes exhausted. The silent phase is therefore not a harmless intermediate stage. It is a window of opportunity — a period in which action can still be taken.
Often in the gut.
If the intestinal lining is stressed for years — through highly processed foods, excessive sugar and refined flour, chronic stress, or lack of sleep — chronic inflammatory activity can develop.
Inflammatory substances enter the bloodstream and disrupt insulin action in muscle, fat, and liver cells.
This leads to insulin resistance.
Particularly important is the fat located in the abdominal cavity between the organs.
This visceral fat is metabolically active and releases pro-inflammatory signaling molecules. It amplifies existing inflammation and further worsens insulin action.
A cycle develops: Inflammation → insulin resistance → more visceral fat → even more inflammation
In insulin resistance, the liver also stops responding normally to insulin. It continues producing sugar even though enough is already present in the bloodstream. At the same time, it stores fat.
This results in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Fatty liver is usually not the sole cause of diabetes, and not every person with diabetes necessarily has a fatty liver. However, both conditions often develop on the same inflammatory-metabolic background.
If fatty liver is already present, insulin resistance may worsen further. If this condition persists, inflammation in liver tissue can develop.
Possible long-term outcomes include:
Regular alcohol consumption can accelerate this process. Fatty liver should therefore be regarded as a warning signal.
A fasting blood glucose below 100 mg/dl is considered normal. An HbA1c below 5.7% is also considered normal. However, trends over time are more important.
An HbA1c of 5.8% or 5.9% may still be below the diagnostic threshold for diabetes, but it already indicates chronic sugar exposure. This is not an ideal state, but an early warning sign.
Even more informative markers include:
A single glucose value is often not sufficient to detect the silent phase.
Waist circumference
Waist circumference is more important than body weight.
A simple rule: waist circumference should be less than half of body height.
For a height of 180 cm, this means under 90 cm.
For 165 cm, approximately 82–83 cm.
If the measurement exceeds this level or increases over the years, the risk of insulin resistance rises significantly.
These are not diagnoses, but they can be warning signs.
Alongside nutrition, physical activity, and stress reduction, targeted support of inflammatory regulatory processes may be helpful.
Certain natural ingredients such as curcumin, boswellia, vitamin C, and B vitamins:
Curcumin in particular has been extensively studied in connection with insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation.
This is where VITAMIC ZEROLIMITS® and VITAMIC BIOSEN® come in.
Their ingredients are designed to:
They do not replace a healthy lifestyle, but they may be a useful complement — particularly when silent inflammation already plays a role.
Dr. Martin Edlinger
Medical Affairs @ VITAMIC
