If you have hepatitis C, worrying about diabetes may not be the first thing that comes to your mind. But the two conditions are much more closely related than you might think.

 First of all, hepatitis C increases the chances of developing diabetes. If you take it, it can accelerate the effects of hepatitis C and increase the chance of serious liver damage.

 If you have hepatitis C, how do you know you have diabetes? The warning signs are a problem called insulin resistance.

 How Does Insulin Resistance Work?

When you eat, your body breaks your food down into smaller pieces. One of them is glucose, which is a type of sugar as fuel for cells. During a meal, glucose enters the blood and circulates throughout the body.

 However, we need help getting into cells where insulin acts. It's like a bouncer with just the right button.

 What does your liver have to do with it? It functions as a glucose bank. When blood sugar is high, such as during a meal, insulin tells the liver to “Save the glucose for later use.” And your liver saves it.

 The liver then releases glucose into the blood between meals and during sleep.

 That's the whole way it works. But if you have insulin resistance, your cells will keep the door closed even if the insulin is right there. Therefore, it produces more insulin to control blood sugar levels, but over time the body cannot keep up with it.

 When this happens, your blood sugar levels rise and you are at risk of developing diabetes.

 And hepatitis C was found to significantly increase the likelihood of insulin resistance.

 How does hepatitis C cause insulin resistance?

Because your liver helps control blood sugar levels, any type of liver disease can lead to insulin resistance. However, in hepatitis C the two are more closely related than usual. Half of the people with hepatitis C also have insulin resistance.

 Doctors don't know exactly why this link is so strong. Hepatitis C appears to have the potential to affect both insulin production and glycemic control. But how this is done is unclear.

 At the very least, if you have reason to be more likely to develop insulin resistance, B. If you're overweight, it may help to tilt your hepatitis C scale.

 How Does Insulin Resistance Affect Hepatitis C?

Both insulin resistance and diabetes are like adding serious fuel to the hepatitis C fever. They exacerbate the effects at every stage, from early liver injury to the response to liver transplantation.

 It damages the liver and absorbs more fat than usual. When these problems accumulate, the liver also fails, providing a shortcut to problems such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure.

How do I know if I have insulin resistance?

The only way to find out is with a blood test. In most cases, there are no signs or symptoms, so nothing to warn about. The important thing is to know if you are at higher risk. And if you have hepatitis C, you are.

 What is the Best Treatment?

Doctors don't have a clear answer yet, but a lot of research has been done on this. If hepatitis C medications can clear the virus from your body, it seems to have several good effects.

 First, it can lower insulin resistance and prevent diabetes. If you already have diabetes, hepatitis C can make it worse. It's like the spawn of all other diseases. Therefore, being able to keep hepatitis C out of the way can delay some of the more serious problems diabetes can cause, such as heart and kidney problems.

 Your doctor may also ask you to take the same steps as if you only had insulin resistance. First of all, this means that you should try to lose weight through a healthy diet and exercise. Your doctor may recommend a medication such as metformin that can help your body use this insulin better.