The insulin works on the fat cells to make us accumulate fat, and the expanding fat cells then release what are called
“inflammatory molecules” (” cytokines,” in the technical lingo) that have adverse effects throughout the body. It works on the liver to convert carbohydrates into fat, and this fat (triglycerides) is sent off into the bloodstream on the particles that eventually become small, dense LDL. It works on the kidney to raise blood pressure by reabsorbing sodium (and so has the same effect as eating extreme amounts of salt) and by impairing the secretion of uric acid, which also accumulates to unhealthy levels in the blood stream. (High uric-acid levels cause gout, which is also associated with obesity and diabetes, and the incidence of gout, too, is increasing in Western societies.) The insulin also works on the artery walls to stiffen them and cause the accumulation of triglycerides and cholesterol in the budding atherosclerotic plaques.
