<<Is there any way to quantify one's degree of insulin resistance?>>

Excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia) can be quantified as an indicator of
insulin resistance.

1. Here's a great graph enabling comparison of GTT and ITT response
curves.
http://commodore.perry.pps.pgh.pa.us/~odonnell/igt.jpeg
The significance of these curves is that one can have a "normal" GTT,
yet
still have impaired glucose tolerance revealed by the ITT.  In fact,
over
50% of patients screened for diabetes in one clinic had a "normal"
GTT.
Impaired glucose tolerance (hyperinsulinemia) was only diagnosed in
these
patients from the ITT curve.


2. Normal insulin** .. 2-10(fasting).... -(30 minutes).... 9-45(1
hour)....
5-30(2 hour)
    IR Diagnosis**... >14(fasting) .... - (30 minutes).... >80(1 hour)
....>60(2 hour)

** Dr Allan Gale M.D. "Insulin Resistance Literature" 1996

source: http://commodore.perry.pps.pgh.pa.us/~odonnell/GTT.html

3. Here's an excerpt from the Protein Power LifePlan.

"We consider normal fasting insulin levels to be anything under 10
mg/dl.
Anything above 10 mg/dl we consider to be abnormal and an indication
of
insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.

"...[A two-hour post glucose insulin evaluation] will uncover those
people
who oversecreate insulin in response to food, an important bit of
information, since many people who have normal fasting levels will
have a
much higher than normal two-hour insulin level.

"A major study has found that, in general, men with insulin resistance
will
usually have an elevated fasting insulin level, while women with
insulin
resistance tend to have much higher two-hour insulin response. So
people,
especially women, with a normal fasting insulin level but whose
symptoms or
history suggest insulin resistance should have a two-hour insulin test
done."

The Eades then point out a similar test, the insulin challenge test,
that
they feel has the most utility and provides the most information as to
an
individual's insulin resistance status.  In this test, a small amount
of
insulin is administered intervenously  to a patient who has fasted
overnight.

Since insulin drives blood sugar into the cells, the Eades measure
blood
sugar levels over the next 15 minutes looking for sharp drops.  For
those
with normal insulin sensitivity, blood sugar levels should drop by
half (ex.
100 mg/dl to 50 mg/dl) within 15 minutes.  For those with impaired
insulin
sensitivity, blood sugar levels do not drop off as significantly (ex.
100
mg/dl to 80 mg/dl).

This test can be repeated to gauge improving insulin sensitivity with
treatment (low carb diet, exercise, supplements...).

Rob