Understanding, Managing, and Overcoming Insulin Resistance for Better Health

Insulin resistance is a condition where your body's cells do not respond effectively to insulin—a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows your cells to absorb glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream for energy or storage. When cells become resistant to insulin, blood sugar levels rise, potentially leading to prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other health issues. Fortunately, insulin resistance can often be managed, and in many cases, reversed through targeted lifestyle changes and, when appropriate, medical intervention.

What Is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance occurs when the cells in your muscles, fat, and liver do not respond well to insulin and cannot use glucose from your blood as efficiently. To compensate, your pancreas produces more insulin. Over time, this can lead to higher and higher insulin levels and, if left unchecked, to type 2 diabetes.

Common Causes and Risk Factors

• Genetics: Family history of diabetes or metabolic disorders increases risk.

• Obesity: Excess body fat, especially around the abdomen, contributes significantly.

• Physical Inactivity: Sedentary lifestyle is a known contributor.

• Poor Diet: High intake of refined carbohydrates, sugary foods, and unhealthy fats.

• Chronic Stress: Long-term stress affects hormone balance and insulin sensitivity.

• Sleep Issues: Poor quality or insufficient sleep can worsen insulin resistance.

• Hormonal Imbalances: Conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are associated with insulin resistance.

Signs and Symptoms

Insulin resistance often develops silently and may not initially cause noticeable symptoms. Some common signs include:

• Fatigue, especially after meals high in carbohydrates

• Weight gain, especially around the abdomen

• Difficulty losing weight

• Increased hunger and sugar cravings

• Dark patches of skin (acanthosis nigricans)

• Elevated blood sugar or triglyceride levels

• High blood pressure

  
  

Hormones: Insulin and Glucagon

Insulin and glucagon are secreted in pancreas and are opposite in its behavior. Both are very important for our survival. However, depending on what you want to accomplish, which hormone to be secreted will be different. If you want to store then focus on secrete insulin. If you want to use, stimulate glucagon.

Now let's talk about 3 macro nutrients and connect them to how they impact insulin and glucagon. 3 macro nutrients are carbohydrate, protein and fat.

• Carbohydrate stimulate insulin more than glucagon.

• Fat stimulate glucagon more than insulin.

• Protein stimulate both but not as much as carbohydrate stimulating insulin or fat stimulating glucagon.

So all 3 macro nutrients can stimulate both insulin and glucagon. Which means when you eat food you will stimulate both insulin and glucagon. However, ratio between insulin and glucagon will dictate whether you will be in anabolic (store) or catabolic (use) state.

For example, when fasted (>24 hr) the body will be in catabolic state with insulin and glucagon ratio of 0.8. When adding carbohydrate the ratio jumps to 4, which means insulin is higher so the body will be anabolic. When adding just fat the ratio will jump up to 1.3, which is still in catabolic state. And here is the interesting part. When adding protein to carbohydrate diet insulin to glucagon ratio drastically jump up to 70. Where as for fat based diet with protein have showed 6% increase and kept it around ratio of 1.3. 20 fold increase in carbohydrate and protein diet seems to happen because of insulin level already been elevated with carbohydrate diet as the protein or amino acid enter the system.

Managing Insulin for Fat Loss

In order for the fat loss to happen, you'll need to keep the insulin level down. Which means, you want to stay away from food sources that cause insulin level to rise, such as majority of the carbohydrates. Some carbohydrate does not spike the insulin level as much, for example, leafy vegetables, berries, and so on. They are in vegetables and fruits categories but they are still considered as carbohydrates.

Another thing to consider is frequency of the meal. As mentioned earlier, all food source, whether fat, protein or carbohydrates, do spike insulin at some level. So if you are consuming 4-5 meals per day, including snacks and latte, chances are you may not be losing fat due to the frequent secretion of the insulin, unless you have muscle mass to handle those insulin.

Managing Insulin for Muscle Growth

To build muscle, whether for strength or size, you want the insulin to spike. Role of insulin is to carry nutrients to the necessary cells including muscles cells.

In other words, if the muscle cell cannot receive insulin due to insulin resistance or lack of insulin production for the type of diet you are on, muscle strength or size may not improve.

Type of carbs you want to have for muscle growth is fast acting glucose, such as rice, banana, honey and so on. You can also use maltodextrin, which is powder supplement that can be mixed with your protein shakes especially after the training sessions. Not only it will help bring protein or amino acids to your muscles faster but also allow the sympathetic nerves system ("fight or flight" nervous system) to shut off so that the body can start the recovery process faster.

Let the Insulin Work for You

Although amount of food or calories you consume does dictate your fat loss or muscle gain, however, insulin plays more important role and by understanding it may enable us to manipulate our macronutrient split and meal frequency much easier.

What do you want the insulin to be doing for you? Recover the muscle from training or use fat? If you currently experiencing insulin resistance or tough time losing weight, you may want to focus on keeping the insulin level down. If you have worked out and looking for recovery, then you may want the insulin to be secreted by consuming carbohydrate along with protein.

To work with your insulin, start by first set yourself to have 3 meals a day only. This will allow the insulin to increase after the meal to bring the nutrients to the body and also create the down time for the insulin, which also means glucagon will be dominant to utilize fat as energy source. When you are strength training add carbs to your meal especially, meal after the session. You can also add banana or berries to your protein smoothie or use maltodextrin powder if you don't have time for a meal.

If you already have diabetes or insulin resistance, then minimize the carbohydrate intake and consume only after the strength training sessions. If you are diabetic or have insulin resistance your HbA1c (blood sugar level over past 90 days) is already high (>5.7%). Therefore, the priority is to use them, which also means to limit the carbohydrate, especially sugar, consumption.

Because of diabetes, insulin has bad name but it is very important hormone for us even just for the survival. Instead of being afraid of insulin, let it work for you.

Kota Shimada