TL;DR

Insulin insensitivity (prediabetes) is extremely common and often goes unnoticed. It develops from repeated blood sugar spikes driven by refined carbohydrates and sugar.

Over time, the body stops responding to insulin, leading to higher insulin levels, inflammation, and a wide range of health problems—including obesity, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and poor sleep.

Supporting blood sugar balance through diet and targeted nutrients may help improve overall function and reduce stress on the body.

Category 1: Insulin Insensitivity

If you took the SymptomQuiz and this is one of your major issues, here are some ideas and approaches that will help. We are not treating disease, just offering some basic support to improve your Wellness Score. If you want the SymptomQuiz guide that covers all the categories, click here.

Quick Cookbook

Follow the Roadmap to Health diet; it is a low glycemic diet that is high in antioxidants, low in toxins and contains trace nutrients that will help with blood sugar control. Take berberine (1, 3x/day) and magnesium (300-400 mg right before bedtime on an empty stomach).

Insulin Insensitivity Can Lead to Diabetes

Insulin insensitivity can lead to diabetes: Insulin insensitivity is sometimes called pre-diabetes or insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes is simply insulin insensitivity that has gotten out of hand (type 2 diabetes only—nothing written here applies to type 1 diabetes, which requires insulin. More than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or prediabetes (CDC). Almost 10% of the U.S. population (34 million Americans) has diabetes; most (95% of diabetics) have type 2 diabetes. Nearly 1 in 4 four adults living with diabetes – 7.2 million Americans, don’t know they have the condition. Only 11.6% of adults with prediabetes (insulin insensitivity) know they have it.

How Insulin Insensitivity Happens

The average American consumes nearly 200 pounds of refined sugar each year, and we get half of our calories from refined carbohydrates. Eating a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrate causes the body to produce too much insulin. If this becomes habit, the body stops responding to insulin, creating a condition known as insulin insensitivity, which is sometimes called insulin resistance, or prediabetes. Insulin insensitivity is responsible for obesity—and all of its associated health problems. Type 2 diabetes is due to insulin insensitivity Unlike type 1 diabetes, where the body cannot produce insulin, type 2 diabetics produce insulin, but the body simply does not respond.

Insulin Insensitivity Leads to Other Health Problems

Health problems associated with insulin insensitivity (also called insulin resistance or prediabetes). There are so many symptoms that are linked to sugar and insulin that this was a logical place to start. Insulin insensitivity can either cause these problems or make them worse:

  • Obesity
  • High cholesterol
  • High triglycerides
  • High blood pressure: About half of the people with hypertension have high blood pressure because of insulin insensitivity.
  • Metabolic syndrome: Sometimes called “Syndrome X”. People with this tend to be overweight, with low HDL and high triglycerides and high blood pressure.
  • Pain and inflammation: Insulin is pro inflammatory. You will find that anyone with both pain and insulin insensitivity will improve when you get insulin production under control. Inflammation is a component of virtually all disease. So, getting insulin production under control will improve any chronic health complaint.
  • Insomnia: Not all cases of insomnia are due to insulin insensitivity, but patients with insulin insensitivity tend to wake up in the middle of the night, having trouble falling back to sleep.
  • Insulin insensitivity is also closely linked to inflammation and disruptions in the microbiome.

Additional Health Problems Linked to Insulin Insensitivity

  • Low testosterone: Testosterone levels tend to decrease with age, but the decline is often more pronounced in people with insulin insensitivity.
  • Depression & anxiety: There are many contributing factors, but sugar and insulin imbalances should not be overlooked. Elevated insulin promotes inflammation, and inflammation has been linked to mood disorders. Diets high in refined carbohydrates may also deplete magnesium and B vitamins—nutrients needed to produce neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Disruptions in the microbiome may also play a role.
  • Polycystic ovaries (PCOS): Strongly associated with insulin insensitivity. Women with PMS or menopausal symptoms may also benefit from improving blood sugar balance.
  • Gallbladder and liver issues: Insulin insensitivity is linked to fatty liver and biliary stasis. Over time, this can progress to more serious liver and gallbladder problems.

Early Signs of Insulin Insensitivity

Symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, carbohydrate craving, and periods of hypoglycemia after a high-carbohydrate meal (often needing a nap after eating). Approximately 50% of people with high blood pressure are insulin insensitive. Approximately 30% of American adults are insulin insensitive and 25% have metabolic syndrome (see above).

Insulin insensitivity is common, but it is also highly responsive to changes in diet and lifestyle. Supporting blood sugar balance is one of the most effective ways to improve overall health.