INSULIN SENSITIVITY IS A MEASURE of how responsive your cells are to insulin. Improve your sensitivity to reduce insulin resistance and the risk of diabetes and other chronic conditions. While there are many ways to accomplish this goal, I want to focus on three of my favorite ways to drop inflammation.
The hormone insulin helps us regulate our blood sugar levels (glucose). High insulin sensitivity allows your body’s cells to use blood sugar (glucose) effectively, reducing blood sugar levels.
Low insulin sensitivity translates to insulin resistance, affecting nearly four in 10 (38 percent) adults in the United States. Insulin resistance raises the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The incidence of prediabetes is similar across racial and ethnic groups. Yet historically marginalized groups — including Native Americans, Alaska natives, Hispanic Americans, and non-Black Americans — have a higher prevalence of diabetes than white Americans.
Fortunately, there are lifestyle maneuvers that can meaningfully improve your insulin sensitivity. Today we examine three of my favorites.
1. Move to improve insulin sensitivity
Regular physical activity is a key way to increase insulin sensitivity. I hope you noticed that I did not use the word “exercise.” Any movement can improve health. Walk, run, swim, play pickleball, or skip to health.
Move, and you will help transfer sugar into muscles for storage. This improvement increases insulin sensitivity for two to 48 hours, depending on the exercise type. A Washington University (USA) study discovered that one hour of moderate biking on a machine raised insulin sensitivity for 48 hours.
Don’t forget to add a couple of days of resistance training to your weekly routine. Resistance training also helps promote insulin sensitivity for those with or without diabetes.
One study of overweight men (without diabetes) discovered that resistance training over three months improved insulin sensitivity, whether the participants dropped weight or not.
2. Sleep well to drop inflammation
Sleep is an often-forgotten component of health. Get insufficient sleep, and you put yourself at risk of heart disease, diabetes, type 2 diabetes, infection, memory loss, and more.
How I Keep My Brain Ridiculously Fit
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, adequate sleep, flavonoids (more about that in a bit), and more. These are essential elements for me…medium.com.
Poor sleep is associated with reduced insulin sensitivity and the ability to regulate blood sugar. Fortunately, you can catch up on lost sleep and reverse the negative influence of poor sleep on insulin sensitivity.
3. Eat well to drop inflammation
Dietary changes might increase your insulin sensitivity. Here are some key ways you can use diet to make it happen:
- Consume fewer carbohydrates (and more unsaturated fats). Eating a low carbohydrate diet improves insulin sensitivity in those with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 or who have other diabetes risk factors (for example, polycystic ovary syndrome). On the other hand, a more recent review suggested that a low carbohydrate diet might increase insulin resistance, especially if an individual is not losing body weight while following the diet.
- Consume more soluble fiber. This dietary fiber is from plants. While soluble fiber is a carbohydrate, our bodies cannot fully break it down. Because of this, soluble fiber doesn’t add to spikes in blood glucose. Moreover, soluble fiber slows stomach emptying, delaying the time it takes for meals to leave the stomach and enter the small intestines.
- Consider intermittent fasting (IF). This meal timing approach might improve insulin sensitivity and drop the risk of type 2 diabetes for some people. We need more research on this approach, as while intermittent fasting reduces insulin resistance, IF has no meaningful effect on blood sugar (glucose) levels.
One more thing:
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
Thank you for joining me in this look at “3 Ways You Can Drop Inflammation.” Don’t forget to sign up to follow this blog.
