Optimize Your Insulin Levels
An Integral Study Guide
Greetings, dear reader, and welcome to the Integral Fitness guide on how to Optimize Your Insulin Levels! This article, like my others, is written as a “Cliff Notes” or “SparkNotes” style study guide. It is a distillation of those elements which current research has determined to be most integral to regulating this crucial hormone. Enjoy!
Insulin resistance is a serious condition involved in almost all chronic disease states and therefore its proper regulation should be one of your top health, wellness and longevity aims.
Regulate Carbohydrates
In regards to dietary carbohydrate intake I generally use the following macronutrient spectrum of Carbohydrate/Protein/Fat (from highest carb to lowest carb):
Standard American Diet (SAD🙁) - 50/15/35 - for point of reference
“Mediterranean” - 50/20/30
Balanced - 40/30/30
Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) - 30/25/45
Ketogenic - 5/25/70
Remembering that there is no one size fits all diet, and knowing your goals, experiment to find what macronutrient ratios work best for you. Keep in mind that regulating carbohydrate intake is one of the strongest factors in influencing insulin levels. Also bear in mind that pathological conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and autoimmunity often see greater resolution or management with ratios at the lower end of the spectrum presented above.
For personalized assistance in determining what macronutrients ratios are right for you see the Integral Fitness coaching services link at the end of this article.
Also, see future post on Proper Diet for a more detailed discussion regarding diet in general.
Avoid Eating Carbohydrate Only Meals or Snacks
Combining fats and proteins with carbs at meals will minimize the potential for excessive spikes in blood glucose and insulin levels. As an example of the it’s significance, one client reported reducing his average glucose level from the 300s to 120 utilizing this strategy alone!
The most common food sources to consider that both violate this rule and are often overlooked are beverages such as soft drinks, sports drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices etc.
Food Order Matters
While eating your meals eat fats and proteins first and carbohydrates last to help best regulate insulin and glucose.
Limit Sugar
Regardless of what macronutrient ratios you choose be sure to limit simple sugar intake in all of its various form i.e. cane sugar, agave nectar, high fructose corn syrup (also called fructose, HFCS-90), brown rice syrup, etc., etc. Food manufacturers will try to hide sugar in dozens of ways. Do your research here to be sure.
Limit Other Refined Grains and Processed Foods
Highly processed foods have too many problems to even bother to list here. Eat real food!
Limit Intake of Lean Protein and Excessive Protein
As the body has the ability to convert protein into glucose note that both too much protein and protein that is too lean can cause excessive increases in glucose and insulin levels.
Regulate Your Eating Frequency
Insulin is released each time you eat so utilizing fasting strategies can assist in regulating insulin levels.
See future post on Fasting.
Exercise
It is recommend to integrate both aerobic exercise and resistance training for best overall results.
Again, see the coaching services link at the bottom if assistance is needed in designing a fitness program.
Also, see future post on Proper Movement for more details on exercise modalities.
Avoid Glyphosate (Roundup)
Glyphoste leads to an unhealthy imbalance in the gut bacteria (dysbiosis) as well as endocrine disruption, Metabolic Syndrome and nutrient deficiencies (such as Vitamin D) which can all negatively impact insulin regulation. Choose organic, non-GMO foods.
For more details on the harmful effects of glyphosate see glyphosate: Guilty as Charged
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is integral to helping improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Have your blood levels checked routinely and take any necessary steps to correct if found to be low.
See this post on how to Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels
Avoid Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fats can interfere with cell membrane functions which can have a negative effect on insulin sensitivity. It is also important to note that you should not burn fats (oils) by heating them to their smoking point or beyond. This can create trans fats and/or other cell damaging free radicals.
Use Medications with Caution
Although there is a time and place for necessary medications, know what side effects come with them and learn how to mitigate those unwanted effects.
Many medications deplete the body of micronutrients which can impact glucose and insulin. Also, some medications, such as corticosteroids can have a direct impact on insulin by increasing cortisol levels. Diurectics and statins can negatively impact insulin as well.
Ideally, if you are on medication you should be working with a nutrition and fitness professional as well your medical professional with the aim of restoring healthy physiological functioning and therefore reducing or eliminating your need for medication.
Practice Stress Reduction
Stress increases cortisol which increases insulin. This is a normal stress response, however when this occurs chronically this can lead to reduced insulin sensitivity and the excess storage of glucose as body fat.
See my future post on Proper Restoration.
Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies
See my post on how to Optimize Your Gut Health for much more detailed information but for now know that certain nutrient deficiencies can cause dysregulation of insulin such as:
Vitamin D (as mentioned above)
Magnesium
Potassium
Sodium
Zinc
Chromium
Vitamin B1
Vitamin A
As well as the above noted deficiencies it is important to note that too much calcium can lead to cell death in the pancreatic cells that secrete insulin leading to poor blood glucose control.
Supplements to Consider
In addition to the above steps sometimes it is useful to integrate a supplementation strategy. Two supplements that have been shown to be particularly helpful in regulating insulin are:
Berberine
Chromium Pico
Thorne supplements can be purchased at my affiliate link here I offer a 25% Thorne discount to my Substack readers upon request. Simply contact me at my coaching services link below.
I hope you find this “cheat sheet” useful and, with further exploration, are able to integrate these ideas into your personal, integrated wellness routine.
Thank you for reading and I welcome your comments below!
This information is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to be used as a foundation and study guide to support your own further research and experimentation. See link below if you’d like to consider personalized fitness & nutrition guidance.
Finally, always consult with a qualified medical and/or nutritional professional well versed in this subject. Maintain regular checkups. Never attempt to self-diagnose.
INTEGRAL FITNESS – UPLIFT YOURSELF AND UPLIFT OTHERS
TO BE HEALTHY, HAPPY AND HELPFUL!
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