Looking for ways to manage your insulin resistance naturally? While there are medications available, many prefer to address the underlying causes to improve insulin sensitivity.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to tackle insulin resistance at the root through diet and lifestyle changes.
How to manage your insulin resistance naturally
EAT 3 MEALS A DAY
Until recently, health practitioners thought that the best way to manage glucose and insulin levels is to have small frequent meals during the day. But now research has uncovered that better glucose control in (even in) diabetic patients is achieved with 3 meals a day.
Why is this the case? When we eat frequently, insulin is continually being secreted by the pancreas and doesn’t have a chance to return to a baseline level.
So ditch the frequent snacks and stick to your three square meals as it’s not just people with diabetes that this is beneficial for. We ca all benefit from this (and this is coming from a reformed snacker lol).
INCLUDE PROTEIN AND FIBRE IN EVERY MEAL
One way we can get insulin resistance under control is by minimising glucose and insulin spikes on a daily basis. And a simple way to make this happen? Having a source of protein and fibre in every single meal.
Both protein and fibre help to slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. As a result, you get a steady stream of energy over a longer period of time, and less insulin is produced to manage it.
DITCH THE CALORIE RESTRICTION AND COOKIE-CUTTER DIETS
As weight gain is a common side effect of insulin resistance, people often turn to restrictive calorie counting or fad diets to kickstart weight loss. But all this is going to do is increase the stress on your body and make it hold tighter to that body fat!
The nutrition plan that you want? One that tailors to your needs and how your body processes nutrients, including glucose. To learn more about how I can help with this, check out The Glow Protocol here.
MANAGE YOUR STRESS
Stress is often a massive contributor to insulin resistance. And unfortunately, insulin resistance adds to your stress load! So looking at natural ways of managing your stress load needs to be a focus.
Of course, we can’t avoid every kind of stress forever. And small amounts of stress can actually be beneficial for us! But we do want to prevent a build-up of chronic stress. For tips around how to reduce your stress naturally, make sure you give this a read.
GET A GOOD NIGHT OF SLEEP
Did you know that even one night of sleep deprivation can induce a state of insulin resistance? If that is what one night of missed sleep can cause, you can imagine what happens when you’re skimping on sleep regularly!
Getting 7-9hrs of deep, restful sleep is one of the most important steps to support insulin sensitivity. For some simple sleep tips to get you started, give this a read.
MOVE YOUR BODY REGULARLY
Physical activity has countless benefits for your health. So it’s no surprise that research has found it can improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake into the cells!
Any form of movement is a good start. However, resistance training can offer even greater benefits thanks to the increase in muscle mass (which means more glucose uptake)
A word of caution – if you are under significant chronic stress or going through perimenopause, keep your high-intensity training on the low side. Otherwise, it could have the opposite effect by increasing the physical stress load on your body!
REDUCE YOUR INFLAMMATION LEVEL
Insulin resistance and inflammation feed into each other. The more insulin resistant you become, the greater your inflammation, and vice versa. So if you want to tackle one, you have to consider the other.
You can learn more about inflammation (and its partner in crime, inflammaging) and how to address it here.
USE TARGETED SUPPLEMENTATION
Supplements can‘t replace a balanced diet and exercise regime, but they can support pathways involved with insulin resistance and sensitivity. However, not all supplements are created equal!
That’s why I’ve formulated my own innovative supplement designed to support healthy ageing! Plus it helps to support healthy blood glucose & metabolism of carbohydrates, both of which play a critical role in insulin resistance. Learn more about Energy Glow NR here.
Susie Garden
I help women feeling stressed, flat and older than they’d like regain their youthful energy and glow using a proven method so their natural beauty and confidence shines through.