After lunch you crash around three o'clock, your waistband pinches a little more than last year, and the scale barely moves no matter how much you train. On its own each of those things says little. Together they can be an early sign that your body is handling insulin less smoothly.
Insulin resistance means your body responds less well to insulin, so your blood sugar can gradually become dysregulated. It often develops years before type 2 diabetes, usually without clear symptoms. The silent nature is exactly the problem, and that is why I see this as one of the most underrated phases in men's health: there is already something to see early on while you still feel fine.
What are early signals?
Common signals are increasing belly fat, a dip after eating, more thirst and sometimes stubborn weight around your waist. None of these signals proves anything on its own, but together they can be a reason to look further. The Diabetes Fund (Diabetes Fonds) describes how it is precisely these creeping, vague signals that cause insulin resistance to be noticed late.
Belly fat and insulin resistance often reinforce each other. See belly fat and your hormones for the connection with your testosterone.
Which blood values fit?
A few values can together give a picture. The table below sets them side by side. They are not separate diagnoses, but pieces of a puzzle that your doctor assesses in combination.
| Blood value | What it measures | Why relevant for insulin resistance |
|---|---|---|
| HbA1c | Average blood sugar over recent weeks | A slightly raised value can point to prediabetes |
| Fasting glucose | Blood sugar on an empty stomach | Can already be raised before HbA1c shifts |
| Fasting insulin | How much insulin your body makes when fasting | High can point to a body that has to work harder |
| HOMA-IR | Estimate from glucose and insulin together | Gives an impression of your insulin sensitivity |
| Triglycerides | Fats in your blood | High often goes together with insulin resistance |
HbA1c gives your average blood sugar over recent weeks. HOMA-IR combines fasting glucose and insulin into an estimate of sensitivity. You discuss an abnormal value with your GP, who assesses the whole picture and decides whether follow-up is needed.
What actually happens in your body?
After a meal, glucose enters your blood. Your pancreas makes insulin, the key hormone that lets that glucose into your cells. With insulin resistance, your cells respond less well to that signal, as if the lock gets stiffer. Your pancreas compensates by making more insulin, and for a while that keeps your blood sugar normal. That is why your glucose can still look fine while your insulin is already raised. Only when the pancreas can no longer keep pace does your blood sugar start to climb visibly. That explains why a fasting insulin or HOMA-IR sometimes shows something earlier than glucose alone.
Who is at greater risk?
Insulin resistance occurs more often with overweight, especially around the belly, with little exercise, with a family history of type 2 diabetes and with increasing age. The Diabetes Fonds names belly fat as one of the strongest associated factors. Chronic stress and poor sleep can also unfavourably influence your sensitivity. None of these factors is a verdict, but the more that come together, the greater the chance it is worth having your values checked.
What can you do with it?
The good news: insulin resistance can in many cases be influenced, and knowing early gives you more room. The Voedingscentrum points to fibre-rich food, fewer fast sugars and regular exercise as building blocks that can favourably influence your sensitivity. Muscle activity especially helps, because working muscles take up glucose without much insulin being needed. Even a short walk after eating can lower your blood sugar peak. The NHG stresses that lifestyle is often the first step with prediabetes, before medication is even considered. What fits you is something you decide together with your GP, because this remains bespoke.
My take: waiting until your doctor says "diabetes" is waiting until it is late. The years before are exactly the years in which you can do the most, and in which you often still feel perfectly fine.
Getting started
The Metabolic Health Check maps out markers around your blood sugar. For diabetes markers there is the Diabetes panel. If you want insulin resistance as a single number, the HOMA-IR test calculates that index from your fasting glucose and insulin together. At Caliberhealth, BIG-registered doctors assess your results, so an early signal does not go unnoticed. See also the pillar cholesterol in men for the broader cardiovascular picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is insulin resistance the same as diabetes?
No. Insulin resistance can be an early phase that lies years before type 2 diabetes. Knowing early often gives you more room to act in consultation with a doctor.
Can I reverse insulin resistance?
In many cases it can be influenced, especially through lifestyle. How much varies per person, so discuss with your GP what is realistic in your situation.
Which test is best to see insulin resistance?
There is no single test that tells the whole story. HbA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR together give a picture that your doctor assesses.
This article provides general information and is not a substitute for medical advice. A blood test is a tool, not a diagnosis in itself. With serious symptoms, contact your GP, or call emergency services in an emergency.
Autor
Caliberhealth
Dr. Naimi, lekarz wpisany do holenderskiego rejestru BIG, nadzoruje standardy medyczne naszych treści i ocen. Przeczytaj naszą politykę medyczną
