Do you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or sexual health concerns? What about foggy thinking, weight gain, or worries about your long-term health? These concerns can seem unrelated, but many share a common thread: elevated insulin, also called hyperinsulinemia. Even when high insulin isn't the cause, it's linked to chronic health conditions getting worse.
Insulin resistance is among the most common metabolic problems today, and many people who have it don't know it. That's why it's worth understanding how to recognize it, and what can be done about it.
What is insulin resistance?
Insulin is the hormone that moves sugar from your blood into your cells. When cells stop responding well to insulin, the body compensates by producing more and more of it. For years, that extra insulin can keep blood sugar in the normal range. But high insulin is linked to fat storage, especially around the middle, and may contribute to inflammation, blood pressure changes, and cardiometabolic risk.
Signs of insulin resistance
You can ask yourself a few questions, even before a blood test, to gauge your risk.
For men
- Do you carry more belly fat than you'd like?
- Do you have frequent cravings, or feel tired after meals?
- Do you have high blood pressure?
- Do you have erectile dysfunction or other sexual health concerns?
- Is there heart disease or type 2 diabetes in your family?
For women
- Do you carry more weight around your middle than you'd like?
- Do you retain water easily?
- Do you have frequent cravings, or feel tired after meals?
- Do you have high blood pressure?
- Have you noticed changes in orgasm quality or frequency?
- Is there heart disease or type 2 diabetes in your family?
Each of these has connections to insulin resistance. Answering yes to even one may mean some degree of insulin resistance is worth checking for.
"My doctor told me my blood sugar is fine."
Checking blood sugar (glucose) is an important way to identify diabetes, prediabetes, and their complications. But the body works very hard to keep blood sugar normal, and it does that by producing more insulin. So blood sugar can look fine while insulin is quietly climbing.
Over time, high insulin and insulin resistance can feed each other, and both are linked to chronic health conditions. Insulin resistance often shows up first, years before a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Catching it early gives you the chance to make changes and take control before it progresses.
How AgeWell evaluates it
We check whether insulin resistance is contributing to your symptoms by looking at fasting insulin alongside blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C, together with your symptoms, history, and body composition. Normal blood sugar is not the whole story.
What you can do
Insulin resistance responds to change. We help patients learn the nutrition and lifestyle strategies that lower insulin, including what, when, and how much you eat, along with sleep, strength, and stress. When appropriate, medication can be part of the plan too. Learn more about our approach to metabolic health.
This article is educational and not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Talk with a qualified clinician about your specific situation.
