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Fasting Insulin: The Early Warning Sign You Can’t Ignore

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Why You Should Monitor Your Fasting Insulin Levels


Fasting insulin is a marker of your metabolic health and can shed light on insulin resistance long before blood sugar levels rise.


What Does the Research Say?


Elevated fasting insulin in young adults is linked to a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension later in life (Park et al., 2014). Chronic hyperinsulinemia is tied to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risks including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and insulin resistance (Thomas et al., 2019). Insulin resistance often precedes diabetes — this silent progression can begin 10 to 15 years before type 2 diabetes develops (Freeman et al., 2023).


Who Should Take Notice?


This matters especially if you are:

  1. A working adult under frequent stress

  2. Someone who is overweight (BMI ≥ 23) but not diabetic

  3. A former gestational diabetes (GDM) patient

  4. Managing high cholesterol or hypertension

All of these are strong risk factors for developing long-term insulin resistance.


What Can You Do?


Lifestyle interventions are proven to improve insulin sensitivity and lower fasting insulin:

  1. Weight loss and physical activity significantly reduce insulin resistance and improve metabolic health (Venkatasamy et al., 2013).

  2. Time-restricted feeding (10-hour window) has shown benefits including lower fasting insulin, better insulin sensitivity, weight loss, and improved lipid profiles (Wilkinson et al., 2020).

  3. Effective stress management, including mindfulness, can lower fasting blood sugar and improve metabolic resilience (Ravari et al., 2020).


Why Fasting Insulin Matters


Unlike standard blood sugar tests, fasting insulin can catch early metabolic dysfunction, giving you an actionable edge. It is especially important for those already navigating gestational diabetes, hypertension, elevated lipids, or chronic stress.


Take Control of Your Metabolic Health


Book a consult with District Family Clinics today. We can arrange testing of your fasting insulin, interpret the results, and help you create a personalised plan — whether it’s lifestyle adjustments, dietary strategies, or stress management — to keep you metabolically fit for the long haul.



References

  1. Park, S. K., Jung, J. Y., Choi, W. J., Kim, Y. H., Kim, H. S., Ham, W. T., Shin, H., & Ryoo, J. H. (2014). Elevated fasting serum insulin level predicts future development of hypertension. International Journal of Cardiology, 172(2), 450–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.01.087

  2. Thomas, D. D., Corkey, B. E., Istfan, N. W., & Apovian, C. M. (2019). Hyperinsulinemia: An early indicator of metabolic dysfunction. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 3(9), 1727–1747. https://doi.org/10.1210/js.2019-00065

  3. Freeman, A. M., Acevedo, L. A., & Pennings, N. (2023). Insulin resistance. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507839/

  4. Venkatasamy, V. V., Pericherla, S., Manthuruthil, S., Mishra, S., & Hanno, R. (2013). Effect of physical activity on insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 7(8), 1764–1766. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2013/6518.3306

  5. Wilkinson, M. J., Manoogian, E. N. C., Zadourian, A., Lo, H., Fakhouri, S., Shoghi, A., Wang, X., Fleischer, J. G., Navlakha, S., Panda, S., & Taub, P. R. (2020). Ten-hour time-restricted eating reduces weight, blood pressure, and atherogenic lipids in patients with metabolic syndrome. Cell Metabolism, 31(1), 92–104.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.11.004

  6. Ravari, O. N., Mousavi, S. Z., & Babak, A. (2020). Evaluation of the effects of 12 weeks mindfulness-based stress reduction on glycemic control and mental health indices in women with diabetes mellitus type 2. Advances in Biomedical Research, 9, 61. https://doi.org/10.4103/abr.abr_133_20

 
 
 

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