Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels are high, insulin is released from the pancreas. Insulin helps get the glucose from the blood into body cells for energy or storage. When insulin levels are too low, stored glucose (glycogen) gets broken down from the muscle or liver tissue to be released into the blood.
It can be harmful when blood sugar levels are too high or too low. Therefore, insulin’s ability of lowering or helping to raise blood sugar is very important.
Obesity and insulin resistance can go hand in hand. The more fat tissue, the higher risk the body can lose sensitivity to insulin’s signals.
Therefore, higher levels of insulin are needed to send a message to body cells to take in glucose from the blood. Higher levels of insulin at rest, like higher levels of blood sugar, can increase risk for type 2 diabetes.
Having high levels of insulin can promote fat storage and make weight loss difficult. Besides regulating blood sugar levels, insulin also promotes synthesis of fat.
Therefore, lowering both high levels of blood sugar and insulin is recommended for overall health.
The good news is if resting insulin levels are higher than normal, changes in diet and exercise may help bring insulin levels back into a healthy range.
If you are taking any medications for insulin or blood sugar, make sure to speak with your doctor before making lifestyle changes.
#1 – Exercise more
Exercise can play a critical role in lowering insulin and glucose levels. Health experts (1) recommend to exercise at least a few times a week, as the beneficial effect from exercise on blood insulin levels doesn’t last more than a few days.
Therefore, in order for sustained benefit of helping to lower insulin levels, exercise should be consistent.
If someone is starting out with an exercise program to lower insulin levels, start with an exercise intensity that is somewhat comfortable and increase exercise intensity gradually.
According to a 2006 study (2), aerobic and resistance exercise can be beneficial for helping to lower blood insulin levels. In fact, researchers suggest type 2 diabetes can even be prevented and controlled with increased activity.
Exercise can help muscle cells get re-sensitized to insulin which is key to helping insulin levels go down.
#2 – Cut out the liquid sugar
One way insulin levels can get high is from constantly having a rush in blood sugar levels. Eating and drinking foods high in sugar can cause blood sugar levels to drastically rise after consuming.
Insulin is usually released in about the same degree as blood sugar rises. After a surge of insulin is released, blood sugar levels can crash. Therefore, a cycle of rising and crashing blood sugar can occur.
One of the first ways to help lower the cycle of high blood sugar and insulin levels is to cut out liquid sugar.
Liquid sugar from juice, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened tea and soda are a quick source of sugar that can get absorbed rapidly into the blood system.
Another problem with liquid calories is that the brain does not “register” these calories. It can be very easy to drink calories and not feel satiated afterward.
Drinking sweet drinks, whether sweetened from sugar or artificially, can also increase desire for other sweet high carbohydrate foods according to Harvard Health (3).
Drinking water or unflavored tea is recommended in place of sweet drinks. Doing this switch will save calories and added sugar in the diet.
#3 – Increase fiber
One way to slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream after eating is fiber, specifically soluble fiber. All foods that have carbohydrates release glucose into the bloodstream.
The difference between a cup of juice and a cup of whole fruit is the fiber is in the whole fruit.
Therefore, eating fruit, with fiber, compared to drinking juice will have a different influence on blood sugar.
Another reason to eat whole fruit: one study (4) found compounds in blueberries actually helped improve insulin sensitivity after 6 weeks in obese study participants.
Adding fiber to your diet can be done by eating whole grains instead of refined grains, whole fruits instead of juice and adding more vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds.
#4 – Cut out white, refined carbohydrates
Along with liquid sugar, simple refined carbohydrates can spike blood sugar and insulin levels.
While cutting out liquid sugar is one of the first places to start for lowering insulin levels and helping weight loss, the next step is to cut out white, process carbohydrate foods.
White bread, white pasta, sugary cereals, crackers, cookies and chips can all be considered sources of refined carbohydrates. It’s important to replace these foods with whole grain options like whole wheat bread and brown rice.
Depending on advice from your medical team, they may suggest to cut out all grains to further cut down your carbohydrate intake. This could give a more aggressive approach to helping lower insulin levels if needed.
#5 – Eat meals balanced with protein, fiber and healthy fats
Any source of carbohydrate you are eating should also provide fiber. This way the absorption of glucose will be slowed and released more evenly into the bloodstream.
Carbohydrate foods with fiber include: whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Carbohydrate foods without fiber include refined carbohydrates listed above.
In addition to eating carbohydrate foods with fiber, eating foods in combinations to provide protein and heart healthy fats can also help slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal.
For example, instead of just eating a bagel in the morning, maybe switch it with Greek plain yogurt topped with fresh berries and nuts.
The nuts provide heart healthy fats and protein, the yogurt provides protein and the berries provide carbohydrate with fiber.
