These lifestyle strategies are small but mighty!
Reviewed by Dietitian Karen Ansel, M.S., RDN
Key Points
- Eat more fiber-rich foods to help improve insulin sensitivity and support blood sugar balance.
- Engage in regular exercise to help muscles use glucose efficiently and boost insulin sensitivity.
- Prioritize sleep, reduce stress and gradually lose weight to help reverse insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is an often-overlooked condition that is a precursor to a host of metabolic conditions, especially prediabetes and diabetes. The good news is there are ways to protect against and even reverse insulin resistance. That’s important because cells rely on insulin around the clock to effectively use glucose for fuel. Plus, reversing insulin resistance can reduce your long-term risk of many chronic illnesses.
Read on to learn all about insulin resistance, how it impacts your blood sugar levels, and the best ways to naturally prevent it.
1. Eat More Plants
Eating more whole, fiber-rich plant foods like beans, lentils, whole grains, leafy greens, vibrant veggies, nuts and seeds is one of the best things you can do to help your body use insulin more efficiently, says Los Angeles-based dietitian Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDCES, FAND. “These foods offer a powerful combination of fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds which help with blood sugar balance and support insulin function,” says Sheth.
What makes fiber so special? “Dietary fiber slows down the digestion process,” says Dru Rosales, M.S., RD. “As a result, it helps to control blood sugar and cholesterol levels, both of which lead to improved insulin sensitivity.”
2. Reduce Saturated Fat
“Excess dietary fat, particularly saturated fat, breaks down into fatty acids and accumulates in your muscle and liver,” says Lauren Plunkett, RDN, LD, CDCESa registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist. “These fatty acids stick together and harden the cell wall, which causes insulin resistance.” That, in turn, prompts glucose to accumulate in the bloodstream, resulting in high blood sugar.
High-saturated-fat foods include red and processed meats, full-fat dairy, cream, butter, desserts, baked goods and fried foods. While you don’t have to avoid these foods entirely, it’s wise to have a goal to limit saturated fat to less than 10% of your daily calories. “Intakes greater than this have been shown to increase LDL cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” says Rosales.
3. Move Your Body Daily
There are several ways physical activity helps with insulin resistance. Working muscles need lots of glucose for fuel. When you exercise, your muscles take up glucose and remove it from the bloodstream, whether insulin is available or not. In addition, exercise makes muscle cells more sensitive to insulin. And it helps you build more muscle tissue overall.
What’s the best exercise? The answer is the type you enjoy and can stick to. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week, or bump the intensity up to vigorous and shoot for 75 minutes per week. This might look like brisk walking, swimming, biking or jogging. Plus add two days of resistance exercise and some stretching.
4. Prioritize Sleep
“Research has shown that sleeping less than the recommended seven hours per night is associated with insulin resistance,” says Rosales. “In addition, [poor] sleep duration and quality are both considered risk factors for type 2 diabetes.”
If you’re not getting seven hours per night, start by going to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual. Once you get acclimated to that, increase by 15 minutes until you hit your goal.
5. Be Mindful of Stress
Not all stress is bad, but too much chronic stress can increase insulin resistance. Why? Chronic exposure to stress encourages your body to produce higher levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which can impair glucose metabolism. If this becomes chronic, it can lead to insulin resistance. And when excess stress impairs sleep, it can throw you into a vicious cycle, making things even worse.
To reduce stress, start small by incorporating activities you enjoy doing. For example, you may try journaling, deep breathing, walking, art, prayer, meditation, yoga, tai chi or any other mindfulness activities that you find soothing.
6. Consider Weight Loss
If you are living with overweight or obesity, losing even a small amount of your body weight can increase your insulin sensitivity and help prevent type 2 diabetes, says Rosales. Weight loss is so powerful that research has found that people at high risk for diabetes may reduce their chances of developing diabetes by 58% after losing 5% to 7% of their body weight.
Of course, weight loss can be difficult, especially if you’ve tried to lose weight before only to gain it back. It can be helpful to think “slow and steady” and understand that plateaus will happen. When they do, consider reaching out to a registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator, who can help you find realistic, lasting lifestyle changes to continue to lose weight and keep it off.
What Is Insulin Resistance?
Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas that helps move glucose from your blood into your muscles, fat cells and liver for energy. However, sometimes, things like weight gain, genetics or a sedentary lifestyle can cause our cells to undergo changes that impair their ability to use insulin effectively. In response, the pancreas produces even more insulin, leading to a vicious cycle known as insulin resistance. Over time, if this cycle becomes chronic, the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas become overworked and lose function, potentially leading to prediabetes or even diabetes.
The encouraging news is, it is often possible to reverse insulin resistance with the diet and lifestyle changes we’ve shared. If you’re not sure where to start, try the tip you find easiest to manage. Then, once you’ve mastered that, try another. Little by little, these small changes can yield meaningful results.
Our Expert Take
You can naturally prevent or reduce insulin resistance with diet and lifestyle changes. Strategies like eating more fiber and less saturated fat, exercising, getting adequate sleep, reducing stress and losing weight—if indicated—can all help your body use the insulin it makes more efficiently.
These strategies are so effective that when done consistently, they may even reverse insulin resistance, which can prevent, delay and treat diabetes. And it’s never too late to get started. Stack small, consistent changes one day at a time to stay motivated, and reach out for professional help for support and guidance if you feel stuck.