 Insulin: how do we control it to to our advantage? I first learned about insulin when I read a book called Sugar Busters shortly after it was originally published in 1995. I have to admit, it changed my whole perception of food, what I put into my body as fuel, and helped shape my path towards a fit lifestyle. It taught me the basics of how insulin is produced, how it acts within our bodies and how to control it in order to not gain body fat. Skip forward about 20 years and I still control my insulin daily, however I now also know how to use it to help me build muscle. With correct nutrition, insulin can help you control your body fat, as well as enhance muscle gain. *All nutritional and fitness info must be discussed with your doctor before any changes to diet or exercise regime are implemented. Insulin: what is it and how is it produced? Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is released as a response to the food we eat. When we eat food it gets broken down and sent to the liver where it is processed and converted into – among other things - glycogen, a storable form of glucose. The liver can only store about 100g of glucose (in the form of glycogen) then the rest gets sent into the bloodstream. Once the glucose hits our bloodstream our blood sugar level rises. This level must be brought down to a neutral level; otherwise our body will remain in a hyperglycemic state. Our body works to lower our blood-sugar levels by releasing insulin from the pancreas. Insulin acts as a broom which runs through our blood, sweeping everything from our bloodstream into our cells, proteins, fats, and glucose. The glucose will be swept either into our muscles for short term usage, or into our fat cells for long term storage. Where insulin sweeps this glucose depends upon multiple factors, including if the glucose stores in our muscles have space to be topped up for immediate use, or if they are already full, in which case the glucose must be put into long-term storage in our fat cells. Our muscles can store around 500g of glycogen, any excess must be stored as fat. Insulin and exercise When we exercise our body uses energy; it will use glucose from our blood and glycogen that it has stored in our muscles, and then tap into our fat stores. Glycogen is easier to convert to energy than fat, so it will be used first, followed by a protein/fat combination, and finally fat. How long it takes for your body to use up all of its glycogen depends on the individual and their fitness level, as well as what kind of activity they are doing. While running, most people will switch to fat burning after about 30-40 minutes, and resistance training will depend upon the intensity. In order to replenish the glycogen in our muscles we need to consume carbs, as well as protein in order to help our muscles recover and grow. In this depleted state, our muscles are ready to absorb the glycose produced by the carbohydrates, ensuring that this glycose is not stored as fat. If we have depleted our glycogen stores enough in our muscles they will start to burn protein in order to create energy. As protein is crucial for muscle growth, this catabolic (breaking down) state is detrimental for muscles, so it is important to get the protein back into our muscles as soon as possible. Enter insulin. As we consume our post workout meal consisting of carbs and protein we produce insulin. How much insulin produced depends on what we eat (plus other factors), so a typical post-workout meal will consist of a fast acting carb, and an insulin spiking protein powder. The carb should be fast acting, ie. a simple carb with a higher glycemic index than consumed throughout the rest of the day, and whey isolate protein powder. This form of protein powder is also fast acting and the combination of the two will elicit a blood sugar spike and a release in insulin; the insulin will then do its job and “sweep” the protein into our muscles to stop catabolism and commence the growth process, as well as store the carbs in our muscles to replenish our glycogen stores. Glycemic load The concept that Sugar Busters introduced me to 20 years ago was the glycemic index. This index is a rating given to each food based upon how much it raises our blood sugar level (and therefore how much insulin could potentially be produced). The glycemic load is this index for a certain food, multiplied by how much of it we eat. 1 donut and 5 donuts both have the same glycemic index on the chart, however the load will be higher the more donuts we eat, therefor raising our blood sugar level more. Here is a basic chart which gives you an idea for some common foods. Glucose, for example has an index of 99, French bread 136, jelly beans 112, Cornflakes 116, and proteins such as chicken and beef less than 15 (animal proteins are usually actually rated at 0), as does lettuce, spinach and broccoli, and also butter. Using this concept we can see how - other than our post-workout nutrition - we can keep our blood sugar low throughout the day. With an even blood sugar level we will not produce much insulin, allowing our bodies to process with food we eat without storing it as fat. Insulin and fat storage As insulin sweeps through our blood stream it also signals our cells to stop burning its fat stores and instead focus on absorbing the fatty acids and glucose it is sweeping their way. As we want our muscle cells to be able to absorb the proteins and glycogen we are consuming in order to promote growth, this is a good thing post-workout. However, once our muscle cells are full we need our body to be able to absorb the nutrients we are sending it without storing the excess as fat. To do this we need to keep our blood sugar levels fairly low and even throughout the day in order to elicit as small an insulin release as possible. This means consuming whole foods low on the glycemic index, concentrating on proteins, vegetables and good fats. Insulin responsive vs insulin sensitive The other factor determining how much insulin is released by our pancreas is how insulin responsive or sensitive we are. Our bodies are adaptive, and insulin is much like caffeine; often the more caffeine we ingest the more we need to ingest in order to feel the effects. Our body has adapted and become resistant to the effects of caffeine. In much the same way our bodies can become resistant to insulin; our pancreas needs to create more and more insulin in order to lower our bool sugar levels back to normal. This creates a state of Insulin Resistance, where insulin is in near constant production, signalling our body to stop burning fat and store it instead. Eventually our pancreas will be unable to keep up and it will essentially give up and stop producing insulin. This is when we need to start providing insulin by other sources ie. insulin injections as we have type II diabetes. Can this be reversed? If it is caught early, potentially yes. By managing blood sugar levels to keep our insulin production low we can become less resistant – and therefore more sensitive – to insulin and our pancreas may be able to keep up with demand. If it has gone on too long then our pancreas may never be able to recover enough to provide enough insulin. So how do we ensure we are insulin sensitive? While there are many methods to potentially keep us sensitive, the best and easiest way is simply to limit high sugar, processed foods and concentrate on whole foods chocked with protein, fibre (which slows down absorption of foods and therefore helps produce a lower blood sugar spike) and healthy fats. To summarize While insulin has been linked to fat storage, as you can see, it is also beneficial for maximum muscle growth. As carb consumption typically produces the most insulin production, keep carbs the highest immediately following your workout, and keep them lower for the remainder of the day. *All nutritional and fitness info must be discussed with your doctor before any changes to diet or exercise regime are implemented. Change nothing and nothing will change; without change, there can be no progress! Related articles: Our Metabolism: Can we change it? Insulin: Friend or Foe? Nutrition 101: Master the basics  Comments are closed.
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