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Insulin Resistance — A Root Cause of Many Issues
Why one metabolic process may be silently driving your symptoms — and what you can do about it
Know Your Number — The HOMA-IR Test
The HOMA-IR test measures insulin resistance directly using two fasting blood samples: fasting glucose and fasting insulin. The NHS does not routinely offer this test, but it is available privately. Vitall (vitall.co.uk) will send a nurse to your home to take the samples.
How IR Expresses Differently — Three Common Patterns
The same underlying insulin resistance tends to express through each person's individual vulnerabilities. Three broad patterns are commonly seen:
The Kidney Mechanism — Why IR Raises Blood Pressure and Cortisol
Every time insulin is produced in response to eating — particularly carbohydrates — the kidneys are signalled to retain sodium and water, increasing blood volume. In a healthy person with normal insulin sensitivity, this is brief and self-correcting. In someone with IR, insulin remains chronically elevated, and so does the retention of sodium and water. For larger-framed individuals this creates persistently elevated blood pressure. For thinner individuals, the resulting fluid and electrolyte shifts drive cortisol elevation, nervous system hypersensitivity, and anxiety. For others the disruption to neurotransmitter balance suppresses dopamine — contributing to low mood and depression.
Why Drugs Cannot Solve Insulin Resistance
Medications for hypertension, anxiety, depression, IBS, and type 2 diabetes all address the downstream symptoms — they do not address the insulin signalling dysfunction causing them. The smoke alarm is silenced, but the source of the smoke continues. The solution to insulin resistance has been available for decades — it lies in restoring the body's natural metabolic rhythm: the cycle of insulin rising after eating and falling fully between meals, allowing the body's repair systems to activate.
The Solution — Restoring Insulin Sensitivity
Very Low Carbohydrate Diet (VLCD)
- No grains — no bread, rice, pasta, oats
- No refined sugar in any form
- High collagen foods — meat, fish, bone broth
- Fermented foods to restore gut bacteria balance
- Sprouted foods for bioavailable nutrients
- All six tastes included for deep satiety
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Fasting is essential because it is the only way to allow insulin to fall low enough to restore sensitivity and reactivate autophagy — the body's cellular repair and self-cleaning mechanism. IR effectively switches autophagy off, because chronically high insulin keeps the mTOR pathway active, which suppresses it. Restoring insulin sensitivity through fasting turns autophagy back on.
The Gut-Brain Axis — Why Stopping Grains Feels So Hard
Gut bacterial imbalance always accompanies insulin resistance and disease. The gut-brain axis is the communication pathway through which gut bacteria signal the brain for what they want you to eat. Bacteria that thrive on grains and refined sugar send powerful cravings for exactly those foods — so what feels like a personal desire for bread, pasta or rice is often the gut bacteria demanding their preferred fuel. This is why willpower alone consistently fails.
The good news: grain-feeding bacteria die within approximately 3 days of removing grains completely. After that threshold, cravings disappear and most people report they no longer miss those foods at all. But those first 3 days require support — which is why coaching makes the critical difference.
This document is for educational purposes only. Please consult a healthcare professional before making changes to your diet or medication.