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You may have been told that insulin resistance is a major health problem, but it also seems incredibly difficult to understand. There’s a lot of uncertainty around what insulin actually does, why it affects energy, and how it connects to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and cravings. Understanding how to reverse insulin resistance begins with learning how your body processes energy—and how that process can break down.

Most people think of insulin as the hormone that helps you process sugar and carbs. But what most people don’t realize is that your body uses glucose for energy in addition to burning fat and protein. If you have too much glucose floating around in your system, then eventually this will lead to serious problems like type 2 diabetes or heart disease. This can happen even if you eat a healthy diet with low carb foods!

This article will walk you through the physiology of insulin, glucose, and the endocrine system in a clear and relatable way. We’ll also cover how insulin resistance develops and outline practical, research-supported strategies to help you reverse insulin resistance naturally, improve metabolic health, and reduce long-term risk factors like inflammation, high blood pressure, and cholesterol imbalances.

How the body gets energy

Your body requires a constant supply of energy to support essential functions like hormone production, muscle contraction, cognitive performance, and organ health. The primary source of that energy is glucose—a form of sugar that circulates in the blood and is delivered through the bloodstream to every cell in the body. You can think of your cells as hard-working employees who rely on nutrient “deliveries” to keep functioning throughout the day.

There are three primary sources of glucose your body uses to maintain blood sugar levels and fuel metabolic activity:

1. Food you eat, especially meals containing carbohydrates and added sugar,

2. Stored glycogen in the liver, which serves as a short-term energy reserve,

3. Fat stored in adipose tissue, which is transformed into usable energy when other resources are low.

Here’s a helpful analogy to visualize how these energy sources work:

• Food prepared and set in front of us: Glucose from your most recent meal—especially one containing carbohydrate, sugar, or grain—is like a hot, ready-to-eat dish. It’s the easiest and fastest form of energy for your body to use, and the preferred source for your organs and skeletal muscle.

• Food from the refrigerator: Liver glycogen is like leftovers in the fridge—accessible but not instantly ready. It can be quickly converted to glucose and released into the blood when your blood sugar level starts to drop between meals or during light fasting.

• Food from the freezer: Transforming fat from adipose tissue into glucose is like cooking a frozen meal. It takes more time and effort, but your body will turn to fat for fuel when your diet or lifestyle encourages metabolic flexibility and insulin sensitivity.

Just like most people would choose the fastest meal option when hungry, your body also defaults to the most immediately available energy source. It burns dietary glucose from recent eating first, especially if that meal was rich in refined carbohydrates or added sugar. When that runs out, it taps into the glycogen stored in your liver. Only after both of those are depleted will your metabolism begin converting fat into energy.

When the body senses a drop in glucose availability, it activates several hormonal signals to encourage eating. These include ghrelin, which causes the stomach to growl, and cortisol, which can lead to fatigue and cravings. These mechanisms help maintain blood sugar but can work against you if you’re trying to reverse insulin resistance—especially if you’re stuck in a cycle of sugar intake, blood sugar spikes, and fat storage.

Reversing insulin resistance requires interrupting this pattern by improving how your body accesses, stores, and utilizes energy. Supporting metabolic health through nutrient-dense meals, glucose-stabilizing snacks, regular physical activity, and a healthy diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, protein, and healthy fat is key. As you improve your glucose tolerance and reduce insulin resistance, your body becomes more efficient at tapping into fat stores and balancing energy without constant spikes and crashes.

So how is insulin used?

Your cells rely on glucose for energy, but they can’t access it without help. Each cell has a “gate” that must be opened to allow glucose to pass from the blood into the cell itself. That’s where insulin comes in.

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Its job is to act like a key—unlocking those gates so glucose can enter cells and be used for fuel. Without insulin, glucose remains trapped in the bloodstream, leading to elevated blood sugar levels and triggering a cascade of metabolic stress.

In a healthy system, insulin works efficiently with every meal, especially those that contain carbohydrate or sugar. It ensures that glucose is shuttled into skeletal muscle, liver, and other tissues, helping regulate energy, metabolism, and even hormone balance. This function is central to blood sugar control, and it plays a major role in determining your risk for insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

Understanding this gatekeeping role of insulin is essential for anyone looking to reverse insulin resistance and restore proper metabolic function.

So then, what is insulin resistance?

Why is insulin resistance bad?

Insulin resistance becomes dangerous because excess glucose in the blood acts like sticky syrup. Just like melted candy canes cling to your fingers, glucose sticks to red blood cells. When too much is present, these cells clump together, slowing circulation and damaging blood vessels.

Think of blood vessels as roads, red blood cells as cars, and glucose as passengers. With too many passengers, traffic jams form, and the roads—your blood vessels—start to break down.

This damage raises the risk of serious conditions like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, nerve damage, stroke, and even vision loss. Fortunately, your body is designed to repair itself. With the right diet, lifestyle changes, and support, you can reverse insulin resistance and protect long-term health.

What are signs and symptoms of insulin resistance?

The best way to determine if you have insulin resistance is by talking with your medical provider.  However there are some indicators that you may have some extent of insulin resistance.

• Body measurements: measure your waist (usually just above your belly button) and divide that number by your hip measurement (widest part of the hips), so for example, if your waist measurement is 36 inches, and your hip measurement is 46, then your ratio would be 36/46= 0.78. For women, that number should be 0.8 or lower.  (For men, the ratio is 1:1 or 1.0) If your measurement is greater than 0.8 (or 1.0 for men), then you may be developing insulin resistance.
• Darkened skin patches: knees, elbow, necks
• Skin tags
• Medical history of PCOS or gestational diabetes
• Family history of diabetes
• Post menopausal
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Body mass index of greater than 29
• Poor Nutrition (a diet high in fat, processed foods, and sugar)
• Chronic elevated Stress level

What can you do to naturally reverse insulin resistance (and heal your broken metabolism)?

Here are 11 ways to naturally reverse insulin resistance and start to heal your body!

#1 Sleep 7-9 hours per night

Research shows that even just 1 night of poor sleep can cause a stress response in the body that damages tissues.  Aim to go to bed at the same time each night and awake at the same time each morning (even on weekends), and supplement with magnesium

#2 Stabilize blood sugar

Rather than eat 1-3 large meals daily, people with insulin resistance do better with small meals throughout the day.  Eating foods that are rich in protein and vegetables or complex carbohydrates in smaller portions every 2.5 to 3 hours daily promotes consistent glucose and insulin levels, naturally reversing insulin resistance.

#3 Stress management

One of the most important things you can do is manage your stress by incorporating meditation, listening to music, performing deep breathing techniques, or even just taking a walk outside. Research has shown that this will help increase insulin sensitivity and reduce risk for chronic medical diseases.

#4 Get moving

Exercising 150 minutes per week has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and reverse insulin resistance, but you don’t need to work out intensely! The best forms of exercise for people with insulin resistance include low stress activities such as walking, yoga, or pilates combined with weight lifting just 2-3 times per week (30 minutes each activity).

#5 Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting can be a great way to allow the body a chance to heal, but you have to be cautious if you are a woman! You can choose to eat in an 8-10 hour eating window, consuming food every 2.5 to 3 hours to rev-up metabolism and stabilize blood glucose levels, but don’t go longer than 14 hours without eating.  This can severely affect your hormone levels and cause weight gain, which is not what we are going for!

#6 Reach your Ideal Body weight

This is always easier said than done, however losing weight will naturally help reverse insulin resistance.  Even just 5-10lbs can significantly improve insulin sensitivity! By changing the way that you eat, move, and think, you can make lifestyle changes that last and also support your health naturally.

If you struggle with weight loss resistance, it could be due to underlying hormone and metabolism issues. As a functional medicine provider, I do metabolism testing to help you target the ROOT CAUSE of your issues. Click the button below to learn more.

#7 Eat more soluble fiber 

Soluble fiber, found in foods like black beans, sweet potato, broccoli, carrots and seeds, are great to incorporate into your diet.  These foods increase insulin sensitivity by stabilizing glucose breakdown and absorption rate so that blood sugar levels remain balanced throughout the day.

#8 Choose foods rich in Antioxidants

Colorful fruits, like berries, artichokes, and kale, are especially rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants bind to substances that can cause inflammation in the body and have healing properties which are critical to reversing insulin resistance.

#9 Herbs and spices 

Herbs and spices can be a wonderful natural way to reverse insulin resistance. Cinnamon helps support and stabilize blood glucose levels and green tea provides a burst of antioxidants. Research has also shown that apple cider vinegar can help to stabilize blood sugar when consuming a meal that contains carbohydrates.

#10 Familiarize yourself with the glycemic index

There are certain foods that the body can absorb quickly, which results in a “rush” of glucose into the bloodstream.  Other foods are broken down more slowly and release a “steady” amount of glucose into the body.

By choosing foods that provide a steady release, you naturally reverse insulin resistance.  One easy way to know which foods provide a fast or slow release is by looking at the glycemic index.

Foods that are higher on the scale, release quickly into the blood: like sugar, crackers, chips, pasta.

Foods that are lower on the scale release glucose more slowly: like whole grains, vegetables, and proteins.

#11 Limit Alcohol

Drinking alcohol regularly causes insulin resistance and weight gain. In addition, alcohol is processed through the liver.  When your liver is busy breaking down alcohol, it can’t burn fat, creating further imbalances in estrogen and cortisol and converting the excess glucose it stores to fat. So by limiting alcohol, your body can naturally burn fat and reverse insulin resistance.

And that’s a wrap!

I hope this article has given you some great insight and tips about how to optimize your body and correct insulin resistance!  If you want to learn more about your personal risks, I am a Functional Medicine Physician Assistant and Health and Wellness coach. I specialize in helping women optimize metabolism, balance hormones, increase energy, and lose weight by targeting the underlying cause of symptoms. I am offering FREE Functional Medicine consults. Book yours today! CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE CONSULT

*Sarah Gibson, MPAS, PAC, HWC has helped hundreds of patients reverse their insulin resistance, lose weight, and regain energy and vitality to be able to return to the things that they love.