Most people don’t understand the role of insulin in the body. However, before talking about insulin we have to understand what it is and why it’s important.
What is it: Insulin is a hormone that drives glucose out of the bloodstream into cells. It controls glucose. Therefore, people who have diabetes have lost the ability to control blood glucose levels in their bodies.
Insulin is a mixed blessing: However, it is so much more than a hormone. It is highly anabolic, which means it is it is critical for building muscle. However, if not used well insulin can also increase fat storage. You have to learn when you want insulin (i.e., when you want to spike it) and when you don’t. Specifically, you want to learn to spike insulin to optimally recover from workouts and grow, while also blunting it to stay lean.
How does Insulin help build muscle: Insulin is produced when you eat carbs, protein, or both. Unlike protein which is a building block to muscles, insulin acts like a signal to the muscle. Insulin signals the muscle cell to open up. Opening up of the muscle cells will allow glucose, amino acids and creatine to enter the muscles. This is why insulin is so important in building muscle.
Insulin also will increase the ability of the muscle to synthesize protein. Additionally, it decreases muscle breakdown which further enhances muscle growth. Lastly, insulin causes blood vessels to relax and dilate, which allows greater blood flow to the muscle. This increased blood flow, allows nutrients to reach the muscles.
How does Insulin lead to fat build-up: When you’ve just worked out, insulin is great to help build muscle. However, when you’ve not worked out and you’ve eaten food that causes an increase in insulin, such as glucose (sugars)/carbs, then you’re building fat. What happens is that insulin will send the same signals to the body to open up the muscles of the body. However, the muscles can’t use what’s being offered because they are not burning fat. So the body will burn through the nutrients just eaten, and store as fat what it can’t use. The insulin signaling to the muscle cells in this case is bad because it stores the extra glucose and cards as fat.
So a spike in insulin when it’s not needed will cause your energy level to feel zapped. You will get what’s known as a sugar buzz, with the associated energy drop. This is not great for your body, as you’re storing more fat, and it’s also bad for your physique. Also, when your energy crashes, your hunger soars. This causes people to over eat. The first reaction is for people to reach for simple carbs, which can lead to another crash. It’s a viscous cycle.
The Advice on Insulin: With the knowledge of insulin behind us, what it is and what it does, here is some practical advice on how to use insulin for its benefits and to avoid its dark side:
Consume the majority of your carbs around the time of your workout. Eat them before you workout, and definitely after you workout.
Increase your fiber intake throughout the day because it has been shown to lower insulin levels throughout the day, but don’t eat it around your workouts.
Studies show that the faster you eat, the more you become insulin resistant. Which means that you will get the negatives of insulin, and will minimize the muscle building aspects of it. This means you will store more fat and build less muscle.
