The Early Warning Sign That Most Lab Work Misses

High Insulin, Normal Glucose? Why That’s a Problem

If you’ve frequented recent articles, it’ll come as no surprise that balanced blood sugar is key to good health. That’s true, but it’s only part of the story. Behind the scenes is a hormone that quietly controls far more than we give it credit for. Released nearly every time you eat, insulin may be one of the earliest and most telling signals of how well (or how poorly) your metabolism is functioning. And yet, it’s rarely measured.

In most annual checkups, your blood work includes fasting glucose. But by the time that number is elevated, the real problem has often been building for years. High insulin can fly under the radar while your blood sugar appears “normal,” while it is also silently driving weight gain, fatigue, inflammation, and eventually, chronic disease. This is the danger of looking at glucose alone—it tells us what’s happening now, while insulin reveals what’s coming.

The good news? Insulin is testable, trackable, and, most importantly, modifiable. Today, we’ll look at what insulin is, why it rises first, how it quietly fuels dysfunction, and steps you can start to take to restore balance long before glucose ever tips into the red.

What Is Insulin?

Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas. Its primary job is to escort glucose from the bloodstream into your cells, where it can be used to create energy. You eat, blood sugar rises, and insulin acts like a key, unlocking the door so glucose can enter and fuel your body.

But insulin’s role goes far beyond glucose transport. It’s also a powerful anabolic, or “building,” hormone that signals the body to store energy. In times of abundance, when there’s more glucose than your cells need, insulin instructs the body to convert that excess into fat for later use. When food is scarce or during periods of fasting, insulin levels are designed to fall, signaling the body to burn stored fat for energy instead.

This ebb and flow of insulin is essential to metabolic balance. But in many people, that rhythm becomes disrupted. If the body is constantly producing insulin, due to frequent eating, excess carbohydrates, or chronic stress, cells can begin to ignore the signal. This is called insulin resistance.

As cells stop responding, the pancreas ramps up insulin production in an attempt to force glucose into the cells. Over time, it takes more and more insulin to clear the same amount of glucose from the blood. This compensation can continue for years or even decades, before blood sugar levels begin to show abnormalities on a lab test.

Assuming you're metabolically healthy just because your blood sugar is “normal” is a common and dangerous misunderstanding. Elevated insulin, even with normal glucose, is a leading contributor to many of the chronic conditions that dominate modern healthcare.

Insulin resistance is now recognized as a root cause of metabolic dysfunction. It’s strongly associated with high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol (dyslipidemia), cardiovascular disease, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, erectile dysfunction, PCOS, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. As Dr. Casey Means notes, many of these conditions stem from one core issue: bad cellular energy, your body’s growing inability to efficiently manage fuel.

What Drives Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance develops when the body is consistently overloaded with fuel and lacks the flexibility to adapt. A carbohydrate-heavy diet, constant snacking, and processed foods increase glucose, which in turn elevates insulin.

But food isn’t the only driver. Chronic stress raises cortisol, which in turn affects insulin. Environmental toxins, like BPA, pesticides, and other hormone-disrupting chemicals, can interfere with insulin signaling. Inflammation from poor gut health, hidden infections, or food sensitivities further compounds the problem.

A lack of metabolic flexibility, the ability to easily switch between burning carbohydrates and fat. also contributes. If, after 14–16 hours of fasting, you still don’t produce measurable ketones, your body may be stuck in glucose-burning mode, unable to access fat for fuel.

When to Test Insulin

If you’ve not had your insulin tested recently (or at all in most cases), your body may be giving clues that insulin resistance is developing. Common signs include skin tags, dark and rough skin patches especially around the neck or armpits, puffy (water retention) or inflamed skin, a waist circumference more than half your height, and / or difficulty fasting.

Typical measures of metabolic dysfunction, fasting glucose and A1C (which reflects average blood sugar over 2–3 months) are late-stage markers. By the time they show signs of imbalance, insulin resistance has often been silently progressing for years. Unfortunately, directly testing insulin is uncommon in routine care and often missed entirely. But testing fasting insulin is a functional marker that reveals how hard your body is working to keep glucose in range.

Fasting insulin should be considered if your fasting glucose is consistently above 99 mg/dL, or if your A1C is creeping upward. It’s especially relevant if you have a family history of diabetes, or other metabolic conditions, or if you’re struggling with weight, inflammation, or low energy despite an otherwise healthy lifestyle.

Measuring insulin alongside fasting glucose and A1C offers a much more complete picture of your metabolic health, allowing for early, meaningful intervention.

Supporting Insulin Sensitivity

Reversing insulin resistance isn’t about cutting all carbs or chasing extreme diets. It’s about reducing the body’s demand for insulin and supporting the systems that regulate it. According to metabolic health experts, several key approaches can help restore sensitivity:

Increase daily movement, especially with resistance exercise that helps muscles soak up glucose without relying on as much insulin to do it. This improves insulin efficiency and reduces its burden on the body.
Focus on meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fiber. These nutrients can help stabilize blood sugar and reduce insulin spikes.
Avoid ultra-processed foods, excess sugar, and refined seed oils, as they inflame the body and impair metabolic regulation.
Consider supplements like berberine, magnesium, omega-3 fats, and certain B vitamins to support insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function.
Get plenty of sleep, working with your natural circadian rhythms to fall asleep and wake up.
Take time to reduce stress with pleasurable activities.

The Takeaway

Insulin resistance is one of the earliest, and most reversible, signals of chronic disease. From fatigue and weight gain to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, elevated insulin levels often appear long before outward symptoms. Yet because insulin isn’t routinely tested, this critical warning sign is frequently missed.

By shifting focus from glucose to insulin, we can identify dysfunction sooner, support the body’s natural regulatory systems, and begin to reverse the patterns that lead to long-term illness. This isn’t just about blood sugar, it’s about energy, inflammation, hormone balance, and how efficiently your body adapts to stress.

To explore a personalized approach to insulin resistance or chronic disease, consider scheduling a consultation.