Experts now say insulin resistance is the silent trigger behind some of the most common modern-day chronic illnesses.
Published Jun 14, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 14, 2025 | 10:56 AM
Insulin Resistance- The silent trigger behind most common chronic illnesses. (iStock)
Synopsis: Insulin resistance begins silently, showing up as fatigue, belly fat, and brain fog—long before diabetes. According to Shashikant Iyengar, it’s a root cause of many chronic illnesses, from heart disease to Alzheimer’s. He recommends early testing and simple lifestyle changes like reducing carbs, avoiding seed oils, and exercising to reverse it and prevent long-term damage.
It doesn’t begin with diabetes. It begins long before–with fatigue, post-meal drowsiness, belly fat, and brain fog. That’s insulin resistance, and experts now say it’s the silent trigger behind some of the most common modern-day chronic illnesses.
“Insulin resistance isn’t just about diabetes. It’s the unifying thread linking type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, PCOS, fatty liver, Alzheimer’s, and even some cancers and mental health issues,” said Shashikant Iyengar, low-carb diet practitioner at Dlife.in, a low-carb nutrition platform, and metabolic health coach and founder of Metabolic Health India.
Insulin is a hormone that helps the body manage blood sugar. But when cells are constantly exposed to high-carb diets, frequent meals, and harmful oils—like sunflower and soybean—they start becoming numb to insulin signals. This condition, called insulin resistance, leads the pancreas to pump out more insulin, causing a state of hyperinsulinemia.
“The excess energy intake—especially from refined carbs and seed oils—gets stored as fat in cells,” explained Iyengar. “Over time, the body enters a chronic metabolic imbalance.”
The early symptoms of insulin resistance often go unnoticed: Skin tags, tiredness after meals, abdominal fat, high triglycerides, or even mild mood changes. But ignoring them, says Iyengar, is dangerous.
He further adds, “This dysfunction quietly contributes to conditions like infertility, cardiovascular problems, inflammation, and cognitive decline. And all of it is preventable if caught early.”
Is insulin resistance the main reason for chronic illness? (South First)
Iyengar further stresses that one could have normal blood sugar levels and still be insulin resistant, “We’re not measuring the right markers.”
He recommends checking:
“These show insulin resistance much earlier—when you can still act on it,” he adds.
Iyengar notes that reversing insulin resistance doesn’t require exotic solutions.
Here’s the list of advices from Iyengar:
“Insulin resistance is reversible,” he reiterated. “When you fix insulin, you don’t just prevent diabetes—you fix the root of multiple chronic diseases.”
For those seeking deeper insights, Iyengar recommends “Why We Get Sick” by Benjamin Bikman—a book he calls “The most exhaustive guide on insulin resistance ever written.”
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
