Controlling menopausal insulin levels is one of the most powerful anti-aging strategies you can possibly implement. Insulin is one of two hormones that is often referred to as a ‘doubled-edged’ sword hormone as it has a profound effect on your client’s metabolism. The amount of insulin in your  body determines whether this hormone is used for fat-storing (catabolic) or for fat burning and muscle building (anabolic). If you want to win the war on fat loss especially belly fat one of your primary goals is to balance this Insulin levels allowing your female clients to become more insulin sensitive.

What Is Insulin?
Insulin is a peptide hormone that is produced by beta cells in the pancreas. There are over 50 amino acids in one insulin molecule. The name insulin was derived from the latin word “insula” meaning “island”, because it is created in an islet of the pancreas.

What Does Insulin Do?
Insulin is key to regulating fat and carbohydrate metabolism in the human body. The insulin produced is released into the blood stream and travels throughout the body driving nutrients into your cells. Insulin is an important hormone that has many actions within the body including being the carrier of nutrients. It also makes our body’s cells absorb glucose from the blood. Most of the actions of insulin are directed at your metabolism (control) of carbohydrates (sugars and starches), lipids (fats), and proteins. Insulin also is important in regulating the cells of the body including their growth. The role of Insulin in fat loss is to remove excess glucose from the blood stream and store it in the liver and muscles as glycogen, or into adipose (fat) tissue as triglycerides.

How it works
1. The food you eat is metabolised to glucose
2. Glucose is then released into your blood
3. The nervous system recognizes this through receptors on the cells
4. Insulin is then released by the pancreas
5. Insulin binds to glucose AND existing protein in the blood (in the form of amino acids)
6. The cells open the doors on the cell walls which allow insulin inside
7. Insulin goes inside your cells and brings glucose and protein with it.

What Happens To Insulin As Women Go Through Menopause?
Recent scientific studies have shown that hot flashes and night sweats that start during menopause are directly linked to higher glucose levels and are indicators of what is known as Insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Insulin resistance is when the hormone Insulin becomes less effective in the body.

What Increases Insulin?
Insulin is mainly produced in the pancreas. When someone eats protein, it will cause the pancreas to release Insulin however eating protein with vegetables will have a insignificant and favorable effect on blood sugar keeping the body in an insulin sensitive state. However, consuming copious amounts of processed carbohydrates and sugars over a long period of time will keep insulin levels elevated due to them being broken down into glucose (sugar) which gets stored as fat.

What Stops The Secretion Of Insulin?
Insulin is secreted in response to higher blood glucose levels (which usually rise directly after eating a meal). After the body’s blood glucose levels drop, the body will stop the secretion of Insulin.

Effects Of Too Much Insulin
When there is a lot of insulin in your blood (hyperinsulinemia) and it is not allowed to go inside their cells, the next step for insulin is to get the blood sugar it has connected to and drive it to your client’s liver, to convert it in to fat, and this can result in Hypoglycemia. Over time, too much insulin in your client’s blood causes many other problems as well, including making it more difficult for their body to use stored fat for energy. This is why many women with insulin resistance experience carbohydrate cravings, fatigue and weight-gain — their cells are literally starving for energy, even when plenty of glucose is available in the blood. Prolonged Hyperinsulinemia (too much insulin in the bloodstream) almost always leads to Type 2 diabetes. This occurs when the body is unable to keep blood glucose under control. Women who are insulin resistant are also at much greater risk of obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, high cholesterol, breast cancer and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) not to mention a disorder called metabolic syndrome.  Many people with diabetes rely on insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels, and for these people, the benefits far outweigh any possible side effects. The main side effect of taking larger doses of insulin for a long period of time is weight gain. In some cases, the body can develop anti-bodies against insulin which will cause insulin resistance.

Effects Of Not Enough Insulin
If the human body does not have enough insulin, glucose would not be able to enter the body’s cells, and without glucose cells cannot function. Also, when insulin levels in the body remain low, glucose will have a hard time entering the cells, and in turn the body will start to use fat cells as an alternative energy source. Insulin deficiencies often lead to diabetes mellitus.

Insulin and Weight Gain
Insulin resistance has a powerful effect on the metabolism of fat and this is of major concern to women 40+ everywhere. It is a vicious cycle, one that needs to be avoided or broken. This is how it works… When cells won’t absorb the extra glucose, the liver has to convert it into fat. Fat cells are loaded with glucose receptors. Ironically, while the insulin-resistant woman is gaining weight, her cells are actually “starved” for glucose, so she feels exhausted and tends to eat carbohydrate-heavy foods in search of energy. Fat cells are also little estrogen factories. So weight gain contributes to the estrogen dominance that causes so many symptoms during the early stages of peri-menopause.

Managing Insulin Levels 
A healthy managed level of insulin is when this hormone is anabolic in nature. One of the most effective ways to promote metabolic efficiency and gain lean muscle mass is to train the body’s ability to manage insulin. Managing insulin is vital to prevent diabetes, anxiety and depression, heart disease, dementia, stroke and cancer. Effectively managing insulin is based upon your client’s body composition, the glycemic index of the carbohydrates they eat (their complexity and the amount of time it takes to digest them), the types of proteins they eat, when they eat these nutrients in relation to their workout and recovery periods, and the type of exercise they engage in. All this contributes to healthy levels of insulin and keeping your client’s metabolism in a fat burning, anti-aging zone.