By Dr. Gregory C. Fors, Functional Medicine Specialist & Chief Science Officer, BioSpec...
By: Greg Fors, DC – Functional Medicine Clinician; Chief Science Officer, Biospec Nutritionals
BioSpec Nutritionals Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalized guidance.
Take control—there is hope for your health.
One of the most common “silent drivers” behind chronic fatigue, stubborn weight gain, brain fog, mood changes, and chronic pain is hidden insulin resistance.
You can be sliding into insulin resistance for years before a conventional diagnosis ever shows up on routine labs.
Long before “diabetes” appears, the body often compensates by producing more and more insulin to keep glucose looking “normal.”
Why you can look “fine” on labs… and still be in trouble
Many annual physicals check a fasting glucose (and sometimes an HbA1c). Those can be helpful—but they may miss early insulin resistance because glucose can stay near-normal while insulin is already elevated.
That’s why insulin resistance can stay “hidden.” You may not feel it at first—until it starts showing up as symptoms… and then disease.
The unhappy triad: Insulin resistance → inflammation → oxidative stress
When insulin resistance builds, it often travels with two destructive partners:
- Chronic inflammation
- Oxidative stress (excess “rusting” chemistry at the cellular level)
This triad can accelerate dysfunction in blood vessels, brain, mitochondria, and the immune system.
Over time, this pattern is linked with cardiometabolic risk and conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cognitive decline.
The testing that helps us stop guessing
If you want to detect insulin resistance early, here are tests to discuss with your clinician:
- Fasting glucose
- Fasting insulin (critical—this is what’s often missing)
- HbA1c (Hemoglobin A1c) — your ~3-month average glucose exposure
- HOMA-IR (calculated estimate using fasting glucose + fasting insulin)
What we often see: fasting glucose hovering around ~100 (give or take), while fasting insulin is already climbing. That means your body is working overtime—using high insulin output to “hold the line.”
Why those after-meal spikes matter
Insulin resistance often shows up first as post-meal (postprandial) glucose and insulin spikes.
Repeated spikes can harm vascular function, in part through oxidative stress mechanisms.
Over time, elevated glucose exposure increases glycation—sticky sugar damage to proteins and tissues—associated with complications affecting the retina and nerves.
A simple at-home experiment (powerful feedback)
You can get real-world insight by using a basic glucose meter from a pharmacy:
- Check your glucose 1–2 hours after meals
- If you are repeatedly rising above ~140 mg/dL at 2 hours, that pattern is consistent with abnormal glucose handling and should prompt proper medical testing
This is also a practical way to answer common questions like: “Can I eat potatoes? bread? pasta? lasagna?” Try it, test it, and let your biology give you the answer.
Important note: Home meters are not diagnostic devices and have measurement variability. Use them for patterns, not perfection—and always confirm concerns with lab testing.
What you can do now (the real healing starts here)
Nutrition: reduce the glucose load. You don’t need perfection—you need a direction. Start watching the carbs that spike you the most and build meals around protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
Movement: use muscle as a “glucose sink.” Even a walk after meals helps many people blunt glucose spikes.
Targeted nutraceutical support (when appropriate):
- Berberine and dihydroberberine are often used to support healthy glucose and lipid metabolism (adjunctive support).
- Curcumin is commonly used to support a healthy inflammatory response.
- Knowing omega-3 status (e.g., omega-3 index) can help guide cardiovascular-supportive nutrition.
If you’d like to learn more about our approach and resources used in practice, visit PainAndBrainHealingCenter.com.
Want to catch this early—before it becomes “a diagnosis”?
At the Pain and Brain Healing Center, we use a comprehensive history plus targeted lab testing to uncover root causes—so you can stop guessing and start healing.
—Dr. Greg Fors
Educational content only; not medical advice. Please work with your healthcare professional before changing medications, supplements, or treatment plans—especially if you have diabetes, kidney/liver disease, are pregnant, or use glucose-lowering medications (risk of hypoglycemia).
