Muscle’s role in glucose metabolism

Muscle helps regulate blood glucose; when muscles are activated, they pull glucose out of the blood.

By building more muscle and engaging it frequently through movement, we can rely less on insulin to regulate our glucose levels.

Higher blood glucose is bad because it damages the lining of our blood vessels, it gets stored as fat, and it can lead to diabetes. To regulate it, the pancreas secrets insulin. However, insulin singals the body to store glucose as fat, and frequent spikes of insulin eventually lead our cells to become immune to its effects, i.e., insulin resistant.

In addition to measures of muscle mass and strength, the Benchmark Proactive Health Assessment includes the use of a Continuous Glucose Monitor to really illustrate this effect.

The CGM allows us to see in real-time how effective exercise can be in helping to moderate glucose levels.