What are Fasting Glucose & Insulin and How to Track Them?

TR: Açlık Glukozu ve İnsülin Nedir, Nasıl Takip Edilir?

1. What is Fasting Glucose & Insulin (HOMA-IR)?

Fasting Glucose measures morning blood sugar after an overnight fast, while Fasting Insulin measures how hard your pancreas is working to keep that glucose in range. Together they calculate HOMA-IR = (Glucose × Insulin) / 405.

Açlık Glukozu gece açlığı sonrası sabah kan şekerini ölçerken, Açlık İnsülini pankreasın bu şekeri normal sınırda tutmak için ne kadar yoğun çalıştığını gösterir. İkisi birlikte HOMA-IR = (Glukoz × İnsülin) / 405 indeksini oluşturur.

2. Why Track Glucose & Insulin?

• Fasting Insulin rises 5 to 10 years before Fasting Glucose or HbA1c crosses into the prediabetic range.
• Standard lab upper limits for insulin (often 24.9 µIU/mL) reflect an insulin-resistant population; optimal fasting insulin is < 6.0 µIU/mL.
• Lowering elevated insulin unlocks fat oxidation, reduces visceral belly fat, and lowers blood pressure.

3. How to Track Glucose & Insulin Accurately

• Draw both Fasting Glucose and Fasting Insulin on the same morning blood sample after a 10–12 hour water-only fast.
• Compute HOMA-IR = (Fasting Glucose mg/dL × Fasting Insulin µIU/mL) / 405; target < 1.2.
• Note poor sleep or acute morning stress, as morning cortisol spikes can transiently raise fasting glucose by 8–15 mg/dL.

4. How to Optimize Glucose & Insulin

• Maintain a 12–14 hour overnight fasting window, finishing dinner at least 3 hours before sleep.
• Combine Zone 2 aerobic training (150+ min/week) with progressive resistance training to increase GLUT4 muscle glucose transporters.
• Eliminate refined starches and liquid sugars; anchor every meal with 30–40g protein and non-starchy vegetables.

5. Frequently Asked Questions