10 Early Warning Signs Your Insulin Is Too High

High insulin rarely announces itself with one dramatic symptom.

It whispers.

This video’s unique viewpoint is that many people wait for “blood sugar problems” that show up late, like extreme thirst and peeing a lot, and they miss the earlier, more actionable stage, when insulin is already high and glucose still looks “fine” on routine labs.

The journey here is learning to separate two related, but different, measurements: blood glucose and insulin. Glucose is the number most people track. Insulin is the hormone that often changes first.

And if you catch that earlier shift, you may have more room to work with your clinician on lifestyle, monitoring, and risk reduction.

Did you know? Research describes hyperinsulinemia (chronically high insulin) as an early marker that can appear before obvious hyperglycemia, supporting the idea that insulin changes can precede “high blood sugar” in the metabolic disease timeline (overview of hyperinsulinemia as an early biomarkerTrusted Source).

Why “high insulin” matters before blood sugar looks bad

The framing in this discussion is blunt: insulin resistance and high insulin are upstream problems that feed many of the conditions people fear most.

Cardiovascular disease. Type 2 diabetes. Hypertension. Stroke. Dementia. Even certain cancers.

That is why the speaker keeps returning to “catch it early.” Not as a slogan, but as a strategy.

One reason this topic feels urgent is sheer scale. The video cites the global prevalence of type 2 diabetes at about 10% of the world’s population, and prediabetes at another 10% to 15%. That is a massive number of people moving along the same metabolic track, often without realizing it.

What’s interesting about this approach is that it does not treat diabetes as a sudden event. It treats it as a slow drift, sometimes over 20 years, where insulin climbs steadily while glucose stays nearly flat until the system can no longer compensate.

What the research shows: Reviews note that elevated insulin levels can be present early in metabolic dysfunction and may contribute to disease processes even before fasting glucose crosses diagnostic thresholds (hyperinsulinemia and metabolic dysfunctionTrusted Source).

Glucose vs insulin, the mix-up that delays action

A key point is that many “warning signs” people associate with diabetes are really signs of late-stage high glucose, not early-stage high insulin.

For example, extreme thirst and dehydration are often explained by glucose spilling into urine once blood sugar rises above the kidney’s threshold, around 180 mg/dL. That is real physiology, and it is described in mainstream resources on hyperglycemia (American Diabetes Association overviewTrusted Source; Mayo Clinic symptoms and causesTrusted Source).

But the video’s perspective is that waiting for those symptoms is like waiting for smoke damage when the wiring has been overheating for years.

Here is the mental switch the speaker wants you to make:

This is why two people can have the same fasting glucose, but very different metabolic risk profiles.

Sign 1: Your fasting glucose is creeping up (even “within range”)

The first sign is not a dramatic number. It is a trend.

The video’s “sweet spot” for fasting glucose is 82 to 88 mg/dL, even though many lab reports list a broader “normal” range like 70 to 100.

That tighter target is part of the speaker’s unique angle: you do not have to be “out of range” to be moving in the wrong direction.

When a lower glucose can be normal

Context matters.

The discussion makes a clear exception: if you are in nutritional ketosis (for example, a low-carb or ketogenic diet) or in a fast beyond 24 hours, lower glucose can be expected. The speaker mentions personal fasting values in the 50s after multi-day fasts, paired with ketone use as an alternate brain fuel.

This is an important nuance: low glucose is not automatically “good” or “bad.” It depends on what else is happening metabolically.

If you are not making ketones and you drop low because of big swings (high after meals, then crashing), that is a different scenario. The video frames that as true hypoglycemia-like physiology where the brain feels underfueled.

Important: If you have diabetes, take glucose-lowering medications, are pregnant, have a history of eating disorders, or have frequent fainting or severe symptoms, do not experiment with fasting or major diet changes without medical guidance.

Signs 2 and 3: Sugar cravings and persistent hunger

Cravings are not just “lack of willpower” in this framework.

They are often a predictable response to a blood sugar roller coaster.

The video describes a common pattern: processed, low-fat, high-starch or high-sugar foods can push glucose higher (the example rises toward about 170 mg/dL). The body responds with a larger insulin surge to bring glucose down quickly because very high glucose is stressful.

Then the dip hits.

You feel hungry. You crave quick carbs. You repeat the cycle.

The “can’t access your stored fuel” idea

This is the deeper mechanism the speaker emphasizes, and it is central to the video’s unique perspective.

Insulin does two big things relevant to hunger:

That second point is the gut punch. If insulin stays high, your body may have plenty of energy stored, but it has trouble getting to it.

So your body pushes you toward the fastest available option.

Food.

This is why the video argues that chronic hunger in insulin resistance is not a character flaw. It is a fuel access problem.

Pro Tip: If you notice cravings that reliably hit 1 to 3 hours after a carb-heavy meal, track what you ate and how you felt. That pattern can be useful data to bring to a clinician or dietitian.

Signs 4 and 5: Weight gain, stubborn weight, and fatigue

Weight gain is presented as a downstream effect of the same cycle.

More hunger tends to mean more eating over time. And higher insulin tends to mean more storage, less access to stored energy.

The result is often stubborn weight, the kind that does not respond well to “eat less, move more” willpower strategies.

The speaker takes a strong stance here: relying on long-term willpower to fight biology is why low-calorie, low-fat dieting often fails for many people.

Fatigue, especially after meals

Fatigue in this video is not treated as vague. It is explained as a mismatch between fuel availability in the bloodstream and fuel availability inside cells.

If someone eats a high-carbohydrate diet (the video references common guidelines that can reach 250 to 300 grams of carbs per day), the body becomes glucose-dependent. But with insulin resistance, glucose has a harder time getting into cells.

So you can have an odd situation:

Then comes the second fatigue mechanism, and it is one of the most distinctive parts of the transcript.

The discussion highlights how excess glucose may be converted into triglycerides, packaged into VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) particles, and sent out into the bloodstream.

Normally, the video says, VLDL would unload triglycerides within about 30 minutes. But if cells are broadly “fuel resistant,” those VLDL particles can linger for hours, raising triglyceride and VLDL lab values.

That processing and traffic jam can leave you feeling wiped out after eating.

A heavy meal should not feel like a sedative.

»MORE: If you want a simple tracking sheet, create a 7-day “meal and energy log” with columns for meal time, meal type (whole food vs processed), cravings (0 to 10), and fatigue (0 to 10). Bring it to your next visit.

Sign 6: Brain fog and the “type 3 diabetes” idea

Brain fog is easy to dismiss.

This perspective does not dismiss it.

The video notes that only in recent decades did researchers recognize that the brain can become insulin resistant. Earlier thinking assumed the brain had automatic access to glucose without insulin signaling.

Now the conversation around cognition and metabolism is more nuanced, and insulin resistance is often discussed as one contributor to cognitive decline. The video references the nickname “type 3 diabetes” for dementia, not as an official diagnosis, but as a way to highlight the close relationship between insulin resistance and brain health.

Brain fog can show up as:

These symptoms have many possible causes, including sleep issues, thyroid disorders, anemia, medication effects, depression, and more. Still, the video’s point is that metabolic health belongs on the short list of things to check.

Expert Q&A

Q: If my fasting glucose is normal, can insulin still be high enough to affect my brain?

A: It can be possible. This video’s core argument is that glucose may stay in range because the body increases insulin output to keep it there, and that compensation can persist for years.

If you have brain fog plus other signs like cravings, post-meal fatigue, or rising triglycerides, it may be worth discussing fasting insulin, A1C, and cardiometabolic labs with your clinician.

Jordan E. Grant, MPH, health educator

Signs 7 through 9: Blood pressure, skin changes, and nerve symptoms

These signs are more “physical,” and that can make them easier to notice.

They are also easy to misattribute to aging.

Sign 7: Hypertension (high blood pressure)

The mechanism described is kidney-based.

High insulin tends to increase sodium reabsorption in the kidneys. Water follows sodium. More retained sodium can mean more retained water, higher fluid volume, and higher blood pressure.

The discussion also mentions that kidneys usually self-regulate through pressure diuresis, higher pressure pushes more water out. But insulin resistance can shift the kidney’s set point so it holds onto too much sodium anyway.

Blood pressure is not just a heart number.

It is also a metabolic clue.

Sign 8: Skin tags (and dark patches)

Skin tags are described as common in insulin resistance, often appearing in friction areas like the neck, armpits, and skin folds.

The video’s explanation focuses on insulin as anabolic (growth-promoting) and mitogenic (cell division promoting). It also mentions insulin’s relationship to IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), another growth signal.

Add friction, minor inflammation, and repair signals, and you can get “too much growth” in those areas.

The transcript also mentions acanthosis nigricans (darkened patches), often in similar locations.

If you notice new or rapidly changing skin lesions, it is reasonable to get them checked. Skin findings have multiple causes, and you want a clinician to confirm what you are seeing.

Sign 9: Neuropathy-like symptoms

The video describes neuropathy as “sick nerves,” and ties it to several metabolic mechanisms:

Tingling, numbness, burning pain, or reduced sensation, especially in the feet, deserves medical attention. Many conditions can contribute, including vitamin deficiencies, alcohol use, pinched nerves, and autoimmune disease.

A metabolic check is only one part of the workup.

Sign 10: Labs that can reveal insulin resistance earlier

The tenth “sign” is not a symptom.

It is measurement.

This is where the video becomes almost a call to action: if you want early detection, you need labs that reflect insulin dynamics, not only glucose.

Fasting insulin, what “too high” can look like

The transcript offers specific fasting insulin ranges (units: micro-units per milliliter):

It also notes a practical problem: some lab reference ranges historically flagged insulin as “high” only above 25, although some have lowered to 17.

So you can be “in range” and still be higher than what this perspective considers optimal.

The 20-year timeline, why glucose can look fine until it fails

This is the video’s central teaching story, and it is worth spelling out.

A hypothetical person starts with fasting glucose around 85 mg/dL and insulin around 4. Over time, glucose rises only slightly, maybe to 88, then 90, then 99. All of those can look normal on many lab reports.

But insulin climbs much more, doubling, then tripling, then rising to 12, then 19.

Then, suddenly, glucose jumps to 180 when the system can no longer compensate.

The take-home is that glucose stays “flat” until it does not.

In the example, glucose changes about 16% over 15 years, while insulin changes about 375%. That is why the speaker calls insulin a much more sensitive early variable.

Standalone statistic: In the example used in the video, insulin changed about 23 times more than glucose during the years when the body still kept glucose controlled.

Other labs emphasized in the video

This perspective highlights several supportive markers that can hint at insulin resistance:

Mainstream medical organizations focus heavily on glucose-based criteria for diagnosis and management of hyperglycemia (ADA hyperglycemia guidanceTrusted Source; Mayo Clinic overviewTrusted Source). This video’s added layer is that insulin and triglycerides may reveal risk earlier, even before classic hyperglycemia symptoms appear.

Expert Q&A

Q: What should I ask my doctor to test if I suspect high insulin?

A: Consider asking whether fasting insulin is appropriate for you, along with fasting glucose, A1C, a lipid panel (including triglycerides and HDL), and kidney markers such as eGFR. Your clinician can interpret these in the context of medications, family history, and overall risk.

If you track symptoms like post-meal fatigue, cravings, and blood pressure readings at home, bring that data too. It can make the conversation more specific.

Jordan E. Grant, MPH, health educator

How to use these signs for a practical next step (without guessing)

This is where the “action-oriented” part matters.

Not to self-diagnose.

To get clarity.

Here is a practical way to apply the video’s framework while staying medically cautious.

A simple 3-step plan to move from suspicion to information

What “lowering insulin” means in this video’s framing

The transcript argues that lowering insulin can help “reset” hunger and break the cycle of high insulin, hunger, weight gain, and higher insulin.

Two tools are emphasized:

These strategies are not safe or appropriate for everyone, and the best version is the one you can do consistently while meeting nutrient needs. Still, the video’s “why” is clear: when insulin drops, fat breakdown is less blocked, and appetite may become easier to manage.

Quick checkpoints you can use this week

Small observations can lead to earlier conversations.

Earlier conversations can lead to earlier course corrections.

Key Takeaways