Insulin Resistance Is Not About Carbs: The Mitochondrial Root of Metabolic Disease, Aging, and Cancer (2026)
For years, insulin resistance has been framed as a “carbohydrate problem.” Cut carbs. Avoid insulin spikes. Control blood sugar. But this framing is incomplete — and in many cases, misleading. Insulin resistance is not simply a response to eating carbohydrates. It is a systems-level metabolic dysfunction rooted in impaired cellular signaling, mitochondrial stress, chronic hyperinsulinemia, and metabolic inflexibility. If we want to understand diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, accelerated aging — and even cancer risk — we need to look deeper than glucose. We need to look inside the cell. What Is Insulin Resistance — Really? Insulin resistance is a condition where cells (primarily muscle, liver, and adipose tissue) become less responsive to insulin’s signal. Under healthy conditions: Insulin helps shuttle glucose into cells. Mitochondria efficiently convert fuel into ATP. Cells switch flexibly between burning carbohydrates and fats. When insulin resistance develops: Cells stop r...
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