by Laurent Glatz – for Athletic Carnivore
Monitoring blood sugar has become a new ritual. We watch the curve. We track the peak. We compare meals. We feel reassured when the line stays flat. And when glucose rises a bit too much after eating, we immediately talk about a “bad metabolic response.”
But biologically, that’s not always the right question.
Blood sugar is visible. Insulin, on the other hand, is often invisible. Yet it’s often insulin that tells the real story.
Blood Sugar Is the Result, Not Always the Cause
The human body defends blood sugar with extreme precision. Too low, the brain is at risk. Too high, tissues get damaged. The system must therefore keep blood glucose within a relatively narrow window.
To achieve this, the pancreas secretes insulin. This hormone pushes glucose into cells, promotes its storage as glycogen, reduces liver glucose production, and limits the release of stored fats.
So a normal blood sugar level doesn’t necessarily mean everything is fine. It may simply mean the body is producing a lot of insulin to keep up appearances.
This is the big blind spot of classic assessments: we watch the smoke but not always the fire.
Hyperinsulinemia Often Precedes Hyperglycemia
In insulin resistance, cells respond less effectively to the signal. The pancreas compensates. It produces more insulin to achieve the same effect. For years, blood sugar can remain “normal,” but at the cost of increasing hormonal pressure.
The person believes they are healthy. Yet they already live in a storage-prone environment.
High insulin means inhibited lipolysis, more frequent hunger, difficulty accessing fat stores, reactive eating, fatigue after meals, higher likelihood of visceral fat, metabolic stress on the liver, and low-grade inflammation.
That’s why some people say: “My blood sugar is good, but I can’t lose fat.” The answer is sometimes simple: blood sugar is good because insulin is working overtime.
A Meal Can Cause Moderate Blood Sugar but Strong Insulin Response
Another trap: not all foods produce the same glucose-insulin relationship.
Some meals can trigger a significant insulin response without a dramatic blood sugar spike. Dairy products, certain isolated proteins, carbohydrate-protein combinations, and highly processed meals can stimulate insulin in particular ways.
Conversely, a small transient blood sugar rise in an active, insulin-sensitive person doesn’t mean the same as a moderate blood sugar level maintained by high insulin secretion in an insulin-resistant individual.
Context changes everything: muscle mass, physical activity, sleep, stress, cortisol, meal timing, body composition, inflammation, digestion, metabolic history.
This is where the Athletic Carnivore approach becomes interesting: it doesn’t just ask which food is good or bad, it seeks to understand what that food triggers in you.
The Trap of Flat Curves
Some people become obsessed with flat blood sugar curves. But a flat curve isn’t always a sign of optimal metabolism. It can be achieved in several ways: good metabolic flexibility, low-carb meals, good insulin sensitivity… or an early strong insulin response.
Without insulin, blood sugar tells only part of the story.
It’s like watching a car’s speed without knowing how hard the engine is working. Two cars can drive at 90 km/h. One runs smoothly. The other is overheating.
Blood sugar is the speed. Insulin is sometimes the hidden engine effort.
Why Low Carb Changes the Interpretation
Low carb and carnivore diets act directly on this logic. By reducing carbohydrate load, they often reduce the need to produce large amounts of insulin. The body can then gradually exit permanent storage mode.
Meals centered on animal proteins, natural fats, and few carbohydrates trigger a more stable response in many profiles. Fewer spikes. Fewer drops. Less reactive hunger. Less mental negotiation with food.
The goal isn’t to eliminate insulin. The goal is to restore its proper role: a timely management hormone, not a constant storage drip.
The Real Marker: The Necessary Insulin Pressure
The central question becomes: what insulin pressure does your body need to produce to maintain normal blood sugar?
That’s why fasting insulin, the triglycerides/HDL ratio, HbA1c, waist circumference, blood pressure, ultrasensitive CRP, energy after meals, and hunger between meals often tell more than a simple glucose curve.
A stable metabolism isn’t defined only by acceptable blood sugar. It’s defined by how easily the body maintains that balance.
So the real question isn’t: “Is my blood sugar rising?” The real question is: how much insulin does my body have to produce for me to believe everything is fine?
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