is meat healthy for insulin resistance or is it something you should be consuming
only in moderation if at all in today's video we're going to break it all down
and talk about which types of meat if any are healthy for insulin resistance
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is Kait I'm a certified health
and nutrition coach I post videos here on YouTube twice a week talking all things insulin resistance
weight loss sleep and more so if you're ready to take control of your metabolic Health make sure to
click that subscribe button and you can also find me on Tick Tock and Instagram watch your new posts
every single day today's video is sponsored by butchercrowd for 100 grass-fed meat pasture-raised
chicken and pork and wild caught Seafood delivered straight to your door australia-wide head to
healthcoachkate.com forward slash butchercraft Now spoiler alert but meat is not the cause of
insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes despite it often getting a lot of the blame it is true
that diets higher in meat and red meat especially are associated with an increased risk of insulin
resistance and diabetes however correlation does not equal causation just because two things occur
simultaneously does not mean that one cause as the other there's actually no solid evidence that meat
causes insulin resistance type 2 diabetes or any Associated disease a 22 review paper concluded
that red meat intake did not impact glycemic and insulinemic risk factors for type 2 diabetes
despite what some vegan documentaries might say in fact the opposite is true meat and red
meat especially can help to improve insulin sensitivity and reverse insulin resistance
another recent review paper that looked at red meat specifically found that on average
red meat improved blood sugar and markers of insulin sensitivity and didn't increase
inflammation so in today's video we're going to talk about why this is actually the case and four
reasons why you should be consuming more meat if you're looking to reverse insulin resistance
reason number one is that it helps to control blood sugar when we are insulin resistant our
bodies are not efficiently regulating blood sugar so we see bigger fluctuations both up and down
than someone who is metabolically healthy would see and meat can help to stabilize it meat is
high in protein has next to no carbohydrates and has good fat to varying degrees based on
the type and the cut and this is good for blood sugar because as I said meat contains
next to no carbohydrates and carbohydrates are the macronutrient that spikes blood sugar the
most and because it spikes blood sugar it takes a lot of insulin to process fat requires next to no
insulin to process and protein requires a little bit to varying degrees based on the rest of your
diet so on its own meat is very blood sugar and Insulin friendly but it's also great when you
pair it with carbohydrates which would otherwise spike your blood sugar eating carbs in isolation
is one of the worst things you can do if you're insulin resistant and especially if you're eating
carbs in isolation first thing in the more morning because the key to reversing insulin resistance
is keeping your insulin low when our insulin is low this is when our cells start to regain
sensitivity when insulin is high our cells become overwhelmed and they start to resist its actions
now when we eat carbohydrates in isolation they cause a big spike in our blood sugar especially if
they're refined carbohydrates and again this takes a lot of insulin to process but when we pair these
foods with meat it helps to slow down digestion the spike is less significant and less insulin
is needed all at once now I will say that it is important to not skimp on the fat because for
individuals who are severely insulin resistant too much protein without adequate fat can sometimes be
turned to glucose and cause a bump in blood sugar so don't trim the fat it's good for you and it's
especially important if you're trying to reverse insulin resistance the second reason is that meat
helps to maintain muscle mass and maintaining and building lean muscle mass helps to improve insulin
sensitivity most people especially women are under consuming protein everyone should be aiming for at
least one gram of protein per pound of their ideal body weight most women are consuming less than
half of that in a day and when we under consume protein we lose muscle mass and this isn't just
about being strong physically your muscles are the biggest consumers of glucose in the body most of
the excess glucose in our bloodstream is actually stored in our muscles so the more muscle mass you
have the more room your body has to store glucose and the more room for storage means less insulin
will be needed and again when insulin is lower this means your cells have more of a chance to
become more sensitive to it again now aside from insulin resistance maintaining muscle mass is
especially important as we age having less muscle mass makes you more prone to Falls and injury it
can impact your heart health and it's been linked to a shorter life expectancy in older adults red
meat is a complete protein Source meaning it contains all the essential amino acids we need
in balanced amounts which helps us to build and maintain muscle mass now it's really difficult to
meet your protein needs if you are limiting or avoiding meat and animal products in your diet
plant protein sources such as beans and legumes don't even contain that much protein unless you're
consuming them in massive amounts and they also come with a lot of carbs which is problematic
for insulin resistance as we discussed when we were talking about blood sugar with me you don't
have that issue now before we get into the final two reasons why meat is beneficial for insulin
resistance I'm going to tell you how you can get Quality Meat and seafood delivered straight to
your door australia-wide which can support you in your journey to reversing insulin resistance
butchercrowd is an Australian company whose mission is to connect households with certified
humanely raised and sustainably sourced premium meat and wild caught Seafood products
with six boxes to choose from plus the option to customize your own but your crowd makes
accessing healthy and sustainable meat easy all of their products are 100 grass-fed and
finished pasture-raised and free range they are certified sustainably sourced and humanely
raised and handled and they are non-GMO with no hormones or antibiotics added to promote growth
like I said butcher crowd delivers straight to your door australia-wide and you can pause or
cancel your subscription at any time if you would like to check them out you can head to
healthcoachkait.com/butchercrowd and use code KAIT15 to save 15 off your first box
thanks to butchercrowd for sponsoring this video reason number three the meat is good for insulin
resistance is that it makes fasting easier I've spoken about fasting and insulin resistance on
my channel many times you might have seen some of my other videos and this is because
incorporating some form of intermittent fasting into your routine is the fastest way to improve
insulin sensitivity and ultimately reverse insulin resistance we've spoken about the importance of
keeping insulin low an insulin drops significantly when we don't eat for several hours AKA when we're
fasting now if you've never done any sort of fasting before this might sound overwhelming
but here's the thing because protein plays such a key role in satiety when you consume enough
throughout the day during your meals you're less hungry in between meals and fasting becomes easier
this is because of something known as the protein leverage hypothesis this hypothesis states that we
will continue to be hungry until our protein needs are met independent of how much we are eating
so when we eat foods that are high in just carbohydrates high in just fat or high in
both of them that have little protein these foods are very easy to over consume think of
french fries for example high in carbs they have a bit of fat but next to no protein and it is so
easy to just mindlessly eat french fries and not feel full you can easily get to the point where
you feel stuffed and Bloated but with something like steak when you're eating it on its own it's
a lot more difficult to get to this point when you reach the point that you're full you simply
stop eating and you don't have the same urge to continue picking at your food now with fasting
it doesn't have to be extreme even just aiming for 12 hours a day when you're first getting started
this can make a big difference but if you're significantly overweight or looking for quicker
results then upping that to 14 hours 16 hours even 18 hours a day can make a big difference
and reason number four that meat is great for insulin resistance is that it contains nutrients
that improve insulin sensitivity chromium is one example chromium helps to regulate blood sugar
and Insulin which is why it is often isolated into supplements targeted at blood sugar control
but red meat especially contains a decent dose of chromium naturally zinc is another nutrient
that I want to highlight zinc has been shown to help to lower fasting blood sugar which
we've already discussed how that ties in with insulin resistance and the reason the zinc
in meat is particularly good is because our bodies can absorb and use it better when we
get it from meat versus plant sources the zinc in plants is less bioavailable and that's why
it's recommended that vegans and vegetarians who don't eat meat consume up to 50 percent more zinc
so instead of fussing over ways to get more in through your diet it's better to focus on more
potent sources AKA meat and that way you get all the other amazing benefits as well anyways guys
that's all I have for you today let me know in the comment section down below what your
favorite type of meat is I love chatting with you guys in the comments section and it helps
to support my channel so if you just want to say hi I appreciate that as well and before you go
remember to check out butcher crowd I will put the link in the description box down below if
you guys did enjoy this video you might also enjoy my video on skin tags what causes them
and how to get rid of them naturally you can check that out here if you want to catch up on my most
recent upload you can find that here and if you want to check out my coaching programs including
my insulin resistance Master Class you can find those here thanks guys I'll see you next time bye