Ok all…Listen up. Ive been bombarded with questions regarding the “insulin sensitivity meausres” I presented in my massive eating articles. I thought I was pretty clear at the time but apparently not…
The best measure for prediciting insulin sensitivity for the average person who doesnt have access to a research lab is to get 2 measures…1) Fasted Blood Glucose and 2) Fasted Blood Insulin…That’s it. Dont go in and ask your doc for the insulin sensitivity test. Dont ask for a glucose test. Dont ask for the diabetes test. Walk in and say “I want a Fasted Blood Glucose test and a Fasted Blood Insulin test”…then stop talking. If he/she asks why then say “because according to a study published in 1985 in diabetologia by Matthews et al, these give a good indication of insulin sensitivity.” That’s it.
If you dont get both tests, I cant help you assess your insulin sensitivity. And as far as the oral glucose tolerance test I mentioned in my article, as the name suggests, it is an assessment of GLUCOSE tolerance and not insulin sensitivity. So although a decent measure it cant come close to the fasted insulin and glucose measure.
Good Luck