When it comes to routine bloodwork, most people are familiar with cholesterol, fasting glucose, and hemoglobin A1C. But there’s one crucial marker—often overlooked—that could reveal metabolic dysfunction years before more familiar tests show a problem: fasting insulin.
In a world facing rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer, fasting insulin remains one of the Most Important Lab Tests that doctors rarely order. Understanding your insulin levels may be the missing piece in preventing and managing these chronic conditions.
What Is Insulin and Why Does It Matter?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Its main job is to help regulate blood sugar by allowing cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. When this system is working well, insulin helps maintain stable energy levels and balanced blood sugar.
However, when insulin levels remain chronically high—a condition called hyperinsulinemia—the body can start to become resistant to insulin’s effects. This leads to insulin resistance, which forces the pancreas to produce even more insulin to keep blood sugar in check. Over time, this compensation fails, and blood glucose levels begin to rise.
The problem? By the time blood sugar tests like fasting glucose or A1C flag a problem, insulin resistance has often been progressing silently for years.
Why Fasting Insulin Is So Important
Fasting insulin offers a unique glimpse into your metabolic health long before blood sugar levels rise. Think of it as an early warning system for conditions such as:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Fatty liver disease
- Certain types of cancer
In fact, studies have linked high fasting insulin to increased risks of heart disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and other malignancies. Yet, despite its critical role in metabolic and overall health, fasting insulin is not part of standard lab panels.
Fasting Insulin and Chronic Disease: The Science
A 1995 study in The Lancet demonstrated a strong association between high fasting insulin levels and the development of ischemic heart disease. Another study published in the International Journal of Cancer linked elevated fasting insulin to a significantly increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
Insulin doesn’t just regulate blood sugar—it’s also a growth promoter. When insulin levels are elevated, they can stimulate pathways associated with cell growth and proliferation, mechanisms closely tied to cancer development.
Furthermore, high insulin levels can suppress IGF-binding proteins, increasing levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1)—another hormone known to promote cell division. In the context of cancer, this is concerning because many tumors rely on these growth signals.
Why Isn’t This Test Standard?
The absence of fasting insulin testing in routine care likely stems from outdated clinical priorities. Conventional medicine has historically focused on end-stage markers like high blood sugar or high cholesterol, rather than upstream indicators like insulin resistance.
Adding a fasting insulin test is simple and inexpensive. Yet many physicians don’t request it—sometimes due to a lack of awareness, or because the test is not required by current guidelines.
Interpreting Your Fasting Insulin Results
Here’s where things get tricky: “normal” fasting insulin reference ranges—often 20 to 180 pmol/L—are based on general population averages. But given how widespread metabolic dysfunction is, these averages are not necessarily healthy benchmarks.
A more optimal target? Less than 50 pmol/L.
Levels above 50–60 pmol/L may suggest early insulin resistance—even if your blood glucose and A1C are within normal limits. In metabolic or cancer care, fasting insulin can help guide nutritional, lifestyle, or pharmacological interventions aimed at reducing disease risk.
Fasting Insulin and Cancer: A Closer Look
Hyperinsulinemia has emerged as a potential driver of cancer development and progression. For example:
- Breast cancer risk increases with elevated fasting insulin, especially in postmenopausal women.
- Colorectal cancer has been linked to both insulin resistance and high circulating insulin.
- Other studies have implicated insulin in prostate, endometrial, and pancreatic cancers.
Because insulin promotes the availability of IGF-1, high insulin levels may create an environment that supports tumor growth. In supportive cancer care, managing insulin becomes a vital tool for both prevention and treatment.
A Call for Preventive Insight
Routine testing of fasting insulin offers the chance to intervene earlier, reverse metabolic dysfunction, and reduce the risk of chronic illness—before disease manifests clinically. This is especially relevant in a world where reactive medicine still dominates preventive approaches.
It’s time to view fasting insulin as a core metabolic marker, not an optional extra.
What You Can Do
- Ask your doctor to include a fasting insulin test in your next lab work.
- Focus on dietary and lifestyle habits that improve insulin sensitivity (e.g., reducing processed carbs, increasing physical activity, managing stress).
- Discuss target insulin ranges with a knowledgeable healthcare provider—especially if you have a personal or family history of metabolic disease or cancer.
Conclusion
The case for checking fasting insulin is compelling. This often-ignored lab test provides deep insight into your metabolic health and offers a powerful opportunity for early intervention. With so many chronic diseases linked to insulin resistance, monitoring fasting insulin could transform how we prevent and manage illness.
Whether you’re seeking to improve energy, manage weight, or reduce your disease risk, one small test could make a big difference.