Insulin and body building

(Consensus is Politics) #1

I’ve recently learned that some body builders are shooting up with insulin to help their workout. I’ve tried doing a little research on it and keep coming up with body building sites promoting it as the best of both worlds for muscle gain and fat loss.

As I read them I kept getting the feeling they were leaving something out. Does anyone have any medical references for this? I’d like to see the science on it, but all I can find is pseudoscience without any references.

It seems to me these body builders may be in for a serious hurt. Self inflicted arterial damage as they attempt to keep high levels of insulin all day to help shove as much glucose as possible into their muscles.

(Allie) #2

They’re surely at risk of making themselves insulin resistant by messing with insulin like that? I doubt knowing the risks will put them off though, same as they know the risks of steroids but will still use them.

(charlie3) #3

I started keto to minimize the need for insulin in the blood stream for better health. Part of the definition of sport is a willingness to risk injury for better performance. For me lifting is a practice, not a sport.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Something is wrong with the logic, as laid out in the OP. Insulin stimulates the metabolism of glucose in the muscles and storage of glucose as fatty acids in the adipose tissue. Muscles are built out of amino acids, however, not glucose, so I don’t see how insulin is supposed to help build muscle, since amino acids are what the proteins we eat get broken down into.