Exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce insulin resistance.
Eat a healthy diet
Eat a healthy diet full of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, oily fish, nuts and seeds. Avoid having too many processed and sugary foods. You could also try intermittent fasting — alternate between periods of fasting and periods of eating. There are a number of ways to do this, so it’s important to research this method of eating first and speak with a health professional.
Avoid smoking
If you smoke, quitting can really help to reduce your insulin resistance.
Get enough sleep
Aim for at least 7 hours every night.
Lower stress
If you are stressed a lot, you should try to lower your stress levels through things like yoga, meditation, and exercise.
Dandona, P., Aljada, A., & Bandyopadhyay, A. (2004). Inflammation: the link between insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. Trends in immunology, 25(1), 4-7.
Grundy, S. M., Cleeman, J. I., Daniels, S. R., Donato, K. A., Eckel, R. H., Franklin, B. A., ... & Spertus, J. A. (2005). Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation, 112(17), 2735-2752.
Reaven, G. M. (1988). Role of insulin resistance in human disease. Diabetes, 37(12), 1595-1607.
Tabák, A. G., Herder, C., Rathmann, W., Brunner, E. J., & Kivimäki, M. (2012). Prediabetes: a high-risk state for diabetes development. The Lancet, 379(9833), 2279-2290.
Xu, H., Barnes, G. T., Yang, Q., Tan, G., Yang, D., Chou, C. J., ... & Chen, H. (2003). Chronic inflammation in fat plays a crucial role in the development of obesity-related insulin resistance. The Journal of clinical investigation, 112(12), 1821-1830.