Insulin
The hormone that moves glucose from blood into cells — central to diabetes, weight regulation, and how GLP-1 drugs work.
Insulin is the body's storage signal: released by the pancreas when blood glucose rises, it ushers sugar into muscle and liver cells, halts the liver's own glucose output, and promotes fat storage. Every carbohydrate-containing meal triggers it; the incretin hormones GLP-1 and GIP are what make that trigger properly sized.
In weight medicine insulin appears from two angles. Chronically elevated insulin — the hallmark of insulin resistance — locks the body in storage mode and makes fat loss harder, which is one reason GLP-1 therapy's improvement of insulin sensitivity matters beyond the scale. And for patients with type 2 diabetes on injected insulin, weight-loss medications often allow doses to fall under medical supervision, a meaningful health win in itself.
This glossary entry is general information, not medical advice, and is written to be consistent with FDA prescribing information and primary trial publications as of its last review. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider for personal medical decisions.
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