5 ways to control your blood sugar, reverse insulin resistance, and reduce your heart disease risk | Prof Rob Semple

1 in 4 people have insulin resistance, which quietly raises your risk of heart disease and cancer, often without any change in your blood sugar. And most of those who have it have no idea. It can remain completely hidden for years, with no obvious symptoms and no warning signs… But it can be reversed. Today, Professor Rob Semple, a world-leading expert on insulin resistance, explains what insulin does in your body, why you need it to live, and what happens when it stops working properly. By the end of this episode, you will understand how to spot the warning signs and have practical steps you can take to protect yourself. If your last blood test came back "normal," how confident are you that it tells the whole story? Are you overlooking one of the biggest drivers of chronic disease? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 00:46 Why insulin might be the most important hormone in your body 01:53 What happens if your body stops making insulin 05:20 Why not having insulin used to be a death sentence 11:19 What happens to your brain when blood sugar drops too low 14:01 Why "just lower your insulin" advice can backfire 17:12 The shaky, sweaty feeling an hour after eating, explained 18:42 The exact moment insulin resistance turns into diabetes 21:47 Why high insulin can affect your ovaries 24:15 A visible skin sign that insulin levels are too high 25:40 The organs most at risk when blood sugar spirals 27:17 How common insulin resistance really is in the US and UK 30:23 Why your ovaries can be an early sign of insulin resistance 32:49 Debunking the online "signs" of insulin resistance 35:37 Is insulin resistance actually reversible? 36:47 Why your weight matters more than your BMI number 38:53 The DEXA scan that revealed hidden visceral fat 41:14 Why white bread might not be so different from a can of Coke 43:56 Why one type of exercise burns blood sugar best 45:17 Do you really need two hours in the gym to see results? 46:38 How stress directly changes your blood sugar 48:32 Why irregular sleep might be hurting your blood sugar 49:38 The one piece of advice for anyone worried about insulin resistance 55:00 Why insulin resistance may have once been a survival advantage 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Insulin resistance is a risk factor for 12 types of cancer, Nature (2026) Association of insulin resistance with cancer, American Journal of Cancer Research (2016) Global prevalence of insulin resistance, Frontiers in Endocrinology (2025) Risk Reclassification Beyond BMI, (JACC) (2026) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.