Research
Hormonal
Chronic hyperinsulinemia reduces lifespan and healthspan by suppressing autophagy and antioxidant defenses (Nrf2) while promoting cellular senescence and cardiovascular damage.
To promote longevity, minimize chronic insulin exposure. This supports practices like intermittent fasting, low-carbohydrate diets, and regular exercise, all of which lower baseline insulin. In animal models, lowering insulin extends lifespan; in humans, low insulin levels are associated with healthy aging in nonagenarians.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Enhanced activity of mTORC1 leads to increased protein synthesis and to deteriorated cell functions largely because of suppressed autophagy... Suppression of Nrf2 expression is expected to impair the antioxidant and cytoprotective defense capacity of cells.
Why this rating
Strong evidence in model organisms (mice, worms, flies); human evidence is observational and Mendelian randomization.
Source
Insulin: too much of a good thing is bad
Hubert Kolb et al. · BMC Medicine · 2020
DOI 10.1186/s12916-020-01688-6
narrative_reviewCited 245×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Chronically elevated insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) directly cause obesity, cardiovascular disease, and reduced lifespan through selective signaling pathways that remain active despite insulin resistance.Good
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