Eating very few carbs and lots of protein might make your body less sensitive to insulin — not because it's broken, but because it's adapting to save glucose when carbs are scarce, like in ancient...

When early humans ate meat sporadically and had little access to carbohydrates, the liver became less responsive to insulin to ensure the brain got enough glucose. Today, with constant carbohydrate intake, this same liver response may lead to metabolic problems.

Back when humans were hunters during the Ice Age, their bodies might have adapted to use less insulin so their brains and babies could keep getting enough sugar — and that same trait might still be common in people whose ancestors lived that way.

In adults with type 2 diabetes, eating a diet with less carbohydrate and more protein for six weeks leads to lower blood glucose levels after meals and throughout the day, even without losing weight.

In adults with type 2 diabetes, eating a diet lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein leads to measurable improvements in how the pancreas releases insulin in response to meals, including more efficient insulin secretion and greater sensitivity to blood glucose levels.

In adults with type 2 diabetes, eating a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein leads to a 235% increase in glucagon release after meals and slows stomach emptying by 15 minutes, which is associated with greater feelings of fullness and lower blood sugar spikes.