Produced by the pancreas, insulin is the hormone that brings glucose from the blood to the cells. In other words, it is essential both for transforming the sugar present in food into energy and for keeping blood glucose levels stable.
As a medicine, insulin has been used to treat diabetes (types 1 and 2) – a condition that causes the body to not produce or use this hormone properly – since 1922, a year after science managed to isolate it for the first time.
Although the substance has medical applications, its use without clinical need became part of the hormonal protocol of several bodybuilders, such as Milos Sarcev, from the 1990s onwards – the first synthetic human insulin, that is, identical to its namesake produced by the human body itself, dates back to 1978.
The objective of bodybuilders using insulin is to increase their amount of muscle mass, since the hormone in question is considered one of the most anabolic and, mainly, anticatabolic that exist.
“Insulin has an important anabolic and anti-catabolic action. It increases the entry of glucose and amino acids into the muscle cell, favoring protein synthesis and post-workout muscle glycogen replacement. In practice, this improves muscle recovery and assists in hypertrophy”, explains doctor Gabriella Criscuolo Mukics to the column.
The result, however, comes at a very high cost. Unlike anabolic steroids (ASs), insulin can cause the user to die in just one application: “Insulin reduces blood glucose by increasing its uptake by cells and inhibiting the liver’s production of glucose. When the dose applied exceeds the body’s need, or when there is no adequate carbohydrate intake, severe hypoglycemia may occur. Initially the patient may experience sweating, tremors, tachycardia and mental confusion. As the glycemic drop progresses, neuroglycopenia develops, which may present convulsions, reduced level of consciousness, coma and even cardiorespiratory arrest. Furthermore, severe hypoglycemia can trigger fatal cardiac arrhythmias, especially during sleep or after intense training.”
Still according to the health professional, there is “a very small margin” between the dose that would be – in theory – effective for the bodybuilder’s objective and “a potentially lethal dose”. In other words, the risk is enormous.
Finally, Gabriella explains that, in addition to the acute risks, chronic use of this substance can lead to several problems, such as increased body resistance to insulin and other metabolic changes: “In non-diabetic people, insulin can cause recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia, in addition to favoring insulin resistance over time. This use can also lead to a greater accumulation of body fat, metabolic changes and loss of perception of hypoglycemia symptoms, making the episodes increasingly dangerous.”
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