Muscle is your body's largest store for glucose. After you eat, most of the sugar from your meal is taken up by your muscles and stored as energy. The more muscle you have, the more room there is to store it, and the less your body has to push elsewhere.
Written with Andy Caza, certified fitness trainer, based in the UAE. Part of our strength training series.
Your muscle puts your food to work
Every time you eat, your body has to store the energy. Muscle is where most of it goes.
Skeletal muscle is the body's largest glucose sink. In laboratory studies, it accounts for around 80% of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. After a real meal, when your liver also takes a share, muscle still handles roughly half to two thirds of it.
When you have less muscle, that energy has less room to go into. More of it stays in your bloodstream for longer, and over time more of the surplus ends up stored as body fat.
More muscle, better insulin sensitivity
Insulin is the signal that tells your muscles to take glucose in. More muscle means more tissue responding to that signal, so the same amount of insulin does more of the work.
That's what insulin sensitivity means: how effectively your body responds to insulin. Good insulin sensitivity means your body clears sugar from your blood efficiently.
Low muscle is its own risk
Low muscle mass is linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and that link holds independently of how much body fat someone carries. Age-related loss of muscle mass and strength has a name: sarcopenia.
In other words, two people can weigh the same and carry the same amount of fat, and the one with less muscle is likely to handle blood sugar less well.
Same food, different outcome
Picture two people eating an identical meal. Same food, same calories.
One has more muscle. Their body has more storage space and responds more readily to insulin, so the glucose is cleared and stored as muscle energy.
The other has less. There's less room to store it, so more glucose stays in the blood for longer, and more of the surplus heads towards fat storage.
The meal didn't change. The body receiving it did.
How to build that storage capacity
Resistance training is the most direct way to build muscle, and building muscle increases how much glucose your body can store as glycogen.
You don't need to train like an athlete. Consistent strength training a few times a week, combined with enough protein and proper rest, is what builds muscle over time.
Andy keeps a Bombbar snack in her bag to help hit her daily protein target around training. Browse high-protein snacks
Read next: Why building muscle beats eating less · How much protein do you need?
Andy Caza & the Bombbar Team
FAQ
Does muscle help control blood sugar? Yes. Skeletal muscle takes up most of the glucose from a meal and stores it as glycogen. More muscle means more storage capacity and better insulin sensitivity.
How much glucose does muscle take up after eating? Around 80% of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in laboratory conditions, and roughly half to two thirds after a real meal, when the liver also takes a share.
What is insulin sensitivity? How effectively your body responds to insulin. With good insulin sensitivity, the same amount of insulin clears more glucose from your blood.
What is sarcopenia? The age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Low muscle mass is linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, independently of body fat.
What is the best exercise for blood sugar? Resistance training builds muscle, which increases how much glucose your body can store. Regular movement of any kind also helps.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes or concerns about your blood sugar, speak to your doctor before changing your training or diet.
