Awareness · 9 November 2026
Insulin Resistance, Explained Over Teh Tarik
If there is one idea this series most wants you to walk away with, it's this one. Insulin resistance is the quiet engine behind pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, stubborn belly fat and much of the fatigue people assume is just age. And it builds for years before any blood test flags it.
The doorbell analogy
Insulin's job is to knock on your cells' doors and ask them to take in glucose from the blood. When meals are high in fast carbs — rice, noodles, bread, sweet drinks — the doorbell rings loudly, many times a day, year after year. Eventually the cells start turning the volume down. They become resistant to the signal.
Your pancreas compensates by releasing more insulin to get the same job done. For a long time this works, and your glucose readings stay “normal” — while insulin levels climb quietly in the background. High insulin is itself a problem: it tells the body to store fat (especially around the middle), makes losing weight feel impossible, and sets the stage for the glucose numbers to eventually break through. That's the moment a routine blood test says “pre-diabetes”, seemingly out of nowhere. It was never out of nowhere.
The teh tarik part
Why do we say “over teh tarik”? Because sweetened drinks are the most underestimated contributor in Malaysia. A single teh tarik carries several teaspoons of sugar with zero fibre to slow it down — a pure doorbell blast — and many of us drink two or three a day alongside carb-heavy meals. If you change only one thing this month, make it the drinks: kurang manis is good, kosong is better.
The hopeful part
Insulin resistance is substantially reversible, and food is the main lever. When meals stop demanding constant insulin — when the plate is built on protein, vegetables and natural fats instead of refined carbs — the signal quietens, the cells gradually turn the volume back up, and the whole cascade starts running in reverse. Research on low-carbohydrate eating consistently shows meaningful improvements in insulin sensitivity, often within weeks.
That is exactly what every Pure Eats meal is designed to do: under 10% net carbs, no added sugar, no seed oils, cooked for a low or no insulin spike — Malaysian flavours included. Fresh delivery across the Klang Valley from RM29.80 per meal.
General education, not medical advice. If you suspect insulin resistance, ask your doctor about testing — and before changing your diet if you're on medication.