Skip to content
lunerievidence engine
Sign inCreate free account

01Markers · Blood sugar

HOMA-IR

Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance

A score calculated from fasting glucose and fasting insulin. Higher values mean more insulin is needed to hold glucose steady, a sign of insulin resistance.

Measured in
Calculated from blood tests
Units
index (no units)
Also called
HOMA, insulin resistance index
  1. HIIT
  2. Magnesium
  3. Berberine
  4. L-carnitine
  5. Vitamin D3
  6. Zinc
  7. Omega-3
  8. Melatonin
  9. Zone 2 cardio
  10. Milk thistle
  11. Taurine
  12. NAC
  13. Vitamin K2
  14. NAD+
  15. Red yeast rice
  16. Ubiquinol (CoQ10)
  17. Ashwagandha
  18. Vitamin E
  19. Resveratrol
  20. Vitamin C
  21. Collagen
  22. Creatine
  23. Finnish sauna
  24. Iron
  25. L-theanine
  26. Lion's mane
  27. PQQ
HOMA-IR across the 27 supplements and practices researched so far · best evidence first

AWhat moves HOMA-IR

20 of 27 studied

In human studies, 16 of the 27 supplements and practices researched so far lowered HOMA-IR and 1 raised it. 1 showed no change and 2 had mixed results. 7 were never studied for it.
  • Supported 17
  • No effect 1
  • Conflicting 2
  • Not studied 7
See HOMA-IR on the evidence map →Check claims about HOMA-IR →

Moves it17

Human studies found a change. The grade reflects the studies behind it, from A (strongest) to D.

HIITLowersGrade A

HIIT lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · 36 studies linked

Studied in: Overweight obese, T2DM, Metabolic syndrome, PCOS

Open the HIIT page →Check a claim about this →
MagnesiumLowersGrade A

Magnesium lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · 35 studies linked

Studied in: T2DM, Metabolic syndrome, Insulin resistant, Pediatric

Placeholder entry flagging unresolved gap. Pediatric IR/serum-Mg relationship is mechanistically plausible (Mg as GLUT4 co-factor, insulin receptor phosphorylation) but no pediatric MA data has been successfully ingested as of pass 15. Grade D pending re-supply of PMID:40895688.

Open the Magnesium page →Check a claim about this →
BerberineLowersGrade A

Berberine lowers HOMA-IR.

29 studies linked

Studied in: T2DM, PCOS, Metabolic syndrome, Insulin resistant

Open the Berberine page →Check a claim about this →
L-carnitineLowersGrade A

L-carnitine lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 29 studies linked

Studied in: T2DM, PCOS, Metabolic syndrome, NAFLD

Mingorance 2012 (PLC, DIO mice): HOMA-IR reduced 52% (31.28→14.83, p<0.001). Adds grade C animal corroboration for insulin sensitization mechanism (propionyl-L-carnitine). Effect mediated via hepatic mitochondrial function restoration and visceral fat reduction rather than direct ceramide/GLUT4 pathway. No change in...

Open the L-carnitine page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin D3LowersGrade A

Vitamin D3 lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 28 studies linked

Studied in: Prediabetes, Deficient baseline, Gestational diabetes, Overweight obese

Grade corrected from B to A. Four independent grade A MAs: Mirhosseini 2018 (-0.30, p=0.009), Pittas 2023 (-0.27, p=0.04), Swart 2018 (-0.22, p=0.04), Sharafi 2023 (-0.28, p=0.018).

Open the Vitamin D3 page →Check a claim about this →
ZincLowersGrade A

Zinc lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 28 studies linked

Studied in: T2D, Prediabetes, Overweight, PCOS

Zinc+Mg 30+250 mg/day reduced HOMA-IR by 0.82 units over 12 weeks in T2D+CHD. Zinc arm not isolated — additive contribution with magnesium cannot be separated. Mechanism: zinc stabilizes insulin hexamers and enhances INSR tyrosine kinase phosphorylation.

Open the Zinc page →Check a claim about this →
Omega-3LowersGrade A

Omega-3 lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 24 studies linked

Studied in: Insulin resistant, Metabolic syndrome, T2DM

CONTESTED — effect only in HOMA-IR measure subgroup; direct IS measures (euglycemic clamp, ISI) showed no effect. Subgroup n=11 RCTs, n=618 total

Open the Omega-3 page →Check a claim about this →
MelatoninLowersGrade A

Melatonin lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 15 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, T2DM, PCOS, Metabolic syndrome

Pooled decrease conflicts with individual RCT; genotype stratification essential

Open the Melatonin page →Check a claim about this →
Zone 2 cardioLowersGrade A

Zone 2 cardio lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Moderate effect · 12 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese, Adults elderly, Adults T2DM, Metabolic syndrome

AIT produced superior HOMA-IR reduction vs CME at 16 weeks (between-group p<0.05). Intensity-dependent insulin sensitivity improvement confirmed in metabolic syndrome population. Absolute delta not reported in primary paper.

Open the Zone 2 cardio page →Check a claim about this →
Milk thistleLowersGrade A

Milk thistle lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Small to moderate effect · 10 studies linked

Studied in: Type 2 diabetes, Insulin resistance, NAFLD, Metabolic syndrome

HOMA-IR reduction correlates with ALT reduction in NAFLD trials suggesting hepatic insulin resistance as shared driver. Effect size larger in populations with higher baseline insulin resistance. Supports metabolic hepatoprotection mechanism beyond anti-inflammatory action.

Open the Milk thistle page →Check a claim about this →
TaurineLowersGrade A

Taurine lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · 8 studies linked

Studied in: Type 2 diabetes, Metabolic syndrome, Adults

10 corpus studies. Consistent with insulin sensitization mechanism.

Open the Taurine page →Check a claim about this →
NACLowersGrade A

NAC lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 7 studies linked

Studied in: PCOS, Female, Adult, Metabolic syndrome

Open the NAC page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin K2LowersGrade A

Vitamin K2 lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · Small to moderate effect · 6 studies linked

Studied in: Older adults, Males only significant

K1 study; direct K2 translation uncertain. Sex-specific effect raises hypothesis that K-insulin axis may be androgen-dependent or driven by sex-specific adipose/muscle differences.

Open the Vitamin K2 page →Check a claim about this →
NAD+RaisesGrade B

NAD+ raises HOMA-IR.

Human trials · 5 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese, European finnish, Mean age 40, 5 month intervention

Insulin resistance worsened over 5 months. Matsuda index decreased 5.7→4.4 (p<0.001). Weight gain confound cannot be fully excluded (no placebo arm for primary cohort).

Open the NAD+ page →Check a claim about this →
Red yeast riceLowersGrade B

Red yeast rice lowers HOMA-IR.

Human trials · 5 studies linked

Open the Red yeast rice page →Check a claim about this →
Ubiquinol (CoQ10)LowersGrade B

Ubiquinol (CoQ10) lowers HOMA-IR.

Meta-analysis or review · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome, Insulin resistance

Open the Ubiquinol (CoQ10) page →Check a claim about this →
AshwagandhaLowersGrade C

Ashwagandha lowers HOMA-IR.

Human trials · 1 study linked

Studied in: Type2 diabetes

Open the Ashwagandha page →Check a claim about this →

Studied, no change1

Studies looked and found no meaningful change. That is a result, not missing data.

Vitamin ENo changeGrade A

Studies of Vitamin E found no change in HOMA-IR.

37 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, T2DM, Adult, Insulin resistant

VE-MA-001 (18 RCTs) and VE-MA-003 (14 RCTs): WMD −0.21 (95% CI −0.48 to +0.06), marginal non-significant trend. Multiple MA sources with consistent null finding = grade A.

Open the Vitamin E page →Check a claim about this →

Mixed results2

Studies disagree, or the direction depends on who was studied.

ResveratrolMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Resveratrol and HOMA-IR disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · Small to moderate effect · 33 studies linked

Studied in: Obese, T2DM, Metabolic syndrome, Dyslipidemia

NULL finding. Consistent with fasting_insulin null. HOMA-IR improvement limited to insulin-resistant populations.

Open the Resveratrol page →Check a claim about this →
Vitamin CMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Vitamin C and HOMA-IR disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · 8 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Type 2 diabetes, Insulin resistance

12 studies mention HOMA-IR. Positive signal in T2DM from mason_2021 MA context; negative signal in exercise context from Ristow 2009. Direction is population-dependent. Insufficient dedicated meta-analytic data to assign grade above C for HOMA-IR specifically.

Open the Vitamin C page →Check a claim about this →

Not studied7

No usable human study has measured HOMA-IR with these. A gap is not a negative result: nobody has looked.

CollagenCreatineFinnish saunaIronL-theanineLion's manePQQ

Commission research on a gap →

Why trials measure it. Trials use it as a simple estimate of insulin sensitivity when direct clamp studies are impractical.

About this marker: Assessment of insulin sensitivity/resistance (PubMed Central, U.S. National Library of Medicine).

Evidence states come from published human studies found in PubMed and OpenAlex and read by a model pipeline. "Not studied" means no usable human study was found for this marker, which is a gap, not a negative result. Every result links its studies so you can check it.

Research summary for education. Not medical advice.