don't quote me on this as i haven't read up on it...insulin works to allow glucose to enter tissues from the blood (which is why blood glucose goes down with insulin injection). theoretically then one would use insulin to "load" the muscles with more glucose. in theory this seems logical but i'm certain that there are other biochemical factors that will determine if this kind of thing actually works.

Kim

It has more to do with the non-sugar effects speficially its efects on stimulating several growth factors such as igf. like most hormones it has many effects.

The reason you have problems is that too much insulin will drop your serum blood sugar. A non-diabetic would be able to compensate for the change in blood sugar to a certain degree thus being able to negate the unwanted effect of changing glucose levels.

I recall some body-builders asking me about using insulin, they were more interested in growth hormone stimulation/uptake than energy supply issues. Insulin is often used to drive potassium intracellularly to get someone's serum K+ down in a hurry, high K+'s could be seen in someone with lots of cellular damage (you have to give dextrose concomitantly to stay out of blood glucose level problems). But, I don't know how high K+ tends to get in an individual that is exercising very hard for long periods of time, although I wouldn't be surprised if marathoners experiencing free hemoglobinuria would be at some greater risk of higher than normal blood K+ levels. Other than that, I'm not familiar with using insulin as a PED.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Why do you think it is?

I'm guessing that you're really refering to insulin-like growth factor (IGF, as taku mentioned) which could be considered a PED by increasing muscle mass. A lot of bodybuilding supplements hint at being able to increase IGFs, although I'm not aware of any that acatually do.

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hmm...you're right...it could be as an IGF stimulant. good thinking!

Kim

From what I understand, it was used by some bodybuilders after a workout to increase growth hormone levels and to decrease muscle catobolism. I have heard it was not uncommon in some college athletics a while ago.