Overview
There are three key biomarkers that can show us where a person’s metabolic health falls: blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. When we see these are higher than the optimal range, one of the main drivers they all relate back to is insulin resistance. Dysfunction in our metabolic health paves the road for chronic disease. That’s why it’s so important to regulate our blood sugar and insulin responses. Now, with the help of continuous glucose monitors, that’s becoming easier and more personalized than ever before.
Today, I’m excited to talk to Dr. Casey Means about the importance of metabolic health for longevity and how we can use real-time feedback to cut through the mixed messages on nutrition and hone in our diets. Dr. Means and I kick off the episode talking about the urgency of our metabolic state as a country. Eighty-eight percent of Americans are in poor metabolic health and chronic diseases continue to climb. We need our food choices to fuel our energy production process for the body to function the way it’s designed to, but all of the excess sugar we consume is hijacking that process.
I’m always amazed how many doctors don’t know how to effectively diagnose and treat insulin resistance. I’ve even had doctors as patients who are simply waiting for their condition to be worse so they can go on medication. Insulin resistance has become a black hole in medicine, despite all the research that proves its link to the variety of chronic diseases most of the country is fighting, like type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and others.
Optimizing our metabolic health is the lowest hanging fruit to achieve all our other health goals. Many people don’t even realize it’s essential for weight loss. Tracking how different foods impact our blood sugar and insulin responses gives us the power to create metabolic flexibility and understand our individual reactions to foods.
Dr. Means and I talk about the benefits of tools like a continuous glucose monitor, and also why it’s a helpful resource for fine-tuning your diet but not something that requires lifelong use. Dr. Means shares some of the surprising data she’s seen coming in from the beta-test of the Levels monitor. Many foods labeled as “healthy” are top culprits in spiking blood sugar, like grapes, rice, and oats. To skip the line and try Levels for yourself, just click here.
I hope you’ll tune in and get empowered to change your metabolic health for the better.
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