Glucose & Insulin

8 curated episodes

105 min · Oct 2025 · #284

Glucose Metabolism: HbA1c, Insulin Resistance, and Better Energy

Dr. Benjamin Bikman — Brigham Young University; Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology; author of Why We Get Sick

HbA1c tells you averages — insulin tells you direction. How glucose metabolism works, why insulin resistance precedes blood sugar abnormalities, and what to track instead.

Read the companion article →

64 min · Jan 2024 · #243

Fructose, Sucralose, Allulose, and Avoiding Insulin Resistance from Sweeteners

Dr. Richard Johnson, MD; Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, PhD — University of Colorado School of Medicine (Johnson); University of South Florida (D'Agostino)

Fructose suppresses satiety, sucralose disrupts the microbiome, and allulose does neither. A breakdown of every major sweetener and which ones drive insulin resistance.

64 min · Jul 2023 · #220

Astronaut Scott Kelly on CGMs, the NASA Twins Study, and Metabolic Health in Space

Scott Kelly — Retired NASA astronaut; held US record for continuous days in space (340 days)

A CGM showed a retired astronaut his "healthy" cereal was one of his worst meals. What 30 days of real-time glucose data teaches — and how space physiology mirrors metabolic aging.

65 min · May 2023 · #214

Is Fructose a Driver of Alzheimer's Disease?

Dr. Richard Johnson, MD; Dr. Robert Lustig, MD — University of Colorado School of Medicine (Johnson); UCSF (Lustig)

Fructose activates a foraging survival pathway in the brain — one that may be hijacked in Alzheimer's. The evolutionary mechanism behind fructose-driven cognitive decline.

Read the companion article →

80 min · Apr 2023 · #209

Understanding Blood Sugar Levels, Insulin Resistance, and Impact on Chronic Diseases

Dr. Robert Lustig, MD; Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, PhD — UCSF (Lustig); University of South Florida (D'Agostino)

Insulin is the energy-storage hormone — when cells stop responding, everything breaks. How to test for resistance early, why rising insulin precedes rising glucose by years.

Read the companion article →

64 min · Mar 2023 · #208

How a Low-Carb Diet Can Boost Exercise Performance and Health

Professor Tim Noakes — The Noakes Foundation; Professor Emeritus, University of Cape Town; exercise physiologist

Fat-adapted athletes burn fat where carb-dependent athletes can't. The case for low-carb endurance training, and why glucose spikes during exercise signal pre-diabetes.

Read the companion article →

42 min · Apr 2022 · #102

Insulin Resistance and How It Affects Each of Us Differently

Dr. Benjamin Bikman, PhD — Brigham Young University; Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology; author of Why We Get Sick

Insulin resistance doesn't look the same in everyone. Why women, South Asians, and lean individuals hit dysfunction at different thresholds — and what that means for testing.

53 min · Feb 2022 · #69

Insulin Resistance and the Hidden Effects of Sugar on Kids

Dr. Robert Lustig, MD — UCSF; Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics & endocrinologist; author of Metabolical

Sugar gives children fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes by damaging their mitochondria. Why fructose is the main driver, and what dietary changes reverse the damage.