Insulin Resistance — Episodes

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 →

67 min · Oct 2025 · #283

Brain health: insulin resistance, biomarkers, and Alzheimer's risk

Dr. David Perlmutter — Perlmutter Health Center; Board-certified neurologist & New York Times bestselling author

Insulin resistance in the brain precedes Alzheimer's symptoms by decades. The biomarkers that reveal risk early — fasting insulin, homocysteine, ApoE — and what interventions work.

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64 min · Jul 2025 · #277

Key blood test results that tell you about your pancreas health

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

Proinsulin and C-peptide reveal pancreatic stress that fasting glucose misses. The link between mitochondrial dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's — and how to reverse it.

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95 min · Nov 2024 · #268

Uncovering the shocking realities of obesity, skinny fat, and insulin resistance

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

Fat storage requires insulin, not just calories. Why visceral fat is metabolically dangerous, what TOFI means for thin people, and how stress drives fat accumulation.

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.

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 →

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.