Insulin Resistance: The Silent Epidemic

Dr. McMinn and  Coach Lindsay welcome nutrition expert Shannon Davis to the show to explore insulin resistance—a condition affecting millions of Americans, often without them even knowing that they have it. Learn what insulin resistance really means, how it connects to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, and why it matters for your health.

Key Topics Covered

Understanding Insulin Resistance

• • What insulin resistance means in plain language
  • The difference between insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity
  • How common is insulin resistance? (Prevalence in the general population)
  • Why it often goes undiagnosed

The Connection to Metabolism

• • Breaking down what "metabolism" actually means
  • How insulin resistance relates to your body's metabolic processes
  • The relationship between insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes

Common Symptoms & Warning Signs

• • Fatigue and low energy
  • Stubborn weight gain, especially around the midsection
  • Excessive hunger and sugar cravings
  • Other symptoms that might surprise you

The Importance of Early Detection and Prevention

Why This Matters

Insulin resistance is a "silent epidemic" because many people have it without realizing it. Understanding the condition is the first step toward better health outcomes. If left unattended it can severely affect morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. 

About Our Guest

Shannon Davis, RD is a registered dietitian specializing in metabolic health and insulin resistance. She works with clients struggling with weight management, blood sugar issues, and related metabolic concerns.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening And Hidden Epidemic
• 0:57 Meet The Hosts And Mission
• 2:32 Introducing Guest Shannon Davis
• 4:16 What Is Insulin Resistance
• 8:23 How Common It Is And Why Missed
• 12:03 Early Clues And Smart Labs
• 15:14 Metabolic Syndrome Explained
• 16:31 Dementia As Type 3 Diabetes
• 18:06 Shannon’s Three-Step Protocol
• 21:06 Food Debates: Pasta, Honey, Oats
• 23:20 Sweeteners And Sugars Demystified
• 25:04 Personalization, Wearables, Next Steps
• 27:09 Closing Insights And Listener Wrap-Up

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast. Here's something that might surprise you. The majority of Americans have a condition that might be causing weight gain, exhaustion, rainfall, belly fat, and they don't even know they have it. It's called insulin resistance. Those symptoms are your body sending you danger signals. The question is: are you listening? Think of insulin as the key to unlock your cells to let the sugar in. But with insulin resistance, it's like somebody has changed the loss. Your sugar can't get into your cells, so your body produces more and more insulin to get the same job done. And this silent condition becomes a whole body metabolic disaster, driving serious disease in nearly every major organ system. But here's the good news: it's preventable and reversible. Today's guest, Shannon Davis, is a registered dietitian who specializes in helping people just like you. To prevent and overcome insulin resistance, diabetes, waking, and much more. She's here to show you that you have far more control over your metabolic health than you've ever been told. Seize the moment. Change your health story starting now.

SPEAKER_00: 0:59

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MV podcast with Dr. McMahon and Coach Litney, where we bring you the latest up-to-date evidence-based information on a wide variety of health and wellness topics, along with practical technical solutions. Dr. McMahon. Now, onto the show with Dr. Coach Lindsay.

SPEAKER_01: 1:56

Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm Dr. Jim McMahon, and I'm here with our very own coach Lindsay Matthews. Together we bring you the evidence-based podcast with honest, commercial-free, unbiased, up-to-date information about functional integrative lifestyle and wellness medicine. Our goal is to empower you with practical solutions to overcome your health care challenges and to optimize your wellness, and to help you become a great captain of your ship when it comes to your health. Good morning, Coach. It's great to see you again.

SPEAKER_02: 2:28

Good to see you too, Dr. Mack. It's great to be back with our listeners again.

SPEAKER_01: 2:32

Well, coach, what if your body's silent struggle with sugar was the root cause of things like fatigue, weight gain, and many other serious chronic diseases? And you didn't even know it. Instone resistance is a hidden epidemic affecting many millions of people. Quietly reshaping their health from the inside out, and it's getting worse, Coach. So today we're pulling back the curtain on this metabolic mystery.

SPEAKER_03: 2:55

Yes, Dr. Mack. We're fortunate to have Shannon Davis on our show today to help us unpack this mystery. She is a registered dietitian and nutritionist with more than 19 years of experience specializing in metabolic health and insulin resistance. She's a founding board member of the American Diabetes Society and an insulin IQ coach, as well as the founder of a successful virtual metabolic health practice where she's helped nearly a thousand people reverse insulin resistance, lose weight, and even put type 2 diabetes into remission. Shannon's background spans dialysis, organ transplant, bariatrics, and pharmaceutical sales, giving her a unique perspective on why food, not medication, is the real solution to most dietary conditions. She's been featured on over 50 podcasts, and now that includes ours, as an expert in metabolic health. And when she's not helping people transform their lives, you'll find her in the gym doing CrossFit or spending time riding horses, her lifelong passion.

SPEAKER_01: 4:08

Well, Coach, it sounds like we're really in for a treat, and y'all are just going to love Shannon. She's just a fountain of knowledge on all sorts of metabolic issues. But before we get going, we want to remind folks that our podcast is one of the rare podcasts these days that remains unbiased and commercial free. However, it does cost us money to produce these, so consider making a contribution to help us keep it coming to you.

SPEAKER_03: 4:29

And there's a couple ways, listeners, that you can contribute. First, if you buy nutritional supplements, then we're not asking you to buy anything you don't already take. But if you do, then consider purchasing physician grade supplements from our full script dispensary at a 10% discount. You can see the link to the full script below in the show notes. Or you can go to McMinnMD.com and the link will also appear there at the bottom of the homepage under Helpful Links. It's really simple. Just click on the link and they'll guide you through the process. It's a win-win. You get those high-quality supplements at a discount, and we get your support for the show, for which we are very grateful.

SPEAKER_01: 5:11

You can also contribute directly to the show via credit card or PayPal at the Support the Show link, which is in the show notes. And please don't forget to subscribe to the show so that you won't miss an episode and tell your friends and family about us so we can keep it growing.

SPEAKER_03: 5:25

Thank you for your support. It means a lot to us. And now, on to the show.

SPEAKER_01: 5:30

So without further ado, let's get going. Shannon, welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast. It's great to have you on the show with us today.

SPEAKER_04: 5:36

Thank you for having me. I'm honored.

SPEAKER_01: 5:39

You know, Shannon, our topic is one that affects millions of people, uh, often without them even realizing it, and that is insulin resistance. We'll also touch base on things like metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. It's a topic that comes up frequently with our clients who struggle with things like fatigue, stubborn weight, excessive hunger, especially sugar cravings, and many other symptoms. So we're excited to unpack it here with you today and to dig down and find out what's going on here. So let's start with the basics, Shannon. In plain language, please explain to us exactly what is insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity and why the average listener should really care about it. And while you're at it, uh we'll also be talking about things like metabolism. And so tell us about what is metabolism and how is it related to insulin resistance.

SPEAKER_04: 6:22

Sure, sure. Well, I'll start off uh with the easy one. Metabolism is the way that our body takes food and turns it into energy. Okay. Um insulin resistance is a term, and I'm gonna quote my most favorite metabolic scientist, Dr. Ben Bickman. It's a two-sided coin. On one side of the coin, you have insulin resistance. So the cells not responding, some cells, not all cells, to the insulin. Insulin's the key that unlocks the cell that takes the energy from the food and pulls it into this or allows it to enter the cell. Um, so you have to have that, the cell not responding, and the cell doesn't respond because it's too full. It can't hold any more energy or or glucose or sugar. We use those terms interchangeably. The second component of insulin resistance is hyperinsulinemia, meaning too much insulin. So your pancreas is making too much insulin because your cells, some of them, are not responding to the appropriate amount. So your body thinks it needs more. So when you have that together, you get insulin resistance. Now you asked about insulin sensitivity. We want to be insulin sensitive. Our goal is to keep our insulin levels as stable and as low as possible so that we don't become resistant because insulin is a fat-storing hormone. Insulin is the hormone of growth. So the the objective is to eat in a way that that keeps our cells sensitive because they're not overly full and um our pancreas doesn't have to work too hard to make too much insulin.

SPEAKER_01: 8:04

So, Shannon, you mentioned that some cells are sensitive and some are not. So, for instance, our muscle cells do they become resistant, whereas fat cells don't like so you're getting lots of uh uh sugar into the fat cells, but they can't get into the muscle cells, so the muscles don't have enough energy. Is that kind of the thing or not?

SPEAKER_04: 8:18

No, we all all cells can become insulin resistant. Your brain cells, you see dementia. Our brain becomes insulin resistant. Um, I mean, if you've ever bought a very um, very, very expensive cut of steak, like a like a Kobe or a YGU, you'll see that intramuscular marboline. That's fat inside of the muscle. You do not want that. Fat can enter the muscle. The muscle cells can become insulin resistant. That's called anabolic resistance. Our fat cells also become resistance. And and then you will, when that happens, you start to see fat being deposited in the liver as triglycerides.

SPEAKER_03: 8:58

So just from a big picture perspective, Shannon, and this is Coach Lindsay popping in. We're so glad you're with us. How common is this insulin resistance in, say, the general population of America?

SPEAKER_04: 9:12

You know, Lindsay, it it hurts my heart to say, but 90% about 93% of our population has some form of insulin resistance. And to me, that should be embarrassing as a nation. We are the prominent leaders of the world. We have every medication available, every doctor available, every kind of test. And yet our country is suffering from a dietary disease. And it looks like many different things. Skin tags. You how many people have gone to the dermatologist to get these little skin tags and froze off? That's a metabolic problem. PCOS.

SPEAKER_01: 9:48

And they never mention it. Never mentioned it.

SPEAKER_04: 9:53

No, it's a dermatological problem. PCOS, the number one fertility problem in the world, is a metabolic problem. Dementia or type three diabetes is a metabolic problem. It's insulin resistance of the brain. Fatty liver, that is not a fat problem. It's not an eating fat problem. It is an eating sugar carbohydrate excess problem. Chronic chronic kidney disease, hypertension is not a salt problem. It's an insulin problem. Gout, neuropathy, being hangry, obesity, type 2 diabetes, these, and some may even say cancer are all insulin problems.

SPEAKER_01: 10:36

Well, that's kind of scary, uh, Shannon. 93%. So, you know, I recall a uh doctor friend of mine telling me one time that in a clinic where she worked, there was a questionnaire that the new patients had to fill out when they first came in. And on the questionnaire, there were certain medical history boxes they had to check. And sadly, the boxes for obesity, hypertension, and diabetes were pre-checked because the assumption was that just about everybody who came to the clinic had these conditions. So, for instance, if you didn't have diabetes, you had uh you were the exception and you had to actually uncheck the box. So that's how common things like diabetes and obesity really are in this part of the country. That may have something to do with our terrible sort of classic southern diet, which we all know is disastrous for your health.

SPEAKER_03: 11:17

Absolutely. So if insulin resistance and sugar metabolism problems are this common, which that number, like you said, Dr. Mack, that's staggering. 93%. Then are providers adequately screening for it and aggressively treating it? And if not, why not? What do you think, Shannon?

SPEAKER_04: 11:38

You know, I am gonna preface what I'm gonna say that I there have very much respect for doctors, for nurse practitioners, for PAs and nurses. I don't think that that that it is an intentional look like an intentional mistake or an intentional ignoring the issue. They're not taught in medical school. Okay. I wasn't taught this in in dietetic school. But no, it's not being screened upon. We need to be checking a fasting insulin test on every single person in there. It needs to be as common as a blood pressure, as a lipid panel, as as an A1C, because this takes place. That number, which by the way, we okay, uh uh, you know, that's good is 10 or less, optimally is six or less. Okay. That number will start to trend up 10 to 20 years before your blood sugar, your A1C is ever affected. Okay. That's as I mentioned earlier, the body's an amazing thing. It corrects itself. As your glucose goes up from eating a diet that that encourages it, and by the way, that diet comes from the American dietary recommendations. So it's it's not people's lack of willpower or lack of discipline. We have been told, as a country, by our government, by our health care providers to eat this way. People are following instructions. But because we eat this way and our glucose starts to trend up, the pancreas releases more insulin. And that goes on for a very long time until it just can't anymore, till those cells are full, till they're resistant. And so by the time someone's A1C starts to trend up, this is this has been this could have been stopped 10 to 20 years prior. And if you want my opinion, there should be no prediabetes. You should you are diabetic or you're not, because the difference in prediabetes and diabetes is a tenth of a point. 5.6 up to 5.6 is prediabetes, right? But above that, I'm sorry, is is is normal. Then you get prediabetes. Then you get diabetes. It's a tenth of a point. And when we when we tell someone they have prediabetes, I feel like it gives them leeway or it gives them a false sense of, okay, maybe I have time, I'm not diabetic, I don't, I don't really need to do anything yet. No, you should have been doing something 10 to 20 years ago. And if we had that fasting insulin level, then you can show that because you can get a normal A1C and have a fasting insulin in in in the 20s, 30s, 40s, because the body has learned to release more insulin and yet the glucose is still normal. So wow.

SPEAKER_01: 14:38

Yeah, well, that that that's great. And you're right, doctors don't uh address it until they kind of cross that thin line and they actually become legitimately diabetes on their labs. Otherwise, they tend to ignore it.

SPEAKER_03: 14:48

So, what's actually happening inside the body when cells become resistant to insulin? Can you walk us through that physiology in simple terms?

SPEAKER_04: 14:56

Yes. Okay, so I like to compare it. Um, so the the scenario is Dr. Again, I'm gonna speak to Dr. Ben Bickman. He talks about his his his wife is at home with their kids all day. They're playing, they're crying, they're talking, they're loud. And when you're amongst it all the time, you don't really like it's kind of just normal. But when he gets home from work and he's been in a quiet office or in a lab and he walks in, he's like, oh, you know, it's it's it's it's shocking. And so inside the cells, if the cells have been bathed in insulin all the time, they don't really recognize it. They don't respond to it. But if you have a cell that doesn't get bathed in insulin, when you in you know introduce a small amount, it's gonna respond. Those glute four receptors are gonna come to the surface and it's gonna take that glucose or sugar into that cell. Glucose is gonna come down, the cells are gonna get energy, and the pancreas isn't having to overwork. So it's it's it's a cycle, it's a perpetual cycle. We eat certain foods, predominantly carbohydrates, seed oils, ultra-processed foods. Okay. And the reason I say carbohydrates is of the three macronutrients, carbs, proteins, and fats, carbohydrates are the ones that cause the most, the highest glucose. Carbohydrates are sugar molecules holding hands together. So when we eat them, they're broken down directly into sugar, and it can happen pretty fast. And so, in response to that, the body is dangerous to have a lot of sugar or glucose in the bloodstream. So the pancreas releases insulin to pull that to help facilitate that glucose out of the bloodstream into the cells.

SPEAKER_01: 16:49

Well, that's great, Shannon. You know, it seems like some people get it and some people don't. So, what are some of the main causes and risk factors of insulin resistance? Is it mostly just a diet and exercise, or are there other factors that uh play a role?

SPEAKER_04: 17:00

That that is the one that's mostly talked about because it is the most, it's the easiest one to address. Okay. That's the easiest fix. And when I say, well, let me let me rephrase this. That's the simplest to fix. Simple doesn't mean easy. But stress, when we're stressed, our body releases cortisol. And there are studies that show somebody can be on a very, very, very, very low calorie diet compared to somebody eating regular. And if they're subjected to stress and have high cortisol levels, they can gain weight on a diet where they should be losing it more than the people eating more food because of the cortisol. So stress, not getting a lot of sleep, one night of sleep can re it can increase your risk of insulin resistance by 25%. Certain medications, you know, steroids, lack of muscle is probably one of the biggest areas that are very concerning to me. Muscle is our is our organ of longevity. It is our biggest glucose sink. As we age, we automatically lose muscle. So if we're not doing some type of resistance exercise, we're gonna lose our biggest glucose sponge. But then also hormones. Women, as we as we enter menopause, we lose estrogen. Estrogen is our superpower. Estrogen keeps us insulin sensitive. So you have hormones, you have lack of movement, you have lack of sunshine and vitamin D, you have poor food choices, sleep problems, stress.

SPEAKER_01: 18:38

What about genetics? Can we blame it on mom and dad?

SPEAKER_04: 18:40

You know, what we bl there, I do believe that some people may have the tendency to go down that road easier than others, but our environment is is far more powerful. What we inherit are are the beh eating behaviors of our parents.

SPEAKER_01: 18:58

And speaking of environment, what about environmental toxins? Do those play a role?

SPEAKER_04: 19:02

Absolutely. I'm glad you brought that up. I left that out. The the there's obesogens, there's microplastics, there's Dr. Paul Reynolds did a study earlier this year where he showed that people exposed to diesel fuel fumes became insulin resistant. So absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 19:20

Wow, interesting.

SPEAKER_03: 19:22

Those those are some very powerful things to think about. They're giving me some pause to think about all those risk factors. To your point, though, I think there's that 10 to 20 year gap where all this is developing behind the scenes before you might actually see it on the traditional lab work that is. So I think it's probably safe to say most people with insulin resistance don't know that they have it at all. What are some early warning signs that we could tell people, maybe apart from the fasting insulin level you mentioned, that their doctor or they could be on the lookout for?

SPEAKER_04: 19:55

Yeah. If they don't have a fasting insulin, they can always take their triglycerides, which we want, ideally 100 or less, and their HDL, which has been labeled the good cholesterol, ideally you want 55 or greater, and divide your triglycerides by your HDL. And if that ratio is greater than 1.5, you have insulin resistance. So it's not always weight, but but so we we sort of mentioned it. Always hungry, poor energy, fatigue, inability to lose weight, you could have hair loss, inability to get pregnant, you can have gout or neuropathy, you could start to see floaters in your eye, erectile dysfunction in men, an increased waist circumference, greater than 40 for men, 35 for women. You can see blood pressure increasing, you can see triglycerides, I already mentioned that, going up, the skin tags. You can see it's called athancosis, nit athancosis nitrogans, the dark patches of skin, you'll see it on people's neck. It looks like they're dirty, like they need to bathe. So uh let's see, brain fog, you know, people starting to forget things. So, and and then the obvious ones are your blood sugar, your A1C going up.

SPEAKER_01: 21:14

Well, you mentioned a lot of labs. Any any other labs that uh doctors should be monitoring or that, for instance, patients should ask their doctors for? Sometimes the patients have to take the lead role in this fight. The doctors don't do it. So you have to walk and say, I want these labs. So what labs should a patient ask for?

SPEAKER_04: 21:27

I mean, there's so many, but I think if we just get the basic, you want a full lip, full lipid panel. And I would I would also ask them to break down the particle size of your LDL because LDL is not always a bad guy. Um, you want an A1C, you want a fasting insulin, you want a CRP, that's your level of inflammation. That's pretty important. Thyroid, you want the full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. But those are the basics: an A1C, a fasting glucose, a fasting insulin, um, full thyroid, full lipid panel, and a CRP.

SPEAKER_01: 22:00

Okay, great. And explain to me the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load, and which one is more important?

SPEAKER_04: 22:07

So index is like the speed at which the food raises your blood sugar. So it's how fast is this food? So like white bread has a high glycemic index, whereas an egg does not. Okay. Glycemic load is how much of sugar and how fast. So load is like how fast and how much. So you can sort of change the index by coupling foods together. So for instance, white bread has no fiber, no fat, which slow down the sugar spike. But but carrots, which have sugar, also have a ton of fiber. So it they have it slows down the absorption. You know, I don't talk about that very often anymore. I used to a lot. I don't use that because it's so confusing to patients. I I really mostly just talk about carbohydrates, and then I sort of label fiber in its own group, fat and protein. And to me, that simplifies things because if people try to play the game and say, well, oh, it has a high glycemic index, but if I couple it with this, it lower it, it makes it have a, you know, less load.

SPEAKER_01: 23:22

So all right, yeah. Well, thank you. I think it's good always wise to keep things simple.

SPEAKER_03: 23:26

Absolutely. And we've talked about hemoglobin A1C a little bit. What do you think should be? Because you mentioned earlier, like you don't like that term pre-diabetes. That's just giving people an excuse. So, what do you think that upper limit for the hemoglobin A1C should be ideally? I mean, again, this is just personal.

SPEAKER_04: 23:45

I like it around five, to be honest. Five under 5.5, I think is good. Because there are cases like you'll see carnivores, for instance, will run with a higher A1C because their blood cells live longer. So I when I look at an A1C, that's just one part of the picture. That's just you need more evidence to go with it to back it up because A1C doesn't tell anything. I mean, I know it's a three-month average of the glycation on our red blood cells or or the the how sticky that red blood cell is. But people's red blood cells live longer or live shorter. People on dialysis get EPO. Their red blood cell life is much, much shorter than than someone who is extremely healthy on a carnivore diet. So it's it's a it's it's important, Lindsay, but it's not the big picture. I want to see everything with that.

SPEAKER_01: 24:46

So if somebody has a normal A1C, that doesn't necessarily uh mean they don't have insulin resistance. Not at all. Okay. Very good. So yeah, let's move on to metabolic syndrome. I'd like to touch base on that uh uh briefly. You know, i I see guys coming in with this big big beer gut, and all of their criteria are met for metabolic syndrome uh uh by the American Heart Association, and yet their doctors have never mentioned it, drive me crazy. It's like it's it's off their radar screen. So uh talk to us a bit about uh the criteria for metabolic syndrome and why that's important.

SPEAKER_04: 25:18

So, you know, the criteria is the waist circumference, you know, triglycerides, I think it's blood pressure, A1C, fasting glucose. A lot of times I think physicians are very short on time. You gotta address the the reason that they're in. Most people go to the doctor because they're sick. They're gonna be focused on the the issue at hand. And these criteria that make up the definition of metabolic syndrome, they take up a lot of time. You could they need a thorough explanation, they need training, they need guidance. It's not as simple as, you know, don't do that or do that. And so I think it's not talked about because it's complicated, because it's almost normal. And it's easier just to give up somebody a medication than to talk about it. Oh, you have high blood pressure, we're just gonna put you on this blood pressure med. Oh, you have high cholesterol, we're just gonna put you on a statin, oh, your blood sugar's elevated, we're gonna just start metformin. It's easier to do that. It takes less time than to go in and talk about each one and what to do about it.

SPEAKER_01: 26:27

No, Shannon, you mentioned that the concept of type 3 diabetes earlier. I've always been sort of fascinated in dementia and sort of what causes it. Uh I think years ago we just used to think it was bad luck. People got it or they didn't, but uh we know that there's underlying root causes. So tell us about uh the role of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, diabetes in the development of dementia.

SPEAKER_04: 26:46

So when we think of dementia or Alzheimer's, I think automatically we think of plaque. Oh, that person has those the plaque in their brain, right? How many medications have been created to uh to target this plaque? How many have been successful? Zero. Okay. There have been autopsies of brain of people that are healthy with no dementia or Alzheimer's, and they have plaques in their brain. So plaque doesn't mean dementia. When the brain is I think the brain's third in line on being the biggest energy consumer in our body. The kidneys are first, the heart second, then the the brain, which to me is weird. You would think the brain would be first, but so the brain needs a lot of energy. And it's it to be so small, it it needs a bunch. It gets energy two ways. It gets energy through glucose, which we've talked a lot about. Now, in order to get that energy into the cells in the brain, you need insulin. The insulin has to unlock the door to allow the glucose into those cells. If the brain's cells are insulin resistant, that glucose cannot get into the cells. So the the brain's being starved of energy. The second source of energy is ketones. The brain actually prefers ketones. If you have glucose and ketones at the same time present, the brain will predominantly choose ketones over glucose, even if there's more glucose available.

SPEAKER_01: 28:16

Tell the audience what are ketones, please.

SPEAKER_04: 28:19

Ketones are a byproduct of fat breakdown. When we limit our the the body gets energy from two sources, from fat and from carbohydrates or glucose. So when we either don't have glucose through fasting or eating a very low carbohydrate diet, our body is going to create energy through byproducts of fat breakdown, which are ketones. So it's a very clean energy source. It's it's a very healthy energy source. Babies are in ketosis. So it it's great for brain development. It's it's very anti-inflammatory. I mean, there's it's like a superpower or a superfuel like nitrous. So the brain can get glucose, but not if it's insulin resistant. It's being starved of energy. So if we look to the second energy source, ketones, well, you don't produce ketones in the presence of insulin. So you can see the brain's not getting either energy source. It can't make ketones because you got sky-high insulin, and it and the cells are resistant, so the insulin's not doing its job. So that's why it's called type 3 diabetes, because it's like insulin resistance of the brain. You can't make ketones and you can't use the glucose present.

SPEAKER_01: 29:38

Well, another factor is that you've got excess insulin and sugar floating around, and both of those are pro inflammatory.

SPEAKER_04: 29:44

Correct.

SPEAKER_01: 29:44

And Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease caused by neuroinflammation. So uh that's another potential source of that uh dementia.

SPEAKER_04: 29:55

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 29:56

All right, you know, Shannon, one thing we always try to do on the podcast is bring folks what we call Practical solutions. So let's talk about uh what people can do for these issues of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. What's the Shannon approach to dealing with these issues?

SPEAKER_04: 30:09

I call it the three-step protocol. So when I when I teach people about how to reverse insulin resistance, the first thing I say is let's incorporate some time restricted eating. Some people call it intermittent fasting, some people call it time restricted eating. All we're doing is shrinking our eating window. The sweet spot seems to be 16.8, but I am a big fan of changing it up so the body doesn't adapt. Fast 12 hours, fast 14, fast 18, fast 16, excuse me, fast 24, but you're just shrinking your eating window. Truly. I didn't say anything about eating less, just eating less frequently. And you can count your sleeping as part of that. You're fasting when you're sleeping. So that's step one. Step two is change what you eat. Okay. I know we've talked a lot about carbohydrates and glucose. So if insulin resistance is a disease of carbohydrate toxicity or or the cell being too few full of glucose and and not responding to insulin, wouldn't the the most simple thing be to remove the causative agent, which is glucose, which is sugar, which is carbs. So and and I don't mean that you have to be in ketosis or eat zero carbs, but eat less carbs. If you are struggling, we need to be aggressive in how we treat that. So we're going to restrict them more. Then once you reverse it, you can start incorporating some good, healthy carbs back in there. But I try to tell people if you are trying to reverse type 2 diabetes, which is the extreme end of insulin resistance, try to keep your carbs 30 grams or less. Focus on foods that are high in fiber, your high fiber vegetables, broccoli, Brussels sprout, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, avocados, any type of lettuce, cabbage, okra, green beans, cucumbers, those types of non-starchy vegetables. If you want fruit, eat them at the end of your meal and make sure it's something, the higher fiber fruits, your berries, something like that, an apple with the peel. Then focus on predominantly animal-based proteins, chicken, fish, beef, pork, eggs, seafood. Make that the center part of your plate. Surround it with your veggies, your non-starchy, and don't fear the fat that comes with it. Do not throw the egg yolk away. Do not fear like the chicken skin. Do not fear butter. Do not fear avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, ghee, lard, tallow. Use those. Now you don't have to pile it on extra, but don't be afraid of it. Avoid the seed oils. And then last but not least, so that's one and two, time restricted eating, changing what you eat. And then I always, I guess there's really four. The third one is incorporating some supplements. So I always encourage if you need help with fasting, like your appetite. A lot of people will say, I've tried to fast and it's just too hard. There's some supplements that I recommend. One is a Yurba mate concentrate. And the reason that's so beneficial is it contains something called chlorogenic acid. That upregulates our own GLP1 production by 60 to 70%. So it shuts off the food noise. It makes fasting easy, but it's also an insulin sensitizer. It's an anti-inflammatory, it gives you great energy. It increases glutathione, which is the most potent antioxidant in the body. Um, it's unbelievable. I've I've I've never seen anything work like this for people. And then the second part of that supplement is a fiber matrix. And so you consume that. And what does that do? That we have clinical studies from the Cleveland Clinic, the top cardiac hospital in the world, that said it could replace lipid lowering meds. My personal experience is it took my triglycerides from 250 down to 50.

SPEAKER_01: 34:04

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_04: 34:04

And it took my HDL from 53 up to 122 in eight weeks. I changed nothing else. That's right. Um, but the fibers lower triglycerides, increase HDL, but they lower per clinical study at BYU by Dr. Bickman glucose 43%. Now metformin lowers glucose 25 to 30%. So you're lower. You're lowering inflammation, you're improving gut health because it's a blend of seven different types of soluble and insoluble fibers. So gut health is huge. You have to have good gut health. You have to have a good population of microbiome of microorganisms. So you're improving gut health, you're lowering glucose, which is secondarily lowering insulin, you're lowering inflammation, you're helping to control appetite and satiety. You're it you're preventing the snacking and you're avoiding the foods that are the biggest insult. So when you combine those along with some resistance training, I always say number four is resistance training, sleep, and sun. Then you can reverse insulin resistance.

SPEAKER_01: 35:10

That's fabulous, Shannon. You know, if you'll send me a list of those supplements, I'll put them in the document section under Shannon's supplements for for uh insulin resistance, and people have those uh to they they can access. All right, I'm gonna ask you just quickly about a couple of the specific uh foods and just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. What about pasta?

SPEAKER_04: 35:27

Down, thumbs down.

SPEAKER_01: 35:28

Uh-oh. Raw honey is kind of interesting. I remember a guy, Dr. Pearl Mutter, years ago. He was always against it, and then he said, hmm, it has some health benefits. And so uh he kind of came around to accepting some raw honey. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_04: 35:40

So I do defin definitely think raw honey has some some health promoting benefits to it, but I think it's all in context of how the person, number one, are they metabolically healthy and how are they using it? If they're just pouring honey on their tongue, it's gonna spike their glucose. It's still sugar. And people, I get the the feedback, well, it's natural, doctor, it's natural, but rocks are natural. Do we eat rocks?

SPEAKER_01: 36:02

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_04: 36:03

So it's all in context to this person's metabolic flexibility. I would prefer them use it over, you know, high fructose corn syrup. But if you're putting it in your morning tea, it's going to spike your glucose if you are insulin resistant.

SPEAKER_01: 36:17

And the last specific food I want to ask you about is uh oatmeal. We had a previous conversation about that. And you know, I did kind of looked it up, and gosh, uh, it reduces heart attacks and strokes, lowers cholesterol, reduces diet, a lot of good things, right? And uh so sign me up. But you know, it's interesting, you're not alone. This is I think it was Dr. Mark Hyman who was against oatmeal for the same reason. Uh and of course Dr. Gundry uh hates oatmeal. So uh I'm I'm trying to learn how I eat oatmeal and maybe I should cut it out. So enlighten me as to uh are are we really looking at this surrogate marker, insulin resistance, and and ignoring the other things like improved morbidity mortality?

SPEAKER_04: 36:52

So, I mean, I I am not the person that's dogmatic and saying you should never eat this, you should never eat this. We are very individual, okay? What what may you may tolerate, I may not. If we just look at oats, and again, it's all in the context. It's all in the context. If you are a healthy individual, you're very active, and you can find one that's glyph glyphosate free, and you don't have any reaction to phytates and lectins um and oxalates, then by all means. But it has been touted as this halo food. There's no protein to it, it's pure carbohydrate. It does have some fiber to it, but you can get fiber that doesn't spike your glucose. So I think that if you're going to have it, you don't need to be insulin resistant, number one. And I would have it in the presence of some protein, some Greek yogurt. Maybe you add some chia seeds to it, some hemp hearts to it. That that's that's my thought. Organic doesn't mean glyphosate free because the field could be next to some something that you know the wind blows, the water runs off, you can't stop the the bugs. But it's also in the amount. Anything that you you eat every single day, you can develop a sensitivity to. My best friend has eaten eggs and beef for three years. That's pretty much it. Now eggs have she she can't eat eggs. So it's not that eggs are bad, but they're just not she needs to take a break. Again, I know that's not a great answer. I personally don't eat oats. If that if you want my answer, I don't eat oats. I'm gonna I would eat eggs and bacon and sausage for breakfast before I would eat oats.

SPEAKER_01: 38:38

Okay, very good. Very good. Well, thank you for that answer.

SPEAKER_03: 38:41

Okay, another specific question for you, Shannon. What are your thoughts on artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose?

SPEAKER_04: 38:50

So calorie-free sweeteners, I'm gonna label them, do have a place, I believe. I think that again, I try not to be dogmatic about being in a perfect world because we would drive ourselves insane if we tried to be perfect. And so if you have somebody that's drinking regular soda and they can drink a diet, I think that's a win. Now, do I think diet sodas are healthy? I didn't say that, but I think if if if you you do things one step at a time, I do use natural sweeteners. I use monk fruit, I use stevia, and my favorite of all is something called allulose. And if you look at the benefits of allulose, it lowers glucose, it actually increases GLP1 production, it has some anti-inflammatory properties to it. So I am a fan of like stevia, monk fruit, allulose. I I do like sweet things, and so I use those. I tried to avoid sucralose because it crosses a blood-brain barrier. I mean, I've used it for years. I don't have a reaction to it, I don't have a problem with it. Would I would I drink something that had it? Sure, but I'm gonna try to, if if I have the power to control what I'm using, I will pick one of the natural ones.

SPEAKER_01: 40:02

Uh Shannon, uh, tell us briefly about the difference between sucrose, glucose, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup. Which ones are the worst and and where do you find those worst types?

SPEAKER_04: 40:10

High fructose corn syrup, by far the worst. Fructose is otherwise known as fruit sugar. So you'll find it predominantly in fruit. It does not get broken down, it goes straight into the liver. So you can actually cause fatty liver disease by eating too much fruit. Now, that doesn't really happen because nature is amazing and they've added quite a bit of fiber to fruit, so it's really hard for people to overeat fruit. But but if you drink pure fruit juice, yes, you're getting a blow of fructose. And the liver doesn't see that any different than alcohol. Glucose is what our energy uses, it's what our body uses, it's what's in our bloodstream. And sucrose is a combination of fructose and glucose. It is table sugar. One of them that we didn't talk about that I'll mention is agave because people think agave is, you know, this it got again, marketing is brilliant. It got touted as this natural, amazing sweetener because it doesn't raise glucose. Well, that's because the it's I think it's 80% fructose. The reason it doesn't go straight to the liver. So you're better off using sugar than you are agave because you're impacting your liver. Our liver gets beat up way too much. And when when you in you take in toxins or fructose or alcohol, that get m got the the liver deals away with that first because it's so toxic before it does what it it its normal job or or anything else.

SPEAKER_01: 41:39

So Shannon, do you consult with patients on an individual basis? I do. Yeah, wonderful. When you consult with them, is this sort of a one-size-fits-all approach or is everything very personalized to each patient?

SPEAKER_04: 41:49

It's very personalized. I am I'm a big fan of everybody's different. And I do give general recommendations because I do a lot of social media, a lot of educating to groups. So, you know, my my three to four step protocol, I teach to everybody. But the amount of carbs that go with that, the amount of exercise that goes with that, you know, certain supplements that go with that are are gonna be individualized.

SPEAKER_01: 42:12

And so you're also available to speak with groups and things like that, right? Oh, that's that's wonderful. Uh gosh, uh Shannon, you can have so much impact on people's lives. I think that you're just such a valuable resource. That sounds great. So when you see people coming in with you know stubborn weight gain and frank diet type 2 diabetes, are are you able to reverse those things? Yes. Isn't that wonderful?

SPEAKER_04: 42:32

Wow. No, I don't reverse them, they reverse them. I just guide them.

SPEAKER_01: 42:35

You you you guide them. That's just great.

SPEAKER_04: 42:38

I like to empower the person.

SPEAKER_01: 42:40

Just to be clear, people can have insulin resistance even if they have normal weight, right?

SPEAKER_04: 42:45

Correct. I had insulin resistance.

SPEAKER_01: 42:47

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_04: 42:48

I exercise regularly. I've never had a weight problem, blood pressure problem, but my lipids were through the roof. So if you you did my triglyceride to HDL ratio, it was insulin resistance.

SPEAKER_01: 43:01

We are in a whole new era. What's the role of uh things like wearables and uh uh a continuous glucose monitor and managing and detecting insulin resistance?

SPEAKER_04: 43:10

I think they're they're a great tool to show people the impact that what they're eating has on them. Because two people can be the exact same weight and eat the exact same thing and it do completely different things in their body.

SPEAKER_01: 43:25

And so if somebody's really motivated and sticks with your plan, how long does it take to see some change?

SPEAKER_04: 43:29

They'll see change right away, but but the time that it takes for them to reverse their insulin resistance depends on many factors. How r insulin resistant are they? How long have they been insulin resistance, and how many, how many symptoms are we looking at reversing?

SPEAKER_01: 43:44

So if somebody has insulin resistance or they think they might, what are the first steps they need to take tomorrow morning?

SPEAKER_04: 43:50

The first thing they can do is they can stop snacking. That's number one. They can get rid of ultra-processed foods. I think that that's by far the best. They can focus on eating, you know, more protein, more fiber, and less carbohydrates. They can walk 10 minutes after they eat.

SPEAKER_01: 44:11

Okay, and as we wrap this up, what are the most important and empowering messages you'd like to uh leave people with today?

SPEAKER_04: 44:17

Just because you have insulin resistance doesn't mean that that is your identity and that is your destiny. It is reversible. It's not genetic. It is up to you, it is in control, and it's not your fault. But if you want to change, you can change. And so it's it's I I just want to empower people to know that that you have the ability to take control of your health, get multiple opinions, ask questions, do research. Because you're diagnosed with it doesn't mean you have to live with it.

SPEAKER_01: 44:51

Okay, Shen, as we wrap things up, tell us how the folks can get in touch with you or find more about you.

SPEAKER_04: 44:56

Sure. I'll leave you a I'm on Facebook predominantly. I'm on Instagram, I'm on LinkedIn. I will leave you a link tree, which if they click that has all of my contact information as well as a link to the supplement to my favorite supplements.

SPEAKER_01: 45:12

And Shannon, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for being with us today. That was so informative. Uh I've been wanting to do this topic for a long time, and you're the perfect person to come along to do this on the podcast for us. Uh so thanks again, and that should do it for us.

SPEAKER_04: 45:25

Thank you so much for having me. It was it was my pleasure and honor.

SPEAKER_01: 45:28

All right. Take care, Shannon. Bye-bye now.

SPEAKER_03: 45:30

Bye. Well, that does it for this edition of Wellness Connection MD. Thank you so much for listening. I hope that we were able to share something that informed and inspired you today.

SPEAKER_01: 45:43

And if you like the show, then please help us by taking a moment to rate us on iTunes. These reviews really do make a difference for us.

SPEAKER_03: 45:50

Also, if you like the podcast, then take a moment today to let a friend know about it and help us spread the word about evidence-based, holistic, functional, and integrative medicine.

SPEAKER_01: 46:00

You know, we're trying to build a tribe of people who are passionate about holistic lifestyle, integrative, and functional medicine and optimal health, and we hope you'll join the tribe.

SPEAKER_03: 46:09

If you would like to reach out to us to comment on the show or to make recommendations for future topics, then please do so at drmcmin at yahoo.com.

SPEAKER_01: 46:19

If you'd like to view a complete transcript of the show, then go to McMinnMd.buzzsprout.com and you'll find it there. And now, coach, can you please leave us with one of your wonderful coach Lindsay Pearls of Wisdom?

SPEAKER_03: 46:31

Thanks, Dr. Mack. You know, I loved how Shannon um she closed with saying that insulin resistance is not an identity or a destiny. I thought that was really powerful. And I think another way of thinking about insulin resistance is it's an early warning from our bodies, one that we can listen to and address. And on that note, just to kind of leave you listeners with a bit of encouraging research, a 2020 research study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology found that even eight weeks of focused lifestyle change, so real food, movement, better sleep, those things improved insulin sensitivity by up to 40%. Um, so in other words, prevention is not only possible, but even in short periods of time, you can begin to see that. Um, your body listens and responds once we recognize that the alarms are going off.

SPEAKER_01: 47:28

You know, coach, I just love the concept of uh people being empowered. Um there are so many people that don't have to have obesity, they don't have to have diabetes. And you know, the diabetes is not just diabetes, diabetes is is dementia, heart failure, kidney disease. I mean, all sorts of badness, amputations, you name it. Um, and sexual dysfunction. We've got to tell the guys it causes sexual dysfunction. That way they'll really pay attention, right?

SPEAKER_03: 47:54

That will get attention.

SPEAKER_01: 47:56

But anyway, um, just kidding, folks. But uh, but yeah, I think everybody should be empowered that uh you can do something about it based on you know what Shannon has uh told us today. And of course, she's a wonderful resource. Please feel free to reach out to her. That should do it, for us, coach. Uh, this is uh Dr. McMahon signing up. And this is Coach Lindsay. Take care and be well.