WEBVTT - Summer series: Are you metabolically healthy? 

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<v Speaker 1>Oh hello and welcome to Healthy Ish and at Big

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<v Speaker 1>Happy New Year. You have tuned into the podcast from

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<v Speaker 1>Body and Soul. I am your host of Felicity Harley

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<v Speaker 1>to inspire your twenty twenty five. We're actually dropping the

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<v Speaker 1>top Healthyish episodes from last year and this one is

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect one to kick start your best new year.

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<v Speaker 1>Naturopathic doctor, women's health expert and author of book The

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<v Speaker 1>Metabolism Reset, Lara Brydon joined us in the studio to

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<v Speaker 1>help us make sense of metabolic health, including signs of

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<v Speaker 1>metabolic inflexibility and what to do about it, what to

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<v Speaker 1>eat and daly habits to improve it. Now, if you

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<v Speaker 1>want some more inspo for the new year, listening to

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<v Speaker 1>extra healthy Ish, where she discusses signs you might be

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<v Speaker 1>insulin resistant, you can search for that podcast. Well rerever

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<v Speaker 1>get your podcasts. Laura, Welcome to Healthy Ish, Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>having me, and well done on your new book.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>It's how do I describe this? It's just packed with

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<v Speaker 1>so much good info and I feel like it's that

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<v Speaker 1>put down, pick up kind of book. And so I

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<v Speaker 1>guess that it took a long time to write.

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<v Speaker 2>It did about about a year and a half with

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<v Speaker 2>some input from various other experts from which I'm very grateful.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Well, there is one question that jumped down that

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to answer for me, and that was

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<v Speaker 1>from your husband, yerhaps expert, perhaps not, and he asked,

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<v Speaker 1>in what way is metabolic health different from just health?

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<v Speaker 2>I know, think of it this way. Metabolic health is

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<v Speaker 2>about yourselves having all the energy they need to do

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<v Speaker 2>whatever it is they need to do. So good underlying

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<v Speaker 2>metabolic health can support healthy immune system, healthy digestion, healthy

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<v Speaker 2>mental health. There's actually a big metabolic mental health movement

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<v Speaker 2>going on at the moment, and healthy female hormone health.

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<v Speaker 2>And so that's the bridge from my previous work because

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<v Speaker 2>my real passion is menstruation, perimenopause, female hormones. And from

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<v Speaker 2>twenty five years of working with patients, plus writing my

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<v Speaker 2>other two books, I was able to see quite clearly

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<v Speaker 2>that metabolic health can be a major factor in women's health.

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<v Speaker 1>How can you tell, I mean, in a nutshell, I

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<v Speaker 1>suppose if you're metabolically healthy or unhealthy? Because we can't

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<v Speaker 1>look at ourselves, so what are some size exactly?

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<v Speaker 2>You can't actually zoom in and ask your metochondria or

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<v Speaker 2>the parts of your cells. I mean that would be

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<v Speaker 2>notice you do it and getting enough energy today, but

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<v Speaker 2>you can feel whether you're getting enough energy. So one

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<v Speaker 2>of the first signs of something called metabolic inflexibility as

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<v Speaker 2>opposed to metabolic flexibility is being less able to access

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<v Speaker 2>your own body fat stores for energy, and that can

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<v Speaker 2>lead to finding it very difficult to go between meals

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<v Speaker 2>without reaching for a snack. That's a common experience. That's

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<v Speaker 2>not someone's fault. That's the fact that their bodies, all

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<v Speaker 2>the nuts and bolts of metabolism, are not able to

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<v Speaker 2>tap into that energy source the way they should be.

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<v Speaker 2>And of course that's reversible. So that's the point of

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<v Speaker 2>the book, is to return to a place where you

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<v Speaker 2>can access your body fat stores for energy. The other aspect,

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<v Speaker 2>important aspect of metabolic dysfunction is having something called insulin resistance.

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<v Speaker 2>I know from experience with my patients and my followers,

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<v Speaker 2>and everyone half tunes out when they hear that term.

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<v Speaker 2>It needs a rebranding, but it.

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<v Speaker 1>Does doesn't because it sounds very sciencey and oh, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't even want to think of I know that, how

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<v Speaker 1>would you rebrand it?

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's something in the word resistance that people

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<v Speaker 2>feel immediately that sounds hard. Yes, So insulin resistance is

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<v Speaker 2>the state of having chronically elevated levels of the hormone insulin.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the most important downstream effects of that is insulin.

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<v Speaker 2>Chronically elevated insulin impairs fat burning and makes it difficult

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<v Speaker 2>for all the parts of your body that are trying

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<v Speaker 2>to get access to your body fat stores to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>So it is about trying to get insulin down. So

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<v Speaker 2>maybeally elevated insulin might be another term for it.

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<v Speaker 1>That sounds a bit more serious.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess it does.

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<v Speaker 1>Does That could be a good thing.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, But people are familiar with having high cortisol, for example,

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<v Speaker 2>they think, oh, yes, high cordisol. That's a thing that

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<v Speaker 2>sounds bad. It's actually high cordisol is related to high insulin.

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<v Speaker 2>High insulin helps communicate a bit more what's going on,

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<v Speaker 2>and of course, untreated, it can progress to pre diabetes

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<v Speaker 2>and eventually type two diabetes. It's also called metabolic syndrome

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<v Speaker 2>in the science. When I was looking at all the

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<v Speaker 2>old papers around this. When metabolic syndrome was first described,

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<v Speaker 2>the original experts called it insulin resistant syndrome. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>that central and I agree we should go back to that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, metabolic syndrome is the cluster of high blood pressure,

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<v Speaker 2>high tricoly strides or cholesterol, and potentially weight gain around

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<v Speaker 2>the middle. People can have insulin resistance without having really

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<v Speaker 2>noticeable weight gains. So there is this disconnect between just

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<v Speaker 2>body size and what's going on metabolically, which I hope

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<v Speaker 2>I've managed to communicate in the book. And the weight

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<v Speaker 2>associated with insulin resistance is inside the abdomen. It's like,

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<v Speaker 2>it's not the soft kind weight fat you can see

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<v Speaker 2>on the outside of your body. It's deep inside and

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<v Speaker 2>it sort of can feel like a like a hardness

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<v Speaker 2>under the ribcage or sort of a thickening through the waist.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's your I mean, is what's your advice around

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<v Speaker 1>determining whether you're insulin resistance as a matter of just

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<v Speaker 1>going getting you know, triglycerides tested, cholesterol, et cetera, et cetera,

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<v Speaker 1>Is that the first stop.

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<v Speaker 2>Triglysrides are an excellent starting place. I was just I

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<v Speaker 2>just read a Twitter thread this morning just saying, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>don't hor complicate things. High triglysrides are a really good

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<v Speaker 2>surrogate biomarker. For insulin resistance, but I dedicated a whole

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<v Speaker 2>chapter two testing, so I talk about some other common

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<v Speaker 2>tests that people might already have on their reports from

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<v Speaker 2>their GP. You can also measure the hormone insulin, and

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<v Speaker 2>I talk about that in the book. But just an

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<v Speaker 2>important takeaway is that having a normal blood glucose or

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<v Speaker 2>a normal what's called HbA one C cannot rule out

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<v Speaker 2>insulin resistance.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh interesting, Yeah, Actually I just wore a CGM for

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<v Speaker 1>a few weeks, a continuous glucose master, because I was

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<v Speaker 1>really I mean, I love trying everything, and I just

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to see whether you know what my insulin was

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<v Speaker 1>doing and how my blood sugar levels were when I

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<v Speaker 1>after I ate. Do you think that's a good thing

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<v Speaker 1>or right?

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<v Speaker 2>So that's measuring glucose yep, sorry, insulin. Yes, a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people do kind of conflict.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh there we go. Yes, I just completely joined.

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<v Speaker 2>Thereat too importantly with insulin resistance. With chronically elevated insulin,

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<v Speaker 2>people can and do have episodes of low blood sugar.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh interesting, So it's not synonymous with high blood sugar.

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<v Speaker 2>I talk a little bit about the cgms or the

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<v Speaker 2>continuous glucose monitors in the book. I think if people

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<v Speaker 2>are interested and can afford it and want to put

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<v Speaker 2>it in the right context, it can be a tool.

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<v Speaker 2>But there's lots of ways to assess metabolic health and

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<v Speaker 2>get healthier without having to go that route.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I just want to mention something else in your

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<v Speaker 1>book that I actually really enjoyed and think is really valuable.

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<v Speaker 1>And you talk a lot about taking the shame out

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<v Speaker 1>of well metabolic dysfunction and that it's not our fault.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you expand on this.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, it started three generations ago because of something called epigenetics,

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<v Speaker 2>which is we've only discovered we only known about epigenetics

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<v Speaker 2>for twenty five or thirty years. It's the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>what we're exposed to in terms of food and stress

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<v Speaker 2>levels and toxins, we can pass on to our offspring.

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<v Speaker 2>So something changed with the food supply about anywhere between

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<v Speaker 2>fifty to seventy years ago, and we're now seeing an

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<v Speaker 2>amplifying of that. Every generation is born with a greater

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<v Speaker 2>risk of insulin resistance compared to the generation before. And

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<v Speaker 2>of course that doesn't mean it's written in still and

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<v Speaker 2>people can still do something about it and still reverse it.

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<v Speaker 2>But of course the scientists are scrambling to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>what went wrong with the food environment. I dedicate a

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<v Speaker 2>chapter to that to try to survey all the different possibilities.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think you take the just takes a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of the guilt, the self guilt out of But I

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<v Speaker 1>can't make healthy decisions all the time. Well no, because

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<v Speaker 1>in this environment where signs are shouting at us, prices

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<v Speaker 1>are low. You know, there's not enough fresh fruit and

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<v Speaker 1>veggies around us.

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<v Speaker 2>And another takeaway, one of the most important symptoms of

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<v Speaker 2>metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance is feeling abnormally hungry, like

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<v Speaker 2>abnormally high hunger. So given that's a common almost everyone

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<v Speaker 2>who has insulin resistance is probably going to have that symptom.

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<v Speaker 2>Given that fact, how cool is it that we just

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<v Speaker 2>tell people to try to eat less?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, cruel? Now, just quickly before we go, what's one

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<v Speaker 1>key thing we should all be doing today to improve

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<v Speaker 1>our metabolic health?

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<v Speaker 2>What I do isn't necessarily what's going to work for

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<v Speaker 2>every single person. I mean I just as an example,

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<v Speaker 2>I was thinking about this this morning. I often try

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<v Speaker 2>to have leftover dinner for breakfast, like I have meat

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<v Speaker 2>for breakfast, just because I find that really stabilizes my

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<v Speaker 2>energy throughout the day, and I personally enjoy walking and yoga,

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<v Speaker 2>but that's not the right fit for everybody, so I guess,

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<v Speaker 2>as you know, the book is a troubleshooting manual to

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<v Speaker 2>try to find what are the next best steps for

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<v Speaker 2>each individual person. But a really simple one that probably

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<v Speaker 2>everyone needs to do if they're not doing it already,

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<v Speaker 2>is to cook at home most of the time.

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<v Speaker 1>And I know that's hard but doable. Alara, thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for coming on healthy Ish. Thank you, Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to this interview. As part of our twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four summer series. There are plenty more awesome epps for

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<v Speaker 1>your ears, both from healthy Ish and our big sister podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Extra healthy Ish. If you did like this interview, please

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<v Speaker 1>take you quick minute to share it with a friend.

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<v Speaker 1>If you do want any other info, head to body

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<v Speaker 1>andsoul dot com dot you follow us on socials. Any

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<v Speaker 1>feedback please dm me at Felicity Harley and until tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy the sun and stay healthy is