Monthly Archives: March 2025

If you’ve ever felt confused, frustrated, or even hopeless about your irregular cycles, you’re not alone. For many women, getting a period feels like playing hormonal roulette—you never know when (or if) it will show up. And for those with PCOS, it can feel even more out of control.

But what if I told you that your irregular cycles might not be a random mystery? What if there’s a very clear reason behind why your periods are all over the place—and better yet, something you can actually do about it?

Let’s talk about insulin.

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What a Normal Menstrual Cycle Looks Like

In a healthy, ovulatory cycle, your hormones follow a beautiful rhythm.

• Early in the cycle, FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) helps your follicles grow.
• Around mid-cycle, LH (luteinizing hormone) spikes and triggers ovulation.
• After ovulation, your ovaries produce progesterone, which helps prepare your uterus for a potential pregnancy and supports a healthy cycle.

This delicate dance of hormones only works if ovulation happens.

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What Happens in PCOS: Anovulatory Cycle

In PCOS, many women don’t ovulate regularly. And when there’s no ovulation, this whole hormonal rhythm falls apart.

• Instead of a clear LH surge, LH stays chronically high, which actually prevents ovulation.
• If you don’t ovulate, there is no egg to fertilize and pregnancy cannot occur.
• Without ovulation, progesterone never rises—leaving estrogen unopposed.
• This leads to irregular bleeding (or no bleeding at all), and symptoms like mood swings, bloating, and fatigue.

It’s not that your body is failing—it’s just overwhelmed by a deeper issue: insulin resistance.

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The Hormone Behind the Hormones: Insulin

Most people don’t associate insulin or their diet with their menstrual cycle. I was that person, even as a Registered Dietitian. But insulin is actually one of the most powerful hormones in your body, and it affects all the other hormones—including the ones that control your cycle.

When insulin levels are high:

• Your ovaries get stimulated to make more testosterone
• This throws off the balance of estrogen and progesterone
• Ovulation is disrupted (or doesn’t happen at all)
• Your cycle becomes long, unpredictable, or even absent

This is why insulin resistance is so common in women with PCOS. And it’s also why traditional hormone treatments (like birth control or Clomid) often miss the root cause.

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What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

If you’re insulin resistant—even if your blood sugar looks totally normal—you might notice:

• Irregular cycles (longer than 35 days)
• Skipping periods altogether
• Signs of high testosterone (like acne or facial hair)
• Fertility struggles
• Heavy bleeding (when periods do come)

It’s all connected. And insulin is often the missing piece of the puzzle.

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The Solution Isn’t More Hormones—It’s Lowering Insulin

You don’t fix irregular periods by covering them up with birth control. That might give you a fake, scheduled “period,” but it’s not solving the underlying issue.

If insulin resistance is the real problem, then lowering insulin is the real solution.

When insulin comes down:

• Testosterone levels drop
• Ovulation resumes
• Progesterone rises
• Cycles become regular
• Your body starts working with you again

This doesn’t happen overnight. It could take a few months for ovulation to return, but it’s absolutely possible.

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You Are Not Broken

It’s easy to feel like your body is working against you when your cycle is irregular or you’re not ovulating. But your body isn’t broken—it’s doing the best it can under difficult circumstances.

The good news is, you can change those circumstances.

By lowering insulin levels through A Low Insulin Lifestyle, you give your hormones the space to reset. You support ovulation naturally. And for many women, this is the missing key—not just for regular periods, but for better skin, better moods, and better chances of getting pregnant.

When most people hear the word “diabetes,” they think of glucose. But here’s the truth: diabetes isn’t a glucose problem—it’s an insulin problem.

Glucose is just the symptom. Insulin is the driver. Your blood sugar rises because insulin isn’t working properly—or there simply isn’t enough of it. If we want to understand, prevent, or reverse diabetes, we have to stop focusing only on blood sugar and start looking at insulin.

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The Different Types of Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes
This is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. People with Type 1 diabetes make little to no insulin and must take insulin injections to survive. It usually starts in childhood but can occur at any age.

Type 2 Diabetes
This is the most common form of diabetes. It happens when the body becomes resistant to insulin or the pancreas can’t keep up with insulin production (or both). Unlike Type 1, it’s often caused by lifestyle factors like diet, weight, and physical activity—but it’s also driven by genetics and other hormonal imbalances like PCOS.

Gestational Diabetes
This type of diabetes develops during pregnancy. Hormonal changes can make cells more insulin resistant, and if the pancreas can’t make enough insulin (or makes too much insulin that doesn’t work) to keep blood sugar in range, gestational diabetes occurs. It usually resolves after pregnancy but increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes later on.

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The Many Faces of Type 2 Diabetes

Not all cases of type 2 diabetes look the same. This is important because how your body is handling insulin can guide how to treat it. Here are the three common types I often explain to patients:

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The Workaholic Pancreas

This pancreas is overachieving. It pumps out tons of insulin just to keep blood sugar levels in the “normal” range. This can go on for years before blood sugar starts to rise—so you look “fine” on paper, even though your body is struggling behind the scenes.

What’s really happening?
Your body is becoming more insulin resistant, so the pancreas keeps pumping out more and more insulin to compensate. And insulin is a fat-storage hormone. The more insulin you make, the more likely you are to gain weight.

Key Traits:

• Very high insulin, normal glucose (early stages)
• Often overweight or struggling to lose weight
• Can go undiagnosed for years until the pancreas can’t keep up

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The Retired Pancreas

This pancreas used to be a workaholic—but after years of overproduction, it’s tired. It’s no longer making enough insulin to keep glucose in check. Blood sugar starts to rise. Interestingly, some people in this stage may begin to lose weight—but it’s not a healthy weight loss. It’s a result of insulin deficiency.

What’s really happening?
Your body may have been overweight for decades due to chronically high insulin. But as the pancreas loses function, insulin levels drop, and your body starts to break down muscle and fat—not because it’s healthy, but because it can’t process nutrients properly anymore.

Key Traits:

• • Long-standing insulin resistance
  • Declining insulin production
  • May begin to lose weight despite eating normally
  • Often signals late-stage Type 2 diabetes

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The Lazy Pancreas

This pancreas just doesn’t produce much insulin to begin with. These individuals tend to be naturally lean and may have trouble gaining weight. Their glucose can still rise because there’s not enough insulin to manage even a normal amount of carbs. Eastern Asian populations tend to struggle with a “Lazy Pancreas” because their pancreas can’t keep up with all the starch they eat. It’s also why they tend to be lean yet still have very high rates of type 2 diabetes.

What’s really happening?
These people are often misdiagnosed as having Type 1 diabetes or may be told they’re “the healthy type” because they’re thin. But their inability to make enough insulin creates its own problems, especially with blood sugar control.

Key Traits:

• Naturally lean or underweight
• Low insulin production
• Often misdiagnosed or overlooked
• Sometimes called LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults)

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What We’re Missing in Routine Testing

Here’s one of the biggest problems: all we do in standard medical care is test glucose and A1c. If those are normal, you’re sent on your way with a pat on the back and a “keep doing what you’re doing.”

But this is a false sense of security.

Very few doctors test fasting insulin. And even fewer know how to interpret it. So we wait until glucose is high to act—by then, insulin resistance has been raging silently for years, even decades.

By the time your blood sugar is elevated enough to be flagged as a problem, your pancreas has already been struggling to keep up for a long time. Silently damaging your organs, skin, and tissues.

We’re not testing early enough. And we’re not asking the right questions.

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The Problem with How We’ve Been Treating Diabetes

For decades, the medical approach to Type 2 diabetes has been centered around one thing: getting glucose down. But how do most medications do this? By increasing insulin levels—either by making your pancreas release more insulin or by injecting insulin directly.

Here’s the problem: you don’t fix insulin resistance by making more insulin.
You fix it by needing less insulin.

Raising insulin levels may get glucose numbers into the “normal” range, but it worsens the root problem: insulin resistance. It leads to more weight gain, greater dependence on insulin or medications, and, over time, worsened metabolic health—even if your A1c looks better.

The only class of medication that actually works with your body to reduce insulin levels is metformin. But even that can’t do the heavy lifting alone. What you eat every day matters far more.

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The Solution: Lower the Need for Insulin

Instead of trying to force your body to make more insulin, the smarter approach is to reduce the need for insulin in the first place.

This means:

• Eating foods that don’t spike insulin
• Giving your pancreas a break from constant insulin stimulation
• Helping your cells become more insulin sensitive

And that’s exactly what A Low Insulin Lifestyle does.

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The Bottom Line

Diabetes is an insulin problem with a glucose symptom.
If we keep treating the symptom and ignoring the root cause, we’ll never see real healing.

When we start focusing on insulin—understanding how much is needed, how resistant the body is, and what’s driving the demand—we finally take a step in the right direction. The good news? You can do something about it. And it starts with shifting the way we think. Don’t wait for your A1c to get too high. Ask for your insulin to be tested. Understand what stage you’re in. And take the steps now to change your path forward.

References

Yazbeck AS, et al. How Health Systems World-wide Fail Type 2 Diabetics. Health Syst Reform. 2025. Read more

We talk a lot about heart disease being the #1 killer, but not enough people are talking about why it happens. Sure, you’ve heard about cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even genetics—but there’s a missing piece. And that missing piece is insulin.

Most people think insulin is just about blood sugar and diabetes. But in reality, high insulin levels, even before blood sugar becomes a problem, affect every major system in your body—including your heart.

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The 1966 Warning We Ignored

Back in 1966, a study published in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals, identified elevated insulin levels as the strongest independent predictor of heart disease.

Yes, you read that right.

We’ve known for almost 60 years that high insulin levels are directly linked to heart disease, but most cardiologists today still don’t test fasting insulin. In fact, many of them don’t even know it can be measured.

Instead, we still treat symptoms like cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation—without ever asking what’s causing those issues in the first place.

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High Insulin and Blood Pressure

Insulin affects your kidneys and how they retain sodium. When insulin is elevated, your kidneys hold on to more sodium, which causes water retention and increases blood pressure. This is why people with insulin resistance often have salt sensitivity or feel bloated after salty foods.

But it’s not just about water retention. Insulin also tightens your blood vessels—literally making them narrower. This raises your blood pressure even further.

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High Insulin and Cholesterol

You may have been told that your cholesterol is high, especially your triglycerides. But high triglycerides are one of the strongest signs of insulin resistance. At the same time, insulin resistance tends to lower HDL—the “good” cholesterol—and increase the number of small, dense LDL particles, which are more dangerous than regular LDL.

So if your triglycerides are high and your HDL is low, it’s not just a cholesterol problem—it’s an insulin problem.

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High Insulin and Inflammation

Insulin is a growth hormone. When it’s chronically elevated, it causes low-grade inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation damages the lining of your blood vessels and sets the stage for plaque buildup and cardiovascular disease.

We often hear about “inflammation” as this vague thing you need to reduce. But insulin is one of the root causes—yet very few people are looking at it.

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The Silent Role of Insulin in Heart Attacks and Strokes

When you combine water retention, narrowed arteries, cholesterol changes, and inflammation, you get the perfect storm: increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Insulin is the common thread that runs through all of it.

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Why Aren’t We Testing for It?

That’s the million-dollar question.

There is no standardized range for insulin, and some labs still call levels in the 20s or even 30s “normal.” Many providers were never trained to look at insulin or understand its role outside of diabetes.

But insulin can be tested—and should be. Fasting insulin should be under 8 mIU/mL. Yet most people walking around with levels in the teens or twenties are told they’re “fine.”

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What You Can Do

• Ask your provider to test your fasting insulin and triglyceride-to-HDL ratio
• Focus on lowering insulin naturally with a Low Insulin Lifestyle
• Don’t just accept prescriptions for blood pressure or cholesterol without addressing the root cause

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The Bottom Line

If we truly want to prevent heart disease—not just manage it—then we have to start looking upstream at what’s causing all the damage in the first place.

And more often than not, that root cause is insulin.

It’s time to shift the conversation from cholesterol management to insulin management. Because that’s how you protect your heart.

References

Ormazabal V, et al. Association between insulin resistance and the development of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2018. Read more

Reaven G. Insulin resistance and coronary heart disease in nondiabetic individuals. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012. Read more

Adeva-Andany MM, et al. Insulin resistance is a cardiovascular risk factor in humans. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2019. Read more

These days, everyone’s talking about gut health. You’ve probably heard terms like:

• Leaky gut
• Gut dysbiosis
• Microbiome imbalance
• Healing your gut
• Boosting immunity through gut health
• Gut-brain axis

It’s everywhere—from supplement commercials to TikTok videos. And while some of it is based in truth, a lot of it misses one major point.

Before you reach for the next bottle of probiotics or a $60 gut powder, ask yourself this:

What’s actually damaging your gut in the first place?

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The Gut Isn’t the Problem—It’s the Victim

Your gut symptoms—bloating, irregular bowels, food sensitivities, brain fog, fatigue, skin issues, and more—aren’t always caused by a lack of something.

They’re often a reaction to something else.

More specifically? Chronic inflammation driven by insulin resistance.

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Insulin Resistance: The Hidden Trigger

Insulin resistance doesn’t just affect blood sugar. It creates system-wide inflammation that your body quietly deals with every day. Over time, that inflammation irritates and damages the gut lining, disrupts your microbiome, and throws off your entire digestive rhythm.

This is how it plays out:

• High insulin → Chronic inflammation
• Chronic inflammation → Damage to gut lining
• Damage to gut lining → “Leaky gut” + immune activation
• Immune activation → More inflammation
• Repeat

And somewhere along the way, your gut bacteria (aka your microbiome) also shift.
The healthy bacteria start to lose ground to the not-so-helpful ones. That’s what you’ve probably heard called gut dysbiosis.

But here’s the key: Your gut bacteria don’t change for no reason.
They shift in response to what they’re being exposed to every day—your food, your stress, your hormones… and yes, your insulin levels.

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It’s Not Just About Taking Probiotics

If your gut is inflamed and irritated, throwing more bacteria into the mix doesn’t fix the problem. In some cases, it might even make it worse.

Probiotics and prebiotics can be helpful after you’ve removed what’s harming your gut—but they won’t undo the damage if the damage is still happening.

So what’s causing that damage?

You guessed it: Chronically high insulin.

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The Gut-Brain Axis & Insulin

You may have heard of the gut-brain axis—the idea that your gut and your brain are in constant communication.

It’s true. What affects one affects the other.

Chronic insulin resistance has been linked to anxiety, depression, and cognitive issues. Why? Because the inflammation it causes doesn’t just affect the gut—it affects your brain, your mood, and even your ability to regulate stress and sleep.

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How to Heal Your Gut—Without Buying Another Supplement

Here’s the part no one wants to tell you: You don’t need to fix your gut with an expensive cleanse, probiotic, or drink made from fermented mushrooms.

You need to:

• Lower insulin
• Reduce chronic inflammation
• Eat foods that support your metabolism
• Let your body finally start to heal

When insulin is high, your gut lining stays inflamed.
When insulin is stable, your body finally has the chance to recover.

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A Low Insulin Lifestyle = A Gut-Healing Lifestyle

Once you begin lowering insulin levels:

• Bloating goes down
• Your digestion improves
• Food sensitivities often fade
• Your microbiome starts to balance itself—naturally
• You may notice better energy, better sleep, better skin, and fewer mood swings

And you did it without a cabinet full of powders, pills, and potions.

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Bottom Line

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of your gut. But if you’re spending all your time and money trying to “heal your gut” without ever addressing what’s hurting it in the first place, you’re missing the mark.

You can’t supplement your way out of a bad diet.

Fix the insulin. The rest will follow.

 

References

Shi N, et al. Pro-inflammatory and hyperinsulinemic dietary patterns are associated with specific gut microbiome profiles: a TwinsUK cohort study. Gut Microbiome (Camb). 2024. Read more

Zhang AMY, et al. Hyperinsulinemia in Obesity, Inflammation, and Cancer. Diabetes Metab J. 2021. Read more

Let’s get one thing out of the way first—alcohol is not a health food. It’s not helping your hormones. It’s not helping your liver. And it certainly isn’t helping your insulin levels. But life is also meant to be lived—and sometimes, that includes a glass of wine, a cocktail with friends, or a toast at a special event.

So the real question is: If you choose to drink, how can you do it in a way that’s least harmful to your metabolism? Let’s break it down.

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Alcohol and Insulin: What’s the Connection?

Alcohol can affect insulin levels in a few different ways. The biggest factor depends on what you’re drinking and what else you’re having with it. While alcohol itself doesn’t usually spike insulin dramatically, many of the mixers, added sugars, and carb-heavy cocktails do.

On top of that, alcohol impairs liver function, which is a huge deal—your liver is responsible for maintaining stable blood glucose levels. When alcohol is in your system, your liver prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol over managing blood sugar, which can lead to blood sugar crashes or unstable levels.

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What Alcoholic Beverages Spike Insulin?

Here are the main offenders:

• Beer: High in carbs and calories, beer is basically liquid bread.
• Sweet Wines: Moscato, dessert wines, and anything labeled “sweet” contains a lot of sugar.
• Cocktails with sugary mixers: Margaritas, daiquiris, and most mixed drinks are full of sugar (and often made with juice or syrup). Even the “skinny” ones are loaded with agave nectar.
• Hard ciders: Often labeled as gluten-free or “natural,” but they’re still loaded with sugar.

All of these drinks spike glucose and insulin levels. If you’re going to have a drink occasionally, these are best to avoid.

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What About “Healthier” Options?

Not all alcoholic drinks are created equal. Some are far less likely to spike insulin—especially when consumed in moderation and without sugary mixers.

Better Options:

• Dry red wine or dry white wine: Minimal sugar, and red wine in particular contains polyphenols like resveratrol that may have some health benefits.
• Spirits (vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey): These don’t contain carbs or sugar by themselves. Just be careful with what you mix them with.
• Mixers: Stick with soda water, a squeeze of lime, or a splash of lemon. Avoid juice, soda, tonic water, or anything labeled “mixer.”

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The Best Choices (If You’re Going to Drink)

If you’re choosing to have a drink now and then, these are your most insulin-friendly options:

• A glass of dry red wine (like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Merlot)
• Vodka or tequila with soda water and fresh lime. Zero sugar, zero carbs—just keep it simple.
• Whiskey or bourbon neat or on the rocks. No sugar, but be mindful of quantity.

Again, none of these are healthy. The point of this article is to help you make the best choices when you do decide to have a drink.

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A Word on Binge Drinking

Even if your drink is “insulin friendly,” drinking too much in one sitting causes major metabolic disruption. Binge drinking impairs liver function, disrupts sleep, worsens insulin resistance, and leads to poor food choices. So when you decide to imbibe, enjoy in moderation—not excess.

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My Personal Take

There’s been a lot of debate lately over whether any alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle. That’s something only you can decide. Personally, I come from an Italian family where wine is part of a meal, part of tradition, and part of life. I enjoy a glass of dry red wine occasionally, and I’m not going to stop. And I know I’m not less healthy because of it.

Enjoy the moments. Enjoy your life. And if alcohol is part of that once in a while, now you know how to do it in a way that works with your body—not against it.

From Teosinte to Today’s Corn

Corn is often romanticized as a wholesome, natural food—grilled at a barbecue, popped for movie night, or baked into chips labeled as “gluten-free” and “whole grain.” But the corn we eat today looks nothing like the plant it once was.

Corn started as a wild grass called teosinte, which was only about 2 inches long and had fewer than a dozen hard, inedible kernels. Over thousands of years, humans selectively bred it for size, sweetness, and yield. Today, a single ear of corn is about 10 inches long with hundreds of soft, starchy kernels. It’s one of the most aggressively engineered crops on the planet.

This transformation didn’t just change its size—it changed its impact on your health.

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A Grain Disguised as a Vegetable

Let’s clear this up: corn is not a vegetable. It’s a grain. And not just any grain—one of the highest-starch, highest-glucose grains in our modern food supply.

While it’s often lumped into the “vegetable” category, metabolically speaking, corn acts more like sugar. That’s because corn is mostly starch, and starch quickly breaks down into glucose. For someone who’s insulin resistant, that’s a huge metabolic load.

Even a small serving of corn—whether it’s on the cob, in a tortilla, or ground into cornmeal—can spike insulin and keep your body stuck in fat storage mode.

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The Hidden Corn in Our Food Supply

Here’s the scary part: corn isn’t just in corn. It’s everywhere.

From corn syrup and corn starch to corn oil and corn-based preservatives, it’s nearly impossible to avoid unless you’re actively trying. That’s because corn is one of the most heavily subsidized crops in the United States, making it cheap to produce and profitable to slip into everything from salad dressings to processed meats.

And if you’re buying conventionally raised meat, poultry, or fish, there’s a good chance those animals were fattened on—you guessed it—corn.

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Genetically Modified and Ultra-Processed

Over 90% of corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified (GMO) to increase yields and resist pests. That sounds like a good thing… until you realize the consequences.

The more corn was modified to meet modern demands, the more starch and sugar it contained. This ultra-processed crop has been fine-tuned for taste, texture, and shelf life—not for your metabolic health.

Even “organic” corn has been bred over centuries to be much higher in starch than the teosinte it came from. So even if you’re eating non-GMO or organic corn, your body still has to process a huge glucose load every time you eat it.

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But Isn’t Corn a Whole Grain?

Sure. But that doesn’t make it a good choice if you’re insulin resistant.

Just like wheat, corn in its “whole” form still packs a huge starch punch. Whether you’re eating corn tortillas, popcorn, or cornmeal muffins, you’re flooding your body with glucose. And for someone with glucose intolerance, that’s a problem.

Popcorn? It’s one of the highest glycemic index snacks out there.
Tortillas? One is basically like eating several sugar packets.
Cornbread? Might as well be cake.

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A Commodity Crop, Not a Health Food

Corn’s popularity didn’t grow because it was healthy—it grew because it was profitable. After World War II, corn became one of the most heavily subsidized crops in the U.S., leading to massive overproduction. That extra corn had to go somewhere… and it ended up in our food, drinks, animal feed, and gas tanks.

And because of all that surplus, we’ve been taught to think of corn as a healthy, wholesome staple. But when you look at it from a metabolic perspective, it’s one of the worst offenders for insulin resistance.

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Bottom Line

Corn has come a long way from its teosinte roots—but not in a good way. It’s now one of the most genetically altered, high-starch, and overused grains in our modern food supply. For someone with insulin resistance, it’s simply not worth the metabolic cost.

That doesn’t mean you need to panic over a tortilla chip now and then. But if you’re serious about lowering insulin and reversing insulin resistance, corn shouldn’t be a regular part of your diet—no matter how it’s marketed.

Wheat Hasn’t Always Looked Like This

When people say “we’ve been eating wheat for thousands of years,” it sounds reassuring. But in the grand scheme of human evolution, thousands of years is a blink of an eye. For 99% of human history, our ancestors didn’t eat grains at all—especially not the kind of wheat products lining grocery store shelves today.

The wheat we eat now isn’t anything like the wild grasses our ancestors may have encountered. Through domestication and natural selection, wheat was bred over time to be easier to harvest and process. And more recently, modern agriculture pushed this even further, selecting for traits that made wheat higher in starch, lower in fiber, and easier to grow in large-scale monocultures.

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From Goat Grass to Modern Bread Wheat

Wheat started out as a wild grass—barely recognizable as food. But over generations, humans selected the grains that were easier to thresh and gave higher yields. Through cross-breeding and eventually genetic modification, wheat evolved into the modern varieties we use today, like bread wheat (Triticum aestivum).

This type of wheat is extremely high in starch and very low in fiber compared to its ancient relatives like einkorn or emmer. Why? Because starch tastes good, has a long shelf life, and gives baked goods their light, fluffy texture. Unfortunately, this also means a huge glucose load with every serving.

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The Real Problem: A Starch Bomb

Even if some older varieties of wheat are “less processed” or “less modernized,” that doesn’t make them a good fit for someone who is glucose intolerant—which is exactly what insulin resistance is. If you have insulin resistance, your body struggles to handle glucose. And since starch turns into glucose in your body, eating wheat—whether it’s white, whole grain, sprouted, or ancient—is still a big insulin ask.

You don’t need to be eating loaves of bread to feel the effects, either. Even small servings can keep insulin levels elevated, prevent fat burning, and worsen symptoms of insulin resistance.

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But It’s “Whole” or “Ancient”… So It’s Healthy, Right?

Not exactly.

Yes, whole grains and ancient grains have slightly more nutrients and fiber than refined white flour. But don’t let the buzzwords fool you. They’re still mostly starch. And the metabolic impact on someone with insulin resistance isn’t minor—it’s significant. It’s like putting premium gas in a car that’s already got a broken engine. The fuel is slightly better, but the engine still can’t use it properly.

So while it might sound like a step in the right direction, it’s not enough for someone trying to improve insulin sensitivity.

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We Didn’t Evolve for a Starch-Based Diet

Our ancestors’ diets were based on hunting, gathering, and foraging. The foods they ate were high in fiber, low in starch, and nutrient-dense. Once agriculture began, grains entered the picture—but not in the quantities we see today. And certainly not in the form of sandwich bread, bagels, muffins, pasta, and crackers at every meal.

Your metabolism was never designed to process a constant stream of glucose all day long. But modern life is structured around meals and snacks made almost entirely of starch. It’s not your fault—it’s how our food system evolved.

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So, What’s the Bottom Line?

We all know we shouldn’t be eating processed wheat, but even though ancient wheat is often considered “healthy” by mainstream standards, if you are insulin resistant (and most people are), it simply isn’t a good fit. Your body doesn’t need more glucose—it needs less. And the idea that whole or ancient grains are safe alternatives is based on outdated thinking that doesn’t consider the realities of glucose intolerance.

This doesn’t mean you’re never allowed to eat a slice of bread again. But it does mean making intentional, informed choices about how much starch your body can handle. For people with insulin resistance, that threshold is usually pretty low.

Dairy is everywhere. From childhood, we’re told to drink milk for strong bones, and it’s a key part of school lunches and dietary guidelines. But have you ever stopped to ask why? Was dairy always a crucial part of the human diet, or is there a bigger story behind how it became a daily staple?

The truth is, dairy has never been a necessary food for human survival. While some cultures historically consumed dairy in small amounts, it was far from a global necessity. In fact, most of the world is lactose intolerant. So why do we see dairy as essential today? The answer has more to do with politics, economics, and government subsidies than nutrition.

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How Dairy Was Consumed Historically

Before refrigeration, dairy consumption was limited. Fresh milk spoiled quickly, so most dairy was consumed in fermented forms like cheese, yogurt, or butter. In colder regions, people drank milk more often because they could store it longer, but in warmer climates, it was rare.

Historically, dairy was a supplemental food—not the main source of nutrition. No one was drinking giant glasses of milk with every meal. Fast forward to modern times, and the dairy industry has completely reshaped how we view milk, convincing us it’s a daily essential when, in reality, humans never needed it to thrive.

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World War II: The Birth of Dairy Subsidies

Dairy didn’t become a major part of American diets for nutritional reasons—it was an economic solution to a wartime problem. During World War II, the Steagall Amendment of 1941 was passed to ensure the country had enough food for both civilians and soldiers. This amendment guaranteed price support for commodities like milk, encouraging farmers to ramp up dairy production to supply troops with extra calories.

But when the war ended, dairy production didn’t slow down. Farmers were still producing enormous amounts of milk, cheese, and butter—but now, there weren’t millions of soldiers needing the extra calories. The government had a massive surplus of dairy, and instead of cutting production, they needed to find a way to get rid of it.

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The Agricultural Act of 1949: The Dairy Industry Safety Net

To prevent dairy prices from crashing, the Agricultural Act of 1949 required the U.S. government to buy excess dairy products to stabilize the market. This meant billions of pounds of milk, cheese, and butter were purchased with taxpayer dollars—products that had to be stored or redistributed somewhere.

This led to two major programs:

• The Special Milk Program (1954) – The Special Milk Program was designed as a form of agricultural subsidy to dairy farmers by means of raising milk consumption among school children.
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) (1981) – Excess dairy was distributed to low-income communities and food banks and referred to as “Government Cheese.”

At the same time, the government actively promoted milk consumption to ensure there was always a steady demand for dairy. This wasn’t about health—it was about economics.

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Government Cheese: The Solution to a Dairy Surplus

By the 1980s, the dairy surplus was so massive that the government was storing over 500 million pounds of cheese in underground caves in states like Missouri and Wisconsin. Since they couldn’t just throw it away, they distributed it to schools, food banks, and low-income families as “Government Cheese“—a processed cheese product made from powdered milk, soybean oil, and artificial flavoring. It wasn’t real cheese, but it was cheap and easy to store. Today we know it as American Cheese.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the government distributed millions of pounds of this cheese to to clear out the surplus. Today, there are still millions, if not billions, of pounds of government cheese stored underground in facilities in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota.

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Dairy in the Food Pyramid: A Business Decision, Not a Health One

The government’s solution to the dairy surplus didn’t stop with Government Cheese. The 1992 USDA Food Pyramid—which told Americans to drink three servings of milk per day—wasn’t based on health research, but on economic necessity.

Dairy was heavily promoted in public schools, with milk being a required part of school lunch programs. The WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program also strongly encouraged milk consumption, not necessarily for health benefits, but to help farmers sell excess dairy.

Even today, WIC recipients receive milk vouchers, reinforcing the idea that dairy is essential. But the truth is, the push for dairy has always been an economic decision, not a nutritional one.

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The Dairy Industry Today: From Surplus to Whey Protein and Additives

Despite all these efforts, dairy surpluses still exist. Over time, the industry adapted by turning surplus dairy into whey protein, food additives, and processed ingredients.

Whey, once considered a waste product, is now marketed as a protein supplement. Many processed foods contain milk derivatives to use up excess dairy production. The dairy industry has found ways to ensure that milk remains a part of nearly every food category.

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Dairy Isn’t Inherently Bad, But It’s Not Necessary

Dairy itself isn’t evil. It can be a part of a balanced diet for those who tolerate it. However, the reality is that dairy is designed for newborns.

Milk contains potent growth hormones like insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) that help newborns grow rapidly. That’s its biological purpose—to promote fast growth in infants. When adults consume dairy in large amounts, they are exposing themselves to hormones that drive growth, which can lead to unwanted health effects like:

• Increased IGF-1 levels, which have been linked to cancer
• Higher insulin levels, promoting weight gain and metabolic issues
• Increased inflammation as a result of elevated insulin levels

For people with insulin resistance, PCOS, or other metabolic conditions, dairy is problematic—especially in unfermented forms like milk, cottage cheese, and whey protein.

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The Bottom Line: Dairy Was a Business Decision, Not a Nutritional One

If you love dairy and tolerate it well, you don’t have to eliminate it. But it’s important to understand that the heavy push for dairy wasn’t because of its health benefits—it was because of economic and political policies that shaped the American food system.

Milk, cheese, and other dairy products were promoted to solve a wartime surplus problem, not because our bodies require them. And even today, government policies continue to encourage dairy consumption to keep the industry afloat.

You don’t need milk for strong bones, and you certainly don’t need three servings of dairy a day. The idea that dairy is essential was driven by economics, not health. One thing is for sure—milk helps a body grow, and that includes more than just your bones.

Few topics in nutrition have become as highly debated—or even political—as seed oils. What should be a simple conversation about health and science has turned into a heated battle between those who claim seed oils are essential for heart health and those who believe they are one of the biggest drivers of chronic disease.

But here’s the thing: it shouldn’t be political. The conversation about seed oils should be based on facts, not agendas. And the reason it’s become so contentious is that the debate has been framed as an all-or-nothing choice between two extremes—one side argues we should be cooking with seed oils, while the other insists that beef tallow (rendered beef fat) is the answer. The truth is, both are wrong.

Seed oils are highly processed and have led to unintended health consequences, but that doesn’t mean the answer is frying everything in beef tallow—especially when most of that beef comes from factory-farmed sources loaded with inflammatory compounds. Instead of choosing between two extremes, we need to focus on natural, minimally processed fats that support our health.

To understand why this matters, we need to look at where seed oils came from, how they’re made, and what they’re actually doing to the body.

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The History of Seed Oils: A Solution to a Problem That Didn’t Exist

Seed oils haven’t always been a part of the human diet. In fact, for most of history, they didn’t even exist in our food supply. So how did we go from cooking with butter, tallow, olive oil, and coconut oil to drowning in soybean, canola, and corn oil?

The Rise of Industrialized Oils

The rise of seed oils can be traced back to the early 1900s, when food manufacturers were looking for cheaper, mass-producible alternatives to traditional fats. This was the era of industrial food production, and the goal was simple: create shelf-stable, cost-effective fats that wouldn’t spoil.

• Cottonseed oil was one of the first. Originally a toxic byproduct of the cotton industry, it was chemically processed and deodorized to make it “safe” for human consumption. This eventually became Crisco, the first commercial seed oil product marketed as a replacement for lard and butter.
• Soybean oil took off during World War II when the U.S. needed a cheap, abundant oil source. The surplus of soy was refined into oil, and margarine and vegetable oil blends became common household staples.
• Corn, canola, and safflower oils soon followed as cheap, shelf-stable oils that could be mass-produced and added to everything from baked goods to salad dressings.

At the time, this seemed like a win—a cheap, stable fat source that could replace the “unhealthy” saturated fats people had been cooking with for generations. But there was one problem: humans had never consumed these oils in such large amounts before.

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How Are Seed Oils Made? A Highly Processed Nightmare

If you’ve ever wondered how you get oil out of something like corn, soybeans, or cottonseeds—seeds that don’t naturally contain much oil—the answer is a heavily industrialized process.

Step-by-Step Process of Making Seed Oils:

1. Harvesting & Grinding – The seeds are first collected and ground into a fine powder.
2. Chemical Solvent Extraction – The ground seeds are then mixed with a harsh chemical solvent, usually hexane, to pull out as much oil as possible. (Hexane is a petroleum-based chemical that is also used in gasoline production.)
3. High-Heat Processing – The extracted oil is subjected to high temperatures (up to 450°F) to remove impurities. This destroys many of the natural nutrients and creates harmful oxidized compounds.
4. Chemical Deodorization – Since seed oils naturally smell rancid, they are treated with bleaching and deodorizing agents to remove the unpleasant odor and make them palatable.
5. Preservative Additives – To keep them from spoiling, they are stabilized with synthetic antioxidants like BHT and BHA, which have been linked to various health concerns.

By the time these oils reach your plate, they are far from natural. This is why they have been called “rancid industrial sludge” by some experts.

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The Omega-6 Problem: Inflammation on a Plate

One of the biggest issues with seed oils is their high omega-6 fatty acid content. While omega-6 fats are essential in small amounts, the modern diet has become dangerously unbalanced—with most people consuming way too much.

Why is Omega-6 a Problem?

• Omega-6 and Omega-3 Need to Be in Balance – Traditionally, our ancestors ate an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of about 1:1 or 2:1. Today, due to seed oils, that ratio is closer to 20:1 or even 30:1.
• Excess Omega-6 Fuels Chronic Inflammation – When omega-6 levels are too high, they promote the production of inflammatory cytokines that can contribute to everything from heart disease to autoimmune conditions and insulin resistance.
• They Oxidize Easily – Because seed oils are chemically unstable, they break down when heated, forming toxic byproducts like aldehydes, which are linked to cell damage, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The real irony? Seed oils were promoted as “heart-healthy” alternatives to saturated fats, but that could not have been more untrue.

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Why Were Saturated Fats Replaced With Seed Oils?

In the mid-20th century, saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, and animal fats were blamed for heart disease. The infamous “Diet-Heart Hypothesis” led to government recommendations that people reduce saturated fat intake and replace it with vegetable oils.

The problem? This advice was based on flawed research and never actually proved that saturated fat caused heart disease.

It was never the saturated fat itself that was the problem—it was what the saturated fat was being eaten with. When researchers looked at diets high in saturated fat, they weren’t studying people eating grass-fed steak with roasted vegetables or pasture-raised pork with sautéed greens. Instead, they were looking at people eating burgers between two slices of bread, pork wrapped in a tortilla, or a steak dinner served with a baked potato, dinner rolls, and a side of fries. The problem wasn’t the fat—it was the combination of fat and starch or sugar.

Yet instead of questioning the starch and sugar that were part of these meals, the focus became removing the saturated fat. That’s how we ended up with seed oils replacing butter, lard, and tallow—without ever addressing the real issue.

We now know that sugar, starch, and imbalanced omega-6 intake are the real culprits behind chronic disease—not naturally occurring fats.

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What Should You Use Instead? The Right Fats for Your Health

If seed oils are out, what should you cook with? Stick to fats that are natural, stable, and minimally processed.

The Best Oils and Fats to Use:

1. Olive Oil – One of the best sources of monounsaturated fats, packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Always choose extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil to avoid refined versions.
2. Avocado Oil – High in monounsaturated fats and stable at high heat, making it great for cooking and roasting.
3. Coconut Oil – A highly saturated fat that is very stable for high-heat cooking. Contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are easily converted into energy.
4. Grass-Fed Butter & Ghee – If tolerated, butter and ghee from grass-fed cows provide fat-soluble vitamins and a rich, natural flavor for cooking. This is a less ideal fat choice, but can be used in moderation.

The bottom line? Ditch the industrial oils that have been pushed on us for decades and return to the fats humans have thrived on for generations. Your body (and your metabolism) will thank you.

Most diets come with a long list of forbidden foods, making them feel impossible to stick to long-term. But the Low Insulin Lifestyle isn’t about restriction—it’s about sustainability. That’s why red wine and dark chocolate are included in moderation. They’re not “cheat” foods. They’re part of a balanced approach that allows you to enjoy life while keeping insulin levels in check.

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Red Wine: A Glass, Not a Bottle

There has been a lot of conflicting research lately on whether any alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Some studies suggest even small amounts could have negative effects, while others highlight potential benefits. That’s a question only you can answer for yourself.

Personally, I come from an Italian family, and I love to enjoy a glass of red wine with a meal. It’s not something I plan to give up, and I know I am not any less healthy because of it.

From a metabolic standpoint, red wine can fit into a Low Insulin Lifestyle because it doesn’t spike insulin the way other alcoholic beverages do. It also contains polyphenols, including resveratrol, which have been studied for their heart health benefits.

However, not all wine is created equal. Stick to dry red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Merlot, as they have the lowest sugar content. Avoid sweet wines like Moscato, Port, or dessert wines, which contain high amounts of residual sugar and will spike insulin just like any other sugary drink.

Moderation is key. A 5-ounce glass a few times per week is perfectly fine. More than that, and alcohol can start to interfere with metabolic health, liver function, and sleep.

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Dark Chocolate: The Right Kind Matters

If there’s one thing people are thrilled to hear, it’s that dark chocolate isn’t off-limits. The key is choosing the right kind.

Dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, plant compounds that have been shown to support heart health, reduce inflammation, and even improve insulin sensitivity. But most commercial chocolate is loaded with milk, sugar, and additives—which cancels out the benefits.

To keep chocolate insulin-friendly:

• Choose 75% cacao or higher. The higher the cacao content, the lower the sugar.
• Stick to 1 ounce per day. A few squares are enough to enjoy the benefits without overdoing it.
• Avoid milk chocolate and chocolate with added sugar. These will spike insulin just like any other sugary treat.

If you’re looking for a little variety, cacao nibs are a great alternative. They’re pure cacao with no sugar, meaning you get all the benefits without the insulin spike.

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Why These Work for Long-Term Sustainability

One of the biggest reasons people fail on strict diets is that they feel too restrictive. They go all-in, cut out everything, and then struggle to maintain it. Including red wine and dark chocolate in moderation makes this lifestyle feel sustainable. You don’t have to feel like you’re constantly “missing out” or depriving yourself.

This is why Lilli isn’t a diet—it’s a way of life. When you make smart, intentional choices that fit within your metabolic needs, you get the best of both worlds: better health and the ability to enjoy the things you love.