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In this episode, Dr. Cheryl takes a deep dive into the topic of intermittent fasting, including:

• Its role in the risk for diabetes and other chronic diseases
• How to know if you are insulin resistant, and how to improve your insulin sensitivity
• The latest research that has many wellness professionals questioning how beneficial it really is to skip breakfast and extend the fasting window (spoiler: it isn’t as beneficial as commonly thought!)
• How to build a plate that keeps you full for four hours, balances blood sugar, improves insulin sensitivity and optimizes overall health

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Today’s episode is all about blood sugar today and balancing blood sugar – and understanding the role that insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity plays in everything from weight loss to the risk of chronic disease.

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And that also brings up the topic of intermittent fasting, which is the practice of going longer between meals and eating windows. In many cases, people extend their fast by skipping breakfast – but a new study brings some interesting ideas and research to light about the effect of intermittent fasting on disease risk and management.

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Note: you can read more about the study here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12321355/Is-jig-intermittent-fasting-Skipping-breakfast-RAISE-risk-diabetes-global-study-suggests.html

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This global study suggests that skipping breakfast may actually raise the risk of diabetes, which is the opposite of what so many have believed. And of course, the discussion around intermittent fasting has changed over the years: for a long time, we were told that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Then we were told that extending our fasting window was the healthiest option. And now that seems to be up for debate once again.

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Diabetes is a chronic condition, where the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin OR resists insulin. And insulin is the hormone that regulates the amount of glucose – aka sugar – in the blood. If your blood sugar is too high, you can experience serious health consequences, and that’s why diabetes is such an important thing for us to all watch out for.

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For a little more detail: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune response that happens when our pancreas is not making any insulin. Let's put that in a whole different bucket – someone with Type 1 diabetes will be insulin dependent their whole life, and will get injections to help manage their disease.

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Type 2 diabetes is an insulin resistance problem, and is often treatable, manageable and reversible by lifestyle changes. With Type 2 diabetes, my pancreas would be making insulin, but I’m becoming insulin resistant from eating a lot of processed sugar and snacks, etc.

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So, it really comes down to insulin resistance, and how to improve our insulin sensitivity. When you improve your insulin sensitivity, you also improve your diabetes risk factor.

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My passion for understanding studies like this, and for helping patients and really anyone who needs science-backed information, is what led me to do my Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition. Nutrition science can be so difficult to interpret, but it’s so important.

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Here’s another way to think about it: insulin is the gatekeeper to the cell. It's how we transport and get the cell sensitive to bring glucose into the cell – so when we eat food, we're all definitely trying to fuel the cell. That's the reason we're eating – we need to fuel the cell and fuel our body so that we have energy. And our goal is to not experience an energy slump or cravings.

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If we don’t get the right fuel from the gut into the blood, our blood sugar levels are off – and we want our bodies to be smoothly operating machines.

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Let’s take it a step further and talk about how we can build a plate of food that keeps us full, balances blood sugar, improves insulin sensitivity and optimizes overall health.

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The biggest symptoms of insulin resistance are weight gain and the feeling of constantly being hungry all the time (even when you just ate). So in my membership program (Dr. Cheryl+), I help people reconnect to their hunger cues and understand how to find post-meal peace. This is when you eat a balanced plate of food that helps you feel full for hours – with no cravings or hunger pangs in, say, four hours after eating.

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Building the perfect plate really is a simple formula – and you can still love the food you’re eating!

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So, listen to the episode and get all of the details – plus, my thoughts on whether wearing a continuous glucose monitor may be helpful as you get to know how your blood sugar reacts to foods you eat.