Blood sugar is the master dial. If your energy crashes at 3pm, if the cravings run you, if the belly weight will not move no matter how clean you eat, this is not a willpower problem. It is a blood sugar problem, and it is fixable.
In this episode I break down blood sugar for women from the ground up: what glucose and insulin actually do, the six levers that throw them off, the full diabetes spectrum from prediabetes through Types 1 to 4 (including the lean, skinny fat Type 4 that surprised me), and the exact labs and CGMs to run. Then I give you my full stack across four pillars: nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, and peptides.
I also get into how the GLP-1s and the growth hormone peptides move your blood sugar in opposite directions, PMOS (the newly renamed condition you have known as PCOS) where insulin is the real root, and how to actually get a CGM here in Canada. If you want me to build this protocol with you, you can book a free call here.
What I talk about in this episode
- 00:00 Cold open: why blood sugar is the master dial
- 04:15 What blood sugar is: glucose and insulin
- 07:38 Lever 1: spikes, crashes, and cravings
- 11:31 Lever 2: insulin, belly fat, and fat storage
- 15:45 Lever 3: insulin resistance and HOMA-IR
- 19:17 Lever 4: glycation and your HbA1c
- 24:04 Lever 5: cortisol, how stress spikes sugar
- 26:29 Lever 6: your hormones, cycle, and perimenopause
- 34:16 The diabetes spectrum: prediabetes and Types 1 to 4
- 46:17 Symptoms: how to tell your blood sugar is off
- 48:03 Labs and CGMs, and how to get one in Canada
- 57:06 Pillar 1: nutrition to flatten the spike
- 1:13:55 Pillar 2: lifestyle, walking, muscle, sleep
- 1:18:45 Pillar 3: supplements (magnesium, inositol, berberine)
- 1:25:43 Pillar 4: peptides, GLP-1s, and PMOS
Questions I answer in this episode
- What is blood sugar and why does it matter for women?
- What is the difference between glucose and insulin?
- What is a normal versus optimal fasting glucose?
- What is a healthy fasting insulin level?
- What is insulin resistance and how do I know if I have it?
- What is glycation and how does sugar age my skin?
- What does my HbA1c actually tell me?
- How does stress and cortisol raise my blood sugar without food?
- Why does my blood sugar change across my cycle and in perimenopause?
- What is prediabetes and can I reverse it?
- What are Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4 diabetes?
- Can you be skinny and still insulin resistant?
- What are the symptoms of high and low blood sugar?
- Which labs should I run for metabolic health?
- How do I get a CGM in Canada, and can I use the Levels app here?
- What should I eat to flatten a glucose spike?
- Which supplements help blood sugar, like magnesium, inositol, and berberine?
- How do GLP-1 peptides like semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide work?
- Do growth hormone peptides raise blood sugar?
- What is PMOS, and how is it connected to insulin and blood sugar?
Resources mentioned
- Work with me one-on-one for a full blood sugar and hormone workup.
- Join The LongHer Life Longevity Community for women-specific guidance on peptides, hormones, and longevity.
- Plan your protocol with the Her Stack Planner.
- Find vetted sources in my Peptide Source Guide.
- Run your labs with SiPhox Health (code BRITTANY20), Function Health in the US, or NiaHealth in Canada.
- My clean minerals and electrolytes are Baja Gold (code BIOHACKINGBRITTANY).
- Ovii Metabolic Sync (code BIOHACKINGBRITTANY).
Let's connect
Come say hi on Instagram @biohackingbrittany and find everything at biohackingbrittany.com. Next week I am tackling stress and cortisol, because stress is sugar too.
This is for educational purposes only. This is not medical advice.