#284 - Glucose metabolism explained: HbA1c, insulin resistance, and strategies for better energy | Dr. Ben Bikman & Mike Haney
LEVELS – A Whole New LevelShow Notes
If you want to improve your energy and long-term health, start by understanding how your body uses glucose.
In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Benjamin Bikman, scientist and author of Why We Get Sick, joins Mike Haney to unpack the science of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance—and why blood sugar isn’t the whole story.
Dr. Bikman explains how insulin regulates energy balance, why HbA1c is only part of the picture, and how chronic high insulin can silently drive weight gain, fatigue, and metabolic disease. He also shares practical ways to lower insulin naturally through diet, exercise, and daily habits.
They discuss: Why insulin, not glucose, is the root of metabolic dysfunction What HbA1c and fasting glucose really tell you The early signs of insulin resistance most people miss How muscle tissue protects against high glucose and insulin Why low-carb and intermittent fasting aren’t one-size-fits-all Practical nutrition and movement strategies for better metabolic flexibility
Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl
🎙 What Ben Bikman, PhD, & Mike Haney discuss: [3:42] — Why glucose isn’t the full story in metabolic health [7:58] — Insulin’s central role in energy and fat storage [13:10] — What HbA1c actually tells you—and what it misses [19:23] — The first signs of insulin resistance most people overlook [25:46] — Why muscle is a “glucose sink” that protects your metabolism [32:15] — How modern diets overload insulin, not just glucose [39:52] — The difference between being lean and being metabolically healthy [46:08] — Simple daily habits that lower insulin naturally [54:41] — Why “normal” lab ranges for insulin are misleading [1:02:17] — Practical steps to build metabolic flexibility and better energy
Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.
Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.
🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/2PROANAQkwA Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
📲 Connect: Connect with Dr. Bikman on X: @BenBikmanPhD Dr. Benjamin Bikman: https://benbikman.com/
More from LEVELS – A Whole New Level
Heart disease is the leading cause of death, but it’s also one of the most preventable. Decades of research have established a strong causal role for LDL and other ApoB-containing particles in atherosclerosis, and we now have multiple proven ways to lower them. The harder question is how to turn that evidence into a decision for an individual person. Mike Haney talks with Johns Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Seth Martin, a co-author of the new 2026 dyslipidemia guidelines, about what the latest evidence says we should actually measure and act on. The throughline is pragmatic: lower exposure to atherogenic particles earlier and for longer, use additional tests when they can change a decision, and distinguish interesting new measurements from ones that have actually been shown to improve outcomes.
Most of NextLevel starts with a measurement problem: we can see more biology than ever, but we still have to figure out what to do with it. Bioelectronic medicine flips that sequence. We already know how to send electrical signals into the nervous system to change biology, including an FDA-approved vagus nerve treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, even though we still can’t map or read most of the individual nerve fibers carrying those signals.
Most health decisions happen before the science is settled. A study points one way, another points somewhere else, experts disagree about what matters, and even strong population-level evidence may not tell you what will happen to you.
Most medical imaging happens after a symptom, injury, or abnormal test gives a clinician a reason to look. But what changes if imaging becomes a more routine measurement, creating a record of the body before something goes wrong? In this episode of Next Level, Mike Haney talks with Dr. Daniel Durand, chief medical officer at Prenuvo, about whole-body MRI as a test case for a broader shift from episodic medicine toward longitudinal health data. Whole-body MRI is controversial, and Durand is clearly an advocate. The conversation takes the skepticism seriously, then asks a larger question: as measurement gets cheaper, more frequent, and increasingly visible to patients themselves, how should medicine decide what is worth knowing?
Alcohol has spent the last 40 years bouncing between two health narratives: a little is good for your heart, or any amount is dangerous. The science doesn’t really support either slogan. Dr. Tim Naimi has spent decades studying the health effects of alcohol and, just as importantly, why the research is so difficult to interpret. His read of the evidence is less dramatic but more useful: there’s no good reason to start drinking for your health, very low intake may carry little measurable added risk, and risk rises as consumption does. Understanding why earlier studies made moderate drinking look protective helps explain a lot of the whiplashing headlines.