The Habit Healers

If you have acid reflux or GERD and you’ve already cut the coffee, the chocolate, and the tomato sauce but the heartburn keeps waking you up at night, this episode is for you.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on today’s episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I explain what actually causes acid reflux: a valve problem at the lower esophageal sphincter, plus something called the acid pocket, a layer of concentrated stomach acid that floats on top of your meal and sits right at the valve. Once you understand this mechanism, the fixes finally make sense. We walk through the research on the best sleeping position for acid reflux, why elevating the head of your bed works when stacking pillows does not, how eating dinner earlier reduces nighttime heartburn, and why reducing refined carbohydrates lowers acid exposure even before any weight loss. We also cover the honest evidence on trigger food elimination, and how to have a productive conversation with your doctor about stepping down a PPI like omeprazole, including what rebound symptoms to expect.What you’ll learn:* Why acid reflux is a valve problem, not an acid problem* The acid pocket: why heartburn is worst after meals* The best sleeping position for GERD and nighttime heartburn relief* How meal timing and a lower-carbohydrate dinner reduce acid exposure* Which popular heartburn remedies the research does not support* How to talk to your doctor about tapering off a PPI safelyDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/the-7-fixes-for-heartburn-that-haveCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

What are the healthiest teas to drink every day? In this episode, I open up my tea medicinal cabinet: six teas backed by real research, from hibiscus tea for blood pressure to chamomile tea for better sleep.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on The Habit Healers Podcast today, we’re looking at what the science actually says about the health benefits of tea, and where popular claims quietly stretch the evidence. You’ll hear why green tea drinkers aged 50 to 69 showed a 37% lower risk of cognitive impairment, why hibiscus tea performed comparably to some blood pressure medications in controlled trials, and what a large analysis of nearly 2 million people found about tea and heart health. We’ll also cover chamomile tea for sleep quality, peppermint tea for digestion, ginger tea for nausea, and the honest answer to when a supplement is the better choice than the cup. Plus, exactly how to brew each one so you get the most from every steep.What you’ll learn:* The six healthiest teas to stock in your cupboard and why each one earned its spot* How hibiscus tea may help lower blood pressure naturally, and who benefits most* Green tea benefits for brain health and longevity in regular tea drinkers* Chamomile tea for sleep: what it improves and what it doesn’t* Peppermint tea for digestion and ginger tea for nausea: when tea works and when to consider the capsule* Brewing temperatures, steep times, and the best time of day for each teaDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-most-powerful-thing-inCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Walking after eating is one of the simplest ways to lower blood sugar naturally, and in this episode I explain exactly why a 10-minute walk after meals can blunt glucose spikes better than a longer workout at the wrong time.Here’s what most people miss: your fasting blood sugar can look perfectly normal at your annual checkup while your post-meal glucose is quietly climbing, decade after decade. That slow slide toward insulin resistance and prediabetes happens after lunch and dinner, not in the morning blood draw. The good news is that your muscles have a second pathway for pulling glucose out of the bloodstream, one that works completely independent of insulin. Every time you walk, your leg muscles open that door on their own. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through the research on post-meal walking, including why timing matters more than duration, why dinner is the meal where a short walk pays off most, and how to start this habit on Monday with zero equipment.What you’ll learn:* Why blood sugar spikes after meals drive insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk* The insulin-independent pathway your muscles use to absorb glucose during light walking* Why a 10-minute walk started right after eating flattens the glucose spike better than a delayed 30-minute walk* Why walking before a meal does not blunt the post-meal spike* How walking breaks reduced post-meal glucose by about 17% compared to sitting* The one meal to start with if you only pick oneCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Why can’t you stop eating ultra-processed foods? It’s not a lack of willpower. In this episode, I break down 17 techniques the food industry uses to override your hunger and fullness signals, and give you simple checks to spot every one of them.As a lifestyle medicine physician, I hear it constantly: “I know better, but I can’t stop.” Here’s what I want you to know. Food companies employ scientists whose entire job is engineering hyperpalatable foods that keep you eating past full. In this episode, we look at the bliss point, vanishing caloric density, the fat and carb combination that barely exists in nature, and why variety packs are designed to defeat your brain’s natural off switch. Then I walk you through my Food Defense Protocol: practical steps for reading food labels, catching hidden sugars, auditing liquid calories, and building healthy eating habits that work with your biology instead of against it. If you’ve been blaming yourself for food cravings and overeating, this conversation will change how you see every package in your pantry.What you’ll learn:* What the bliss point is and how companies calculate the exact sugar, salt, and fat ratio that maximizes cravings* Why foods that melt in your mouth bypass your fullness signals* The fat and carbohydrate combo that hijacks your brain’s reward system* How hidden sugars get split across five or six names on the ingredient list* The Food Defense Protocol: seven checks to protect yourself from ultra-processed foods* Why liquid calories are the biggest blind spot in most dietsDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/who-designed-your-craving-hint-itCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Is your biological age older or younger than your birthday? In this episode, I break down the 12 hallmarks of aging, how epigenetic clocks measure how fast you’re actually aging, and how to slow biological aging naturally with habits you can start this week.Here’s what most of us were never told: two people born the same year can be a decade apart biologically, and that gap is not random. It’s driven by twelve identifiable processes, from chronic inflammation and cellular senescence to mitochondrial dysfunction and gut dysbiosis. The best part? Randomized trials show that everyday choices, like an anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercise, quality sleep, time-restricted eating, and stress management, can measurably slow the pace of aging, and in one eight-week trial, even reverse epigenetic age. We’ll also talk about the debate over whether aging is a disease, what DNA methylation tests like DunedinPACE actually tell you, and where longevity science is headed next.What you’ll learn:* The 12 hallmarks of aging and how each one shows up in your body* How epigenetic clocks and DNA methylation testing measure biological age* The clinical trials showing lifestyle changes can slow and even reverse biological aging* How fasting and time-restricted eating activate autophagy, your cells’ recycling system* Why chronic inflammation and gut health accelerate aging, and the foods that help* What to know before buying a biological age testDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-your-doctor-is-wrong-aboutCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Walking after eating is one of the simplest things you can do for your blood sugar, and the research says the timing matters more than the distance. In this episode I trace that idea back to a nineteenth century medical mistake that told sick women to lie still and do nothing.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and this is one of my favorite stories in medicine, because it shows how long it can take for science to catch up with what people already knew in their bodies. In the 1880s, a diagnosis called neurasthenia was treated with weeks of enforced bed rest for women, while men with the same diagnosis were sent West to ride, hunt, and work outdoors. We now know what prolonged immobility does to cardiovascular capacity, insulin resistance, and muscle. We also know what movement does for depression, and what a short walk at the right moment does for post-meal glucose. Three groups of women figured out the movement part long before the studies existed, and I want to tell you about all three.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why prolonged bed rest damages cardiovascular fitness, insulin sensitivity, and muscle mass* What a large 2024 analysis found about physical activity and depressive symptoms* Why walking after a meal lowers blood sugar more than the same walk at another time of day* Why the effect is strongest after the evening meal* The exact fifteen minute post-meal walking habit to start this weekDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-most-important-discoveryCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your muscles are an endocrine organ. Every time they contract, they release myokines, chemical signals that travel to your brain, your bones, your fat cells, your gut, and your immune system. Most of us were never told this, and it explains why you can walk thirty minutes a day for three years and still watch your bone density fall and your inflammatory markers drift upward.In this episode, I walk you through the eight organs that receive signals from contracting muscle, and what happens to each one when the signal stops. We talk about why myokine release is contraction dependent, which means a large muscle sitting in a chair all day sends nothing at all. I explain why interleukin-6 released from working muscle behaves like a completely different molecule than the IL-6 you may have read about as an inflammatory marker. Then I give you the schedule itself: five movement days a week, one long walk, interval walking sessions, two resistance sessions for bone, and breaking up prolonged sitting.What you’ll learn:* What myokines are and why skeletal muscle functions as an endocrine organ* Why walking alone may not protect bone density, and which chemical signals actually build bone* How muscle contraction triggers natural GLP-1 release, the same hormone targeted by the new weight loss drugs* Why interval walking training outperforms continuous walking at matched energy expenditure* How exercise lowers chronic inflammation by suppressing TNF and raising anti-inflammatory signals* Why the number of days you move matters more than your total weekly exercise minutesDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/there-is-a-pharmacy-built-into-yourCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Japanese walking, also called interval walking training, is the walking method that actually lowers blood pressure, and the research behind it is almost twenty years old. If your daily walk has not moved a single number on your lab work, this episode explains why.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk you through the science of interval walking: three minutes fast, three minutes slow, repeated five times. In the original randomized trial of 246 adults with an average age of 63, the interval walkers gained 13% more knee extension strength, raised their aerobic capacity by 8 to 9%, and dropped their systolic blood pressure by 9 mm Hg. The steady-pace walkers, matched for total energy expenditure, showed no significant gains in leg strength or aerobic fitness at all. Then I get into the variable nobody expected, the one time measurement that predicted results across 679 people, and what it means for how you should be tracking your walks.What you’ll learn:* Why comfortable-pace walking sits below the intensity threshold where your body adapts* The talk test for finding your fast pace and slow pace without a heart rate monitor* Why fast-walking minutes per week, not step counts, is the number worth tracking* The 50-minutes-per-week ceiling where the benefits plateau* How interval walking improved blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes through glucose effectiveness, not insulin sensitivity* A six week progression from three cycles to the full protocolDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/the-walking-protocol-that-loweredCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

The order you eat your food in can lower your blood sugar after a meal without changing a single thing on your plate. It’s called meal sequencing, and when researchers had people save the carbs for last, the drop in post-meal glucose was comparable to what you’d see from a diabetes medication.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, board-certified lifestyle medicine physician, and in this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I’m walking you through why eating fiber and protein first changes how your body handles the exact same meal. I’ll explain the two things that happen when vegetables and legumes reach your gut before bread, rice, or pasta: the physical fiber barrier that slows glucose absorption, and the GLP-1 release that protein triggers early in the meal. We’ll look at what happened when people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes ate identical meals in reversed order, what continuous glucose monitors showed when researchers took this out of the lab and into real kitchens, and why a scoop of black beans belongs at the front of your meal while white bread belongs at the end. I’ll also clear up the confusion around GIP, one of the most misunderstood hormones in metabolism.What you’ll learn:* Why meal sequencing lowers post-meal blood sugar spikes without changing what you eat* How to increase GLP-1 naturally by putting fiber and protein before starch* The difference between rapidly digested carbs and fiber-rich plant carbohydrates* What continuous glucose monitor data showed about time in range with a carbs-last pattern* Why lentils, black beans, and chickpeas serve as the protein course and the fiber course at once* The simple fiber-to-protein question to ask yourself at every plateDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-most-important-thingCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your DNA is not your destiny. In this episode I break down the science of epigenetics: how DNA methylation switches your genes on and off, why your daily habits appear to influence your biological age more than your body weight does, and what that means for you starting today.Every cell in your body carries the same 20,000 genes. A skin cell and a neuron are built from identical instructions. What makes them different is which genes are being read, and that reading pattern stays responsive for your entire life. I walk you through how methyl groups and histone tags open and close your genes, what happens inside a muscle cell within hours of a single workout, and the remarkable finding that your muscles retain an epigenetic memory of training you did months ago. We also look at sirtuins and NAD+, the enzyme system that links movement and energy stress to gene expression and declines as we age. Then I give you the two week reset protocol built from this research, with a printable worksheet.What you’ll learn:* How DNA methylation and histone modification control gene expression without changing your genetic code* Why one session of exercise measurably shifts methylation at metabolic genes* What epigenetic muscle memory means for getting back in shape after a break* How sirtuins and NAD+ connect movement and aging to the same molecular switch* What the epigenetic clock is and how a pilot trial moved biological age in eight weeks* The methyl donor and polyphenol foods that supply the raw materials for methylationDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-your-daily-habits-could-rewriteCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Most people over fifty decide that blurry vision, halos around headlights, and burning eyes at the end of the day are simply what old eyes do. That conclusion is wrong, and it costs them the one part of eye aging they can still change. I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast is about what is actually failing inside the aging eye.Your eyes age on three separate clocks. The lens is a closed record, so the stiffening that puts a menu at arm’s length and the scatter that turns headlights into halos are already written, and nothing you swallow undoes them. The thin strip behind your retina is a live system still under active blood supply, and that is where macular degeneration starts and where your daily habits actually reach. Glaucoma runs on a third clock that only shows itself on a measurement. I explain the biology in plain language, then walk you through the Aging Eye Protocol: six habits aimed at the one layer that still answers to you, and the two questions to ask at your next dilated eye exam that decide whether an eye supplement is worth your money or worth nothing at all.What you’ll learn:* Why macular degeneration is really a small blood vessel problem, and how blood pressure and blood sugar drive it* What a Mediterranean eating pattern did to advanced macular degeneration risk in two European cohorts* Why lutein and zeaxanthin need dietary fat to absorb, and the simplest way to do that at lunch* What seventeen randomized trials found when they tested blue light glasses for digital eye strain* How fish oil performed against olive oil in a year-long dry eye trial* When an AREDS-style eye vitamin is worth taking, and the beta-carotene warning to check for tonightDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/everything-that-ages-your-eyes-andCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If you get leg cramps at night, you have probably been told to take magnesium and drink more water. I want to show you what the research actually says, because the real cause of nocturnal leg cramps is not a deficiency. It is the position your foot sits in for seven hours.In this episode I walk through what is happening inside your calf during a cramp, why the nerve firing has no off switch while you sleep, and why the placebo groups in the magnesium trials improved almost as much as the treatment groups. I also cover the one remedy with a surprisingly clear mechanism behind it, pickle brine, and why it works without changing a single thing in your bloodstream. Then I give you the full night cramp protocol: the bedtime calf stretch that actually got results in a supervised trial, how to change the geometry of your bed for free, what to do in the moment a cramp hits, and the medication question worth bringing to your next appointment.What you’ll learn:* Why nighttime calf cramps are a nerve signal problem, not a mineral problem* What the placebo-controlled magnesium trials really found for leg cramps in older adults* The bedtime calf stretch technique that separated the two stretching trials* Why loosening your covers may matter more than any supplement* How to stop a charley horse faster using two pathways at once* Why you should skip tonic water and quinine for leg crampsDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/why-your-calf-cramps-up-in-the-middleCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Why do beans cause gas, and why does some gas smell terrible while other gas has no odor at all? Those are two different questions with two different answers, and confusing them is why most gas remedies fail.In this episode I break down what your gut is actually producing. Roughly 99% of intestinal gas is odorless, and the volume that comes from beans, fiber, and resistant starch is the product of healthy bacterial fermentation. The smell is something else entirely. It comes from hydrogen sulfide, made when gut bacteria break down sulfur-containing amino acids that are far more concentrated in animal protein, eggs, garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables than in legumes. I also explain why sugar and fructose malabsorption can make gas both louder and worse smelling, what the feeding studies show about how quickly the gut adapts to beans, and why reaching for Beano every day may work against the blood sugar and gut health benefits you chose beans for in the first place.What you’ll learn:* Why bloating after eating beans usually fades within two to three weeks of consistent intake* The difference between managing gas volume and managing gas odor, and which remedies target which* Which foods actually drive smelly gas, and what to cut back on before a flight or a long meeting* How alpha-galactosidase enzymes affect blood sugar and short-chain fatty acid production* What a cup of legumes a day did to hemoglobin A1c in adults with type 2 diabetes* The gas symptoms that mean it’s time to call your doctorDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/6-evidence-based-ways-to-manage-gasCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

GLP-1 weight loss medications like Ozempic are everywhere right now, but the largest weight loss drug comparison ever conducted just revealed something surprising: the scale moved, and quality of life did not. In this episode, I walk you through what that research actually means for you, and the seven measurements that predict how you’ll feel far better than your body weight ever will.I break down the new analysis of 262 clinical trials and nearly 100,000 participants, and why not one of nineteen weight loss drugs meaningfully improved quality of life. We talk about muscle loss during weight loss, why lean muscle mass matters so much after 50, and the research showing that resistance training can flip the ratio so you lose fat while gaining muscle. Then I give you my Beyond-the-Scale Protocol: seven simple things you can track at home with no equipment, from grip strength and chair rises to walking pace, energy, sleep, mood, and waist circumference. If you’re on a GLP-1 medication or losing weight any other way, this is how you protect your strength, your body composition, and your independence while the weight comes down.What you’ll learn:* Why weight loss alone rarely improves quality of life or mood, according to the research* How much lean muscle mass is lost during calorie restriction, and why it matters after 50* How resistance training changes body composition so you lose fat and preserve muscle* The seven at-home measurements in the Beyond-the-Scale Protocol* The two-question self-check that tells you if your weight loss approach is protecting your strengthDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/7-outcomes-worth-tracking-when-weightCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If your fasting blood sugar keeps coming in higher than you expect, the answer may not be sitting on your breakfast plate. In this episode I break down the second meal effect, the research showing that what you eat at one meal measurably changes how your body handles the next one, sometimes hours later, sometimes the following morning.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on The Habit Healers Podcast I like to take the science apart and hand it back in a form you can use tonight. We look at how lentils, beans, and whole barley kernels feed your gut bacteria overnight, how those bacteria make short chain fatty acids that set up better glucose control the next day, and why a food’s structure matters more than the fiber number on the label. We also cover what this means if you live with type 2 diabetes, and why two people can eat the same dinner and wake up with very different numbers.What you’ll learn:* What the second meal effect is and why it lowers blood sugar hours later* Why intact barley kernels and lentils improve fasting glucose while the same grains ground into flour do not* How gut bacteria and short chain fatty acids drive overnight glucose control* Why skipping meals weakens the priming effect on your next meal* How the second meal effect works in people with type 2 diabetes* A simple half cup habit you can start at dinner tonightDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-tonights-dinner-could-lowerCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Loneliness is now treated as a public health crisis, but the research points to something more specific than being alone. It may be the loss of purpose that does the real damage to your health.In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through one of the strangest experiments in behavioral science. In 1968, a researcher built a perfect world for mice: unlimited food, unlimited water, no predators, no disease. The colony still collapsed and went extinct, and it never ran out of anything. What it ran out of was meaningful roles.Then we go from metaphor to mechanism. I explain what chronic loneliness does to gene expression, why the stress response stays switched on, and why a sense of purpose appeared to neutralize that inflammatory signal entirely in one study of older adults. We look at the mortality data on social connection, the research showing that people with the lowest sense of life purpose had more than double the mortality risk, and the volunteering study that found the health benefit depended entirely on why people showed up.This one matters if you are navigating retirement, an empty nest, a move, or the quiet drift that follows any major life transition.What you’ll learn:* Why social isolation carries a mortality risk comparable to major clinical risk factors* How loneliness and chronic stress drive inflammation at the level of your genes* Why purpose in life is a measurable survival variable, not a soft concept* The difference between outward-directed and self-directed volunteering, and why only one lowers mortality risk* How to rebuild social structure after retirement or a major life change* Why hormesis, or voluntary challenge, keeps your biological systems functioningDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/the-mice-had-unlimited-food-no-predatorsCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Is your forgetfulness normal aging, or something more? If you’re over 45 and you’ve walked into a room and forgotten why, or lost someone’s name five seconds after hearing it, this episode is for you.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk you through how memory actually works inside your brain, and why so much of it is under your control. We start with the patient known as H.M., whose surgery revealed that memory isn’t one system at all but several, running in different parts of the brain. From there I explain how a memory gets built, why sleep is the window where memories get filed for the long term, and how chronic stress and elevated cortisol quietly wear down the hippocampus.Then we get practical. I share the only two study techniques that earned the highest rating in a landmark review of learning research, and why highlighting and rereading rank near the bottom. I give you specific fixes for remembering names, phone numbers, and grocery lists. And I walk through the fourteen modifiable risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission that together account for roughly 45 percent of dementia cases worldwide.What you’ll learn:* Why memory is several separate systems, not one* How sleep consolidates memories and what happens when you lose it* The two highest-rated memory techniques in the research* A step-by-step method for remembering names* The lifestyle habits that protect your brain long term* The red flags that mean it’s time to talk to your doctorDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-you-could-train-your-brainCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Everything we do inside The Habit Healers comes back to reversing insulin resistance with habits small enough that you actually keep them. The Insulin Resistance Reversal Roadmap walks you through it one station at a time. Martin’s Healing Kitchen sits alongside it with close to three hundred recipes now, including this one. And I go live every Tuesday at 4 PM Pacific for ninety minutes to answer whatever you bring me. Come find us on Skool.Chef Martin Oswald opened this one by telling me we were making dal, and then telling me we were not making dal, at least not the kind you would order at a restaurant. That version arrives with a slick of ghee poured over the top and lands somewhere between six and eight hundred calories a bowl. He wanted the flavor without the clarified butter, and he wanted the spices doing real work on blood sugar instead of sitting there tasting nice.The empty panHe started with onions in a dry ceramic pan over medium heat and nothing else in it. When I asked how he planned to roast them that way, he pointed out that an onion is about ninety percent water and brings everything it needs on its own.So he waited. As soon as brown started showing on the bottom of the pan, he added about a tablespoon of water and the whole thing lifted. The pan went clean, all that caramelized flavor went straight back into the onions, and within a minute the browning started again.He repeated it three or four times for us and said he goes five when he wants it darker. This is how he makes French onion soup without oil, which he cooked by the ton in restaurants back in the eighties. The technique asks for more attention than pouring in oil, and the flavor comes out the same. I watched that pan go from brown to spotless and said “wow” out loud, which is something I do on these Wednesdays more often than I would like to admit.The spices Once the onions were where he wanted them, the whole spices went in to toast. Cracked black pepper first, then fenugreek, mustard seed, and cumin seed. Carrots and red bell peppers followed with a splash of stock, then grated ginger and a lot of pressed garlic.Two things about that garlic. Martin drops the clove into the press with the peel still on, which skips the peeling entirely, and he presses it hard because crushing activates more allicin than chopping does.Then tomato paste, which you will not find in a traditional dal. When you pull the oil out of a dish you lose the backbone that fat provides, and tomato paste puts some of that structure back. The ground spices went in last, Ceylon cinnamon and turmeric and coriander.Cinnamon in a lentil dal is unusual, and Martin put it there on purpose. Fenugreek sits at the top of his list of blood sugar spices, and he was careful to say none of these are a cure for anything. He chooses Ceylon over the cheaper cassia because it carries less coumarin. Turmeric came in for the same reason, and in what he has been reading, garlic outperforms even that. The black cumin, those little onion-family seeds also called kalonji, went in for what they do rather than how they taste, while regular cumin handled the flavor. Even the black pepper at the start was deliberate, since pepper improves how much of the curcumin from turmeric your body absorbs.I added my own note on the live and I want it here too. No single spice is going to move your numbers by itself. What moves them is accumulation, one spice after another, meal after meal, and Martin built this recipe so all of that stacking happens in one bowl. Somewhere in the middle of it I told him he cooks like a mad scientist, and I stand by that.Bring it to a boilA cup and a half of lentils went in with the stock, which feeds four. Then Martin said something no one has ever said to me in a home kitchen. Bring it to a full boil before you drop it to a simmer.Most of us go straight to simmering, and the edges of the pot never come up to temperature. You get uneven cooking and you leave room for bacteria, and a real boil takes care of both. He scraped the bottom of the pot to lift the spices back into the liquid, covered it, and gave it about fifteen minutes.Lentils are done when there is no white left in the center. Al dente is what you want from pasta and from quinoa, and it is not what you want here. To thicken the pot, Martin pressed some of the cooked lentils against the side with the back of his spoon. No blender, no extra dish to wash.Finishing it without the gheeThe traditional finish is a tadka, spices bloomed in hot ghee and poured over the top. Martin heated a dry pan to medium, gave garam masala with sesame seeds and black cumin about twenty to thirty seconds, and poured that over instead. If your sesame seeds are raw rather than toasted, toast them on their own first and add the spices after.Then came the yogurt trick, which is the part I will actually use this week. Plant-based yogurt dropped straight into hot dal breaks apart into flakes, so he spooned a little of the hot dal into the yogurt first, stirred it smooth, and folded that mixture back into the pot. He also pulled the pot off the burner before doing it, because leftover heat will bring the whole thing back to a boil and undo the work.Spinach went in at the end and steamed down into the stew, followed by lemon juice, because a dish without acid tastes flat no matter how good the spices are.No salt went in at all. Martin’s rule for cooking without sodium is to raise the spices by about twenty percent to make up for what you give up from both the salt and the ghee. When he tastes, he is not looking to be impressed with himself. He asks whether there is enough acid and whether anything is missing, then fixes it. If your family wants heat, add more chilies. That part belongs to you.The finished bowl was thick and creamy without a drop of oil anywhere in it, and I was hungry watching it.Martin’s full recipe serves four and you can find it here. If any of this made you want to cook differently, that is what the Habit Healers Skool community is for. Reversing insulin resistance comes down to small habits repeated until they run themselves, and the Insulin Resistance Reversal Roadmap gives you the order to build them in. Martin’s Healing Kitchen has this dal along with everything else he has demonstrated over the past year. I am live every Tuesday at 4 PM Pacific for ninety minutes, and you can bring me whatever question you have been sitting on. Everything lives inside The Habit Healers on Skool.Join us here. Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

The physiological sigh may be the simplest nervous system regulation tool we have, and it takes five minutes a day. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I break down the science of cyclic sighing: two short inhales through the nose, one long slow exhale through the mouth.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and I want to walk you through what’s actually happening in your body when you sigh. Your brainstem has a small cluster of neurons dedicated to producing sighs, separate from the circuit that runs normal breathing. That sigh reopens collapsed air sacs in your lungs, but it does something else too. The long exhale is the active ingredient. Because of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, your heart rate rises slightly on the inhale and falls on the exhale, so an exhale-dominant breathing pattern tilts you toward your parasympathetic nervous system, your rest and digest side. I also cover a randomized controlled trial where five minutes a day of cyclic sighing outperformed mindfulness meditation on positive mood, and a study where adults over 45 showed a greater parasympathetic response than younger adults after a single session.What you’ll learn:* How to do the physiological sigh correctly, using the sip, sip, sigh pattern* Why a long exhale activates your vagus nerve and calms your body faster than a deep inhale alone* What the research on cyclic sighing shows for stress, anxiety, and mood* Why this five minute breathing exercise may work better as you get older* How to build breathwork into your day without sitting in a quiet roomDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/sip-sip-sigh-could-three-words-changeCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your scale cannot tell you how much visceral fat you’re carrying, and after 45, that’s the number that actually predicts your metabolic health. Two people can share the exact same BMI and face completely different risks.In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through the three numbers that matter more than your weight: body fat percentage, body fat in pounds, and visceral fat. I explain why BMI misses so much, what researchers mean by “thin outside, fat inside,” and why sarcopenic obesity, the slow trade of muscle for fat, is the most dangerous body composition pattern for adults in midlife. We also get into what changes during menopause, when women accumulate significantly more intra-abdominal fat, and the parallel shift men experience as testosterone declines.Then I get practical. I cover how to measure your waist correctly, what waist-to-height ratio tells you, when a DEXA scan is worth it, and which home body composition scales actually held up under peer review.What you’ll learn:* Why body fat percentage predicts mortality better than BMI* How to measure waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio at home* Why visceral fat around your liver behaves so differently from subcutaneous fat* What menopause and declining testosterone do to fat distribution after 45* The seven evidence-based levers for reducing visceral fat, including aerobic exercise, resistance training, sleep, protein, and soluble fiber* Why sleep loss may be the most underrated driver of belly fatDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-where-your-fat-lives-mattersCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

What your nails say about your health is not an old wives’ tale. Your fingernails are a six month record of what your body has been through, and your skin is a much longer one. In this episode I show you how to read both.I walk you through the nail changes that actually mean something and the ones that don’t. The horizontal grooves called Beau’s lines, which mark the week you were sick months ago. Spoon shaped nails and what they suggest about iron deficiency anemia. Brittle nails, splitting, and peeling, and the protein, iron, and zinc gaps that often sit underneath them. Why white spots on nails are almost never a calcium deficiency. Then we move to the skin on your hands and forearms, the easy bruising and thin, fragile skin that dermatologists call actinic purpura, and the two habits that do the most to slow it down: daily broad spectrum sun protection and steady vitamin C for collagen production. I also give you the findings that belong on a call your doctor now list, because a few of them do.What you’ll learn:* How to read Beau’s lines and date a past illness on your own nails* What spoon shaped and pale nails suggest about iron deficiency and when to ask for ferritin testing* Why brittle nails respond to protein, iron, and zinc, and why biotin supplements can skew your lab results* What causes easy bruising and thin skin on the hands and forearms, and how to slow it* How your body makes collagen, and why vitamin C rich plants matter more than a powder* The nail and skin changes that need a doctor’s appointment, not a wait and seeDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/if-you-have-ever-wondered-about-thatCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re trying to lower your ApoB naturally, or you’ve ever searched “natural alternatives to statins” at midnight, this episode is for you. A 73-year-old subscriber sent me his lab work, and the results surprised both of us.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk you through what happened when Doug, who couldn’t tolerate a prescription statin, tried red yeast rice for five months and tracked every marker. His ApoB barely moved. Then he got serious about soluble fiber, and it fell from 110 to 78. I explain the mechanism behind why that works, how soluble fiber binds bile acids and forces your liver to pull cholesterol out of your bloodstream, and what the randomized trial evidence actually shows for psyllium husk, oat beta-glucan, and ground flaxseed. I also tell you the truth about red yeast rice that most supplement labels leave out: monacolin K is lovastatin, and the dose you’re getting is anyone’s guess. And because Doug’s HDL runs above 120, I share why “higher HDL is always better” is outdated advice.What you’ll learn:* Why ApoB is a sharper measure of cardiovascular risk than LDL cholesterol alone* How soluble fiber lowers ApoB through bile acid binding, and which fibers have the strongest evidence* What red yeast rice really is, and why “natural alternative to statins” is misleading* How to build toward 40 to 50 grams of fiber a day without wrecking your digestion* Why very high HDL is not the win most people think it is* The one 10-second change you can make at breakfast tomorrowCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Cocoa flavanols may be the most important compound in your diet that you have never measured. In a 2026 biomarker study of more than 30,000 adults, fewer than one in four people reached the intake linked to a 27% reduction in cardiovascular death, and the heaviest fruit and vegetable eaters barely did better than everyone else.In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through why “eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day” was never designed to tell you whether you are getting enough flavanols, and what that gap may be costing your heart, your brain, your blood sugar, and your skin after 45. We look at why the specific plants you choose matter far more than the total volume, why most grocery store cocoa powder has had its flavanols stripped out by processing, why the dark chocolate advice you have heard for years is misleading, and how to close the gap with green tea, natural cocoa, berries, and beans. I also share exactly which brands independent testing found deliver, and where the industry funding behind this research deserves your skepticism.What you’ll learn:* Why a high diet quality score can still leave you short on flavanols* The 500 mg per day target for cardiometabolic health, and how to reach it with food* How Dutch processing destroys the flavanols in most cocoa powder* Which green teas and cocoa powders tested highest for EGCG and flavanol content* What the research shows on flavanols for memory, insulin sensitivity, exercise capacity, and skin aging* Why the benefits concentrate in adults over 55Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/a-little-known-plant-compound-reducedCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds? That simple balance test turns out to be one of the most revealing longevity markers we have, and almost nobody gets it checked at a routine physical.In this episode I walk you through what the single leg stance test is actually measuring and why it matters more than most people realize. Researchers followed adults aged 51 to 75 for seven years, and those who could not hold the position for ten seconds had nearly double the risk of dying from any cause, even after adjusting for age, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and heart disease. I explain the six systems your body has to coordinate to keep you upright, why the nerves that sense your body’s position in space begin wearing down in midlife before your muscles show any damage, and what brain imaging found in people whose balance time dropped below twenty seconds. Then I give you a practical plan you can start tonight while you brush your teeth. Balance is one of the most trainable abilities at any age, including into the eighties and nineties.What you’ll learn:* What the 10-second balance test predicts about healthy aging and longevity* Why balance declines sharply after 50 while grip strength and walking speed still look normal* The link between single leg stance time, silent brain changes, and cognitive function* What five, ten, twenty, and thirty second hold times each tell you* A simple at-home balance training routine, plus how yoga and tai chi compare for fall prevention* When worsening balance is worth bringing to your doctorDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-standing-on-one-foot-actuallyCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Are artificial sweeteners actually safe? If you’ve been buying sugar-free products, reading labels, and still guessing, this episode gives you the answer the flat line on your glucose monitor can’t. The problem isn’t that sweeteners spike your blood sugar. It’s what they do to your gut microbiome.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk through what a randomized trial in 120 healthy adults found when researchers looked past blood sugar readings and sequenced people’s gut bacteria instead. All four sweeteners tested changed what those bacteria were doing, but only two impaired the participants’ ability to handle glucose from every other meal. Then we get into the nine-year data on more than 105,000 adults and type 2 diabetes risk, the 2023 World Health Organization guidance on non-sugar sweeteners, the emerging erythritol and blood clotting findings, and why allulose is the one sweetener that appears to lower post-meal glucose rather than raise it. This is not a scare piece. It’s a sweetener-by-sweetener breakdown so you can stop guessing in the grocery aisle.What you’ll learn:* Why a flat continuous glucose monitor reading is the right test for the wrong question* Which two artificial sweeteners impaired glucose tolerance in the microbiome trial, and why the effect is personalized* What the erythritol and xylitol platelet research means if you have cardiovascular risk factors* How stevia, monk fruit, and allulose compare on the current evidence* Why agave nectar is the most misleading product in the sweetener aisle* A five-product kitchen audit you can do tonightDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/are-artificial-sweeteners-bad-forCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Most people practicing intermittent fasting skip breakfast and eat a late dinner. The research on meal timing and blood sugar suggests that may be exactly backwards.In this episode I walk you through early time-restricted eating, the version of intermittent fasting that has consistently performed best in clinical trials, and the circadian biology behind why it works. Your insulin sensitivity peaks in the first half of the day and drops by evening, which means the same dinner your body handled easily at breakfast now takes more insulin to process. I cover the first controlled human feeding trial in men with prediabetes, a 14-week weight loss trial in adults with obesity, and a large analysis of more than forty randomized trials. I also give real time to the strongest counterargument, that these benefits may simply come from eating fewer calories, and why that may not change what you decide to do. Then I get practical, including what I call Fork Down by Four, an eight hour eating window that starts at breakfast and closes in the mid afternoon.What you’ll learn:* Why insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance decline as the day goes on* How your circadian rhythm and organ clocks respond to meal timing* What the trials show about early time-restricted eating, weight, and insulin levels* Why the calorie-restriction counterargument deserves serious consideration* How to shift your eating window earlier without counting calories* Protein, muscle, LDL cholesterol, and medication cautions to watch forDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/want-better-blood-sugar-and-bloodCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Chef Martin Oswald and I work together inside The Habit Healers community on Skool, where we help people reverse insulin resistance. My Insulin Resistance Reversal Roadmap course lives there, along with Martin’s Healing Kitchen recipe vault, which keeps growing every week with new dishes and videos. I also go live every Tuesday at four PM Pacific for ninety minutes of coaching. Click here to learn more.I know what most people eat for breakfast. I used to eat it too. Cereal from a box, maybe some toast, maybe a banana sliced on top to make the whole thing feel like a responsible choice. And then ninety minutes later you’re starving again. Or worse, you’re not hungry exactly, but something feels off. You’re foggy and a little irritable and already eyeing the pantry for a snack you didn’t plan on eating.That mid-morning crash has very little to do with willpower. Your blood sugar just fell off a cliff, and breakfast pushed it off.Last week on our Wednesday live, Chef Martin Oswald showed everyone how to build a breakfast that avoids that cliff entirely. It takes about twenty minutes. And honestly, it changed what I’m putting on my own plate this week.The Breakfast SpectrumSo Martin started the session by walking through breakfast foods ranked by how badly they spike your blood sugar, and I want to give you the rundown because I think it’s useful to see them stacked up next to each other.Cornflakes are the worst. In terms of how fast they hit your bloodstream, they’re basically pure sugar. Martin’s advice on what to do with that box of cheap cereal in your cabinet was to give it to the neighbor you don’t like, which, I mean, that’s one approach. White bread is almost as bad, and Martin made a good point about those classic American breakfast spots where everything on the plate looks beautiful and does absolutely nothing good for your metabolism. Potatoes with the skin on are better because the fiber slows things down. Kidney beans are better still.But tempeh is way down at the bottom of that spike spectrum. The fermentation gives it fiber, the protein is substantial, and you’re getting B vitamins and potassium and calcium without the saturated fat or cholesterol you’d get from animal sources. I knew tempeh was a good option, but I honestly hadn’t thought about where it lands relative to those other breakfast staples until Martin laid it out like that.A Chef Who Didn’t Like TempehHere’s the thing about Martin and tempeh. For years he didn’t eat it. He didn’t even put it on the menu at his bistro. Twenty years ago, the stuff you could buy was, in his words, basically all mushroom. The mycelium (that’s the white fungal network that binds the soybeans together during fermentation) overwhelmed everything else. It didn’t taste like food you’d choose to eat. It tasted like a science project.And I get that. Twenty years ago the options were limited and the product was, to put it kindly, an acquired taste.What changed is that producers got dramatically better at the inoculation process. The Rhizopus mold that ferments the soybeans gets introduced more precisely now, and the result is a product that’s firmer and meatier, with a lot more range in how you can cook with it. Martin compared it to what happened with craft breweries. One day there were a handful of options, and then seemingly overnight everyone was making their own version. The competition pushed everything forward.My son actually went to Thailand to learn how to make tempeh from scratch. He came back saying that freshly made tempeh tastes completely different from the store-bought version, and I believe it. The fermentation takes about 48 hours, and the soybeans get bound together by that mycelium network into something that honestly has the texture of chicken. I don’t mean sort of close. If you close your eyes and chew, the mouthfeel is remarkably similar.Martin used to hunt mushrooms in Colorado (he still gets excited about it, you can tell) and spent years watching mycelium spread across forest floors. He’s read that mycelium may be the largest organism on the planet, because those networks can stretch for miles underground. He made the observation during the live that the same organism holding the forest together is also the thing holding his breakfast together, which got a good laugh.And tempeh doesn’t have to be soybeans, either. Martin showed a black bean version and one with Mexican-inspired seasoning that had cumin and chipotle built right in. You can find pre-seasoned varieties at most grocery stores now. Or you can start with a plain organic block and do what Martin did, which is season it yourself.The Cooking Rule Nobody FollowsThe recipe itself is short. Tempeh cut into bite-sized pieces, marinated in a splash of soy sauce and some lemon juice (tamari works if you’re avoiding gluten), then crisped in a ceramic pan with about a teaspoon of olive oil.But the part that I think will actually change how some of you cook happened when Martin put the tempeh in the pan, stepped back, and said three words.Don’t touch it.I know. Your instinct is to stir. Everyone’s instinct is to stir. But there’s real food science behind why you shouldn’t. When something goes into a hot pan, the moisture inside the food starts pushing upward as steam. If you leave it alone, the bottom surface dries out, browns through what’s called the Maillard reaction, and eventually releases from the pan on its own. If you stir too early, before that browning happens, it sticks. Every beginner cook knows that frustration of putting food in the pan and immediately poking at it and wondering why everything is glued to the surface. That’s why.I compared it to making pancakes, where you wait for the bubbles to stop before you flip. Martin said yes, but the bubbles aren’t actually doing the work. They’re just telling you the moisture is steaming out. Underneath, the Maillard reaction is creating flavor and color, and once that browning is complete, the food lifts away from the pan almost by itself.It works for pretty much anything you’re searing. Tempeh, tofu, vegetables. Get it in the pan and leave it alone. The heat will handle the rest.At one point Martin grabbed a piece of hot tempeh with his bare fingers and I told him he clearly has no feelings in his hands. His response was that his wife would say he has no feelings at all. Carol, if you’re watching, I’m sure that’s not entirely accurate.The Number That Actually MattersWhile Martin’s tempeh was crisping (and I was under strict orders not to touch it), I jumped in to talk about something that I think confuses a lot of people when they’re trying to make smarter food choices. Most people have heard of the glycemic index. Fewer people know about the glycemic load.The glycemic index tells you how fast a food will spike your blood sugar. It’s measured on a scale from zero to 100, based on a standard 50-gram serving of digestible carbohydrates. Pure glucose is 100.But the glycemic index by itself can be misleading. It doesn’t account for how much of that food you’d actually eat in a normal sitting. That’s what the glycemic load does. It takes the speed of the spike and combines it with how many carbs are in a real-world serving. The formula is pretty simple. Glycemic index times grams of carbohydrate per serving, divided by 100.Watermelon is my favorite example. Glycemic index of 72, which looks terrible. But a typical serving has very little carbohydrate, so the glycemic load is only about four. (I’ll be honest, I personally eat way more than a “typical serving” of watermelon. I can demolish an entire one when they’re in season. But the point holds.)Quick reference if you want it. Glycemic index under 55 is low, 55 to 69 is medium, above 72 is high. Glycemic load under 10 is low, 11 to 19 is medium, above 20 is high. The tempeh breakfast Martin was making would land squarely at the low end of both scales, which is exactly where you want to be.Water Sauteing and the Tomato TrickOnce the tempeh was crisped and set aside, Martin built the vegetable side in the same pan. Cauliflower first because it takes the longest to cook and he wanted it to pick up a little color. Then the onions, mushrooms, and peppers went in on top.Now, instead of pouring in more oil (which is what most restaurant kitchens would do, and honestly what most of us do at home without thinking about it), Martin added about three tablespoons of water. That’s it. He calls it water sauteing. The veggies steam in their own moisture plus that small splash of liquid, and you skip all the extra calories from oil. Martin made the point that professional kitchens pour oil with a heavy hand because it makes everything taste rich, and the customer doesn’t realize how much went in until after the meal when they feel uncomfortably full. I thought about that for a minute and it’s absolutely true.Then Sherry, one of our regular viewers, said something in the chat that I want to highlight. She said the next tip was worth the whole session. Instead of adding nut butter for moisture and richness (something Martin normally does, and which is perfectly fine if you’re at a comfortable weight), he used a single chopped tomato. Just one. It creates enough moisture to keep the dish from drying out without making it soupy, and you avoid the 200 to 300 extra calories from cashew or almond butter. If weight management is part of your picture right now, especially heading into summer, that swap is worth trying.After the tomato, Martin added chopped garlic and cooked it just until the raw sulfuric smell shifted to something sweet, about a minute or two. Then he roasted his spice blend in the pan. The blend has cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, and fenugreek, which Martin said has shown up in blood sugar management research he’s been following. His full blend is on his website if you want to try it. He finished with lemon juice and generous zest from the peel, and he made a point of saying the zest carries even more flavor than the juice. I actually never thought to put that much zest into a breakfast dish, but it makes sense.The Last Sixty SecondsThe ending happened fast. Martin turned off the heat, dropped a handful of fresh spinach into the pan, and let it wilt from the residual warmth rather than cooking it down. He’s been reading about the chlorophyll and nitric oxide benefits of raw and lightly cooked greens, and he feels strongly about getting them into breakfast whenever possible. The crispy tempeh went back in on top. Then finely chopped cilantro, stems and all, because (and this was new to me) the stems carry more flavor than the leaves. Martin said if you watch cooks in Thailand or Indonesia, they reach for the stems first. I’ve been throwing mine away for years, so that’s changing immediately.A few peanuts on top for texture and the dish was done.I was sitting in my RV looking at the tempeh in my own fridge and the cauliflower and red peppers on my counter, and I’m not going to lie, I was already planning to make this for lunch. I had everything I needed.What You NeedFor one serving, you’re looking at a block of plain tempeh (organic if you can find it, any brand works), a splash of soy sauce or tamari, half a lemon, a teaspoon of olive oil for the initial crisp, whatever vegetables you have on hand, one tomato, a couple cloves of garlic, your preferred spice blend, a handful of spinach or other greens, and fresh herbs for the finish.The order matters more than anything else. You want to marinate the tempeh first, ideally overnight, though even ten to twenty minutes will help it absorb the soy and lemon. Crisp it in the pan (don’t touch it) until it browns and releases on its own, then take it out. Water saute your vegetables in the same pan with a few tablespoons of water and add the garlic and spices once the veggies have some color. Use the tomato for moisture. Once you turn the heat off, the greens and the tempeh go back in together. The residual heat wilts the spinach without overcooking it, and the tempeh stays crispy because you’re not steaming it to death.Twenty minutes, start to finish. Your blood sugar will barely notice it happened.Get Martin’s recipe here.Chef Martin Oswald and I do these cooking sessions live every Wednesday at ten AM Pacific on Substack, and the recipes keep going inside The Habit Healers community on Skool. If you’re working on reversing insulin resistance, my Insulin Resistance Reversal Roadmap course walks you through exactly how to do it. Martin’s Healing Kitchen recipe vault is where all of his recipes live, with new videos and dishes being added all the time. And I go live every Tuesday at four PM Pacific for ninety minutes of coaching. Come join us. Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If you’ve ever wondered why you regain weight after dieting, this episode will change how you see it. The weight coming back was never a willpower failure. It was metabolic adaptation, your body’s built-in defense system, doing exactly what it was designed to do.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and on this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast I walk through what the research actually shows about weight loss and weight regain, including the famous Biggest Loser study where metabolism stayed suppressed by hundreds of calories a day for six years, and a locked metabolic ward experiment where the same number of calories from ultra-processed food versus whole food produced opposite results. We talk about why hunger hormones like ghrelin stay elevated for a year after a diet, why GLP-1 medications like semaglutide lead to regain when they stop, and how you can support your own GLP-1 naturally through fiber, legumes, and whole plant foods. I also share why this matters even more during perimenopause and menopause, when shifting hormones make restrictive dieting backfire harder. Then I give you the Lose It Once approach, a way of working with your biology instead of fighting it.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why you regain weight after dieting, and why it is biology, not willpower* What metabolic adaptation is and how long it really lasts* How ultra-processed food drives overeating even at matched calories* How to boost GLP-1 naturally with fiber and whole plant foods* Why plant-based, high-fiber eating increases satiety without counting calories* The one small habit to start tonightDr. Marbas Substack: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/5-science-backed-ways-to-lose-weightCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

We’re surprisingly bad at knowing what actually makes us happy. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through the real science of happiness: the everyday habits with the strongest evidence behind them, and the one practice researchers now compare to quitting smoking.It started with a Yale psychology professor who built a course on happiness and accidentally created the most popular class in the university’s history. Behind that course are eight simple, science-backed happiness practices, and today I rank them honestly by how strong the evidence really is. Some are backed by mortality data spanning millions of people. Others carry a big reputation and thin research to match. I’ll show you which is which, so you can spend your energy where it counts.Here’s the part most people miss. The two practices with the strongest evidence, social connection and sleep, are the exact two we tend to drop when life gets busy. We’ll also get honest about what gratitude, exercise, kindness, and meditation really do for your mental health, and why understanding all of this is only half the battle.In this episode, you’ll learn:* What the science of happiness says actually makes people happy, and what doesn’t* Why social connection is one of the strongest predictors of longevity* How sleep quality shapes anxiety, depression, and stress* What gratitude journaling and acts of kindness truly deliver* Why meditation helps some things and not others* How to turn insight into lasting behavior changeDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-your-brain-is-lying-to-youCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Can you sit down on the floor and stand back up without using your hands? That simple move, called the sitting-rising test, may predict how long you’ll live better than most of what shows up on your annual bloodwork. And almost no doctor is measuring it.In this episode, I walk you through the science behind one of the most fascinating longevity tests I’ve come across, developed by an exercise medicine researcher in Rio de Janeiro and now backed by more than 25 years of data. We talk about why your body works like a load-bearing structure, how it can weaken from the inside while your labs and your weight look perfectly fine, and why the floor asks every system, strength, power, balance, flexibility, and body composition, to show up at the same time. I’ll also cover the 10-second one-legged balance test and what a low score really tells you about fall risk and healthy aging. Then I give you a specific, targeted plan to improve your score, matched to whichever weakness cost you points, so you’re not just told to “exercise more.”What you’ll learn in this episode:* How the sitting-rising test works and how to score yourself at home* Why each one-point improvement is linked to a meaningful drop in mortality risk* What the 10-second one-legged stand reveals about your balance and longevity* The four common reasons people lose points and how to fix each one* Simple strength, mobility, balance, and flexibility exercises that need no equipment* How to build a safety margin that protects your independence as you ageDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/can-you-sit-down-and-stand-up-withoutCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Want to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally and lower your A1c without white-knuckling it? Most people quit their new eating plan around day 10 or 14, convinced nothing is working. In this episode, I explain why that is the single worst moment to stop, and what is actually happening inside your body when you can’t see it yet.I walk you through the story of Dennis, a patient who came off 54 units of insulin and five additional medications, and I break down the five biological “clocks” that reset your blood sugar at different speeds. You’ll hear how insulin resistance really develops, why fasting glucose is the hardest number to move, and how your liver, your gut microbiome, your muscles, and even the simple act of tracking each work on their own timeline. All five converge around 30 days, which is why consistency through that window changes everything.This is science-forward and practical, the kind of thing you can start at your next meal.In this episode, you’ll learn:* Why anchoring every meal with protein and fiber flattens blood sugar spikes* How a 10-minute post-meal walk clears glucose without needing insulin* Why your gut microbiome shifts within 48 hours, and what feeds the good bacteria* How a continuous glucose monitor rewires your food choices through simple attention* What a realistic 30-day plant-based blood sugar reset actually looks like, week by weekA note: if you take diabetes medication, do not stop or adjust it without your doctor. A change this powerful can lower your blood sugar fast enough that your doses need adjusting.Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-30-days-could-dramaticallyCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your grip strength may be the single most powerful predictor of how long you’ll live, stronger than your blood pressure, and the good news is you can improve it at any age. In this episode I explain why a simple dead hang reflects the health of your entire body, and how a 90-year-old set a Guinness World Record in just 30 days.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and this episode starts with Ann Crile Esselstyn, who at 90 hung from a bar for nearly three minutes after barely a month of practice. What her body did wasn’t magic, it was neuroscience, and it points to one of the most overlooked markers in medicine: grip strength. I walk through the research linking grip strength to all-cause mortality, cardiovascular risk, and healthy aging, why muscle power fades before muscle size, and the difference between grip endurance and the maximal grip strength that tracks with longevity. Then I give you a simple, evidence-based way to train it at home, whether you’re starting from zero or ready to add load. If you’ve worried about staying strong, steady, and independent as you age, this one is for you.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why grip strength is a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than blood pressure* How the dead hang builds grip strength, decompresses your spine, and protects shoulder health* Why muscle power fades faster than muscle mass with aging, and what that means for fall risk and independence* The difference between grip endurance and the maximal grip strength linked to longevity* Simple, evidence-based ways to improve grip strength at home, including hand grippers and kettlebells* How a whole food plant-based diet and lifestyle medicine support strength at any ageDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/how-did-a-90-year-old-woman-justCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your body has a hidden safety margin, and it’s been shrinking for years without you noticing. In this episode, I explain physiological reserve: the buffer your organs carry far above what daily life demands, and why it quietly declines with age even when your bloodwork looks normal. Doctors call this slow narrowing homeostenosis, and it’s one of the most important ideas in healthspan that almost no one talks about.I walk you through the four load-bearing walls of your health, borrowing an engineer’s logic to inspect each one. We look at your metabolic reserve and why insulin resistance can build for decades while your fasting blood sugar stays fine. We talk about strength, and why muscle power fades years before you notice lost muscle, plus why grip strength predicts all-cause mortality better than blood pressure. We get into deep slow-wave sleep, your nightly recovery buffer, and how it shrinks as you age. And we cover social connection, the margin no one thinks to measure, even though weak social ties carry a health risk on par with smoking. Then I give you simple at-home tests for all four, and the first moves to widen whichever one is thinnest.What you’ll learn:* What physiological reserve is and how homeostenosis quietly erodes it with age* Why insulin resistance hides behind normal blood sugar, and how to check your true metabolic health* How to test grip strength, muscle power, and balance at home for fall prevention* Why deep sleep is your recovery buffer, and how to protect it after a bad night* The “2 AM test” for measuring your social connection and building redundancy* How to rebuild your weakest margin first, the way an engineer repairs a bridgeDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/how-to-build-a-resilient-body-thatCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Why does the same food spike one person’s blood sugar and barely move another’s? In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I break down the science of personalized nutrition and why your blood sugar response is far more individual than any diet chart can predict.For most of my career I told patients to build meals around whole foods, and that foundation still holds. But then I read a study that gave 800 people continuous glucose monitors and tracked more than 46,000 meals, and it broke apart an assumption most doctors share: that the food alone determines your blood sugar. It turns out counting carbs is a surprisingly weak predictor. Your gut microbiome, your sleep, your insulin sensitivity, and even what you ate at your last meal all shape what happens next. It’s why one person spikes on a banana but not a cookie, and why that afternoon energy crash you keep blaming on lunch might actually start with breakfast. This is bio-individuality, and understanding yours is one of the most practical steps you can take for your metabolic health.In this episode, you’ll learn:* Why the same food produces wildly different blood sugar responses in different people* How gut bacteria, sleep, and insulin sensitivity drive your glucose response* Why “available carbohydrates” matter more than total carbs* How whole, plant-forward foods keep blood sugar steadier for nearly everyone* A simple no-monitor habit to learn your own metabolic pattern this weekDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/is-food-really-the-main-variableCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If you have ever worn a continuous glucose monitor and felt a wave of panic watching your blood sugar spike after lunch, this episode is for you. I want to show you how to read a CGM the way it is meant to be read, as a short-term teacher, not a source of daily anxiety.A CGM is basically a home inspection for your metabolism. Like any inspection, it turns up findings that look alarming but mean nothing, alongside a few that genuinely matter. In this episode I walk you through what normal glucose actually looks like, why healthy people spike above 140 every day, and how to tell a real finding from an artifact like a compression low or the dawn phenomenon. We look at what the research really says about glucose monitors for non-diabetics, including the risk of tracking tipping into disordered eating, and why the device is almost never the problem. Then I give you the exact two-week protocol I use with my patients, with simple experiments to see how a post-meal walk, meal order, sleep, and stress each change your curve.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why healthy people see blood sugar spikes above 140 every day, and when a spike actually matters* How a short walk after meals flattens your glucose curve, and why meal order changes your after-meal spike* How stress and one bad night of sleep show up on a CGM with no food involved* How to spot false readings like compression lows, sensor lag, and the dawn phenomenon* What the science says about continuous glucose monitors for non-diabetics and metabolic health* The exact two-week CGM protocol I use with patients, and when to see your doctor insteadDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-glucose-hits-145-after-lunchCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Is rebounding on a mini trampoline real exercise, or just an infomercial leftover? In this episode I unpack the science behind rebounding and the famous NASA study everyone quotes, because the truth about that “68 percent” claim is not what the marketing says.I’ve had more patients ask me about rebounders than almost any other piece of equipment, so let’s talk about what the research actually shows. Rebounding is a low-impact workout that changes the way force arrives at your body, spreading each landing across your whole skeleton instead of slamming it into your ankles and knees the way running on pavement does. That makes it gentle on your joints while still delivering a moderate-to-vigorous cardio workout. The strongest evidence is for balance and fall prevention, which matters enormously as we age, but there’s also solid data on blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. I’ll also tell you where the hype falls apart, including the lymphatic “detox” claim, and cover the two real risks most people never hear about: pelvic floor leakage and spine safety. Then I’ll give you a simple four-phase plan to start safely.What you’ll learn in this episode:* What the NASA rebounding study really measured (and why it was never about calories)* Why a mini trampoline is easier on your joints than running on a hard surface* How rebounding improves balance and helps with fall prevention for older adults* The cardiovascular and blood sugar benefits backed by real research* The truth about the lymphatic detox claim and bone density* Pelvic floor and spine safety, plus a beginner-friendly rebounding routineDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/the-workout-that-protects-your-jointsCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If you can’t stop googling your symptoms, re-reading old lab results, or lying awake worrying that every ache is something serious, this episode on health anxiety is for you. I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and I want to show you why your attention gets stuck on health fears, and the simple, science-backed way to redirect it.On this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I unpack what the research actually shows about health anxiety. Here’s the part that surprised me most: anxious minds don’t notice health threats faster than anyone else, they just can’t let go of them once they do. I explain how that kind of chronic worry and rumination puts a real, measurable load on your body, raising blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol, even when nothing is actually wrong. Then I walk you through a gentle approach drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy, and I share my Windshield Protocol, a five-habit system for shifting your attention away from the fears you can’t control and toward the forward-facing health habits you can act on today.What you’ll learn:* Why people with health anxiety struggle to disengage from threats, not detect them* How worry and rumination quietly raise blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol* What the research says about symptom checking, reassurance seeking, and compulsive online searching* A science-backed way to redirect your attention using acceptance and commitment therapy* The five-habit Windshield Protocol for building controllable, plant-forward health habits* The red flags that mean health anxiety is worth talking to a professional aboutDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/are-you-driving-your-health-while?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If joint pain has slowly pushed you out of the activities you love, water therapy for joint pain might be the most underrated place to start. In this episode, I explain why aquatic exercise works so well for arthritis and knee osteoarthritis, and how simply standing in chest-deep water can take most of the load off your aching joints.For years, many of us were told the same thing about joint pain: that our cartilage is wearing out and that movement makes it worse. On this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and I’m walking you through why that wear-and-tear story gets it backwards, and why your joints actually depend on movement to stay healthy. We’ll talk about how buoyancy, warm water, and gentle resistance work together to ease pain, what the research really shows when water exercise is compared to land-based exercise, and how to pick a starting point that fits where your body is right now. Whether you’re dealing with knee pain, hip pain, or stiffness that’s kept you from the gym, this is a practical roadmap for low-impact exercise that doesn’t hurt while you do it.In this episode, you’ll learn:* How much body weight aquatic exercise takes off your joints, and why warm-water therapy eases arthritis pain* Why the “wear and tear” model of joint pain is backwards, and how movement helps protect your cartilage* A simple four-week water protocol for knee osteoarthritis and joint pain relief* Land-based options for low-impact exercise when you don’t have pool access, including stationary cycling and tai chi* When to talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program for joint painDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-painful-joints-dont-need-rest?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Is leaky gut real, or just a wellness buzzword? In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I separate the real science of intestinal permeability from the zonulin tests and supplements being sold around it, and I show you how a leaky gut wall can quietly drive inflammation and high blood sugar even when you have no gut symptoms at all.Here’s what I want you to know: the gut wall really does leak, and researchers have measured it for over thirty years in conditions like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and fatty liver disease. The biology is real. What the wellness industry got wrong is the products built on top of it. In this episode I walk through what actually damages the gut barrier, why common pain relievers like ibuprofen and naproxen matter more than most people realize, and how the gut connects to your metabolism through your liver. Then I give you a practical, research-backed gut barrier repair protocol you can start this week.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why “leaky gut syndrome” isn’t a real diagnosis, but increased intestinal permeability is real and measurable* How NSAIDs, alcohol, stress, and ultra-processed foods damage your gut wall* The link between gut health, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation* How to build a fiber and butyrate floor to repair the gut lining* What the research says about probiotics and zinc carnosine for gut barrier support* The sleep and stress habits that drive overnight gut wall repairDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/why-is-your-gut-leaking-and-what?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

The first thing your body loses after 60 isn’t strength, and it isn’t muscle mass. It’s muscle power, and almost no doctor is testing for it. In this episode I walk you through powerpenia, the newly named decline that predicts falls, mobility, and even longevity better than the measures most clinics actually track.Here’s the part most people miss. Muscle strength and muscle power are not the same thing, and they don’t decline at the same rate. Power, your ability to produce force quickly, falls first and fastest, often twice as fast as strength. It’s what lets you catch yourself when you trip, push up off the floor, or react when you lose your balance. The reason comes down to what happens to your fast-twitch fibers and motor neurons as you age, and the good news is that a specific kind of training can make the fibers you still have larger, faster, and more capable. I’ll show you the one rule that separates exercise that works from exercise that does nothing, plus a simple at-home power test and three exercises pulled straight from clinical trials in adults over 60.In this episode you’ll learn:* Why muscle power, not muscle mass, is the real predictor of fall risk and independence as you age* What powerpenia is and why standard sarcopenia screening misses it entirely* How fast-twitch fibers convert to slow-twitch ones, and how to slow or partly reverse it* The five-times sit-to-stand test you can use at home to measure your lower-body power* Three explosive, equipment-free exercises for adults over 60, and the speed rule that makes them work* How just two to three fifteen-minute sessions a week can rebuild functional powerThis is practical, science-forward lifestyle medicine you can start today.Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-body-isnt-losing-muscle-first?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Everyone is talking about fibermaxxing right now, but here is what most of the advice gets wrong: piling on grams of fiber does almost nothing if you are only eating one kind. The word “fiber” on a nutrition label barely tells you what it will actually do inside your body.In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through why the old “soluble versus insoluble fiber” framework is misleading, and the two properties that actually predict what a fiber does: whether it forms a gel, and whether your gut bacteria can ferment it. I break it down into a simple system you can use at the grocery store: GEL, FEED, SWEEP. Gel-forming fibers like oats and psyllium lower LDL cholesterol and steady your blood sugar. Fermentable fibers like resistant starch feed your gut microbiome and produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. And sweep fibers keep everything moving. I also share why fiber diversity, paired with fermented foods, may do more for your gut health than simply eating more.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, a lifestyle medicine physician, and my goal is always to turn the science into something you can actually live by. If you have ever added fiber and felt nothing change, or felt worse, this episode explains why, and exactly what to do this week.What you’ll learn:* Why “soluble versus insoluble fiber” is the wrong way to think about it* How gel-forming fiber like oat beta-glucan and psyllium lowers LDL cholesterol* What resistant starch and prebiotic fiber do for your gut microbiome* Why short-chain fatty acids like butyrate matter for your colon and your brain* How fiber diversity and fermented foods beat just adding grams* A simple Monday plan to bring all three fiber types onto your plateDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-everything-you-know-aboutCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Why does eating out on vacation wreck your blood sugar, even when you order the “healthy” thing? In this episode I explain how to eat well while traveling without chasing perfection, using a mindset borrowed from doctors who practice in the world’s hardest places.Here’s what I want you to know: travel doesn’t just change what you eat, it changes the biological conditions your body uses to process every meal. Your circadian rhythm makes evening glucose tolerance worse. Jet lag scrambles your gut bacteria. The first night in a new room steals your deep sleep. And the people at your table quietly pull your portions toward theirs. Once you see the terrain, the usual advice about counting menu calories falls apart.So instead, I walk you through the handful of moves that actually hold up on the road. We talk about meal sequencing, eating your vegetables and protein before the starch, why eating slowly matters as much as what’s on the plate, the power of a short walk after dinner, and how to protect your sleep and your gut when you’re crossing time zones. These are small, flexible habits, not rigid rules that shatter the first time you slip.In this episode, you’ll learn:* Why your body handles a late restaurant dinner worse than the same meal at home* How meal sequencing, eating vegetables and protein first, blunts post-meal blood sugar spikes* Why eating slowly can cut your after-dinner glucose response dramatically* How a 10-minute walk after dinner supports metabolic health on the go* How jet lag affects your gut bacteria, and how to recover faster* Simple sleep and meal-timing strategies for healthy travel across time zonesDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/a-doctors-field-guide-to-eating-wellCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Could weak glutes be the hidden reason behind your low back pain, aching knees, and shaky balance? If you sit most of the day, your glute muscles may have quietly stopped firing, a problem sometimes called dead butt syndrome or gluteal amnesia, and the effects reach a lot further than a flat backside.In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and I want to walk you through what actually happens when the largest, most powerful muscle in your body checks out. We’ll talk about why your hamstrings, lower back, and knees end up overworked and injured when your glutes go offline, what the research shows about a simple ten-second one-leg balance test and what it can reveal about your long-term health, and how arthrogenic inhibition can dial your glutes down without you ever knowing. Then I’ll give you a clear, three-phase plan to rebuild glute strength and re-train the right muscles to fire at the right time, using simple moves like glute bridges, step-ups, side-lying hip work, and short movement snacks you can do at your desk.In this episode, you’ll learn:* What dead butt syndrome and gluteal amnesia really are, and why sitting causes weak glutes* How weak glutes contribute to low back pain, knee pain, and IT band issues* Why a ten-second single-leg balance test matters for fall risk and longevity* How to do glute bridges, step-ups, and banded lateral walks with correct form* A simple three-phase routine to strengthen your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius* How two-minute movement snacks keep your glutes active between workoutsDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-fix-for-your-back-your?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Nearly half of all dementia cases are linked to risk factors you can actually do something about, and most of them have nothing to do with your genes. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I break down the 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia identified by the 2024 Lancet Commission, and exactly what they mean for protecting your brain.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician, and I want to make dementia prevention feel doable instead of frightening. We’ll talk through why seven of these factors are metabolic or vascular, which means the same habits that steady your blood sugar, lower your LDL cholesterol, and protect your heart are quietly building a brain that resists Alzheimer’s disease. I’ll cover the everyday habits that move the needle most, from exercise and a plant-forward Mediterranean diet to sleep, social connection, and stress management. Then I’ll walk you through the appointments worth booking and the exact numbers to ask your doctor about, because the brain-protective target is often more aggressive than standard care. This is practical, science-forward brain health you can start using today.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why 45 percent of dementia cases are tied to modifiable risk factors, and what that means for you* How exercise and a Mediterranean diet protect against cognitive decline* Why hearing loss and high LDL cholesterol are two of the biggest risk factors for dementia* The blood pressure, A1c, and cholesterol numbers to ask your doctor about for brain health* How sleep helps clear the proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease* Simple first steps to lower your dementia risk starting this weekDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-fourteen-risk-factors-explained?r=4t8jxgCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Can you lower your blood sugar while sitting? It turns out there’s a small muscle in your calf that may let you do exactly that, and almost no one has heard of it. In this episode I break down the soleus push-up, a seated movement that helped blunt after-meal blood sugar spikes by up to 52 percent in early research.Most of us sit for ten or more hours a day, and we’ve all been told the fix is to stand up and walk. That works, but it isn’t always realistic in the middle of a workday. What the research on the soleus muscle shows is something different and a little surprising: this one muscle is built almost entirely from slow-twitch endurance fibers, which means it can quietly pull glucose straight out of your bloodstream for hours without getting tired. I’ll walk you through what the studies actually found, where the science is still early and unproven, and exactly how to do the movement yourself while you read email or sit in a meeting. This is lifestyle medicine at its most practical: a small, painless habit you add to time you were already going to spend sitting.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why the soleus muscle handles blood sugar differently than any other muscle in your body* What the soleus push-up is and how to do it correctly with your knee bent at 90 degrees* How seated calf movement may improve post-meal blood sugar and insulin sensitivity* What the early research says, and why it isn’t proven yet* A simple way to start building this habit during long periods of sittingDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-body-has-a-built-in-blood-sugarCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Why does some people’s strength training transform their body while yours just leaves you sore? If you’ve ever wondered why your workouts aren’t working, this episode is for you. I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and today on The Habit Healers Podcast I’m using one of the oldest crafts on earth, blacksmithing, to explain exactly how your body builds muscle, energy, and strength at any age.The science of building muscle runs on the same cycle a smith uses at the forge: a training signal, the biological remodeling that follows, and the recovery phase where the change actually sets. Most people pour everything into the first two and cut the third one short. That’s the mistake we fix today. I walk you through why mechanical tension, not time on the treadmill, is what tells your muscles to grow, why your first month of strength gains comes from your nervous system before your muscles ever change size, and why recovery is the step that turns effort into something that lasts.And if you’re over 50, 60, or 70, here’s the part I most want you to hear: the largest review ever done on this confirms your body can still build new muscle and mitochondria, regardless of age, sex, or menopause.In this episode, you’ll learn:* Why resistance training, not cardio alone, sends the real signal to build muscle after 50* How progressive overload refines your body the way repeated forge cycles refine steel* Why the protein synthesis and recovery window means spacing sessions 48 hours apart* How sleep drives the muscle repair and growth hormone release you can’t train without* The early warning signs of overtraining and what to do when you see them* A simple 4-week plan to start or restart strength training the right wayDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/there-are-only-three-steps-betweenCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Chronic inflammation is one of the biggest hidden drivers of aging, heart disease, and metabolic decline, and most of us have no idea where we stand. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I’m walking you through “inflammaging,” the slow, silent rise in inflammation that accumulates as we age, using a surprising parallel from nature that finally makes the whole process click.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and what I want you to understand today is that the inflammatory molecules damaging your tissues are the same ones that protect you when you’re sick or injured. The difference is the dose. We’ll talk about why one population with the highest inflammation researchers have ever measured also has the healthiest hearts on Earth, why the same molecule from exercise heals you while the same molecule from belly fat harms you, and why your blood markers may not budge for months after you start doing the right things. Then I’ll give you a clear, practical protocol you can actually follow.In this episode, you’ll learn:* What inflammaging is and how chronic inflammation accelerates aging and heart disease* How to measure your own inflammation with a simple hs-CRP test and waist measurement* Why visceral fat acts like a faucet feeding low-grade inflammation* How an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean and plant-predominant diet lowers your markers* Why exercise and muscle are your body’s natural anti-inflammatory filtration system* How long it really takes to see results, and why the lag is normalDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/this-type-of-inflammation-slows-agingCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Loneliness is now considered a health risk on the level of smoking, and most of us have no idea how much modern life has quietly stripped human connection out of our days. In this episode, I break down what social disconnection actually does to your body, and the nine small habits that can rebuild it.We’ve engineered face-to-face contact out of almost everything: banking, groceries, work. Each change solved a real problem, and each one removed a small moment of connection. But the research here is striking. People with stronger social connection have a 50% greater likelihood of survival, and that effect is largest for people woven into a community, not just those who live with someone. On the other side, social isolation is linked to chronic inflammation, the same low-grade stress response tied to heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, and dementia.The good news is that the fix is made of tiny, repeatable behaviors. I walk you through all nine, from a daily appreciation text to the surprising power of weak ties, why we underestimate how much connection helps, and how to actually start this Monday.What you’ll learn in this episode:* Why social connection rivals smoking and high blood pressure as a longevity factor* How social isolation drives chronic inflammation and long-term disease risk* The prediction error that keeps us from reaching out, even when we want to* Why weak ties and small interactions boost happiness and belonging* Nine simple, science-backed habits to feel less lonely and more connected* How to pick one habit and make it stick for seven daysDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-nine-two-minute-habits-gaveCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

If your brain won’t stop thinking about food, even when you’re not hungry, you’re experiencing something researchers now call food noise. In this episode, I explain what food noise actually is, why GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro quiet it, and how to turn down the volume naturally, with or without medication.For years, constant thoughts about food got blamed on willpower and poor self-control. The science tells a different story. Food noise is a gain problem in the brain’s reward system, more like tinnitus than hunger, and I’ll walk you through the surprising research that proves it, including a study that measured the actual brain frequency of food preoccupation. I’ll also explain why GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide work more like masking than a cure, why food noise often returns when people stop the medication, and what the latest research says about building habits that last. If you’ve ever felt like food cravings and intrusive food thoughts run in the background of your whole day, this one is for you.What you’ll learn:* What food noise really is, and why it feels different from normal hunger* How GLP-1 medications like Ozempic quiet food noise, and why the effect can fade* The tinnitus and “central gain” connection that explains intrusive food thoughts* How ultra-processed foods crank up your brain’s reward system* Five science-backed ways to reduce food cravings and food noise naturally* Why food noise was never a character flaw, and how to retrain your brainDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-brain-has-a-volume-knob-forCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe

Your sense of smell may be one of the earliest warning signs for brain health and cognitive decline, and almost no one is paying attention to it. In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I explain why smell training could be one of the simplest things you do for your brain.I’m Dr. Laurie Marbas, and in this episode I walk you through the surprising science connecting your nose to your memory. Smell is the only sense with a direct pathway to the brain’s memory center, the same regions Alzheimer’s disease tends to damage first. Research shows that a declining sense of smell can predict dementia risk years before symptoms appear, and that olfactory training, the simple practice of actively sniffing a few familiar scents each day, may strengthen those vulnerable brain regions. We look at what the studies on essential oils, smell training, and brain plasticity actually found, where the evidence is strong, and where it’s still early. Then I give you a practical two-minute smell practice you can start today with four jars and a few minutes of focus.Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:* Why your sense of smell is a direct line to memory and emotion in the brain* How a declining sense of smell can be an early warning sign of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease* What the research on smell training and olfactory enrichment shows about brain health* The surprising link between scent, inflammation, and the immune system* A simple two-minute smell practice using four scents you may already have at home* When a sudden loss of smell is worth talking to your doctor aboutDr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-first-sign-of-alzheimersCheck out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about Get full access to The Habit Healers at drlauriemarbas.substack.com/subscribe