Dr. Amanda Tracy, ND

Fasting insulin can be a helpful piece of the puzzle. But it is still only one snapshot. Metabolic health is bigger than a single fasting number.

Blood sugar patterns, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure, waist circumference, activity levels, sleep, muscle mass, family history, and how your body responds after eating can all add important context. Research also suggests that combining fasting insulin with other metabolic markers can give a more complete picture than looking at fasting insulin alone.

So if your fasting insulin comes back “normal,” that can certainly be reassuring. It just does not automatically tell us everything about insulin sensitivity or your overall metabolic health.

Your labs are pieces of information. The value comes from understanding how those pieces fit together.

Eating less is one of the most noticeable changes when taking a GLP-1, but your digestive system is adjusting too. Because GLP-1 medications can change gastric emptying, appetite, food intake, and bowel habits, it is worth paying closer attention to how your gut is functioning along the way.

Here are 5 things to pay attention to for better gut health on a GLP-1:

• 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Constipation is common with GLP-1 medications. Changes in food intake, hydration, fiber, and digestive motility can all play a role.

• 𝗙𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: Eating less can mean getting less fiber. Gradually including vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds can help support digestion and the gut microbiome, as tolerated.

• 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Adequate fluids are especially important if you are dealing with constipation, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

• 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲: Because GLP-1s can slow stomach emptying, smaller meals and eating more slowly may help reduce uncomfortable fullness, bloating, nausea, and reflux.

• 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀: Ongoing vomiting, significant abdominal pain, severe constipation, or difficulty eating and drinking should not simply be dismissed as part of taking a GLP-1. Talk to your healthcare provider if symptoms are significant or persistent.

Supporting gut health while taking a GLP-1 is not about following a perfect diet. It is about paying attention to how your digestion is

Fatigue sounds simple, but clinically, it is one of those symptoms that can come from a lot of different places. So when someone says, “I’m exhausted all the time,” we do not just ask how much they are sleeping.

We look at the full picture.

Are you getting enough restorative sleep, or are you technically in bed for 8 hours but waking up feeling like you barely slept?
Are you eating enough? Getting enough protein? Going long stretches without food and crashing later?
What does your blood sugar look like throughout the day?
How is your thyroid functioning?
Could iron, B12, vitamin D, or other nutrient levels be part of the story?
What is your stress load like? Are you recovering from your workouts, or stacking intense exercise on top of an already overloaded system?

We may also look at medications, hormone changes, inflammation, infections, sleep apnea, mood, and other medical conditions depending on the person.

Fatigue is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And while another coffee may get you through the afternoon, it does not tell us why your energy is running on fumes in the first place.

If feeling tired has become your baseline, it is worth looking at the pattern instead of just learning how to push through it.

Supplements can absolutely have a place in a thoughtful health plan. But it is surprisingly easy for that plan to grow one bottle at a time.

You start magnesium for sleep.
Vitamin D after a low lab.
A probiotic for digestion.
Something for stress.
Something for hormones.
Then a friend sends you a podcast and suddenly there are four more.

A few months later, nobody remembers why half of them are still there.

This is where regular supplement reviews matter.

What are you taking?
Why are you taking it?
Is the dose still appropriate?
Could anything be interacting with medications or other supplements?
Are you still getting a benefit?
Does it even need to stay in the plan?

More bottles do not automatically mean more support. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is clean up the plan and make sure every supplement has a clear purpose.

A new study found that when gut bacteria do not have enough fiber to ferment, they may start breaking down proteins from the mucus layer that helps protect the intestinal lining.

That matters because this mucus layer is part of the barrier that helps separate gut microbes from the cells lining your intestine.

Researchers also found that fiber helped reduce this breakdown. They also identified certain indigestible plant proteins that may help shift microbial metabolism toward producing more beneficial compounds.

Low fiber: microbes may rely more on your own mucus layer.
More plant fiber: gives microbes more dietary material to ferment.
Certain plant proteins: may also support more favorable microbial activity.

A good reminder that gut health is shaped by what you consistently feed your microbiome. Vegetables, legumes, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and seeds all give those microbes something useful to work with.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260814235842.htm

Probiotic sodas. Prebiotic bars. Fermented snacks. Fiber powders. Yogurts with a very impressive number on the front. There are more “gut health” products than ever, which sounds helpful until every package starts promising the same thing.

Here’s what to actually look at:

- Fiber: Does it contain a meaningful amount, or is “prebiotic” doing a lot of marketing work?

- Type of fiber: Ingredients like inulin, chicory root fiber, resistant starch, or psyllium can all behave differently in the gut. Some people tolerate them well. Others get very bloated very quickly.

- Added sugar: A product can contain probiotics and still be loaded with sugar.

- Live cultures: For fermented foods like yogurt or kefir, I want to know whether live and active cultures are actually present.

- Ingredient list: Shorter is not always better, but I do want to know what is providing the “gut health” benefit.

- How you feel after eating it: This one matters. A food can look perfect on paper and still not agree with your digestion.

- And one more thing: you do not need a shelf full of specialty products to support your gut.

Beans, lentils, oats, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds, yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods can do a lot of the heavy lifting.

The gut-health aisle can be useful. Just do not let the packaging do all the thinking for you.

These savory fritters pack in protein and fiber making them a satisfying option for balanced energy and muscle support.

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup oat flour
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or dill
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive or avocado oil for cooking

Greek Yogurt Herb Dip
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped dill or parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• Shred the zucchini, sprinkle lightly with salt, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Squeeze out as much excess water as possible using a clean kitchen towel.

• Add the zucchini to a bowl with cottage cheese, eggs, oat flour, Parmesan, herbs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

• Mix until everything is well combined.

• Heat a small amount of olive or avocado oil in a skillet over medium heat.

• Scoop the mixture into the pan and gently flatten into small fritters.

• Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through.

• Mix the dip ingredients together and serve alongside the warm fritters.

For some people, it is a terrible night of sleep. For others, it is skipping breakfast, going too long without eating, a high-stress morning, or stacking a hard workout on top of an already packed day.

Energy is one of those things we often try to fix with caffeine first, but the pattern usually tells us more.

A few things that can quietly drain your energy:

- Poor sleep
- Blood sugar swings
- Under-eating
- Low protein intake
- Dehydration
- Iron or B12 issues
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Hormonal changes
- High stress
- Too much training and not enough recovery

The interesting part is that fatigue rarely shows up in isolation. It often comes with clues like cravings, brain fog, poor recovery, irritability, headaches, feeling cold, or that classic 3 p.m. crash.

What tends to tank your energy the fastest? Drop yours below!

Yes, people are literally taking a spoonful or shot of extra-virgin olive oil in the morning. And while it may look like peak wellness culture, there is a reason olive oil keeps getting so much attention.

Extra-virgin olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and contains polyphenols, plant compounds that have been studied for their role in cardiovascular and metabolic health.

That peppery little burn you sometimes feel in the back of your throat? That can be a sign of certain polyphenols, including oleocanthal, which is one of the compounds researchers are particularly interested in.

So why take it as a shot? Mostly convenience. It gives people an easy way to get a consistent amount of high-quality olive oil into their day, especially if they are not using much of it in meals. It may also help with satiety when included as part of a meal pattern that contains enough healthy fat.

A few things matter though:

𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Extra-virgin olive oil is where you get the highest concentration of beneficial polyphenols.
𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Light, heat, and oxygen can degrade the oil over time.
𝗔𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: More is not endlessly better. Olive oil is still calorie-dense, so context matters.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁: A shot is one option, but drizzling it over vegetables, beans, salads, or whole grains gives you the same food with a lot more enjoyment.

If the olive oil shot gets you to use more high-quality extra-virgin olive oil consistently, there is some logic behind it.

A large study of more than 21,000 women found that those who had used estrogen-only hormone therapy later in life had:

39% lower odds of a dementia diagnosis
35% lower odds of Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain

Researchers also found biomarker patterns that suggested less amyloid buildup in women who had used estrogen.

That is especially interesting because estrogen plays a role in the brain, including areas involved in memory and cognition.

The study does not prove that estrogen therapy prevents dementia, but it does suggest there may be a meaningful connection between estrogen exposure and brain health as women age.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260814011028.htm