The Jordan Harbinger Show, Ep. 1201: "Benjamin Bikman | Insulin Resistance Is Killing Half of America"
Release Date: August 26, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Benjamin Bikman, PhD in bioenergetics, leading researcher in metabolic health, and author of "Why We Get Sick." Jordan and Dr. Bikman deliver a compelling, accessible, and sometimes startling deep-dive into the dangers of insulin resistance—a hidden health epidemic that now affects nearly half of U.S. adults. The discussion spans misunderstandings around metabolism, how insulin resistance develops and wreaks havoc, why it can strike the thin as well as the overweight, new insights on GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, and practical, actionable changes listeners can make to radically improve their health.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What is Bioenergetics?

• Defining "Bioenergetics":
  Dr. Bikman clarifies that bioenergetics is a real, scientific discipline focusing on how mitochondria produce energy at a cellular level, blending biochemistry and physiology.
  • "Bioenergetics is a bit more of a heavy emphasis on the mitochondria, which is the powerhouse, the energy producing part of the cell." (03:57, Bikman)

2. The Real Metabolic Epidemic

• Not Just Obesity and Sugar:
  It's not just eating too much sugar or being overweight—it's about chronically elevated insulin. Dr. Bikman argues that nearly all modern cardiometabolic diseases have a root in persistent, unrecognized insulin resistance.
  • "As much as we have a glucose centric paradigm of metabolic health...we're missing the more important marker." (05:19, Bikman)
• Metabolic Syndrome Explained:
  The hosts demystify "metabolic health," emphasizing it's not about "speeding up" metabolism with broccoli or superfoods, but the complex chemistry of how our bodies handle nutrients and build or break down molecules.
  • "Metabolism is the sum of all chemical reactions happening in a cell at any moment." (07:05, Bikman)

3. Insulin Resistance: Symptoms and Significance

• What is Insulin Resistance? Dr. Bikman defines it in two parts:
  • (1) Some cells become less responsive to insulin
  • (2) The body produces more insulin (hyperinsulinemia)
• Downstream Damage:
  Most doctors treat symptoms (e.g., high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction) with drugs, not realizing they’re all "branches of the same diseased tree"—insulin resistance.
  • "We're never actually just looking at the whole tree and say, why don't we just chop the whole thing down?” (12:24, Bikman)

4. Thin People at Risk: The Role of Genetics & Fat Distribution

• Not Just a "Fat Person's Disease":
  Some ethnicities, especially East/South Asians and Hispanics, have lower thresholds for fat storage and develop insulin resistance at much lower levels of body fat compared to Caucasians.
  • "It's the size of the fat cell that matters and not the mass of fat." (18:24, Bikman)
• Visceral vs. Subcutaneous Fat:
  Where you store fat has a greater health impact than how much you store. Visceral (organ-surrounding) fat is particularly harmful.

5. How Insulin Resistance Develops

• Three Major Drivers:
  1. Stress (adrenaline/cortisol)
  2. Inflammation (less controllable)
  3. Most important: Chronic high insulin from frequent spikes—almost entirely from constant consumption of refined starches and sugars.
  • "A fundamental feature of biology is that too much of something will generally result in a resistance to that something." (24:31, Bikman)
• Modern Eating Habits:
  The average person is in a "state of elevated insulin" all day—breakfast, snacks, lunch, and so on never allow insulin to drop.

6. Detecting Insulin Resistance — Beyond Standard Bloodwork

• Blood Markers:
  • Fasting Insulin: Should be below ~6 µIU/mL, but rarely tested.
  • Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: A value under 1.5 is a strong indicator of insulin sensitivity. (33:57)
• Visual Cues:
  • Skin changes (acanthosis nigricans: dark, thick, creased neck skin)
  • Skin tags along the collar line

7. GLP-1 Agonists (Ozempic, Wegovy): Use, Misuse, and Addiction

• How They Work:
  These mimic a natural hormone to help control blood sugar and appetite by prolonging satiety.
• Risks:
  Dr. Bikman voices concern over widespread, high-dose use for weight loss, citing increased depression and reduced enjoyment in life, not just of food but general interests.
  • "This drug reduces your interest in life and things that you used to be passionate about.” (44:02, Bikman)
• A Better Approach:
  Dr. Bikman suggests short, low-dose, purposeful use to help break carb addictions and build new habits, rather than lifelong reliance.

8. Insulin Resistance and Brain/Hormone Health

• Alzheimer’s as "Type 3 Diabetes":
  Insulin resistance impairs the brain’s ability to absorb glucose, starving neurons; increasing fat burning and ketone availability has cognitive benefits.
• Impact on Hormones:
  • Lowered testosterone in men (fat cells create more aromatase, converting testosterone into estrogen—i.e., “your fat acts like an ovary”)
  • Erectile dysfunction may be an early warning sign of insulin resistance in men
  • In women, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is closely linked

9. Actionable Advice & Habits

• Diet:
  • Reduce/cut out refined carbs and frequent snacking—not just calories, but carb frequency.
  • Don’t focus on superfoods or metabolism boosters.
  • A diet primarily of protein and fat, with careful carb restriction, can reverse type 2 diabetes in as little as 90 days (based on clinical experience).
• Monitor:
  • Request fasting insulin in your labs, or use triglyceride/HDL ratio as a proxy.
• Behavioral:
  • Recognize carb cravings as addiction—a siren song that often defeats “moderation.”
  • Recruit allies (family, friends) for accountability.
  • Try non-insulin-spiking sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, and allulose; avoid some sugar alcohols if they spike hunger individually.

10. Sleep, Environment, and Other Factors

• Avoid late-night carb intake—spiking glucose before bed disrupts sleep and triggers sympathetic overactivation.
• Many negative factors (poor sleep, chronic stress, air pollution, light exposure at night) all feed into insulin resistance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Addiction to Carbs:
  "No one is sitting around craving a plate of bacon and eggs…They want carbs. Carbs are the one macronutrient that humans crave and dare I say, have addictive tendencies towards." (01:04, Bikman)

• On Treating Symptoms vs. Causes:
  "If the clinician simply says to the patient, 'you have high blood pressure,'...then the next sentence is, 'here’s your prescription.'...If, however, we say, 'you have high blood pressure, which is a consequence of insulin resistance,'...now the next sentence is...let’s change your lifestyle." (09:49, Bikman)

• On Fat Distribution and Ethnicity:
  "The paradox being you actually have the potential to store a lot more fat because you can just keep making new fat cells. But the result is that the fat cells are much smaller, and small fat cells are not only insulin sensitive, they’re also anti-inflammatory." (19:33, Bikman)

• On Treating Obesity with Diet:
  “Within 90 days, every single one of these 11 [type 2 diabetes patients] had reversed their type 2 diabetes by every clinical marker, without ever having taken a single medication.” (62:28, Bikman)

• On Moderation and Addiction:
  "Moderation in all things is one of the most horrific ideologies when it comes to addictive habits...Abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." (66:31, Bikman)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:04] — Why humans crave carbs, not fat or protein
• [03:49] — Bioenergetics explained: more than a wellness buzzword
• [05:19 – 06:21] — Insulin, not just glucose, as the key marker for disease
• [12:24] — How treating symptoms, not the root problem, sets us up to fail
• [13:27] — Insulin resistance: the two-part pathology
• [16:37] — East Asians & thin people at risk: not just a disease of the overweight
• [20:55] — “Personal fat threshold” and why it’s lower for some ethnicities
• [24:31] — Three drivers of insulin resistance, but carbs are king
• [33:57] — Practical: How to really check if you’re insulin resistant with bloodwork and skin checks
• [36:55] — GLP-1s (Ozempic): moral panic, real risks, and how they might work
• [45:50] — Insulin resistance and the brain: Alzheimer’s as “type 3 diabetes”
• [48:31] — How fat tissue "acts like an ovary" in hormone imbalance
• [51:02] — ED in young men: Pornography AND insulin resistance—a canary in the coal mine
• [59:06] — Cytokines: How fat literally "belches" toxins and hormones
• [62:28] — Clinical results: fully reversing type 2 diabetes with a carb-restricted diet
• [66:31] — "Moderation in all things" myth, and how to build real support to change

Practical Takeaways

• Get your fasting insulin tested or use TG/HDL ratio (<1.5) to check insulin resistance.
• Cut out refined carbs and snacking; eat mostly proteins and fats; hunger/energy will naturally regulate.
• Be cautious with GLP-1 drugs—treat them as short-term aids for building habits, not magic bullets.
• Insulin resistance isn’t just about belly size. It affects cognition, mood, fertility, sexual and hormonal health—even if you’re thin.
• Abstinence is often easier than “moderation” for carb-centric addictions!
• Late-night carbs can trash your sleep via glucose spikes.
• Don’t despair if you’re already unhealthy—even advanced insulin resistance can often be reversed in weeks or months.

Final Thoughts

This episode makes a persuasive, practical case that focusing on insulin—rather than solely on calories or glucose—could revolutionize personal and public health. Dr. Bikman’s guidance is empowering, actionable, and candid about both the science and the real-life struggles of building new habits. If you or someone you know wants practical steps to avoid the worst diseases of modern life, this conversation is required listening—and a potent antidote to the myths of fad diets or easy pharmaceutical fixes.

Recommended:

• "Why We Get Sick" by Dr. Benjamin Bikman (Book referenced throughout)
• Check your lab work for triglyceride/HDL ratio & consider requesting fasting insulin

For more, visit jordanharbinger.com or search for “The Jordan Harbinger Show” wherever you listen to podcasts.