The Habit Healers

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 week

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/is-food-really-the-main-variable

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 instead

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-glucose-hits-145-after-lunch

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 routine

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/the-workout-that-protects-your-joints

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 about

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/are-you-driving-your-health-while?r=4t8jxg

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 pain

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/your-painful-joints-dont-need-rest?r=4t8jxg

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 repair

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/why-is-your-gut-leaking-and-what?r=4t8jxg

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 power

This 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=4t8jxg

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 plate

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-everything-you-know-about

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 zones

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/a-doctors-field-guide-to-eating-well

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about

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 workouts

Dr. Marbas Substack Article: https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/what-if-the-fix-for-your-back-your?r=4t8jxg

Check out the Habit Healers Community: https://www.skool.com/habithealers/about