I magine if just one spark could drastically improve our chances to avoid serious illness. We have far more control over our health than we may think, because a lot of it comes down to what we eat, according to Dr. Benjamin Bikman. He is a leading expert on insulin resistance, a condition that arises from eating too much sugar and the resulting constant high level of insulin in the body. Dr. Bikman has compiled an incredible breadth of research on this condition and how it relates to other serious illnesses, all of which he boiled down into his book, Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease and How to Fight It.

Food can be medicine too. We’ve just chosen to let food make us sick and put drugs in place as our medicine. Change breakfast. Change tomorrow.

Dr. Bikman’s research focus is on metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. He received a Ph.D. in Bioenergetics and a postdoctoral fellowship with the Duke-National University of Singapore in metabolic disorders.

His research and academic training have led him to a simple conclusion: that insulin resistance wreaks havoc on our health. Dr. Bikman explains that 9 out of 10 of us have some degree of insulin resistance, which can cause diabetes, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s. It can also fuel and worsen cancer. But there’s great news: insulin resistance is almost entirely and rapidly reversible through diet, fasting, and stress reduction. 

Dr. Bikman lays out the steps you can take to improve your diet and lifestyle to avoid insulin resistance. Cutting out sugar and carbohydrates, eating proteins and fats, fasting, and better sleep can all make a big difference in your health and repair or even reverse damage from years of a bad diet. He tackles bad dietary practices such as eating a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast or snacking every couple of hours. As he acknowledges, his message is easy to say and harder to do, but it offers hope that you can fight back against chronic illness. Dr. Bikman’s project is to get his message out to as many people as he can so they can take charge of their health, eat better, and prevent serious disease.