Metformin

Anything But Mid is hosted by Amy Edwards and Whitney Stropp. Neither host is a doctor and nothing here is medical advice. Lightly cleaned for readability.

Amy: I'm Amy.

Whitney: And I'm Whitney, and this is midlife, which is anything but mid. Woo!

Amy: We're on fire!

Whitney: We are killing it.

Amy: And that was like, just cold. We just sat down and did it. We were not rehearsed.

Whitney: I know. I wasn't even ready for it. You just started, and I'm like, "All right. Maybe that's the key: not to think about it at all."

Amy: I don't I don't know. I doubt it.

Whitney: Well, it worked for us this week.

Amy: Because, like, you asked about a mid moment before we sat down, and then I was going to write something down. I went to the bathroom. I thought of a mid moment, and then I came back and forgot it. So, that's my mid moment.

Whitney: I know. We were talking about it, I was like, "Wait, my mid moment is more of something that I would have never thought of doing when I was in my 20s. But a friend of mine, shout out to Dr. Angelique Campen, she is an ER doctor and one of my good friends.

Amy: Is this the glam ER doc?

Whitney: Yeah, glam ER doc. She's awesome.

Amy: Okay. I've wanted to meet her.

Whitney: She'll Next time she comes in town, we'll all go out.

Amy: Okay. Okay.

Whitney: Anyway, she And she's listening to the podcast, which I think is so sweet. And she's getting a lot of information. Anyway, she reached out to her little friend group and sent a text, and sent a link. There is a research company that was offering blood tests. There's a new test. It's called ptau, P, capital T-A-U. And I'm just pronouncing it that way, ptau.

Amy: Ptau! Ptau!

Whitney: It's not a good protein. So, it's called like Okay. Anyway, it is for Alzheimer's. It's a protein that is present when you have Alzheimer's, and so there is a new blood test out now where you can find out if you have that issue. It's 90% accurate, and the crazy thing is right now this research company, which is I think Care Access, it's looking for for participants cuz they're going to hopefully find studies for people to be a part of to help with whatever is coming down the pipe, you know, research What am I trying to say? This is also a mid moment.

Amy: Yeah, but that's okay. I understand. It's so

Whitney: Trials, trials.

Amy: Trials. So, is this the one, and like that movie Still Alice, when they tested the family to see who has the gene or whatever?

Whitney: Are you about to scare our listeners?

Amy: Oh, Still Alice is a modern-day horror movie. I mean,

Whitney: Oh, well then, I'm going to go with no.

Amy: she gets early-onset Alzheimer's, Julianne Moore. It's mortifying.

Whitney: Oh, yeah. No, I never watched it because my grandmother had Alzheimer's, and I had to share a bathroom with her in high school. My mom moved her in to our house, and my mom, bless her heart, she had like, you know, an elementary school child, an addicted an addiction, you know, child with addiction in the middle, and then me, who was perfect, in high school, and then an alcoholic husband. And then she moved her Alzheimer's mom into the house with us, and I had to share a bathroom with her, which, you know, there were some very comedic moments in there. Like I've put my rings down at night on the bathroom counter, and in the morning she would have them on. And I couldn't say, "Hey Grandma, those are my rings." I had to just like follow her around and wait for her to take them off.

Amy: Oh, my god.

Whitney: And then I also got to have her car, a sweet, sweet Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.

Amy: Hell, yeah. Like an '87?

Whitney: Yeah, it was like, yeah, like an '86. It you know, it wasn't brand-new. Anyway, and she couldn't drive anymore, and she was living at our house, so I got to have her car. That was my first car at 16. It was just a great

Amy: What was your grandmother's name?

Whitney: My grandmother's name was Charlotte. And but she was with it enough to know that someone was taking her car,

Amy: Oh, no.

Whitney: but not with it enough to know that she was not able to drive anymore.

Amy: "My car is gone."

Whitney: And so she would sit in the driveway watching the car, and I needed to go places. So then I would have to go ask permission. She would say no, and then my mom would have to like get her out of the, you know, out of the driveway. It was it was interesting. Anyway, so it runs in our family, and this opportunity came up. What was so great about it is that it's across the US and we'll put the link in in our show notes. But right now, now I don't know how long they're doing this, but right now, because they're looking for participants, they will pay you $45 to get the blood work. And then you can opt out of, like at one point they were like, "And sign this, and sign this." And I go, "Wait, what am I signing here?" And they wanted access to medical records so that as trials came in, they could pair me, and I said no to that. But other than that, it was This blood test is typically anywhere from $300 to $1,500, and I got it I got it for free.

Amy: Wow. And they'll they'll tell you?

Whitney: Yeah, they're going to call me in 2 weeks and let me know if I have the protein in my in my blood. Yeah. So, that was kind of a mid moment for me, because I have to think about those things now, you know, like Well, what And then what do you do if you do have the

Amy: Well, it's funny, cuz I immediately sent this link to my family because we have Alzheimer's in the family, and I have a lot of girl cousins. I don't know why I didn't think to send it to any guys. Oh well, they'll all get Alzheimer's. It's the nature of the beast right now. We're not thinking of men.

Whitney: Yeah. I just sent it out to my cousins and my mom, and my mom was like, "I'm 79, if I'm getting it, I'm getting it." So, she wasn't going to have the blood test. But my other cousins, a couple of them said they don't want to know. And one cousin went and got the blood test with me. So,

Amy: Interesting.

Whitney: They said they don't want to know cuz there's nothing they can do. And I said, "No, I think there are supplements that you could start taking right now." From some of the research that I have read, and I say research, I mean Instagram. Some of the things that I've heard and read, actually make the the argument that it is reversible, but you have to do things like And I know you, you know, have mixed reviews about Dave Asprey, but he talks about nicotine patches and how they can help with that, and I don't know. I just figure the more information, the better. And then if I if I have it, then I'll do whatever I need to do to keep it at bay, but also put things in place.

Amy: Yeah, sure, just start researching and doing what you can. I mean, why not? Because

Whitney: Yeah. My cousin said if she finds out, she's just going to cash out her 401(k) and like go on a fabulous trip for

Amy: Is that right? You think she really would?

Whitney: No. No, she wouldn't. But wouldn't that be fun? But you don't know. This is the thing. Look how much has changed in in the medical field, and in the field of like supplements and peptides and all of that. Who knows what's going to happen. Now AI is in the mix. Alzheimer's might not be a thing

Amy: Oh, let's pray.

Whitney: in 10 years, you know? Who knows?

Amy: Yeah. Yeah.

Whitney: So, I'm definitely not going to throw it all away if I find out I have the protein.

Amy: No, no, don't.

Whitney: So, we'll see. No, I kind of feel like I don't have it.

Amy: You just feel that?

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: I mean, you talk to your body. You talk to your cells.

Whitney: Yeah, I do, but I also have horrible memory loss.

Amy: Oh well, we all do. We all do. And then you watch a movie like Still Alice, and you're like, "I've got it. Don't."

Whitney: So, I don't know. But the Yeah, I'm never watching it. Never watching it.

Amy: I don't know why I did. I waited like 20 years or something to watch it. No, not that long, but and then I finally watched it like last year, and I was like, "Why am I doing this to myself?"

Whitney: Well, it's got great actors in it, so

Amy: I love Julianne Moore. I really do. But and then you're like, everything that you forget, you're like, "This is it. This is it."

Whitney: Well, it's the memory and you know, I don't I'm not a scientist or done a lot of research on it, but from what I remember, the memory changes are different with Alzheimer's. Like, you know what a fork is, but you don't know what it's used for. Like things like that.

Amy: Weird. Weird.

Whitney: I know. One of my good friends' dad just died of it, and, well, you know, he had it for a long time. He's like, "I don't know if I'm ever going to remember him not like that." I was like, "I think you will." I mean, I think that you'll start to remember older things about him. Absolutely. Over time, you Yeah, I think so, too.

Amy: Yeah. So, there is in Still Alice, it says the blood test they take is a genetic panel for familial Alzheimer's disease that tests for mutations in genes such as presenilin.

Whitney: Okay, I I did take this through the Function Health medicine company that I use that does a ton of blood tests. They don't do this blood test. But I did have a blood test taken I'm trying to find the the text that I sent it in. But anyway, it started with an A, and it's different. It's not this is a protein,

Amy: PSEN1.

Whitney: and the other one is a genetic code.

Amy: I You're right. You're right. I just looked at it, too. The blood test depicted in the movie Still Alice, which was released in 2014, we should add, is a genetic panel for familial Alzheimer's, which differs

Whitney: It's a genetic code, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, differs from modern, highly accurate, blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217,

Whitney: Ptau!

Amy: Ptau217, that can detect Alzheimer's pathology, plaques and tangles directly. So, and I think I remember in the movie she has three kids, and one of them didn't want to know. Like

Whitney: Yeah, I think look, I want to do this.

Amy: Yeah, all right. So, what do I do?

Whitney: All right. You you're going to go to I'm going to send you the link. Here's the downside, actually, you may have missed it. You may have missed it. So, she sent this link yesterday, and so I immediately went on there, cuz I was like, "Well, I don't have a lot going on today. I could actually, you know, let me just see what it is." Normally, there's not a place in Austin that's doing it. I would have to drive to Georgetown. And like my cousin in College Station, that's not an option there in College Station. But they have it in San Antonio, in Houston, in Georgetown, so just depends. But yesterday, they had a trailer.

Amy: No way.

Whitney: Outside of an Embassy Suites. And it was here until yesterday. Like it was here for a couple of days, and yesterday was the last day. Sorry, I should have sent you the link.

Amy: Oh, wow. No, that's so interesting.

Whitney: But there's still opportunities, and maybe they're going to come back around, too, you know?

Amy: Yeah. Okay.

Whitney: But there are there are Cool. are opportunities. And you get $45.

Amy: And you got a gift card?

Whitney: I got a gift card. Yeah, a Visa gift card for $45.

Amy: Very nice. What will you blow all your

Whitney: Whether I get Alzheimer's or not, I'm $45 richer.

Amy: Well, I tend to forget about gift cards, like you wouldn't believe. Like I cannot remember to give gift cards. I hate getting gift cards, cuz I'm like, "Fuck, now I have to remember to use this."

Whitney: I'm going to have to use it. Yeah. And you have to remember what the balance is.

Amy: Yeah. No.

Whitney: I know. I'm just going to use it like straight up like for dinner, $45, boom.

Amy: Use it right away. Yes, do it. Do it.

Whitney: Yeah. Ptau!

Amy: Ptau! I was like, "Ptau," when you do it. I don't know why I keep making a finger gun.

Whitney: You're making it finger guns.

Amy: Well, should we jump into today's subject?

Whitney: Yeah, I have no idea what the subject is.

Amy: Today's subject is metformin. Do you know what metformin is?

Whitney: I've never met Mr. Forman.

Amy: No. Have you met Forman?

Whitney: I've not met Forman.

Amy: Metformin. Metformin is a diabetes drug, and so we're going to talk about it today, because it has been used as biohacking, and I've heard a lot about it, including the episode that we have referenced a lot lately, which is Natalie Dr. Natalie,

Whitney: Yeah, Ledbetter.

Amy: who owns Upgrade Labs, where I work out, and downtown Austin, and she talked about using it in a biohacking way. And so it's being studied more for that, and so I thought it was worth talking about, because my husband's on it. And

Whitney: Oh. Is he diabetic, or is he using it biohack?

Amy: He's prediabetic, but both. I think they have him on it for both. Yes, he needs to work on that, and he needs to take his metformin. We have like bottles and bottles of it that he's had filled and doesn't take regularly. Calling him out. It is a pill. It is a drug.

Whitney: It's a pill? All right. I'm going to try not to ask I already have so many questions. I'm going to wait.

Amy: No, it's okay. It's okay. Let's let's jump in. Okay. So, metformin is a medication, and it is classified as a let me see if I can pronounce this, biguanide.

Whitney: Biguanide?

Amy: Biguanide, let's go with biguanide. Biguanide. In simple terms, it is an insulin sensitizer. While most people know it as the first line treatment for Type 2 diabetes, which I think is the diabetes that you develop, it doesn't actually add more insulin to your body. What it does is helps your body use the insulin that it already has more effectively, and it tells your liver to like slow down the production of extra sugar. So, you process better.

Whitney: The big one eye. Biguanide. Mhm. Well, it's interesting, cuz as soon as you said it's a diabetic medication, I started thinking about the GLP-1s, cuz insulin actually And again, you'll probably going to tell more, cuz I know nothing. But apparently, how you handle your insulin has a huge impact on your overall health and longevity.

Amy: Mhm. For sure, and she talks a lot about that in that episode. It's number 175, and I'm going to link it in the show notes. And I'm going to kind of go through what she says about that, too. But you're right, and we should do an episode on GLP-1s, too, because that is something naturally occurring in your body, and it has such a stigma now, but many people, myself included, microdose it. And so that just means a little bit, you know, once a week or every

Whitney: Yeah, I've thought about it. Yeah, I microdose it as well, and I thought we we do. We we really do need to talk about it. My sister's been doing it forever.

Amy: Yeah, I bought some that was Really?

Whitney: Yeah. Oh, powder? Oh, you're doing the powder?

Amy: No, no, I ha- I ha- I just ran out, but I bought a powder of it at It was like a natural GLP-1 booster that I got at Sunlife Organics, and that was kind of Okay, we digress. We'll we'll put a Put a pin in that.

Whitney: Oh, my god, I was going to say that. I I don't think I've ever really said, "Put a pin in that."

Amy: It's such a meeting-type of a thing. Like a

Whitney: It's a business.

Amy: I didn't really understand what it meant. Like, are you like,

Whitney: Like you're going to stick like on a map when you put a a stick pin in in a city on on the map.

Amy: Oh. Oh. That's how I imagine it. So, we're just going to put a pin in that to remind us. Oh. I thought it meant like on a bulletin board, we'll just stick that there, and we'll come back to it later.

Whitney: I think we're both right. I don't know.

Amy: All right, let's move on. Metformin. Now, off-label, so there are off-label uses, obviously, cuz we're talking about it for biohacking. Off-label uses that are common include managing PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome,

Whitney: Yeah. Ooh.

Amy: prediabetes, gestational diabetes, and, this one's kind of specific, weight gain caused by antipsychotic meds.

Whitney: Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Amy: And it is Yeah, but now it is being studied for anti-aging, cancer prevention, and neuroprotection, which is what we need with like Alzheimer's and all that kind of stuff. So, we're going to come back to all that. Let's talk a little bit about its history. It's derived from a plant called the French lilac. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Do you smell like French lilac?

Whitney: Oh, yeah. I like the French, and I love lilac. Well, I don't really like the French. I'll take that back.

Amy: You don't?

Whitney: Well, they're not nice. They weren't nice to me.

Amy: They are. Oh, they weren't nice?

Whitney: No. It was very stressful, and I'm going to France twice this summer, cuz I'm just such a jet-setter. But, no, they weren't very friendly to me, and I tried too hard to be friendly, and I think they didn't like that. And then I got so nervous, I started speaking Spanish instead of trying to do French.

Amy: Oh, it happens. It happens.

Whitney: I just got so flustered, and then they really didn't like that.

Amy: And they didn't like that?

Whitney: And I was just like, "Dites oui, not si." Yes.

Amy: Oh, very nice. Okay. So,

Whitney: You're triggering me. She starts crying. Having flashbacks. All right.

Amy: Okay. All right. French lilac,

Whitney: French lilac.

Amy: in the Middle Ages, this plant was used in folk medicine to treat intense thirst and frequent urination, which are symptoms of diabetes. So, in the 1920s, scientists identified guanidine, which guanidine, not guana. It's Guana is bat poop. We don't It's not that. Guanidine, with an I, as the active ingredient, but it was too toxic for humans. So, they started working with it, and in the 1950s, a French physician, sorry, named Jean Sterne rediscovered the safer compound of it, which was metformin. And it was briefly used around that time as a treatment for the flu, because it appeared to have like an antiviral property, but it was overshadowed by its sugar lowering effects. It started to gain popularity in Europe, but it wasn't approved by the FDA until 1995 in the United States, and it became quickly became the most widely prescribed oral diabetes medication in the world.

Whitney: Oh, yeah. No. Mhm. Oh, wow.

Amy: So, biguanides, I'm I'm going to go with biguanides.

Whitney: Yeah, I feel it.

Amy: I like that. Unless you can say Can you say it in a French accent?

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: Biguanide. Biguanide. No, I cannot. Biguanides are a class of oral antihyperglycemic, so we get that, that is used primarily as to treat Type 2 diabetes, with metformin being the only common available example. So, it's like the only one of its type. It works by lowering blood sugar levels, reducing glucose production in the liver, and increasing insulin sensitivity. It's the only one, as I said. I just said all that. Sometimes I put the same thing like over and over. Do you ever do that? Yeah. Okay. It's

Whitney: And then I say it over and over.

Amy: And then you say it over and over. That actually kind of helps, cuz I'm only half listening sometimes, and I have to rewind podcasts. So, you know, maybe that's a good thing. So, okay, metformin's quote-unquote "magic" happens primarily through the activation of an enzyme called AMPK, which is called the body's metabolic master switch. That is AMP-activated protein kinase, if you want to know. If you want to get technical with it.

Whitney: I don't.

Amy: It is an essential enzyme that acts as a master energy sensor in the cells of mammals like us. So, it maintains a cellular energy balance like a nice baseline homeostasis, by activating all sorts of energy-producing pathways. I'm not going to get into these science-y words, cuz we don't we don't need that, right?

Whitney: Yeah, it's too much. All that happens is my brain starts going This is what was just happening when you were talking, I was like, "Wow, there's so many little bits and pieces and parts in the body." Like then my brain went to, "How did they know about," and then I stopped listening.

Amy: How did they know? Yeah, how did they know? It's so crazy, and then they have to find some lavender or lilac.

Whitney: It just blows my mind. It blows my mind, cuz there's no way in hell I'd walk into the woods and go, "Maybe I'll eat this to see if it helps with my diarrhea."

Amy: No shit. It's

Whitney: No pun intended there, but

Amy: No joke. Right? No, no pun intended there, but yeah, I get it, right? It's like so crazy that they figured that out from this French lilac.

Whitney: I know. People are so smart.

Amy: People are so smart.

Whitney: They are.

Amy: I mean, like sometimes I go like, okay, if someone asked me to like build a microphone, I'm like, "Wait, what? And you're going to make my voice travel down this?"

Whitney: I know. Don't even get me started.

Amy: Somebody figured it out.

Whitney: What about how the camera we're using right now isn't connected to anything, and yet it's going into the computer? Like I can't. My mind

Amy: Yeah, well, when I Ptau!

Whitney: Ptau!

Amy: When I take that off of the the film filmer, off of the camera, I don't even do it with a cord. It travels through the air, and then it lands on my computer.

Whitney: It is so crazy. So, so crazy.

Amy: So weird. Okay, anyway, all right, nowadays, as I said, it is Wait, did I Okay. Oh, whoops, I went backwards. Okay. Oh, my god, I doubled that. Okay, sorry, sorry.

Whitney: That's okay.

Amy: All right, so as I said, it's being studied for some very off-label things, right, for all different things, cuz who knows? And, but it is also shown to have some of our favorite properties. Do you know what it is? Anti-

Whitney: Anti-inflammatory.

Amy: Very good. You pass the test for the day. In in both PCOS and prediabetes, it lowers the amount of sugar the liver puts into the blood, makes cells more responsive to insulin, and it can start to have anti-inflammatory properties. That's so great, right? For weight management, it's been specifically shown to be effective for in weight gain caused by certain medications like antipsychotics. It regulates appetite, improves metabolic efficiency. We like that. And about 30% of users lose more than 5% of their body weight over a year when they take it. So, if you, you know, have some of these drugs going through, this could help you if you're experiencing weight gain, which is cool. It it's kind of like the I think it's like the GLP-1. I can't remember what the GLP-1 does exactly with your brain's hunger centers, but it doesn't target that. It just manages how your body handles sugar, and that makes such the difference.

Whitney: Right. You're not having the spike, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, current research on it with anti-aging and longevity, we like, right? So, it's being studied for that. There's current research, which is There's one called TAME, Targeting Aging with Metformin. They did a trial that suggests that it may slow aging by reducing inflammation and protecting your DNA.

Whitney: Ooh.

Amy: Pretty cool.

Whitney: It's very cool. And then they're going to Yeah. All right. I'm not going to say anything.

Amy: It's also being studied for its potential to starve cancer cells of the sugar that they need to grow, and for its ability to protect the brain from cognitive decline.

Whitney: Mhm. Listen, sugar is poison. It's It's actual poison to our bodies, and I have a dog right now that has bone cancer, and he was given at most 6 months to live. Why are you laughing?

Amy: Sugar is poison. Yes. I I just, was he eating a lot of sugar, like?

Whitney: No, but well what they their kibble and stuff, you don't know a lot of the time what's in there. So, he was only given up to 6 months to live. It is now 7 and 1/2 months, and he's on an all-raw diet now. So, no sugar. And then I know this guy who only eats meat, which is a whole other thing, but he swears that that if you only if you're on like a carnivore diet, then you'll never get cancer.

Amy: True. That's bullshit, but okay.

Whitney: Yeah, so just We're not scientists or doctors. I'm just relaying some information. But I will say my dog, knock on wood, is doing okay. Like he He's still wagging his tail and jumping around and, and I believe it's his diet, and he's getting a lot of attention.

Amy: And what about the energy that you're bringing him? Like, you know, I mean, there's something to be said for that.

Whitney: Yes. Yeah, just pouring love on him. Yes, I agree. I agree. But yeah, I think that's why the GLP-1s are are so good and why people are doing the glucose monitors and all that.

Amy: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm going to mention that.

Whitney: Okay, good. All right, I'll I'll stop talking.

Amy: Yeah. Continuous glucose monitor, CGM. I haven't done that, but I've wanted to. And

Whitney: Yeah. It's one of those things, cuz we talk about just being overwhelmed and having so much information, I'm like, "I can't. I just can't. And by the way, I like to eat things, and I don't want that monitor to tell me not to."

Amy: Yes. I know. I know.

Whitney: And also, I drink wine, and I'm sure that has

Amy: That's not going to stop Mr. Glucose Monitor. All right. I know, cuz alcohol's full of sugar.

Whitney: Yeah, it's full of Oh, my gosh. And you know, I'm I'm reading this book right now. It's called The House Across the Lake. And the girl in it, the lead character, is a total alcoholic, but she's talking about drinking Yeah. Okay, well hold on. I'm not an alcoholic.

Amy: I'm not saying you are. I'm simply saying it sounds good to have a drink, and I'm reading about it all the time. And she's like, I get that she's a It's not healthy what she's doing. She's avoiding her feelings. She's avoiding the death of her husband, too. She's a widow. Anyway, though, it's making me want a drink. She'll talk about the bourbon and how it tastes good, and I'm like, "Oh."

Whitney: Oh, right. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, man. And you're like, "Oh, man." Well, you can get that non-alcoholic bourbon.

Amy: It's not the same. It's not the same. Okay, moving on.

Whitney: I know. I know.

Amy: Emerging studies suggest it might lower the risk of dementia by up to 24%, and reduce death death from cardiovascular causes in people with diabetes. Very nice. A 2023 study found it could reduce the risk of long COVID by up to 40%. I know. It's calming inflammation. It's acting as an antiviral. So, it's got all these things going on, which is super interesting. I wonder I mean, can you just take French lilac? Like what's I guess they said that it was too toxic.

Whitney: I'm sure, yeah, I think there's something you have to do to it.

Amy: Yeah. Okay. The Harvard Review said, quote, "Feeling good on metformin often comes from improved energy and mood, as it helps your body use sugar better, reducing fatigue from high blood sugar, and potentially easing anxiety and depression linked to insulin resistance, along with benefits like appetite control, modest weight loss, anti-inflammatory effects that boost overall well-being. Metformin activates cellular pathways like AMPK," that long enzyme thing that I mentioned, "that improve metabolism, increase insulin sensitivity, and protect cells, leading to more stable energy and fewer sugar cravings, making you feel better physically and mentally." Cuz sugar is a like It can be an addiction.

Whitney: Mhm. Right. And this is where my brain is going, it's once again like, do we really If you're not diabetic, where your body isn't handling itself in the correct way, can't you just cut out sugar and then you get all of the like, you know?

Amy: Yes, I think you really can.

Whitney: It goes back to what are you willing to do, and and I'm not a strict diet type of person, and I have some friends who are very strict with the what they eat, and measurements, and all this stuff for longevity and health, and I'm like, "Eh, no thank you. I don't want to live like that." So, sign me up for the pill.

Amy: Yeah. Well, but I don't eat a lot of sugar,

Whitney: Me either.

Amy: either. But sometimes it's in things that you don't even realize when you eat out. It's in, you know, bread or something weird like that.

Whitney: Sauces, which I love.

Amy: Sauces, good good one, or, well, yeah. And so I think, you know, that's something to consider. So, let's talk about Natalie and that episode with Natalie. So, it's number 175, as I said. I'm going to link it in the show notes. And so she uses metformin as a biohacking tool, which is common now. And she doesn't need it because she's diabetic, but she does have a family history of diabetes.

Whitney: Yeah. Yes. Okay.

Amy: So, that's kind of interesting, right? Maybe you're predisposed to have sugar issues if it's in your genetics. So, it has helped her have more dietary flexibility, and she's healthy. I mean, obviously, she's in the biohacking space, right?

Whitney: Yeah, genetics. Yeah, she's very healthy.

Amy: But she said metformin helped her cells be more sensitive to insulin, so when your body's producing insulin, the cells are more responsive. And then they like open this little door for sugar to enter, and they combat insulin resistance, and it slows down the glucose production in the liver, which can sometimes release glucose when you're stressed out. So, don't worry, we're going to dive into all that if that was a mouthful for you. She clarifies that if you're completely healthy and your blood sugar levels are ideal, according to a glucose monitor, there's no need to take metformin. But if your blood sugars are high, like if they're like this is like a level she mentioned, 100 in the morning, if you're fasting, that might be high, or up to 180 or 185 after eating, have you ever monitored yours?

Whitney: No, but I you know, I read recently how if you just go for a walk, a 10-minute walk after every meal, it stabilizes. You don't have that that that glucose spike.

Amy: Mhm. Yeah. She even says, so I'm going to talk about this in a second, but she even says like do 45 seconds of squats.

Whitney: I I I read that. Maybe I saw her say that. Yeah, but you can Yeah, can you imagine, you just get up from the dinner table and just do 45 seconds of squats?

Amy: No, that's what she said. That's She had this crazy She had this crazy little protocol

Whitney: No, I actually Yeah. I think I when it was on that episode.

Amy: when it was on that episode. So, she had this crazy little protocol. She was like, "Okay, I love a waffle with syrup at Snooze." And she was like, "If you're going to eat something high in carbs, like a pancake or waffle, here's what she would do." And she has this little protocol, so if you want to listen to the episode, she describes the whole thing. But she has, like after she eats it, well, first, she takes the metformin 45 minutes before eating.

Whitney: Yeah. Oh, okay.

Amy: So, that's going to help. And then like, I don't know if it was right before or after she eats the waffle, she like she was like I was like, "You just stand up in your booth and like, you know, next to your booth and do some squats?" She was like, "Yeah." And I was like, "What? That's crazy. You do 10 10 squats or something like that."

Whitney: That is crazy.

Amy: Right?

Whitney: But if it gets you that waffle, can I do that with wine? Just like every glass, then I just do, you know,

Amy: You should try it. You should get a CGM and see.

Whitney: squats? I don't want any more numbers, you know, and all the blood tests that I do, and I'm trying to keep track of it all. I don't know, maybe I will.

Amy: Well, they said No, they said it can be a negative, cuz when I started really looking to into CGM, cuz she like talk you know, every one of my guests talks me into whatever they're doing. I'm like, "I'm in! I need that!" And so, just like these this show. And so I was like, "I need a CGM," or whatever. And then I started looking at him, then I realized like that's just another thing for me to be addicted to looking at, and I think that's a common problem for people.

Whitney: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. No, I it's just something to obsess over, and then, quite honestly, it's like the weighted vest. It's like if you start noticing, there are a lot of people wearing those glucose monitors.

Amy: Really?

Whitney: And I do not think that they are diabetic, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, they're not. No.

Whitney: So, it's just also like a trend.

Amy: It is it's trendy. Yeah, shit. So, anyway, I mean, I don't know how to notice my own sugar spikes. Like is there a way to feel it in your body?

Whitney: I don't know. I think you feel the crash more than the

Amy: You feel the crash, right. "How can you notice a sugar spike?"

Whitney: Sugar spike. I guess it's just like a rush.

Amy: Maybe? "Extreme thirst, urination, fatigue, blurred vision, and a headache." What?

Whitney: That sounds like It sounds like you have a problem.

Amy: I think that's intense. I don't know that it's means Maybe you should have put glucose spike. Although, you know what, maybe it is, because if I eat Chick-fil-A, which I'm sure has a bunch of sugar in it, I a couple hours later, I get so thirsty and miserable. Yeah, it's really and I feel really puffy. It's awful. I hate it. So,

Whitney: Oh, I'm sure. Oh, interesting. I feel like that, too, but I eat so many like pickled things and pickles and stuff, and drink the juice and stuff, so I feel like it's sodium. Who knows?

Amy: Yeah. Oh, that could be. Okay, who knows? Who knows? So, overall, metformin can keep your insulin levels down, which reduces overall inflammation in the body, so that's cool. It can be a mitochondrial disruptor, meaning it slows down your mitochondria from making energy. So, some biohackers like her say cycle on and off of it. Don't take it all the time if you don't need it for diabetes, which is pretty cool, right? It keeps your body responsive.

Whitney: Mhm. Right. That makes sense.

Amy: It does, right?

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: So, again, that's that's in the show notes. It's around the 40 to 50-minute mark if you want to go listen to her talk about that. The other side effects are digestive issues, so it can cause like a upset tummy. We don't want that.

Whitney: Well, and if it's dealing with I think didn't you say something I know semaglutides do this, they slow down the digestive process.

Amy: I It didn't seem to do that.

Whitney: They make your body

Amy: They do.

Whitney: that the stomach goes slower or something so that it's full for longer. But, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, and and I liked that about it, but you have to be careful,

Whitney: Me, too.

Amy: I think, and like they're still studying that. And Justin says that he thinks people's stomachs stop working, and I'm like, "Oh, my god." So,

Whitney: There Yeah, again, let's do an episode

Amy: Yeah, we need to. We need to.

Whitney: soon on it. Yeah.

Amy: All right. So, here's our final verdict: for women in perimenopause or menopa- postmenopause, we know that's called that now, as estrogen drops, insulin resistance can rise. Fucking estrogen, man.

Whitney: Yes. Right. I think that's why you get the pooch, too, which is why I started doing the semaglutide because I couldn't get rid all Like it seemed like overnight, all of a sudden, I had this like 5-pound stomach.

Amy: Yeah. Really?

Whitney: Yeah, and no matter what I did.

Amy: Yeah, that's what they say. It's a It can be Metformin can be a tool to combat metabolic midlife spread, like weight weight gain in your waist, and it can help with insulin resistance.

Whitney: Okay, and can you get this anywhere, or do you have to have a prescription?

Amy: I think you need to get it through your like blood work person. Either a doctor, but I think it's better through like the biohacking blood work. Like yours is called Longevity Function

Whitney: Well, I mean, Function Function Health, but they don't give you medications. They just let you get all this blood work done, and then tell you what it means.

Amy: Oh, they don't?

Whitney: No, that It's not It's not like that. It's

Amy: Oh, mine does.

Whitney: It's just an app. And then they they allow you They set up the labs that allow you to go in and get the lab work, because remember like my OB was like, "No, we're not doing" Well, it wasn't even her, it was her assistant was just like, "No, we're not testing your hormones." They just, you know, for whatever reason. So, this is a way to bypass that and test all of these things that most doctors aren't going to test until there is an issue, whereas you're trying to be proactive

Amy: That is so dumb. Okay.

Whitney: and, you know.

Amy: Oh, well maybe you need to move over to what I'm doing, because then they go

Whitney: Well, you do Ways2Well.

Amy: Ways2Well, Ways2Well, and the number two, Ways2, and then they I meet with a actual practitioner, so they look through, and they would look at like your levels in your liver, say, or something like that. I'm totally making this up, folks. But they would look at that, and then they'd be like, "Oh hey, your estrogen's down and your liver's working overtime, so maybe why don't we cycle on metformin?" And then they give you a prescription for that,

Whitney: Yeah, I might. Your liver levels. Right.

Amy: and they have a pharmacy.

Whitney: Yeah, I think I do. I had a Function Health doctor who was like 98, and he just retired.

Amy: Your doctor was 98?

Whitney: Yeah. He was the deliver He started the hospital in Houston where I was born, and his partner was my mom's gynecologist. Isn't that crazy?

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: But, you're giving a face, but the reason he was able to work so long is because he jumped on that supplement wagon very early on, and so he claimed that he had the body of a 60-year-old, you know, on the inside. Biological age.

Amy: Is he alive still?

Whitney: He's still alive. But I think his wife was finally like, "Good Lord, when are you going to retire?"

Amy: "Enough already."

Whitney: "We're in our 90s." Anyway, but I I do I need to go somewhere else. I'm looking.

Amy: Yeah. Yeah, so there are places that you can get basically there are places that are going to look at all these markers in your blood and be like, "Oh, here's this little mystery I can solve, and let's see what happens if we do this, and then you cycle with it." So, I think that's pretty interesting, because, you know, it's being studied for a lot of different things, too. And it can help manage brain fog that's associated with blood sugar spikes, and stuff like that. So, that's pretty cool. Of course, the cons of it, the most common drawbacks are GI upset, nausea, diarrhea, and vitamin B12 depletions, so you might need to supplement your B12. I don't eat a lot of meat, so I'm constantly supplementing my B12, so there's that. So, there you go. If you're insulin resistant or have PCOS, then we would say definitely a go, good, effective, low-cost intervention. But if you have perfect metabolic health, then taking it just for longevity is like still under debate, so you could get a CGM and see what happens.

Whitney: Let's tweak this. Yeah, mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Oh. Boost that. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Okay, what's a CGM?

Amy: Continuous glucose monitor.

Whitney: Oh. Oh, see?

Amy: No, it's okay. Good. No, you should have asked. So, there we are. That's it.

Whitney: All right. Well, thank you, metformin.

Amy: That's my report. We just met Metformin.

Whitney: I've met Met Metformin. Met a I met Forman, metformin. All right.

Amy: Yeah. I know. I know it was kind of a random one, but I feel like it's one of those things that I keep hearing come up, and I didn't understand what it was.

Whitney: Well, you're living it. Yeah, and you're living it right now with Justin. So, you're like, "What is he taking, and why isn't he taking it?"

Amy: Yeah. Yeah. So, anyway, there you are. There's there's a report.

Whitney: All right. Well, thank you. I can't wait to hear what happens next, because if it it sounds very similar to the GLP-1s, which are very difficult to get now.

Amy: They are?

Whitney: Well, unless you, like for me, I'm not getting it from a doctor, and I didn't before. Before it got bought, that's a whole other story, but, you know, now it's research only. But before it was bought by big pharma, you could get it online by from reputable pharmaceutical companies, but now you can't. They made it

Amy: Well, so what do you do?

Whitney: impossible. Well, now there are places online that sell it, but they say for research purposes only, and then you get nervous, cuz you're like, "Wait,"

Amy: Oh. What's in it?

Whitney: "what's in it?" Yeah.

Amy: Yeah. And what is yours?

Whitney: Well, it used to be tirzepatide. I go back and forth on it. I haven't taken it in a long time. And since then, you can't really find tirzepatide.

Amy: Really? That's what I used. Mine's tirzepatide with

Whitney: You can't.

Amy: B in it.

Whitney: Through your through your person. Like somebody's ordering it for you, and it's legit. Is it under the name like Mounjaro, or something like that? Okay, so they're So, they're probably Oh, it's compound. I'm compounding it myself.

Amy: Yes, yes. No, it's compounded.

Whitney: That sounds so sketchy. And by compound, what I mean is I'm just putting in the bacteriostatic water or whatever.

Amy: That sounds Oh, right. Right, right, right. Interesting. Yes.

Whitney: That's all I'm doing, mixing the peptide. But but I just ordered some and it's just called GLP-1-T. So, I don't know.

Amy: Oh, huh, interesting. Okay.

Whitney: Yeah, so I don't know, we'll see. I just I don't know, we'll see.

Amy: Okay, but we're definitely going to do an episode on it. Okay.

Whitney: Yeah, we need to, cuz people like us people like us they other people will like roll their eyes and be like, "Why are you doing anything?

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: You don't get it, lady. You don't get it." So, we need to help them understand it's not just for obese people.

Amy: Yeah, we need to talk about that. No, it's not. It's not.

Whitney: Anyway.

Amy: It's for everybody. Can have a lot of health benefits, and that's what it's being studied for. All right, well, cool. Well, thank you.

Whitney: Yes. Yeah, thank you.

Amy: Thanks for listening. And if you have a mid moment, we would sure love to hear it, so you can send it to us. You can DM us on Instagram at @anythingbutmid, or you can email us at anythingbutmidpodcast@gmail.com. And

Whitney: And if anything has resonated on any of our episodes and you have a story to tell, or some experience with one of the things that we've been talking about, share it with us. Like we would love to to hear what your experiences have been on semaglutide, or metformin, or you know.

Amy: Whatever, hair loss.

Whitney: Hair loss. Whatever, hair loss. Yeah, we want to hear it.

Amy: So, yeah, reach out anytime. Please also share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave us a review. We're still we're still in builder mode. We're builder mode over here. So, that's right. Thank you so much.

Whitney: Review us. Yeah, we're babies. Thank you.

Amy: So great.

Whitney: And no matter what, you do what you want.