If your eating has not changed but the weight has, this episode is for you.

The weight is a symptom, and a late one. What changed years earlier was invisible — your body quietly got worse at handling sugar, and insulin climbed to compensate.

I walk through the four things that went after that system, the fifth that came from outside, and why neither your scale nor your last blood panel could catch any of it early.

And if you get an afternoon crash, 2am waking, or fog after meals — those are not separate complaints. They are all the same thing.

Part 2 of 8 in the Blood Sugar & CGM Series. Listen now​

If you've ever been told this (and from what I hear from other women, a lot of us have heard this!), there's a good chance it traces back to one book — The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. It became a cultural phenomenon and for millions of women it became THE reason they stopped eating meat.

Here's what most people don't know.

When independent researchers went back and examined the raw data, they found serious problems. The correlations were cherry-picked. Wheat flour actually showed a stronger link to heart disease in that same dataset than animal protein did. That part didn't make the book.

The study was also observational — meaning it could show that two things happened at the same time but couldn't prove one caused the other. And the original cancer research? Done on rats. Using isolated processed protein. Combined with extremely high doses of a known carcinogen. Not exactly a grilled chicken breast.

McGill University reviewed it and concluded the findings weren't well supported by the data.

Does this mean you have to eat meat? Absolutely not. Your choices are yours.

But if you've been avoiding animal protein based on this research — you deserve to know the science behind that decision is shakier than it was presented to be.

And if you're going plant-based, know this: getting adequate protein becomes significantly harder without animal sources. Not impossible — but you have to work at it intentionally every single day. Lentils, tempeh, tofu, edamame, chickpeas, hemp seeds, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs — all of it counts. But you have to be honest about whether you're actually hitting your targets.

Because women who don't get enough protein lose muscle. And losing muscle affects your metabolism, your energy, your bone density, and your long-term health in ways that are really hard to reverse.

You deserve the most accurate information possible to make the best choices for YOUR body.

So tell me — has this research influenced your choices around meat? Drop it below. 👇