The Dr. Hyman Show

Reversing Diabetes Naturally: The Science Big Medicine Ignored

Apr 28, 2025

Gary Taubes, a science journalist and co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative, joins Greeshma Shetty, an endocrinologist, and Sami Inkinen, CEO of Virta Health. They dive into how refined carbs, not dietary fat, fuel insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The trio highlights how low-carb diets can not only reverse diabetes but also challenge the conventional reliance on medication. They also debate the misconceptions around red meat and nutrition, advocating for personalized dietary changes as key to managing chronic disease.

01:17:01

Episode guests

Sami Inkinen

Greeshma Shetty

Gary Taubes

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The podcast highlights that Type 2 diabetes may be reversed through dietary changes, particularly by reducing refined carbohydrates instead of focusing on fat consumption.

Magnesium is emphasized as a crucial mineral for metabolic health, impacting various bodily functions and potentially enhancing overall well-being when supplemented properly.

The discussion critiques existing dietary guidelines, arguing they misrepresent red meat's role in diabetes risk and overlook the significance of refined carbohydrates.

Deep dives

The Role of Carbohydrates in Health

The podcast emphasizes that the human body does not require carbohydrates to thrive, despite them being a primary fuel source. It suggests that eliminating carbohydrates can lead to significant health improvements for individuals with conditions like type 2 diabetes. This concept is illustrated through historical dietary patterns observed in various populations, such as the Inuit and Pima Indians, who thrived on diverse diets ranging from low to high carbohydrate content. Ultimately, the quality of the calories consumed is crucial, highlighting that there are no essential carbohydrates from a biological standpoint.

Intro

3min

Reevaluating Diabetes Management through Diet

19min

Understanding Obesity and Diabetes: The Role of Diet in Reversal

5min

Reversing Diabetes Through Nutrition

13min

Holistic Diabetes Management

6min

Unpacking Red Meat and Diabetes Risk

23min

Critique of Study Methodology on Diet and Diabetes

4min

There has been a fundamental shift in understanding metabolic health and chronic disease, particularly Type 2 diabetes, challenging long-standing dietary dogma by emphasizing that insulin resistance is largely driven by overconsumption of refined carbohydrates, not dietary fat or red meat. While highlighting the success of carbohydrate restriction and ketogenic approaches, nutrition is being seen as a powerful tool for reversing diabetes—often more effective and sustainable than conventional medication. The implications are far-reaching, not only for individual health outcomes, but also for reshaping public health strategies in addressing today’s chronic disease epidemic.

In this episode, I speak with Gary Taubes, Sami Inkinen, and Dr. Greeshma Shetty about an approach to treating Type 2 Diabetes that works. I also discuss how red meat is not to blame, but we should be looking at high sugar and starch diets.

Gary Taubes is an award-winning science and health journalist, and co-founder and director of the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI). He is the author of The Case Against Sugar, Why We Get Fat, Good Calories, Bad Calories, and, most recently, The Case for Keto. Gary is a former staff writer for Discover and correspondent for Science. He has written three cover articles on nutrition and health for The New York Times Magazine, and his writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire, and numerous "best of" anthologies, including The Best of the Best American Science Writing (2010). He has received three Science in Society Journalism Awards from the National Association of Science Writers, and is also the recipient of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Sami Inkinen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Virta Health, a pioneer in reversing diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes through a nutrition-first approach. Sami's personal connection to diabetes and passion to advance global health was the motivation behind Virta and its innovative care model. Previously, Inkinen was the co-founder of the leading online real estate marketplace Trulia, serving as its COO and president and board member until its IPO and eventual sale to Zillow Group.

Dr. Greeshma Shetty, board certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, currently serves as a Lead Clinician in the Virta Medical Group and the Director of Quality and Safety at Virta Health. Prior to joining Virta, she was clinical physician educator at Harvard Medical School, where she directed the combined Joslin - Beth Israel Deaconess Endocrine Fellowship program and Co-Directed the Asian American Diabetes Initiative. She is dedicated to clinical excellence, leveraging health technology, transforming healthcare delivery, driving health equity and building high performing teams.

This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers.

Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN10 to save 10%.

Full-length episodes can be found here:

The Evolution of Diabetes Treatment

How to Reverse Diabetes Naturally

Does Red Meat Cause Type II Diabetes?