Insulin Resistance: The First Domino

Dr. Aliabadi explains how insulin resistance triggers weight gain, visceral fat, androgen production, and menstrual disruption.

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For many women, the real challenge isn’t just unexplained health problems, it’s being heard when they seek help.

Jay sits down with Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, or "Dr. A", to unpack a silent crisis affecting millions of women around the world: undiagnosed PCOS and endometriosis. This isn’t just a discussion about fertility, but a masterclass on hormones, inflammation, mental health, and the painful reality of medical gaslighting. PCOS, a condition shaped by insulin resistance, hormonal imbalance, chronic inflammation, and neurological disruption, is often overlooked, leaving women struggling with anxiety, depression, weight gain, irregular periods, and infertility without answers. Dr. A shares how insulin resistance acts as the “first domino,” triggering a domino effect that impacts everything from ovulation to mood, and emphasizes that true healing requires addressing all four pillars, not just masking symptoms with birth control.

Dr. A challenges the outdated belief that painful periods are “normal,” explaining that severe pain, painful sex, chronic bloating, bladder symptoms, and bowel discomfort are signs something deeper may be wrong. She reveals that diagnosis takes an average of 9–11 years, and that many women are told their pain is psychological before they’re ever taken seriously.

Through both science and lived clinical experience, she makes it clear: when inflammation and hormones are out of balance, mental health suffers too. Anxiety, depression, brain fog, and eating disorders are not personal failings, they are often physiological signals that something deeper is happening in the body.

In this interview, you'll learn:

How to Recognize the Signs of PCOS Early

How to Reduce Insulin Resistance Naturally

How to Tell if Your Period Pain Is “Normal”

How to Protect Your Fertility in Your 20s and 30s

How to Balance Hormones Beyond Birth Control

How to Spot Hidden Symptoms of Endometriosis

How to Lower Inflammation Through Lifestyle Changes

If there’s one thing to take away from this conversation, it’s this: your body is not working against you, it’s communicating with you. Pain is not weakness. It is a signal and you deserve to have those signals taken seriously.

To learn more about Dr. A’s advocacy on women’s health, check out: https://www.shemdpodcast.com/

With Love and Gratitude,

Jay Shetty

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What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro

02:58 Are We Facing a Fertility Crisis?

03:58 What Is PCOS?

07:13 Why PCOS Often Goes Undiagnosed

09:15 The Impact of Insulin Resistance

15:06 Making PCOS Patients Insulin-Sensitive

19:37 The Nutritional Effects of GLP-1 Medications

22:14 High Androgens and Chronic Inflammation

25:39 How Hormonal Imbalances Affect the Brain

29:25 Why Birth Control Alone Isn’t Enough