Episode 257

Brain Health & Blood Sugar (feat. Megan Lyons)

Published on: 3rd July, 2024

Balancing your blood sugar can have a huge impact on your brain health. If you experience brain fog, energy crashes, mood swings, cravings, or more, this episode is for you? Tune in to learn more about balancing your blood sugar. 

In this week’s episode, Jenn talks with health and wellness expert Megan Lyons about how blood sugar affects brain health. Megan explains how different foods impact our brain, the role of neuroinflammation, and the literal connection between the gut and the brain, known as the vagus nerve. They discuss how being in a stressed state can affect digestion and blood sugar. Megan also shares practical tips for balancing blood sugar with different eating habits. Finally, Jenn and Megan chat about what's important and what's overrated when it comes to managing blood sugar. Tune in for useful advice and simple explanations!

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

  • [06:22] Megan shares about herself and her background.
  • [10:55] How might someone know if they are experiencing blood sugar dysregulation?
  • [14:15] What's the connection between brain health and food? 
  • [15:29] How does neuroinflammation happen? 
  • [18:55] What food choices can help reduce or clear inflammation in the body? 
  • [22:10] How do vitamins and minerals help with inflammation? 
  • [24:07] How can you improve the gut/brain connection and tone of the vagus nerve? 
  • [27:48] Megan shares some tips for balancing blood sugar.
  • [31:52] What are the most underrated things we should be doing to help balance blood sugar?
  • [34:27] What are some of the most overrated things that people are doing that aren’t always necessary? 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Anti-inflammatory foods, sleep, and movement are essential for brain health. 
  • Focusing on the fundamentals before any supplement or biohack is where one needs to start. Focus on digestion, sleep, stress management, nutrient-dense diet, and movement before reaching for the next quick fix. 
  • Just get started. It doesn’t matter which foundation you start with because they all impact one another. Start with the one that catches your attention the most and do the small steps to improve, then move on to the next. 

QUOTES: 

  • [12:14] “To answer your question, what might people experience if they’re having some blood sugar dysregulation, honestly it could be so many things. Most commonly I see that energy slump, that craving, I need chocolate, I need caffeine, or I need a nap a couple hours after lunch tends to be the primary one. Some extra belly fat around the middle can be related to blood sugar, brain fog is often related as well.” - Megan Lyons
  • [23:34] “Your nervous system can get hyper-activated, it can get kind of caught in that flight or flight state, and magnesium is soothing for that. It can help us shift into that parasympathetic state. It’s implicated in so many different cellular reactions that help control inflammation.” - Megan Lyons
  • [34:51] “There is no supplement in the world that will allow you to just eat those jelly beans all day without anything else and still have good blood sugar. I encourage people to pay attention to the foundations and not necessarily get too far off track there.” - Megan Lyons
  • [38:18] “We prioritize these hacks over the fundamentals, and you can’t supplement your way out of poor nutrition, we can’t cold plunge our way out of not sleeping.” - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

GUEST RESOURCES:

The Lyons Share Website

Freebie: The Revitalize Health Accelerator

The Lyons Share Pinterest

GUEST BIO:

Megan Lyons is a sought-after health & wellness expert who is deeply passionate about inspiring others to feel their healthiest and happiest. Megan is a Harvard graduate, MBA, and former management consultant who left the business world to follow her passion for wellness by opening The Lyons' Share Wellness in 2014. Since then, she's earned a Master's degree in Holistic Nutrition, and become Double Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition and has amassed over 10,000 hours of 1-to-1 nutrition consulting with clients internationally. Megan is the author of “Start Here: 7 Easy, Diet-Free Steps to Achieve Your Ultimate Health and Happiness,” a Top 10 Amazon Bestseller in Nutrition, and she runs a top podcast on health and wellness, “Wellness Your Way with Megan Lyons.” Her Revitalize Health Accelerator is a community of health-minded individuals looking to continuously uplevel their health and wellness.

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
Nutrition tips that actually work. Real-life healthy eating, balanced diet tools, and weight loss tips you can use today with coach Jenn Trepeck.*

If you have searched for nutrition tips, tried to keep a healthy lifestyle, or felt stuck following popular weight loss tips, this podcast is for you. Get straightforward wellness advice that works in real life, plus strategies for a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, and a smarter approach to fitness and nutrition. Is your diet making you hungrier, crankier, or less healthy? Tune in and find out.*

Free gift: Schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Jenn to explore what is possible for you. https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/contact/

Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries, where wellness meets real life. Award-winning host Jenn Trepeck, health and lifestyle coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, cuts through the noise with clear answers you can trust. Ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, the show won Ear Worthy’s Best Health Podcast in 2024 and 2025 and was nominated for Best Independent Podcast both years. Jenn also won Women Who Podcast’s Stellar Interview award in 2025 after being named one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022.

Jenn’s motto is “wellness without the weirdness.” With more than 17 years coaching after solving her own food struggles, she knows how confusing the industry can be. Each week you get the foundations of a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, metabolism basics, and long-term holistic health, plus straight talk on fad diets and supplements.

What you will get by listening:
✅How to eat and how to cheat, guilt-free
✅Nutrition tips that work in the real world
✅Weight loss tips that are effective, never restrictive
✅How to build a balanced plate at home, on the road, and eating out
✅Smart strategies for sustainable habits that include your favorite foods
✅Evidence-based insights on fitness and nutrition
✅Conversations about holistic health that go beyond food
✅Wellness advice you can use right away


About Jenn Trepeck:
Jenn is a health coach, speaker, and consultant who blends humor with practical science. She has helped thousands improve energy, metabolism, and confidence in their choices through one-on-one coaching, group programs, her book, and this podcast.

Connect with Jenn and the show:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenntrepeck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTrepeck/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425796548337541/
Website: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/

If you are ready to trade guilt for freedom, confusion for clarity, and boring salads for fries on the side, press play. Health gets doable here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast and its guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

Profile picture for Jennifer Trepeck

Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!