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Could the way you eat, sleep, and manage your blood sugar influence your long-term health and cancer risk? In this episode of The BeingBrigid Show, Brigid sits down with Dr. Dawn Mussallem, a double board-certified physician in hematology, oncology, and lifestyle medicine who spent more than 20 years at Mayo Clinic and founded its integrative breast oncology program. With decades of experience caring for women with breast cancer—and a remarkable personal history of surviving stage four lymphoma and heart failure—Dr. Dawn brings a powerful perspective to the role of lifestyle medicine in women’s health.

Together, they explore the relationship between blood sugar regulation, insulin resistance, breast cancer risk, and healthy aging. They also discuss personalized nutrition, the benefits of fiber-rich plant foods, the research on soy and protein sources, and how to make food choices that support your health without fear, guilt, or unnecessary restriction.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• How insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels are associated with breast cancer risk and outcomes.
• Why fasting insulin, blood sugar, and hemoglobin A1C offer different insights into metabolic health.
• How sleep, movement, and balanced meals support healthy blood sugar regulation.
• Why fiber, colorful vegetables, fruit, and plant diversity are foundational for long-term health.
• What research says about plant-predominant diets, protein, soy, and breast cancer.
• How personalized nutrition and nutrient testing can inform individual dietary choices.
• Which phytonutrients and polyphenol-rich foods Dr. Dawn prioritizes.
• How her experience with cancer and a heart transplant shaped her outlook on gratitude, healthy aging, and aliveness.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Dawn Mussallem and Her Journey
• 02:21 Explaining the Blood Sugar and Cancer Connection
• 05:38 The Significance of Hemoglobin A1C and Fasting Insulin
• 08:33 Insulin’s Role in Cancer and Heart Disease
• 12:18 The Importance of Vegetables, Fruits, and Fiber
• 14:36 Advanced Testing and Personalized Medicine
• 17:01 Detecting Heart Disease with Quantitative CT Scans
• 22:30 The Future of Precision Medicine and Data Analysis
• 26:25 Dietary Patterns for Longevity and Healthy Aging
• 39:02 Dr. Mussallem’s Personal Health Journey and Resilience
• 56:51 Living Fully and Embracing Aliveness
• 01:02:38 Connecting with Dr. Mussallem and Her Mission

The Connection Between Blood Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Breast Cancer

Blood sugar is often discussed in the context of diabetes and pre-diabetes, but metabolic health matters beyond those diagnoses. Dr. Dawn explains how the body uses insulin to help move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle cells for energy. When the body becomes less responsive to insulin, the pancreas may compensate by producing more of it. Over time, this can contribute to elevated insulin levels and changes in blood sugar regulation.

The conversation explores why insulin is relevant to women’s health and breast cancer research. Insulin is involved in growth-signaling pathways, and Dr. Dawn discusses research associating higher insulin levels with breast cancer risk and outcomes. She highlights findings from the Women’s Health Initiative and emphasizes the importance of paying attention to metabolic health as part of a broader approach to prevention and survivorship.

Brigid and Dr. Dawn also discuss fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1C, and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). Each offers different information, and understanding those differences can help women have more informed conversations with their healthcare providers. These markers should be interpreted in the context of an individual’s health history rather than as stand-alone predictors of cancer.

How Sleep, Exercise, and Balanced Meals Support Blood Sugar

Nutrition is a powerful part of metabolic health, but it isn’t the only factor. Dr. Dawn shares how her own blood sugar readings prompted her to look beyond food and consider the quality of her sleep. Even when someone eats thoughtfully and exercises regularly, inadequate sleep can affect their blood sugar response.

For everyday blood sugar support, Dr. Dawn recommends building balanced meals with protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plenty of vegetables or fruit. Combining these foods provides fiber and other nutrients that can help moderate the blood sugar response compared with consuming sugary drinks or carbohydrates on their own.

She encourages a practical approach: aim to make roughly half your plate or bowl vegetables and fruit, and build consistency rather than chasing perfection. Regular movement, adequate sleep, and balanced meals work together to support metabolic health. If you’re concerned about insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes, talk with your healthcare provider about appropriate testing and individualized next steps.

Why Fiber and Plant Diversity Matter for Longevity

When the conversation turns to longevity, Dr. Dawn brings the focus back to the basics. A wide variety of plant foods—including vegetables, berries, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds—provides fiber and phytonutrients that support gut health and overall well-being.

Fiber is particularly important because it supports the gut microbiome and is associated with favorable health outcomes across several areas, including cardiovascular health and certain cancers. Yet many people don’t get enough of it. Rather than starting with expensive supplements or complicated wellness protocols, Dr. Dawn encourages people to begin by consistently eating more fiber-rich foods.

Her simple strategy is to add more color and variety to everyday meals. Frozen blueberries, broccoli, and other frozen produce can make this easier, especially when time or budget is limited. Frozen produce can be a practical, nutritious option, and healthy eating doesn’t need to depend on finding specialty ingredients.

Personalized Nutrition: Why One Diet Doesn’t Work for Everyone

Dr. Dawn shares how advanced testing revealed nutrient deficiencies and helped her reassess a strict whole-food, plant-based diet that had previously felt right for her. After identifying low omega-3 levels and choline, she adjusted her eating pattern to include foods such as eggs, yogurt, and fish while continuing to prioritize vegetables, fruit, fiber, and plant proteins.

Her experience highlights an important distinction: a dietary pattern can be health-promoting without being the best fit for every individual in every circumstance. Personalized nutrition considers factors such as nutrient status, medical history, lifestyle, preferences, and—when clinically appropriate—laboratory results.

The goal isn’t to convince everyone to follow the same diet or pursue every available test. It’s to understand your individual needs, identify meaningful gaps, and make sustainable changes that help you feel and function better. Dr. Dawn and Brigid emphasize that food choices should be guided by evidence and individual context, not guilt or rigid dietary identities.

Plant-Based Diets, Protein, and the Research on Soy

What is the healthiest way to eat for long-term health? Brigid and Dr. Dawn explore the difference between eating a plant-rich diet and following a completely plant-only diet. They discuss the benefits of a plant-predominant eating pattern, the importance of adequate protein, and the value of including a variety of nutrient-dense foods.

Dr. Dawn highlights fiber-rich plant foods as a foundation for healthy aging and discusses how plant proteins—including beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, and edamame—can contribute to a balanced diet. She also shares her perspective on fish, poultry, dairy, and red meat, emphasizing that overall dietary patterns and individual circumstances matter.

The episode also addresses common concerns about soy and hormone health. Dr. Dawn reviews research suggesting that soy foods may be associated with favorable breast cancer outcomes and discusses their potential role in managing menopausal hot flashes. Whole or minimally processed soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, and edamame offer convenient sources of plant protein.

As with any nutrition topic, it is important to distinguish findings from human studies from animal research and to avoid turning nuanced evidence into universal rules. Women with a history of breast cancer or those receiving treatment should discuss individualized nutrition questions with their oncology team.

Phytonutrients, Polyphenols, and Food as Medicine

One of the most uplifting parts of this conversation is Dr. Dawn’s enthusiasm for colorful, plant-rich meals. She explains how phytonutrients and polyphenols found in foods such as berries, purple sweet potatoes, green tea, and turmeric are being studied for their roles in health and cellular signaling.

Berries contain anthocyanins, the compounds responsible for many red, blue, and purple hues. Dr. Dawn also highlights cruciferous vegetables, which provide fiber and other beneficial plant compounds, and encourages people to enjoy a wide variety of produce rather than relying on a short list of so-called superfoods.

Her message is refreshingly practical: choose foods you enjoy, use frozen produce when it makes healthy eating easier, and focus on the overall pattern of your diet. Food is medicine, but that doesn’t mean every meal needs to be perfect or that supplements and specialty products are necessary to get started.

From Cancer Survival to a Life Focused on Aliveness

Dr. Dawn’s approach to lifestyle medicine is deeply personal. During medical school, she was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma and underwent intensive cancer treatment. Years later, she experienced severe heart failure and ultimately received a heart transplant.

These experiences profoundly shaped her perspective on health, gratitude, and what it means to live well. Rather than defining wellness solely by lab results or the absence of disease, she speaks about community, faith, love, movement, nourishing food, and finding meaning in everyday life.

Her story is a reminder that healthy aging involves more than longevity alone. It’s also about the quality of the years we live, the relationships we nurture, and the choices that help us feel present and engaged. As Dr. Dawn shares, her goal is to embrace aliveness—not simply survival.

Resources & Links:

+ Watch the full episode on YouTube

+ Dr. Dawn Mussallem’s Instagram

+ Learn more about Fountain Life

+ Join The Being Collective

+ Brigid’s Website

+ Brigid’s Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to The BeingBrigid Show and leave a rating and review. Share it with a woman who wants to feel more confident about her health and discover practical, science-backed ways to use food as medicine.