Beyond Blood Sugar
Most diabetes prevention fixates on glucose. Beyond Blood Sugar goes upstream to the pieces that actually determine whether insulin resistance progresses: mitochondrial function, ectopic fat, gut microbiome, sleep, stress, and the hormonal layer underneath it all.
Taught by Dr. Jordan Knieff, ND. Launching June 2026. Drop your email to hear when enrollment opens.
Included with Wayfarer membership ($32/mo) · Standalone pricing TBD
Why pre-diabetes prevention so often fails
The standard advice is familiar. Eat less sugar. Exercise more. Lose weight. Your A1C gets checked once a year. If nothing has changed, the conversation gets more urgent, but the tools don't change with it.
The problem isn't that the advice is wrong. The problem is that it's downstream. Insulin resistance is a mitochondrial story as much as a sugar story. Fat tissue is an endocrine organ, not just storage. Sleep, stress, and the gut microbiome move insulin sensitivity more than most people realize. This course teaches the upstream pieces so that the downstream work finally holds.
What you'll walk away with
When the course opens, you will be able to:
- Understand type 2 diabetes as a multi-system process, not just a glucose number.
- Name the mitochondrial, hepatic, and pancreatic pieces of insulin resistance.
- Read your metabolic labs with more depth than A1C alone.
- Use nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress strategies that target the actual mechanisms.
- Know which supplements and botanicals have meaningful evidence and which are noise.
- Have a shared framework for talking with your healthcare team about metabolic risk.
What's in the course
Nine modules covering the full picture: from the basic biology to nutrition, exercise, sleep, supplementation, and how to put it all together.
- 01
Module 1: Understanding Type 2 Diabetes
What T2D actually is, the insulin resistance spectrum, how the body regulates blood sugar, and why conventional treatment often falls short.
- 02
Module 2: Metabolic Foundations
How insulin works. Glucose metabolism and energy production. The liver's role. Fat tissue as an endocrine organ. Pancreas and beta cell function.
- 03
Module 3: Root Causes and Pathophysiology
Chronic inflammation as a driver. Beta cell failure. The liver and insulin resistance. Ectopic fat and lipotoxicity. The gut microbiome in metabolic disease.
- 04
Module 4: Nutrition and Blood Sugar
How carbohydrates affect blood sugar. Glycemic index versus glycemic load. Dietary fats and insulin sensitivity. Protein's role. Anti-inflammatory eating patterns.
- 05
Module 5: Exercise and Movement
How exercise improves insulin sensitivity. Resistance training for glucose uptake. NEAT and daily movement. Exercise protocols specific to T2D.
- 06
Module 6: Stress, Sleep, and Hormones
Cortisol and blood sugar. Sleep deprivation and insulin resistance. The HPA axis. Thyroid and reproductive hormones in metabolic disease.
- 07
Module 7: Supplements and Botanicals
Berberine. Magnesium. Chromium, alpha-lipoic acid, and vanadium. Cinnamon, bitter melon, and other botanicals. Omega-3s and metabolic inflammation.
- 08
Module 8: Putting It All Together
The Metabolic Reset Framework. Building an anti-diabetes lifestyle. Tracking progress without obsessing. Working with your healthcare team. Reading your metabolic labs.
- 09
Module 9: Special Topics
Preventing diabetic complications. T2D and cardiovascular risk. Metabolic syndrome as the bigger picture. Diabetes in women: PCOS, menopause, and pregnancy.
Who's teaching
Dr. Jordan Knieff, ND, is a naturopathic physician whose clinical focus is metabolic health, insulin resistance, and weight regulation. Beyond Blood Sugar is his first course in the Wayfinder's Well library.
He's building it with the same approach Dr. Joyce brings to MCAS and motility: clinician-designed, evidence-informed, honest about where the research is still evolving, and structured so that you leave with decision-making ability, not just a supplement list.
Questions people ask
When does the course open?
June 2026. If you subscribe below, you'll hear first when enrollment opens and what the pricing looks like.
Is this for people who already have type 2 diabetes?
Primarily it's for people in the pre-diabetes range or with insulin resistance without a diagnosis yet. The framework is still useful if you have type 2 diabetes, but the course is not a substitute for working with your endocrinologist or primary care team on active diabetes management.
Is this the same as Dr. Joyce's courses?
It shares the Wayfinder's Well approach (clinician-designed, structured, mechanism-first), but Dr. Jordan Knieff teaches it. Different clinical focus, same educational philosophy.
Will it be included in the Wayfarer membership?
Yes. Wayfarer members ($32/mo) get Beyond Blood Sugar as part of the full library when it launches. Standalone pricing will be announced closer to launch.
Hear first when enrollment opens.
Drop your email below. We'll send a note when the course is live, and nothing else between now and then.
Included with Wayfarer membership ($32/mo) · Standalone pricing TBD