NNMT, Cancer Risk & 5-Amino-1MQ – Where Science Ends and Assumptions Begin

Alright… this one is interesting.

Because I talk a lot about 5-Amino-1MQ— mainly in the context of fat loss, metabolic health, and keeping weight off long term.

But recently, I was in a conversation with a doctor… and he told me he personally takes it because his mother died from a glioblastoma.

And his reasoning?

👉 It inhibits NNMT 👉 NNMT is involved in certain cancers 👉 So… maybe there’s something there

Now before we go any further—

I am NOT saying 5-Amino prevents or treats cancer. And neither was he.

What he was doing… was taking a known biological pathway and making an informed assumption.

And honestly?

It’s a fascinating one.

NNMT (Nicotinamide N-Methyltransferase) is an enzyme involved in how your body manages:

• Energy production
• NAD+ levels
• Metabolic function
• Aging processes

When NNMT is elevated, it’s associated with:

• Fat storage
• Insulin resistance
• Slower metabolic function
• Lower NAD+ availability

👉 This is why it shows up so strongly in midlife weight gain

And it’s also why I talk so much about 5-Amino-1MQ— because it inhibits NNMT, which can shift the body away from storing fat and toward using energy.

NNMT doesn’t just show up in metabolism.

It’s also upregulated in certain cancers, including:

• Glioblastoma
• Pancreatic cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Ovarian cancer

In these environments, NNMT appears to support:

• Tumor growth
• Cell survival
• Metabolic adaptation

👉 In simple terms: cancer cells may use NNMT to survive.

So researchers have asked:

What happens if we inhibit NNMT?

In early-stage research (cells + animal models), 👉 inhibiting NNMT has shown reductions in tumor growth.

That’s real.

But here’s the key…

We have:

• NNMT is involved in metabolic disease
• NNMT is involved in some cancers
• 5-Amino inhibits NNMT

So the leap becomes:

👉 “Does taking 5-Amino reduce cancer risk?”

And the honest answer is:

We don’t have evidence to say that.

No human trials. No prevention studies.

What we have is a mechanistic connection— and a very interesting one.

Here’s where it gets even more compelling…

NNMT increases with:

• Age
• Obesity
• Insulin resistance

And those same conditions are associated with:

• Higher cancer rates
• More chronic disease
• More metabolic dysfunction

So now we’re looking at a broader picture:

👉 A metabolic environment that becomes more vulnerable over time

And NNMT may be one of the players in that shift.

Not the cause. Not the cure. But part of the story.

This is not a recommendation.

This is not a protocol.

This is simply a lens.

• One enzyme
• One molecule that inhibits it
• Two very different areas of research that overlap

👉 That intersection is worth understanding.

Just remember:

Interesting ≠ proven Mechanism ≠ outcome

If you’ve been following my work, you already know I use and talk about:

• 5-Amino-1MQ
• SLU-PP-332

You can learn more or get them here:

👉 www.joanneleestore.com

Use code:

👉 DAISY for 20% off

⏳ Expires April 1

Insulin Isn’t the Enemy: Why Carbs Might Actually Help You Build Muscle

Show Notes

Before we dive in, a couple of quick reminders.

My Muscle Month program starts March 29, and it only runs once a year. If you’ve been thinking about joining, this is the time. The program walks you through exactly how muscle is built and protected in midlife — including insulin, carbohydrates, mTOR, AMPK, and how to actually use these tools to your advantage.

You can join at musclemonth.com. The cost is $525, and if you’d prefer to split the payment just email me at www.joanneleestore.com.

Now onto today’s topic.

In this episode I talk about insulin, and why it has been given such a terrible reputation in the health and fitness world. For years we’ve heard that carbohydrates spike insulin, insulin stores fat, and therefore carbs must be the problem. And while there is some truth buried in that narrative, the reality is far more interesting.

Insulin is not the villain. It’s actually a tool.

Yes, when insulin is chronically elevated it can absolutely prevent fat loss. A prolonged high-insulin state is one of the biggest reasons people struggle to lose weight, particularly in midlife. Stress, sedentary lifestyles, constant snacking, poor sleep and excessive carbohydrate intake can all push insulin up and keep it there. When that happens, the body simply can’t access stored body fat efficiently.

But that doesn’t mean insulin itself is the problem.

Insulin is one of the body’s key growth signals, alongside protein, testosterone and growth hormone. It helps move nutrients into cells, including glucose and amino acids, which means it plays a direct role in muscle repair, recovery and growth. If someone completely avoids carbohydrates out of fear of insulin, they may actually be removing one of the body’s natural tools for maintaining muscle.

A big part of the conversation in this episode is about environment. Hormones respond to the environment we create. If someone is stressed, sedentary, eating constantly and sleeping poorly, insulin will behave very differently than it will in someone who is active, training, eating strategically and giving the body periods where insulin can come back down.

When used correctly, insulin can actually support both muscle building and fat loss. Timing carbohydrates around activity, especially training, can help direct those carbohydrates into muscle where they’re stored as glycogen rather than fat. Insulin also helps move amino acids into muscle tissue, which is critical for protecting muscle as we age.

I also share a little about my own experience. For many years I ate very low carbohydrate and it worked well for me. But after a major surgery in my 50s where I lost a significant amount of muscle, I had to rethink my approach. Bringing carbohydrates back in strategically allowed me to support muscle again, sleep better, recover better, and overall feel better.

The big takeaway from this episode is simple: insulin is not the enemy. It simply reacts to the environment we create. When we understand how it works, it becomes something we can use to our advantage rather than something we fear.

And if you’d like to go deeper into how all of this works — especially in midlife — Muscle Month starts March 29. You can learn more and sign up at musclemonth.com.

Also, if you’d like to catch the new weekly live sessions, head over to YouTube and subscribe to Joanne Lee Cornish so you’ll get notified when I go live.

If you’re ready to build muscle properly — including glutes that actually fire — join me here:

👉 www.musclemonth.com

And if you’re supporting your metabolism alongside your training:

⚡ 5-Amino-1MQ & SLU-PP-332 available at 👉 www.joanneleestore.com

I keep hearing the phrase “lazy glutes.”

And honestly… it makes me twitch a little.

How can the strongest, most powerful muscle group in your body be lazy?

It can’t.

But it can be badly recruited.

And that’s where most people go wrong.

Because here’s what I see over and over again:

You’re squatting. You’re lunging. You’re hip thrusting.

But your hamstrings cramp. Your lower back tightens. Your quads grow.

And your glutes? …not so much.

That isn’t weakness.

That’s mechanics.

Your glute maximus is a powerhouse. It was built for:

✨ Sprinting ✨ Climbing ✨ Explosive hip extension

When was the last time you sprinted?

Exactly.

We sit. We drive. We walk on flat ground. We live in hip flexion.

Hours of sitting shorten the hip flexors, lengthen the glutes, and tip the pelvis forward.

Your nervous system adapts to whatever you repeat most.

So when you go to the gym after sitting all day, your body doesn’t suddenly switch patterns. It keeps using what it’s practiced — hamstrings and lower back instead of glutes.

That’s not laziness.

That’s adaptation.

Most people live in anterior pelvic tilt — hips tipped forward, lower abs disengaged, glutes already at a mechanical disadvantage.

Try this:

Stand up. Push your hips back. Arch your lower back. Now try to squeeze your glutes.

You’ll feel quads.

Now gently bring your pelvis back underneath you.

Boom. 🔥

Glutes switch on.

That tiny shift is massive.

If you squat and lunge in anterior tilt, you’re training around your glutes — not through them.

As we age:

⚡ Fast-twitch fibres decline ⚡ Muscle mass drops if not trained properly ⚡ Dieting shrinks glute tissue ⚡ Rapid weight loss without loading = muscle loss

And here’s what most people don’t realise:

Your glutes are one of your largest glucose storage tanks.

When you shrink them, you don’t just lose shape.

You reduce:

• Insulin sensitivity • Metabolic capacity • Skeletal protection

This isn’t just about leggings.

It’s metabolic. It’s hormonal. It’s structural.

Feeling isn’t required for activation.

But if:

– Your hamstrings cramp in bridges – Your lower back burns in deadlifts – Your quads grow while your glutes stay flat

Something is off.

Most people never reach true hip extension.

They arch their back to fake it.

Real hip extension means your thigh moves behind you and your pelvis comes through under control.

That last 10% of the movement?

That’s where the magic lives.

Great exercise.

Common mistakes:

Too heavy too soon. No posterior pelvic tilt at the top. Bouncy reps. No real lockout.

The exercise isn’t the problem.

The execution is.

And the devil lives in the details.

Nobody builds muscle accidentally.

The people walking around with strong, developed glutes did not stumble into them.

They had strategy. They understood mechanics. They respected progression.

Once you understand this, training becomes fascinating.

Every rep has purpose. Every meal has direction. Every adjustment matters.

That’s when it becomes fun.

Inside Muscle Month we fix:

✔️ Pelvic positioning ✔️ Hip extension ✔️ Glute recruitment ✔️ Midlife muscle strategy ✔️ Progressive loading

No random reps. No guessing. No wasted time.

📅 March 29 – April 25 👉 www.musclemonth.com

And if you’re serious about metabolic support alongside your training:

⚡ 5-Amino-1MQ & SLU-PP-332 👉 www.joanneleestore.com

Weak glutes aren’t lazy.

They’re under-recruited.

Fix the recruitment… and everything changes. 🍑💪

Hello hello — welcome back to Midlife Mayhem.

Quick update first:

🔥 Muscle Month is back on. 📅 March 29 – April 25 👉 www.musclemonth.com

This is my favourite program to coach because we build muscle properly. And after today’s topic, you’ll understand why that matters more than ever.

Think of your skeleton like a savings account.

You do most of your depositing before age 20.

👉 Up to 90% of adult bone mass is built by 18–20. 👉 Peak bone mass happens by 25–30. 👉 After that? You’re mostly maintaining… then withdrawing.

Bones respond to load.

Lift. Jump. Sprint. Carry.

Muscle pulls on bone — and bone gets stronger.

No load? No signal.

Childhood and teenage years are the aggressive investment phase.

Modern kids:

• Move less

• Sit more

• Scroll more

Bones don’t respond to scrolling.

If little gets deposited early, withdrawals later become dangerous.

Especially for women.

When estrogen drops:

• Bone breakdown speeds up

• Rebuilding slows

• 10–20% bone loss can happen within 5–7 years post-menopause

Layer in:

• Low muscle

• Chronic dieting

• Low protein

• Vitamin D deficiency

• High cortisol

• Sedentary habits

And bone loss accelerates.

GLP-1 medications reduce appetite and body weight.

They work.

But physiology doesn’t care about marketing.

Lose weight rapidly → reduce skeletal load → reduce bone stimulus.

Add:

• Low protein

• Low calories

• Muscle loss

• No resistance training

Now you’re accelerating bone loss.

Is it inevitable? No.

But it requires intention.

And most people aren’t being coached on this.

We already have drugs like:

• Prolia

• Fosamax

And new osteoporosis drugs are in development.

Why?

Aging population. Sedentary youth. Rapid weight-loss pharmacology.

I am not anti-medicine.

I am anti-ignorance.

Awareness changes behaviour.

Build muscle. Load bone. Eat enough protein. Maintain vitamin D. Train properly.

Nobody builds muscle by accident.

Gyms are full of people who never change because they have no strategy.

Muscle building is a skill.

And muscle protects bone.

Bone isn’t cosmetic.

Hip fractures in older adults dramatically increase mortality within a year.

This is about:

• Mobility

• Strength

• Longevity

• Quality of life

Your bone bank is a 40-year project.

You can’t go back to 14.

But you can start now.

If you want to:

• Build muscle properly

• Protect your bones

• Train with strategy

• Stop guessing

Join me.

📅 March 29 – April 25 👉 www.musclemonth.com

Muscle does not happen by accident.

And neither does strength in midlife.

See you inside. 💪🦴