Dr. Robert Lustig

The debate wages. Is a calorie just a calorie? Or is there something specifically dangerous about fructose and carbohydrate calories? To anyone who has experienced the benefits of a low carb lifestyle, the practical answer is obvious. But answering that question on a global scale and making meaningful changes to improve the health of millions of people is much more complex. That’s where Dr. Robert Lustig comes in. As a pediatric endocrinologist who is now armed with a law degree, Dr. Lustig has made it his mission to fight our health crisis on the legal and policy front. It won’t be easy, but after this interview, I for one am glad he the one leading the charge.

Ruminant, Diet & Human Health

Peter Ballerstedt has the background and personality to help us bridge the knowledge gap between how we feed and raise our animals, and how we feed and raise ourselves! His fascinating story begins with understanding animal nutrition and food systems, but quickly transitioned to human nutrition as well after a personal health discovery. Since then, he has become a leading voice to promote a rational and science based approach to ruminant agriculture and how ruminants can save our human health crisis.

Dr. David Ludwig

In the messy world of nutritional science, some researchers rise above the others in their attempt to produce high quality and useful data. Dr. Ludwig exemplifies that role. As a practicing pediatric endocrinologist, he has seen first hand the rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver and other previously rare complications in adolescents. As a result, he has made it his mission to help us better understand the role of calories, the importance of quality of calories, and the importance of the quality of the science we read. Is a calorie just a calorie? Why are so many scientific studies not helpful in answering this question, and what can we do about that? Dr. Ludwig answers these questions and more.

Amber O’Hearn

Many have referred to a ketogenic diet as “extreme,” “restrictive” and “potentially dangerous.” Now, those same concerns have focused on an all-meat carnivore diet. Although it is new in popularity, people have been practicing a carnivore diet for decades, and possibly centuries. Does that mean it is safe and without concern? Not necessarily. There is much we still don’t know about eating only meat, and Amber admits that. With her balanced and intellectual approach, she helps us understand the complexity of defining if this diet is “safe,” and helps us understand who might benefit most.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg

For decades the medical world has seen type 2 diabetes as a chronic condition that we can only hope to manage with medications to delay inevitable complications. Dr. Hallberg and her colleagues at Virta Health have completely changed that paradigm by showing us that we can reverse type 2 diabetes and we can allow patients to safely stop most if not all of their medications. How have they done this? With a ketogenic diet combined with high touch and high tech. Could this approach work for the millions of people suffering with type 2 diabetes? Dr. Hallberg certainly thinks so, and in this interview explains why.

Dr. Ron Krauss

LDL cholesterol is one of the most controversial topics in the low carb world. On the one hand, conventional teaching is that elevated LDL is dangerous and needs to be lowered. On the other hand, otherwise healthy individuals following a low carb lifestyle have not been represented in our available data. How do we reconcile what to do? Dr. Ron Krauss helps us understand the nuances beyond LDL-C and how we can use all the available data to help us better understand what we know and do not know about cholesterol, including LDL, HDL, triglycerides and Lp(a).

Dave Feldman

Dave Feldman has done more to call into question the lipid hypothesis of heart disease than practically anyone over the past few decades. His self experimentation and his theories on an energy model for lipids question the foundation of the theory that LDL is "bad" and we should all strive for a low level. He recently had his model "stress tested" on the Peter Attia podcast which for some created more questions than answers. In this episode, we review his energy model and inversion pattern, and we explore what this means for low carb individuals with elevated LDL levels. Since there are no clear answers, it helps to explore the possibilities so that we can try to make sense of this unique and unstudied area of lipidology. DISLCAIMER: Every episode of The Diet Doctor Podcast is for informational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The information in this episode should not be used as a substitute for working with your own physician. Please enjoy this episode, and take what you learn to your doctor to have a more detailed and more informed discussion.

Megan Ramos

Humans have practiced fasting for centuries as part of religious rituals, but the medical community has shunned it as risky and dangerous. Megan Ramos, along with her co-founder Dr. Jason Fung, have embarked on a mission to change all that. At IDMProgram.com, Megan and Jason counsel patients how to use fasting safely to help with weight loss, diabetes, management, and overall health promotion. They recently published a case series showing how they can help people get off their insulin in as few as five days! But fasting can be a double edged sword with significant potential risks of hypoglycemia, loss of lean muscle mass, and feeling awful. Megan helps us understand how to overcome those concerns so that we can benefit from fasting in a safe and sustainable manner.

Todd White

Alcohol and low carb simply don’t mix, right? Not so fast. As Todd White, founder of Dry Farm Wines explains, it depends on the product. If a zero sugar, low carb, no additive product sounds too good to be true, then you have to listen to this podcast.

But Todd isn’t only a wine expert, he is also a self-described biohacker. Through the years Todd has become an expert on maintaining a keto lifestyle, prioritizing exercise and maintaining a regular meditative practice despite his rigorous international travel schedule. He lives his life with integrity and healthy principles, and promotes these concepts as a main focus of his business culture. I was amazed to hear they start each work day with an hour-long group meditation. That is a company culture I can support!

Todd's knowledge base goes well beyond alcohol, and he provides essential pearls we can all learn from.

Dr. Michael Arata & Stephanie Kennedy

Dr. Michael Arata, founder and lead physician at Arata Medical, is the most unique radiologist I have ever met. He specializes in limb-salvage interventional procedures, and as such, is the last resort to prevent a patient from having an amputation. Luckily, he realized that he could potentially have an even bigger impact by taking a functional medicine approach to prevention, rather than last minute heroics. That’s when he teamed up with his star health coach Stephanie Kennedy to teach people how to use plant-based ketogenic diets and a wholistic approach to their health to prevent the chronic disease that plague our society. Their upcoming book, Keto with Plants, is an accumulation of their experience and their attempt to help thousands of patients with their message. I love their patient care philosophy, and it was quickly evident that they are experts in helping their clients practically implement lifestyle changes that will help them today and for the long haul. You are sure to learn some valuable tips in this interview!

Bret Scher, MD FACC

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