Nourish Balance Thrive

Ancestral health advocate and pioneer of Evolutionary Feminism Stephanie Welch is back on the podcast today. We met up at the Ancestral Health Symposium in San Diego, California in August where she gave a talk on gender-segregated housing as an alternative to the traditional nuclear family. Stephanie is dedicated to exploring the boundaries of relationships and sexuality, and she makes a compelling case for a living arrangement most of us have never considered. In this podcast, Stephanie identifies the time in history that humans abandoned tribal living and gravitated to segregated nuclear families and sexual monogamy. She talks about the many ways this change has been a detriment to society, resulting in families and relationships lacking in social support and other basic human needs. She also offers solutions for re-establishing aspects of tribal living in a modern world. Here’s the outline of this interview with Stephanie Welch: [00:00:50] Stephanie's previous podcast: Disruptive Anthropology: An Ancestral Health Perspective on Barefooting and Male Circumcision. [00:02:09] Josh Turknett; Intelligence Unshackled Podcast. If you're going to intervene, you better have a good reason to do it. [00:04:35] Books: Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan, et al.; Civilized to Death, by Christopher Ryan; Sex at Dusk, by Lynn Saxon. [00:06:14] Ancestral Health Symposium videos - look for 2019 presentations to be posted in the next several months. [00:06:24] Differences in male and female reproductive strategies. [00:07:56] The need for a robust system of caretakers. [00:09:41] Bruce Parry, documentary filmmaker, visits modern hunter-gatherers. [00:10:21] The nuclear family vs. the tribe as a reproductive unit. [00:12:56] Agriculture as a catalyst to dividing the tribe into nuclear family houses and sexual monogamy. [00:15:40] Book: Against the grain, by James C. Scott. [00:21:13] The things a domestic environment should provide: health, social relationships, growth. [00:22:34] Julian Abel on NBT podcast: Building Compassionate Communities to Improve Public Health, and Michael Ruscio's podcast: The Importance of Community Interventions in Healthcare. [00:27:59] The problem with living with a romantic partner. [00:36:43] Challenging the convention of monogamy. [00:41:30] Cal Newport; Podcast: How to Live Well in a High Tech World. [00:43:06] Steps to take to move in this new direction. [00:50:13] Our recent podcast with Malcolm Kendrick: A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-health World. His first podcast with us in 2018: Why Cholesterol Levels Have No Effect on Cardiovascular Disease (And Things to Think about Instead). [00:52:00] What about gay people? An evolutionary perspective. [00:54:49] Robert Epstein on STEM-Talk, the Epstein Sexual Orientation Inventory (ESOI). [01:01:33] Find Stephanie: Recivilized Woman; Twitter; Paleo Fx; Future Frontiers; Physicians for Ancestral Health.

Scottish doctor, writer, speaker, and outspoken cholesterol sceptic Malcolm Kendrick is back on the podcast this week. He continues to challenge the widespread use of statin medications, despite being targeted personally and professionally by those opposing his message. Since we last talked he has authored a new book, A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-health World, elucidating his position against mainstream medicine’s rampant cholesterol-lowering tactics.  On this podcast, Dr. Kendrick describes in detail exactly what he believes drives the process of cardiovascular disease, informed from 35 years of research on the subject.  He explains specifically why cholesterol has been misunderstood, and how medicine got it wrong. We discuss corruption in medical research and the money supporting the status quo, and Dr. Kendrick shares some of the best ways to avoid heart disease (which have little to do with diet!). Here’s the outline of this interview with Malcolm Kendrick: [00:00:07] Our first podcast with Malcolm Kendrick: Why Cholesterol Levels Have No Effect on Cardiovascular Disease (And Things to Think about Instead). [00:00:30] Book: A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-health World, by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick. His previous two books: Doctoring Data and The Cholesterol Con. [00:02:00] Causes vs processes. [00:03:40] History behind his journey and questioning authority. [00:07:30] Articles written by Elspeth Smith. [00:09:00] Karl Rokitansky’s paper discussing an alternative way of looking at CVD: A manual of pathological anatomy, Vol. 4. Day GE, trans. London: Sydenham Society, 1852:261; in print here. [00:09:06] Rudolf Virchow, researcher who pointed to cholesterol in artery walls. [00:10:55] Researcher Nikolai N. Anichkov: fed rabbits a high-cholesterol diet and cholesterol appeared in their arteries (sort of). [00:12:07] Ancel Keys; blaming saturated fat. [00:14:11] France - highest saturated fat consumption, lowest rate of CVD. Georgia - lowest sat fat consumption, highest rate of CVD.  See graph, here. [00:15:16] International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS). Study: Ravnskov, Uffe, et al. "Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review." BMJ open 6.6 (2016): e010401. [00:16:50] Pleiotropic effects of statins. [00:17:29] Movie: 12 Angry Men (1957). [00:20:30] Robert Ross - response to injury hypothesis; Study: Ross, Russell, John Glomset, and Laurence Harker. "Response to injury and atherogenesis." The American journal of pathology 86.3 (1977): 675. [00:20:40] TV show: Stranger Things. [00:22:31] Infectious disease hypothesis. [00:22:52] Analogy of rust in the paint of a car; Sickle Cell Disease as an example. [00:27:12] 14-year old boy with Sickle Cell and atherosclerosis; Study: Elsharawy, M. A., and K. M. Moghazy. "Peripheral arterial lesions in patient with sickle cell disease." EJVES Extra 14.2 (2007): 15-18. [00:28:57] Endothelial progenitor cells, produced in the bone marrow, discovered in 1997. [00:29:31] Pig study of endothelial turnover: Caplan, Bernard A., and Colin J. Schwartz. "Increased endothelial cell turnover in areas of in vivo Evans Blue uptake in the pig aorta." Atherosclerosis 17.3 (1973): 401-417. [00:31:48] Vitamin C's role in maintaining collagen and blood vessels. [00:33:08] Lp(a) molecules - patching cracks in the artery walls. [00:33:42] Depriving guinea pigs of vitamin C caused atherosclerosis; Study: Willis, G. C. "The reversibility of atherosclerosis." Canadian Medical Association Journal 77.2 (1957): 106. [00:34:24] Linus Pauling - said CVD was caused by chronic low-level vitamin C deficiency. [00:35:53] What else damages endothelial cells? Many things, including smoking, air pollution, high blood sugar, Kawasaki disease, sepsis/infection. [00:41:19] Glycocalyx; Nitric oxide. [00:43:30] Health benefits of sun exposure. [00:44:26] Biomechanical stress (blood pressure) - atherosclerosis in arteries but not in veins. [00:47:57] Things that interfere with repair: steroids, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors. [00:55:00] The effects of stress on the cardiovascular system. [00:57:55] Red blood cells are what brings cholesterol into blood clots. [00:58:59] Cholesterol crystals in atherosclerotic plaques come from red blood cells. Study: Kolodgie, Frank D., et al. "Intraplaque hemorrhage and progression of coronary atheroma." New England Journal of Medicine 349.24 (2003): 2316-2325. [01:00:55] Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) are procoagulant; High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is anticoagulant. [01:03:46] Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH); Factor VIII. [01:08:15] Cholesterol-lowering pharmaceuticals; Repatha. In the clinical trial, the total number of cardiovascular deaths was greater in the Repatha group than the placebo group. Study: Sabatine, Marc S., et al. "Evolocumab and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease." New England Journal of Medicine 376.18 (2017): 1713-1722. [01:09:34] David Deamer, biologist and Research Professor of Biomolecular Engineering. [01:10:05] Karl Popper, philosopher. [01:10:28] Bradford Hill’s Criteria for Causation. [01:13:52] Michael Mosley, BBC journalist. [01:16:40] Statin denialism - an internet cult with deadly consequences? [01:19:18] The money behind the statin and low-fat industries. [01:20:06] Margarine; Trans-fatty acids, banned in several countries. [01:24:37] The impact of food; The focus on food to the exclusion of other pillars of health. [01:26:38] Dr. Phil Hammond; CLANGERS [01:28:21] Avoiding internet attacks. [01:32:00] ApoA-1 Milano. Original study: Nissen, Steven E., et al. "Effect of recombinant ApoA-I Milano on coronary atherosclerosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a randomized controlled trial." Jama 290.17 (2003): 2292-2300. [01:33:05] The Heart Protection (HPS) Study in the UK: Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. "MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20 536 high-risk individuals: a randomised placebo controlled trial." The Lancet 360.9326 (2002): 7-22. [01:33:36]  Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study Group. "Randomised trial of cholesterol lowering in 4444 patients with coronary heart disease: the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S)." The Lancet 344.8934 (1994): 1383-1389. [01:33:49] West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS): Shepherd, James, et al. "Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia." New England Journal of Medicine 333.20 (1995): 1301-1308. [01:34:21] National Institute of Health’s ALLHAT-LLT trial: Officers, A. L. L. H. A. T. "Coordinators for the ALLHAT Collaborative Research Group: Major outcomes in moderately hypercholesterolemic, hypertensive patients randomized to pravastatin vs. usual care: the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT-LLT)." JAMA 288.23 (2002): 2998-3007. [01:34:50] 2005 - Regulations guiding clinical trials changed. [01:35:14] Negative antidepressant studies not published; Study: Turner, Erick H., et al. "Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy." New England Journal of Medicine 358.3 (2008): 252-260. [01:37:11] Minnesota Coronary Experiment (MCE): Analysis of recovered data: Ramsden, Christopher E., et al. "Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968-73)." bmj 353 (2016): i1246. [01:39:44] Why Most Published Research Findings Are False: Ioannidis, John PA. "Why most published research findings are false." PLoS medicine 2.8 (2005): e124. [01:39:55] Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet: half of what is published is not true: Horton, Richard. "Offline: What is medicine’s 5 sigma." Lancet 385.9976 (2015): 1380. [01:41:11] The problem with reproducibility; a database of clinical trials that cannot be challenged or reproduced. [01:42:37] Editors of prominent journals losing faith in published research: Marci Angell, Richard Smith [01:44:55] Parachute study: Yeh, Robert W., et al. "Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial." bmj 363 (2018): k5094. [01:46:01] Benefits that are major are obvious; no randomized clinical trial necessary. [01:48:33] Preventing vs. screening. [01:51:42] Podcast: Movement Analysis and Breathing Strategies for Pain Relief and Improved Performance with physical therapist Zac Cupples. [01:51:59] Analysis of women who died in various ways, examining breast tissue; found that a high % of women had what you could diagnose as breast cancer. Study: Bhathal, P. S., et al. "Frequency of benign and malignant breast lesions in 207 consecutive autopsies in Australian women." British journal of cancer 51.2 (1985): 271. [01:53:34] Screening programs not associated with reduced CVD or death; Study: Krogsbøll, Lasse T., et al. "General health checks in adults for reducing morbidity and mortality from disease: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis." Bmj 345 (2012): e7191. [01:54:26] Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) scan. Podcast: Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC): A Direct Measure of Cardiovascular Disease Risk, with Ivor Cummins. [01:54:46] Cardiologist Bernard Lown.  [01:58:38] People who had measles/mumps less likely to get CVD; Study: Kubota, Yasuhiko, et al. "Association of measles and mumps with cardiovascular disease: The Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study." Atherosclerosis 241.2 (2015): 682-686. [02:00:55] Life expectancy in US and UK is now falling. [02:06:46] Physical health doesn't exist without social health and psychological health. [02:07:40] Negative Twitter messages correlate with rates of heart disease; Study: Eichstaedt, Johannes C., et al. "Psychological language on Twitter predicts county-level heart disease mortality." Psychological science 26.2 (2015): 159-169. [02:09:58] People who take statins believe they’re protected so they stop exercising. Study: Lee, David SH, et al. "Statins and physical activity in older men: the osteoporotic fractures in men study." JAMA internal medicine 174.8 (2014): 1263-1270. [02:11:45] Simple changes: make friends, have good relationships, speak to your kids, exercise, eat natural food, sunshine. [02:16:53] Blood sugar measurements following funny lecture vs. boring lecture; Study: Hayashi, Keiko, et al. "Laughter lowered the increase in postprandial blood glucose." Diabetes care 26.5 (2003): 1651-1652. [02:18:08] Dr. Malcolm Kendrick’s blog.

Sam Feltham is the Director of the Public Health Collaboration in the UK, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of public health education. The PHC coordinates campaigns and produces evidence-based reports for improving pressing health issues, such as obesity and diabetes, which are on the rise in the UK and worldwide. I met up with Sam at the Real Food Rocks Festival in July, a family event coordinated by the PHC to bring people together with music, fun, and of course, real food. In this podcast, Sam and I discuss the current initiatives being pursued by the Public Health Collaboration, including training and deploying a nationwide team of volunteer ambassadors to inform and implement healthier decisions at a local level. We discuss some of the obstacles encountered in educating the public, and Sam shares some of his long-term goals for a healthier future. Here’s the outline of this interview with Sam Feltham: [00:00:09] Real Food Rocks Festival. [00:02:25] The Public Health Collaboration (PHC). [00:03:24] PHC Advisory Board members: Dr. David Unwin and Dr. Jen Unwin, Dr. Trudi Deakin. [00:07:24] PHC Ambassadors Programme; currently 150 ambassadors across the country. [00:08:58] Andy Bishop; reversed type-2 diabetes and now runs patient groups [00:10:11] Current obstacles: perceived cost and the existing government guidelines. [00:11:28] Sugar infographics, endorsed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).  [00:12:48] The value of educating in small groups instead of individual sessions. [00:16:35] Ivor Cummins; Podcasts: How Not to Die of Cardiovascular Disease and Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC): A Direct Measure of Cardiovascular Disease Risk. [00:18:08] People under significant financial stress are 13 times more likely to have a heart attack. Study: Rosengren, Annika, et al. "Association of psychosocial risk factors with risk of acute myocardial infarction in 11 119 cases and 13 648 controls from 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study." The Lancet 364.9438 (2004): 953-962. [00:20:17] Denmark’s saturated fat tax.  It didn’t last long. [00:20:37] Influencing food policy; Real Food Lifestyle dietary guidelines. [00:21:49] Tom Watson, deputy of the Labour Party.  [00:23:55] Type 2 diabetes is currently 10% of the NHS budget. [00:26:29] War on Plastic show on BBC One. [00:27:32] The grocery store sugar-laden rat run. [00:30:50] Patric Holden, founding director of the Sustainable Food Trust. [00:32:00] Distributed food network. [00:34:01] Getting people into the system before they have health problems. [00:35:14] Changing the standards for hypertension in 2017. [00:37:19] Dr. Michael Mosley; Documentary: Michael Mosley vs. The Superbugs. [00:41:26] How to become an ambassador; phcuk.org/ambassadors.

Engineer, podcaster, author and speaker Ivor Cummins is back on the podcast today to talk about a topic that could save your life or the life of someone you love. Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC), a direct measure of arterial calcification obtained with a CT scan, is gaining respect as the best predictor of cardiovascular events. Indirect risk factors - like LDL cholesterol, though beloved by the medical establishment, pale in comparison. Today Ivor talks about what really causes cardiovascular disease and how best to assess your risk. He discusses the science that supports the use of CAC to identify those most at risk - and by doing so, they can take steps to slow, stop or even reverse disease progression. Further validating Ivor’s work, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association are now formally recommending the CAC for middle-risk patients. As if that wasn’t enough, getting a CAC scan is affordable and probably available near you. Here’s the outline of this interview with Ivor Cummins: [00:00:03] Real Food Rocks Festival.   [00:01:33] Prevalence and severity of cardiovascular disease (CVD). [00:02:19] Decline in CVD between 70s and 90s: Roger, Véronique L., et al. "Time trends in the prevalence of atherosclerosis: a population-based autopsy study." The American journal of medicine110.4 (2001): 267-273. Rates of CVD from 1990-2013: O’Rourke, Kevin, et al. "Cardiovascular disease worldwide, 1990-2013." Jama 314.18 (2015): 1905-1905. [00:02:39] Causes of CVD. [00:05:27] Glycocalyx; Study: Noble, M. I. M., A. J. Drake-Holland, and H. Vink. "Hypothesis: arterial glycocalyx dysfunction is the first step in the atherothrombotic process." QJM: An International Journal of Medicine 101.7 (2008): 513-518. [00:07:07] Glucose spikes causing damage to glycocalyx; Study: Nieuwdorp, Max, et al. "Loss of endothelial glycocalyx during acute hyperglycemia coincides with endothelial dysfunction and coagulation activation in vivo." Diabetes 55.2 (2006): 480-486. [00:07:49] Glycolyx thinning at arterial branch points become regions of atherogenic risk; Study: Gouverneur, Mirella, et al. "Vasculoprotective properties of the endothelial glycocalyx: effects of fluid shear stress." Journal of internal medicine259.4 (2006): 393-400. [00:08:11] Potential autoimmune component to CVD. [00:08:18] Gabor Erdosi, admin on the Lower Insulin Facebook group. [00:09:59] Know your risk. Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) scan. [00:10:52] Widowmaker movie. [00:11:24] David Bobbett; Irish Heart Disease Awareness (IHDA). [00:12:07] Rivers Hospital in UK. [00:15:15] An 80-year old with a low score is 20x less likely to have a cardiac event in the next 10 yrs than a 50 yr old with a high score. Study: Tota-Maharaj, Rajesh, et al. "Association of coronary artery calcium and coronary heart disease events in young and elderly participants in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis: a secondary analysis of a prospective, population-based cohort." Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Vol. 89. No. 10. Elsevier, 2014. [00:15:52] 2018 ACC/AHA Multisociety Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. [00:17:34] Interpreting and understanding CAC results. [00:20:03] Value of understanding your cholesterol levels. [00:22:17] COURAGE trial: Boden, William E., et al. "Optimal medical therapy with or without PCI for stable coronary disease." New England journal of medicine 356.15 (2007): 1503-1516. ORBITA trial: Al-Lamee, Rasha, et al. "Percutaneous coronary intervention in stable angina (ORBITA): a double-blind, randomised controlled trial." The Lancet391.10115 (2018): 31-40. [00:25:47] Why isn't the medical establishment using the CAC scan to assess for CVD?   [00:26:05] CAC threatens to interfere with cath lab income, gets shut down. [00:28:39] Getting your score back to zero. [00:28:44] Feature documentary: Heart of the Matter. [00:29:48] Heinz Nixdorf Recall study: Mahabadi, Amir A., et al. "The Heinz Nixdorf Recall study and its potential impact on the adoption of atherosclerosis imaging in European primary prevention guidelines." Current atherosclerosis reports 13.5 (2011): 367. [00:31:54] Physiological perspective on how CAC can possibly reverse. [00:33:45] Hyperbolic discounting; Podcast: Nudge Tactics for Performance and Health with Simon Marshall, PhD. [00:34:20] Donal O'Neill; Cereal Killers movie. [00:35:21] Half-hour Extra Time documentary (at the top of the page). [00:35:35] Cardiologist Dr. Scott Murray, president of the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR). [00:38:53] How to spread the word about getting scanned. [00:39:49] The Fat Emperor podcast; Episode 32: Myopia and Eye Problems: How to Resolve via Resolution of Root Causes. [00:40:11] Robert Lustig, MD. [00:41:16] LDL Cholesterol not a good predictor of actual calcification (CAC); Study: Ware, William R. "The mainstream hypothesis that LDL cholesterol drives atherosclerosis may have been falsified by non-invasive imaging of coronary artery plaque burden and progression." Medical hypotheses 73.4 (2009): 596-600. [00:42:44] Assessing your health between CAC scans: blood tests, CIMT (carotid-intima-media thickness). [00:45:53] Find a scan centre near you. Note: Also try Googling your city/state and “heart scan”. [00:46:37] If you enjoy this podcast, listen to his first podcast with us in March 2018: How Not to Die of Cardiovascular Disease. You can also check out Ivor’s book, Eat Rich, Live Long and his YouTube channel.

James McCarter, MD, PhD. is a researcher and author of over 60 scientific publications and patents. He recently led research and clinical operations for San Francisco-based Virta Health, a nationwide medical provider that delivers the first clinically-proven treatment to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes without medications or surgery. Dr. McCarter recently directed the Virta - Indiana University Health clinical trial demonstrating reversal of diabetes using nutritional ketosis and guided behavior change. This trial has resulted in changes to the American Diabetes Association Standards of Care and consensus statement on nutrition in 2019, reflecting the benefit of low-carbohydrate diets.  In this podcast, James discusses the results that have emerged from this research and the incredible outcomes Virta is demonstrating in helping people reverse their type-2 diabetes and improve cardiac risk markers. He also talks about the five facets of treatment behind Virta’s success, and the business model they employ to make treatment more widely available.  Dr McCarter recently spoke at the AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinology) meeting in Kansas City on ketosis for T2D. These slides provide nice visuals for all of the Virta-IUH trial outcomes as well as background information. Here’s the outline of this interview with Jim McCarter: [00:00:19] Two-year clinical trial: Athinarayanan, Shaminie J., et al. "Long-Term Effects of a Novel Continuous Remote Care Intervention Including Nutritional Ketosis for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes: A 2-year Non-randomized Clinical Trial." Frontiers in endocrinology 10 (2019): 348. [00:00:23] Virta Health. [00:01:09] Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) affects 30 million people in the US, 400 million worldwide. [00:02:24] Long term complications of T2D. [00:04:16] Ketogenic diet: Getting people off the glucose rollercoaster. [00:08:47] Setting up the clinical trial; Sarah Hallberg, DO, MS, Virta Medical Director. [00:10:13] Nine papers published by Virta so far: 7 on the trial and 2 reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, plus whitepaper on cardiovascular benefits of Virta treatment. [00:10:46] 5 facets to treatment: In-house medication management, health coaching, nutrition behavior change education, biometric feedback, online community. [00:16:05] Podcasts with Doug Hilbert: How Busy Realtors Can Avoid Anxiety and Depression Without Prescriptions or the Help of a Doctor, and Ancestral Health Symposium ‘18 Recap. [00:16:54] Doug Hilbert’s AHS talk 2018: AHS18 Douglas Hilbert - Virta 1 Year Clinical Trial Results/Patient Outcomes. [00:18:13] Adherence to the program: 74% of patients completed 2 years of the trial. [00:18:26] Blog post: Top 10 Keto Myths Debunked After 150,000 Days of Patient Care. [00:20:30] Jeff Volek, PhD, RD & Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD. [00:21:20] Ketone metabolism: beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate and acetone. [00:23:05] Beta-hydroxybutyrate as an histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor; Study: Shimazu, Tadahiro, et al. "Suppression of oxidative stress by β-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous histone deacetylase inhibitor." Science 339.6116 (2013): 211-214. [00:24:10] Higher levels of ketones correlate with greater reductions of hemoglobin A1c and greater weight loss. [00:24:29] Ken Ford, Podcast: Optimal Diet and Movement for Healthspan, Amplified Intelligence and More with Ken Ford (ketone signaling is discussed at minute 54:20). [00:25:58] Kaiser study on diabetes remission rates: Karter, Andrew J., et al. "Incidence of remission in adults with type 2 diabetes: the diabetes & aging study." Diabetes Care 37.12 (2014): 3188-3195. [00:29:09] Readout: creating less invasive ways for measuring metabolic markers. [00:29:28] Dan Ariely; Shapa scale and app. [00:31:55] Non-scale victories (NSV). [00:32:56] Ashley Mason podcasts: Paleo Psychology with Ashley Mason PhD and Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Strategies for Diabetes and Sleep Problems. [00:33:22] Elimination of drugs that cause hypoglycemia (e.g., sulphonylureas). [00:34:13] Common pitfalls: Electrolytes. [00:37:46] Myth: Keto causes diabetic ketoacidosis. [00:38:50] Improvements in cardio risk markers; Study: Bhanpuri, Nasir H., et al. "Cardiovascular disease risk factor responses to a type 2 diabetes care model including nutritional ketosis induced by sustained carbohydrate restriction at 1 year: an open label, non-randomized, controlled study." Cardiovascular diabetology 17.1 (2018): 56. [00:44:25] Dave Feldman on The Fat Emperor Podcast with Ivor Cummins: LDL and All-Cause Mortality  - Does Cholestesterol Kill You?; Related NBT podcasts: How to Drop Your Cholesterol, with Dave Feldman, and How Not to Die of Cardiovascular Disease, with Ivor Cummins. [00:49:15] American Diabetes Association (ADA) changed their Standards of Care and consensus statement on nutrition in 2019. [00:51:04] Virta's value-based business model. [00:54:13] Navigating difficult food environments. [00:55:52] Robb Wolf; Chickasaw Nation. [01:01:43] Cardiovascular effects of GLP-1 agonist and SGLT2 inhibitor drugs; Studies: Busch, Robert S., and Michael P. Kane. "Combination SGLT2 inhibitor and GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy: a complementary approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes." Postgraduate medicine 129.7 (2017): 686-697, and DeFronzo, Ralph A. "Combination therapy with GLP‐1 receptor agonist and SGLT2 inhibitor." Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 19.10 (2017): 1353-1362. [01:02:13] Podcast: Nudge Tactics for Performance and Health, with Simon Marshall, PhD. [01:04:50] Find James on Twitter, Medium and LinkedIn.

Mark Alexander is an electronics engineer and technology consultant living in San Francisco. He’s been a member of our Elite Performance Program over the past two years, and in that time we’ve seen him overcome health obstacles that were inhibiting his training and quality of life, including mould exposure, heavy metals, and gut pathogens.  In this podcast, Mark and I discuss his health journey, including the lab tests, coaching, and tools that made the biggest difference for him. He describes the game-changing protocols that helped him gain 6 pounds of muscle mass in 6 months without changing his training. Mark also shares about the major personal and professional shifts he’s made over the past two years, including leaving his engineering job to pursue more fulfilling work and life experiences.  Here's the outline of this interview with Mark Alexander: [00:00:25] Dolby Dimension headset with Atmos Soundscape. [00:03:48] Mark's background. [00:07:14] Going through the NBT Elite Performance Program. [00:08:53] Book: The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman, by Tim Ferriss. [00:09:15] Working with a functional medicine doctor; food sensitivities. [00:12:24] Gut pathogen whack-a-mole. [00:16:03] Supplements for mitochondrial support: nicotinamide riboside, lecithin, creatine. [00:17:24] Heavy metal testing; Quicksilver Scientific. [00:18:02] Clearlight Sanctuary 2 Sauna. [00:18:24] Bryan Walsh Detox program. [00:20:35] Valter Longo, PhD; Prolon Fasting Mimicking Diet. [00:21:55] Mold Exposure; Great Plains mycotoxin test. [00:25:34] Cholestyramine to bind mycotoxins. [00:26:19] Dr. Deborah Gordon; Podcast: How to Fix Autoimmunity in the over 50s. [00:26:28] Video: Dr. Gordon at the Ancestral Health Symposium: Mycotoxin Illness: The Great Impostor. [00:27:42] Supplements vs food for nutrition. [00:30:02] Gymnastic Bodies program. [00:30:16] Zach Moore; Podcast: Overcoming Adversity and Strength Coaching. [00:32:04] Awaken Gym in Denver, CO.; Co-founder Orench Lagman. [00:35:56] How work was affecting Mark's health. [00:38:56] Book: Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott. [00:39:15] Working with people: mindset vs. techniques. [00:40:37] Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation. [00:42:28] The Tide Turners Workshop. [00:43:21] Cal Newport Podcast: How to Live Well in a High Tech World. [00:44:19] Passion for helping others. [00:49:44] What's next for Mark; ketogenic ice cream. [00:50:41] Eating clean while travelling. [00:52:37] Find Mark: TacticalKeto; Linkedin.

Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, author and researcher, specializing in evidence-based prenatal nutrition and exercise. She’s been with us on the podcast before, discussing her bestselling books, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy.   Lily joins us on this podcast to talk about postpartum nutrition and healing, including nose-to-tail eating, carbohydrate restriction, and supporting mom’s recovery and energy needs after the baby arrives. We discuss nutrient requirements for new moms, and factors that affect readiness to resume work and exercise. Lily also shares details about her new webinars on postpartum recovery and nutrition at the Women’s Health Nutrition Academy. Here’s the outline of this interview with Lily Nichols: [00:02:40] Environmental mismatches. [00:03:19] Preparing for postpartum. [00:06:11] Preparing new moms for what to expect. [00:08:53] Book: Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition, by Lily Nichols. [00:10:24] Appropriate postpartum activities, from an ancestral health perspective. [00:11:20] Katy Bowman. [00:15:40] The role of nutrient depletion in postpartum recovery. [00:16:12] Supporting connective tissue and collagen. [00:17:34] Nose-to-tail in traditional postpartum meals. [00:19:34] Postpartum energy needs. [00:27:41] Measuring micronutrient status: what and when to test. [00:29:28] Risk of anemia 75x higher for women who lost 1000mL of blood at delivery. [00:33:31] Increased MCTs in the breast milk when mothers eat carbohydrates. Study: Read, W. W. C., PHYLLIS G. LUTZ, and ANAHID TASHJIAN. "Human milk lipids: II. The influence of dietary carbohydrates and fat on the fatty acids of mature milk. A study in four ethnic groups." The American journal of clinical nutrition 17.3 (1965): 180-183. [00:33:40] Dietary MCTs get passed through breast milk; Study: Francois, Cindy A., et al. "Acute effects of dietary fatty acids on the fatty acids of human milk." The American journal of clinical nutrition 67.2 (1998): 301-308. [00:34:36] Carbohydrate restriction during lactation. [00:37:35] Better insulin sensitivity in early postpartum period. [00:41:03] Gestational diabetes. [00:42:27] Webinars at Women’s Health Nutrition Academy: Postpartum Recovery and Nutrient Repletion; and Nutrition for Breastfeeding. [00:44:35] Ayla Barmmer. [00:45:06] All available courses. [00:47:15] Podcast: The Human Milk-Oriented Microbiota: Babies and Beyond, with Megan Sanctuary. [00:49:29] Lily’s Blog.

Physical Therapist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach Zac Cupples has a passion for human anatomy and helping people meet their health and performance goals. He excels at providing individualized treatment through rehab, training, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and sports science.  What’s amazing to me is that he does online consultation, and helped me fix my chronic back pain by video conference! On this podcast, Zac and I discuss his approach to working with clients and mentoring other practitioners. He talks about some of his assessment methods and strategies for helping people reduce pain while getting remarkable health and performance results. He shares simple breathing techniques that helped me tremendously and discusses some tried-and-true methods for improving client adherence with daily exercises. Here’s the outline of this interview with Zac Cupples: [00:00:06] Dr. Ben House; Podcast: Ben House, PhD on Strength Training: a Discussion at the Flō Retreat Center in Costa Rica. [00:00:52] How Zac got into physical therapy. [00:02:04] Book: Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks, by Ben Goldacre. [00:03:19] Physical Therapist Bill Hartman. [00:05:48] Shawn Baker; Podcast: Life at the Extremes: Fueling World-class Performance with a Carnivore Diet. [00:06:25] Working with NBA basketball players. [00:10:23] Dr. Bryan Walsh. [00:11:36] Sleep as a keystone behaviour; Ashley Mason podcast: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Strategies for Diabetes and Sleep Problems. [00:13:43] The effect of sleep on performance; Zac’s post: He Sleeps He Scores: Playing Better Basketball by Conquering Sleep Deprivation. [00:15:53] Fixing pain. [00:21:01] Assessing movement. [00:22:02] Variability in movement positively associated with health and performance. Study: Stergiou, Nicholas, and Leslie M. Decker. "Human movement variability, nonlinear dynamics, and pathology: is there a connection?." Human movement science 30.5 (2011): 869-888. [00:22:16] Study of javelin throwers: Bartlett, Roger, Jon Wheat, and Matthew Robins. "Is movement variability important for sports biomechanists?." Sports biomechanics 6.2 (2007): 224-243. [00:24:26] Doing assessments remotely/online. [00:27:13] NBT Head of Strength and Conditioning, Zach Moore; Podcast: Overcoming Adversity and Strength Coaching. [00:27:37] Pain vs. tissue damage. [00:30:30] Book: Back Mechanic by Stuart McGill. [00:30:46] Barbell Medicine videos on YouTube. [00:31:06] Harvard Health article: Babying your back may delay healing. [00:34:21] Consulting with Zac on my chronic lower back pain. [00:39:29] Using the anal sphincter to tilt the pelvis. [00:43:35] Breathing for 3D expansion of the body; Video: “Stacking” the Ribcage on top of the Pelvis. [00:45:55] Influencing client behaviour to ensure follow-through. [00:53:54] Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Work Week. [00:55:11] Minimal effective dose. [00:56:56] Lesley Paterson, Braveheart Coaching, Podcast: Off Road Triathlon World Champion Lesley Paterson on FMT and Solving Mental Conundrums. [00:58:30] Altis; Dan Pfaff and Stuart McMillan. [00:59:55] Comparing recovery postures; Study: Michaelson, Joana V., et al. "Effects of Two Different Recovery Postures during High-Intensity Interval Training." Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine 4.4 (2019): 23-27. [01:01:47] Zac’s website. [01:02:08] Human Matrix Seminars. [01:05:21] Find Zac on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. [01:05:40] Book: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, by Cal Newport. Podcast: How to Live Well in a High Tech World, with Cal Newport.

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and the author of 6 books, including New York Times bestseller Digital Minimalism. His writing focuses on the impact of new technology and social media on our ability to be productive and lead satisfying lives. Not surprisingly, his research suggests we’re becoming less connected and getting less done as technology permeates every moment of our day. For this podcast, I got to sit down face to face with Cal to discuss his ideas on digital minimalism. He describes how big business has manipulated us into constantly checking our phones, and is now profiting off of our attention. We discuss the consequences of pervasive technology, and the damaging effect it can have on our drive to create and connect with others in meaningful ways.  Fortunately, Cal also has a solution for turning your attention back to the things that really matter. Here’s the outline of this interview with Cal Newport: [00:00:35] Cal's background. [00:02:18] Book: So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love, by Cal Newport. [00:02:54] Book: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport. [00:03:43] Book: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, by Cal Newport. [00:04:17] Joshua Fields Millburn; The Minimalists Podcast, featuring Christopher Kelly and Dr. Tommy Wood: Health Problems. [00:04:42] Brad Stulberg; Podcast featuring Brad; Book: The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life, by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. [00:05:39] Book: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. [00:06:37] The myth of preexisting passion. [00:07:50] We didn't sign up for this. [00:08:32] Why we’re always looking at our phones. [00:12:26] Social media as an arms race for your attention. [00:13:56] Evolutionary psychology; attention engineers. [00:14:29] BJ Fogg's Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford. [00:14:56] Tristan Harris; Adam Alter. [00:15:52] Effects of intermittent reinforcement on behavior and dopamine. [00:16:47] Video: Dopamine Jackpot! Sapolsky on the Science of Pleasure. [00:17:19] Minimalism; Marcus Aurelius; Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden); Voluntary Simplicity; Marie Kondo. [00:19:01] Digital hoarding. [00:24:17] Digital decluttering: Stepping away from optional personal technology for 30 days. [00:26:29] Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. [00:28:27] Boredom as a drive that gets us to do things that have meaning and value. [00:32:24] Book: Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, by John Cacioppo. [00:33:11] Book: Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude, by Raymond M. Kethledge and Michael S. Erwin. [00:38:58] Connection vs communication. [00:44:56] Josh Turknett’s Intelligence Unshackled Podcast; Podcast with Josh: The Migraine Miracle. [00:46:30] The effects of technology on biology. [00:48:55] Digital Declutter Experiment for 30 days: step away, you get back in touch with what matters, use that as the foundation for very carefully rebuilding your digital life. [00:53:44] Conversation office hours. [00:57:46] Craftsman's approach to deciding whether or not to use a tool. [01:02:18] Article: Neuroscientists can predict decisions 11 seconds before we make them, based on this study: Koenig-Robert, Roger, and Joel Pearson. "Decoding the contents and strength of imagery before volitional engagement." Scientific reports9.1 (2019): 3504. [01:02:45] Will this have any impact? What's next? [01:05:31] Apple Screen Time reports. [01:08:30] Upcoming book: A World Without Email (tentative title). [01:15:15] Cal's website.

I’ve recently taken the new course created by Performance Psychologist Simon Marshall, PhD called Nudge Tactics for Health Coaching. He’s leveraging new behavioural science on how people make decisions about their health. Turns out scaring people or educating them is not enough to overcome the difficulty inherent in adopting healthier habits. On this podcast Simon discusses the latest strategies that actually work when it comes to persuading, nudging, and motivating people (or yourself) to overcome self-sabotage and create better habits. He introduces the SEEDS method - a system of adopting up to 15 teeny tiny behaviours, and then self-monitoring and reviewing progress. He also describes a powerful way to cope with catastrophic thinking when things inevitably go wrong, so you can stay on track.   Here’s the outline of this interview with Simon Marshall: [00:00:09] Simon’s new course: Nudge Tactics for Health Coaching. A Health & Wellness Coach’s guide to the science of behavioral economics. [00:00:36] The science of decision making. [00:02:10] Behavioral economics. [00:04:09] Symptoms and behaviours that could be helped by behavioural economics. [00:04:52] Procrastination. [00:05:16] Hyperbolic discounting: Our relationship with reward depends in part on how close the reward is to us at that time. [00:06:19] Commitment vs. motivation to change. [00:07:20] Old versions of behaviour change: Scaring people, education-based approaches. [00:10:18] The intention-behaviour relationship. [00:12:23] Libertarian paternalism. [00:13:38] Psychological needs theory: People's needs must be respected (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). [00:15:49] Stages of change model; Precontemplators: the proud couch-potatoes. [00:18:31] Dr. Tommy Wood’s Highlights email on sunscreen being a terrible idea. [00:20:52] Professor Susan Michie from UCL; Behavior Change Taxonomy: Michie, Susan, et al. "The behavior change technique taxonomy (v1) of 93 hierarchically clustered techniques: building an international consensus for the reporting of behavior change interventions." Annals of behavioral medicine 46.1 (2013): 81-95. [00:21:17] The Behavior Change Taxonomy app: for iOS and Android. [00:22:29] The most potent strategies: Self-monitoring, setting goals and reviewing. [00:25:27] The science of self-control: Friese, Malte, et al. "Does self-control training improve self-control? A meta-analysis." Perspectives on Psychological Science 12.6 (2017): 1077-1099.  [00:26:00] The original marshmallow study: Mischel, Walter, and Ebbe B. Ebbesen. "Attention in delay of gratification." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 16.2 (1970): 329. Details and follow up studies described here. [00:26:52] Book: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. [00:33:18] Stroop effect. [00:34:07] Book: Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, by Alex Hutchinson. [00:37:28] Recent attempt to replicate the marshmallow study: Watts, Tyler W., Greg J. Duncan, and Haonan Quan. "Revisiting the marshmallow test: A conceptual replication investigating links between early delay of gratification and later outcomes." Psychological science 29.7 (2018): 1159-1177. [00:38:43] SEEDS: Sleep, Exercise, Eating, Drinking and Stress management. [00:40:09] Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear. [00:40:43] How the SEEDS method works. [00:44:14] Always do less than you want to. [00:47:18] Traffic light system: a remedy for catastrophic thinking. [00:54:15] SEEDS Journal. [00:55:53] Sign up for the challenge and pick some SEEDS.