Nourish Balance Thrive

Dave Feldman is a software engineer who discovered for himself the benefits of a ketogenic diet in April 2015, experiencing what he describes as “seven blissful months” - until getting some labs back that included a 300+ total cholesterol.  He learned he was a “hyper-responder,” which inspired him to learn all he could about cholesterol and the lipid system. For the last 2.5 years he’s been using self-experimentation methods to meticulously adjust dietary macronutrient ratios in order to manipulate his blood chemistry.  He’s found out that the lipid system is actually quite easy to change, and does so in surprising ways related to diet. Dave is here today with Dr. Tommy Wood to share his discoveries about all things cholesterol: LDL, HDL, VLDL, lean-mass hyper-responders, and what you need to know to evaluate your own labs.  Dave is an active speaker and blogger, and his N=1 experiments are detailed on his blog at cholesterolcode.com. Here’s the outline of this interview with Dave Feldman: [00:00:19] Video from Low Carb Breckenridge 2017: Dave Feldman: The Dynamic Influence of a High Fat Diet on Cholesterol Variability. [00:00:47] Dave’s background. [00:01:17] Cholesterol doubled, hyper-responder. [00:01:54] Distributed object networks. [00:02:46] Changing fat intake to manipulate cholesterol levels. [00:03:01] Cholesterol Drop Protocol. [00:05:27] Reverse engineering cellular energy. [00:06:20] Lipoprotein. [00:09:37] Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), triglycerides. [00:10:00] Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance. [00:10:29] Intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL). [00:14:35] Hydrolysis of fatty acids. [00:17:11] 3-day average, LDL-C, LDL-P. [00:19:05] Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Friedewald equation. [00:21:00] Direct vs Calculated LDL-C. [00:23:25] Non-low carbers. [00:24:15] Carb swapping. [00:27:16] Vegans. [00:28:07] Sex hormones. [00:29:35] Metabolic flexibility. [00:29:59] Lean mass hyper-responders. [00:34:59] Hypothyroidism, T3, testosterone, creatinine. [00:37:08] Dave’s interview with Ken Sikaris on Low Carb Conversations podcast. [00:37:34] All-cause mortality. [00:38:15] Study: Fulks, Michael, Robert L. Stout, and Vera F. Dolan. "Association of cholesterol, LDL, HDL, cholesterol/HDL and triglyceride with all-cause mortality in life insurance applicants." J Insur Med 41.4 (2009): 244-53. [00:40:00] APOC2, C-reactive protein. [00:44:44] 99% of the LDL particle lifespan. [00:45:59] Atherosclerosis. [00:46:31] Lipopolysaccharides (endotoxin). [00:50:23] Cyrex Array 2 - Intestinal Antigenic Permeability Screen. [00:52:15] Study: Varbo, Anette, Jacob J. Freiberg, and Børge G. Nordestgaard. "Extreme nonfasting remnant cholesterol vs extreme LDL cholesterol as contributors to cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in 90000 individuals from the general population." Clinical chemistry 61.3 (2015): 533-543. [00:51:38] Peter Attia, Thomas Dayspring. [00:53:23] Remnant cholesterol. [00:59:44] Cholesterolcode.com. [01:00:38] Low Carb Breckenridge, Low Carb Cruise, Ketocon, Ketofest, @DaveKeto.

Ivor Cummins is a Biochemical Engineer who in 2012 was disturbed by a set of his own abnormal blood test results. Consultation with multiple doctors yielded little insight into the cause of his elevated cholesterol, ferritin and GGT so he turned to his analytical roots to study the problem. In the process, he evaluated hundreds of scientific papers, ultimately concluding that that flawed hypotheses and a breach of the scientific method have resulted in the current “diabesity” epidemic. Ivor is here today with Dr. Tommy Wood talking on topics related to his well-referenced new book, Eat Rich, Live Long: Mastering the Low-Carb & Keto Spectrum for Weight Loss and Great Health. They also discuss the trouble with polyunsaturated oils, advice on fat loss for the insulin sensitive, and the best test for cardiovascular disease risk (hint: it’s not LDL). If you enjoy this podcast, Ivor is a regular presenter at low-carb/keto events and maintains an active blog and social media presence. Here’s the outline of this interview with Ivor Cummins: [00:00:17] Keto Summit, Dave Feldman. [00:00:48] Boundless Health Podcast with Dr. Bret Scher. [00:01:57] Podcast: The True Root Causes of Cardiovascular Disease, with Dr. Jeffry Gerber. [00:02:15] Book: Eat Rich, Live Long: Mastering the Low-Carb & Keto Spectrum for Weight Loss and Great Health, by Ivor Cummins and Jeffry Gerber, MD. [00:02:29] Videos: here and here. [00:03:20] Insulin, IGF-1, acellular carbs. [00:03:56] Sunlight exposure, 25-OH-D video. [00:04:37] Minerals, Study: DiNicolantonio, James J., James H. O’Keefe, and William Wilson. "Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis." Open Heart 5.1 (2018): e000668. [00:05:28] Gabor Erdosi, Lower Insulin Facebook Group. [00:05:43] Video: Roads to Ruin? from Physicians for Ancestral Health 2017 conference. [00:06:01] Guðmundur Jóhannsson, gut health; Podcast: Foodloose Iceland. [00:07:40] Study: Schwalfenberg, Gerry K., and Stephen J. Genuis. "The importance of magnesium in clinical healthcare." Scientifica 2017 (2017). [00:08:10] Industrial seed oils. [00:09:05] Unilever sells its margarine business. [00:10:17] Studies: Alvheim, Anita Røyneberg, et al. "Dietary Linoleic Acid Elevates the Endocannabinoids 2‐AG and Anandamide and Promotes Weight Gain in Mice Fed a Low Fat Diet." Lipids 49.1 (2014): 59-69. And: Alvheim, Anita R., et al. "Dietary Linoleic Acid Elevates Endogenous 2‐AG and Anandamide and Induces Obesity." Obesity 20.10 (2012): 1984-1994. [00:10:48] Studies: Nanji, Amin A., and Samuel W. French. "Dietary factors and alcoholic cirrhosis." Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 10.3 (1986): 271-273. And: Kirpich, Irina A., et al. "Alcoholic liver disease: update on the role of dietary fat." Biomolecules 6.1 (2016): 1. [00:12:09] Book: Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, by Cate Shanahan, M.D. [00:12:45] Studies: 1. Ramsden, Christopher E., et al. "The Sydney Diet Heart Study: a randomised controlled trial of linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death." The FASEB Journal 27.1 Supplement (2013): 127-4. 2. Frantz, Ivan D., et al. "Test of effect of lipid lowering by diet on cardiovascular risk. The Minnesota Coronary Survey." Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 9.1 (1989): 129-135. 3. Strandberg, Timo E., et al. "Mortality in participants and non-participants of a multifactorial prevention study of cardiovascular diseases: a 28 year follow up of the Helsinki Businessmen Study." Heart 74.4 (1995): 449-454. 4. Rose, G. A., W. B. Thomson, and R. T. Williams. "Corn oil in treatment of ischaemic heart disease." British medical journal 1.5449 (1965): 1531. [00:13:47] Study: Hooper, Lee, et al. "Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease." The Cochrane Library (2015). [00:15:28] Study: Ip, Clement, Christopher A. Carter, and Margot M. Ip. "Requirement of essential fatty acid for mammary tumorigenesis in the rat." Cancer Research 45.5 (1985): 1997-2001. [00:16:28] Study: Pearce, Morton Lee, and Seymour Dayton. "Incidence of cancer in men on a diet high in polyunsaturated fat." The Lancet 297.7697 (1971): 464-467. [00:16:56] Breast milk composition is now almost 50% PUFA. [00:17:50] David Bobbett. [00:19:59] Book structure. [00:20:51] Fat-loss for the insulin sensitive. [00:21:10] Videos: Jeff Gerber interviews Simon Saunders and Marty Kendall. [00:23:03] Ghrelin. [00:24:21] Protein and lean body mass. [00:26:05] Glucagon, mTOR. [00:26:22] Ron Rosedale. [00:26:34] Valter Longo. [00:27:02] IGF-1 U-shaped curve. [00:28:06] Study: Levine, Morgan E., et al. "Low protein intake is associated with a major reduction in IGF-1, cancer, and overall mortality in the 65 and younger but not older population." Cell metabolism 19.3 (2014): 407-417. [00:28:49] Book: Protein Power: The High-Protein/Low Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health - in Just Weeks! By Michael Eades and Mary Dan Eades. [00:30:39] Study: Levine, Morgan E., et al. "Low protein intake is associated with a major reduction in IGF-1, cancer, and overall mortality in the 65 and younger but not older population." Cell metabolism 19.3 (2014): 407-417. [00:31:06] NHANES. [00:31:18] Study: Cohen, Evan, et al. "Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity." Nutrition 31.5 (2015): 727-732. [00:32:20] Kitavans. [00:34:05] Hyperlipid and Denise Minger. [00:36:37] Icelandic diets for longevity [00:39:07] Cardiovascular disease. [00:39:35] Basic lipid panel. [00:39:45] Study: Castelli, William P. "Lipids, risk factors and ischaemic heart disease." Atherosclerosis 124 (1996): S1-S9. [00:40:24] Ratios. [00:41:54] Study: Johnson, Kevin M., David A. Dowe, and James A. Brink. "Traditional clinical risk assessment tools do not accurately predict coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden: a CT angiography study." American Journal of Roentgenology 192.1 (2009): 235-243. Commentary: 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. [00:42:30] Familial Hypercholesterolemia and CVD. [00:43:27] cholesterolcode.com, remnant cholesterol, Plasma Atherogenic Index. [00:44:36] Podcast: Health Outcome-Based Optimal Reference Ranges for Cholesterol [00:46:06] Coronary calcium scan. [00:46:25] Study: Nasir, Khurram, et al. "Interplay of Coronary Artery Calcification and Traditional Risk Factors for the Prediction of All-Cause Mortality in Asymptomatic Individuals Clinical Perspective." Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging 5.4 (2012): 467-473. [00:47:54] Longitudinal score. [00:49:41] Plaque density. [00:50:11] Interview with Matt Budoff. [00:52:37] Video: Dr. Eades at Low Carb Breckenridge, Agatston score. [00:54:38] The Fat Emperor. [00:54:53] Low-carb Breckenridge 2018. [00:55:10] Ketofest, Keto Con, Low-carb USA, Refind Health. [00:55:45] Widowmaker movie.

Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE, CLT is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and author, and she’s back on the podcast today to talk about her latest book, Real Food for Pregnancy.  Her aim is to impact the health of the next generation by getting better nutrition information into the hands of expecting moms. She believes that all pregnant women stand to benefit from a nutritionally-complete diet based on whole, unprocessed foods, and notes that the standard U.S. prenatal dietary guidelines are nutritionally inadequate and even harmful. Her book is meticulously well-referenced, citing over 930 studies that support a real-food approach to optimise maternal and fetal health. Today we discuss some of the specific nutrients, foods and supplements associated with healthier babies, biological reasons for food cravings and aversions, and why morning sickness is actually a good thing. You can read the first chapter of her new book at her website and also visit her blog for more on topics related to real food nutrition and prenatal nutrition.   Here’s the outline of this interview with Lily Nichols: [00:00:38] Book: Real Food for Gestational Diabetes: An Effective Alternative to the Conventional Nutrition Approach, by Lily Nichols. [00:01:06] Changing policy in Czech Republic. [00:02:38] Book: Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes - But Some Do, by Matthew Syed. [00:03:44] Ketosis is a normal part pregnancy. [00:04:03] Podcast: Real Food for Gestational Diabetes with Lily Nichols. [00:04:24] The conventional guidelines: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. [00:06:58] Comparison of meal plans. [00:09:24] Complications of a high-carb diet during pregnancy: Macrosomia. [00:11:21] Study: Muneta, Tetsuo, et al. "Ketone body elevation in placenta, umbilical cord, newborn and mother in normal delivery." Glycative Stress Research 3.3 (2016): 133-140. [00:12:56] Our daughter Ivy was in ketosis. [00:13:21] Placenta is high in ketones. [00:14:07] The importance of choline. [00:15:03] Supplementation trials. [00:15:41] Study: Jiang, Xinyin, et al. "Maternal choline intake alters the epigenetic state of fetal cortisol-regulating genes in humans." The FASEB Journal 26.8 (2012): 3563-3574. [00:16:34] Preeclampsia. [00:17:22] Low Carb Breckenridge 2017 talk: Dr. Nicolai Worm - Nutrition Therapy of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. [00:18:52] Lecithin supplement. [00:20:31] Vegetarian diets for pregnancy. [00:20:48] Study: Bae, Sajin, et al. "Vitamin B-12 Status Differs among Pregnant, Lactating, and Control Women with Equivalent Nutrient Intakes–4." The Journal of nutrition 145.7 (2015): 1507-1514. [00:21:01] Study: Kim, Denise, et al. "Maternal intake of vitamin B6 and maternal and cord plasma levels of pyridoxal 5'phosphate in a cohort of Canadian pregnant women and newborn infants." The FASEB Journal 29.1 Supplement (2015): 919-4. [00:21:20] Lily’s second book: Real Food for Pregnancy. [00:22:46] Glycine. [00:23:00] Dr. Chris Masterjohn Podcast: Why You Need Glycine: A Panel Discussion. [00:24:14] Methylation. [00:24:43] Bone broth and slow cooked cuts of tough meat. [00:26:12] Morning sickness. [00:29:05] Prenatal nutrition may be most important. [00:30:20] Book: Wired to Eat: Turn Off Cravings, Rewire Your Appetite for Weight Loss, and Determine the Foods That Work for You, by Robb Wolf. [00:31:56] Biological reasons for aversions and cravings. [00:33:34] Podcast: Methylation and Environmental Pollutants with Dr. Tim Gerstmar. [00:35:08] Book: Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, by Cate Shanahan, M.D. [00:35:32] Interpregnancy interval studies: Smits, Luc JM, and Gerard GM Essed. "Short interpregnancy intervals and unfavourable pregnancy outcome: role of folate depletion." The Lancet 358.9298 (2001): 2074-2077., and Conde-Agudelo, Agustín, Anyeli Rosas-Bermudez, and Maureen H. Norton. "Birth spacing and risk of autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities: a systematic review." Pediatrics (2016): e20153482. [00:38:29] Book: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. [00:42:20] How long should I eat this way before getting pregnant? [00:43:29] Book: Real Food for Pregnancy. [00:45:51] Supplements and lab testing. [00:47:38] realfoodforpregnancy.com. [00:48:16] Study: Forbes, Scott. "Embryo quality: the missing link between pregnancy sickness and pregnancy outcome." Evolution and Human Behavior 38.2 (2017): 265-278. [00:49:57] pilatesnutritionist.com.

Dr. Kenneth Ford is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), a research institute that is home to world-class scientists and engineers focused on building technology that extends human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tulane University and is the author of hundreds of scientific papers and six books, with interests in an array of areas including artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and human performance under extreme conditions. Ken is also co-host to the popular and respected STEM-Talk podcast which recently won first place in the 12th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards in the Science and Medicine category. Many leaders in the areas of health and exercise physiology appear on STEM-talk, with a focus on the scientific elements behind extending human longevity and performance. Ken is here with us today to talk about some current projects at IHMC, artificial intelligence, ketosis, and his favorite cutting-edge training methods. Here’s the outline of this interview with Ken Ford: [00:04:16] Episode 49 of STEM-Talk, first place People's Choice Awards in the Science and Medicine category. [00:06:43] Current projects. [00:07:10] Dr. James Allen, World Modelers. [00:08:54] Economic modeling, weather modeling for crop failure. [00:09:45] Cognitive orthotics. [00:10:36] Dr. Dawn Kernagis, brain glymphatic system. Podcast: Human Performance and Resilience in Extreme Environments. [00:11:52] Artificial gravity. [00:12:34] The double secret selection committee. [00:13:56] Extending human capabilities. [00:16:35] Locomotion for paraplegics. [00:17:31] Humans in extreme environments. [00:19:51] Space flight and aging. [00:20:41] Few rules but strong culture and a flat organisational structure. [00:22:07] Growth mindset. [00:22:41] Choosing people rather than an agenda. [00:28:09] Fostering a network of friends and experts. [00:28:46] Barry Barish, STEM-talk Episode 10. [00:31:37] Understanding the limits of knowledge. [00:32:47] Do the big tech companies have too much power? [00:35:51] EU 2.5$ penalty for Google. [00:36:45] Google D.C. influence operation. [00:38:36] Duckduckgo. [00:39:10] The term artificial intelligence. [00:42:41] The danger of a superhuman AI. [00:44:21] HAL 9000. [00:45:09] Dropped a physics. [00:45:58] Driverless cars. [00:51:52] Ketogenic diet. [00:53:23] The benefits of ketones. [00:53:55] Signalling functions of beta hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetoacetate. [00:54:26] Study: Shimazu, Tadahiro, et al. "Suppression of oxidative stress by β-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous histone deacetylase inhibitor." Science 339.6116 (2013): 211-214. [00:55:11] Study: Newman, John C., et al. "Ketogenic diet reduces midlife mortality and improves memory in aging mice." Cell metabolism 26.3 (2017): 547-557. [00:55:57] Study: Sleiman, Sama F., et al. "Exercise promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the action of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate." Elife 5 (2016). [00:57:03] Study: Roberts, Megan N., et al. "A ketogenic diet extends longevity and healthspan in adult mice." Cell metabolism 26.3 (2017): 539-546. [00:58:03] Podcast: Why Your Diet Isn’t Working: Undereating and Overtraining, with Megan Roberts. [00:58:24] Podcast: The Keto Masterclass with Robb Wolf. [00:59:38] Virta Health, results with 0.5 - 1 mmol/L of BHB. [01:00:11] Study: Shimazu, Tadahiro, et al. "Suppression of oxidative stress by β-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous histone deacetylase inhibitor." Science 339.6116 (2013): 211-214. [01:01:01] Study: Cunnane, Stephen C., et al. "Can ketones compensate for deteriorating brain glucose uptake during aging? Implications for the risk and treatment of Alzheimer's disease." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1367.1 (2016): 12-20. [01:02:53] Exogenous ketones. [01:05:26] Exercise. [01:06:33] Hierarchical sets. [01:07:11] Art DeVany. [01:08:17] Episode 30 of STEM-Talk. [01:10:15] Eccentric movements. [01:10:41] Study: Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. "Hypertrophic effects of concentric vs. eccentric muscle actions: a systematic review and meta-analysis." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 31.9 (2017): 2599-2608. [01:13:37] Blood flow restriction training. [01:14:41] Episode 34 of STEM-Talk. [01:16:31] Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen, Dr. Adam Anz. [01:18:13] Kaatsu and Go B Strong (discount code: IHMC). [01:18:43] Vibration platform training. [01:19:16] Power Plate. [01:21:12] Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS). [01:22:56] PowerDot. [01:26:41] Kettlebells. [01:27:04] Pavel Tsatsouline. [01:28:21] Strong First, Coaches Mark Reifkind and Tracy Reifkind. [01:29:15] Why not cardio? [01:30:36] Zoo humans. Book: The Human Zoo: A Zoologist’s Classic Study of the Urban Animal, by Desmond Morris [01:32:12] Study: Fain, Elizabeth, and Cara Weatherford. "Comparative study of millennials' (age 20-34 years) grip and lateral pinch with the norms." Journal of Hand Therapy 29.4 (2016): 483-488. [01:34:56] Don't be normal. [01:38:07] Finding versus inventing a purpose. [01:41:45] Cal Newport. [01:43:19] IHMC.us newsletter.

Val Nasedkin is the Co-Founder & Vice President of Business Development for Omegawave, a company that merges the fields of neurology, cardiology, and exercise physiology with mobile computer technology.  Using EKG, HRV, and DC potential measurements, Omegawave devices offer sports-specific outputs on readiness to train and guidance for achieving specific physiological adaptations. Their technology has been used by multiple Olympic Federations; premier soccer teams such as FC Barcelona; teams from the NFL, MLS and NHL; and various other leading sports organizations. As a former elite athlete and coach with decades of experience testing elite athletes, Val learned that the type, volume, and intensity of the training load should not be the primary focus, but rather the timing of when the load is applied. Val is a here today talking with Dr. Tommy Wood about preparedness and readiness, windows of trainability, and maximizing performance with less time and effort. Dr Tommy Wood will be presenting “A machine learning approach to predicting biochemical and metabolomic patterns in athletes” at the British Association of Sport & Exercise Medicine Spring Conference on Thu March 22, 2018 at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster. In the introduction, I also mentioned Tommy’s interview “Reframing Insulin Resistance” and my interview “Blood Chemistry Calculator – AI Meets Functional Medicine” on Steve Anderson’s The Holistic Practitioner podcast. Here’s the outline of this interview with Val Nasedkin: [00:00:20] Ken Ford at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC). [00:03:50] University of Oregon. [00:06:10] Big monkey small monkey. [00:16:17] No genetic markers. [00:17:21] Subjective questioning for the win. [00:18:12] The need for technology. [00:22:31] The recovery wishlist: non-stressful, non-invasive, portable, instantaneous, precise guidelines. [00:24:15] Micro and macro level behaviour. [00:26:00] Regulatory processes. [00:28:56] DC Potential. Study: Ilyukhina, V. A. "Continuity and prospects of research in systemic integrative psychophysiology of functional states and cognitive activity." Human physiology 37.4 (2011): 484. [00:30:13] Institute of Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg. [00:31:44] DC potential explains nervous system potential to adapt to training response. [00:33:16] State of central nervous system. [00:34:01] Not just for athletes, connection between DC potential and mistakes. [00:34:49] Seaman adaptation. [00:36:24] Long term adaptations. [00:37:43] No single method can give all the answers. [00:38:42] Nervous System (central, somatic, autonomic) and Hormonal (Endocrine) System [00:39:00] Heart Rate Variability (HRV) (1996 standards). [00:39:34] Professor Roman M. Baevsky. [00:40:58] Limitations of HRV. [00:43:15] Amplitude spectral analysis of ECG. [00:45:58] Limitations of regular HR monitor strap. [00:48:50] Readiness to train and individual variability. [00:50:29] Preparedness is a long term adaptation. [00:52:20] Readiness is the current psychophysiological status. [00:53:05] Omegawave website publications. [00:55:44] Sports specific tests, e.g. jump test. [00:56:55] Over a million assessments in the database. [00:58:02] Multiple windows of trainability. [01:02:02] Study: Morris, Christopher Whaley. The effect of fluid periodization on athletic performance outcomes in American football players. University of Kentucky, 2015. [01:03:49] Better results with less volume. [01:09:10] Educational courses. [01:09:29] White paper: Windows of Trainability: The Professional Coach’s Handbook.

Author, educator, and psychologist Simon Marshall, PhD, is back on the podcast today to discuss the profound impact of mindset on athletic performance.  He describes the driving forces behind self-sabotage and exercise addiction and actually sheds light on some of my own cognitive barriers to winning.  Simon’s brilliance truly lies in his ability to identify unseen barriers to performance and harness the power of the mind to maximize athletic potential. I’m thrilled to announce that Simon will now be working with every athlete who joins the Elite Performance Program at Nourish Balance Thrive.  You can also find him at Braveheart Coaching where he and his world champion triathlete spouse Leslie Paterson specialize in training endurance athletes.  Also listen to Simon’s previous podcast: How to Create Behaviour Change. Here’s the outline of this interview with Simon Marshall: [00:03:01] Team S.H.I.T. [00:04:36] Book: The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, by Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson (audible version here). [00:07:38] My problems racing cross - settling for 3rd. [00:11:51] Competitor versus participant mindset. [00:13:14] Chimp vs professor brain. [00:14:29] Rationalising throwing in the towel. [00:15:43] Effort and attitude. [00:16:45] Recognising the cues that lead to the participant mindset. [00:18:50] Central governor theory, proposed by Tim Noakes.  Podcast: Professor Tim Noakes: True Hydration and the Power of Low-Carb, High-Fat Diets. [00:20:48] Metering effort. [00:21:19] Segmenting. [00:24:01] Self-sabotage. [00:28:05] Book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck. [00:30:36] Biology defines behaviour. [00:31:52] Depression. [00:32:50] Daniel Amen, Kelly Brogan. Podcast: Depression with Kelly Brogan. [00:34:19] Exercise addiction. [00:35:10] Disordered eating. [00:38:06] The multi-faceted approach to increasing performance and healthspan. [00:38:55] Finding purpose. [00:39:24] Positive psychology. [00:40:32] Book: Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America, by Barbara Ehrenreich. [00:41:31] Psychologists: Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. [00:44:09] Book: Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott. [00:48:17] braveheartcoach.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that for the second year in a row the life expectancy in the US has declined - a change that is largely influenced by an increase in drug overdose among young people.  Everyone in every community has been affected by addiction in one form or another - an alcoholic parent, a teen in rehab, or maybe a spouse addicted to pornography. Erik Kerr, the Co-Founder of Clear Health Technologies is here to talk about the massive impact addiction has on the lives of 282 million people worldwide.  He and Summer Felix-Mulder have brought together 29 amazing speakers on healing all facets of addiction and facilitating lifelong recovery.  It’s a free online 7-day event called the Healing Addiction Summit, and it starts February 3rd. Here’s the outline of this interview with Erik Kerr: [00:00:40] The Draw Shop. [00:02:25] The Keto Summit. [00:03:02] $35 billion spent on addiction treatment and support. [00:04:15] Almost 100% failure rate. [00:06:21] HeroX Challenge: Addiction Relapse Technology Challenge. [00:07:49] 282M affected. [00:09:26] Addiction definition. [00:10:12] Opiates, alcohol, sex. [00:10:33] Hydrocodone, Oxycontin. [00:12:11] Rating doctors by pain management. [00:12:55] Rachel. [00:14:42] Dr. Mary Caire. [00:16:35] Social media and phone use. [00:17:30] One year no beer. [00:17:48] Are you leading by example? [00:20:24] Dopamine resistance and porn. [00:20:46] Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). [00:22:04] Prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until 25 years of age. [00:23:30] Time spent watching porn (actually closer to 9 minutes, rather than 7  as we said in the audio). [00:25:58] Podcast: The Hungry Brain with Stephan Guyenet, PhD. [00:26:13] Dr. Mark Hyman. [00:26:50] Study: Gesch, C. Bernard, et al. "Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners." The British Journal of Psychiatry 181.1 (2002): 22-28. [00:31:15] Parenting. [00:32:49] Allison Hudson. [00:34:36] 1 in 10 babies born in West Virginia is a crack baby. [00:35:45] Robert Sapolsky. Video: Human Nature and Ted Talk: The Biology of Our Best and Worst Selves. [00:38:51] Podcast: How to Create Behavior Change, with Simon Marshall, PhD. [00:40:18] Dr. Nora Volkow. [00:41:53] The Healing Addiction Summit.

Dr. Ben House, PhD. is a Nutritionist (CN), Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) practitioner, and Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (CFMP), as well as a strength coach and the owner of Functional Medicine Costa Rica.  He has a passion for researching, writing, and teaching, and hosts professional and wellness retreats in the Jungle of Uvita, Costa Rica. Today Ben is talking with Dr. Tommy Wood, MD, PhD, about his pragmatic approach to health coaching and training. They discuss testosterone, estrogen, ketosis, and building strength, muscle mass and resilience.  They also share problem-solving strategies for helping clients who aren’t making the progress they want. In the intro, I also mentioned our new Blood Chemistry Calculator that utilizes a machine learning algorithm and blood chemistry data from 36,000 people. This is a powerful tool that can help identify your specific health challenges without directly testing for them, pointing you more squarely in the direction of your health and performance goals. Here’s the outline of this interview with Dr Ben House: [00:00:42] Dr. Ruscio’s Podcast: Adrenal Testing, Mitochondrial Health, Testosterone, Stress, Calories, Body Comp, and Much More with Dr. Ben House. [00:01:35] Background. [00:02:18] Coeliac disease. [00:04:17] Podcast: How to Create Behaviour Change, with Simon Marshall, PhD. [00:05:24] Retreats in Costa Rica. [00:06:17] Study: Trexler, Eric T., et al. "Fat-Free Mass Index in NCAA Division I and II Collegiate American Football Players." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 31.10 (2017): 2719-2727. [00:07:48] Strength in the endurance athlete. [00:09:40] Testosterone. [00:11:26] Exercised induced hypogonadal male. [00:12:23] GNRH. Study: Bergendahl, Matti, and Johannes D. Veldhuis. "Altered pulsatile gonadotropin signaling in nutritional deficiency in the male." Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism 6.5 (1995): 145-159. [00:12:48] Physicians for Ancestral Health. [00:13:56] Undereating. [00:14:08] Acromegaly. [00:14:39] Optimal foraging theory. [00:15:55] Getting in the calories on a minimally processed diet. [00:18:31] Low WBC. [00:20:45] 100% meat diet. [00:21:41] Scurvy. [00:21:50] Shawn Baker, MD, nequalsmany.com. [00:23:02] Consistency. [00:24:05] Study: Travison, Thomas G., et al. "Temporal trends in testosterone levels and treatment in older men." Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity 16.3 (2009): 211-217. [00:24:39] How testosterone is made. [00:26:19] Heartmath, float tank. [00:26:50] Traumatic Brain Injury. [00:27:13] Varicocele. [00:29:17] Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). [00:30:05] Studies: Finkelstein, Joel S., et al. "Gonadal steroids and body composition, strength, and sexual function in men." New England Journal of Medicine 369.11 (2013): 1011-1022, and Chao, Jing, et al. "Short-Term Estrogen Withdrawal Increases Adiposity in Healthy Men." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 101.10 (2016): 3724-3731. [00:31:29] Oestrogen. [00:32:40] Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH); also see Podcast: How to Get Deep Insights on Hormones and Their Metabolism, with Mark Newman. [00:33:55] Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG). [00:34:17] Albumin. [00:34:26] Megalin. [00:36:58] Looking at sleep, training program. [00:38:28] Bryan Walsh. [00:39:29] Mass2 training protocol. [00:40:01] Dopamine. [00:43:23] Finding a training program. [00:45:19] Gut infections: Cryptosporidium, Giardia. [00:46:29] Practitioner training. [00:47:58] Pseudoscience. [00:48:51] Building credibility. [00:50:16] Chris Kresser. [00:51:24] Book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck. [00:52:45] Ben on Facebook. [00:52:58] Retreats. [00:54:52] Ben’s website. [00:55:13] Study: Brinkworth, Grant D., et al. "Long-term effects of a very-low-carbohydrate weight loss diet compared with an isocaloric low-fat diet after 12 mo." The American journal of clinical nutrition 90.1 (2009): 23-32. [00:56:36] Jeff Volek. [00:57:05] Keto for women. [00:58:15] Fat and CHO PTSD. [00:58:43] Podcast: The Most Reliable Way to Lose Weight, with Dr. Tommy Wood. [01:00:20] Tracking basal body temp. [01:00:35] Study: Pontzer, Herman, et al. "Constrained total energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation to physical activity in adult humans." Current Biology 26.3 (2016): 410-417. [01:02:19] Podcast with Ryan Baxter: How to Fuel For Your Sport (with Obstacle Course Racing as an Example). [01:03:16] How much can you eat?

Writer and researcher Lindsay Shaw Taylor, PhD, joined the Primal Blueprint team in 2015, collaborating with Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple to deliver content on the topics of health, science, and primal living.  Lindsay earned her doctorate in 2008 in Social and Personality Psychology with a focus on self-evaluation and goal pursuit.  Her education and personal experience with Primal living is applied daily as she moderates the new and thriving Keto Reset Facebook group, offering knowledge and support to folks following a ketogenic diet. Lindsay talks with us today about the role of psychology in making significant changes to their diet and fitness.  She shares some keys for reframing thought patterns that keep people stuck, and discusses the lifestyle factors that have led to her own health and wellbeing. In the intro, I mentioned The Physicians for Ancestral Health winter retreat, The Braveheart Highland Games and The Blood Chemistry Calculator. Here’s the outline of this interview with Lindsay Taylor: [00:02:26] Highschool days. [00:02:58] Social psychology. [00:04:24] Serena Chen at UC Berkeley, the concept of self-evaluation. [00:05:52] Feeling misunderstood. [00:06:22] Self-verification. Studies: Shaw Taylor, Lindsay, et al. "“Out of my league”: A real-world test of the matching hypothesis." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 37.7 (2011): 942-954. And: Fiore, Andrew T., et al. "Assessing attractiveness in online dating profiles." Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, 2008. [00:07:56] Behaviour change. [00:08:16] Framing goals. [00:09:18] Primal Endurance community on Facebook. [00:09:38] Keto Reset Facebook group. [00:10:50] Weightloss goals. [00:13:21] Video: Tim Minchin 9-life lessons. [00:15:34] Lesley Paterson, Simon Marshall. Podcast: How to Create Behaviour Change. [00:15:56] Book: The Brave Athlete. [00:18:18] Becoming Primal. [00:19:33] Art DeVany. [00:20:53] Health vs appearance goals. [00:22:08] Lack of confidence. [00:23:14] Website: Mark’s Daily Apple. [00:23:38] Self-relevance. [00:24:18] Intrinsic motivation. [00:26:02] About Mark Sisson. [00:28:24] Paleo f(x). [00:28:36] Chris Kresser. [00:30:03] Mark on a stand-up paddleboard. [00:31:30] Primal Kitchen Santa Cruz on Instagram. [00:33:01] Social comparison. [00:34:18] Constant horizon seeking. [00:34:43] Podcast: National Cyclocross Champion Jeremy Powers on Racing, Training, and the Ketogenic Diet. Podcast: National Cyclocross Champion Katie Compton on Ketosis and MTHFR. [00:36:35] Study: McSwiney, Fionn T., et al. “Keto-adaptation enhances exercise performance and body composition responses to training in endurance athletes.” Metabolism 81 (2018): 25-34. [00:38:03] Book: Unconventional Medicine by Chris Kresser. [00:38:22] Ketogenic diet. [00:42:24] Balance in exercise, diet, work. [00:44:01] A day in the life in food. [00:44:14] Rhonda Patrick. Video: Rhonda talking with Satchin Panda about Time Restricted Eating. [00:44:54] Lindsay on Instagram. [00:46:59] Counting calories to make sure you're eating enough. [00:47:32] Podcast: How to Understand Glucose Regulation, with Dr. Bryan Walsh. [00:49:07] Allostatic load. [00:50:23] Tamsin Lewis. [00:53:06] Eating when not hungry. [00:53:34] Macro calculators. [00:56:33] Being OK with uncertainty. [00:57:27] Book: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman. [00:58:29] Book: The Keto Reset Diet, by Mark Sisson. [01:01:31] Transitioning to keto: ripping the band-aid off slowly. [01:04:23] Keto Reset Facebook group.

To interpret lab results your typical doctor will use standard reference ranges that are based on averages from a random sample of people.  Your labs are compared to these ranges to evaluate your health status and to guide potential treatment.  If reference ranges have such an important role, wouldn’t it make sense to have them reflect optimal health rather than typical health? We’re looking at some recent and large-scale studies today that suggest your cholesterol numbers don’t mean what mainstream medicine might have you believe.  Dr. Tommy Wood, MD, PhD is with me to discuss optimal reference ranges for cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as other lab tests that are more reliable for predicting cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Need some help interpreting your blood tests? In this interview, we introduce the Blood Chemistry Calculator. Here’s the outline of this interview with Dr. Tommy Wood: [00:03:02] All-cause mortality: Dying from any cause. [00:03:38] Study: Fulks, Michael, Robert L. Stout, and Vera F. Dolan. "Association of cholesterol, LDL, HDL, cholesterol/HDL and triglyceride with all-cause mortality in life insurance applicants." J Insur Med41.4 (2009): 244-253. [00:05:54] Higher is not necessarily better for HDL. [00:07:23] Lower limits for triglycerides. [00:07:50] Study: Iannello, S., et al. "Low fasting serum triglyceride level as a precocious marker of autoimmune disorders." MedGenMed: Medscape general medicine 5.3 (2003): 20-20. Podcast: Risk Assessment in the Genomic Era: Are We Missing the Low-Hanging Fruit? With Dr. Bryan Walsh. [00:11:09] Arbitrary cutoffs are created in order to compare groups statistically. [00:12:25] Study: Zuliani, Giovanni, et al. "Combining LDL-C and HDL-C to predict survival in late life: The InChianti study." PloS one 12.9 (2017): e0185307. [00:13:19] Study: Orozco-Beltran, Domingo, et al. "Lipid profile, cardiovascular disease and mortality in a Mediterranean high-risk population: The ESCARVAL-RISK study." PloS one 12.10 (2017): e0186196. [00:17:27] Total cholesterol. [00:18:44] Optimal reference range for total cholesterol: 120 - 240 mg/dL (under age 60, all-cause mortality). [00:19:55] Optimal range for women 200 - 300 mg/dL (over 60). [00:20:11] Study: Petursson, Halfdan, et al. "Is the use of cholesterol in mortality risk algorithms in clinical guidelines valid? Ten years prospective data from the Norwegian HUNT 2 study." Journal of evaluation in clinical practice 18.1 (2012): 159-168. [00:21:46] Familial hypercholesterolemia. [00:23:01] LDL is part of the immune system. [00:23:32] Insulin resistance as a cause of high cholesterol. [00:24:23] Thyroid problems as a cause of high LDL. [00:26:19] Ivor Cummins (see first graph on page). [00:27:23] Optimal reference range of LDL for men/women under age 60:  80 - 170 mg/dL. [00:29:44] HDL graphs found within study: Fulks, Michael, Robert L. Stout, and Vera F. Dolan. "Association of cholesterol, LDL, HDL, cholesterol/HDL and triglyceride with all-cause mortality in life insurance applicants." J Insur Med41.4 (2009): 244-253. [00:30:42] Alcohol as a potential cause of high HDL. [00:33:01] Optimal reference range for triglycerides: 50 - 90 mg/dL. [00:35:23] Triglyceride : HDL ratio 1 - 2 is optimal if measuring in mg/dL. [00:37:16] Total cholesterol : HDL ratio of 3 - 4 is optimal. [00:39:32] Keto hyper-responders. [00:40:15] APOE4. [00:40:40] Thomas Dayspring. [00:41:01] True Health Diagnostics. [00:41:20] LDL-P: the total number of particles carrying the LDL cholesterol. [00:41:51] LDL particle size: small dense vs large fluffy. [00:42:33] Peter Attia’s blog and his posts pertaining to cholesterol. [00:43:08] Dave Feldman. His website: cholesterolcode.com. [00:45:37] Endurance exercise: effect on cholesterol and triglycerides. [00:46:23] Facebook groups: Lower Insulin and Optimising Nutrition. [00:46:43] Gudmundur Johannsson, CEO of the Icelandic Health Symposium. [00:46:55] Sepsis, endotoxins: worse outcomes with lower LDL. [00:49:39] Statins: Ever a good idea? [00:51:28] Tommy in a kiosk. [00:53:25] Link to the blood calculator.