A free, month-long event packed with expert speakers,training, and an inside look at the FDN Program. This is a must-see event for aspiring and seasoned health coachesand practitioners who want to learn business and marketing strategies to propel their career to the next level.
Receive expert training on how to market your health coaching business, including elevating your personal brand, pitching podcasts, and more.
Hear from 15+ FDN graduates who have reached the six-figure milestone. Steal their strategies, and discover how the FDN framework led to their success.
Learn from leading FDN Practitioners + industry experts who have built thriving health practices from the ground up.
Receive candid insights from FDN graduates, so you can make an informed decision about your potential future with FDN.
Speaking about brain health, Dr. Marly Jones, a naturopathic doctor specializing in functional health with a focus on the brain and central nervous system, also shares her personal and professional journey. Marly discusses her early health struggles, which began in childhood with infections, mold exposure, and a severe head injury, leading to anxiety, an undiagnosed case of Lyme disease, and misdiagnosed lupus. Her quest for healing led her to explore natural medicine practices, ultimately guiding her towards a successful career in naturopathy and brain health advocacy.
Marly details her transformation through brain training, specifically with NeurOptimal® neurofeedback, a non-invasive technique that helps the brain self-optimize by bringing it back to the present moment. She emphasizes that this approach has significantly improved her quality of life, allowing her to overcome chronic illnesses and live adventurously. Marly advocates for the importance of brain health as the foundation for overall wellbeing, detailing how this training can help individuals become more flexible and resilient to stress.
The podcast also explores how NeurOptimal® can benefit various individuals, including those with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and suggests that it pairs well with other functional medicine practices. Marly illustrates the simplicity and effectiveness of the brain training process, highlighting its potential to transform lives by improving emotional and mental health, especially for families and children. She encourages listeners to be open to stress resilience strategies and to consider brain training as a valuable tool in their health and wellness routines.
Brain Health: Topics
00:00 Introduction and Guest Bio
00:51 Early Health Struggles
02:25 The Turning Point: Lyme Disease and Misdiagnosis
03:47 Journey to Naturopathy
04:32 Motherhood and Health Challenges
15:42 The Role of Brain Health
26:14 Struggles with DNRS and Meditation
27:04 Hypervigilance and Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction
28:07 Neurofeedback and Early Experiences
29:17 Discovering NeurOptimal®
32:49 Personal Transformation and Family Impact
37:04 NeurOptimal® in Practice and Community
42:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Where: San Diego, CA
When: October 17-19, 2024
Join with others who are building their health businesses. Learn how to launch, scale, or expand your business. Gain insight through case studies, personal accounts, practical strategies and understand what you need to make your business a success in the functional health space.
Each year, over 2,000,000 new research articles are published in more than 30,000 peer-reviewed journals across all fields of study (Ref 1). For one to make headlines from Thailand (Ref 2) to The Times (Ref 3) is quite an achievement. This week’s note is about a paper that generated such global headlines. The Thailand headline was “Study finds that regular use of fish oil supplements might be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation and stroke!” The Times headline was “Fish oil supplements may raise heart disease risk in healthy people.” Both headlines were alarming for the many people who take fish oil supplements. The full scale of the news coverage can be seen on Altmetric (Ref 4).
The paper was called “Regular use of fish oil supplements and course of cardiovascular diseases: prospective cohort study” and it was published by Chen et al (Ref 5). The main author was from China. Other authors were from the US, UK, Denmark and China. The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The B&MGF has a few agendas in the food arena including one related to fish and aquaculture (Ref 6).
Disclaimer – I take fish oil supplements. However, I am open to compelling evidence to stop taking them and to save myself the bother and money.
Do you wish you could make a greater impact on people’s lives?
Are you wanting to feel passionate about your career again?
Launching your own online wellness practice may be the perfect path for you!
This highly rewarding career allows you the freedom to:
– Work less hours, from home – Replace (or exceed) your income – Leave the traditional healthcare model – Help people on a deeper level – Feel deeply fulfilled by your career
Sound like what you’re looking for?
If so, keep reading…
Whether this is the first time you’ve considered health coaching or becoming a functional health practitioner, or you’ve played around with the idea before, you probably have a ton of questions!
So today, we’re going to focus on your first step:
>> How to choose the best training program
Because while there are dozens of fantastic options out there, the fact is –
Not every program is the best option for YOU!
There are factors you need to consider. For example, programs such as Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) provide excellent health coaching education, but you graduate without any training in functional labs, which means you can’t dig deeper to get real answers for your clients.
As a nurse, you’re coming into this career path with a ton of healthcare experience, and a strong desire to help people:
To understand the WHY behind people’s symptoms
To find real answers, and
To get transformative results
That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of programs that offer advanced clinical training, so you can achieve just that.
In this article, we’ll look at:
#1. Important questions to consider when choosing a program, and #2. A comparison of advanced health coach training programs
But before we dive into all that, let’s take a step back and introduce ourselves…
We’re Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN)
We offer a 12-month Holistic Health Practitioner Lab training program that gives nurses everything they need to replace their income while working from home andchanging lives, using the power of at-home functional lab testing + personalized diet & lifestyle changes.
As pioneers in the field of at-home functional lab testing, we give you the expertise you need to determine which lab tests to order, and how to interpret the results, so you can help your clients overcome chronic health problems.
And, equally as important, we provide you access to order these functional tests upon graduation, even without a license. Yes, anybody (including you!) can order functional testing through our Medical Director Program upon graduating.
Last, but certainly not least, we teach you how to build a thriving online wellness practice, so you have the freedom to set your own schedule and make a living from home – doing what you love.
Here is the FDN Program, at-a-glance.
Program Duration: 10-12 Months
Estimated Time Commitment: 3-6 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
Investment: $8,997
Access to 60+ Functional Labs for Clients: Yes, anyone (even unlicensed graduates) can order functional tests for their clients through the Medical Director Program.
Certificate Awarded / Title: Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDNP) and Holistic Health Practitioner via AADP
Mentorship: Yes, 3 Personal Results and Recommendation Sessions, 6 Sessions With a Program Mentor to Practice What You’ve Learned.
Functional Labs: Receive (4) Functional Lab Test Kits for yourself which is included in the cost of the program: Stress & Hormones Profile, Mucosal Barrier Assessment, Metabolic Wellness Profile, GI Map (Value $1k+)
Other Support: 8-10 Live Calls / Month (optional); Private Facebook Group; Access to Founder, Reed Davis, on 1 Call / Week & Post-Grad Community; Direct Access to Course Supervisor & Lead Mentor.
Business Development: Learn essential skills to set up your practice. Unlock access to FDN Business School, a business training program for graduates.
Now that we’ve laid out the details of our program, let’s talk about important factors you need to consider before examining your options.
Important Questions to Ask Yourself
What type of freedom do you want?
If you want to break away from the traditional healthcare model, work from home, and have total control over your days – starting your own online wellness practice is the right path for you!
This means, when you look for a program, take note of how much business development support is available to you as a graduate. It’s a lot of work to start & grow a wellness practice, so having someone to show you the ropes is a game-changing benefit.
FDN offers foundational business support inside the FDN Program, as well as a dedicated graduate program to master online business skills.
How will you order at-home labs for your clients?
Being trained to interpret functional labs is one (important!) thing – but if you want to run your own wellness practice, you need to be able to access them for your clients, too.
For example, at FDN, graduates can easily order labs *and* consult with lab experts about the results through our Medical Director Program.
Other programs might provide the education, but graduates are disappointed when it’s challenging (or impossible) to order labs for clients as a solo practitioner.
What type of support is provided?
Both while you’re inside the program, and once you graduate.
Remember, learning brand new skills isn’t easy! You’re embarking on a new career path that actually changes people’s lives.
Most programs provide a thorough curriculum that equips you with everything you need to know – but how much support do you need to implement those lessons successfully?
Will you have direct access to a mentor?
How often will you have LIVE calls?
What about after you graduate and are actively working with clients?
Is there a community you can reach out to?
These are important questions to consider!
Bonus Tip: Money isn’t everything, but it matters.
If you’re interested in a particular program, look up some of the graduates online. If they’re running their own businesses now, what are they charging? Also, don’t hesitate to ask program advisors what the income range is for graduates of their program. It’s going to vary by location, but they should be able to provide a general range for you.
Keep in mind that the ability to offer at-home functional testing to your future clients is going to massively increase the amount you can charge for your services.
Most of our graduates offer high-ticket transformational programs, many that equate to $150-$200+/hr.
Alternative Training Programs for Nurses
Now that you know about FDN’s training program, let’s look at a few alternatives to make sure you know what’s available.
Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP) offers a certification program with two phases: Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 (must be completed first) takes a deep-dive on Dr. Stephen Cabral’s signature protocols – giving you the detailed processes and handouts he uses inside his own health practice. In Level 2, you’ll learn how to leverage functional lab testing and apply them in the protocols.
Like FDN, IHP takes a bio-individual approach to health. The program provides training on holistic topics like stress, exercise, supplement recommendations, and more.
Here’s IHP at-a-glance:
Estimated Time Commitment: 40+ hours total for Level 1; 68+ hours total for Level 2
Investment: Not listed
Access to Functional Labs for Clients: Yes
Certificate Awarded / Title: IHP (Integrative Health Practitioner)
Mentorship: Not listed
Functional Labs: Receive in-depth training on important functional lab tests, including Food Sensitivity Testing, Parasite & Bacteria Testing, Organic Acid Testing, Omega-3 Testing, Adrenal Hormone Testing, Thyroid Adrenal Hormone Testing, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
Other Support: Not listed
Important Note: Mentorship and support is not visible for this program, so make sure to ask these questions when conducting your own research. Entrepreneurship can be a rocky road if you try to go at it alone. Access to support from mentors and a like-minded community is key to your success, which is why FDN makes this a priority, with 1:1 and group sessions.
Restorative Wellness Solutions offers 4 levels of training, each of which focuses on mastering a specific area of functional health, including how to leverage lab testing to get results. Each “level” or course is offered 2x each year.
They include:
GI Healing (Gastrointestinal Healing)
Optimizing Hormones
Blood Chemistry
Clinical Mastery
Restorative Wellness Solutions, at-a-glance:
Program Duration: 12 weeks per course; ~12 months total (all 4)
Estimated Time Commitment: 6-8 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
Investment: $3,500 for Level 1; $3,800 for Level 2; $4,000 for Level 3; $4,500 for Level 4; $15,850 all in
Mentorship: 1-1 relationship with a designated mentor, 10 coaching calls
Important Note: While this organization provides excellent mentorship and training inside its courses, something to consider is that they don’t mention graduate support. This could potentially be an issue, particularly if you’re a new health coach or practitioner who has never worked with clients or offered labs before. You will almost certainly have questions arise as you begin to actually apply what you learn in the world!
The Kresser Institute’s flagship program, ADAPT Functional Medicine Practitioner Training & Certification Program, “provides practitioners with the training to integrate and apply real-time clinical insights, new diagnostic labs, Functional Medicine panels with interpretation, and up-to-date treatment protocols with ongoing faculty support and guidance.”
This advanced program combines training in functional medicine, ancestral nutrition and lifestyle, and practice management, and is for licensed healthcare practitioners only.
ADAPT Training & Certification program, at-a-glance:
Program Duration: 6-12 Months
Estimated Time Commitment: 2-4 Hours / Week (depending on pace)
Investment: $11,000
Access to Functional Labs for Clients: Yes, for licensed practitioners only
Certificate Awarded / Title: ADAPT Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (A-CFMP) – awarded at an additional cost
Mentorship: Not mentioned
Important Note: While this program provides access to functional lab testing, it’s only available for licensed practitioners, which could potentially prevent you from being able to access labs for your clients inside your own practice. At FDN, all graduates receive access to the Medical Director Program, which gives even unlicensed practitioners access to 60+ lab tests and consults with clinical experts.
A free, month-long event packed with expert speakers,training, and an inside look at the FDN Program. This is a must-see event for aspiring and seasoned health coachesand practitioners who want to learn business and marketing strategies to propel their career to the next level.
Receive expert training on how to market your health coaching business, including elevating your personal brand, pitching podcasts, and more.
Hear from 15+ FDN graduates who have reached the six-figure milestone. Steal their strategies, and discover how the FDN framework led to their success.
Learn from leading FDN Practitioners + industry experts who have built thriving health practices from the ground up.
Receive candid insights from FDN graduates, so you can make an informed decision about your potential future with FDN.
“Can Autoimmunity Be Optional?” features Rachel Smith, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and owner of Natural Health Rising, about her journey and expertise in managing autoimmune diseases through functional medicine. Rachel shares her personal experience of overcoming autoimmune disease, the unique ‘RISE’ approach she utilizes in her practice, and highlights the importance of diet, lifestyle changes, and targeted testing in managing health issues such as autoimmunity, mold illness, and heavy metal toxicity. She emphasizes the significant improvements clients can achieve by incorporating these functional medicine strategies into their lives. Rachel also discusses her extensive traveling experiences while maintaining her health and business, showcasing the feasibility of a balanced, healthy lifestyle even in demanding circumstances.
Rachel delves into the specifics of her functional medicine protocols, elaborating on the foundational lab tests she commonly uses, such as the GI MAP, organic acids test, and hair, tissue, mineral analysis (HTMA). She discusses typical findings in clients with autoimmune conditions, including common gut infections, yeast overgrowth, and mineral imbalances. Rachel also shares powerful testimonials from her clients, illustrating the transformative impact functional medicine can have on individuals with severe health conditions. She believes that with the right tools and knowledge, most people can put autoimmune diseases into remission and significantly improve their quality of life.
The conversation also touches on the connection between Lyme disease and autoimmune disorders. Rachel reveals how chronic Lyme disease can often be misdiagnosed as an autoimmune condition and the importance of correct testing and protocols in such cases. As an advanced practitioner, Rachel has co-created a comprehensive Lyme course with FDN to empower other practitioners. Throughout the podcast, she stresses the value of continual learning and dedication to health education, culminating in practical advice for listeners to have more fun and reduce stress to better manage their health.
Can Autoimmunity Be Optional: Topics
00:00 Introduction and Guest Bio
01:21 Rachel’s Recent Travels
02:34 Rachel’s Health Journey
06:20 Discovering Functional Medicine
09:31 Transition to Functional Medicine
13:38 Autoimmunity and Functional Medicine
18:23 Functional Medicine Testing and Protocols
23:18 Introduction to Organic Acids Test (OAT)
24:19 Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and Heavy Metal Toxicity
25:48 Importance of Minerals in Autoimmunity
27:33 Addressing Parasites: Protocols and Products
29:12 Dietary Approaches for Autoimmune Conditions
33:20 The Role of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN)
How do healthier plant-based diets compare to unhealthy plant foods and animal foods when it comes to diabetes risk?
In my video on flexitarians, I discuss how the benefits of eating a plant-based diet are not all-or-nothing. “Simple advice to increase the consumption of plant-derived foods with compensatory [parallel] reductions in the consumption of foods from animal sources confers a survival advantage”— a live-longer advantage. The researchers call it a “pro-vegetarian” eating pattern, one that’s moving in the direction of vegetarianism, “a more gradual and gentle approach.”
If you’re dealing with a serious disease, though, like diabetes, completely “avoiding some problem foods is easier than attempting to moderate their intake. Clinicians would never tell an alcoholic to try to simply cut down on alcohol. Avoiding alcohol entirely is more effective and, in fact, easier for a problem drinker…Paradoxically, asking patients to make a large change may be more effective than making a slow transition. Diet studies show that recommending more significant changes increases the chances that patients can accomplish [them]. It may help to replace the common advice, ‘all things in moderation’ with ‘big changes beget big results.’ Success breeds success. After a few days or weeks of major dietary changes, patients are likely to see improvements in weight and blood glucose [sugar] levels—improvements that reinforce the dietary changes that elicited them. Furthermore, they may enjoy other health benefits of a plant-based diet” that may give them further motivation.
As you can see below and at 1:43 in my video Friday Favorites: Is Vegan Food Always Healthy?, those who choose to eat plant-based for their health say it’s mostly for “general wellness or general disease prevention” or to improve their energy levels or immune function, for example.
They felt it gives them a sense of control over their health, helps them feel better emotionally, improves their overall health, makes them feel better, and more, as shown below and at 1:48. Most felt it was very important for maintaining their health and well-being.
For the minority who used it for a specific health problem, mostly high cholesterol or weight loss, followed by high blood pressure and diabetes, most reported they felt it helped a great deal, as you can see below and at 2:14.
Some choose plant-based diets for other reasons, such as animal welfare or global warming, and it looks like “ethical vegans” are more likely to eat sugary and fatty foods, like vegan donuts, compared to those eating plant-based because of religious or health concerns, as you can see below and at 2:26 in my video.
The veganest vegan could make an egg- and dairy-free cake, covered with frosting, marshmallow fluff, and chocolate syrup, topped with Oreos, and served with a side of Doritos. Or, they may want fruit for dessert, but in the form of Pop-Tarts and Krispy Kreme pies. Vegan, yes. Healthy, no.
“Plant-based diets have been recommended to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, not all plant foods are necessarily beneficial.” In the pro-vegetarian scoring system I mentioned above, you get points for eating potato chips and French fries because they are technically plant-based, as you can see below and at 3:07 in my video, but Harvard researchers wanted to examine the association of not only an overall plant-based diet, but healthy and unhealthy versions. So, they created the same kind of pro-vegetarian scoring system, but it was weighted towards any sort of plant-based foods and against animal foods; then, they created a healthful plant-based diet index, where at least some whole plant foods took precedence and Coca-Cola and other sweetened beverages were no longer considered plants. Lastly, they created an unhealthful plant-based diet index by assigning positive scores to processed plant-based junk and negative scores for healthier plant foods and animal foods.
Their findings? As you can see below and at 3:51 in my video, a more plant-based diet, in general, was good for reducing diabetes risk, but eating especially healthy plant-based foods did better, nearly cutting risk in half, while those eating more unhealthy plant foods did worse, as shown in the graph below and at 4:03.
Now, is that because they were also eating more animal foods? People often eat burgers with their fries, so the researchers separated the effects of healthy plant foods, less healthy plant foods, and animal foods on diabetes risk. And, they found that healthy plant foods were protectively associated, animal foods were detrimentally associated, and less healthy plant foods were more neutral when it came to diabetes risk. Below and at 4:32 in my video, you can see the graph that shows higher diabetes risk with more and more animal foods, no protection whatsoever with junky plant foods, and lower and lower diabetes risk associated with more and more healthy whole plant foods in the diet. So, they concluded that, yes, “plant-based diets…are associated with substantially lower risk of developing T2D.” However, it may not be enough to just lower the intake of animal foods; consumption of less healthy plant foods may need to decrease, too.
As a physician, labels like vegetarian and vegan just tell me what you don’t eat, but there are a lot of unhealthy vegetarian fare like French fries, potato chips, and soda pop. That’s why I prefer the term whole food and plant-based nutrition. That tells me what you do eat—a diet centered around the healthiest foods out there.
Palm oil is oil that is made from the palm plant. Yes the tree that looks like a palm tree. They produce palm fruit which then can make palm oil. And it can make two distinct types of cooking oils.
Palm oil is a widely used plant-based oil, owes its popularity to its versatility. Originally native to Africa, palm oil trees were introduced to South-East Asia over a century ago. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), palm oil features in nearly 50% of packaged products in supermarkets and is also utilized in animal feed worldwide. It’s a common ingredient in various packaged and processed foods typical of the Western diet, such as donuts, instant noodle soups, chocolate, pizza, peanut butter, ice cream, condiment spreads like Nutella, potato chips, and other popular snacks.
There are two types of palm oil and this is where people get confused. Palm oil is made by squeezing the juice of the fleshy fruit, whereas palm kernel oil is made by crushing the kernel at the center of the fruit borne by the oil palm tree.
Is palm oil a seed oil? The answer is no, palm oil isn’t a seed oil, but palm kernel oil is a seed oil.
It is important to know the difference as food products may contain one or the other or both.
The other difference to know is if the palm oil is animal cruelty free or not. Some palm farming is causing deforestation of engendered species including the orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. There also remains some exploitation of workers and child labor. These are serious issues that make the whole palm oil sector a gray area. It’s important to know that some palm oil comes from this terrible farming practices whereas others come from ethical farming practices. A lot of brands will publicize this on their website. Most new brands that are organic and non-gmo use the “good” palm oil. Brands like Bhu Foods and Nutiva will include on their website: “The Hain/Spectrum Palm Oil we (Bhu Foods) use is certified RSPO from Columbia not Southeast Asia, so it is not endangering orangutans. Here is a link to the RSPO site and Nutiva: We source our red palm oil from small organic and fair trade certified family farms in Ecuador to ensure no habitat is harmed. Through a partnership with Natural Habitats, we support local environmental and community efforts with Palm Done Right.”
Palm oil done right is a beautiful and natural product that can contribute to an excellent healthy product and support local farmers. Palm oil done wrong can be toxic to our health and to the environment. It’s a shame that some human beings engage in this level of toxicity but this is the sad reality of our world and some farming practices are just absolutely destroying our health and the earth. We see this in the wheat, corn, beet, potato, dairy and meat farming. It’s the same thing, there is wheat (bread, gluten) that is amazing and clean, and then there is wheat that is from genetically modified seeds and contamined with glyphosate from the herbicide and pesticide which is known to cause cancer. We don’t have to avoid all wheat and gluten because there are good quality versions but it’s up to us to know the difference and how to read labels.
Aside from the deforestation issue is whether or not palm oil adheres to nutrition standards beneficial for our health. Experts at Harvard Health suggest palm oil is a healthier alternative to trans fats. Palm oil, which is 50% saturated, has a more favorable fatty acid composition than coconut oil, which is more than 85% saturated! fats. The honor of unhealthiest fat previously went to trans fat, which is now banned. Most trans fat is artificially created through hydrogenation. Food manufacturers and restaurants have needed to find alternatives and one of them is palm oil. It’s less saturated than butter and contains no trans fat. Palm oil is clearly better than high–trans fat shortenings and probably a better choice than butter. But Dr Celeste Robb-Nicholson (MD) says vegetable oils that are naturally liquid at room temperature such as olive oil and canola oil should still be your first choice. However olive oil can be a challenge to add to snacks such as cookie dough because of the flavor profile, it would just be overbearing, which is where a good quality palm oil will come in handy.
In conclusion, if I see a product with organic palm oil, or palm oil that is certified sustainable, or non-hydrogenated palm oil I will eat it. It’s natural and complies with my values of a natural lifestyle. If it’s the right type of palm oil it’s proven to have no negeative health effects on our health or the environment. Do you research when you see palm oil listed on the ingredient list and find out if it’s toxic or natural.
A free, month-long event packed with expert speakers,training, and an inside look at the FDN Program. This is a must-see event for aspiring and seasoned health coachesand practitioners who want to learn business and marketing strategies to propel their career to the next level.
Receive expert training on how to market your health coaching business, including elevating your personal brand, pitching podcasts, and more.
Hear from 15+ FDN graduates who have reached the six-figure milestone. Steal their strategies, and discover how the FDN framework led to their success.
Learn from leading FDN Practitioners + industry experts who have built thriving health practices from the ground up.
Receive candid insights from FDN graduates, so you can make an informed decision about your potential future with FDN.
“What Diet Does FDN Teach” delves into the dietary principles taught by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) to its practitioners. The hosts emphasize a balanced approach that does not strictly adhere to any specific dietary theory like veganism or keto, but rather focuses on whole foods that look like foods and avoids processed items. They discuss the importance of including animal products, citing ancestral diets as instrumental for gut healing, and how different diets can play a role depending on the individual’s needs and health conditions.
The podcast also explores metabolic typing, a concept that categorizes individuals into mixed, slow, or fast oxidizers, to determine the best food pairings and macronutrient ratios for each person. The hosts share their personal experiences with various diets and the significance of food sensitivity testing, particularly the MRT test, in identifying specific food reactions that could hinder health. They stress that bad foods are universally bad, but good foods are only beneficial to some, emphasizing personalized dietary plans.
Finally, the episode highlights the modern challenges associated with plant-based diets due to soil depletion and toxin absorption in the current agricultural environment. They address the need for temporary dietary restrictions for conditions like Candida overgrowth and the importance of context-specific adjustments. The hosts underscore that their approach promotes intuitive and evidence-based dietary practices, considering the individual’s metabolic type, sensitivities, and current health realities, to guide people towards optimal health.
What Diet Does FDN Teach: Topics
00:00 Introduction to FDN’s Dietary Approach
00:31 Addressing Common Dietary Questions
00:46 The Concept of Good and Bad Foods
01:42 FDN’s Stance on Specific Diets
02:04 Ancestral Diets and Metabolic Typing
06:28 Personal Experiences with Veganism
11:46 Modern Challenges with Plant-Based Diets
13:40 Nutrient Density and Soil Quality
14:53 Customizing Diets for Individual Needs
15:55 Understanding Food Sensitivities and Overgrowths
16:50 Tailoring Diets for Healing Protocols
17:12 Strict Dietary Changes for Initial Healing
17:40 Personal Experiences with Dietary Adjustments
Public health authorities continue to lower the upper tolerable limit of daily added sugar intake.
Dating back to the original “Dietary Goals for the United States” in 1977, also known as the so-called McGovern Report, leading nutrition scientists didn’t only call for a reduction in meat and other sources of saturated fat and cholesterol, such as dairy and eggs, but also sugar. The goal was to reduce America’s sugar intake to no more than 10 percent of our daily diet.
“The conclusions would hang sugar,” reported the president of the Sugar Association. “The McGovern Report has to be neutralized.” The National Cattlemen’s Association was on its side and, just like Big Sugar, appealed to the Senate Select Committee to withdraw the report.
“The Sugar Industry Empire Strikes Back”—and it appeared to work. When the official U.S. Dietary Guidelines were released in 1980 and again in 1985, it was without a specific limit, like 10 percent. It “said, simply, and in just four words, ‘Avoid too much sugar.’” (Whatever that means.) “In 1990, it went to five words, ‘Use sugars only in moderation,’ and in 1995 to six: ‘Choose a diet moderate in sugars.’” In 2000, it at least went back to limiting intake—specifically, “‘Choose beverages and foods to limit your intake of sugars’ (ten words), but even that was too strong. Under pressure from sugar lobbyists, the government agencies substituted the word ‘moderate’ for ‘limit’ so it read ‘Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.’” Then, the 2005 guidelines committee dropped the s-word completely, encouraging Americans to “Choose carbohydrates wisely…” Again, what does that mean? If only there were a dietary guidelines committee that could guide us….
The Sugar Association expressed optimism about that 2005 Committee. In its Sugar E-News, it wrote that Sugar Association Incorporated (SAI) “is committed to the protection and promotion of sucrose [table sugar] consumption. Any disparagement of sugar will be met with forceful, strategic public comments”—and it wasn’t kidding. “In 2003, [the World Health Organization] WHO released a joint report with the Food and Agriculture Organization entitled Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases which, for the first time [since the McGovern Report], called for a reduction in sugar intake to under 10% of total dietary energy [caloric] consumption.” The Sugar Association responded by threatening to get the United States to withdraw all funding from the WHO. You can see it yourself in black and white at 2:22 in my video Friday Favorites: The Recommended Daily Added Sugar Intake. The Sugar Association threatened to pressure Congress to withdraw funding from the World Health Organization—polio vaccinations and AIDS medications be damned! Don’t mess with the candy man. The threat was described as “tantamount to blackmail and worse than any pressure exerted by the tobacco lobby.”
Fifteen years later and 40 years after the first proposed McGovern Report, the 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans lays out the 10 percent limit as a key recommendation: “Consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugars.” This is currently exceeded by every age bracket in the United States starting at age one, as you can see in the graph below and at 2:58 in my video, with adolescents averaging 87 grams of sugar a day. That means the average teen is effectively eating 29 sugar packets a day.
The Sugar Association describes the 10 percent limit as “extremely low.” Well, I mean, it is only up to about a dozen spoonsful a day. Of course, there is no dietary requirement for added sugar at all, and every single calorie we get from added sugar is a wasted opportunity to get calories from sources that provide nutrition. To the American Heart Association’s credit, it went further by trying to push added sugar intake down to about 6 percent of calories, for which a single can of soda could send you over the limit. That’s an added sugar limit exceeded by 90 percent of Americans.
In 2017, the American Heart Association (AHA) released its guidelines for children, recommending they get no more than about six teaspoons per day. In that case, a single serving of nearly a hundred cereals on the U.S. market would exceed the entire recommended daily limit. The AHA recommends no added sugars at all for children under the age of two, a recommendation that’s violated in up to 80 percent of toddlers, as you can see below and at 4:20 in my video.
In the United States, “at least 65 countries have implemented dietary guidelines or public health policies to curb sugar consumption to encourage maintenance of healthy body weight.” In the United Kingdom, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition made new recommendations to reduce added sugars down to 5 percent, which is also the direction the World Health Organization is headed. The WHO always seems to be ahead of the curve. Why? Because its policy-making process is at least partially protected “against industry influence.” Unlike governments, which may have competing interests in commerce and trade, “WHO is exclusively concerned with health.”
Most of what I’ve written here, I recently shared in my monthly note with my insider crew – my subscribers. About once a month, I send a personal note about what I’m thinking about and working on. This note had such a strong response that I thought it would be beneficial to share part of it on my blog, too.
It’s about listening. Or rather, being open to the idea that our minds are never really made up. Decisions, thoughts, and ideas are not, in fact, concrete. We may also have differing opinions from one another, which is okay – just because we may not agree, it doesn’t mean we have to cast labels on each other.
What we think today isn’t set in stone. We may even find that the root of our suffering is actually stemming from thoughts and beliefs that don’t serve us – so we must be open to evolving.
Something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently, and have spoken in depth about during my classes with the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program, is confirmation bias. My objective in teaching this program is not to be the voice in everyone’s head. I don’t want anyone ever to do something because “This is what Meghan said”. Instead, I challenge my students to ask critical questions and seek out the answers, and learn to trust in their own wisdom and their own thinking.
Confirmation bias is the practice of seeking out and favouring information that confirms our existing beliefs. It effectively closes us off from seeking out, let alone assimilating, new information. We are more inclined to seek information that confirms what we already believe or supports our assumptions. We look for evidence to confirm what we think – this is easier and it ensures we’re right. (I have spoken about this before as it relates to creating magic in our lives.)
There are many ways this function of human nature is designed to be protective, but there are also times where it becomes self-limiting.
I’ve been reading a really great book called You’re Not Listening, What You’re Missing And Why It Matters by Kate Murphy. It has me thinking a lot about what kind of listening I am doing, and also if anyone is listening to anyone anymore, or just seeking confirmation. Basically, are we all just trying to be right?
Have we stopped listening because we’re all so focussed on being right?
We live in a time when most of our daily conversations are had via keyboards and screens, where social media is anything but social, and where opinions and beliefs are becoming stronger than ever as we experience greater levels of long-term chronic fear (and with that stress), shutting down the amygdala, the part of our brain responsible for critical thinking.
The result of this is that too quickly, rather than being able to have conversations, share ideas, get clarifications, respectfully disagree without making it personal (or taking it personally), or putting someone in a box and throwing an extreme label on that box, it has become the reflex to cast a judgement, make assumptions, delete, and move on. Or sometimes even throwing a hateful comment their way first, before moving on. (Being the recipient of these on a weekly basis, they’re not effective if the goal is for the recipient to actually care. A kind, respectful, human response goes a lot further.)
As such, we continue to fill our feeds and our lives only with the information and people that support our existing beliefs. This limits our own potential for growth.
We’ve stopped listening. And when we stop listening, we stop accepting new information into our awareness. We block the opportunity for our minds to be changed, our actions to be changed, or to accept that perhaps we have the same objective but different ideas on how to get there. We lose the opportunity to accept that maybe we’re not right. Maybe we have more to learn, and that’s okay.
There is power in conversation, in being able not just to hear but also to actively listen, share ideas, perceptions and experiences, and be okay with the fact that we’re not all going to agree, or that two differing ideas could both be right.
We’re all trying to find our way through the chaos and unknowns of life right now and to do so, we need less separation and more listening. We may need to respectfully disagree, but taking the time to understand different perspectives can go a long way.
With all the chaos out there, I’ve started meditating again and it has been hard. Really hard. Meditation and yoga and walking in silence and journaling and whatever else you do to calm your mind and process stress is super easy when you are not experiencing heightened levels of stress.
This is how I recognized that I needed to jump back into it. The first time I sat to listen to my breath and let my mantra come, I checked the time about 23,456 times in twenty minutes. It was excruciating, but I kept sitting. It’s the bubbling. Stress coming out can feel a lot like it does coming in. But I am committing to it.
The other thing I am working on doing more of is being in my kitchen and cooking. It has always been my go-to activity for stress relief but lately, it’s been all about just getting the next meal done. And so with my team functioning so well and I’m not as needed day-to-day, I can take the time to get back to creating.
Though both of these things feel like they are just for me, meditation benefits the meditator and everyone around that person, just as cooking does.
Is there something you’ve reconnected with in the last little while that has been a source of joy and calm for you? Do share!
On My Mind Episode 04: Have We Stopped Listening? Have All of Us?
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It seems to me that if we can all reconnect with the sources of joy in our lives, we just might be able to remember who we are, our source, tune into that intuition and as a result, become more open to new thoughts, ideas, inspiration and each other.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for always being so open to listening.
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A free, month-long event packed with expert speakers,training, and an inside look at the FDN Program. This is a must-see event for aspiring and seasoned health coachesand practitioners who want to learn business and marketing strategies to propel their career to the next level.
Receive expert training on how to market your health coaching business, including elevating your personal brand, pitching podcasts, and more.
Hear from 15+ FDN graduates who have reached the six-figure milestone. Steal their strategies, and discover how the FDN framework led to their success.
Learn from leading FDN Practitioners + industry experts who have built thriving health practices from the ground up.
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In this episode titled “SIBO – Why Treating It Specifically Might Not BE Your Answer,” Detective Ev interviews Courtney Cowie, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDNP) and certified expert in functional nutrition, about her personal and professional experiences dealing with chronic digestive issues. Courtney shares her lifelong battle with gastrointestinal problems, starting as early as third grade, and how her symptoms evolved over the years despite various treatments ranging from conventional medicine to Chinese herbal therapy. Her story emphasizes the complexity of gut health and the importance of looking beyond simple diagnoses like SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) to uncovering deeper underlying issues such as mold toxicity and genetic predispositions.
Courtney explains how her journey led her to study functional nutrition and Chinese medicine, and eventually become a clinical advisor at FDN. She sheds light on the limitations of traditional SIBO treatments like antibiotics and specific diets, advocating for a more comprehensive approach that considers other potential root causes such as thyroid dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, and environmental toxins. Courtney stresses the value of functional testing in providing critical insights that guide more effective treatment plans, thereby reducing the likelihood of chronic and recurring SIBO cases.
Towards the end of the episode, Detective Ev and Courtney discuss practical advice for both practitioners and individuals suffering from gut-related issues. Courtney emphasizes the critical role of stress management and self-care, suggesting simple yet impactful practices like taking a few minutes of silence each day to tune into one’s body. This episode serves as an informative guide for anyone struggling with chronic digestive problems, highlighting the importance of a holistic and personalized approach to health and wellness.
SIBO: Topics
00:00 Introduction to Courtney’s Background
01:59 Courtney’s Early Health Struggles
02:56 Perceptions and Parental Responses
07:52 College Years and Emerging Health Issues
12:04 Exploring Chinese Medicine
15:45 Career Transition and Health Crisis
23:01 The Journey Begins: Understanding the Basics
23:14 The FDN Training Experience
23:37 Curiosity and Continuous Learning
24:01 SIBO: A Second Tier Issue
25:15 Exploring Root Causes and Genetic Factors
28:56 The Role of Diet in Managing SIBO
36:15 Addressing SIBO with Supplements and Testing
I’ve had the latest keto bashing study on my desktop since it was published at the end of March 2024. I have tens of possible articles for Monday notes at any one time and the ones that get put on the desktop are the forerunners. What held me back from doing it straight away was the thought that I would be saying the same old stuff (association, not causation; relative not absolute risk; healthy person confounder etc) but this one turned out to be more than that. Plus, if the keto bashers continue keto bashing, I need to continue the rebuttals. I receive feedback from readers to say that articles against low-carb diets are regularly used to attack their way of eating. “Hey! Look at this – you’ll die of heart disease”, kind of thing. People want a rebuttal, so here it is…
The study was called “Association of a low-carbohydrate high-fat diet with plasma lipid levels and cardiovascular risk” (Ref 1). I thought that the lead author, Iulia Iatan, looked familiar. I searched my site and came up with this post from 2023 (Ref 2). Lo and behold, that post reviewed a March 2023 conference presentation about a “keto-like diet and heart disease.” The presenter was Iulia Iatan. I said in that note that it was unusual for me to cover a conference presentation, as I normally wait for the published paper. This recent publication is that published paper.
We had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Sheil Shukla about his work, food, traditional Indian culture, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. We hope you enjoy this interview.
Please tell us a little bit about your work and career. My name is Sheil Shukla, DO, and I am a board-certified internal medicine physician with Northwestern Medicine in Illinois. I am the creator behind @plantbasedartist on Instagram and the author of the vegan cookbook Plant-Based India (published August 2022), which was named one of The New York Times Best Cookbooks of 2022 and nominated for a 2023 James Beard Foundation Book Award.
As a doctor, what do you envision as the way forward to encourage people to include more fruits and vegetables into their diets? As a primary care physician, I believe one way forward to encouraging more consumption of fruits and vegetables is to educate the medical community about the merits of a plant-based diet. When patients hear this information from their physicians and other medical providers, I think many can be receptive to it. I think it is more important now than ever to combat the misinformation on diets and nutrition that pervades social and traditional media.
What key message would you like to share with our audience about nutrition and public health? Nutrition plays an incredibly powerful role in public health. Beyond increasing awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet, I believe more resources should be directed toward the widespread access to healthful foods and addressing food deserts. Furthermore, I look forward to the day that medical providers are equally equipped to counsel their patients regarding nutrition as they do pharmacotherapy.
What are some plant-based ingredients and vegan dishes you would like to highlight as traditional to your culture? The vast array of spices and legumes is most definitely a highlight of Indian culture. These ingredients are not only incredibly nutrient-dense, but they form the backbone of plant-based Indian cuisine. Some of my favorite spices include cumin, coriander, fennel, and turmeric, and some of my favorite legumes include mung beans, black chickpeas, and red lentils––all of which are used widely throughout Indian cuisine.
What does AAPI Month mean to you, and how is it significant to the work you do? AAPI Month draws attention to the incredibly diverse and vibrant AAPI community. For me, it means learning from those around me and sharing more about my culture and heritage with others. We are all the better when we share and grow together.
Please tell us a little bit about your book, Plant-Based India. Plant-Based India documents my culinary heritage—the recipes and techniques that have been passed down in my family for generations. It highlights plant-forward aspects of Indian cuisine, in a way that is accessible to the western kitchen and pantry. My cookbook includes more than 100 hearty Indian and Indian-inspired recipes that I developed and photographed myself.
Gājjar No Halvo Baked Oatmeal
Serves 2 to 4 Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes
Gājjar no halvo, also known as gājjar kā halwā, is a carrot-based dessert made of grated carrots slowly cooked in milk and sugar. Its comforting warmth will soothe you on any cold day. A nutritious dessert that’s rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids, this dish beats out even the heartiest breakfasts. Popping everything in the oven makes the process much simpler. Feel free to top with warmed nondairy milk and a drizzle of maple syrup after baking to make the consistency thinner and to sweeten it.
Ingredients
1 cup (100 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1½ cups (360 ml) unsweetened soy milk or other nondairy milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about ¾ cup/180 g)
2 carrots, grated (about ¾ cup/75 g)
5 Medjool dates, finely chopped (about ½ cup/75 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
⅓ cup (40 g) chopped raw nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, or walnuts
Unsweetened soy milk, warmed
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Mix together the oats, flax, chia, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg in a large bowl until well combined.
Add the soy milk, bananas, carrots, dates, vanilla, and half of the chopped nuts, and mix until thoroughly combined.
Transfer the mixture to an 8 to 9-inch (20 to 23 cm) round, square, or oval baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and bake until the oats and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
Serve warm with a bit of warmed soy milk and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days and reheat with more milk as needed.
A free, month-long event packed with expert speakers,training, and an inside look at the FDN Program. This is a must-see event for aspiring and seasoned health coachesand practitioners who want to learn business and marketing strategies to propel their career to the next level.
Receive expert training on how to market your health coaching business, including elevating your personal brand, pitching podcasts, and more.
Hear from 15+ FDN graduates who have reached the six-figure milestone. Steal their strategies, and discover how the FDN framework led to their success.
Learn from leading FDN Practitioners + industry experts who have built thriving health practices from the ground up.
Receive candid insights from FDN graduates, so you can make an informed decision about your potential future with FDN.
We are kicking off Summer Open House with our free Health Space Unmasked event on Saturday, June 1st. For more information on that, see below.
Near Death Experiencer: Summary
Mandy Harvey, a near death experiencer, a trauma healer, and a functional nutritional therapy practitioner has a remarkable story of overcoming personal tragedy. Mandy opens up about her challenging childhood, marked by the heartbreaking suicide of her parents and the profound impact it had on her life. Despite experiencing a near-death experience at the age of 15, which only compounded her trauma, Mandy’s story is one of resilience and survival. She discusses how these experiences led her to a path of healing, both for herself and others, as she now specializes in guiding nutrition and health coaches to support their clients through similar blocks and traumas.
Mandy’s journey into the world of trauma healing and functional nutrition began in earnest after facing her own health challenges, including gestational diabetes and hypothyroidism during her pregnancies, which eventually led to a diagnosis of latent autoimmune diabetes in adulthood. This personal health crisis was a turning point that prompted her to explore the integral relationship between nutrition, trauma, and overall well-being. Mandy discovered the power of functional nutrition, which not only transformed her health but also reduced her dependency on medication significantly. This experience fueled her passion for understanding the impact of food on health.
The episode also explores the innovative approach Mandy takes in her work with health and nutrition coaches, teaching them how to incorporate trauma-informed care into their practices. By bridging the gap between nutrition education and understanding clients’ behavior and trauma triggers, she equips coaches with the skills to navigate complex emotional landscapes and facilitate deeper healing. Mandy’s workshops and training sessions offer practical tools and techniques for coaches to create safe spaces for their clients, fostering breakthroughs and supporting lasting change. Her story and work highlight the essential connection between mind, body, and environment in achieving holistic health.
Near Death Experiencer: Topics
00:00 Meet Mandy Harvey: Trauma Healing Guide and Inspirational Speaker
You’ll glean insights into: – Environments where LPS flourishes – Health concerns in which LPS plays a role – What happens when LPS accumulates over a lifetime – The relationship between microbiome health and LPS – Protocols for quenching the systemic fire initiated by LPS
For elite runners, proper nutrition is one of the key ingredients to success. But among the rigorous workouts and races, maintaining a balanced diet that’s optimized for performance and recovery can be a challenge on its own. That’s why the pros turn to trusted brands like NOW Sports to round out their training with essential nutrients. As the official sports nutrition partner of the Brooks Beasts Track Club, NOW fuels winners and record-setters—but its products are also useful for everyday runners. To learn more about how the Brooks Beasts are fueling for the win with NOW, we talked to Kyle Pfaffenbach, PhD, the team’s nutritionist and associate professor of health and human performance at Eastern Oregon University, and seasoned team member and world record holder Brannon Kidder. Here’s what they had to say.
Nutrition for Runners
Outside: Who are the Brooks Beasts, and why is their nutrition so important?
Kyle Pfaffenbach, PhD: The Brooks Beasts are a professional track team consisting of some of the world’s best middle-distance runners. Nutrition is one of the four foundational pillars of training, with workouts, sleep, and mental health being the others. Proper nutrition, first and foremost, promotes overall health and wellness. From a performance perspective, sound nutritional practices allow the Beasts to train effectively, recover properly, and race competitively.
Brooks Beasts are a professional track team consisting of some of the world’s best middle-distance runners. (Photo: Tim Healy/RunnerSpace)
What are some of the most beneficial supplements for runners?
Pfaffenbach: The most important point to remember is that supplements are just that—supplemental to a healthy diet. If a runner’s overall diet is not sorted, supplements rarely make up for that. Once a healthy diet is in place, one of the most important supplements is whey protein. Whey is a highly absorbable form of protein that kick-starts the recovery process when taken after each run. Next would be collagen peptides. Collagen peptides taken before runs may support ligament synthesis, which could help maintain healthy soft tissues.* There is also a variety of effective supplements that may offer benefits to runners, including beet root powder, creatine, beta-alanine, and tart cherry.
Why do Brooks Beasts choose to use NOW Sports Nutrition products over other brands?
Pfaffenbach: We trust NOW Sports. NOW is transparent with its testing and quality control. The supplements are manufactured in-house under very strict conditions. Many of the products in the Sports Nutrition line are third-party tested and certified through Informed Sport. Finally, we like that NOW offers uncomplicated, straightforward supplements in effective doses. They avoid overly complicated products with complicated blends that often have ineffectively small doses of the desired ingredients.
Fueling for Wins
Brannon, what does your daily regimen and post-workout for nutrition look like?
Brannon Kidder: For my daily nutrition goals, I typically focus on my macronutrient needs. I don’t count these values every day, but I have tracked them in the past to get an idea of what an ideal day would look like. Every day, I shoot for the same fat and protein goals and then vary the carbs to suit my needs. I always make sure that I am getting enough fats and protein first for my recovery. Then, I will make sure to fuel appropriately with carbs for my hard and long efforts. I eat carbohydrates every day, but the needs change for a five-mile recovery day versus a 15-mile run.
Even though the food changes from day to day to suit my training needs, I always focus on hydration and recovery.* I add an Effer-Hydrate tablet to my water before and during my workouts to help replenish what I’m losing through sweat. Then, I drink a shake using Whey Protein Concentrate with some carbs added following training.
As far as daily supplements, I’ll also take Beta-Alanine pre-workout to delay muscle fatigue and speed up recovery time.* And as part of my recovery plan, I use HMB Powder to help maintain muscle strength and mass.*
I have been a member of the Beasts for more than seven years, and I try to dial in nutrition a little more each year. When I’m eating well and using supportive supplements, it can really help optimize my performance.*
What have been some of your biggest accomplishments this season?
Kidder: We started off the outdoor season with a world record in the distance medley relay! It is a somewhat rare opportunity to run a relay as a professional. When the chance to run a DMR was presented to me and my teammates—Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris, and Henry Wynne—we jumped at the opportunity. We were excited for the chance to race as a team again. There is something special about racing with and for your team rather than an individual event.
Going into the event, we were excited about assembling such a good team and thought we might be able to take a pretty good shot at a world record. On paper, we had the ability to do it, but most of the time your relay result isn’t as simple as adding up everyone’s on-paper personal bests. I think we were able to get the record because we were all running for each other. We knew it would take all four of us having a good day to get the record, and we got the job done. I ran better than I would have knowing my three teammates were relying on me. The season is just getting started, but that has definitely been my biggest accomplishment so far.
What advice can you give runners working toward personal goals in the sport?
Kidder: Whenever I’m asked this question, my answer is always “be consistent.” Running is a sport that really gives you back what you put into it, but sometimes those gains are measured in months and years rather than days and weeks. It’s hard to tell in the moment, but having many solid days stacked on top of each other is the best way to improve. A bunch of good workouts and runs will always beat some great workouts surrounded by inconsistency.
NOW® Sports products have been recognized among the best in the industry, backed by world-class research and development standards and quality-sourced ingredients, to support a range of sports nutritional needs for professional to everyday athletes.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
In this conversation, Dr. Christy Kesslering discusses the connection between cancer and metabolic health. She shares her journey as a radiation oncologist and how she discovered the importance of insulin in cancer development. Dr. Kesslering emphasizes the role of markers in assessing metabolic health and guiding dietary interventions. She also discusses the evidence for the efficacy of diet in cancer treatment and the use of fasting in combination with keto diets. See below for full show notes, video interview and audio file.
Dentist James Goolnik discusses the connection between dentistry and nutrition, specifically focusing on the impact of sugar on dental health. He emphasizes the importance of regular dental checkups and explains how dentists can identify early signs of tooth decay and oral cancer.
Dr Nick Thompson is a vet. He has been fighting for responsible, species-appropriate raw food feeding for pets for over 25 years. His tireless drive for healthy pets from birth to graceful old age brought him to raw feeding in the mid-1990s. We struggled to keep this to an hour covering so much of interest to animal lovers and pet owners – as well as anyone interested in diet and health.
In this wonderful meeting of minds, Georgia and Zoë talk about why the dietary guidelines are just about the opposite of what we should be advised to eat. They discuss how they both got into the world of diet and health and why they now think as they do. Georgia shares when and how she personally realised that many plants were ‘not her friends’ and how she resolved this. They cover animal foods vs plant foods, nutrients, anti-nutrients and what we need to base meals on.
Dr Ian Lake is a UK General Practitioner and a person with Type 1 Diabetes, T1D. He was diagnosed with LADA (Late Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) Type 1 Diabetes, at age 36 and managed it with a DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) style approach for the first 20 years. He changed his approach to a very low carb diet approximately 9 years ago and he shares his learnings and experiments in this conversation.
In this conversation, Dr Jason Fung and Zoë discuss low carb, low calorie and fasting as tools for putting T2D into remission. The discussion included the metabolic challenge with low calorie diets and why fasting avoids this. Jason sorts out thermodynamics along the way!
As a physician, labels like vegetarian and vegan just tell me what you don’t eat, but there are a lot of unhealthy vegetarian fare like French fries, potato chips, and soda pop. That’s why I prefer the term whole food and plant-based nutrition. That tells me what you do eat—a diet centered around the healthiest foods out there. 
