Setting Realistic Body Goals Amidst Unrealistic Claims
Metabolic vs Aesthetic Metrics My clinical practice is focused on diabetes and heart disease prevention and reversal through lifestyle changes, yet I often see patients whose primary goal is aesthetics. Their metabolic numbers are within range, but they are not satisfied with the look and shape of…
September 21, 2023
Is Erythritol a Safe Sweetener?
Background The recent headlines about erythritol and its possible association with cardiovascular disease has led to a heavy stream of questions flooding my inbox. As always, there's so much more to this story than the headlines suggest. I'd like to use this study as another opportunity to…
March 4, 2023
The Dark Side of the Keto Diet
Background I've lived through many cycles of fad dieting and one observation I've made is that the minute a diet becomes mainstream and especially when food companies latch onto it, the diet often transitions into a dark phase. One of the problems with diets is that although initially the…
March 16, 2021
Is Intermittent Fasting Overrated and Harmful to Health?
Background I got a ton of questions from patients and readers about the recent UCSF study on a form of fasting called time-restricted feeding (TRF), being ineffective for weight loss. This is a perfect opportunity for me to dig deeper into how fasting can either be a powerful tool that potentially…
October 4, 2020
Case Files: Why Alcohol is Not “Low Carb” or Keto
Case Study A 45-year-old woman came to see me in the clinic for difficulty losing weight. She has been on a low carb, ketogenic diet for 6 months but has lost very little weight and feels tired and sluggish. She thinks she has a prolonged case of the "keto flu." She consumes between 30-50 grams…
January 27, 2020
What’s the Best Cooking Oil?
Background There’s a ton of conflicting advice and confusion on cooking oils and I will not claim that I am the subject matter expert on this topic. The advice I share in this post is based on a combination of what I think are higher quality studies, common sense given the manufacturing process…
December 14, 2019
Beware of B12 Deficiency
Background Vitamin B12 deficiency is incredibly common in the population, yet often undiagnosed and can lead to all types of health issues. In medical school I was taught that B12 deficiency is often called "the great masquerader" since it can mimic a whole range of different medical conditions.…
April 22, 2019
In Defense of Eggs
Background After being acquitted for causing high cholesterol and heart disease and even making it onto the nutrition guidelines as a safe food to eat, the latest study that has been piped out to every major news outlet is back to saying eggs increase the risk of heart disease. Instead of writing a…
March 25, 2019
Thoughts on Omega 3s from Fish, Plants and Supplements
Background Like so many other nutrition topics, the pendulum has swung back and forth on the benefits of Omega 3s and fish oil, particularly from supplement sources. For this post, I want to do a comprehensive overview on natural fish sources and supplements to help you gain a better understanding…
March 19, 2019
Top Health Goals and How to Stick to Them
Background A key reason resolutions and rigid goal setting fail is because they typically involve some form of austerity or discipline: "I need to exercise harder" "I need to quit alcohol or tobacco" "I need to cut out sugar" "I need to start fasting" "I need to start meditating" Might work…
January 18, 2019