#22 – Lipids Part 2: Cholesterol Numbers and Heart Disease Risk
In this episode we will tie together cholesterol metabolism using the boat vehicular model from Part 1, and understanding your own cholesterol results in greater depth. My free cholesterol e-book here summarizes key numbers and concepts discussed in this episode. We'll discuss the following:…
June 21, 2022
# 21 – Lipids Part 1: Metabolic Trafficking using Cars and Boats
Lipid (cholesterol) physiology is complicated, but essential for you to understand as part of metabolism, health, and longevity. Let's simplify lipids (and glucose) using cars, boats, and traffic. This sets the foundation for future episodes where I discuss the practical implications of lipids…
May 24, 2022
#18 – Multiethnic Metabolism and Heart Disease Risk
There are significant ethnicity-specific differences in metabolism and heart disease risk that are not often discussed. In this episode we cover: A brief overview of insulin resistance (IR) and the renin angiotensin system (aka RAS) How IR and RAS present in major ethnic groups like African…
March 3, 2022
Is It Time to Rethink Omega-3 Supplements?
Background I received lots of questions about recent headlines reporting an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in individuals taking omega-3 supplements. In the US alone, over $1.2 billion dollars is spent on the consumption of fish oil supplements. On an individual basis, many of my patients…
June 13, 2021
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
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
Case Files: Elevated LDL Fixed
Background I'll be sharing some occasional cases from my clinic to help you learn about some of my approaches to helping my patients. I'll make some minor changes to the history and possibly tweak the labs a bit to protect the patient's identity. My goal for doing these case files is so my…
November 19, 2019
Understanding Heart Scans, Stress Tests and Heart Disease Risk
Background I have had numerous requests from doctors, patients and my readers for a thorough explanation of heart scans and their significance. In an effort to appease both sides of the exam table, I have written this post with enough depth to inform clinicians and hopefully enough explanation to…
August 5, 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