Meta Health: Mindfulness Meets Metabolism

Latest Episodes:

S1E28: Mental and Metabolic Effects of Work from Home Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

The mental and metabolic impact of human beings predominantly or exclusively working from home has been profound. I've noticed significant increases in insulin resistant conditions including premature heart disease and a deterioration in mental health. All of these risks existed pre-pandemic, reflecting our modern digital lifestyles, but post-pandemic these risks have intensified to an even worse public health crisis. In this episode I cover some of the following:

Overall impact of WFH (work from home) on metabolic and emotional health
Evidence-based guidelines for MED (minimum effective dose) of daily walking steps and strength training minutes per week
MED for minutes of aerobic training with tips on improving adherence
Digging into the science of ZEF (Zoom Exhaustion Fatigue) based on Stanford University research
Impact of WFH on stress and sleep

S1E27: Targeting Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat Loss May 03, 2023

Show notes

I see lots of patients in my clinic who aim to lose body fat and have become well versed in the different types of body fat, specifically subcutaneous adipose tissue (aka SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (aka VAT). Although VAT and SAT are both fat, they represent different health risks and there are some differences in terms of which strategies are more effective for VAT vs SAT loss. This episode is a good follow-up to Episode 16 (Getting Your Body to Burn Fat), which provides the scientific foundation for fat loss (aka lipolysis) along with providing practical suggestions as well. In this episode, we cover:

Overview of SAT (subcutaneous fat) vs VAT (visceral fat)
How to measure SAT vs VAT
Dietary approaches to tackle SAT vs VAT
Deep dive on which exercises and routines address SAT vs VAT
Other lifestyle factors that address SAT and VAT

S1E26: The Science of GLP-1 Drugs and Natural Weight Loss Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

GLP-1 drugs have been all over the headlines and the global demand for using these drugs for weight loss has been significant. GLP-1 belongs to a family of gut-based hormones called incretins. In this episode I'll teach you about the fascinating incretin system and how you can influence it naturally to promote weight loss. I cover the following:

Understanding the incretin system and how the gut communicates with the brain
How the incretins affect the pancreas and other major organs
Benefits and risks of GLP-1 agonist drugs
My thoughts on using GLP-1 for what I call "cosmetic" weight loss
Non-drug lifestyle strategies to increase GLP-1 to lower weight and lower glucose

S1E25: The Critical Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Erythritol Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

The pentose phosphate pathway, which I refer to as P3, is one of my favorite metabolic pathways and one that gets far less attention than glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and Krebs, yet plays such a key role in our body. In this episode we go over the following:

Brief refresher on glycolysis and coenzymes using James Bond storytelling
Deeper dive into oxidation, reduction, and free radicals (aka reactive oxygen species or ROS)
Understanding and remembering the key functions of P3
How P3 is tied to obesity, insulin resistance, heart disease, and cancer
How erythritol is tied to P3 and the fallacy of a study linking it to heart disease

S1E24: Metabyte #1 - Insulin Lock and Key Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

In this Metabyte (shorter episode), I review the interaction of the insulin hormone and its receptor on the surface of the muscle cells using a slice of chocolate cake, a lock and key, and a reference to Indiana Jones.

S1E23: Holistic Hypocrisy and Supplement Scams Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

Call it holistic, functional, metabolic, integrative, longevity, or whatever, but this episode expresses some of my concerns about the direction of what I refer to as the rising "alt health" movement.

Interestingly, I'm part of both alt health and mainstream medicine, so I'll share my take from both sides. I'll discuss:

The story of "Dr.Bob," a fictional alt health practitioner whose practice is rife with hypocrisy and questionable practices
The story of "Diane," a fictional patient anecdote based on patient and audience feedback, who is going bankrupt purchasing alt health services.
How the supplement industry is morphing into its own version of "Big Pharma"
Defending mainstream doctors, an unfortunate target of the alt health movement
Blindspots and potential harms of alt health messaging
Some thoughts on how alt health and mainstream medicine can collaborate better

S1E22: Lipids Part 2 - Cholesterol Numbers and Heart Disease Risk Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

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:

Review of lipid boats and cholesterol metabolism
Understanding the impact of lifestyle on blood vessel health
Key characteristics of lipid particles driving heart disease
Overlooked cholesterol numbers that matter most
Hidden heart disease risks you need to prioritize

S1E21: Lipids Part 1- Metabolic Trafficking using Cars and Boats May 24, 2022

Show notes

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 and heart disease risk. We'll discuss the following:

The vehicular metabolic traffic model
Quick review of glucose and insulin metabolism
Introducing lipoprotein boats
Understanding glucose cars and lipid boats together
What we mean by "fat-burner" and "sugar-burner"

S1E20: Glucose Variability: An Essential Metabolic Metric Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Glucose variability (GV) is an important metric that expands upon the current limited application of fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C. In this episode we'll discuss: