The Low Carb Cardiologist Podcast

Your Best Health Ever! The Cardiologist’s Surprisingly Simple Guide to What Really Works, by Bret Scher, M.D., FACC

Cholesterol Code

BH019: Meditation and Mindfulness:  A Practical Approach with  Dr. Danny Penman Dec 05, 2017

Show notes

My guest, Dr. Danny Penman, had used a breathing meditation throughout his youth to get through the extremely difficult periods of his life but he didn’t practice mindfulness daily. It wasn’t until a tragic paragliding accident left him in severe pain that he turned back to the breathing exercise to calm his mind and to minimize his suffering. Danny used his long period of rehabilitation to research mindfulness and meditation to relieve pain and depression.

After realizing there was a profound benefit to adding mindfulness into our daily lives, Dr. Penman partnered with Professor Mark Williams to write the international bestseller, Mindfulness: An Eight Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. Dr. Penman’s latest work, The Art of Breathing, simply explains the concept of mindfulness through art.

Dr. Penman has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and is an award-winning journalistic.

Key Takeaways:

[2:38] Danny describes the tragic accident that led him into the field of mindfulness.

[11:30] Mindfulness is…

[14:18] Science has proven Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy is beneficial.

[21:51] Using mindfulness to enhance everyday experiences and spur creativity.

[27:37] There is no wrong way to practice mindfulness.

[30:52] The Art of Breathing conveys the concept of mindfulness through art.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Your Best Health Ever! The Cardiologist’s Surprisingly Simple Guide to What Really Works, by Bret Scher, M.D., FACC

FranticWorld.com

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World: by Mark Williams and Dr. Danny Penman

The Art of Breathing, by Dr. Danny Penman

BH018: Go Against the ‘Grain’ of Prescription-Driven Health Care by Adopting Prevention with  Dr. William Davis Nov 20, 2017

Show notes

Cardiologist Dr. William Davis wants us to take charge of our own health, and make prevention our top priority. But he warns that you won't get any help from you regular doctor. In his book, Undoctored, Dr Davis explains how the medical system has failed us, and how prevention has disappeared from most doctor's priorities. The first step we can all take toward promoting health is eliminating wheat from our diets. As explained in his book Wheat Belly, wheat comes from grass that we humans were never meant to digest. During the conversation, Dr Davis and I discuss the unnatural rise of grains in our diet though farming and agribusiness, the profit-driven and process-laden conventional health care system, and how we can alter our healthcare expectations and take charge of our health. After listening you will be inspired to take charge of your own health!

Key Takeaways:

[2:27] What motivated Dr. Davis to write his latest work, Undoctored?

[11:27] What happens when we remove grains from our diets?

[19:13] People can take care of their health on their own.

[20:23] How wheat changed with agribusiness and genetic research.

[28:54] Dr. Davis hasn’t found a grain that isn’t harmful.

[35:45] Dr. Davis recommends high-fat, low-carb diets but balanced with fibrous foods.

[44:39] Raising patients’ expectations to no longer be content with prescription-only care.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline, by Amy Berger

Wheat Belly

Wheat Belly on Facebook

BH017: Is a Low-Carb Diet the Key to Treating Alzheimer’s? with Amy Berger Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Everywhere you go, it seems people can’t stop talking about the ketogenic diet but what is it, how does it work, and isn’t it just the Atkin’s diet revamped? Nutritionist and Author Amy Berger joins the program to share what she learned when researching the topic for her Master’s thesis and book, Alzheimer’s Antidote. Amy says there is proof the ketogenic or low-carb diet can be used to treat Alzheimer’s and other illnesses plaguing us today. Amy’s book, Alzheimer’s Antidote is one of the first books to delve deep into the subject of using ketones to feed neurons in the brain which would otherwise starve when they lose their ability to process glucose.

Key Takeaways:

[2:06] How Amy transitioned from nutritionist to author to write Alzheimer’s Antidote.

[7:18] Ketones give the brain an alternative fuel to stave off dementia.

[18:00] Using a low-carb diet to maintain proper insulin and blood sugar levels.

[29:47] Overcoming doubt about treating Alzheimer’s with a ketogenic diet.

[35:12] Cholesterol is essential for healthy brain function.

[40:09] Are there downsides to a low carb diet?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Tuit Nutrition

The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline, by Dale E. Bredesen, MD

BH016: Alzheimer's: A Unique Approach to Treatment and Prevention of Cognitive Decline with Dr. Dale E. Bredesen Oct 31, 2017

Show notes

It is estimated that by 2050, 13 million people will be affected by Alzheimer’s disease or Alzheimer’s dementia. It is on track to become the second leading cause of death in the U.S. My guest today, Dale E. Bredesen, MD, is working toward reversing and preventing cognitive decline. Dr. Bredesen’s book, The End of Alzheimer’s, provides a programmatic approach to staving off neurodegenerative disease by identifying and eliminating the why behind the affliction.

During our discussion, Dr. Bredesen discusses possible causes of the disease, preventative lifestyle changes and the future of diagnosis and treatment of cognitive decline.

Key Takeaways:

[3:53] Understanding why neurodegeneration occurs.

[9:35] How can insulin resistance add to the inflammation which causes Alzheimer’s?

[13:30] Is ApoE4 the Alzheimer’s gene?

[25:25] How might intermittent fasting and Ketogenics help stave off Alzheimer’s disease?

[27:40] Mercury and other toxins that burden our bodies.

[36:44] Positives and negatives of proton-pump inhibitors, statins, and other drugs.

[42:03] The Bredesen Protocol

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dr. Bredesen

ApoE4 Information

BH015: How to Set Up Your Medical Team: Including Your Doctor and an Alternative Medicine Practitioner with H.D. Oct 17, 2017

Show notes

This week, Host Dr. Bret Scher welcomes returning guest H.D. to the program. H.D. is a well-respected Endocrinologist and Creator of the Hormones Demystified website. H.D. shares his thoughts on the copious amounts of testing performed by alternative medicine providers, how a person should address their primary care physician with questions about their naturopathic test results, the confounding variables in the diagnosis of gut microbiomes and how overworked physicians should look outside their job for fulfillment.

Key Takeaways:

[2:00] Testing by alternative medicine practitioners may not have an impact on a patient’s health.

[7:30] Many people believe their personal health journey should include naturopathic and traditional medicine.

[16:22] Filtering out the noise and delivering only evidence-based information isn't always easy.

[26:37] How do I talk to my doctor about something I heard from an alternative medicine practitioner?

[32:23] Not all Certifications are the same.

[37:08] Working with microbiomes is like the Wild West of healthcare right now.

[47:14] H.D.’s burnout post really hit home with a lot of over-worked physicians.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Hormones Demystified