Defiant Health Radio with Dr. William Davis
Cardiologist and author Dr. William Davis presents unvarnished truths about health, covering topics like microbiome health, heart health, thyroid health, weight loss, and reversing type 2 diabetes. He challenges industry-driven misinformation and offers science-based insights for reclaiming health.
Episodes
Why Can't We Drink Dirty Water (like hunter-gatherers do)?
Hunter-gatherer human populations are able to drink from puddles and other water sources that we would regard as tainted, yet do not usually get ill. Why is this? Is there something unique in their gastrointestinal microbiomes that make them impervious or more resilient than we are?Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.comMembership website fo
How Your Microbiome Controls Love and Hate
This video is abouIt is becoming clear that the gastrointestinal microbiome is a major factor in human mood and behavior. It can program you for hatred, violence, aggression, and unmask unhealthy behaviors. It can also program you for love, empathy, and generosity. Because I know of no psychologist, psychiatrist, or other health professional who can help you manage this critical area of health, I
NMR Lipoprotein Interpretation Made Simple
Many people, including most doctors, are overwhelmed when they first receive the results of a NMR lipoprotein analysis. Here is a simple way to understand and then apply everything you need to know by addressing a SINGLE VALUE on the panel. Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.comMembership website for two-way Zoom group meetings: InnerCircle
Let's clear up 4 common misconceptions about coronary calcium scores
My 35 years of involvement with CT heart scans that generate coronary calcium scores has provided many important lessons on how to put this measure to use. Unfortunately, many misconceptions surround this technology due to incomplete understanding. I therefore provide the rationale and evidence on how to make the most with this important measure. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, He
Why Are Small Dense LDL Particles Different?
The world has been brainwashed by this absurd notion that cholesterol causes heart disease, thereby wasting your time with talk of statin drugs and saturated fat. The tragedy is that the REAL causes of heart disease are identifiable and readily correctable. Small dense LDL particles are the "tip of the iceberg" for an entire constellation of metabolic abnormalities that are the causes un
Why 15-Grams Net Carbs?
https://youtu.be/eWbOiyTfeTQSupport the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.comMembership website for two-way Zoom group meetings: InnerCircle.DrDavisInfiniteHealth.comBooks:Super Gut: The 4-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose WeightWheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health; revised &
How to reduce triglycerides to 60 mg/dl or less
Here are the easy-to-adopt non-pharmaceutical strategies that you can put to work to keep triglycerides at 60 mg/dl or less, a level that helps you achieve superior metabolic health. Triglycerides are a biomarker packed with useful information about health and keeping it at this low level stacks the odds in favor of avoiding heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, cognitive impairment and oth
The Nasty Little Monster Called Small Dense LDL
While the world focuses on what I call the "kindergarten version" of heart disease causation, i.e., cholesterol, they ignore the REAL cause: small dense LDL particles and the entire constellation of abnormal metabolic phenomena that accompany it. Once you gain a better understanding of how coronary heart disease (heart attack, sudden cardiac death, need for heart procedures) is caused, y
What happens when you keep triglycerides 60 mg/dl or less?
Of the four values provided on any standard cholesterol panel, the triglyceride value reveals the most about your health. Ironically, it is often the value most commonly ignored or dismissed, or simply treated using the wrong agents. Here is what you can expect if you keep triglycerides 60 mg/dl or less. Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.c
An end to heart disease click bait: How heart disease is REALLY caused and managed
You've seen the click-bait headlines: "Take this one supplement and dissolve plaque," or "Eat this one food every day to dissolve plaque." None of this true, any more than reducing cholesterol "dissolves plaque."There is a logical and scientifically validated approach to gain control over coronary atherosclerotic plaque and thereby risk for heart attack and relat
One of the best kept secrets in healthcare: The diameter of your thoracic aorta
Many people have had an echocardiogram, CT heart scan, or other imaging test of their heart or chest during which an enlarged ascending thoracic aorta was identified--but you are almost NEVER told. Yet an enlarged aorta is a diseased aorta that puts you at risk over time of aneurysm rupture, dissection, both of which are catastrophic, and "mini-strokes" from fragmentation of atheroclerot
Smoke inhalation: Cardiovascular risk factor
The recent Canadian wildfires that have caused a thick blanket of smoke to cover the upper Midwest and Northeast is, as reported by the media, a threat to people with lung conditions. But it also adds to risk for heart disease, rarely or never mentioned and therefore often dismissed. But smoke inhalation is indeed a cardiovascular risk factor. Here is some of the most compelling evidence for this
Join our upcoming Caribbean Cruise: The New Science Behind Reshaping Your Body
Considering joining us on our Caribbean cruise scheduled for Feb-March, 2027? Here's a conversation between me and JJ Flizanes on what you can expect. We are packing the schedule full of educational presentations and demonstrations that well The New Body Blueprint, encouraging you to think a new way on how to shape your body while obtaining magnificent health. And you will also enjoy a total
Thoracic Aortic Dissection: What To Know
Senator Lindsay Graham recently died unexpectedly from a thoracic aortic dissection, taking the world by surprise. Is this something you should be concerned about for your own health? You may actually have already been tested for this, even if the results were not shared with you. Here is a discussion about what an aortic dissection is, why and how it occurs, how to find out if it applies to you,
Bacteriocins: Key to surviving the age of antibiotics?
Normally, you should have numerous species of microbes inhabiting your gastrointestinal tract and other body locations that produce bacteriocins, i.e., natural antibiotics that keep unhealthy microbial species from taking over. Unfortunately, modern antibiotics, while necessary at times, have killed off species that were previously protecting you by producing bacteriocins. This allows the emergenc
Why is cholesterol testing not dead yet?
Why are we still using 1950s technology to predict and manage risk for heart disease in the form of cholesterol testing? Superior methods have been available for >30 years. Sadly, the key is money. If superior methods to identify and manage risk for heart disease are essentially without cost, how would the healthcare industry make its money? Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.
Why does curing type 2 diabetes remain a secret?
I find it shocking that, as easy as type 2 diabetes is to reverse, backed up by even human clinical trials validating this concept, few doctors inform their diabetic patients of this. Oddly, now that GLP-1 agonist (disastrous) drugs are available, the reduction in blood sugar coupled with weight loss has brought the idea of type 2 diabetes remission to the forefront, since it now is profitable to
How can you know when SIBO is gone?
If you have made efforts to reverse small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO, how can you know whether you have succeeded?Here are a number of indicators you can use to decide. After all, reverse SIBO and the endotoxemia that accompanies it provides huge advantages in virtually every aspect of health: emotional, physical, social. Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@William
"I have a 'cheat' day once per week--Is that okay"
If you are trying to eradicate one of the REAL causes of risk for heart disease, small dense LDL particles, is a once-per-week "cheat" day allowable? Can you get away with it by exercising more the following day, or being extra strict? No. Unfortunately, small dense LDL particles are unforgiving and persist for an unusually long period in the bloodstream, thereby adding to risk for cardi
Understand the "Universe" of Small Dense LDL Particles
Why does much of the world cling to the outdated notion that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease and that reducing cholesterol is the solution, even after decades of evidence have more than amply demonstrated that this approach is woefully inadequate? Sadly, it's about money. But you do not have to be hogtied by financial concerns. You can take a path that actually works. You can start
Infertility, Miscarriage, Premature delivery: The Crucial Role of Endotoxemia
The evolving science has become overwhelming: Lipopolysaccharide endotoxemia, i.e., the entry of bacterial breakdown products into the bloodstream, is a major driver of multiple problems in female reproductive health. Unfortunately, this crucial factor is almost never addressed in conventional healthcare settings. Thankfully, there are steps YOU can take personally to address this important health
"Why do I have food intolerances?
Food intolerances are growing and more and more people are unable to eat FODMAPs-containing foods, histamine-containing foods, nightshades, legumes, fructose-containing foods and numerous others, sometimes reduced to consuming only a handful of "safe" foods. Why is this happening, something that was virtually unknown only a generation or two ago? Much of it is due to the excessive prolif
Why Life is Better Without Wheat
If you are given the kindergarten version of a healthy diet, well, you can expect mediocre results at best, disastrous results at worst. Why not graduate to a higher level of dietary understanding? But don't count on obtaining such insights from conventional sources. Here are some cold, hard facts about the consumption of wheat and grains that everyone should be aware of. Support the showYouT
Understanding the Microbiome: Endotoxemia and Translocation
They are somewhat more advanced concepts, but the microbial phenomena of endotoxemia and translocation are proving to be critical processes in initiating or worsening a long list of human health conditions. Because most mainstream doctors have abdicated their responsibility in providing advice to maintaining or regaining health, it is up to YOU to understand these important concepts. Here is a bas
What is gluten and why you should avoid it
Despite my Wheat Belly series of books having been read by millions of people in nearly 40 countries, many people still think that a grain-based diet is healthy. Many also confuse this message with being "gluten-free."Let's think about this issue more clearly so that you understand the power you have in your hands to assume control over health and weight by being smarter and better
Why is grain elimination good for oral health?
Scientific insights into the oral microbiome are yielding many new lessons for dental health: mouthwashes are actually dangerous, fluoridated drinking water does not prevent cavities, some toothpastes contain harmful additives. But the most important factor for dental health is often neglected: the role of eliminating grains. The amylopectin A of grains is a major factor in degrading dental health
Hunger Hacked
Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.comMembership website for two-way Zoom group meetings: InnerCircle.DrDavisInfiniteHealth.comBooks:Super Gut: The 4-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose WeightWheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health; revised & expanded ed
I answer questions posted by listeners/viewers
Here I address frequently-asked questions or important issues raised by listeners/viewers. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMDBlog: WilliamDavisMD.comMembership website for two-way Zoom group meetings: InnerC
Does dementia start in the mouth?
A number of studies in which the brain tissue of people who have died of dementia have revealed the presence of microbial species such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Tannerella forsythia--all oral microbes. This is an example of translocation, i.e., the migration of microbes from one body site to another. But does this cause or accelerate dementia? This remains an unsett
It's Not Yogurt
We've been fermenting HUMAN-SOURCED microbes to generate very high microbial counts and obtain specific health benefits. The end-result looks and smells sort of like conventional yogurt, but it is NOT yogurt. (I called it "yogurt" for lack of a better term.) It's my way of generating high counts of important microbes that most people have lost due to antibiotics and other facto
Why You Should NOT Measure Apoprotein B
Apoprotein B provides a virtual count of the lipoprotein particles in the bloodstream that cause coronary heart disease. It is often held up as superior to the widely used LDL cholesterol value. Is this true?It is true, but it does not mean that measuring apoprotein B tells you much about health. Compare this to the enormous amount of insight provided by measuring the REAL cause of heart disease:
What's all this about making "yogurt"?
Why has yogurt making gone viral?First of all, it's NOT yogurt. It looks and smells like yogurt. By FDA regulations, something called yogurt must be fermented with traditional yogurt-making microbes Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. That's NOT what we are doing. Instead, we are fermenting human microbes, i.e., microbes that are adapted to the human body and provide
Are microplastics the newest cardiovascular risk factor?
The evidence is growing that suggest that microplastics, or more specifically smaller nanoplastics, are triggers for atherosclerotic disease with increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and death. While your doctor wastes your time and money obsessing about cholesterol and statin drugs that should have been discarded decades ago, you need to address the REAL factors that cause heart disease. Add
Reduce and track abdominal visceral fat for improved health
Abdominal visceral fat, i.e., fat within the abdominal cavity that surrounds abdominal organs, is unique and the source of so many common health problems. While people who are overweight with a protuberant abdomen almost always have an excess of abdomen visceral fat, it can also occur with a flat abdomen. You can reduce and track the amount of abdominal visceral fat with home bioimpedance devices.
The Crime Called Type 2 Diabetes
The crime is not having type 2 diabetes. The crime is that conventional forces in healthcare essentially turn a blind eye to all the ways available to NOT be a type 2 diabetic. Pharmaceutical executives throw lavish parties to celebrate the huge revenues that derive from diabetes drugs that now include the awful GLP-1 agonists, while almost no one in healthcare shows people how to not be diabetic-
How long to consume SIBO Yogurt?
SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is now epidemic in the U.S., affecting around 50% of the population. It is responsible for an impressive range of health conditions from obesity, to type 2 diabetes, to irritable bowel syndrome, to fibromyalgia and numerous others. We have been addressing SIBO with a collection of microbes that I call "SIBO Yogurt," a collection of human-sourc
Why it's crucial to keep triglycerides at 60 mg/dl or less
There's one truly helpful value on a standard cholesterol panel: triglycerides. Ironically, it's also the value most likely to be ignored or mismanaged because the doctor wastes your time by focusing on the useless total and LDL cholesterol values, having been brainwashed by the flawed science and pharmaceutical marketing. Here is WHY triglycerides are so important, HOW you can reduce yo
What do I mean by "Super Body"?
It's not about having the build of a bodybuilder, nor 6-pack abs, or bulging biceps. It's about having optimal metabolic health that stacks the odds in favor of being free of heart disease, risk for cognitive impairment, cancer, loss of independence and other health conditions. We therefore work to reduce or minimize abdominal visceral fat while restoring youthful musculature. We do so s
Lessons Learned From 30+ Years of CT Heart Scans and Coronary Calcium Scores: The Critical Role of Vitamin D
My 30+ years of involvement with CT heart scans and coronary calcium scores has yielded many important lessons on how to halt, then reverse, the accumulation of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and thereby risk for heart attack, need for heart procedures, and sudden cardiac death.Here, I discuss the crucial importance of vitamin D and how, by addressing this issue, it was the first time I saw actua
Amylopectin A: Demon Carbohydrate
Amylopectin A is the branching carbohydrate unique to wheat and grains that sends blood sugar through the roof, increases liver production of triglycerides, contributes to risk for heart disease, and accelerates many of the phenomena of aging. Yet we are essentially advised to include sources of this demon carbohydrate in our daily diets. You need to be informed and recognized that so much of what
Why Losing Weight the Wrong Way Can Be Dangerous
If you lose weight by reducing calories--a diet, bariatric procedure, or pharmaceutical like a GLP-1 agonist--you will indeed lose weight at first. But long-term, unhealthy changes in health will develop: eventual weight regain, increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, frailty. And thare are now sufficient data to tell us that you also cut your life short by several years. The
What's the REAL story with fish oil?
Nearly 30 years of misinformation, disinformation, and misleading marketing have left most people confused: Do omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduce cardiovascular risk, dementia, and other conditions? Or are there adverse effects to expect, or greater benefits from other products?Let's cut through 30 years of imprecise thinking and get to the bottom of this question. Final conclusion: Ome
What's better than probiotics?
Many people take probiotics in the hopes that it will help reduce gastrointestinal struggles with excessive gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation and other common complaints. Sometimes they help, sometimes they don’t. But why? Just what are probiotics and how are they created? In this episode of the Defiant Health podcast, let’s discuss the ups and downs of commercial probiotics, why they are real
My Conversation with JJ Flizanes: Conquering Your Life Obstacles
JJ Flizanes has worn a number of hats over the years as actress, physical trainer, and most recently what she calls an “empowerment strategies.” Her most recent focus is to therefore counsel people to identify obstacles to success. Having worked with thousands of clients and a source of prolific advice and learning resources, JJ works to pinpoint why people fail to achieve their goals in health, w
Pushback against GLP-1 agonists
Millions of people have been persuaded that the GLP-1 agonist drugs are the answer to their weight loss prayers. While they do work well in the near-term for weight loss, the long-term health price you pay is substantial with a future of increased risk for frailty, loss of independence, and premature death. A better way is to manage the amount and location of muscle and fat, i.e., shape and body c
Why Weight Loss Can Be Harmful to Your Health
Yes, you can lose weight by reducing calories whether through a calorie-cutting diet, bariatric procedure, or pharmaceutical. But the effect is almost always temporary and followed by a return of weight followed by significant downturn in health. You were also likely not advised that losing weight by cutting calories, we now know through tracking of large numbers of people over many years, likely
Oxalate Hysteria
There are a number of people advocating a diet low in oxalates, essentially eliminating many green leafy vegetables, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, celery, most nuts, berries, cocoa, and numerous otherwise healthy foods. Unfortunately, this advice is misguided and based on an incomplete understanding of the evidence. While there is no harm in reducing dietary oxalates beyond inconvenience, lack of v
What happens when you deprive yourself of blue light?
Science journalist Lynne Peeples did something extraordinary: She spent 10 days in a nuclear bunker exposed only to dim red light but no blue or other visible wavelength of light. She also rid the space of all clocks or other time-indicating devices and even avoided having any human contact. What she learned opened up numerous questions on how to best manage our day-to-day light exposure, waveleng
Why are you no longer hungry?
People who were previously ravenously hungry, struggling to be satisfied and tending to overeat, can find themselves miraculously back in control of appetite just by adopting a number of basic dietary strategies that begin with elimination of gliadin-derived opioid peptides that come from the partial digestion of wheat and grains. Add a handful of other strategies and you will be freed from abnorm
There's a 50:50 chance that you have this epidemic condition
There is a non-infectious epidemic occurring right beneath our noses. The likelihood that you are affected is around 50%. It's the epidemic of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO. In this episode of Defiant Health, I run through the rationale that reveals that, even conservatively estimated, more than 100 million Americans have this condition.Because of the natural permeability of
Here's a microbe you should know about: Bacillus subtilis
My original recipe for SIBO Yogurt included three microbes chosen for their ability to colonize or germinate in the small intestine and produce bacteriocins, natural peptide antibiotics effective in killing the species of SIBO. The original formulation therefore specified L. reuteri, L. gasseri, and B. coagulans. However, B. coagulans proved to be unreliable in generating the high microbial counts
Yogurt That's Not Yogurt: My Accidental Sleep Cure
I’ve personally struggled with insomnia for years, unable to sleep more than a few hours at a time, experiencing frequent awakenings, sometimes awakening at 3 or 4 in the morning and unable to get back to sleep. And I tried almost everything short of prescription sedatives: tryptophan, 5-HTP, megadose melatonin, GABA, theanine, the antihistamine diphenhydramine, self-hypnosis, YouTube videos that
Misplaced blame
You’re walking down the street, minding your own business, just out to run some errands. You’re wearing a black jacket, running shoes, a baseball cap. You pass the doors of a bank. Suddenly, the bank’s doors fly open and a man runs out, a man wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap. You see him running at top speed, disappearing around a corner. Moments later, two policemen burst through the ban
Microbiome Madness
It’s truly an exciting time. The information and science surrounding the microbiome is exploding. It seems that a day doesn’t pass without some new, interesting insight emerges on microbiome questions, providing us with unprecedented insights and strategies to get better control over health, weight management, aging, etc. Look at what we are accomplishing, for example, with our cultivation of L.
What was this Wheat Belly thing all about?
When the first Wheat Belly book was released in 2011, it quickly leapt to centerstage, gaining a huge worldwide following. Millions of copies of the book were sold in 37 countries, the conversation was featured in major media from network news to Dr. Oz to . I don’t believe that this was due to my personal charm or charisma, but because it worked: people experienced unexpected and substantial heal
10 things you may not know about your CT heart scan and coronary calcium score
While CT heart scans are becoming increasingly popular to generate a coronary calcium score as a gauge of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and thereby risk for heart attack, there is actually a treasure trove of other useful information provided by the scan—but often not reported to you. In this episode of the Defiant Health podcast, I therefore help make you aware of the wealth of information prov
How to use inulin to map the location of microbes in your GI tract
Inulin is a common fiber, the fiber found in root vegetables like onions, garlic, shallots, asparagus, jicama and many other foods. Humans lack the digestive enzymes, however, for metabolizing inulin, but microbes living in your gastrointestinal track are able to metabolize it. When beneficial microbes metabolize inulin, they convert it to fatty acids with numerous beneficial effects on gastrointe
The Guardrails of Diet
Here are what I call "The Guardrails of Diet,' i.e.., metabolic markers that tell you whether your diet is genuinely healthy or not. Too many people put too much stock in either a single marker like blood glucose, or the wrong marker like LDL cholesterol that takes you down the path of health disruptions: weight gain, visceral fat expansion, protein glycation, insulin resistance, formati
Managing high blood pressure without drugs
Conventional healthcare and dietary advice are, unfortunately, virtually useless in providing effective strategies on how to manage blood pressure naturally and nutritionally. They have, for instance, the DASH diet that can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by a few millimeters but not more. They provide bland advice like lose weight or move more. Yet there are effective strategies that
Ten Unexpected Signs of SIBO
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO, is now rampant, a virtual nationwide epidemic, a condition now carried by around 50% of the population. If you have food intolerances, fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, are overweight or obese, have irritable bowel syndrome, an autoimmune condition, atrial fibrillation or numerous other common conditions, it is highly likely that SIBO is either th
The Lies Being Spread About Sourdough Bread
Bakers, breadlovers, even purported health information authorities such as the Mayo Clinic all spread the claim that all the problems associated with consumption of foods made of wheat are eliminated or significantly reduced by sourdough fermentation. Is this true?In this episode of the Defiant Health podcast, Let’s take each of those claims made, one by one, and examine the evidence to see if the
Hyaluronic acid: Most important DIETARY fiber of all?
We’ve been urged to include plenty of dietary fiber in our daily routines, fibers that come from vegetables, legumes, grains and other plant sources. But there is an animal-sourced fiber that has nearly disappeared from the modern human diet: hyaluronic acid. Hyluronic acid has nearly disappeared from the diet because it is primarily sourced from animal products, especially organ meats like brain,
The REAL way to stop or reverse heart disease
LDL cholesterol, apoprotein B, saturated fat, TMAO, statin cholesterol drugs: Over the last 40 years, we have been inundated with misguided advice on how to reduce your risk for coronary heart disease, i.e., risk for such things as heart attack, need for heart procedures such as stent implantation or bypass surgery, or sudden cardiac death, serious and often life-threatening events. Has it worked?
Will eating yogurt change your life?
Go to any supermarket and you will see the impressive variety of products in the dairy aisle labeled "yogurt." You have a mindboggling collection of choices: non-fat, low-fat, full-fat, flavored, unflavored. Single-serve cartons, quart containers, squeezable tubes, jars. Will consuming any of these products change your life in any significant way? Will you be heathier, have better bowel
Cold Water Immersion: Cardiac Russian Roulette
The practice of immersing your body in ice water is growing in popularity based on claims of improved mood and well-being, muscle recovery after exercise, even longevity. But this ignores the well-established fact that sudden cardiac death is a real risk due to coronary spasm, causing heart attack, and unstable heart rhythms due to a situation called autonomic conflict. There are a growing number
Why Cutting Calories is Dangerous
Over 50% of Americans are, at any one time, trying to lose weight. So it’s understandable that the GLP-1 agonist drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro have become so popular, given their spectacular upfront results. Others have used reduced calorie diets in their various forms: counting points, assigning foods red, yellow, or green lights, meal replacement products, etc. Or bariatric procedures like lap
Dr. Eric Westman on the Power of Limiting Carbohydrates to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes; Cholesterol is not a disease
I first met Dr. Eric Westman at a low-carbohydrate meeting a number of years ago where he discussed an extremely important and insightful human clinical trial he had conducted in which he counseled participants with type 2 diabetes to follow a very low-carbohydrate, essentially ketogenic, diet. He was almost prohibited from conducted the study because some colleagues felt it was too dangerous. Non
Are health coaches the future of healthcare?
We all recognize that American healthcare is a badly broken system. Wildly overpriced, exploitative, with a focus on pharmaceuticals and medical procedures to the exclusion of basic issues such as nutrition, the role of nutrients, and the microbiome. Can we expect doctors, healthcare executives, pharma or medical device executives to find better solutions? I highly doubt it. One of the problems pl
Is blue light damaging your eyesight?
Over the past decade, most of us have converted our home lighting to light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, as they save a significant amount of energy, requiring 75-90% less energy than older incandescent lights. Personally, I converted the 50 or lightbulbs in my house to nearly all LEDs.Most current LEDs emit, of course, visible light. But they also emit a significant amount of blue light and very li
Managing Endotoxemia: Key to SO Many Aspects of Health
I’ve touched on the topic of endotoxemia in past episodes of the Defiant Health podcast. In this episode, let’s dive deeper into this topic that is absolutely crucial to understanding and managing SO many aspects of health, from subduing anxiety and panic, to depressive, to joint pain and skin rashes, to gastrointestinal conditions, even weight management. What is endotoxemia? Fecal microbes, so-c
Why managing skin pH is crucial for skin health and appearance
I’ve been showing thousands of people how to restore this microbe lost by the majority of modern people, Lactobacillus reuteri. But, of all the spectacular improvements in health we can gain by managing our microbiomes, such as an increase in empathy and generosity, reduction in anxiety and depression, deeper sleep, increased libido, restored youthful musculature and strength, the females in my au
The curious phenomenon of bacterial translocation that is key to so many health conditions
I’ve spent some time reflecting back on all my years practicing in hospitals, often not sleeping for extended periods, sometimes days, covering hospitals floors and ICUs, resuscitating people who experienced cardiac arrests, taking them to the cath lab to open arteries, but also witnessing people with all sorts of other health conditions: cancers, wound infections, sepsis, delirium, the various st
Seven Reasons to NEVER Eat Wheat Again
Those of you who follow my discussions that started with the Wheat Belly series of books already know that there is a long list of reasons why humans made an enormous blunder when we first resorted to the consumption of the seeds of grasses, meaning wheat and related grains. We know this from the anthropological record of human disease, we know this from modern science that has exposed the many pr
The myth of “optimal medical therapy”
Over 30 years ago, I help set up the first CT heart scan device in Wisconsin, one of the first in the entire midwest. This was so long ago that it was really an electron beam tomogrraphy, or EBT, device that predated the more recently developed CT devices. The point is that these devices acquired images quickly, about 1/10th of a second. This is important because the heart is perpetually in motion
Unlocking Wellness: Reed Davis on Environmental Toxins and Holistic Health Solutions
“Everyone coming in the door were sick and had already been to 8 or 10 healthcare practitioners and weren’t better yet. This is all wrong.”“It’s not just what you eat. It’s the air you breathe and the water you drink, the personal care products you use, household cleaning products. . .” Here is a conversation I had recently with with Reed Davis, a board-certified Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP)
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Facts and Controversies
Over the last 30 years, the question over whether omega-3 fatty acids from fish has been the subject of controversy, swinging from exuberance over its potential benefits to skepticism over whether they provide any benefit at all. It seems that one day we hear that fish oil reduces risk for heart attack, while the next day we hear that there is no such benefit, even harm. We’ve also been subjected
How NOT to have atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation, or A fib for short, is the most common heart rhythm issue that plagues people. About 30% of people will experience this rhythm disorder at some time in their lives, an issue that becomes more and more likely as we age. The rhythm is typically experienced as the sudden onset of breathlessness and lightheadedness, and sometimes chest pain, even while you are sitting or relaxing.
The Powerful Influence of the GI Microbiome on Sleep
Sleep issues represent a major struggle for millions of people: too little sleep, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, early morning awakenings followed by difficulty falling back asleep. Some people complain that, despite having a full night of sleep, they awake feeling like they didn’t sleep at all, struggling with sleepiness, fog, and fatigue all through waking hours. There are also
The GLP-1 Agonist Weight Loss Disaster
You’ve likely heard the headlines gushing about the weight loss effects of the GLP-1 agonist class of drugs, agents that go by names like Wegovy, Mounjaro, Rebelsus and others. Doctors are declaring these drugs as breakthroughs or even magical, witnessing the rapid and dramatic weight loss they can achieve. People appear willing to accept the side-effects of nausea, vomiting, even bowel obstructio
How much of your personal health begins in the mouth?
The oral microbiome is second only to the colon in the density of microbes living there. The mouth is really a collection of varied ecosystems that differ in composition. For instance, the microbiome of the teeth is different from that of the tongue that is, in turn, different from the microbiome of the gumline. The oral cavity is therefore teeming with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of species of b
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