It’s hard enough to navigate our modern food system if your goal is general health, but what if you’re trying to prevent or reverse heart disease? What if you have early warning signs like elevated triglycerides or high blood pressure?

Open one book, and the recommendation is to eat nothing but whole grains and fruits. Open the next book, and you’ll be told to give up all grains and sugars. Who is right? Who can you trust? Our guest on this week’s show is a cardiac surgeon, and he eats almost exclusively meat.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder first appeared in the DSM-3 in 1980, and was clinically defined as exposure to an actual or threat of death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Today, clinicians and pop health proponents have expanded the definition broadly, without supporting research, and the result is a catch-all term used to describe any past stress. Labeling mental health challenges is crucial for research, funding, and appropriate treatment, so on this week’s show, you’ll meet a doctor and researcher who will help us understand trauma based on science.

Learn

• Toxic stress theory and misunderstandings
• Why complex PTSD is not based on research
• How to advocate for your children or yourself if you have PTSD
• MDMA and psilocybin treatment options - the future? 
  

Links

Michael’s website 

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr. Scheeringa is a practicing clinician and the principal investigator on five large, federally-funded research projects on PTSD in children and adolescents. He’s the author of, They'll Never Be the Same: A Parent's Guide to PTSD in Youth and a new book, The Trouble with Trauma.

Nutritional Tip of the Week

• Pig Fat or Beef Fat

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People often say things like, “I'm addicted to chocolate” or “I can’t live without ice cream.” And sometimes it’s true. Modern food is processed, packaged and concentrated in ways that light up our dopamine and endorphin receptors just like drugs; and yes, psychological and physiological addictions are very common. If you’re addicted to cigarettes, the clear solution is to stop. That’s not easy, but at least the goal is clear. If you’re addicted to food, you have to learn to manage your addiction, and this is why it can be such a challenge to overcome. On this week’s podcast, you’ll meet a medical doctor and recovered food addict herself.

Learn

• How food addiction can affect people of normal weight too 
• When have your food habits turned into an addiction? 
• Sweet vs. savory, men vs. women, breaking the cycle 
• Why cheat days are impossible for addicts
• How to quit some food, but eat freely with others 

Links

Dr Tarman’s Site

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Tarman is a food addiction expert, who writes, speaks and treats people who suffer from sugar addiction, food addiction, and who seek food recovery. She is the author of Food Junkies: The Truth About Food Addiction, and Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction.

Nutritional Tip of the Week

• Gas BBQ

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Expensive watches have been a status symbol for centuries, but now, weird-looking bands have replaced the bingy Rolexes. Instead of signaling wealth, these new gizmos signal a keen interest and commitment to health. Welcome to the world of wearable health tech. On a basic level, you can track your daily steps and your heart rate. More advanced devices can track respiratory rate, HRV, body temperature, and even blood oxygen levels.

Wearable health tech has made huge strides forward recently, and many consumer devices can now hold their own with clinical-grade equipment. My guest on this week’s show is a quantified scientist who will help us learn to measure, track and improve our health. 

Learn

• Best health tracker for under $100
• Best health tracker if money is not an issue 
• Best sleep tracking device
• What we really know about the microbiome
• Weekly brain MRI’s

Links
Rob’s Website

Rob’s YouTube Channel

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Rob ter Horst is a postdoctoral researcher who studies the immune system using bioinformatics which includes machine learning and statistics. Rob is neck deep in the quantified self movement. He measures and tracks everything in his life, a laborious task that demands 11 hours a week and includes a weekly brain MRI, sleep EEG and gut microbiome composition tests. ​ 

Nutritional Tip of the Week

• Calorie Counting

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