The GeneFood Podcast

In today's episode of the podcast, we are joined by Mareya Ibrahim. Mareya is an author, entrepreneur, and holistic nutrition expert who overcame an eating disorder to become one of the most influential voices in health and wellness.  

Many of us are concerned with the possible physical health challenges associated with COVID-19. Less talked about are the mental health challenges...

More COVID-19 discussion. Dr. Spencer Wells returns to the show to discuss the dropping COVID-19 infection fatality rate, possible economic forecasts and the outlook for a vaccine. This is not an episode for the faint of heart! 

If you're concerned with cardiovascular health, a special type of LDL particle, called Lipoprotein (a), should be top of mind. This special type of "genetic bad cholesterol" is elevated in millions of Americans and yet very few people are ever tested. In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with integrative cardiologist Dr. Joel Kahn to discuss current strategies for dealing with and lowering Lp(a).  

In this episode of the Gene Food podcast, we speak with Matthew Amsden, founder of Proof Pilot. Proof Pilot is on a mission to make it easier to design, launch and participate in studies. Matthew shares with us the design of 3 coronavirus studies Proof Pilot is currently involved with, and we discuss the state of nutrition research later in the episode.  

Most of us are glued to the latest coronavirus news, but how often do we hear new information? Our guest today offers rare and unique insight into the pandemic that is sweeping our globe. Dr. Spencer Wells holds a PhD in biology from Harvard University and is one of the world’s leading population geneticists. From his current location on a remote island in Indonesia, Spencer has been tracking the spread of coronavirus, which he describes as “evolution in action.” We discuss a number of important topics related to the coronavirus pandemic including: asymptomatic spread, the potential for genetic susceptibility, the success of Asia, and how life in our cities may change in the wake of COVID-19.

How many times a day do you check your phone? Does the 24 hours news cycle leave you feeling informed, or stressed? Feel like you can't stop with junk food? This episode is for you. Today, we talk to Dr. Austin Perlmutter, co-author of BrainWash, a modern-day instruction manual for reclaiming clarity and mental health. 

In the world of nutrition, perhaps no other topic is as controversial as eggs and cholesterol. On one side of the debate, the plant based community tells us eating eggs are as bad for our health as smoking cigarettes. On the other side, advocates of higher fat diets cite new studies which tend to show that dietary cholesterol has very little impact on levels of cholesterol in the body. Who is right? Should you eat eggs? This episode covers the steps you can take to determine whether eggs are a food to keep in your diet, or perhaps whether you're better suited to a hot bowl of oatmeal for the morning meal. 

Since our last Game Changers Review show, Joe Rogan hosted a debate between the popular Paleo advocate Chris Kresser and the co-producer of the Game Changers film James Wilks. In this episode, we break down the Rogan debate and do a deep dive into an epidemiological nutrition study conducted at Harvard to show our audience "how the sausage is made." From there, we touch on the plant vs. animal protein debates, B12 supplements and cancer risk, as well as the health benefits and challenges of Vegan diets more generally. 

Consumer sleep tracking devices are all the rage, but are they accurate? We share our experiences wearing the Oura ring, plus break down the studies which have measured popular consumer sleep tracking devices against the "gold standard" in sleep tracking - polysomnography. For more, see this blog post: Why I Stopped Wearing an Oura Ring.

Today our guest is Dr. Stuart Nunnally, DDS, a biologic dentist practicing in Marble Falls, Texas. Dr. Nunnally is chairman of the jawbone osteonecrosis committee of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. He holds fellowships in the Academy of General Dentistry and in the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. Dr. Nunnally is board certified in naturopathic medicine and is board certified in integrative biologic dental medicine. In today's episode we discuss Dr. Nunnally's experience with mercury toxicity and how heavy metals mimicked ALS symptoms after removing dental amalgams exposed Dr. Nunnally to high levels of mercury vapors for years. Dr. Nunnally also discusses the myriad ways oral health impacts on overall health, including his view on root canals, and how his work has been influenced by the work of the late Weston A. Price.

Pharmaceutical drugs, especially statins, tend to get a bad rap, but the world of heart drugs goes well beyond statins. In fact, one of the best known heart drugs called Zetia, is used as a therapy for people who hyper absorb cholesterol as well as plant sterol. At Gene Food we are interested in both cholesterol and sterol absorption as the tendency to hyper absorb is tied heavily to genetics. In this episode of the podcast, John shares his experience taking Zetia as a "biohack" experiment to see what the drug would do to his lipid numbers. As we see in the episode, the experiment didn't quite go as planned. Later in the episode both John and Dr. Aaron discuss how different diets have impacted their blood work, specifically C reactive protein, a marker of inflammation in the body, and LDL-C. 

Our favorite celebrity has gone Vegan, but should we? The answer is a resounding yes according to James Wilkes, a former UFC fighter who went plant based after suffering an injury in the Octagon. James tells his story of recovery using a strict plant based diet in the new documentary The Game Changers. Many of us have seen What the Health and Forks Over Knives, plant based documentaries that highlight the short term benefits of a Vegan diet for advanced stage chronic illness. The Game Changers adds a new wrinkle to the Vegan documentary game by focusing on athletes. Featuring big names like Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of the Tennessee Titans, The Game Changers has a simple message: go Vegan for optimal performance in the gym (as well as the bedroom). But is The Game Changers, and it's message of "Veganism for all" based in sound science? We brought back Dr. Aaron Gardner to break down the scientific claims made by the filmmakers as well as the pros and cons of Vegan diets in general.  

Today, our guest is Dr. Theoharis Theoharides, a world renowned expert on mast cells and the immune system. Dr. Theoharides is a Stanford and Yale trained immunologist who currently serves on the faculty at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Theoharides' lab investigates the mechanism of selective secretion of cytokines and other pro-inflammatory molecules from mast cells, cells which the layperson can think of as the "military sentinels of the immune system." When the body senses an invader, or even in response to stress, mast cells release a cocktail of weaponry designed to kill the intruder. In a state of good health, this mast cell activity is a benefit. However, when mast cells become chronically activated, the increase in immune activity contributes to many of the chronic diseases plaguing the western world. In today's episode, we shine a spotlight on the work Dr. Theoharides has done with autistic children and discuss practical strategies for quieting down the immune system. 

If you follow nutrition trends, you know "fat is back." Arguing that carbohydrates and sugar is at the root of all illness, an army of influencers want you to eat a diet higher in fat. While it is true that saturated fat has been improperly demonized, the one size fits all approach to nutrition doesn't work for all of us. Studies like Retterstøl teach us that the response to a high fat diet will vary tremendously based on genetics and lifestyle factors. In the latest episode of the Gene Food Podcast, we talk to ultramarathon runner Gerald Holbrook. After receiving a Gene Food custom nutrition plan and learning he was an APOE4 carrier, Gerald changed his diet away from a high fat Paleo style diet to the Gene Food Lean Machine diet, which is a diet high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, but very low in saturated fats, especially from animal sources. As a carrier of the APOE4 gene, Gerald is particularly interested in maintaining his cognitive health and staving off Alzheimer's Disease. We discuss the way he was eating before finding Gene Food, how his diet changed, blood work before and after (Gerald's LDL-C dropped by over 100 points), and more generally how much of a struggle it can be to carve out a personalized health regimen in the face of so much pressure from different camps of influencers. This was a very fun episode to record, we hope you enjoy it!

The carnivore diet is all the rage right now, with some outspoken advocates telling us that all plants are “bad for us” and that meat heals. I’ve written a blog post titled Why the Carnivore Diet is Probably Bad for you and What to try Instead, so my views as they apply to most people are no secret. Having said that, it’s clear the carnivore diet offers benefits for some people. Why would certain individuals be healthier eating nothing but meat? In this episode of the podcast, we go beyond the usual diet wars and instead focus on genetic traits that could signal either success or failure on a carnivore diet. Our guest, L. Amber O’Hearn is one of the original carnivores. She created the Carnivore Diet Conference and credits an all meat diet with healing her bipolar disorder. Amber was a great sport to come on the show and there is a lot we can learn from the research she has done. Tune in for a nuanced discussion on the carnivore diet.

All the questions about sexual performance you wanted to know but were afraid to ask! In this episode of the Gene Food podcast, we talk to Amy B. Killen, MD. Amy is an anti-aging physician based in Utah whose practice focuses on optimizing and restoring sexual performance in both men and women. We cover a wide range of topics including whether stem cell injections can turn back the clock on sexual performance, how Gainswave therapy works, how to overcome erectile dysfunction, options for boosting testosterone, how to get more nitric oxide from food, why Listerine can be a downer in the bedroom, what men can learn from morning erections and how cholesterol can help or hurt in the bedroom. Very fun episode covering all things sex headed your way!

Much of the conversation in health and wellness centers around food and supplements, however, lifestyle plays just as big of a role as nutrition on the path towards achieving a solid state of health. Our guest today, Allison Schaper, is a former management consultant who spent years on the road traveling every week for work. Out of that role, sprung a passion for making travel healthier which gave rise to her startup Zigii. Zigii sends curated wellness packages to travelers at their destination of choice. In this episode of the Gene Food podcast, we get the low down on the best supplements for travel, how Allison was able to quit her job and pursue her passion without the help of venture capital, whether it’s possible to find balance drinking from the health and wellness firehose and much more.

Food sensitivity testing is a controversial topic. Even among our team here at Gene Food there is disagreement, with some doubting the science behind the standard IgG panels and others swearing by them as an essential tool for healing autoimmune disease. However, debates notwithstanding, there can be no doubt that most IgG food tests on the market today register false positives with the result being overwhelmed consumers staring at a list of 20-30 foods that are now "off limits." Our guest today is hoping to help change all that by making food sensitivity testing more accurate. Joel Evans, M.D. is one of the leaders of the integrative health movement. He is a board certified OB/GYN and international lecturer, is the Founder and Director of The Center for Functional Medicine, where he practices integrative functional gynecology.

Dr. Evans was honored to speak at the United Nations in March 2013 on the topic of Prenatal Origins of Violence, and he now serves as UN Representative and Chief Medical Advisor for OMAEP – World Organization of Prenatal Education Associations. In addition to his integrative practice, Dr. Evans serves as medical director for KBMO Diagnostics, a company that is producing the 2.0 version of IgG food sensitivity tests. KBMO has introduced new technology aimed at not only finding foods that register an IgG response, but that also cause inflammation which can damage gut health. In today's episode, we learn about the new scientific developments aimed at increasing the reliability of IgG tests, we discuss a promising study Dr. Evans did on patients with IBS, when gluten free diets aren't necessary, the health benefits of coffee, how food sensitivity can affect the development of our children and much more.