Intelligent Medicine with Dr. Ronald Hoffman | The Best of High Tech Medicine and Alternative Modalities

Now do we have to start worrying about Hantavirus? Digestive enzymes for pancreatic insufficiency; Space exploration yields new treatments for resistant bacterial infections; Alternatives to prednisone for autoimmune hearing loss; Casey Means bows out of Surgeon General nomination—next up, Nicole Saphier; Multivitamins found to slow biological aging.

Hydrogen water—breakthrough or scam? Osteoporosis fixes; Nattokinase for cardiovascular prevention; Why vitamin D helps a subset of diabetics; When oral vitamin D doesn’t work, sublingual D may normalize blood levels; Vitamin D found beneficial for colitis; Why fructose stokes food cravings; Flawed fluoridation study claims no IQ harms to kids.

Nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses a listener question about whether agave nectar can contribute to obesity like high-fructose corn syrup, arguing that regular use of sweeteners—including agave, honey, monk fruit, stevia, aspartame, sucralose, allulose, and sugar alcohols—can maintain sweet cravings, spike insulin, and contribute to weight-loss plateaus, with added concerns such as microbiome effects, GI upset, and aspartame’s neurotoxicity. She notes insulin’s role in fat storage and blood pressure via sodium retention, and suggests that needing a sweetener in coffee or tea may indicate dependence on sweetness. She then covers a newly developed, validated Food Noise Questionnaire (FNQ) published in Obesity to measure intrusive food-related rumination, highlighting its five Likert-scale items, study sample characteristics, and the need for further research, including effects of GLP-1 drugs.

• More on “eat the rainbow” . . . or not
• Medical breakthroughs that we don't really need
• Can you discuss the order of eating macronutrients and its impact on blood glucose?
• What about the impact of apple cider vinegar on blood sugar?

• If I start taking urolithin A, will it make my insomnia worse?
• I'm a 54-year-old postmenopausal woman with no libido—can supplements help?
• Can you talk more about the vegan twin study, saying plant-based diet improved fertility?
• What do you think of IV NAD vitamin drips?

Sugarless: Dr. Nicole Avena on Hidden Sugars, Brain Addiction, and Practical Steps to Cut Back: Neuroscientist and author Dr. Nicole Avena reveals sugar’s pervasiveness and health impacts, drawing on her book “Sugarless: The Seven-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction.” Avena explains how modern industrialized, highly processed foods—many containing added sugars—have transformed innate preferences for sweetness into harmful overconsumption linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and possible dementia via insulin signaling changes. She discusses research showing sugar can stimulate dopamine reward pathways similarly to drugs and that prenatal exposure may alter offspring metabolism, preferences, and sensitivity to drugs/alcohol. For solutions, she discourages strict “cold turkey” approaches due to hidden sugars and relapse psychology, emphasizes inventorying sources and triggers, starting with eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and sugary coffee drinks, improving breakfast, choosing protein/fat-based snacks, and viewing alternative sweeteners as a temporary crutch; she also notes diet changes can improve mood stability and reduce anxiety.

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with neuroscientist and author Dr. Nicole Avena.

Functional Diagnostic Nutrition: Using Saliva Testing, Food Sensitivity Labs, and Lifestyle to Find Root Causes: Reed Davis, Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP) and Certified Nutritional Therapist (CNT), is founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN). He discusses using functional testing alongside conventional care to uncover “dysfunction” when standard labs appear normal. Davis describes assessing adrenal and metabolic stress via saliva testing for circadian cortisol patterns, cortisol-DHEA balance, sex hormones, secretory IgA, and melatonin, emphasizing clinical correlation and individualized “studies of one.” He outlines an approach targeting multiple “healing opportunities” (H-I-D-D-E-N: hormones, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy, nervous system) and applying D-R-E-S-S (diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction, supplementation) rather than relying on supplements alone. A case example links chronic hives, medication-related weight gain, and food triggers identified through additional testing, including the Mediator Release Test. The discussion also covers stress-driven gut dysbiosis, digestion decline, and EFT tapping for stress-related symptoms, and notes FDN practitioners can be found via FDNtraining.com/medicine.

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Reed Davis, Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP), Certified Nutritional Therapist (CNT), and founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN). 

Press ballyhooed heart, stroke risks associated with Omega-3 supplementation, but new study dispels fears over fish oil-atrial fibrillation link; Research highlights cancer, diabetes risks from food preservatives; Do the new dietary guidelines go too far, or are they a cop-out? GLP-1 weight loss drug use could save airlines millions on fuel costs; Does a “complex tear” of the hip labrum inevitably require surgery?