Dr. Philip Goglia speaks about how to help his clients lose weight with Dr. Ben Weitz. 

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Podcast Highlights

1:48  Dr. Goglia explains how he increases compliance among his clients by asking clients who don’t follow their food program to “walk the pig.” He actually has a large plastic pig with wheels and a leash around it that he asks clients to bring home if they have not been following their meal plan. This increases his clients’ compliance with their weight loss program. 

3:56  Philip briefly explained his metabolic typing concept that allows him to determine the best nutrition program for each person.  Philip explained that this program is both proven by science and tested in practice by him and others since the 1980s. He says that when he was studying nutrition at Duke University they discovered three metabolic structures: clients who are efficient at digesting fats and proteins, clients who are efficient at eating carbohydrates, and duel metabolizers. This will also be indicated by their lipid profile that he tests in office. Once you are eating an appropriate macronutrient pattern for how your body works, you’ll find that you have more energy, you’ll lose weight, and you’ll be healthier.  And this food program will be sustainable over time. If not, you’re on the grapefruit and milk diet and you might lose 10 lbs but you’ll just gain it back later. Also, don’t be fooled by weight loss. If you start almost any new food program, because your calories were mismatched and all over the place and because your caloric heat patterns are stabilized, you’ll lose 10 lbs.  But does this program suit your chemical structure–that is the big question?  According to Dr. Goglia, if you are on the wrong food program for your metabolic type, your weight loss will stop. At this point, clients are inclined to think that they need to exercise more and eat less. But calories are a measure of heat energy and your metabolism is a measure of that heat. If you don’t create enough heat, you can’t burn fat. If you exercise more, you break down muscle tissue. If you exercise more, you need to eat more to support new muscular density. The more you eat, the more heat you generate and more bodyfat you lose. Think about taking up less space in the room. Weigh as much as you can, taking up less room in the room. Muscle is heavy and dense.

11:20  Dr. Goglia explained that you need to keep in mind that working out, going to the gym is not building you up. It breaks you down. It is when you rest and sleep and when you eat protein that you use to build muscle.

12:44  Philip discusses the proper diet and explains that 70% of the population is fat and protein efficient and have insulin resistance and will do better on a high protein, high fat, managed carbohydrate program. We have all these low carb programs today like Paleo, South Beach, Bullet Proof, and Ketogenic, but Dr. Atkins was very successful years ago with a low carb program and his program is really being rebranded without giving him credit. Dr. Atkins was the one who said you are not going to run a marathon at night and you don’t need a bunch of carbs with dinner. These carbs will just prevent your body from going into deep REM sleep, so you’ll wake up tired and craving carbs again. Your dinner should be your biggest protein meal to rebuild the muscle you have broken down.

15:16 I asked Dr. Goglia what his recommendations are for types of exercise for weight loss?  Philip explained that he will often recommend that they start by focusing on changing their diet and just continue with their current exercise regimen. Once they are eating properly, then we can strategically modify their exercise to help them accomplish their...

Dr. David Brady discusses the microbiota, autoimmune diseases, and stool analysis with Dr. Ben Weitz.

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Podcast Highlights

4:53  I mentioned that I had just reread Dr. Brady’s 2013 excellent and important paper clearly laying out some of the connections between the microbiota and autoimmune diseases, Molecular Mimicry, the Hygiene Hypothesis, Stealth Infections and Other Examples of Disconnect between Medical Research and the Practice of Clinical Medicine in Autoimmune Disease.  https://scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=27948  I consider this mandatory reading for anyone in Functional Medicine. 

7:10  Functional Medicine doctors might look to the gut and order stool testing for patients with autoimmune disease but this makes no sense to conventional medicine. But Dr. Brady pointed out that medical research is in line with the Functional Medicine approach, as there are many studies linking gut dysbiosis and specific gut pathogens with specific autoimmune diseases. Here is a slide that Dr. Brady provided me on this: 

10:10  The Importance of the Microbiota and the Microbiome.  Dr. Brady discusses the need to look at ourselves and our state of health in what is called the super organismal context, meaning it’s not just us and our cells, and our biochemistry, and our physiology. It’s also all of those other organisms that share our experience. The organisms that live on us, in us, through the gastrointestinal track. Research is really supporting the importance of the microbiota and the links with chronic diseases, like autoimmune conditions.

13:02  Discussion of Dysbiosis.  Dr. Brady explained that dysbiosis is a term that came from EE Metchnikoff and it refers to an imbalance of the bacteria in the gut. You don’t necessarily have a parasite or pathogen. You get an overgrowth of opportunistic organisms, which when overgrown become problematic, referred to as potentially pathogens. It’s aligned more with a state of illness or lack of optimal wellness of the host.

15:58  I asked why we might have a pathogenic bacteria that comes in through our gut and it becomes a permanent resident that we have trouble erradicating, but when we consume healthy probiotics they are only temporary residents?  Dr. Brady explained that this is not necessarily the case. Most pathogens fortunately pass through and don’t actually take up residence in our gut. And when you look at beneficial probiotics, like lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, they make up a small minority of the GI microbiota in its totality, which is mainly made up of anaerobic bacteria, not aerobic or facultative organisms. These beneficial organisms have an incredibly beneficial effect even though you are not really reseeding the gut, which a lot of practitioners make the mistake of thinking that they can if they just take enough billions of probiotics. They are more like pixie dust. They change cytokine expression. They are more like messengers than foot soldiers.

20:27  We discussed the link between digestive health and autoimmune diseases, including the hygiene hypothesis.  Dr. Brady pointed out that he laid out some of these arguments in his paper in the Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune Disorders noted above and also in a similar paper that he wrote in the Townsend Letter   http://www.townsendletter.com/June2012/autoimmune0612.html   Our modern methods of sanitation and hygiene have reduced our exposure to infectious diseases in order to reduce cholera, typhoid, dysentery and and similar serious infections that result from drinking contaminated water.

Dr. Kent Holtorf speaks with Dr. Ben Weitz about how to help patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibroymalgia.  

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Podcast Highlights

1:49  Dr. Holtorf tells his story of dealing with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that turned out to be caused by Lyme Disease. He was having thyroid and adrenal problems and needed support for them as well as HGH and testosterone.  He became a new person.

2:47  A few years later he was going through a stressful divorce and he crashed.  He found out he had Lyme Disease and he was being treated with round after round of high dose IV antibiotic therapy. He was even going into heart failure because his blood had become too thick. The antibiotics were not bringing about a long term cure, so he figured out that he had to treat the immune system to create balance.  He used ozone, umbilical cord stem cells, and peptides, all of which helped. The TH1 was suppressed and TH2 was increased and this has to be balanced to overcome these chronic infections.

5:30  We discussed worm therapy for immune system balance

6:07 We talked about a subtle form of hypothyroidism that is not picked up just by looking at TSH that is an important component in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. Dr. Holtorf said that conventional thyroid testing–looking at TSH misses about 80% of cases of hypothyroidism and he likes to look at the Free T3/Reverse T3 ratio and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and he is developing a new test, Active TSH. He also explained that the new T3/Reverse T3 assays are not as accurate since they crunch everyone together. He also uses a computer to measure achilles tendon reflex and if it is slow it indicates hypothyroidism.

13:12 We also discussed the role of adrenal dysfunction in chronic fatigue and fibromylagia. Dr. Holtorf will often use low dose timed release cortisol in these patients for three to six months. It’s usually not a primary adrenal problem, it’s a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal problem.

17:39 I asked Dr. Holtorf about his articles where he talks about the use of growth hormone for patients with chronic fatigue and fibromylagia. He said he tends to use growth hormone secreting peptides, since growth hormone is so regulated.

20:28 Dr. Holtorf talked about the role of chronic infections in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and he said that he especially sees Lyme Disease. There are often co-infections with Babesia and Bartonella. There may be other chronic infections like Epstein-Barre, HHV6, or CMV. The key to correcting these is to strengthen the immune system along with antibiotics or antimicrobials. He also often uses Low Dose Naltroxene (LDN), which is an opiate blocking drug, but it helps to balance the immune system. It’s also very inexpensive and very safe.

23:43 We discussed the fact that fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome patients often have coagulation problems. This is because the body responds to infection by increasing coagulation as part of the immune system activation.

 

 

Dr. Kent Holtorf can be contacted at his website https://www.holtorfmed.com/ and he is accepting new patients by calling 877-508-1177.

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also specializing in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure as well as chiropractic work by calling the office 310-395-3111.

 

Podcast Transcript

Dr. Weitz:                            Dr. Ben Weitz here, and I’m here with a very interesting guest, Dr. Kent Holtorf, and we’re going to talk about fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue problems. Dr.

Dr. Steven Masley explains how to improve your brain health with Dr. Ben Weitz. 

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Podcast Details

1:30 I asked Dr. Masley how he came to write a book about the brain? Dr. Masley just published The Better Brain Solution. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-better-brain-solution-steven-masley-md/1126646685#/    Dr. Masley explained that in his clinic he looks at 100 markers of aging. He looks at arterial plaque growth, cholesterol, lipids, sugar, etc. He also looks at brain function, brain processing speed, memory, attention span, reactivity, and executive brain function. He also looks at food intake, nutrient intake, fitness, stress management, and toxic exposure. He has an easy to follow five step plan that improves brain processing speed by 25-30%.

2:45 I answered that that is great because cognitive problems, neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease, are really on the rise and are now the leading cause of death in women, exceeding even cardiac and breast cancer. Dr. Masley said that he agreed and the number one most expensive disease is memory loss at $215 million per year and that is supposed to double in the next 12-15 years. It’s because the number one cause of memory loss is elevated blood sugar. I mentioned that some practitioners are now calling Alzheimer’s Disease Type III Diabetes due to this relationship between blood sugar and insulin resistance.

3:58 I asked Dr. Masley to explain what does blood sugar have to do with the brain? Dr. Masley said that it has to do with insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone that helps us to store energy. When we eat carbs, whether it’s a healthy carb like broccoli or blueberries or whether it’s a refined carb, which causes a much bigger blood sugar surge like sugar or flour, the insulin rises in order to push the sugar into the cell. That’s a normal function, just like muscle cells. We push glucose in, and we build glycogen. When we go for our next workout, that glycogen in that muscle cell is ready to burn as energy. The challenge is if we don’t have a healthy lifestyle …if we don’t work out enough; if we eat too many refined carbs … our cells become full. They no longer respond to insulin. In fact, they become insulin-resistant. Once they’re full of energy, they say, “No, we’re not listening any more. We can’t store any more energy.”

Dr. Masley continued to explain that when brain cells become full of glucose, they shut down and stop working. Insulin resistance makes brain cells unable to process and use energy, so if we do a PET scan on the brain of someone who’s super fit and healthy, it would likely light up like a Christmas tree. When we do a PET scan and we look at energy burn on brain cells in patients with insulin resistance, it’s pretty quiet.  The brain is unable to process glucose’s energy. It’s dysfunctional. They have brain fog. They’re forgetful. They walk into a room; they don’t know why they’re there. They read a passage in a book, and they have to keep rereading paragraphs and they can’t remember people’s names.  Their brain’s not functioning, and if that’s not just a day or so, but it’s ongoing, that insulin resistance state, the brain cells being unable to use energy, they become dysfunctional. Then they die, and if they die, then every time a brain cell dies, the brain shrinks a little bit. If you have millions of brain cells dying, your brain is shrinking a lot, so insulin resistance, this abnormal blood sugar regulation, literally makes us unable to use our brain, shuts our brain down,

Dr. William Parker talks about Helminth Therapy, the therapeutic use of worms that are eaten and grow in your intestines to promote your health, with Dr. Ben Weitz. This may sound crazy, but recall when we found out that bacteria were the cause of disease in the 1800s and we figured out that we could kill bacteria with antibiotics and antibacterial soap and using modern sanitation methods like toilets, refrigerators, and water treatment centers. It wasn’t until the 1990s when we realized that there were beneficial bacteria growing within us in our intestines, our skin, our mouths, our mucous membranes, etc..  We learned that consuming live bacteria in the form of probiotics and fermented foods could improve our health.  And consider that for thousands of years, humans developed with bacteria, fungi, worms, and protozoa growing within us.  Today we know that we have a loss of diversity of our microbiome. We don’t have as many species of bacteria in our colons and this is partially because we live in such a clean, sterile environment compared to our ancestors.  This lack of exposure to pathogens has led our immune system to become dysregulated and this has increased autoimmune disease risk. This leaves our immune system with nothing to do and at times to attack our own tissue. This may occur through the mechanism of molecular mimicry whereby our immune system attacks protein found in our tissues that resemble proteins found in pathogens. Dr. Parker uses the analogy of leaving your teenager home alone with nothing to do–he or she is likely to do something stupid. Without bacteria, viruses, fungi, or worms to attack, our immune system attacks our self. 

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Podcast Details

3:47 I introduced Dr. William Parker as a Duke University professor who is one of the world’s leading experts on Helminth therapy.  I asked how he got interested in Helminth Therapy?  Dr. Parker said that he was working on studying microbes and microbiotia before it was called the microbiotia. They were studying the gut bacteria and they figured out that the immune system was supporting the gut flora and they figured out that the purpose of the human appendix is a safe house for beneficial bacteria, which is what his lab is best known for. But they were also interested in figuring out about diseases, like inflammatory bowel disease, and one of the things that he thought about is that in rats, the appendix is normal, but in modern humans something has gone wrong since the appendix gets inflamed for no reason and a large percentage of people have to have it taken out. So the situation with the appendix is kind of like a form of mini inflammatory bowel disease.  Appendicitis was virtually unknown during early history since there would have been some discussion of it, since without having it removed there is a 50% rate of death with appendicitis. You can read about how in the late 1800s surgeons were very interested in why they were suddenly starting to have so much appendicitis. We have a good cure for appendicitis, which is just to remove it, but we have much less of a cure for inflammatory bowel disease.  And inflammatory bowel disease also appears to be a modern disease. Dr. Parker said that he was trying to figure out why this was happening and the hygiene hypothesis was evolving at this time. They thought about their rat models and noted that their laboratory animals have this disease but what about wild rats?  They should be more like our hunter gatherer ancestors and they went back and studied these wild rats and found out that nearly everything about the immune system was different, including how antibodies are made, to compliment, to all the different cells in the immune system. Then they took lab rats and put them out in the wild and the big difference was not so much in thei...