In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, can a diet of almost exclusively meat actually support world-record athletic performance while raising serious questions about conventional cardiovascular risk? Shawn Baker (MD) traces his path from professional rugby and military trauma surgery to pioneering the carnivore movement, makes the case for carnivore as a powerful elimination diet for autoimmune and inflammatory disease, and engages Dave in a nuanced debate on LDL, plaque imaging data, gut microbiome myths, and the politics of nutrition research.

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⏱ Chapters

3:01 – Shawn's early path to medicine

4:47 – Dropping med school for pro rugby

6:12 – Military service & trauma surgery

9:44 – Back to the military & civilian practice

11:09 – Personal health decline & first diet shift

14:58 – Discovering paleo & low-carb

17:31 – Why Shawn moved beyond paleo

23:01 – First exposure to carnivore (zero-carb)

29:41 – Going all-in on carnivore in 2016

35:23 – Plant-based vs. carnivore athletes

40:20 – The Joe Rogan appearance that changed everything

44:29 – Getting first bloodwork: testosterone & A1C controversy

51:27 – Fasting glucose on keto: diabetic or adapted?

55:15 – OGTT, fat adaptation & continuous monitors

57:37 – Birth of MeatRx & collecting anecdotal data

1:04:05 – Cholesterol: Dave asks Shawn's real view

1:09:03 – The KETO-CTA study & the Clearly curveball

1:15:12 – Will the 5-year scans show LDL-plaque links?

1:19:43 – Informed consent when cholesterol spikes on carnivore

1:27:29 – Shawn's Europe "cheat" & a month of whole-food carbs

1:33:37 – The viral steak-eating videos explained

1:37:07 – Debates with vegan activists

1:42:06 – Carnivore for autoimmune & inflammatory disease

1:46:46 – Rivero: building a 50-person clinical team

1:53:47 – Carnivore variations: keto-style, dairy & organ meat

2:00:16 – 10 years nearly zero organ meat: any deficiencies?

2:02:25 – Allegations of PEDs: Shawn's full response

2:08:14 – Shifting toward sprinting & masters track

2:13:21 – Ex-carnivores & the "sustainability" criticism

2:23:51 – Carnivore as elimination diet: the Clue game analogy

2:26:30 – Gut microbiome, fiber & metabolic flexibility

2:34:07 – GLP-1 drugs, LDL, and the BMI confounder

2:39:35 – Metabolic health as the real cardiovascular driver

2:51:52 – Imaging noise floors & what the data really shows

2:58:01 – Homozygous FH, cumulative LDL & study power

3:04:55 – Designing the TRIAD study & goal-post shifting

3:11:37 – Where the lipid hypothesis holds—and where it doesn't

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