Ketogeek's Podcast

SHOW NOTES: In this very controversial podcast, we go deep into the topic of processed foods. We look at common myths, misconceptions, and concerns around food processing and its impact on health and human lifestyle. BIO: Fahad Ahmad is a serial entrepreneur who enjoys delving into the science of food and nutrition. He practices Ashtanga Yoga, Weight Training, Crossfit, Calisthenics, and Plyometric type of training and has been part of the fitness and nutrition world for more than 15 years. He leads the "Modern Renaissance" lifestyle of tapping into multiple knowledge bases to solve a problem. Corey Behn lives a multifaceted life rooted in a foundation comprised of Yoga, Science, Adventure, and Nature. He has always had a burning curiosity of existence itself, constantly seeking out truth in all corners of the universe. He enjoys the sport of rock climbing and photographing beautiful landscapes and macro scrapes alike. When night falls, the cosmos up above receives his full attention, studying all types of

In this episode, we talk about the science of the coronavirus, how it spreads, what you can do and how to live a life in social quarantine when the world is shut down. BIO Fahad Ahmad is a serial entrepreneur who enjoys delving into the science of food and nutrition. He practices Ashtanga Yoga, Weight Training, Crossfit, Calisthenics and Plyometric type of training and has been part of the fitness and nutrition world for more than 15 years. He leads the "Modern Renaissance" lifestyle of tapping into multiple knowledge bases to solve a problem. Corey Behn lives a multifaceted life rooted in a foundation comprised of Yoga, Science, Adventure and Nature. He has always had a burning curiosity of existence itself, constantly seeking out truth in all corners of the universe. He enjoys the sport of rock climbing and photographing beautiful landscapes and macroscapes alike. When night falls, the cosmos up above receives his full attention, studying all types of celestial entities. Corey’s role at Ketogeek originates

In food, health, nutrition and many domains of life, humans rely on "nature" or "natural" as the default and sometimes the best option. In this podcast, we talk about when it's ok to defer to nature and when it is time to move away from it. BIO Alan Levinovitz is an Associate Professor of Religion at James Madison University, where he specializes in classical Chinese thought and the intersection of religion and science. His latest book is Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science, forthcoming on April 7 from Beacon Press TIME STAMPS 0:15 – Update on Energy Pod, Ketogeek Membership Updates & Future Guest 7:07 – How did you end up becoming a successful writer? 8:01 – What is your viewpoint on “nature” and “natural”? 11:02 – When should you rely on nature and when should you move away from it? 14:14 – Why do people think natural is better? 16:15 – Does religion play a role in our preference for nature? 18:00 – Subjective human experience versus objective q

Gene-based diets and tests? What is epigenetics? We find out about the actual science behind epigenetics while looking at the cutting edge research surrounding this field and what to expect from it.  BIO Fabian is the Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics & Director, Computational Genomics Core, Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine He is currently developing new analytical approaches for data integration to better understand the regulatory landscape and its implication in disease susceptibility with a focus on early exposure and age-related diseases. TIME STAMPS 0:15 – Update on Energy Pod, Ketogeek Membership Updates & Future Guest 11:01 – How did you get interested in your field? 17:03 – When did epigenetics gain popularity? 18:25 – What is epigenetics? 22:32 – What factors can change epigenetics? 26:15 – What kind of research papers do you write? 28:47 – What are the capabilities and limitations of stem cells? 31:40 – Is stem cell therapy legit? 34:00 – Can y

In this fascinating show, we talk about how the mind can sometimes play tricks on us and unlock the elasticity of human performance, especially when it comes to elite athletes and endurance runners. BIO Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience) is a runner and author who covers the science of endurance for Outside magazine’s Sweat Science column. His latest book is the New York Times bestseller Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Before becoming a journalist, worked as a postdoctoral physicist with the U.S. National Security Agency, and competed for the Canadian national team in track, cross-country, and mountain running. He lives in Toronto. TIME STAMPS 0:15 Ketogeek Membeship information  6:43 – How did you get into running and your career? 9:19 – What’s new in the world of endurance running? 13:16 – Experience with Runner’s World and Outside Magazine 15:00 – How is your perspective different between a journalist vs. as an athlete? 18:54 – Experience vs. science when it comes to

In this LOADED and very important episode, we sit down and critically analyze the facts and myths about low carb and ketogenic diets while paving a way for better science for the masses in a sea of misinformation and dogmatic health gurus. This one's a must-listen show!  BIO:   Kevin Bass is an MD/PhD student and recovering health and nutrition zealot. He is known for questioning the evidence base for popular ideas in the scientific and online health and nutrition communities. He has Bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, where he wrote his honors thesis on the social and pragmatic (vs. strictly scientific) determinants of concepts in clinical psychiatry. After completing his undergraduate degrees and before medical school, he spent 6 years at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia working first as a research assistant in anthropology (1 year), then as a technician in developmental neuroscience (5 years). At a medical school in th

This podcast is a great gateway and resource to understand the importance of nutrients and troubleshooting nutrient deficiencies and as a bonus, you learn about Chris's transformative journey into health and nutrition as well! If you're ready to take nutrition and health up a notch, this is where you begin! Chris is truly an information powerhouse. BIO: Chris Masterjohn earned my PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut in the summer of 2012. From September 2012 to August 2014, He served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Comparative Biosciences department of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From August 2014 to December 2016, he served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College, part of the City University of New York. In the fall of 2016, Chris made the decision to leave academia and pursue entrepreneurship a transition he completed on January 1, 2017. If you would like the full story of how h

In this rapid-fire and powerful podcast, we talk about what constitutes as heart disease and the discussion around the risk factors that contribute towards heart disease. We touch basis on concerns with fats and even delve into processed foods, pharmaceutical industry and the challenges of our modern health care system. This one is LOADED! BIO: Dr. Ethan Weiss is a Principle Investigator in the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI). Dr. Weiss received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where he also completed his internship and residency. He came to UCSF in 1998 to complete his cardiology fellowship and research training. Dr. Weiss' clinical interests include prevention, lipids, and the emerging intersection of endocrinology and cardiology with a specific focus on pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes as risk factors for coronary disease. In addition, he has interests in the genetics of coronary disease, cardiovascular risk assessment, nutrition and lifestyle, and heart disease in the you

In this guns-blazing, unique and extremely loaded podcast, we talk about the role and importance of food processing and get an in-depth look at various food technologies and functional foods that are in the pipeline in the food industry. You don't want to miss out on this one! BIO: David Julian McClements is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts.  He specializes in the areas of food biopolymers and colloids, and in particular on the development of food-based structured delivery systems for bioactive components. McClements received his Ph.D. in Food Science (1989) at the University of Leeds (United Kingdom) in ultrasonic spectrometry.  He then did Post-Doctoral Research at the University of Leeds, University of California (Davis) and University College Cork (Ireland). McClements is the sole author of "Future Foods: How Modern Science is Changing the Way We Eat" (2019), three editions of “Food Emulsions: Principles, Practice and Techniques” (1999, 2005, 2

In this very information-loaded podcast, we talk about many topics pertaining to biochemistry, autophagy, mTOR, Immunometabolism, protein structures, the impact of aging in muscle protein synthesis and the important role of protein in living organisms.  BIO: Lucas Tafur is currently working as a postdoc studying the regulation of TOR complexes in yeast. He is onterested in a wide range of topics related to human health and metabolism, and lately mostly towards skeletal muscle. He is trying to understand physiology using a bottom-up approach, starting from the molecular basis and building up to the organismal level, considering an evolutionary background for interpretation. He currently writes articles in his personal blog www.p70s6k.com and in Nutmol, a spanish website on nutrition and metabolism with a molecular biology-centric perspective (www.nutmol.com). TIME STAMPS: 0:15 – Ketogeek Introduction, Energy Pods, and updates 10:28 – Lucas Tafur Introduction and a bottom-up approach towards nutrition 16:16 – W

In this informative episode, we discuss why we have many discrepancies and issues between science and the public interpretation of science through modern social media while talking about applications of biotech in the modern world, especially pertaining to human health outcomes and improving agriculture. BIO: Kathleen Hefferon received her Ph.D. from the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University. Kathleen has published multiple research papers, chapters, and reviews, and has written three books. Kathleen is the Fulbright Canada Research Chair of Global Food Security and has been a visiting professor at the University of Toronto over the past year. Her research interests include virus expression vectors, food security agricultural biotechnology and global health. Kathleen lives in New York with her husband and two children. TIMESTAMPS: 0:15: Ketogeek mindset, updates, and product information 9:45: Dr. Kathleen’s story 11:46: Travelin

In this unique podcast, we focus on female sexuality and discuss some of the challenges faced by modern women and couples as well. We talk about topics that may be considered taboo including certain fantasies explored by people and understand what is going on while highlighting ingredients that would make relationships work long term. This one's a great educational piece you definitely want to listen! BIO: Staci Sprout, LICSW, CSAT is a licensed psychotherapist from Seattle with twenty-four years of experience as a therapist and social worker in a variety of settings from community mental health and hospitals to private clinical practice. Since 2006, she has dedicated her practice to helping individuals, groups and couples in recovery from sex, love and relationship addictions. She conducts trainings on sexual ethics for professionals and is an experienced retreat and conference speaker. She wrote a book about her own recovery titled "Naked in Public: A Memoir of Recovery from Sex Addiction and Other Temporar

Biotechnology is an emerging field in science that allows us to understand genetics and use them in a practical manner to potentially help humanity. This podcast delves into the journey and knowledge of Dr. Kevin Folta who has spent his lifetime researching this topic through an agricultural perspective.  BIO: Kevin M. Folta is a Professor inthe Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida. His research program examines how light signals are sensed in plants and how different parts of the spectrum can change shelf life and high-value fruit and vegetable traits. His group also uses novel genomics approaches to identify genes related to flavor and disease resistance. An innovative new project is testing a method to create new small-molecule drugs for use in everything from plant growth regulation to MRSA. He has been recognized for his science communication efforts, speaking with public audiences, and training scientists and agricultural producers to be better communicators. In 2016 he was rec

Are "natural" foods really "natural"? Are organic foods better? What about preservatives, tons of health and nutrition claims and strange chemicals on food and make-up labels? The reality is, everything we eat is chemicals and processed to some extent. In this podcast we make sense of all these chemicals and claims while also touch on how many health gurus and bloggers can cause serious harm by making dangerous claims about "real" and "natural" foods while manipulating consumer naivety. Bio: James Kennedy is a British-born author and chemistry spokesperson. Kennedy is a chemistry teacher in Australia who created the All-Natural Banana poster series and founded the Sincerely, Chemicals chemistry outreach initiative in 2017, which runs live workshops with journalists and healthcare practitioners that aim to improve chemistry communications between experts and the public. Kennedy contributes to magazines, television and radio interviews to talk about chemistry-related topics with the aim of improving public perc

This is an absolute powerhouse of a podcast that cuts through all the scientific literature and provides you with information grounded in evidence. We cover topics ranging all the way from adequate protein intake, factors that dictate food satiety, caloric intake and metabolism. Bio: Menno Henselmans is a scientist, fitness model and online physique coach. He was once a business consultant specializing in advanced statistical data analysis but he traded his company car to follow his true passion in fitness. His background is in science and statistics which inspired him to form the Henselmans PT course. He helps serious trainees attain their ideal physique. He is a published scientific author in Sports Medicine, the highest impact factor journal in exercise science, and peer-reviewer for the Journal of Human Kinetics. Experienced world class coach and speaker. In other words, he knows what he is talking about and backs it up with solid science and numbers. Time Stamps: 0:15 - Ketogeek housecleaning, new flavor

Not for the faint of hearts, this podcast critically analyzes the problems with commercialization and myths around the ketogenic or low carb diet while talking about various controversial topics ranging from raising children, parenting, gender issues, healthcare and manipulating reality and promoting false narratives on social media. We wrap it up with a philosophical converation about what drives long term happiness and the pros and cons of modern consumerism. Bio:  Richard Nikoley is the brain behind the blog “Free The Animal”(freetheanimal.com) which began in 2003 and as of 2018 has 4600 posts and 110,000 comments from readers. He covers a range of topics from health, diet and lifestyle to philosophy, social issues and cryptocurrency. He celebrates the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances in life. Free the Animal really means to free yourself to reach your best potential in all areas of your life, learn from mistakes and successes, and move on. Time Stamps:

Our long awaited special 50th episode where we delve into the bigger picture while discussing many topics including the biochemistry of cholesterol & statins, the scientific method, philosophy, processed foods and top it off with a dose of what we can learn from evolution and how to lead a fulfilling life. This one is a GREAT episode! Bio: After obtaining a degree from the University of Leeds in English and Philosophy, Nick Mailer co-authored the first book in the UK on the education possibilities of the Internet. He co-founded The Positive Internet Company, UK's premier open-source managed services organisation. He also founded the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications. He has spoken at conferences, including the Ancestral Health Symposium and Ketofest, on the nexus of culture, technology and semiotics. Since 2010, he has adopted a paleo-ish LCHF lifestyle, to which he nevertheless applies a multidisciplinary scepticism! He lives in London with his wife, daughter and cat. Time Stamps: 0:15 - Epic Su

While the mainstream news is focused primarily on a top-down approach towards food and health aimlessly tossing around observational studies, Gabor Erdosi and even us at Ketogeek are more focused on a bottom up approach starting from mechanistic ways in which food is metabolized and impacts the body as a whole. Bio: Gabor Erdosi has a masters in molecular biology and is the brains behind the Facebook group "Lower Insulin". Nicknamed the "Adipose Jedi", Gabor has a unique approach of delving into complexity and understanding the inner workings of the human body. Time Stamps: 7:32 – Background, weight loss & introduction into low carb 15:18 – Learning from thousands of scientific papers & moving beyond macro and micronutrients? 18:21 – Evolutionarily appropriate foods & finding recurring themes in successful diets 22:43 – Lowering Insulin Facebook group & focusing on high quality research 26:24 – Calorie-in Calorie-Out Model, Carbohydrate-Insulin Hypothesis and leveraging various models to troub

Miriam encountered cancer when her son was diagnosed in 2007 and now uses her experience and knowledge through this tough time to help others while providing inspiration and guidance to find what works for them individually in this battle. Bio:  Miriam Kalamian is a nutrition educator, author, and consultant specializing in the ketogenic diet for cancer. In her work with hundreds of people, she has personally witnessed the life-changing effects of this powerful diet therapy, starting with her son's journey in 2007. Time Stamps:  8:41 – Miriam’s story and her son’s encounter with brain tumor 11:09 – Her conversation with Dr. Thomas Seyfried & Ketogenic Diet 16:34 – Coming across Charlie Foundation 19:52 – Orchestrating cancer treatment and factors that could impact tumor growth 22:42 – Care oncology and repurposing drugs 25:13 – Press-Pulse strategy of cancer cell annihilation 28:20 – How do you prioritize and add healthy routines and intervention? 34:22 – Where do you find reliable resources for cancer an

There is so much noise about food, health and nutrition but how do you consolidate and learn from it? Above all, what kind of information is relevant and what is just clickbait fodder? In this episode, we go beyond the headlines and behind the scientific abstracts into the depth of nutritional and health science especially since we now have so many dietary protocols ranging from carnivory to veganism. This is one educational gem and a must-listen with Alex Leaf whom we can describe as the "Encyclopedia of Nutritional Science".  Bio:  A certified sports nutritionist and personal trainer, Alex Leaf holds a master’s degree in Nutrition from Bastyr University. He is a full-time researcher at Examine.com involved in updating the supplement database, editing ERD articles, and blogging about nutrition. Alex also teaches young minds about human nutrition and functional medicine at the University of Western States. He enjoys blending the scientific aspects of nutrition with the pragmatic realities of life to help othe