Low Carb MD Podcast

Dr. Brian Lenzkes & Dr. Tro

Low Carb MD is a patient-centered podcast focusing on weight loss, wellness and preventative medicine. The co-hosts, Dr. Brian Lenzkes, Dr. Tro, Dr. Jason Fung & Megan Ramos will interview a new guest on each episode and walk the listeners through how they approach weight loss, wellness and disease reversal with their patients. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Low Carb MD Podcast strives to help listeners lose weight in a healthy way. It provides valuable information backed by scientific research. More than that, it offers guidance that relies on years of practical experience. Brian Lenzkes, Tro Kalayjian, and Jason Fung are all internal medicine doctors. Megan Ramos is the intensive dietary management program director for The Fasting Method. Each host has years of experience treating overweight people.

The host's approach is that lifestyle changes are preferable to medications. Changing helps people deal with the root cause of the problem instead of masking the symptoms. On their podcast, they promote this practice. The hosts talk about the many ways they feel low-carb diets can help prevent illnesses. They offer listeners actionable advice to make different food and wellness choices.

Lenzkes and Kalayjian have experience with low-carb diets outside of their professions. They suffered from metabolic syndrome and obesity at some point in their lives. After researching and studying the topic, the podcast hosts discovered the benefits of eating low-carb. They reached healthier weights and reversed illnesses. When the two discuss this diet, they share their personal journey and that of their patients.

The premise of the podcast is that every person is different. No one diet always works, and lifestyles and personalities affect things. That is why the hosts interview people who tried fasting and eating low-carb. They want to learn about the different challenges they've encountered. There are also interviews with specialized physicians. These guests reveal the ways they use low-carb diets to treat their patients.

The podcast discusses how to get out of a plateau. There are harrowing stories about patients managing seizure disorders with nutrition. Some episodes explore the effects of seed oils. Others examine new studies on calories and how they affect weight loss.

The Low Carb MD Podcast aims to provide as much information as possible about this form of eating. The hosts wish to educate other physicians. New episodes arrive on Mondays.

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Health & FitnessHealth & Fitness

Episodes

Episode 334: Dr. Robert Lufkin
4d ago
Episode 334: Dr. Robert Lufkin
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Robert Lufkin is a physician/medical school professor (UCLA and USC) focusing on the applied science of health, longevity, and consciousness. After reversing chronic disease and transforming his life he is making it his mission to help others do the same. In addition to being a practicing physician, he is author of over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers and 14 books that are available in six languages. Robert has given invited lectures/keynotes around the world, and was named one of the ‘100 Most Creative People in Los Angeles’ by Buzz Magazine. His latest book “Lies I Taught In Medical School” has just been released. In this episode, Drs. Brian and Robert talk about how Dr. Robert discovered low-carb and began championing the diet as an intervention to treat chronic disease, Dr. Robert’s new book, “Lies I Taught In Medical School,” why drugs are not sufficient by themselves to properly treat metabolic disease, how processed-junk food negatively impacts our mental health, why seed oils are so unhealthy, how to deal with and walk through stress in a healthy way, why mindset and the spiritual aspect of life is a factor in physical well being, the mTOR molecule and how it relates to longevity, how muscle mass is connected to longevity, processed food addiction and how to begin the journey of recovery, and Dr. Robert’s current longevity/metabolic health related projects. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Dr. Robert Lufkin: Website Twitter Instagram Linktree   Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website Twitter   Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  Website Twitter Instagram   Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.    Apple  Google  Learn more
Episode 332: Dr. Caryn Zinn
Apr 1 2024
Episode 332: Dr. Caryn Zinn
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Caryn Zinn is an internationally-recognised leader and advocate of the whole food, low carbohydrate, healthy fat (LCHF) nutrition and lifestyle approach and its application to metabolic health and sports performance. Caryn is an academic, an author and a registered dietitian, with over 25 years of consulting experience. She obtained her qualification as a dietitian in 1995 from the University of Cape Town after studying a Bachelor of Science degree, followed by a Nutrition & Dietetics, Honours degree. Since moving to New Zealand in 1995, she has obtained her Masters degree in sports nutrition and her Doctorate in the area of weight loss. She works at AUT as a senior lecturer and nutrition researcher, and continues to maintain her private practice nutrition work. In this episode, Tro, Brian, and Caryn talk about how Caryn found her way into the low carb philosophy, the host of benefits accompanying the low carb lifestyle, why the calories-in/calories-out model is insufficient to address the obesity epidemic on its own, why there is resistance to the low-carb message in the field nutrition and diet, Caryn’s current government-funded research project on the low carb diet and diabetes, why the medical world in general has been so slow to accept the low carb dietary therapy as a treatment for diabetes, and flaws in the patient care philosophy of the medical system in the West. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Dr. Caryn Zinn: Caryn Zinn Nutrition Twitter Journal of Metabolic Health Article on the Application of Carbohydrate-Reduction in General Practice (Medical Audit by Dr. Zinn and Dr. Hawkins) Academic Profile   Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website Twitter   Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  Website Twitter Instagram   Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.    Apple  Google  Learn more
Episode 331: Luis Villasenor
Mar 25 2024
Episode 331: Luis Villasenor
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Luis Villasenor is the founder of Ketogains—a personal coaching and nutrition/fitneess education website. He is also an international speaker, nutritionist, personal trainer, teacher, and bootcamp coach. Luis is regarded as one of the most experienced and knowledgeable persons on Low-Carb / Ketogenic dieting and is the “go to guy”when applying a Low-Carb diet for Bodybuilding and Strength Training. Luis has a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration & Marketing and Nutrition & Sports Sciences, as well as numerous certifications in Nutrition, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding, and is a guest lecturer and teacher in several Universities. In this conversation, Brian, Tro, and Luis talk about Louis’ personal health journey, Louis’ struggle with anorexia and general bad health, why muscle mass is one of the keys to longevity, why not all carbs are created equal, the impact that anxiety has on physical health, Binge Eating Disorder and food addiction, why stress, sleeplessness, and poor mental health are the root factors causing obesity, how a person can develop their will power “muscle,” why it is not too much protein but, rather, drugs and carb cycling that causes kidney problems in the body builder population, wether or not you need to eat lots of carbs to build muscle, the best whole food protein sources, the benefits of creatine, wether fasting plays well with muscle gains, and why protein shakes are not an ideal protein source. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Luis Villasenor: Ketogains Instagram Linktree   Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website Twitter   Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  Website Twitter Instagram   Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.    Apple  Google  Learn more
Episode 330: Joan Denizot
Mar 18 2024
Episode 330: Joan Denizot
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Joan Denizot is an inspiring speaker and inclusive business consultant who empowers organizations to embrace diversity, foster inclusivity, and drive positive change. She is the founder of Zize Bikes—a company that creates bikes that transcend conventional limits and empower individuals of diverse body sizes—and is also an author. Her most recent book, Big Body Business, redefines business success beyond profits, advocating inclusivity, comfort, and transformation. In this episode, Tro and Joan talk about weight stigmatization and its negative impacts, why Joan founded Zize Bikes, what goes into engineering a bike that is comfortable to use for an obese person, small things that medical offices and other businesses can do to better accommodate overweight patients/customers, terminology and labels that are appropriate terms for referring to overweight people, the pros and cons of the body positivity movement, psychological hardships that overweight people are prone to as a result of their size, and why For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Joan Denizot: Big Body Business (Book)Zize BikesWebsiteBody ReadyFacebook Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 329: Mike Roberto
Mar 11 2024
Episode 329: Mike Roberto
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Mike Roberto is the CEO of PricePlow—a supplement industry education and media website—podcaster, and author of the PricePlow Blog. PricePlow began as a deals website for nutritional supplements and vitamins, but has evolved into so much more as Mike's journey towards optimized healthspan opened the doors to several discoveries. In this conversation, Brian, Tro, and Mike talk about the inception of PricePlow, how Mike became interested in supplements and diet, the evolution of the supplement industry, how you can find out if your supplements are high quality and pure, why liver health is so crucial for overall health, vitamin D and A supplements, Metformin and Berberine, topical magnesium, the value of various protein powders, whether plant-based protein powders are worth using, labeling and quality laws governing the supplement industry, minerals and vitamins that most people are deficient in, the most universally beneficial supplements that almost everyone could be taking, and Vitamin A toxicity. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Mike Roberto: TwitterPricePlowInstagramYouTube Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 328: Dr. Thomas Hemingway
Mar 4 2024
Episode 328: Dr. Thomas Hemingway
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Thomas Hemingway is a physician, podcaster, author, speaker, and health coach. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in 2002 with the Doctor of Medicine Degree and then completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006. He received his Board Certification in Emergency Medicine from the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) in 2007. Dr. Hemingway has special interests in holistic health and wellness, preventative medicine, and nutrition. In this conversation, Brian and Thomas talk about the importance of viewing health from a holistic perspective, genetic versus lifestyle for determining health outcomes, the “FMSGs” acronym for having a healthy lifestyle, how simply avoiding highly processed sugars, grains, and seed oils can dramatically improve your health, how simply eating whole foods will drastically improve your health, and the great importance of gut health and how you can promote gut health. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Dr. Thomas Hemingway: WebsiteInstagram YouTubeTwitterLinktree Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 325: Luc Hagenaars, Ph.D., M.Sc
Feb 12 2024
Episode 325: Luc Hagenaars, Ph.D., M.Sc
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Luc Hagenaars, Ph.D., M.Sc., is a policy advisor and researcher with a fascination for addressing the social and commercial determinants of health. His scientific expertise concerns the analysis of health policy innovations with case studies, system mapping and applied policy process theory. He has extensive experience in developing health policy through his previous work at the Dutch Ministry of Health. He is Assistant Professor Health Policy Analysis at Amsterdam UMC and a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Francisco. Hagenaars received his Ph.D. from the Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, and his M.Sc. in global health from Maastricht University. In this conversation, Tro and Luc talk about how Luc’s interest in the social determinants of health came to be, a recent study looking at why the field of obesity prevention is stuck and how it could be unstuck, the issue of weight stigma and how it relates to the ‘health at every size’ movement, finding effective solutions to the obesity problem, how to influence government policy to embrace effective solutions, how companies try to influence your food buying decisions at the grocery store, how big food companies push back against positive health movements, and Dr. Luc’s current research projects. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Luc Hagenaars, Ph.D., M.Sc.: Research Paper Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 324: Dr. Ahmad Malik (Part 1)
Feb 5 2024
Episode 324: Dr. Ahmad Malik (Part 1)
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. This is Part 1 of a 2 part interview.  Dr. Ahmad Malik has been a doctor for 25 years and an orthopaedic consultant surgeon for 12 years. After his late father's illness, he became disillusioned with mainstream medicines’ inability to tackle the root cause of chronic illness and its infatuation with Big Pharma products. For Dr. Malik, the Covid years and the resulting destruction of medical ethics were a real eye-opener. Frustrated with the lack of truth and honesty in mainstream media, he decided to provide an alternative platform to have honest conversations with fascinating people. In this conversation, Tro and Ahmad talk about what makes a great podcast that people actually want to listen to, Ahmad’s journey from childhood to medical school to , Ahmad’s parents and how they motivated him to achieve what he has achieved, what are the qualities of a great surgeon, an inside look at hospital politics in the UK, Ahmad’s discovery of proper human nutrition and his transition to private practice, Ahmad’s response to the vaccine mandates, Brexit, and the inception and progress of Ahmad’s podcast and online presence. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Dr. Ahmad Malik: TwitterSubstackPodcastAdditional Links Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 322: Drs. William Cromwell and Nick Norwitz
Jan 24 2024
Episode 322: Drs. William Cromwell and Nick Norwitz
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. William Cromwell is board-certified in Family Medicine and Clinical Lipidology with over 20 years of clinical research experience. Dr. Cromwell received his MD from Louisiana State University and completed his residency at the Trover Clinic Foundation in Madisonville, KY in 1990. Since completing residency, he has held numerous concurrent roles, practicing medicine, teaching at various universities, and serving as Medical Director, Chief Medical Officer, and Principal Investigator at organizations nationwide. Dr. Nick Norwitz completed his PhD at Oxford and is currently working on his MD at Harvard with the aim of becoming a physician scientist. His career goal is to help change the medical system to a patient-collaborative and metabolic-medicine first system. In this episode, Drs. Tro, William, and Nick talk about a recent meta analysis on the relationship between saturated fat intake, BMI, and LDL on a low carb diet, an overview on the history of knowledge about saturated fat and cholesterol, and Statins versus Oreos. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Dr. William Cromwell: TwitterPrecision Health Reports   Dr. Nick Norwitz: TwitterYouTubeVideo Abstract Oreo Cookie Treatment Paper (**CALL TO ACTION** to Tweet the paper with the link in the tweet within the first 280 characters. Helps Altmetrics)   Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website Twitter   Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  WebsiteTwitterInstagram   Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.    Apple  Google  Learn more
Episode 321: RD Dikeman, PhD
Jan 22 2024
Episode 321: RD Dikeman, PhD
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. R.D. Dikeman, PhD, is a theoretical physicist and loving husband of Roxanne Dikeman, PhD, a clinical psychologist. Their world was turned upside down when their young son David was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. After following conventional dietary advice for this condition led to uncontrollable blood sugar, dangerous “hypos,” and many sleepless nights, R.D. discovered the work of Dr. Richard Bernstein, MD, a medical doctor who has used a low-carbohydrate diet to control his own type 1 diabetes for more than fifty years and pioneered some of the most groundbreaking research on low-carbohydrate diets for diabetes in the modern era. Through working closely with Dr. Bernstein and as a founder of the Type One Grit online community, R.D. has helped provide thousands of other individuals and families living with type 1 diabetes with information to reduce the threat of complications and attain the truly normal blood sugars that all type 1 diabetics deserve. In this episode, Drs. Tro, Brian, and RD talk about what drew RD into the world of Type 1 Diabetes treatment, RD’s son’s Type 1 diagnosis, how the Type One Grit group came to be, why low carb is the optimal diet for diabetics, how to still eat what you want on a low-carb diet, big problems with the ADA, why Type One athletes do better on a low carb diet, the upcoming Low Carb Boca conference, and why having courage and integrity is needed in order to bring life saving information to Type One diabetics. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: RD Dikeman, PhD: Typeonegrit Facebook Page TwitterDiabetes University Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 320: Dr. Thomas Weimbs
Jan 15 2024
Episode 320: Dr. Thomas Weimbs
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Thomas Weimbs received his doctoral degree from the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Cologne, Germany, in 1993. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Anatomy, University of California at San Francisco until 1999. In the same year, he joined the Department of Cell Biology in the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic as an Assistant Professor where he established his research laboratory focusing on investigating membrane trafficking and epithelial cell polarity as well as molecular mechanisms underlying polycystic kidney disease. In 2005, Dr. Weimbs was recruited to the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and moved his laboratory to UCSB. Dr. Weimbs is currently an Associate Professor in MCDB and in the Neuroscience Research Institute. In this episode, Drs. Tro and Thomas talk about how Dr. Thomas became interested in researching PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease), what PKD is, research that Dr. Thomas has done on the impact of ketosis on PKD, a recently published paper on the negative impact of the ketogenic diet on kidney health, how Dr. Thomas’ colleagues have reacted to his research, and lifestyle intervention programs using ketogenic metabolic therapy. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Dr. Thomas Weimbs: Weimbs Lab TwitterResearch LinkedInFacebook Group Santa Barbara Nutrients Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more
Episode 318: Dr. Christopher Netzel
Jan 1 2024
Episode 318: Dr. Christopher Netzel
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Christopher Netzel is board certified in pain medicine and anesthesiology. He earned his doctorate degree with University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison in 2014. He wrote the guidelines for dorsal root ganglion stimulation as well as conducted research on preoperative opioid use and outcome after spinal surgery. His medical residency in anesthesiology was completed at University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison. Later, Dr. Netzel completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. In this episode, Drs. Tro, Brian, and Christopher talk about how Dr. Christopher got into medicine, how to help overweight patients begin their health journey without overwhelming and discouraging them, the relationship between diet and chronic pain, putting diabetes into remission and treating peripheral neuropathy, heart disease and low carb dieting, why bariatric surgery, though sometimes necessary and useful, is not a permanent/comprehensive weight-loss solution, and other current pain treatment options and drugs. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Dr. Christopher Netzel: Coastal HealthInstagram Facebook Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.
Episode 317: Dr. Christy Kesslering
Dec 25 2023
Episode 317: Dr. Christy Kesslering
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Low Carb MD Podcast. Dr. Christy Kesslering started out in conventional medicine as a Radiation Oncologist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA and attended medical school at Loyola University Chicago-Stritch School of Medicine. She finished her Radiation Oncology Residency at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2000 and has been treating patients in the Chicagoland area since that time. She realized that something was missing from conventional medicine and did additional studies to improve outcomes with cancer but also saw many other diseases improve. She has done additional studies in the fields of Functional Medicine, Integrative Medicine, and the Terrain-Theory of cancer. She is a Terrain Certified Practitioner trained by Dr. Nasha Winters and is a founding member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. She has been actively incorporating metabolic health practices into the care of oncology patients for many years. She has been named a Top Doctor multiple times by Castle Connelly and Chicago Magazine. In this conversation, Dr. Tro, Dr. Brian, and Dr. Christy talk about how Dr. Christy got into medicine and oncology specifically, helping patients understand cancer and the steps they can take to address it, taking a metabolic approach to cancer treatment, treating prostate cancer, the usage of metformin to treat disease, the various diets that are helpful for cancer prevention and the diets that are not helpful, how to address the root cause of cancer rather than merely applying bandaids, the proliferation of carcinogenic substances in every day products, how to optimize your life to beat cancer, chemo on keto, and the failure of modern medicine to successfully and adequately address chronic diseases. For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Dr. Christy Kesslering: KessRx Dr. Brian Lenzkes: Website Twitter Dr. Tro Kalayjian: WebsiteTwitterInstagram Doctor Tro App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. Apple Google Learn more