Metabolic Dysfunction – The Crisis You Can’t Ignore with Dr. Robert Lufkin

By February 4, 2025

Transcript

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:00:00]

A hard boiled egg. Yes, Nature’s Ozempic. You know, if you eat three of those a day, you will eat less other food and you will be much more healthy and you can accomplish many of the same things.

Leanne Vogel [00:00:14]

Hello, my friend and welcome to another episode. I’m so glad that we get to hang out today. We are talking about metabolic dysfunction and I really want you to walk away understanding that there are three, three reasons why we get metabolic dysfunction. Okay. The first is insulin resistance, the second one is inflammation, and the third is just as we age. Okay? So there are three contributors to metabolic dysfunction being insulin resistance, inflammation and age. And when metabolic dysfunction presents itself, it’s going to be diagnosed as obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental illness, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular issues or events. Okay? So understanding those pieces, then we’re going to discuss the underlying root cause of all of this.

Leanne Vogel [00:01:08]

Okay? We know that one of the underlying root causes I just shared is getting older. Okay? So we’re working against that every day. So as we age, we need to be clearer and clearer in our understanding of these underlying root causes that contribute to insulin resistance and inflammation. These three being food, sleep, stress. It’s as simple as that. So today’s episode, I am interviewing Robert Lin, who has served as a full professor at both UCLA and the University of South California Schools of Medicine. In addition to being a practicing physician, he is the author of over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers and 14 books that are available in six languages. Among his many inventions, including several patents in artificial intelligence, he developed an Mr.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:02]

Compatible biopsy needle which is used worldwide today as the Lufkin needle. He is active on social media with more than 250,000 followers. And his most recent book, Lies I Taught in Medical School is out now. And you can find more details in the show notes of today’s episode. You can also connect with him by going to robert luff kin md.com lies I’m going to spell that out for you. It’s R o B E R T L u F k I n m d.com lies. And if that was just a lot of lmnops, all you gotta do is check today’s show notes and all those details and links will be there. Okay? Our conversation with Dr.

Leanne Vogel [00:02:50]

Rob is a really good one. If you have been diagnosed with obesity, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, mental illness, cardiovascular issues and you’re just not sure where to go, or you have a family history of this, or you have concerns that what you’re doing or what you may not be doing could be contributing to some of these illnesses in the future. I highly recommend today’s episode. We’re going to be talking about how to get off certain medications and what the projection is for those things. We also I slid in there some ozempic conversation with GLP ones. I’ve been trying to do this more with individuals and guests because I know that many of you are considering these. And though I have thoughts personally which perhaps I’ll share in future episodes, I really want you to be educated and equipped to understanding the decisions that you’re making, why you’re making them, the implications of those decisions, so that you are empowered in your next doctor’s visit. And that’s really what we’re all about here.

Leanne Vogel [00:03:55]

Okay, let’s cut over to our conversation with Dr. Rob. Hey, my name is Leanne and I’m fascinated with helping women navigate how to eat, move and care for their bodies. This has taken me on a journey from vegan keto high protein to everything in between. I’m a small town holistic nutritionist turned three time international bestselling author turned functional medicine practitioner offering telemedicine services around the globe to women looking to better their health and stop second guessing themselves. I’m here to teach you how to wade through the wellness noise to get to the good stuff that’ll help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re seeking relief from chronic ailments, striving for peak performance, or simply eager to live a more vibrant life, this podcast is your go to resource for actionable advice and inspiration. Together we’ll uncover the interconnectedness of nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management and mindset, empowering you to make informed choices that support your unique health journey.

Leanne Vogel [00:04:55]

Think of it as quality time with your bestie mixed with a little med school so you’re empowered at your next doctor visit. Get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn about your body and how to care for it healthy. Join me as we embrace vitality, reclaim our innate potential, and discover what it truly means to pursue healthfulness. Hey Dr. Rob, how’s it going?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:05:27]

Hey Leanne. I’m so happy to be here. I’m a fan of your program and it’s an honor and a pleasure to be on it today with you.

Leanne Vogel [00:05:35]

Oh my goodness, that is just so awesome. I think we’re going to have a really good conversation. I was talking before we recorded this episode that we’ve kind of had this conversation with other guests, but we’ve never really dedicated an entire episode on what I feel like this conversation is going to be about and I Would love, I think, to start off with. You have a book. It just came out and it has a very interesting title. It definitely caught my eye. Like Lies I Was Taught in Medical School. And so can we talk about, was there frustration around this that kind of sparked you to write this book or what? What was the catalyst that got you to write something like this?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:06:16]

Yeah, actually, yeah. The title is Lies I Taught in Medical School. And it arose out of my own personal journey as a patient and from the viewpoint of a medical insider because the book is critical of the current healthcare establishment. But I have to say that my background, I’m really a medical insider. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m not, you know, I’m not throwing stones from the outside. My whole career has been as a medical school professor at large medical schools in California and doing research and, you know, accepting my lab accepted millions of dollars from drug companies and device makers and the federal government to do research and all these things. And although the book is critical of western medicine, I believe in Western medicine.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:07:12]

In other words, I think Western medicine in the 20th century has transformed our lives for the better with public health measures and sanitation, infectious disease. We’re all living healthier, fuller lives because of that. And what was so effective in the 20th century? The surgeries and the pills that were developed. The problem is in the 21st century there’s a new class of, of diseases. They were present in the 20th century, but in the 21st century, these so called chronic diseases have exploded. And when we try and apply the same pills and surgery that were so effective in the 20th century to this new class of diseases which now take up 80% of our healthcare costs, it doesn’t really work. And that’s where the medical system is failing. And that’s what this book is about.

Leanne Vogel [00:08:07]

So you said that you were critical, yet you believe in it. Can we talk a little bit about the critical piece? It sounds like maybe with drug companies and maybe with the devices and maybe with the funding. Did I get that right and just you explaining it or was I totally off base there?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:08:21]

Yeah, I basically my career has been as a medical school professor, writing hundreds of research papers and textbooks and doing research, seeing patients and teaching. What forced me to question western medicine and the current approaches was I came down with four chronic diseases suddenly, and these four diseases. I went to my doctors and I was prescribed medicines for them. You know, I asked about lifestyle and other things and they said, well, you know, that really doesn’t work. You’re going to need to take these medicines for the rest of your life. So get used to it. And it forced me to really examine what they told me and examine my own beliefs, what I’ve been teaching, what my colleagues, many of them, are still teaching. And I realized there’s a new body of ev that shows that these pills and medicines, when applied to these chronic diseases of the 21st century, and the diseases I’m specifically talking about are obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and mental illness.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:09:28]

These are the ones that are exploding and we’re seeing them in epidemic numbers, for example, in type 2 diabetes. It’s an epidemic the world has never seen, even adjusting for population. And when these pills are applied to these various diseases, they treat the symptoms very well in most cases and they can even be life saving in the short term. But the problem is, while they can mask the symptoms, in many cases they don’t treat the underlying cause. And basically there’s a basic root cause for these chronic diseases that’s not being addressed by the surgery and by the pills. And it allows these diseases to continue to get worse and worse and worse. And what the solution is is not a pillar surgery. It’s actually lifestyle.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:10:21]

It’s choices that we make in our nutrition, our exercise, our sleep, our stress. And when I made changes in those things in my own life, I was able to reverse all four of those chronic diseases in myself to the point that the doctors didn’t believe me. They thought that there was a mistake in the labs and eventually they discontinued my prescriptions. And now I’m basically in remission of those four diseases. I don’t take any prescriptions for them at all. They’re completely gone. But they were reversed with lifestyle. And I think this message hasn’t gotten out enough.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:11:02]

People aren’t aware of it. And that’s the purpose of this book. I want other people not to make the same mistakes that I did initially and learn from what I learned and hopefully benefit their lives as well.

Leanne Vogel [00:11:14]

So you’re saying that the root cause under obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental illness, Alzheimer’s. What did I miss?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:11:23]

Cardiovascular disease.

Leanne Vogel [00:11:24]

Okay, that all of this has to do with lifestyle because you mentioned sleep, stress. What else is that what you’re saying? Like that these, the root causes under these are nutrition, sleep.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:11:37]

The idea is that our current lifestyle choices have put us into a metabolic illness, a metabolic disease. And that’s really the underlying condition. And the fascinating thing is the four diseases I had were high blood pressure, a type of arthritis called gout, and prediabetes, and also blood lipids. And these seem like very different diseases. And today, medicine looks at these diseases in many cases as being completely separate. But what the book talks about and what we show with a lot of evidence with modern research is that these diseases all have a common cause in underlying metabolic disease. In other words, our metabolism is essentially messed up, for lack of a better word, through our choices in lifestyle. And this may manifest in one person, may manifest as obesity, another person may manifest as Alzheimer’s disease, it may manifest as cardiovascular disease in another person.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:12:41]

But the point is, by changing our lifestyle and making choices about our nutrition and these other factors, we can lower our risk for these diseases and in some cases, even reverse their effects.

Leanne Vogel [00:12:56]

So when it comes to. Okay, let me just summarize what we learned so far. Basically, you’re saying the commonality between the obesity, the diabetes, cancer, mental illness, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular issues has to do with our lifestyle factors, including food and sleep and stress. And all of this similarity is because of metabolic dysfunction. Our metabolism is messed up. What does that look like? Like, when our metabolism is messed up, are we talking inflammation, insulin resistance, something else?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:13:30]

Exactly. We’re talking exactly what you said, primarily two factors, insulin resistance and inflammation. They go hand in hand, and they drive the manifestations of metabolic dysfunction, which can occur. Obesity, increased triglycerides, decreased hdl, and risk factors for all these chronic diseases, which is fascinating.

Leanne Vogel [00:13:56]

Are there other ways that we can determine whether or not what we’re dealing with is metabolic dysfunction? Because I think a lot of ladies listening, either they’re going through this or maybe even their parents are. I know I’m at that age where, you know, there’s a lot of doctors appointments, and I’m trying to tell them how important lifestyle is. And so when we’re just thinking about our blood work and other manifestations. You mentioned low hdl, high ldl, probably elevated insulin is probably part of this. Are there other things to look for? If you’re sitting in front of the doctor and they’re saying you have diabetes or you have cancer, what should we be looking at to know whether or not this is a metabolic issue?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:14:37]

Yeah, essentially, it’s a great question. Insulin resistance is basically metabolic dysfunction, and type 2 diabetes is insulin resistant. So it manifests, as you mentioned, with high fasting insulin. Most doctors don’t check insulin, but it also manifests as high hemoglobin A1C, which is a measure of damage to red blood cells from sugar in our bodies. And it can also manifest as inflammation. Both insulin resistance and inflammation increase with age. So the older we get. These tend to increase and these drive aging.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:15:15]

There are also markers for metabolic disease. And we’re seeing, you know, unprecedented amounts of people with metabolic disease today. Most adults are overweight or obese. Almost half adults have hypertension. Up to half adults have prediabetes or diabetes. And these are all metabolic conditions. And I would further submit that the diseases we mentioned, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental illness, have a metabolic basis as well. And by not correcting these metabolic abnormalities, our risk of these diseases is much, much higher.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:15:54]

And furthermore, some of them can actually be reversed by changing our metabolic health and restoring our metabolic wellness with a metabolically healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle.

Leanne Vogel [00:16:06]

Which I’m definitely going to pick your brain on for sure. And just the practical applications of these things. Before we get there, I want to also ask. I think, and maybe you disagree with me, so this will be fun. But I think one of the issues with the allopathic care is that we wait until people are very, very sick. We wait until they have the diagnosis of diabetes, the diagnosis of cancer, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, before we do do anything. Are there signs and symptoms of this metabolic dysfunction before it gets to the point where we’re sitting in front of the doctor and they’re giving us a can be scary diagnosis?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:16:43]

Oh, totally. Leanne. I agree with you 1000%. You’ve hit on something that is really foundational. The other thing that the book talks about and occurs with these metabolic conditions, whether all the things we mentioned, essentially, they don’t start when you go into the doctor’s office and they say, oh, you’re forgetful, you have Alzheimer’s or you have prediabetes, or you have diabetes or you have high blood pressure. They start years to decades before the doctor will diagnose them. And there are signs that we can see these are approaching. But if we wait until the doctor diagnoses them in their office, we’re at a definite disadvantage.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:17:24]

It’s not that things don’t work, but we’re already behind the eight ball. So prevention and starting early on all these things is really key to this. In writing the book, my thinking has changed on so many of these diseases. Type 2 diabetes. As a physician, type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when your hemoglobin A1C, this blood test reaches a certain level. When it crosses 6.5%, then you’re diabetic. And if it’s below that, you’re not diabetic. And that’s what doctors use to diagnose diabetes.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:17:59]

But in fact, the hemoglobin A1C level can go from 4 all the way up to 6.5. And there was a fascinating study that came out looking at non diabetic adults. And what they showed was that the hemoglobin A1C with aging gets higher and higher and higher. In other words, even before crossing over the diabetic level, it gets higher and higher. So what does that mean? It means I used to think of diabetes is either you had it or you didn’t have it. You know, it was like, you know, it was like a switch. It turned on. Too bad if you got it and if you didn’t, good for you.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:18:34]

But what I realize now is that for many, if not most people, I think type 2 diabetes and indeed all these metabolic conditions, they’re like, you know, they’re like gray hair. In other words, if we don’t die of something else first, we’re going to get these eventually if we live long enough. So what does that mean? It means that the choices I make in my lifestyle now I’m thinking about a metabolically healthy diet that will avoid type 2 diabetes because I’m on the path to that. It will avoid Alzheimer’s because I’m on the path to that. It’ll avoid cancer. It’ll avoid. Because we’re all, we’re all on the path to those. And which one manifests depends a little bit on our genetics, but also basically on our metabolism as well.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:19:18]

But by becoming metabolically healthy, I believe we can lower our risk greatly for all these diseases. And a fascinating thing happens is when we lower our risk for these chronic diseases and these are the diseases that sadly will end the life statistically of me, you and most of your listeners. It’s a short list. It’s the ones where mentioned when we delay their onset and push them back in time. An interesting thing happens. We live longer. And I didn’t start out writing a book on longevity, but the penultimate chapter is on longevity. Because what happens when we correct our metabolic health and we decrease our risk of all these chronic diseases? We actually live longer.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:20:04]

And that’s been shown in animal models, throughout the animal kingdom and through numerous experiments with, with specific drugs that actually turn these metabolic switches back, like rapamycin and other things that mimic these lifestyle changes, you actually get dramatic lifespan extensions with animal models. And there’s evidence that it’s probably occurring in humans as well.

Leanne Vogel [00:20:30]

You said something really interesting and I want to go back to it a little bit. You said that you thought that these diseases were either on or off like a switch. Do you feel that most doctors today believe that there’s no progression to illness, that it’s literally just a switch? Do you think that that is a common belief that a doctor would have today?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:20:53]

Well, I think the onset is a switch. I mean, for insurance purposes, if you come into my office and your hemoglobin A1C, that marker is below a certain point, I can’t classify you as diabetic. So I can’t bill the visit as a diabetic visit. I can’t prescribe the diabetic medicine. So until you cross that threshold, you don’t have the diabetes, or until your MOCA score for Alzheimer’s is a certain point, you know, until that’s all about medicine, you know, classifying diseases. And you have to set thresholds like when are you overweight? Well, you know, you have to set a certain number of pounds based on your height, you know. But we all know it’s a spectrum going up there. So I think the diagnostic criteria are sort of an on off switch.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:21:42]

But beyond that, I think most of these chronic diseases are progressive unless we address the root cause. If we address metabolic health, we can stop the progression. But if we just treat them with pills and surgery, in many cases we don’t stop the progression and they become chronic progressive diseases.

Leanne Vogel [00:22:06]

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Leanne Vogel [00:22:44]

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Leanne Vogel [00:23:18]

It is especially good if you have a Creamy ice cream maker. My husband’s favorite recipe is one scoop of chocolate, one scoop of unflavored, one scoop of just regular cacao powder mix mixed with a dairy free milk, frozen and then used in our ice cream maker are creamy. Ooh, it is perfect. Head over to paleovalley.com leanne and use the code LEANNE to get 15 off your order. That’s paleovalley.com leanne with code LEANNE for 15 off. Experience the highest quality bone broth protein on the market and start reaping the benefits today. Okay, so if a woman who’s listening is sitting across from her doctor who because of the limitations you just said and that progression piece, and she’s not feeling well, she knows that there’s something going on and she’s saying to the doctor, like, I know there’s something wrong. Do you have any advice for those individuals who are experiencing that progression? But they’re going to their doctor and their doctor’s saying diagnostically there’s nothing wrong with you and they’re in that gray zone.

Leanne Vogel [00:24:24]

Do you have advice as a doctor? Because I’ve never been able to ask this question on the podcast from a doctor. What’s your advice to those individuals that are experiencing the progression? They’re wanting support, but they’re just not there to get diagnosed yet.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:24:38]

Yeah, there are a lot of diseases that manifest with different symptoms. I may not be feeling well and they haven’t crossed over into one of the specifics, categorize diseases, but they can indicate an abnormality in metabolism or they can indicate an abnormality in toxicity. You know, maybe exposed to lead, maybe have mold, may have mercury, may, you know, low vitamin D. There are a number of conditions that you can have and I would recommend a person who has those type of symptoms if they’re not getting satisfaction with their current healthcare practitioner. One thing that may be useful is to search out a functional or integrative medicine oriented physician. They tend to have a much broader approach about symptoms and looking. They tend also to look at root causes more so than kind of mainstream medicine does. And that may be helpful, but it’s really challenging.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:25:41]

Yeah. When someone has a symptom but none of the blood markers indicate, you know, that they’ve switched into one of those diseases. If they don’t fit into a little cubby hole in Western medicine, then what are you going to do? And it’s fascinating. This metabolic basis, this metabolic abnormality can manifest with so many of the diseases that I’ve mentioned. You know, all the ones we talked about, but also things like irritable bowel syndrome, migraine headaches, polycystic ovaries, you know, all kinds of weird pain and fibromyalgia symptoms that don’t really fit into, necessarily into a western box. So one of the things that people can do with their lifestyle is look at their. The nutrition is number one. The other factors are important and can’t be overlooked.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:26:31]

But nutrition is a great place to start. And you can start with your diet and you can do an elimination type diet. You can eliminate dairy, you know, and see the effect you get from that. You can eliminate carbohydrates and sugar, refined carbohydrates and sugar. See how you feel there. You can eliminate seed oils, you can eliminate grains, and try these different things and then see, do they work for you? Because everyone’s different. There are general lifestyle approaches that will benefit most people, but on an individual level, you may have to personalize it a little bit.

Leanne Vogel [00:27:07]

Okay. Okay. I definitely want to ask you more on the practical side of things, but I thought of another question before we get there on the flip side. So we just talked about the lady that’s sitting. She’s frustrated. She’s sitting with her doctor. She’s not diagnosable. But then there’s the other individual that might be listening, that they’re already on the medications.

Leanne Vogel [00:27:27]

They’re already doing the hypertension drugs and the diabetes stuff and they’re trying to treat obesity and everything. How do they get out of that space? It sounds like that’s what you did. And you’re a doctor, so you could probably figure out when it was time to get off medications and all those things. But how do you manage the medications with the changes in lifestyle that we’re going to talk about and make all that work as an individual?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:27:52]

Yeah, it’s a great question that getting off prescription medicines, some people call it deprescribing. It’s something that a lot of doctors aren’t used to because most of these prescriptions for, you know, for these chronic diseases are for life. So first of all, I’m not recommending anyone discontinue any prescription medicines without involving their healthcare provider because they can have side effects and there are all sorts of things. So you need to do it in concert with your provider. But I think like I did, it’s possible, it’s possible to do it. And you want to engage them in saying, I’m going to be, you know, I’m going to be doing this type of diet. And, you know, my, my Blood pressure is, you know, changing and it’s improving with diet, which it frequently does. And then they can, you know, take, reduce the, reduce the medicines as well.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:28:48]

There’s an interesting model of that or example of that with type 2 diabetes, which is arguably the, you know, the leading metabolic disease that we’re facing today. And I was struck in writing this book that type 2 diabetes, the conventional treatment, the recommendations of the American Diabetes association and mainstream medicine is that when your hemoglobin A1C crosses over and you’re diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, you’re started on drugs like metformin. As your insulin resistance gets worse and worse, then your transition to insulin, interestingly enough, and they state that type 2 diabetes is a chronic progressive disease. In other words, it gets worse and worse and worse. Even the metformin and the insulin may be life saving. In other words, you can die from having too high a blood sugar and so they can actually save your life. But the chronic progression of the disease, in many cases the insulin doesn’t slow it down. In other words, the complications occur.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:29:52]

What are the complications of diabetes? Well, it’s, there are many, many. It’s the number one cause of surgical amputations, feet and toes and that sort of thing. Number one cause of dialysis and renal failure. It’s the number one cause of retinal blindness, goes on and on. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease is called type 3 diabetes in some circles. And even mental illness is greatly increased with diabetes. Well, one thing that’s not emphasized enough with type 2 diabetes is an alternative treatment, sort of of a lifestyle approach. And that is type 2 diabetes is due to carbohydrate toxicity.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:30:30]

Right. And what is not emphasized enough is that if you stop carbohydrates, in other words, if you, if you stop carbohydrates, for most, may, perhaps not all, but most people will be able to basically go off their medicines and no longer require. They’ll be able to reverse their type 2 diabetes to the point that it stops and they go off medicines. But the difference is it’s no longer a chronic progressive disease. In other words, these people don’t lose their fingers and toes, they don’t lose their kidneys, they don’t have all these other risk factors. And why on earth isn’t this being communicated to people that the medicines they’re doing are not addressing the underlying cause and your disease is continuing? It’s chronic progressive. It’s not chronic progressive if you stop the poison, the sugars and refined carbohydrates you will stop the disease. And it’s profoundly disturbing that this isn’t being communicated better.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:31:31]

And this occurs throughout all these chronic diseases. But type 2 diabetes is really foundational for that for me.

Leanne Vogel [00:31:39]

I remember that light bulb moment for me when I was diagnosed with celiac disease and they told me to stop eating gluten. And I was like, I guess that makes sense because it’s the thing that’s hurting me. And then I started thinking, well, if, if the carbs are hurting the diabetic, why are we still eating the carbs? Like, you know, like, how does that make any sense? Because obesity is kind of wrapped up in this conversation. And maybe you want to speak to this, maybe you don’t, but there are actually a lot of women who have been asking me about Ozempic and thoughts around using it to kind of spark the progression. What are your thoughts on using Ozempic when obesity is playing a role in everything?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:32:19]

Well, obesity is very challenging. You know, there are surgical approaches to obesity that people have, you know, surgery for that. I would put Ozempic as better than surgery. You know, if you’re, if you’re considering surgery, you might try a drug like Ozempic. First problem with Ozempic is, like any drug, it has side effects and it appears we have to take it for life. And there are other ways of accomplishing the same thing. I mean, we, on social media, I’ve talked about a hard boiled egg as nature’s Ozempic. You know, if you eat three of those a day, you will eat less other food and you will be much more healthy and you can accomplish many of the same things.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:33:02]

So I think one of the lies I talk about in my book is that that’s still being taught at medical schools and by doctors, is that a calorie is just a calorie and to lose weight, you just need to exercise more and eat less. And that’s one of the problems. If I followed that advice, I wouldn’t lose weight. And that’s, you know, obese people and overweight people are getting the wrong advice from their healthcare providers. And I think instead of giving them Ozempic, just tell them the truth about the way to lose weight and they will lose weight. And, and with a metabolically healthy diet, it’s very easy to lose weight. In fact, you can’t help shedding your excess pounds because your body naturally burns them as part of the metabolic process.

Leanne Vogel [00:33:49]

And I know in my practice at least, most of the women who are struggling with obesity actually don’t eat Enough. And so something like Ozempic, which generally works on the fact that it’s encouraging you to eat less, can work well if you’re eating too much, but if you’re already not eating enough, I’ve seen it not really do much of anything. And so I think we’re kind of at that point in the conversation where we start talking about less, about the quick fixes, you know, with the medication, all the things which doesn’t address the root cause. And more talk about your approach to that metabolic, like what are we doing to support our metabolism? You talked about diet, you mentioned going dairy free, reducing or removing refined carbohydrates, sugar, seed oils, grains, and then you said that and just kind of see how you feel. Are there ways to know that we’re on the right track when it comes to regulating our metabolism with food? And is there anything you want to add to the nutrition side of things?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:34:47]

Yeah, I mean, if you, the other thing with nutrition, if you don’t want to change what you eat, but you still want to be healthier, there’s something you can actually do and that is just stop snacking, stop eating between meal snacks, and if you feel like it, even skip meals. You know, I basically, I cut out my between meal snacks, then I skip breakfast and now I skip lunch, and now I have one meal a day when my kids get home from school. And for me, that works. I never felt healthier. I have a lot of energy. It’s really great that way. So. So there are different approaches you can do with nutrition.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:35:23]

I mean, carbohydrates are unnecessary. Food are the unnecessary food group, fats and proteins. If we don’t eat them, we will die. And carbohydrates are the things that spike insulin. They drive insulin resistance, they drive metabolic abnormalities. So the other thing you can do with food is just watch the food order. In other words, don’t eat carbohydrates first because they will be absorbed. So don’t drink a sugar drink.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:35:52]

I wouldn’t recommend drinking any sugar drink. But if you’re going to have sugar or carbohydrates, starches, rice in your meal, eat protein or fat first. And that will essentially coat your gut with these other more healthy macronutrients and will slow the absorption of the potentially harmful carbohydrates. So food order, even changing the order of the macronutrients, can be a healthy choice as well.

Leanne Vogel [00:36:17]

And so when we’re speaking about skipping meals, you’re referring to basically using fasting to improve metabolic function. What’s happening there. If we’re kind of thinking about those chronic diseases that you mentioned, how does fasting help with?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:36:33]

Yeah, fasting is one of the most powerful health tools that we have. It switches our metabolism from into something called ketosis, where we burn ketones or burn body fat. So when we fast, we automatically burn excess body fat. And this ketosis is a healthy metabolic state. We talk about in the book, a basic protein called mtor, a switching protein. And when we switch mtor into the ketosis state, we turn on something called autophagy, which is a repair state that, that helps our body repair and get better. And it basically, the ketosis is a metabolically healthy condition to be in that has beneficial effects for all those chronic diseases that we mentioned. Ketogenic therapy has been now being used for mental illness, for cancer, for heart disease, for all those things.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:37:28]

And the other thing about ketosis that helps is it naturally lowers your appetite. So when you’re in ketosis, people ask me, how can you go all day without eating? Aren’t you gnawing on your chair or something? And the answer is, I thought that would be that. But because I’m not eating junk food, I’m not eating carbohydrates, and I’m in ketosis, my appetite is lower and I’m fine without eating.

Leanne Vogel [00:37:58]

I bet you want a tight and toned body. Those descriptions are all the rage right now. And let me tell you something, if you’re under eating protein, you are not going to get there. You see, because tight and toned comes from muscle, not cardio. And more muscle also equals stronger metabolism, better sleep, more graceful aging process. And you need adequate protein to make all of this work. And I bet, like most people, you’re not getting enough of it on a daily basis. Taking an amino supplement is one of the best, easiest, most cost effective ways to get all the good stuff your body gets from protein.

Leanne Vogel [00:38:35]

I started supplementing with kion aminos and I’ve experienced increased muscle growth, better recovery, and improved sleep. Kion aminos contains all nine essential amino acids, or EAAs for short, in the most ideal ratios proven by science and are actually more effective than protein itself. Kion aminos are added to water, which makes it a great way to reap all the benefits of protein without filling your belly up. I simply take a scoop with each meal and as I said, I’ve noticed far better recovery from my workouts and better muscle definition. To save 20 off Kion Aminos, you can go to getkion.comketo that’s G E T K I O N.com keto and your purchase comes with a risk free 60 day money back guarantee. So if you hate it, which, which I don’t think you will, you can get your money back, no questions asked. Get kion.comketo to save 20% off Kion Aminos Would you say that movement also would play a role in the insulin, like creating better insulin sensitivity? And do you have any tips on the movement side of things for this approach?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:39:48]

Totally, yeah. I mean nutrition is foundational, but you have to check the other boxes and if you omit one of these, even if your nutrition is fixed, you can still get off the rails. So exercise, both physical and mental exercise is key and it actually helps with insulin resistance. Sleep is also key, both quality and quantity of sleep. There’s a famous study with healthy college students when they sleep deprived them, they all became, or a large number became insulin resistant and pre diabetic just from being deprived of sleep. And then the last thing is stress, chronic stress, our mindset, how we view the world, having a sense of purpose, you know, joy in life, looking forward to living is key also.

Leanne Vogel [00:40:31]

So how do we know that we’re on the right track? Like the individual listening who is maybe a little bit metabolically broken and they’ve heard this, they’re encouraged, maybe they have a family member that’s currently gone through something like been diagnosed with diabetes and they’re like, okay, this is my time. I know, that’s what happened to me. My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a couple of years ago and I looked in the mirror and was like, leanne, you gotta pull yourself together. And I was eating really, really well, but the movement side of things I was just not doing. And so for that, for me, that was the big, big, big piece. And sleep also and really prioritizing this. So how do we know that we’re on the right track with some of these shifts that we’re making? Should we feel it, are we going to see it in labs? Or like how do we see the progression? How do we stay consistent and encouraged through this process?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:41:21]

Yeah, if your labs are abnormal, you know, you want to keep an eye on them, keep an eye on the blood pressure and you know, working with your physician. But the biggest thing for me and what most people experience is just you feel better. You know, I’m a recovering junk food addict. When I cut out junk food, which mainly consists of refined carbs, seed oils and grains, that’s what junk food is. When I cut all those things out of my diet, I actually felt better. My mind was clearer. I had more energy, I could think, you know, it was just, it was energizing. And I love the feeling.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:41:56]

And that’s. And that’s why I do it. When I do, you know, the intermittent fasting, I give my gut a rest. I turn down inflammation, and it’s. You just feel it, you feel better. I think that’s the first thing that people can look for, or whatever their condition was, whatever their symptom was, they can monitor it. And if it’s the bowel disease or the migraines or other things, they may hopefully see benefits in that as well.

Leanne Vogel [00:42:18]

Do you have any advice, like, any last bits of wisdom when it comes to individuals and their metabolic health that you feel like we didn’t touch on today?

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:42:28]

Well, sometimes people ask me, you wrote this book. Aren’t you depressed? You’ve spent your career in the healthcare system, and now you’ve. And actually, I’m not. I’m inspired. I’m joyful, because I think we’re entering a new era as patients. In other words, we’re not just going in and submitting to the doctor where he or she gives us directions and tells us pills and surgery to take. Instead, it’s a new era in that with lifestyle, we have agency. We get to control, make the decisions about what makes us healthy.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:43:02]

And the great thing about lifestyle is every single morning when I wake up, it’s a new day, and I get to choose my lifestyle choices for that day. And it’s empowering. And I think, I think medicine is changing and the patients are changing, and it’s all for the better as we embrace this style.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:20]

Couldn’t agree with you more. And that defines your purpose and it defines mine, too. So I love it. I love it. I love it. Dr. Rob, thank you for coming on the show today. This was such a pleasure.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:30]

And I know that you put together a free sample chapter of your book book for our audience. So I’ll include that link in the show notes if you guys want to check it out. And thanks for coming on.

Dr. Robert Lufkin [00:43:39]

Yeah, thanks, Leanne. This has been, this has been wonderful. I really enjoyed talking with you today.

Leanne Vogel [00:43:45]

I hope you enjoyed our time with Dr. Rob again. His book is Lies I Taught in Medical School. It’s out now. You can find out more by going to robert lufkinmd.com lies I’ll also include the link in the show notes to the book and to the sample chapter of the book that he’s prepared for us. And I hope I see you back here next week for another episode. Bye. Thanks for listening to the Healthful Pursuit Podcast.

Leanne Vogel [00:44:14]

Join us next Tuesday for another episode of the show. If you’re looking for free resources, there are a couple of places you can go. The first to my blog, healthfulpursuit.com where you’re going to find loads of recipes. The second is a free parasite protocol that I’ve put together for you that outlines symptoms, testing and resources to determine whether or not you have a parasite, plus a full protocol to follow to eradicate them from your life if you need to. That’s available at healthfulpursuit.com parasites and last but certainly not least, a full list of blood work markers to ask your doctor for so that you can get a full picture of your health. You can grab that free resource by going to healthfulpursuit.com labs the helpful pursuit Podcast, including show notes and links, provides information in respect to healthy living recipes, nutrition and diet and is intended for informational purposes only. The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor is it to be construed as such. We cannot guarantee that the information provided on the Helpful Pursuit Podcast reflects the most up to date medical research.

Leanne Vogel [00:45:21]

Information is provided without any representation or warranties of any kind. Please consult a qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding your health and nutrition program.

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Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)

a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.

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