In today's episode we welcome Mr. Shashikant Iyengar, a metabolic health coach of MetabolicHealthIndia.com, as well as Mr. Anup Singh, founder of the dLife.in low carb platform.

Shashikant Iyengar (Shashi) is a metabolic health coach based in India with multiple certifications in his field. He's a Certified Nutrition Network Coach Practitioner™ under the tutelage of the Noakes Foundation of Prof. Tim Noakes of South Africa. He is the first Accredited Metabolic Health Practitioner by The Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (SMHP) (Low Carb-USA) and is also a recipient of the Ketogenic Diet in Mental Health clinical training from the Diagnosis:Diet platform of the nutritional and metabolic psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede. Today, his passion lies in transforming lives as a full-time Metabolic Health Coach, specializing in guiding individuals with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, as well as mental & neurological disorders. This has led to countless success stories, helping many clients achieve remission from type 2 diabetes with less and less dependency to the very medications which he used to promote as a pharmaceutical industry representative for 35 years with Abbot and Pfizer.

Anup Singh founded dLife.in in 2014. He’s an engineer who graduated from India’s Ivy-league IIT Roorkee with a silver medal for his academic brilliance. He was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes since Feb 2011 but managed to completely turn around the game by going low carb, currently living a pill free life. He essentially pioneered what is now a widely quoted and practised idea of 100 gm carbs/day as the upper limit in a low carb diet for Indians. Today, dLife has more than 2,000 combined Indian success stories of diabetes, hypertension, weight loss, and fatty liver reversal. In 2021 Anup Singh & dLife got awarded with the prestigious “Icons of India Award” by India’s renowned media – the Outlook Group.

Few people have as much experience helping patients use a low-carb lifestyle to improve their health as Dr. Westman. He has been doing this for over 20 years, and he approaches low-carb medicine from both a research and clinical perspective. Through the years, he's shared valuable insights about the clinical utility of low-carb lifestyles.

With his extensive knowledge, he's helped thousands of patients revitalize their heath. Interested in low carb? Then here's your chance to hear a veteran practitioner share his wisdom. 

Dr. Eric C. Westman is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University Health System and director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic.

Dr. Westman combines clinical research and clinical care to deliver lifestyle treatments for obesity, diabetes and tobacco dependence. He is an internationally known researcher specialising in low-carbohydrate nutrition and is co-author of 'The New Atkins For A New You', 'Keto Clarity' and 'Cholesterol Clarity'. He has also helped do several high-quality scientific studies on low carb.

Dr. Westman is currently the vice president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians and a fellow of the Obesity Society and the Society of General Internal Medicine. 

Dr. William Yancy is an Internal medicine doctor, obesity medicine specialist, researcher and Fellow of The Obesity Society and a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He has spent most of his career researching obesity and treatments for obesity. He is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University and a staff physician and a researcher at the Durham VA Medical Center.

He is also the director at Duke Diet and Fitness Center, an immersive, residential-style, comprehensive weight management program that serves patients from around the world who come to Duke for a week or longer to change their eating and activity lifestyles, lose weight, improve their health and learn strategies for long-term success.

Dr. Yancy has conducted multiple clinical trials investigating how different dietary and medicinal approaches affect body weight, cardiovascular risk and diabetes, with particular expertise regarding low-carbohydrate eating.

He has also performed a number of studies examining innovative approaches toward improving adherence to lifestyle recommendations and other treatments. He has received several awards for his research and published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

He received his medical degree from East Carolina University and completed his residency at the University of Pittsburgh. He also has a Masters in Health Sciences from Duke University.

This episode features an important interview with Dr. Jeff Volek, a researcher who has spent the past 20 years studying how humans adapt to carbohydrate-restricted diets.  His most recent work, which is one of the key topics of today’s interview, has focused on the science of ketones and ketogenic diets and their use as a therapeutic tool to manage insulin resistance.

In 2014, Volek became a founder and the chief science officer of Virta Health, an online specialty medical clinic dedicated to reversing diabetes, a chronic disease that has become a worldwide epidemic. The company’s ambitious goal is to reverse type 2 diabetes in 100 million people by 2025.

In addition to his role at Virta, Volek is a registered dietitian and full professor in the department of human sciences at Ohio State University. He is a co-author of “The New Atkins for a New You,” which came out 2010 and spent 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. The book is an updated, easier-to-use version of Dr. Robert Atkins’ original 1972 book, “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.”

Volek has co-authored four other books, including “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” and “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance.” Both books are co-authored with and delve somewhat deeper than “The New Atkins” did into the science and application of low-carb diets.

Although numerous studies have confirmed the validity and safety of low-carb and ketogenic diets, Volek and others who support carbohydrate restriction are often criticized for being so one-sided that their work comes across as more advocacy than science. But in “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living,” Volek writes:

“What is the proper response when three decades of debate about carbohydrate restriction have been largely one-sided and driven more by cultural bias than science? Someone needs to stand up and represent the alternate view and science.”

Dr. Benjamin Bikman earned his Ph.D. in Bioenergetics and was a postdoctoral fellow with the Duke-National University of Singapore in metabolic disorders. He is currently a professor of pathophysiology and a biomedical scientist at Brigham Young University in Utah.

Dr. Bikman's professional focus as a scientist and professor is to better understand chronic modern-day diseases, with a special emphasis on the origins and consequences of obesity and diabetes, with an increasing scrutiny of the pathogenicity of insulin and insulin resistance. He frequently publishes his research in peer-reviewed journals and presents at international science meetings.

Dr. Bikman has long been an advocate of a ketogenic diet in light of the considerable evidence supporting its use as a therapy for reversing insulin resistance. His website InsulinIQ.com promotes dietary clarity, healing, and freedom through evidence-based science about insulin resistance. Employing cell-autonomous to whole-body systems, Dr. Bikman's recent efforts have focused on exploring the intimate associations between the metabolic and immune systems. 

Dr. Gary Fettke is an Orthopaedic Surgeon practising in Launceston, Tasmania. Along with his wife Belinda, Gary opened the 'Nutrition for Life – Diabetes and Health Research Centre' based in Launceston which provides nutritional care around Tasmania and Australia.

Gary has a longstanding interest in the preventative aspects of health outcomes, particularly before operating on his patients. Recently an AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency)  investigation into Gary’s qualifications to give nutritional advice has concluded. This investigation (which lasted for more than two years) has resulted in Gary being issued a ‘caution’.

The Medical Board of Tasmania, under the umbrella of the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority, have advised him; ”In particular, that he does not provide specific advice or recommendations on the subject of nutrition and how it relates to the management of diabetes or the treatment and/or prevention of cancer.” Gary was later cleared of all charges and issued a formal apology from AHPRA.

What is the perfect treatment that can cure type 2 diabetes (!) and lead to effortless weight loss? Listen to the eloquent Dr. Jason Fung describe it in this 12-minute part of a longer interview.

** Observe: This treatment is extremely effective. If you have diabetes and take blood sugar lowering medication (especially insulin injections) you may need to reduce the doses a lot to avoid potentially dangerous hypoglycemia. You may instantly become too healthy for your medication. **

In the full 45 minute interview Dr. Fung goes into more detail about exactly how to add fasting to your low-carb diet, important things to consider and how to avoid potential problems.

Professor Tim Noakes was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1949. As a youngster, he had a keen interest in sport and attended Diocesan College in Cape Town. Following this, he studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and obtained an MBChB degree in 1974, an MD in 1981 and a DSc (Med) in Exercise Science in 2002.

Prof. Noakes has published more than 750 scientific books and articles. He has been cited more than 19,000 times in scientific literature, has an H-index of 71 and has been rated an A1 scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa for a second 5-year term.  He has won numerous awards over the years and made himself available on many editorial boards.

In 2012, Tim founded 'The Noakes Foundation', a Non-Profit Corporation founded for public benefit which aims to advance medical science’s understanding of the benefits of a low-carb high-fat (LCHF) diet by providing evidence-based information on optimum nutrition that is free from commercial agenda. The foundation has also started the Eat Better South Africans campaign, which allows South Africans in even the poorest communities to adopt a high-fat, low-carb, extremely healthy diet for just three dollars per day. 

Dr. David Unwin is a practicing GP based in Southport in the United Kingdom and is a recognised international expert on the topic of carbohydrates and Type 2 diabetes. After 25 years of attempting to treat diabetes by conventional methods, Dr. Unwin stumbled upon the website www.diabetes.co.uk and from this revelation now ignores official advice and treats his patients with a low-carbohydrate diet.

David is the RCGP National Champion for Collaborative Care and Support Planning in Obesity & Diabetes. In 2015 he won the North West NHS ‘Innovator of the Year Award’ and in 2016 he won the National NHS 'Innovator of the Year Award' for his work in treating diabetes with a low carb.

Dr. Jen Unwin is a consultant clinical health psychologist who has worked in the NHS for over 30 years, helping people with chronic illnesses to improve their lives. She is also former chair of the UK Association for Solution Focused Practice. 

David and Jen are both founding members of the Public Health Collaboration (U.K.) and together the Unwin's have helped pioneer the use of low carbohydrate diets in the treatment of obesity and diabetes through a patient-centric model of ‘hope’.

Dr. Unwin was on the verge of retiring as a general practice physician in the UK. Then he found the power of low-carb nutrition and helped hundreds of patients in ways he never thought possible! As a result, he won the prestigious NHS Innovator of the Year award and was named one of the top ten most influential GPs in the UK.

Unwin continues to help patients dramatically improve their health through low-carb living. His story is an inspiration to physicians and patients alike. Dr. Unwin is leading the way to spread the message: there's a better way to achieve health. 

How do you make low carb simple for patients? Dr. Unwin explains that carbs break down into surprising amounts of sugar in the body.

In the sixth part of our low carb for doctors series, Dr. Unwin explains how doctors can explain the concept of low carb in simple terms to their patients.