About this episode
In this episode, Dave sits down with Dr. Eric Westman, associate professor of medicine at Duke University and founder of the Keto Medicine Clinic, who has built his practice around using dietary interventions to treat patients. Dr. Westman discusses his path from traditional internal medicine to researching low-carb approaches, including his early observations of patients whose cholesterol profiles improved on high-fat diets and his collaboration with Dr. Atkins in the late 1990s to conduct some of the first clinical studies on the Atkins diet. The conversation covers the current medical environment where GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic have become prominent weight loss treatments, the historical use of low-carb medicine dating back over a century, and Dr. Westman's perspective on why nutrition education has become less emphasized in medical training. From his YouTube channel that reaches millions of viewers monthly to his clinical work helping patients reverse diabetes through dietary changes, Dr. Westman shares his experience at the intersection of medical research, clinical practice, and the evolving approaches to treating metabolic conditions.? CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN PROTOCOL:Main Channel: @realDaveFeldmanX/Twitter: x.com/realDaveFeldman Instagram: instagram.com/realDaveFeldmanWebsite: thefeldmanprotocol.com? Key Chapters0:00 – Introduction & Opening Thoughts1:04 – Who is Dr. Eric Westman & the Keto Medicine Clinic7:06 – Dr. Westman as the Original Keto Pioneer9:02 – The First Atkins Diet Patients: Unexpected Results12:17 – The 2004 Studies & Dr. Atkins' Tragic Death15:16 – Duke's Historical Connection to Dietary Medicine25:15 – GLP-1 Drugs vs. Dietary Interventions: The Current Divide32:20 – The Muscle Loss Problem with Weight Loss Drugs38:15 – The American Diabetes Association's Forgotten Origins47:10 – Addiction Models: Food vs. Tobacco & Alcohol1:05:15 – Glucose Metabolism & Keto Adaptation in Long-Term Practitioners1:15:00 – Animal Models vs. Human Studies: The Research Problem1:25:00 – Metabolic Status Impact on Lipid Profiles1:30:00 – Lean Mass Hyper-Responder Study Results & Heterogeneity1:40:00 – Brown & Goldstein's Work & Homozygous FH Cases1:55:00 – The Cholesterol Code Documentary Journey2:00:00 – Citizen Science Foundation & Crowdfunded Research2:10:00 – Heart Failure, Ketones & SGLT2 Inhibitors2:20:00 – Serial Killers Films & Athletic Performance on Keto2:35:00 – Eric's Bookshelf: Essential Low-Carb Literature2:45:00 – Hospital Food Systems & Institutional Change2:55:00 – Drug Development vs. Dietary Solutions3:00:00 – Polypharmacy & Deprescribing in Clinical Practice3:15:00 – Adapt Your Life Academy & Online Education3:30:00 – The Feldman Protocol & Cholesterol Manipulation3:45:00 –
