Welcome to The Metabolic Link, a medical and science podcast that explores the common thread of metabolism in health and disease. Join Dr. Dominic D'Agostino PhD, Dr. Angela Poff PhD, and Victoria Field as they dive into the latest research on metabolic health and therapy alongside some of the world’s leading experts. They'll also discuss how this science is being applied in the real world. This is where science meets society.
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Dr. Paul Reynolds has spent his career studying what he calls “two heads of the same beast”: inflammation and glycation — two interlocking processes that may help explain why so many chronic diseases are connected, even when they are treated as separate conditions. Dr. Reynolds is a professor and research scientist at Brigham Young University whose NIH-funded research program studies inflammation, lung biology, glycation, and the AGE/RAGE receptor system that links metabolic and environmental st...
In people with severe depression and cognitive decline, brain glucose metabolism has been shown in some studies to decline measurably. Ketone metabolism, by contrast, appears relatively preserved. That single observation is reshaping how researchers think about psychiatric illness. In this episode, Dominic D'Agostino sits down with Bret Scher, a cardiologist who pivoted to metabolic psychiatry and now leads clinical education and content for Metabolic Mind at the Baszucki Group . Dr. Scher bring...
A gene mutation that reduces ketone production in the fasted state is associated with sudden infant death in modern populations. But in the ancestral context where it evolved alongside an omega-3-rich diet, it may have been part of what kept infants alive. Dr. Gideon Mailer and Nicola Hale join The Metabolic Link to present their hypothesis that the CPT1A L479 Arctic variant is not anti-ketogenic but pro-metabolic flexibility, conserving glucose by upregulating ketosis at the fed-state threshold...
In a 12-week clinical trial at The Ohio State University, every woman with PCOS who completed the intervention experienced a change in her menstrual status. One participant, who had never had a period in her life, began menstruating within a week. Another saw spotting after five years of amenorrhea while taking only a ketone supplement without adopting a ketogenic diet. These are among the earliest controlled findings linking ketogenic interventions directly to reproductive hormone restoration. ...
A veteran walks into the clinic with a persistent migraine. Four minutes of vagal nerve stimulation later, the migraine is gone. This is not a one-off result. It is what Dr. Michael Hoffman has been observing for over seven years in the VA hospital system, using non-invasive devices he considers severely underutilized. Dr. Hoffman is a stroke and cognitive-behavioral neurologist who trained at Columbia University, spent 14 years in the VA system, and has evaluated an estimated 10,000 stroke pati...
You could have elevated levels of contaminants like uranium or arsenic in your drinking water—and not know it. Many of these compounds are colorless, odorless, and undetectable without testing. Johnny Pujol is a water chemist and the founder of Tap Score, a drinking water testing platform supported by a network of roughly 270 specialized laboratories. His path from electrochemistry research to consumer water testing was driven by a simple realization: the chemistry inside what looks like a clear...
Dr. Tommy Wood discusses how cognitive decline might be less about aging and more about insufficient demand on our brains. He introduces his "Three S Model" (Stimulus, Supply, Support) for brain health, emphasizing that focused attention and activity drive glucose uptake, similar to muscles. The conversation covers early life factors, the role of metabolic health, the nuanced benefits of exercise intensity (including lactate's impact), and surprising "biohacks" like dance and pets, offering actionable strategies to foster brain plasticity and improve cognitive function throughout life.
Get free access to our new Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy ebook here. Could changing your metabolism reduce alcohol cravings, ease psychiatric symptoms, and even make cancer immunotherapy more effective? The science is pointing to yes, and the mechanisms are fascinating. In this Journal Club episode, co-hosts Victoria Field, Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, and Dr. Angela Poff break down five peer-reviewed papers from their newly released Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy ebook (Volume 4). From a French preclinic...
Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky's VO2 max was once 87.6 ml/kg/min — an elite-level mark few humans have reached. He's competed at three world championships in three different sports. He's also had three cardiac ablation surgeries, bled from his bowels after races, and watched his vision tunnel to a speck crossing a finish line. His story is a master class in where the line falls between peak performance and self-destruction. Now 63, Tarnopolsky is a neurologist, neuromuscular disease specialist, and supple...
Roughly 90% of Alzheimer's patients develop neuropsychiatric symptoms including anxiety, persistent fear, and an inability to recognize safety — but little research is being done to investigate why. New data connecting PTSD, trauma, and accelerated brain aging may hold the answer. Dr. Caesar Hernandez is a behavioral, molecular, and circuit neuroscientist and assistant professor in the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics & Palliative Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His resea...
What if the sequence we've always assumed—plaque causes arterial stiffness—is actually backwards? Dr. Lily Johnston proposes that impaired nitric oxide signaling may stiffen arteries first, creating the endothelial injury that then promotes plaque formation. Dr. Lily Johnston is a board-certified vascular surgeon and newly certified obesity medicine physician who bridges the operating room and metabolic medicine. After years of scraping plaque from arterial walls, she began questioning why surgi...
The term “ultra-processed food” appeared nearly 100 times in the White House’s Make America Healthy Again report. But questions remain about whether the concept is precise enough to guide effective policy. Dr. David Ludwig—Harvard endocrinologist, obesity researcher, and author of Always Hungry —joins Dr. Dominic D'Agostino to dismantle the ultra-processed food framework from the inside out. Ludwig reveals why the NOVA classification system lumps protein bars with soda, why the FDA admitted they...
Glioblastoma has a long-term survival rate under 1% at ten years. After decades of research focusing primarily on mutation-targeted therapies, median survival has improved by only a few months. Dr. Tomás Duraj believes there's a better path forward. Dr. Duraj is a physician-scientist at Boston College working on the metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer. In this Metabolic Health Summit presentation, he outlines a clinical framework for studying ketogenic metabolic therapy — one built on biomarker-...
After 20+ years treating cancer patients, Dr. Christy Kesslering started asking a question her colleagues weren't asking: why are so many of my breast cancer patients metabolically sick — even when they're not obese? That question changed everything. Dr. Kesslering is a classically-trained radiation oncologist, metabolic health practitioner, and terrain theorist. She spent two decades practicing oncology in the Chicagoland area before transitioning to focus full-time on what she believes is the ...
A patient arrives at shock trauma with flesh-eating bacteria, limbs appearing unsalvageable. Hours later, after treatment in a massive submarine-like chamber, those same limbs show signs of recovery. This pivotal moment launched Dr. Scott Sherr's journey into the world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its untapped potential for metabolic healing. Victoria Field welcomes Dr. Scott Sherr, a board certified internal medicine physician who transformed his practice after witnessing HBOT's dramatic ef...
What if the key to treating neurodegenerative diseases lies not in attacking symptoms, but in healing mitochondria? Dr. Matthew Phillips, a neurologist who coined the term "metabolic neurologist," shares groundbreaking insights from his decade-long journey implementing ketogenic diets and fasting protocols for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and glioblastoma patients. In this episode, Dr. Phillips reveals his clinical framework combining metabolic therapies with standard of care, his current glioblast...
For over fifty years, Americans have been told that cutting fat was the key to better health. Yet after decades of low-fat guidelines, rates of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction have skyrocketed - now affecting more than 88% of the population. In this episode of The Metabolic Link, Victoria Field sits down with Dr. Nina Teicholz, science journalist and author of The Big Fat Surprise, whose decade-long investigation into nutrition science uncovered how flawed evidence and policy decisi...
When veterinarian Dr. Loren Nations lost his wife to aggressive cancer despite the best conventional treatments, he didn't just grieve—he revolutionized his entire approach to medicine. In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Nations reveals how tragedy led him to discover that our pets are experiencing metabolic disease at rates even higher than humans, with 61% of cats and 59% of dogs now obese. Dr. Loren Nations is a board-certified veterinarian with over 30 years of experience. He's the fo...
What if the food you eat could change the way you breathe at night? In this episode, recorded live at The Metabolic Health Summit, Dr. Jonathan Jun reveals how metabolism and sleep-disordered breathing are deeply connected, and why shifting from carbs to fat might improve more than just your waistline. Dr. Jonathan Jun, a leading researcher on obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), walks us through the groundbreaking KETOHS trial , where a ketogenic diet was te...
Could treating food like a drug be the breakthrough we've needed in food addiction treatment? In this episode of The Metabolic Link , Dr. Dominic D’Agostino sits down with Dr. Tro Kalayjian - physician, researcher, and former obesity patient - to explore whether food addiction should be classified as a true addiction, and how his TOWARD model is helping patients overcome binge eating and food-related compulsions. Dr. Tro shares findings from his recent peer-reviewed paper, TOWARD: a Metabolic He...
Muscle isn’t just about strength or performance — it’s metabolic armor. In this episode of The Metabolic Link, Dr. Andy Galpin sits down with hosts Victoria Field and Dr. Dominic D’Agostino to show how muscle, cardio fitness, and bone density work together to protect against decline and extend healthspan. From women’s training and recovery practices to kids in the weight room, Dr. Galpin translates decades of research into practical strategies anyone can use. Big questions Dr. Galpin helps answe...
Plastic surgery meets metabolic medicine. Dr. Cameron Chesnut isn't just changing faces - he's changing the entire surgical process. In this episode, Dr. Dominic D'Agostino talks with the facial plastic surgeon who’s using ketones, hyperbaric oxygen, red light, and regenerative protocols to optimize brain health, accelerate recovery, and eliminate opioids entirely. Trusted by high performers around the world, Dr. Chesnut is known for delivering natural, rejuvenated, and seemingly untouched resul...
Did you know that over 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s—and that number is expected to nearly double by 2050? Despite decades of research and billions spent, most treatments only offer minimal slowing of symptoms. But what if we’ve been approaching this disease all wrong? In this powerful episode of The Metabolic Link, host Victoria Field sits down with renowned neurologist, researcher, and bestselling author Dr. Dale Bredesen. He shares how Alzheimer’s isn’t caused by one thing—and why...
👉 Register for a LIVE Q&A with Dr. Bellamy on August 19th at 8am PT / 11am ET at https://membership.metabolicinitiative.com/bellamy Can metabolic therapy play a transformative role in the treatment of serious mental illness? In this episode of The Metabolic Link, host Victoria Field speaks with Dr. Erin Bellamy - a Chartered Psychologist, Metabolic Psychiatry Practitioner, and CEO of IKRT - about the clinical application of ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) for psychiatric disorders. With o...
For more exclusive content on metabolic health, including additional videos with Dr. Andrew Koutnik, check out our membership platform for free here ! Despite incredible advances in diabetes technology, blood sugar control in people with Type 1 diabetes hasn’t meaningfully improved in over a decade. In this eye-opening episode recorded live at Metabolic Health Summit, Dr. Andrew Koutnik - a scientist, patient, and advocate - dives into the science behind this paradox. Dr. Koutnik shares groundbr...
For more exclusive content on metabolic health and therapy, check out our membership platform for free: https://membership.metabolicinitiative.com In this Journal Club edition of The Metabolic Link, hosts - Victoria Field, Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, and Dr. Angela Poff dissect two powerful papers reshaping our understanding of metabolic health. First up: a striking human study showing that exposure to sugar rationing during the first 1,000 days of life reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes and hypert...
What’s really causing America’s obesity epidemic? In this special debate episode of The Metabolic Link, two leading voices in metabolic health square off: Dr. Richard Johnson, renowned for his research on fructose metabolism, and Dr. Layne Norton, a PhD in nutritional sciences and expert on the energy balance model. Moderated by host Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, the discussion dives deep into the biological roots of obesity, the relevance of sugar-sweetened beverages, the role of leptin and uric acid...
Join us for a Live Q&A on June 18th at 9am PT/12pm ET with Dr. Anthony Chaffee and also enjoy ad-free exclusive episodes, videos covering the latest science on metabolic health on therapy, and earn CMEs by clicking here . In this episode, Dr. Anthony Chaffee—medical doctor, neurosurgical registrar, and nutrition educator—joins Dr. Dominic D’Agostino for a thoughtful exploration of the scientific rationale behind animal-based ketogenic diets. Together, they discuss burgeoning interest in how ...
Become a member of The Metabolic Initiative to access exclusive ad-free episodes, 100s of videos on metabolic health and therapy, and earn CMEs here ! In this deeply personal and courageous episode of The Metabolic Link, we hear from patient advocate and podcast co-host Matt Baszucki, who shares how he endured—and ultimately overcame—type 1 bipolar disorder through a radical shift in treatment: ketogenic metabolic therapy. After years of hospitalizations, debilitating mood episodes, and failed c...
Become a member of The Metabolic Initiative to access exclusive ad-free episodes, 100s of videos on metabolic health, and earn CMEs here! If you’re a clinician, scientist, or anyone interested in taking a deep dive into the complexities of hormone regulation, this episode of The Metabolic Link Podcast is for you! Recorded live at Metabolic Health Summit 2024, this in-depth presentation by Dr. Kyle Gillett—dual board-certified in family and obesity medicine—dives deep into the biochemical, clinic...
