GERD, Psoriasis, Hypertension, More with Gary Fettke

Dr. Gary Fettke shares how he overhauled his health and how he has radically helped patients improve theirs via real food, Low Carb Healthy Fat diets.

For complete show notes, visit http://youcuredwhat.com/podcast/gary

Dr. Gary Fettke is an Australian orthopedic surgeon and a hero of the health and nutrition world. He was silenced for helping his patients with nutritional advice. He was persecuted but he stood strong knowing he was doing what was right, and eventually he was exonerated. But before taking on the establishment with his message emphasizing the importance of real food, he had to heal himself of prediabetes, high blood pressure, inflammatory joint disease, psoriasis, and more. [2:50] "I'm often quoted as saying 'Once you see something, you can't unsee it.' And I've seen the health benefits of changing diet and nutrition for myself and I've seen it for my family and I've seen it for my patients." [4:20] Dr. Fettke shares his "fresh, local, and seasonal whole food" message. He explains that we should reduce processed food and added sugar. This often leads to a low-carbohydrate, Paleo, and/or ketogenic style of diet. [7:30] What is Gary's health background? He was an overweight kid and even had joint aches as a kid. He had a pituitary gland tumor at age 38. He had high blood pressure, skin conditions, and other ailments (metabolic syndrome). He had this type of health while eating a diet largely based on the food pyramid. [10:50] A lightbulb went off for Gary when he realized his tumor showed up on PET scan based on glucose metabolism. It was growing and thriving on sugar. Since then, he often reflects on the Krebs cycle and how our bodies create ATP for energy. [14:10] Gary started out by cutting out sugars. Then he cut out polyunsaturated oils. Then he cut out other carbohydrates. [15:15] In 2013 and 2014, Gary came up with a nutritional model of inflammation. The idea is that the combination of refined carbohydrates, polyunsaturated oils, and fructose cause a highly-inflammatory state in the body. This inflammation sits behind basically every disease and ailment we face. [17:30] Initially, Gary lost about 8 kilos (approximately 20 pounds) without exercise by cutting out sugar. He was inspired by David Gillepsie's book Sweet Poison. [18:50] Gary, a surgeon, performed many amputations of diabetic limbs and digits. His patients were coming in with their limbs rotting off and it bothered him because he now sees it is preventable. [22:25] "I'm infinitely healthier now than I was ten years ago." Gary shares how he came off ten medications. [23:45] Dr. Fettke discusses the problem of the lack of informed consent for lifelong medications which have massive side effects. [25:30] Gary mentions that information about Tracey Brown, the CEO of the American Diabetes Association, improving her diabetes significantly by limiting carbs has been taken offline. [31:05] Gary, paraphrasing his wife Belinda: "You guys are talking about the science. Nobody's listening. Who's blocking that?" [32:00] Gary talks about the importance of SAM: support, accountability, and motivation. [38:10] Gary talks about how eating healthfully allows his patients to take back some level of control over their lives. [39:50] Gary shares a story of a patient: 70-year-old who had horrible arthritic pain and was down to bare bones on X-rays. Gary talked to her about low carb. 3 months later she came back to his office down 12 kilograms (approximately 25 pounds), felt better, and no longer needed surgery. "It's just fascinating for me that someone with bare-bone arthritis can turn around their pain before they lose weight." [41:40] "If you reduce your sugar and carbs, you reduce