Not In the Way You Think...
Don't let the title fool you
Ruminati Herdmates should be familiar with Eric C. Westman, MD, MHS. He’s an Internal Medicine Doctor, Medical Weight Management Specialist, Primary Care Doctor at Duke Health. He’s been researching and prescribing Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction for more than two decades.
“After 20 years of clinical and research experience using low carbohydrate, ketogenic diets, I am continually amazed at how health can be improved by just changing the food that someone eats. I use an approach that is simple and effective, and evidence-based. Medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, GERD, fatty liver, and PCOS, can all be improved or even reversed through food. I am specialized in internal Medicine and obesity medicine, and I am the author of the books End Your Carb Confusion, The New Atkins for a New You, Keto Clarity, and Cholesterol Clarity.”
I first met Eric in 2010 at a medical conference in Seattle, WA. Our paths have crossed frequently since then, and I’m always impressed with his attitude and his approach to multiplying the personal experiences of metabolic health restoration. His mission:
“I am committed to reversing chronic medical problems through prescription-strength ketogenic diets.”
I’m committed to communicating the facts that ruminant animal agriculture is essential for sustainable food systems and that humanity faces an existential crisis of malnutrition, manifest as the majority of chronic illnesses. So it was an honor and privilege to be asked to appear on Eric’s “Keto Made Simple” podcast (on YouTube and other platforms). As I recall, the video was released to members of the Adapt Your Life Academy first. It became freely available, I believe, while I was in Europe.
The “killing the planet” hyperbole may be a little off-putting, but it’s clearly part of the public discourse landscape. So let’s go with it. Remember Dean Ornish’s quote “What’s good for your heart is good for your brain”? As Drs. Chris Palmer, Georgia Ede, and others are demonstrating through research and clinical application, Ornish is right - but probably not in the way he thinks.
All forms of agriculture impact the environments in which it’s practiced. Environmental manipulation is fundamental to agriculture.
“Agriculture is the history of humanity manipulating their environments to produce more biomass than those environments would produce without those manipulations.”
How we balance the costs vs. the benefits of different production systems requires extensive knowledge and nuance. I hope my conversation with Eric contributed to both.