Episode 59

Diets are Dead. Long Live Diets.

Published on: 10th December, 2024

The Future of Diets: From Weight Loss to Nutrition, Thanks to GLP-1 Drugs

For as long as we can remember, dieting has been humanity’s awkward tango with food—three steps forward, two cheat days back. From eating grapefruit by the dozen to proclaiming kale chips as a snack revolution, our obsession with shrinking waistlines has been both fascinating and exhausting. But what if we could take weight loss off the table (pun intended) entirely? Thanks to the rise of GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide, we’re on the cusp of doing just that.

These drugs are shifting the focus from counting calories to counting nutrients. In other words, dieting is getting a much-needed rebrand. So grab your kale smoothie and settle in as we dive into why the diets of the future will be all about health, not weight. And don’t worry—we’ll keep this fun. After all, food is supposed to be enjoyable.

The GLP-1 Revolution: Shedding Pounds Without Shedding Tears

GLP-1 drugs mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that tells your brain, "Hey, you're full; stop eating." It’s like having a friend at dinner who gently slaps your hand every time you reach for another breadstick. Clinical trials have shown that these medications can lead to an average weight loss of 15% or more, a feat most fad diets can only dream of achieving.

Why This Changes Everything

  1. Goodbye, Diet Culture: With GLP-1 drugs doing the heavy lifting for weight management, the days of suffering through celery juice cleanses might finally be behind us.
  2. Hello, Health Goals: People can start focusing on nutrition instead of staring longingly at someone else’s fries.
  3. Medical Validation: It’s not you; it’s your biology. GLP-1 drugs reduce hunger and help people feel fuller faster—no willpower shaming required.

If this feels like the dieting equivalent of inventing the wheel, it is. But this wheel rolls straight into a new frontier: nutrition.

Citation: Clinical trials on GLP-1 drugs have shown sustained weight loss for a majority of participants (Wilding et al., 2021).

From Weight Loss to Wellness: The New Role of Diets

Imagine a world where diets aren’t about punishing your body but fueling it. This shift doesn’t mean we’ll all suddenly start eating quinoa salads with reckless abandon—it means recognizing that food is more than just a number on a scale.

1. Nutrition Over Numbers

The new wave of diets prioritizes nutrient density. Instead of obsessing over how many carbs are in a bagel, we’ll care about how those carbs fuel our energy, brain function, and immune system.

  • Gut Health Heroes: Say hello to fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt.
  • Brain Boosters: Omega-3-rich salmon and walnuts are here to make you smarter (or at least more functional before your coffee).
  • Immune Support Squad: Citrus fruits, garlic, and spinach are basically your body’s bodyguards.
Fun Fact: Your brain is about 60% fat, so eating healthy fats can actually make you a better thinker. Finally, an excuse for avocado toast!

2. Functional Foods

Instead of dieting to fit into jeans from a decade ago, people will start eating with specific goals in mind:

  • Performance Diets: Foods that fuel workouts and keep you going on marathon Netflix sessions.
  • Longevity Diets: Think Mediterranean diet vibes—olive oil, nuts, and a glass of red wine (for antioxidants, of course).
  • Condition-Targeted Eating: Anti-inflammatory diets for arthritis or low-glycemic diets for diabetes management.

It’s food as medicine but without the terrifying side effects that come at the end of pharmaceutical commercials.

Tech + Food = The Diet of Tomorrow

Let’s face it: we’re already living in the age of smart everything—phones, watches, even refrigerators. The next logical step? Using technology to make eating smarter, too.

  • Biometric Tracking: Imagine a smartwatch that tells you when you’re low on magnesium and suggests snacking on almonds.
  • AI Nutrition Coaches: Apps that analyze your meal choices and politely suggest adding a vegetable or two.
  • Meal Kits for the Modern Era: Personalized, pre-portioned meals based on your DNA or gut microbiome.

If the idea of AI judging your pizza consumption feels invasive, remember that it’s only trying to help. Plus, it’ll never side-eye your second slice.


What Happens to Diet Culture?

For years, diet culture has been as relentless as a telemarketer, selling us impossible ideals and plenty of guilt. But with GLP-1 drugs making weight loss a medical issue instead of a personal failing, we might finally be able to exorcise the ghosts of diets past.

  1. No More Food Shame: GLP-1 drugs take the blame off you and put it squarely on biology. Didn’t lose weight on your juice cleanse? That’s because juice cleanses are terrible, not because you’re weak.
  2. Shifting Goals: The focus moves to health outcomes like better energy, clearer skin, and reduced risk of chronic disease.
  3. Diverse Definitions of Health: Turns out your value isn’t tied to your ability to fit into skinny jeans. Who knew?

But let’s not get too smug—diet culture is like a cockroach. Just because you think you’ve squashed it doesn’t mean it won’t find a new way to thrive. Be wary of buzzwords like "clean eating" or "biohacking;" they’re often just rebranded food guilt.


Challenges to Consider

Before we declare victory over bad diets, there are a few hurdles to clear:

  • Access to GLP-1 Drugs: These medications are expensive and often not covered by insurance. If they’re going to revolutionize health, they need to be affordable for everyone.
  • Nutritional Education: We’ll need to teach people how to nourish their bodies without falling into new fads.
  • Avoiding Over-Medicalization: Weight loss drugs are a tool, not a replacement for a balanced lifestyle. Don’t toss your running shoes just yet.
Citation: "Cost and insurance coverage are significant barriers to GLP-1 access for many patients" (Drucker, 2022).

How to Embrace the New Era of Diets Today

Ready to ditch the old diet mentality and embrace the future? Here’s how you can get started:

  • Add More Colors to Your Plate: No, not M&Ms—fruits and veggies. The more variety, the better.
  • Think About Food as Fuel: Skip the crash diets and focus on eating foods that energize you.
  • Experiment with Recipes: The future of eating should be fun, not a chore. Try new cuisines, flavors, and textures.
  • Celebrate Small Wins: Did you swap your afternoon candy bar for an apple today? That’s a win worth celebrating.

Conclusion: Diets Are Dead (Long Live Diets!)

Thanks to GLP-1 drugs, we’re witnessing the dawn of a new era. The diets of tomorrow aren’t about deprivation—they’re about abundance. They’ll prioritize what food can do for us, from boosting our mood to supporting long-term health.

This isn’t just a trend; it’s a revolution. And with the right tools, education, and maybe a little humor, we can finally stop fighting food and start embracing it. So let’s raise a glass (of antioxidant-rich red wine) to the end of diets as we know them. Cheers to a healthier, happier future!

Transcript
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>> Dr. Terry Simpson: M Today we're talking about a revolution, a medical

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revolution, a dietary revolution,

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and maybe even a pan sized revolution.

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We're diving deep into the world of GLP1

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medications. Those little wonder drugs like

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Ozempic and Zepp found that are flipping the

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script about how Americans think about food

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diets and most importantly, what

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it means to be healthy. Spoiler alert,

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we're finally talking about nutrition

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instead of weight loss. And, um, honestly, it's about time.

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So grab a fork, maybe a protein

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shake, and let's get started.

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I am your chief medical explanationist. Making sense of the

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madness, Dr. Terry Simpson. And this

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is for Q Pork University, where

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we make sense of the madness, bust a few myths.

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We dish out food facts, serve up science, and garnish

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it with just a generous sprinkle of

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humor.

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Let's start with the basics. GLP1

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medications stand for glucagon,

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like peptide 1. I know

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it sounds like something out of your high school biology teacher would mumble before

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handing the pop quiz that you never read before, but here's the

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fun part. GLP1 is a hormone your body

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naturally produces, and it plays a big role in

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regulating blood sugar and appetite.

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Pharmaceutical companies, being the little clever alchemists

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they are, figured out how to make synthetic versions

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of this hormone. In Biola, GLP Mudden

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medications were born. Originally, these drugs were designed to help

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people with type 2 diabetes because it helps them

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manage their blood sugar. But then the research

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noticed that the people taking GLP1s were

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losing weight. And not a little weight, but a lot of

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weight, like I need a new wardrobe kind of

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weight. That then began

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the look at these medications just

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for weight loss without diabetes. Fast

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forward to today. And GLP1 drugs like

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Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are being prescribed for weight loss

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in people with obesity. And let me tell you, these

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medications are changing the game faster than your grandma

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can bake cookies. You know the

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story. For decades,

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diets in America were all about

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one thing. The number on the scale.

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Losing weight. Fit into your old jeans or your old

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wedding dress. Be bikini ready by June. You

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know the kind of slogan that make you roll your eyes so hard you can see

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your brain cells quitting their jobs.

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But GLP1 medications have sparked a

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shift, and a big one. Instead of

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focusing solely on weight loss, people

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are starting to look at food differently. It's not

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just about shrinking your waistline anymore.

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It's about nourishing your body and feeling good. Here's

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why. First, there's appetite

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regulations. As you know from previously On the

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podcast GLP1 meds help control hunger and

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reduce cravings. Suddenly, that pint

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of ice cream in your freezer isn't talking to you

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anymore. They do offer better blood sugar

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control. And when your blood sugar is steady, you're less likely to have

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those hangry episodes.

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And with the GLP1s doing that heavy

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lifting, getting rid of that food

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noise and making you feel full quicker and

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longer, people are starting to focus on what

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they need to eat, not just how much they need to eat.

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And nutrition is finally stepping into

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the spotlight. It's like someone just handed

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America a pair of glasses and we're finally seeing food for what it

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should be. Fuel for your body, not just a

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tool for weight management.

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Let's talk about the diet industry for a minute. You know the

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trillion dollar machine that gave us juice cleanses,

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cabbage soup diets? Enough low carb

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snack bars to build a very tasteless

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sawdusty fort? Or the Carnivore diet,

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its latest iteration of the most extreme

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and potentially deadly diet out

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there. For years, the diet industry

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thrived on quick fixes and unsustainable

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plans. Lose 10 pounds in 10 days.

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What they didn't tell you was that you'd gain it all back as soon as

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you smelled your first bit of homemade,

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delicious bread. But more importantly,

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GLP1 medications started to throw a, uh, wrench in

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that model. Why? Because they work.

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And not in a gimmicky short term way. You don't have

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to count points. These drugs are helping people

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lose weight and keep it off. And that's a nightmare for the

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diet industry, which relies upon

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repeat customer. More

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importantly, GLP1s are

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forcing people and companies to think beyond

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weight loss. What if instead of cutting out

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entire food groups, we focused on eating

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more nutrient dense food? What if we start asking, is this

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meal nourishing my body instead of how, um, many calories are

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this? Or my God, I can't have that Reese's peanut butter

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cup. It's like we finally realized that food

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isn't the enemy, it's our ally. Unless we're talking about

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deep fried butter on a stick, that's just

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a betrayal. Now here's where it

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gets really cool. At least for a nerd like

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me. The shift from weight loss to nutrition

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isn't just a feel good story. It's

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backed by science. Nutrient

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dense foods can boost your energy levels,

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meaning you're not going to have that 3pm slump. Support

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long term health. Lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes,

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reducing the risk of cancers, and improving mental

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clarity, because nothing feels foggy like eating crappy

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food. And here's the kicker. When you eat better, your body naturally

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finds a, uh, happier weight. Not only your high school

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weight, not only your Instagram influencer weight,

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but your real happy weight, where you feel strong and

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energized and ready to tackle life.

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GLP1s are making it easier for people to focus on those

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benefits by curbing overeating

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cravings and stopping that

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constant mental battle about food.

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Suddenly eating a salad isn't a punishment. It isn't, oh, my God,

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I have to eat kale again. It becomes a delicious

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option. So what does this hold for the future

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of diets in America? And are we finally done with fads and

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gimmicks? Probably not. There's going to be a

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huckster that's going to be out there selling you some weird

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version of their diet no matter what.

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But GLP1s are paving the

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way for smarter, healthier eating. So here's

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what I think we're going to see more of. We're going to

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see more of, uh, Mediterranean diet coming into your life

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because it's delicious and healthy. We're going to see

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more of things like the Dash diet coming into your life because it actually

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promotes reduction of high blood pressure

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by as much as a single pill. We're going to

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see less shame and more empowerment because

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GLP1s are taking the stigma out of weight

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loss. Now, there's still plenty of fat

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shaming out there. There are still plenty of people out

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there who are going to say this is the easy way.

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But honestly, it's what we've been

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waiting for.

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Before we wrap it up, let me tackle a few

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frequently asked questions about GLP1s. Number one,

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GLP1s are cheating. Cheating?

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Please. Using a tool to improve your

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health isn't cheating. It's smart. If

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these medications help you live a, uh, healthier, happier

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life, why would you suffer?

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It's a win. You

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don't have to change your diet on GLP1s. Well,

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technically, you could eat junk food and still lose some weight.

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But why would you? GLP1s

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work best in all of the studies when paired with a balanced, nutritious

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diet like a Mediterranean or dash style diet?

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Myth 3 GLP1s are for lazy

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people. Oh, yeah, the old laziness argument. Listen, folks,

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managing weight and health is hard. If these medications make

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it a little easier, stop judging and start

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supporting. And here's the final

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thing. There's some people who get on the

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GLP1 medications and many of

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them don't have a lot of support or health around them

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and they actually go on GLP1 medications and do a version of low

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carb or do some other diet or try and

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count points on Weight Watchers or get the Mayo Clinic

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Diet. You don't need to do that. What we want

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you to do is learn about healthy, nutritious

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food. And as much as there are people out there saying you have to

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focus on protein because otherwise you'll lose muscle

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mass, well, you're going to lose some muscle

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mass because you don't need as much muscle to carry around

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100 less pounds or 40 less pounds or even 20 less

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pounds. And number two, you're going to lose muscle mass

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because some of the glycogen that you've been excess storing in your

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muscles you're not going to need anymore. You do need

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to maintain your protein, but you also need to

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maintain fiber. All the micronutrients,

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all the vitamins, all the minerals.

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If you're like me, every day in your email

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box you will get letters from

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Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers,

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Mayo Clinic Diet. And I probably get those because I always want to

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see what these diets are that my patients have been on. So I'm

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seeing a lot of them this time of year. What I'm really happy

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about is that now we have something that can

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actually work. Something that allows

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you to get rid of the feeling of

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constantly needing food and

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instead begin to

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enjoy food and learn about

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food not for dieting, but food for

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eating and maintaining your nutrition.

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So the next time someone asks you what diet you're on, tell

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them I'm on the take care of my body and enjoy

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life plan. And if they look confused, send

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them a copy of this podcast.

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This is Forku with Dr. Terry Simpson. Thanks for listening.

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Don't forget to subscribe, Leave a review, share the episode with

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your favorite foodie friends and until next time, eat well. Be

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well. Remember, the best diet

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is the one that keeps you happy, healthy

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and full of flavor. This podcast

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was researched and written by me, Dr. Terry Simpson, and while

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I am a physician, I am not your

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physician. This is for entertainment and educational

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purposes only. And if you're thinking about changing your

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diet, please check with your physician and a

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registered dietitian who know your health the best so

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that they can help you garner what would be best for

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you. Mediterranean and Dash are my two

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favorites. Number two, please see a

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board certified physician in Western medicine, not one of

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these crazy chiropractors or health coaches or

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bro science buddies. They've never helped you to begin

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with. If you spend five hours a day in the gym looking at your

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abs. Well, never mind.

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Thanks to the people of Simpler Media for distributing the

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podcast and my really good friend, Evo Terra, the

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pod God. We look forward to seeing you

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all. Have a good day, everybody. We'll see you

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next time on, um. Fork you.

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Hey, Evil, do you ever think the Dash Diet stood

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for dashing to the bathroom because of all that fiber?

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Yeah,

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I guess you can take the boy out of Ketchikan,

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but.

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About the Podcast

Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson
Learn more about what you put in your mouth.
Fork U(niversity)
Not everything you put in your mouth is good for you.

There’s a lot of medical information thrown around out there. How are you to know what information you can trust, and what’s just plain old quackery? You can’t rely on your own “google fu”. You can’t count on quality medical advice from Facebook. You need a doctor in your corner.

On each episode of Your Doctor’s Orders, Dr. Terry Simpson will cut through the clutter and noise that always seems to follow the latest medical news. He has the unique perspective of a surgeon who has spent years doing molecular virology research and as a skeptic with academic credentials. He’ll help you develop the critical thinking skills so you can recognize evidence-based medicine, busting myths along the way.

The most common medical myths are often disguised as seemingly harmless “food as medicine”. By offering their own brand of medicine via foods, These hucksters are trying to practice medicine without a license. And though they’ll claim “nutrition is not taught in medical schools”, it turns out that’s a myth too. In fact, there’s an entire medical subspecialty called Culinary Medicine, and Dr. Simpson is certified as a Culinary Medicine Specialist.

Where today's nutritional advice is the realm of hucksters, Dr. Simpson is taking it back to the realm of science.

About your host

Profile picture for Terry Simpson

Terry Simpson

Dr. Terry Simpson received his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees from the University of Chicago where he spent several years in the Kovler Viral Oncology laboratories doing genetic engineering. Until he found he liked people more than petri dishes. Dr. Simpson, a weight loss surgeon is an advocate of culinary medicine, he believes teaching people to improve their health through their food and in their kitchen. On the other side of the world, he has been a leading advocate of changing health care to make it more "relationship based," and his efforts awarded his team the Malcolm Baldrige award for healthcare in 2018 and 2011 for the NUKA system of care in Alaska and in 2013 Dr Simpson won the National Indian Health Board Area Impact Award. A frequent contributor to media outlets discussing health related topics and advances in medicine, he is also a proud dad, husband, author, cook, and surgeon “in that order.”