In Dr. Bill Wilson’s original work, identifying the problem was only the beginning. The more important discovery came next: The process driving CARB syndrome is reversible. This shifts the conversation from managing symptoms to restoring function. For individuals...

In Dr. Bill Wilson’s original observations, one pattern stood out above everything else: People didn’t suddenly develop metabolic problems. They transitioned into them. Before weight gain, before chronic fatigue, before metabolic dysfunction became obvious — there...

Cognitive decline rarely begins suddenly. It begins subtly. Names take longer to recall. Focus requires more effort. Stress feels harder to regulate. Sleep becomes lighter and less restorative. Many high-performing professionals dismiss these changes as aging or...

Obesity and brain disorders are rising at the same time. Most healthcare conversations treat them as separate issues. Weight gain is discussed in one office. Anxiety, depression, brain fog, and mood instability are discussed in another. A metabolic health advisor...

For decades, dietary advice has focused primarily on weight, cholesterol, and heart disease. What has often been overlooked is how food directly impacts the brain. A modern metabolic health consultant looks beyond calories and macronutrient ratios. The more important...

The treatment protocol that improves brain health, reverses fat gain, and restores function Once I identified the trigger and mechanism behind CARB Syndrome, I spent years refining an approach to treat the root cause—not just the symptoms. The protocol is deceptively...

How modern food triggers a neurological cascade mistaken for dozens of diseases While collaborating with researchers studying monoamine neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine—I began running neurotransmitter tests during glucose tolerance testing. What...

What 10,000 body composition measurements revealed about modern disease In the early 2000s, as obesity rates began skyrocketing across the United States, doctors were instructed to diagnose obesity using BMI. Yet BMI measures size, not fat. So I invested in equipment...

Why the Most Common Chronic Disease in the Modern World Remains Undefined Throughout human history, identifying a disease required three simple things: Recognizable symptoms A predictable clinical course Abnormal physical findings or lab results With today’s...

CARB Syndrome is one of the most common—but least recognized—medical conditions affecting people today. Characterized by cravings, weight gain, brain fog, irritability, fatigue, and emotional volatility, CARB Syndrome is a diet-induced brain disorder triggered by...

If you’ve asked yourself, “Why aren’t my antidepressants working?” or “Why do I feel emotionally flat but still tired, foggy, and craving food?” you are not alone. Millions of people are taking medications for depression and never fully improving. In fact, many...

Today, more people than ever before are being diagnosed with depression. But paradoxically, fewer people than ever are experiencing the symptoms that historically defined depression—such as appetite loss and weight loss. Instead, most modern “depressed” individuals...

For decades, depression was understood as a condition marked by a predictable set of symptoms: low mood, loss of interest, hopelessness, slowed thinking, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, and—historically—loss of appetite and weight loss. In classical medical...

As a physician with over 45 years of clinical experience, I have a unique perspective on sickness and health. Humans have dealt with illnesses and trauma, leading to poor health, since the dawn of mankind. Until the last 100 years or so, treatments were quite limited...

You are likely already aware of the hits that ultra-processed food has taken over recent years. This type of food is now recognized as one of the drivers of many common diseases. My friend and colleague Dr. Robert Lustig outlines this process in detail in his...

I feel blessed to have had a front row seat to observe the remarkable advances in technology that have taken place over the past century. During this time, we went from traveling by a horse and buggy to just about everyone owning and driving their own automobile. My...

If you've been following the evolution of our current obesity epidemic, likely you have heard the term "Body Mass Index" or BMI. It's a height/weight formula used to diagnose and manage obesity. The formula is BMI = kg/m 2 where kg is your weight in kilograms and m 2...

The rather sudden advent of a new class of weight loss drugs including Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy is taking the world of obesity by storm. These new medications enhance a hormone called GLP-1, and that’s important because this amazing molecule is secreted by both...

Mexico recently surpassed the United States as having the most obese population on the planet. As I write this, I am sitting in my condo in Mazatlán, Mexico, and this tragedy is apparent everywhere we go in this beautiful country. The people of Mexico were once the...

We are now facing a second COVID-19 epidemic—the emergence of so-called long haul COVID-19. Infectious disease expert Dr. Eric Topol and colleagues estimate that over 65 thousand individuals around the world now have what is termed “long COVID-19”. This is a common...

You have likely read about the headline-grabbing sad saga of Brian Walshe and his wife Ana Walshe. Ana has been missing for several weeks and as time has dragged on, her husband Thomas has moved to the center stage of possible suspects in her disappearance. This story...

Our current obesity epidemic started rolling along over the past 50-75 years. Prior to that, and certainly throughout antiquity, obesity was rather rare. In today’s world obesity has become the norm rather than the exception. To understand this dramatic change, we...

You likely have heard about the woes of newly elected New York Republican house member George Santos. The inconsistencies in Santo’s history were first published by New York Times reporter Michael Gold. Gold reported: “By his account, he catapulted himself from a New...

Because I haven’t personally evaluated or treated the Club Q killer Anderson Lee Aldrich, I can’t formally diagnose him with a medical condition. Because of the tragic nature of this incident, I do think some diagnostic speculation is in order. After viewing the above...

When it comes to brain issues, most people aren’t focused on the key chemicals that drive brain function—monoamine neurotransmitters. These are the chemicals that allow neurons to communicate with each other. Scientists have identified over 100 different...

I been preaching about the adverse effects of highly processed food on brain function for many decades. Over time, this type of diet can screw up your brain in a predictable way that fits the pattern of a disease. I call this disease Carbohydrate Associated Reversible...

When it comes to critical public health issues, there is one fact that’s hard to dispute. We are now in the clutches of a massive, world-wide obesity epidemic. The United States has been at the vortex of this dramatic development. There are virtually endless academic...

As a physician, I also like to consider myself to be a scientist. The question then arises, what type of scientist? Science has two separate interwoven categories—empirical science and evidence-based science. Observations in the real world drive empirical science. Sir...

Because we live in Boston and have a condo near Tampa, we naturally cheered for Tom Brady during the Super Bowl. In my opinion, his outstanding performance is the result of two elements beyond just being in shape: He has excellent brain function. He has decades of...

Various countries and states have considered a tax on sugar over the past decade, and a few countries like Mexico have been successful at instituting a national sugar tax. The reasoning behind such a tax is clear:  over-consumption of sugar in food and beverages is...

The Trump Implosion Just about everyone on the face of the earth has witnessed President Trump's meltdown over the past several months. All that's left to do is analyze what happened and judge Trump for his actions. Unless you can get inside someone's head, it's...

As you well know, it's been quite the year, capped off by a very unusual Presidential campaign. I'm not going into the weeds to tell you how to vote or get into messy policy issues, but I will point out some core differences in each candidate's relative cognitive...

In May, this article appeared in JAMA Psychiatry. The article is about the high incidence of anxiety disorders in children, and its authors are Kristy Benoit Allen, Ph.D., Margaret Benningfield, MD, and Jennifer Urbano Blackford, Ph.D. The article claims that at least...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Throughout history, malnourishment and starvation have been associated with a lack of food. The World Health Organization...

As some of you know, I am a family physician interested in the connection between diet, inflammation, and brain disorders. I have spent decades trying to help patients improve their health. Based on my observations and study of the literature, I have introduced a new...

I was greatly saddened when Little Richard, one of the most talented singers in modern history, passed away on May 9th. In honor of his memory, I pulled up this version of his classic song “Lucille” on YouTube. Other than the raw talent of this great singer, the next...

Since COVID-19 hit the scene, the art of predicting where this bus is going has become the latest contact sport. How many people will be infected? How many of those who are infected will get sick and recover? How many of those who get sick will die? How many who...

On May 26th President Trump announced at a news conference that he has mandated that the cost for insulin for Medicare patients be lowered to no more than $35 per month—a significant reduction. Humana is one of the largest healthcare organizations in the world and the...

I have some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad news. Despite all the suppression, social distancing, masks, handwashing, national lockdowns, hand sanitizer, and sequestering, there is approximately an 80-90% chance that you will get this virus...

The “No Kid Hungry” program’s primary goal is to end childhood hunger in America. On the surface, this certainly seems like a laudable goal. It is run by a large nonprofit organization called “Share Our Strength”, that collects money to provide food for hungry...

As the epidemic of COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, I have noticed some interesting patterns. Most have noticed that young, healthy people seem to generally get a pass, and they rarely get sick enough to end up in the hospital on a vent. As age increases, the...

It seems like the news about the coronavirus tends to crowd out any other information in popular media. Everyone is talking about or running from the threat of this new virus, one that seems to be spreading around the world at a rapid rate. I always like to take the...

We are currently staying at our condo in Mazatlan, Mexico. Every time we have come here in recent years, I have noticed two glaring ubiquitous elements about their culture in Mazatlan, and likely throughout Mexico.

You go to your physician or psychiatrist and give them a list of unusual symptoms that you have noticed. Something is wrong, and you want it to be fixed. Your health care provider will then group your symptoms into categories that coincide with mental health disorders...

I’m sure you’re as sick as I am of the constant “My Pillow” ads that saturate virtually every TV channel 24/7. Mike repeatedly states: “My passion is to help each and every one of you to get the best sleep of your life.” He seems to be sincere, but I also know that he...

Ever since our Rafaella, our five-year-old daughter turned one, shortly after Thanksgiving, the somewhat mischievous Elf on a Shelf would start showing up in our house. This pint-sized Elf would mysteriously be found sitting at various places in our home when Rafaella...

Suicide is now the 10th most common cause of death in the United States, and the risk is highest in younger age groups. The overall rate of suicide has dramatically increased by 33% between 1999 and 2017. Another remarkable statistic is that this dramatic increase in...

After the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Ohio, most people are wondering what motivates these people to perform such horrible acts. "Mental health" is often mentioned, but most of these young male shooters don't have an established history of a distinct mental...

Fast food is a food item that has had a series of mechanical or chemical operations performed on it to change or preserve it. Although today processed food has taken its licks, the human race has been processing food for over 10,000 years. That's about the time we...

You went to your healthcare provider with a long list of bothersome and somewhat unusual complaints. Perhaps you were expecting his or her response, or perhaps it was a complete surprise, but now you have been officially diagnosed with one or more mental illnesses or...

I sometimes like to watch Mark Levin’s Fox show “Life, Liberty and Levin”. I usually try to tune in because he seems to have a unique ability to draw information out of a broad range of interesting people, making him more or less a male Barbara Walters. Last week I...

I live North of Boston, so Dunkin Donuts has been a major part of my life for many years. Every workday you will find me queued up at my local Dunkin Donuts. I always order the same thing—large, hot, black coffee. Even though they have seen me order this a billion...

I rarely blog twice about the same topic, but this will be an exception. If you read my first blog, you already know my initial impression of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh. I believe that Dr. Ford has significant food-induced brain dysfunction or CARB...

Fear of Flying? What the Heck is that all About? First of all, I have no idea whether or not Brett Kavanaugh sexually abused Christine Blasy Ford. This sort of “he said, she said” situations are always difficult to sort out. As a physician with an interest in...

If I am going to write about everything that's wrong with the health care system in the United States, I would need to write at least a 2,000-part series, assuming that I stuck with only the major flaws. To keep things simple, I'll start by examining what our...

In a way, it seems like a silly question. With world poverty, trade wars, possibly nuclear war, environmental devastation and other disasters on the menu of current events, the fact remains that many people in the world don't have enough food to sustain a reasonable...

As long as I can remember, one of my favorite activities has been intense people watching. For me this has never been a casual activity. When my Greek wife and I first started dating almost 15 years ago, she sometimes accused me of “ogling” other women when we were...

That’s why I anticipated the recent Science journal article from the Brain Consortium. Huge, humongous, enormous, gargantuan, colossal—I’m not sure if any of these adjectives fully grasp the impact of this article. Even though the title “Analysis of Shared...

When I woke up Friday morning, along with the rest of the world I was shocked to learn of the apparent suicide of celebrity TV personality and chef Anthony Bourdain.  Most of you are probably familiar with his hit show Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown where he traveled...

Bipolar disorder (BPD) or what has historically been referred to as manic depressive disorder is one of the big 3 classic psychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia round out this sad triad that has likely plagued humans since the dawn of...

Or  "Honey, I Just Blew up the Field of Psychiatry!" A “humongous” study was recently published in Lancet that supposedly laid to rest the issue of whether or not antidepressants are effective. The study was titled “Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21...

Because of my long-standing interest in nutrition, especially the connection between diet and brain function, I am constantly amazed at the number and variety of folks who claim to have some degree of nutritional expertise. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry...

Academic medicine has never been enthusiastic about the general public taking unregulated supplements. These supplements cover a broad range, from common vitamins and minerals to more esoteric targeted supplements. I suspect one big reason for their distain is because...

I’m not normally the type of person who focuses on the end of my life. In my opinion life is for the living, so this is where I like to spend my time and effort. That is until I was recently scheduled for a cardiac ablation procedure for my intermittent irregular...

You’ll have to excuse my pun but America, Mexico, Sugar and Trump do seem to be part of the same twisted and distorted tale. First things first. Unless you are deaf, dumb and blind or living on the moon, the science is in and sugar is out. If has been confirmed beyond...

Being from Boston, I like reading my “home town” medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine. This is likely the most prestigious medical journal in the world, yet I find it interesting just how often they get things wrong. NEJM—Master of Mistakes? In 1980...

Although stress seems to be on everyone’s mind, it is a surprisingly difficult term to define. The ancient Greek stoic Epictetus stated: “People are disturbed not by a thing, but by their perception of a thing”. Overall I think this statement is true, but it doesn’t...

Recently as we rushed through the Tampa airport I noticed in one of the bookstores a glossy “Special Edition” from Time titled “Mindfulness—The New Science of Health and Happiness.” On the cover was a picture of a blissful young lady who appeared to be totally tuned...

One of the first things I noticed after I purchased my condo in Mazatlan Mexico in 2003 was the massive amounts of Coca-Cola that were being consumed by virtually all Mexicans at virtually every income level. I later found out that per capita, Mexican’s are the...

Trust me, nobody wants to grow old without taking your brain along for the ride. I’m 68 years old and I have a three-year old daughter, so leaving my brain behind would be a very poor personal choice and trust me when I say choice. When it comes to protecting and...

I have had a very personal relationship with Alzheimer’s disease for many years. As a primary care physician I have treated hundreds of patients with this devastating illness for over four decades. My grandmother Amber succumbed to this horrible disease in her 60s and...

The Curse of Panic Attacks Just about all of us have experienced severe anxiety or panic at some point in our lives. You know, the feeling of absolute and uncontrollable anxiety and dread accompanied by cold sweats, rapid and labored breathing, a pounding heart and...

For over 40 years I have been preaching the wisdom of eating healthy whole foods and avoiding highly processed manufactured “fake” food. For decades many professionals, researchers, the government and the general public were caught up in the low fat debacle but today...

For over 40 years I have been studying the extremely complex connection between food and brain function. Many experts have recognized the connection between highly processed food and various common brain disorders. Their perspective goes something like this:  You eat...

A recent article in the Boston Globe titled “A Broken Covenant”  outlines the dismal failure of Massachusetts’s efforts to manage mental health over the past few decades.  A long line of Governors, politicians and bureaucrats has closed many of the state’s inpatient...

It seems like daily we are exposed to headlines implying that two variables are somehow connected. From there it is a short step to concluding that one variable is causing or strongly influencing the other variable. On the surface this is the “correlation suggests...

I certainly agree with most of the points in this recent New York Times Op-Ed article "Sugar Season. It’s Everywhere and Addictive." I communicate frequently with my friend Dr. DiNicolantonio and we share many views about the dangers of refined sugars. Pioneers like...

A recent study titled “Incidence of Childhood Obesity in the United States” recently published in the NEJM has sent obesity experts around the world scrambling. The study took a longitudinal view of over 7,000 kindergarten children and followed their weight and height...

We have come to a place where most people agree that hunger should be eliminated in our country.

Virtually all common brain and psychiatric disorders are defined by a set of characteristic symptoms. There is no biological test for conditions like depression, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and similar conditions. Where do these symptoms come from?...

The short answer is no. I am a strong believer in the importance of following a healthy diet. In my opinion the majority of the chronic illnesses that we see in our patients are driven by years of eating a poor diet. I encourage my patients to follow a low...

When an almost unspeakable tragedy occurs like the recent murder of 20 innocent children and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut, our first task is to absorb the event and then mourn for those lost and for their families and friends. Because of the nature of this crime, this process will take some time. Before the tears begin to dry, it’s also important to start asking the Who, How, Why and What questions in the important effort to try to prevent similar events in the future.

Can You Really Diagnose Psychiatric Illnesses With a Scan?

Daniel Amen is a Psychiatrist who has made quite a name for himself—and a ton of money, by using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans to diagnose and manage patients with brain disorders. He claims that these expensive scans help him to make more accurate diagnoses and guide him in making proper treatment decisions. He is also a very good salesman, promoting his approach on late night Infomercials.

Over the years many clinical studies have shown that obesity and depression tend to be co-morbid. That means that they tend to occur together without necessarily having a cause and effect relationship. When conditions tend to occur together, scientists naturally want...

A recent letter in the Journal Nature outlined the results of a long-term study on the effects of calorie restriction (CR) on longevity in rhesus monkeys.  Click to read. You have probably already heard about the supposed benefits of restricting calories on length of...