TFP #007 - Nicholas Verhoeven PhD: Deep Dive on LDL, Causation & Scientific Method

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, can the principles of metabolic flexibility reframe how athletes — and everyday people — think about fueling exercise? Dave Feldman sits down with Bronson Dant (metabolic performance coach and doctoral candidate in health science), who makes the case that food is function, not fuel. Bronson discusses his Army nutrition research experience, his carnivore diet journey and its effect on longstanding IBS, the distinction between fitness and health, oxidative priority debates, and emerging research on ketogenic adaptation timelines.

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, what does emerging research actually reveal about cardiovascular risk in people who develop extreme LDL elevations on ketogenic diets — and how much remains genuinely unresolved? Zachary DiMattia (nutritional scientist, Penn State) joins Dave to discuss his published review on ketogenic diet–induced LDL elevations in normal-weight adults, presents preliminary findings from his controlled feeding study comparing low- and high-BMI responses to a ketogenic diet, and engages Dave in a frank debate over plaque progression data, the lipid hypothesis, and the novel regressor findings from the Keto-CTA cohort.🔥 This episode is sponsored by us --Own Your Labs 👉 `https://ownyourlabs.com/sp/54` Private blood testing services🩸Over 300 blood tests💰Extremely affordable❤️ We love our customers(Yes, we are literally funding the entire podcast from our own company -- so if you want to show your support, keep getting your private blood testing through our service. Thank you! 🙏)🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN:Main Channel: `https://youtube.com/@realDaveFeldman`X/Twitter: `https://x.com/realDaveFeldman`Instagram: `https://instagram.com/realDaveFeldman`Website: `https://thefeldmanprotocol.com`⏱ Chapters0:00 – Cold open & key findings preview1:24 – Zachary's background intro5:02 – Path to nutrition research8:01 – Hashimoto's diagnosis journey13:27 – Elimination diet & gluten discovery21:49 – Interest in ketogenic LDL response26:03 – Penn State controlled feeding study design34:12 – Preliminary study results41:40 – Review paper overview51:04 – Lipid hypothesis steel-man debate1:05:49 – LMHR phenotype & clinical context1:18:35 – Proposed mechanisms beyond LEM1:26:14 – Keto-CTA plaque progression data1:40:41 – Regressor findings & noise floor1:49:09 – Miami Heart match analysis2:03:50 – Mechanisms: adiposity & cholesterol2:14:52 – Nature CT study comparison2:43:29 – Audience questions & closing thoughts#FeldmanProtocol #DaveFeldman #ZacharyDiMattia #LeanMassHyperResponder #KetogenicDiet #LDLCholesterol #Cardiovascular #Atherosclerosis #LipidResearch #NutritionalScience #CholesterolResearch #PlaqueProg #KetoCTA #LipidEnergyModel #Cardiometabolic #LowCarbResearch #Bloodwork #HeartHealth

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, can what we eat meaningfully influence the course of serious mental illness? Dave sits down with Lauren Kennedy West (mental health advocate and YouTuber living with schizoaffective disorder) to explore her personal journey from multiple hospitalizations and misdiagnoses to adopting therapeutic ketosis. Lauren makes the case for metabolic psychiatry as a complement to traditional care, discusses the identity challenges of sharing her N-of-1 experiment publicly, reflects on navigating medication tapering, community polarization, the role of AI in personalized care, and the social complexity of restrictive eating.🔥 This episode is sponsored by us --Own Your Labs 👉 `https://ownyourlabs.com/sp/53` Private blood testing services🩸Over 300 blood tests💰Extremely affordable❤️ We love our customers(Yes, we are literally funding the entire podcast from our own company -- so if you want to show your support, keep getting your private blood testing through our service. Thank you! 🙏)🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN:Main Channel: `https://youtube.com/@realDaveFeldman`X/Twitter: `https://x.com/realDaveFeldman`Instagram: `https://instagram.com/realDaveFeldman`Website: `https://thefeldmanprotocol.com`⏱ Chapters0:00 – Cold open & sucralose reaction1:14 – Lauren introduces herself2:46 – Early symptoms & the teenage years6:00 – First diagnosis journey8:20 – Hospitalizations & ECT11:46 – Dave's reflections on illness identity15:27 – YouTube channel origins19:32 – First attempt at ketogenic diet23:46 – Accessing metabolic psychiatry32:16 – Community reaction to going keto37:54 – Eating disorder concerns & food identity42:14 – The sushi experiment in San Francisco50:38 – Defined by wellness, not illness54:32 – Medication tapering & potentiation1:00:04 – Running, soccer & the ACL injury1:07:53 – Kids, diet, and parenting challenges1:17:00 – Metabolic Mind partnership & the course1:19:18 – Desk questions: dirty keto & sucralose1:23:08 – Meds vs. metabolic therapy: how it feels1:28:52 – Traveling keto & snack strategies1:39:31 – Community building & echo chambers1:47:42 – Social media, nuance & polarization1:58:11 – Platform challenges & demonetization2:05:53 – Patient autonomy & medical humility2:14:05 – Living well: nuance over narrative2:21:26 – AI in diagnostics & mental health care2:31:00 – AI sycophancy & trust concerns2:39:23 – The future of AI-assisted therapy2:46:09 – Parallels: AI guardrails & patient autonomy2:51:55 – Where to find Lauren#FeldmanProtocol #DaveFeldman #LaurenKennedyWest #MetabolicPsychiatry #KetogenicDiet #MentalHealth #Schizoaffective #SchizophreniaAwareness #BrainEnergy #TherapeuticKetosis #MentalWellness #NutritionAndMindHealth #AIInHealthcare #PatientAutonomy #LowCarbLife #ChristopherPalmer #MetabolicMind #MentalHealthAdvocacy

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, how does metabolic health shape cardiovascular risk — and does the conventional focus on individual biomarkers miss the bigger picture? Dave Feldman sits down with cardiologist Arthur Agatston (MD), creator of the South Beach Diet and the coronary calcium score, to explore blood pressure guideline debates, insulin resistance and preeclampsia, the origins of the South Beach Diet, LP(a) and plaque progression in lean mass hyper-responders, HDL dysfunction, and the lipid energy model's structural hypothesis.🔥 This episode is sponsored by us --Own Your Labs 👉 `https://ownyourlabs.com/sp/52` Private blood testing services🩸Over 300 blood tests💰Extremely affordable❤️ We love our customers(Yes, we are literally funding the entire podcast from our own company -- so if you want to show your support, keep getting your private blood testing through our service. Thank you! 🙏)🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN:Main Channel: `https://youtube.com/@realDaveFeldman`X/Twitter: `https://x.com/realDaveFeldman`Instagram: `https://instagram.com/realDaveFeldman`Website: `https://thefeldmanprotocol.com`⏱ Chapters0:00 – Introduction & cold open2:02 – Blood pressure monitoring technology6:57 – Dave & Arthur on BP guideline debates9:36 – Cholesterol targets & guideline pressures12:20 – Type 1 diabetes & low-carb care gaps15:26 – Joseph Kraft, insulin, and missed signals21:53 – Inertia in medicine & the role of AI27:06 – Insulin resistance, Kraft test & preeclampsia33:40 – Origins of the South Beach Diet40:17 – Carbohydrate addiction & personal experience51:32 – Elimination diets & unexpected symptom relief57:04 – Fat adaptation & lipoprotein dynamics1:00:00 – Triglycerides, remnant particles & VLDL1:05:11 – Particle size, ApoB & atherogenicity1:11:19 – LP(a) findings in lean mass hyper-responders1:19:45 – FH, plaque progression & LDL context1:33:31 – 4S trial, small dense LDL & statin data1:40:11 – HDL dysfunction & the HDL bump phenotype1:56:21 – Lipid energy model & structural hypothesis2:01:38 – Fat adaptation, F1, and closing reflections#FeldmanProtocol #DaveFeldman #ArthurAgatston #LipidEnergyModel #InsulinResistance #HeartHealth #CalciumScore #LDLCholesterol #MetabolicHealth #LowCarb #KetogenicDiet #ApoB #HDLDysfunction #Preeclampsia #SouthBeachDiet #Lipoproteins #CardiovascularResearch #FunctionalCardiology

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, how does metabolic health shape cardiovascular risk — and what does that mean for interpreting cholesterol markers in lean, low-carb individuals? Arthur Agatston (MD) makes the case for a functional model of atherosclerosis progression, discusses AI-driven advances in cardiac imaging, argues for revisiting how blood pressure is measured and treated, and explores electrolyte management on ketogenic diets — all through a wide-ranging scientific conversation with Dave.🔥 This episode is sponsored by us --Own Your Labs 👉 `https://ownyourlabs.com/sp/51` Private blood testing services🩸Over 300 blood tests💰Extremely affordable❤️ We love our customers(Yes, we are literally funding the entire podcast from our own company -- so if you want to show your support, keep getting your private blood testing through our service. Thank you! 🙏)🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN:Main Channel: `https://youtube.com/@realDaveFeldman`X/Twitter: `https://x.com/realDaveFeldman`Instagram: `https://instagram.com/realDaveFeldman`Website: `https://thefeldmanprotocol.com`⏱ Chapters0:00 – Cold open & intro7:11 – Late eating & metabolic effects12:37 – Western diet spreading globally18:07 – Personal fat threshold explained23:01 – Lipid energy model & LDL cycling30:26 – Exercise type & lipoprotein uptake38:39 – AI-enhanced cardiac imaging45:17 – Arterial flexibility & plaque burden53:20 – South Beach Diet origins1:00:39 – Scientific uncertainty in medicine1:06:41 – LMHR study: plaque findings1:16:57 – Plaque regression & calcification1:26:57 – Photon CT & next-gen imaging1:33:20 – Hypertension history & FDR1:41:30 – Blood pressure measurement issues1:49:44 – Keto, insulin & sodium loss1:55:09 – Overhydration & electrolyte balance2:00:08 – Electrolyte management on keto#FeldmanProtocol #DaveFeldman #ArthurAgatston #CardiovascularHealth #LowCarbDiet #LeanMassHyperResponder #LipidEnergyModel #HeartHealth #CACScore #KetogenicDiet #Atherosclerosis #BloodPressure #Electrolytes #MetabolicHealth #SouthBeachDiet #CardiacImaging #AIinMedicine #Cholesterol