#59–Jason Fung, M.D: Fasting as an antidote to obesity, insulin resistance, T2D, & metabolic illness

Forget about the federal dietary guidelines. Eat one ingredient whole foods and live a healthy life.

I had this discussion with my health providers. They told me that a whole food type of diet was unsustainable.

Many of my friends and family would benefit from this information. Their carbohydrate addiction has them bound.

Both are great speakers and have deep knowledge on insulin, metabolic illness.

It’s so hard to listen to Dr. Fung, he speaks as if he’s a 16 year old valley girl
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Get it together already

Insulin resistance is a protective function. Thank god we have it… t2 diabetes is the result of eating too much, full stop. That’s what metabolic syndrome is, it’s your system telling you you’re fat and to stop eating. To get rid of diabetes you need to lose weight, that’s all. If you need to pretend that fasting is a revolutionary answer, so be it… but if you look at the diabetes symptoms: weight loss, thirst, sleepiness, they are all telling you the same thing. Stop eating. Drink water to replace the liquid lost through urine (which is where your body is dumping the excess glucose from the blood) and rest.
Fasting isn’t revolutionary, it’s basic. You’ve eaten too many calories, and we know this by simply looking at you; you need to stop eating. Calories in/calories out is absolutely true, where the argument goes sideways is blood glucose stabilization. Sure, keto will stabilize blood glucose readings, but it doesn’t cure the disease… the weight loss does. Why do you lose weight on keto? Because fat is nauseating. Keto isn’t long-term sustainable because it causes heart disease, fatty liver disease, possibly Alzheimers, etc.
You can also lose weight on a WFPB high fiber diet (which for most people, as in 98%, causes zero negative effects), or starving, or just cutting calories if you like to suffer. There’s no magic involved, your body is showing you what to do.

There’s a reason the Amish say something like: if you need to eat less, your stomach will push you away from the table, and if you need to eat more, you’re closer to the table 🤷‍♀️

So how does doctor jason explain insulin resistance in lean individuals?

Thank you for all the information you provide, I am really trying to change my life so that I can live longer and be there for my kids. I’m 6’5” and was over 400 pounds last year. I’m at 309 now, and I’m trying to change the way I live instead of yo-yoing forever. I really appreciate people like you that do this.

I disagree with the comment that insulin resistance causes obesity. Obesity is a disease of the subcortical brain which causes patients to feel more hungry and less full. Patients with genetic defects in insulin signalling (i.e., insulin resistance) do not have the metabolic phenotype of obesity. Patients with lipodystrophy characterised by a lack of subcutaenous tissue have the metabolic phenotype of obesity. Therefore, patients with an inability to expand their subcutaneous adipose tissue (i.e., lipodystrophy) in response to a chronic positive energy balance store excess energy as visceral fat, which is associated with cardiometabolic disease. I do agree with the observation that patients with high levels of plasma insulin are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease to include type 2 diabetes, NAFLD, PCOS, CVD and that weight loss is key. A therapy that helps patients lose weight by feeling less hungry and more full is an effective long-term strategy (i.e., GLP-1 based therapy, metabolic surgery), which should be combined with time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting. Surgery +/- GLP-1 (or dual/tri-agonist gut peptides) combined with time restricted feeding or intermittent fasting is the ideal best strategy. Physicians, surgeons and other members of the healthcare team should work together to support patients with metabolic disease to achieve a good quality of life using a multimodal / combined approach.

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funny this is my comment after hearing this but PETER, you are a gem

Loved this so much. Would love a new interview 🙂

He said "hasn't oxidized a fatty acid since guns 'n roses was popular" 😂

A meeting of brilliant minds! Attia and Fung have helped me understand and feel empowered to work on my health, after spending most of my life feeling underserved or ignored by the medicine available to me.

Don't agree regarding not needing evidence. The physics examples he gave were not quite right. Dr Fung is a smart guy and had good reasoning but he gives himself too much credit for "inventing" therapeutic fasting. Fasting as treatment had been around for centuries.

So, why do the suitcases get too full in some people but not in others with the same habits?

Love Dr. Jason, found him during the pandemic and his inspiration and research has truely given me a more healthy eating routine.

How do you test insulin on insulin? The doctor says, it not possible

Is fasting a possiblilty with ckd?

Can't wait for you to have Bikman & learn about photobiomodulation 😊

Exercise the liver: photobiomodulation?

I wish everyone heard this discussion. We need to learn how to eat in a sea of carbs😊

Powerful podcast! Dr. Fung is the "Godfather of Fasting."
Any listener that garnered life changing knowledge from the exchanges of these two medical doctors would also realize identical results by learning from "fat cell" researcher and scientist, Dr. Ben Bikman--another talented and awesome communicator who explains the complex system of human metabolism.

I just finished a two week trial wearing a DEXCOM G7 blood glucose monitor. What an eye-opener! I am not diabetic or overweight and a reasonably healthy 73 year old female. But carry a strong genetic family history of diabetes that includes death at an early age, Alzheimer's, heart attacks, strokes, blindness, and amputations. I also carry one copy of the APOE4 gene. Nevertheless, to my saving grace, I have continuously followed the intermittent fasting and keto lifestyle for more than 10 years. During my 2 week trial period, I tested many foods and fasting time periods. OMAD is definitely beneficial for maintaining normal bg levels and losing those pounds that wouldn't budge. And white carbs are definitely substances that I would categorize as evil. The foods that barely spiked my bg included protein and fats, for example, rib eye. And quantity barely mattered. Several capsules of MCT OIL (8 & 10 only) were taken after 12 to 14 hours of an OMAD fast to curb hunger and provide fuel and they created an extremely minor spike but then leveled out to a nice even 88 to 92 bg reading for a couple of hours. I suggest anyone who wants to use AUTOPHAGY to correct medical issues watch Dr. Boz and her Keto Continuum fasting program. My goal is to reduce and remove any plaque build up in my carotid arteries which through scans show a 55-60 % blockage although my recent CT Angiogram with Calcium Score reports a score of 0. I hope to get a CIMT scan soon, which will give me a more accurate reading of plaque buildup. I highly recommend using a continuous glucose monitor or the very least, employing an AccuChek meter and pricking your finger to read your bg levels. BTW: the DMG7 is about 7-9 pts lower than the AccuChek, as I would sometimes use both to check for accuracy. The AccuChek meter is considered more accurate. I am going to miss my DMG7. Unless, you take insulin once a day or diagnosed hypoglycemic, insurance will not cover it. The purchase of the meter is over $400 and the sensors are an additional $400 a month. So I have now returmed to my AccuChek for bg readings. More accurate but not as consistently informative during a continuous 24 hour period. 😢

So, diabetes cure = fasting. End of story.

How can fat or being overweight drive obesity, to me that wouldnt biologically make sense because then it would be like humans would not be meant to lose weight even though fat is created as a storage form of energy that is meant to be used in times of famine...sorry, just rambling

Ironic this came up on my feed; i had been rereading dr F's earlier book "obesity code ". He has a rare talent of looking deeply. The suit case paradigm is only useful for a single cell. And somewhat forgets the wife isn't yelling but dumping suitcases inside LDL.. Feldman calls this the FedEx truck not the airplane. I think i read [fung books' ?] every cell in the body is within 5 cells of a blood transport cell [cappillary artery etc. The kidney even more dense.

I would like to clip parts of this video [it's how i learn suitcases on my bookshelf] but you tube won;t let me put into a comment (or any liink)... u should consider turning on superthanks here i didn't want to subscribe but would donate occasionally

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A nagging question I have is if you actually take the insulin out using semaglutide , what could be the reason for muscle loss seen in many patients and is it related? Do the muscle cells interpret the decreased insulin as a reduced need for the muscle cells and starts to atrophy?

What is a type Ii suppose to do? My doc says keto is bad ( been thru lots of docs all say same standard of practice dogma)stopped my insulin keto and TRE and in 4 months dropped 40lbs labs good.
Put me back on insulin bec said labs said I was DKA I had no symptoms but she told me I needed to go to Er get admitted.
ER was too crowded.
Anyway, gained all weight back. I’m 68, diag 2006
What to do.?I Can’t hardly move about so can’t exc any more right now.

I take 3 Hydrocodone 7.5 with 2 Large 16 Oz Coffee's every time I Wake up from at Least 4 Hours of Sleep and that Helps with the Inflammation .

I listen to Dr. Fung a lot but this is one of the best.Peter is struggling too keep up.shows how super knowledgeable Dr. Fung is compared to most.

Randle Cycle is active when cells are full of glucose and or fatty acids.
This is a self preservation mechanism that is perfectly natural and explains why some cells are resistant and others are not.
Lowering insulin is simply acheived by lowering glucose!
Eat less carbohydrate and less often!

I was with someone one morning, a T2D with weeping legs. Every day a DN would turn up to check and change the bandages. Another nurse turns up to administer insulin saying don't forget to keep your BG up by eating a healthy breakfast. Her recommendation was cereal with skim milk, toast with a low fat spread and jam. All washed down with a glass of juice.

Great job explaining complex concepts

One of the best discussions I have heard in the drive. Thanks to both of you!!

Is Dr Attia still deeply invested in conventional old and over come standards?

The interviewer talks too much and over the typical listers head

Good, but so many words, keep it shorter.

Good discussion

I prefer Dr Jason Fung's way of helping patients.

Hi Docrors! Please use your teaching gifts tto explain the function of GLUCAGON in the body in relation to INSULIN when doing a carb restricted diet or fasting. It seems GLUCAGON has been overlooked in many presentations as the primary ANTI INSULIN HORMONE and fat burner in the weight loss journey. 👍Also, just want want to offer you both a thousand thanks for your work! 🤗😊You finally helped me understand the Obesity disease problem I've dealt with my entire life. I finally realize "THEY" lied to me: Obesity is NOT a MORAL problem but a HORMONAL MEDICAL problem. It's not my moral fault as the Patient (sloth, gluttony), it's the Medical System's fault (greed, disloyalty, arrogance) for giving me the wrong education on what TYPES of foods I I need to be eating to lose weight long term. The Medical System is the immoral agent in the scenario and not me!! 😠😡

Fantastic podcast!! Love the analogies, humour, and both your experience with in-clinic with actual patients. Dr. Fung's patient's diabetic foot ulcer healing within a matter of weeks was mind-blowing!! Thanks, Dr. Attia, for asking about the electrolytes while fasting, as well as the gallbladder question at the end - both have been on my mind as I start my fasting journey. Literal LOLs at Dr. Fung's son's school trip and "Your son is going on a trip, but don't worry we're going to give him lots of snacks. I'm like, 'Ugh, why, why did you need to do that?!'" and "As soon as you get up, you gotta start putting muffins in your mouth, otherwise you're going to die!!" :D

My knees brought me here 😃

He says fructose caused fatty liver? Then fructarians should all have fatty livers, shouldn't they? Or does he explicitely mean added fructose?