The Big Picture

Before diving into “metabolic dysfunction,” I want to share my approach to health and scientific research… My greatest strength lies in simplifying complex scientific and biological concepts into clear, relatable language. This skill, honed through my extensive medical, biological, and business experience, allows me to make intricate topics accessible to a wide audience, regardless of age or background.

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My mission is to inspire action beyond the medical community by uniting voices to drive meaningful change. Humanity stands at a pivotal moment in history, facing urgent challenges in diet, lifestyle, and environmental sustainability. Without collective effort, these critical transformations cannot occur, and the consequences may be catastrophic. Together, we can shape a healthier, more sustainable future before it’s too late.

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If these conditions were imposed on animals without our capacity to adapt, extinction would likely follow. Think this sounds exaggerated? Consider this: 99% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct. This stark reality is a reminder that no living organism, including humanity, is immune to existential threats.

Ironically, it’s our adaptability that has brought us to this point. Just 12,000 years ago, humanity had not yet developed agriculture or domesticated animals. Instead, we thrived as hunter-gatherers, a lifestyle our physiology had evolved to support over millions of years. During that time, humans lived primarily in a state of ketosis, driven by the natural scarcity of food—a stark contrast to the abundance we experience today.

The advent of agriculture revolutionized food production, enabling us to harvest more than we could consume immediately. Excess crops were stored or used to feed livestock, ensuring sustenance through harsh winters. Among the first domesticated animals were sheep, valued for their meat, milk, and skins, with domestication occurring between 11,000 and 9,000 BC. When colonists brought sheep to America, they relied on wool for clothing to survive cold winters, further underscoring the importance of agriculture and animal domestication in human survival.

Jumping forward in time, to the end of WWII…We had just dropped the atomic bomb and won the war. Our technological development was among the best in the world, and life was good… employment was high and we became complacent. We were busy and prosperous and did not have the time to prepare food as we once did. Then…fast and ultra processed food came into our life…and so began the decline of our national health.

Metabolic Dysfunction

In an effort to reduce the incidence of heart attacks and vascular disease, our government urged the food industry to reduce fats in our diet, thought to be the cause of cardiovascular disease. The result was the worst thing they could have done…They invented “hydrogenation” that turned seed oils into margarine to replace butter and other saturated fats. What they unwittingly created were TRANS-fats that allowed food to remain fresh for far longer by preventing rancidity. There was one major problem…they created an unnatural molecule that our DNA could not distinguish from natural fatty acids. They also invented low-fat substitutes that added sugar, salt, and thickeners to improve taste and texture that increased calories from carbohydrates and lowered nutritional value.

Where are trans fats found

Trans fats can be found in many processed foods, including: 

• Margarine, vegetable shortening, and nondairy creamer 

• Fried foods 

• Baked goods like cakes, pies, and cookies

• Refrigerated dough 

• Some snack foods like chips and crackers 

How they affect your health

Trans fats can: 

• Clog arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and deaths 

• Raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels in the blood 

• Promote inflammation, which can lead to chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis 

• Reduce the healthy responsiveness of endothelial cells, which line blood vessels 

In summary, our DNA and RNA use these unnatural molecules to build the most important component of our cells…the mitochondria. The mitochondria are responsible for turning our food into energy. Our body metabolizes our food to form glucose which then enters the bloodstream to reach all our cells. Insulin helps the glucose pass through cell membrane (In the brain this is called the blood brain barrier). Eventually glucose reaches the mitochondria where a process called “oxidative phosphorylation” converts fuel from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP)…our body’s source of life-energy. This is the primary way that cells produce energy from glucose or ketones using oxygen.

The issue is that when defective mitochondria made from trans-fats or caused by other environmental factors don’t work properly…they are said to be “dysfunctional”. In addition to lowered energy output, this inefficiency creates what are called “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) that form as a result of internal “electron leakage” in the mitochondria. Reactive Oxygen Species can cause significant damage to cellular components like proteins, lipids, and DNA, leading to a range of health problems including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, aging, and inflammation.

Another problem caused by mitochondrial dysfunction is “Insulin Resistance” which impairs the cell’s ability to properly utilize glucose, causing an accumulation of lipid metabolites and fat production that interferes with insulin signaling. This combined with an inactive lifestyle leads to “Metabolic Syndrome” which is a cluster of health conditions, including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess belly fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels…and these two factors contribute to almost every known chronic disease.

Recent scientific evidence shows that the cause of most chronic diseases which affect 40% of our total population is metabolic in origin. This includes cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, and most recently CANCER. Each of these were previously thought to be the result of genetics or environmental toxins. The most important factor responsible for metabolic dysfunction is DIET.

The following podcast features Professor Thomas Seyfried, one of the world’s most respected authorities on cancer. Like myself, Dr. Seyfried sees human health through the lens of evolution, which demonstrates our physiological adaptations. If you listen to the first 15 minutes of the podcast, you will learn the facts that led him to conclude that cancer is primarily caused by metabolic insufficiencies. When finished, click the X on the tab at the top of the page to return to this newsletter.

Metabolic Therapy - We Know How to Deal with Cancer (click to launch)

Beyond diet, our environment has now become toxic mainly as a result of the byproducts of human technology. One of the best places to begin this discussion is the development of the oil industry.  At the time of his death in 1937, JD Rockefeller was worth 24 billion dollars in today’s money.  Standard Oil became Exxon in 1973 and remains the largest public oil company in the world. Pollution resulting from petroleum’s use is responsible for 47% of total annual U.S. energy-related CO₂ emissions in the US, and 33% of the world’s total. But let’s not forget about the use of tetraethyl lead used to improve performance of internal combustion engines that was banned in 1996 except for small aircraft. This was responsible for the release of 7 million tons of lead into the atmosphere in the US alone.

Now consider the hazzard caused by mercury in the ocean to seafood. The primary human-related sources of mercury include: coal combustion, chlorine alkali processing, waste incineration, and metal processing.  Heavy metal pollutants are also created by mining, smelting, petrochemical plants, fertilizers, and pesticide production.

When viewed as a whole, most of this environmental pollution is the result of human efforts to improve life…and it has. But at the same time, we have created “poisons” that never existed prior to human expansion. Somehow, we must find a way to deal with these problems that arise from human activity before they become a threat to our health and that of our planet… Now I’m going suggest something you may never have thought about as a solution…Artificial Intelligence.

At this moment in time, AI is new and controversial. We fear it because of its uncertainty and our exposure to it though apocalyptic books and movies. Certainly, the changes created by AI can be positive or negative, but think for a moment about the nature of artificial intelligence… It arises from the combination of superior computing power (supercomputers) combined with the entirety of human knowledge on a given subject. Do you think for a moment that this knowledge would not contain examples of our failure to recognize consequences resulting from our technological development… and have the ability to make suggestions on how to mitigate them? I’m certain that Elon Musk would see this as a possibility…but what does he know? 😉 

You must realize that AI is not Good or Evil. It is our “child” …we will determine what it becomes and how it is used unless we let it out of its “cage”. It is built upon a machine that has no intent…its potential danger or benefit comes from humans. AI will not replace humans…humans that use AI will replace humans…

What I have just proposed is the use of AI, to prevent our technological advances from producing unforeseen dangers to our health and to our planet…but there is another role that it can play… in healthcare…in the here and now.

According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on healthcare, potentially revolutionizing the industry by enabling faster drug discovery, personalized medicine, improved diagnostics through advanced imaging analysis, and even the development of robotic surgical assistants, with AI acting as a powerful tool to augment human capabilities in healthcare delivery. Did you know that 30% of the data on the entire internet is related to health care? This means that in addition to its uses on the clinical side, it is possible for AI to improve efficiency and satisfaction in job-related tasks. In doing this it will make companies more profitable, less stressful, and improve worker satisfaction, all of which is beneficial to overall human health.

The following podcast from Healthcare IT TODAY outlines what is possible in healthcare through the use of AI. This is intended to provide you with background so that you can use your imagination to envision how it could be used in the future. If you listen to the first 10 or 15 minutes out of 28, you will learn some relevant developments. I truly believe that this is coming, and to be honest, it is the only way I can see to overcome the problems created by human developmental activity.

Healthcare IT Today Podcast  (click to launch)

The link below presents an in-depth podcast of an interview with the dean of Stanford Medical School, Dr. Loyd Minor concerning the use and benefits of AI in healthcare. More than the use of AI itself, is what Dr. Minor sees as necessary changes that must be made to current medical education. This is essential to address the lack of available medical knowledge and procedures being taught to future practitioners. This will include the use of automation to fill in knowledge gaps and supply unknow medical history. One of his important points is that the medical community must share its full knowledge and use of AI with the public… Which is one of my goals in this newsletter. Only by working together, can we truly accomplish the changes that are necessary to improve healthcare, and the health of individuals throughout the world…the first half hour is most important.

How AI and Big Tech Are Shaping the Future of Healthcare  (click to launch)

In summary, this newsletter has presented the latest insights into the root causes of major diseases in the U.S. and globally. Encouragingly, conditions once deemed incurable can now often be managed without relying on potent, potentially harmful drugs or invasive surgeries. It’s also vital to recognize that these diseases develop gradually over 20–40 years. This slow progression provides a critical window to prevent or mitigate their onset through thoughtful changes to diet and lifestyle.

The idea of Artificial Intelligence may be frightening to you, but trust me, it will be here sooner than you think, so prepare... Importantly, healthcare will be one of the first industries to incorporate AI into its framework. It will be necessary to bring needed improvements and efficiency to its infrastructure. Robotics, a key component of AI, will fit seamlessly into an enhanced delivery system that will free up and assist experienced doctors and nurses. To maximize these advancements, it’s essential for practitioners and patients to work as a team, ensuring these innovations improve the human condition and create a better future.

Introducing a new feature: THE HUMAN CONDITION will now offer a companion audio podcast that can be found on Spotify for Creators, Buzzsrpout, and Apple Podcasts for Creators. Essentially, it is based on this newsletter but produced in such a way that it caters to a younger audience accustomed to social media. Additionally, it is ideal for commuters or those that prefer to listening to an audio presentation in their car or at home. Click anywhere in the text below to go to Spotify. This link can be copied and shared with freinds and family.

Until next time, take care and stay positive… Dr. G

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