Ketobiography

📋 In this episode of Ketobiography, Robyn explores how menopause transforms the body from the inside out—starting in the gut. Nurse practitioner and midlife women’s health expert Cynthia Thurlow unpacks the powerful connection between the microbiome, hormones, blood sugar, sleep, stress, and muscle mass in perimenopause and menopause. She explains how simple, consistent lifestyle shifts can dramatically ease hot flashes, brain fog, weight changes, and sleep issues.You’ll also hear a candid discussion about HRT, GLP‑1 medications, trauma, and why gut health is the missing link in most menopause conversations—plus practical first steps you can start today, without chasing every new gadget or supplement.⏳ Chapters0:00 – Welcome & Why Menopause Is So Confusing Right Now2:33 – “The Game Changes in Midlife”: Physiology, Not Personal Failure3:18 – Major in the Majors: Sleep, Stress, Nutrition, Exercise Before Supplements6:30 – Hot Flashes, Blood Sugar, and Why You Can’t Eat Like You’re 1810:30 – Fiber, Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and The Menopause Gut15:30 – Muscle Loss, Insulin Resistance, and the Power of Lifting Weights19:30 – HRT, Progesterone, Estrogen, Testosterone & Why Pellets Are Tricky23:30 – GLP‑1s, Shame, and Changing the Narrative Around Women’s Weight24:40 – Brain Fog, Medications, and Mitochondrial Health26:40 – Trauma, Stress, and How the Microbiome Shapes Menopause💡 What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeWhy midlife physiology changes everything—from neurotransmitters to hormones—and what that means for your daily habits.How blood sugar, hot flashes, and sleep are tightly linked, and why stabilizing glucose is a first-line strategy for vasomotor symptoms.The critical role of fiber, short-chain fatty acids, and the microbiome in menopause, and why gut diversity drops as hormones decline.How muscle mass, strength training, and walking after meals support insulin sensitivity and metabolic health in midlife women.A nuanced view of HRT and GLP‑1 medications—who they can help, why pellets can be problematic, and why lifestyle still forms the foundation.🔑 Key Insight“What you got away with at 18 is not what you get away with at 45 or 50—and that’s not a personal failure, it’s a reflection of your changing physiology.”  -Cynthia Thurlow🌐 Connect with Cynthia ThurlowWebsite: https://www.cynthiathurlow.comEveryday Wellness PodcastInstagramFacebookXThe Menopause Gut (Book)#menopause  #midlifewoman #GLP1 #microbiome

📋 Years of work, cross‑country screenings, and a groundbreaking cholesterol documentary all come together in this powerful in‑person conversation between Ketobiography host Robyn Dobbins and engineer‑researcher Dave Feldman. They unpack the emotion and logistics behind The Cholesterol Code film tour, the surprising way keto helped Robyn’s bipolar journey, and why real‑world stories must sit alongside rigorous science. You’ll also hear what’s next for the Keto CTA research, how CoSci grew into a Vegas‑based fundraising “conference in disguise,” and why many in the low‑carb world are re‑examining long‑held beliefs about LDL, ApoB, and heart disease risk.⏳ Chapters0:00 Welcome to Ketobiography & today’s guest0:31 The final Cholesterol Code series episode1:08 Dallas screening day & Amazon launch countdown2:02 Dave’s “tour” stops and the last theatrical screening3:32 Two years of anticipation and Robyn’s emotional journey6:05 Bipolar, medications, and discovering keto as a lifeline10:22 Why The Cholesterol Code blends science with personal stories14:33 What’s next: Own Your Labs and future Keto‑CTA research19:23 LMHRs, FH history, and hard questions about very high LDL28:36 Robyn’s next chapter, CoSci, and where the conversation goes from here💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow a “one-question podcast” turns into a deep dive on The Cholesterol Code film, from CoSci premieres to the Dallas screening and Amazon launch.Why Robyn’s keto journey started as a cholesterol fix and unexpectedly reshaped her experience of bipolar disorder and medication side effects.What the Keto‑CTA study suggests so far about lean, metabolically healthy people with very high LDL, and why Dave is pushing for 5‑year scans and a 200‑person companion study with a control group.How personal stories, documentary film, and platforms like Ketobiography and Metabolic Collective help challenge the standard LDL narrative and invite more individualized care.Why Dave thinks many doctors genuinely want to help yet risk losing patient trust when they dismiss imaging, context, and lived experience—and how the film might help bridge that gap.🔑 Key Insight:“You’ve got to do both. You’ve got to do the research and get it in the literature—but you can’t count on it to just take off from there. That’s why the personal stories matter so much.” -Dave Feldman🎥 *The Cholesterol Code is now on Amazon!*https://cholesterolcodemovie.comWatch, rate & review to increase its impact.🌐 Connect with Dave FeldmanX YouTubeThe Feldman Protocol (TFP_)Own Your LabsCitizen Science Foundation#cholesterol #documentary #mentalhealth #lmhr

📋 In this special Ketobiography episode, host Robyn Dobbins shares her recent interview with Casey Ruff from Boundless Body Radio, along with the lived‑experience panel from the Menlo Park, California screening of The Cholesterol Code. Robyn and Casey revisit her journey from years of severe mental and physical illness—including OCD, obesity, depression, Hashimoto’s, and bipolar disorder—to discovering ketogenic metabolic therapy and rebuilding her life, relationships, and sense of purpose.They explore the central tension raised by The Cholesterol Code: what it means to live as a lean‑mass hyper‑responder with very high LDL, zero coronary plaque, and profound mental health benefits from a ketogenic diet, and how to weigh that reality against standard cholesterol guidelines and the fears of clinicians, family, and society. Their discussion highlights the power of story, the limits of “treating the lab number,” and why centering lived experience is essential when research is still evolving.The episode then moves to the Menlo Park lived‑experience panel moderated by Dr. Bret Scher, featuring Robyn Dobbins, Dr. Eric Rodgers, Michelle Hurn, and Lauren Kennedy West of Living Well After Schizophrenia. The panelists share how ketogenic and low‑carb therapies have impacted anorexia and eating‑disorder treatment, schizophrenia, major depression, athletic performance, and family life—while candidly addressing concerns about high LDL, CAC scores, medical pushback, and the practical realities of sustaining these approaches in everyday life.💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow Robyn’s long history with bipolar disorder and other conditions shifted when she began using a ketogenic diet for metabolic and mental health.Why The Cholesterol Code focuses on lean‑mass hyper‑responders, and what high LDL with zero plaque might mean for people who are otherwise metabolically healthy.How parents, partners, and children experience and adapt to one family member’s healing—emotionally, relationally, and over time.How ketogenic and low‑carb therapies are being used in real life for anorexia, schizophrenia, major depression, and athletic performance, and what trade‑offs the panelists consider around risk and benefit.Why centering lived experience—through storytelling, panels, and community building initiatives like Metabolic Collective—is crucial as science on metabolic psychiatry.🔑 Key Insight“There’s no reason to go back to how I was just because of this one number. My overall well‑being, the joy and energy I have now—there’s no trading that for a lab result.” -Robyn Dobbins🌐 Connect with RobynWebsite: robyndobbins.comPodcast: KetobiographyX: robynrdobbinsFacebook: robyn.dobbinsInstagram: robynrdobbinsYouTube: @ketobiography🌐 Connect with CaseyWebsite: myboundlessbody.comPodcast: Boundless Body RadioX: CaseyRuffFacebook: casey.ruffInstagram: caseyboundlessbodyYouTube: 🎬 Watch The Cholesterol Code on Amazon starting April 17!

📋 In this special replay from Less of Me Success Stories, Ketobiography host Robyn Dobbins shares a powerful conversation with a fellow Cholesterol Code participant whose story of treatment‑resistant depression, medication side effects, and weight gain led him to discover metabolic therapies and low‑carb nutrition. Recorded on March 1st, 2025, this episode captures what it looks like to be both a clinician and a patient, to question standard approaches to mental health, and to slowly reclaim hope when nothing seems to work. As Robyn returns from a sold‑out screening of The Cholesterol Code in Durham, NC, she invites listeners to hear this conversation as a “before” snapshot—one year before their intertwined stories reached the big screen.💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow long‑term depression, weight changes, and polypharmacy can erode hope—and why that story is more common than we think.What it feels like to navigate the mental health system as both a doctor and a patient searching for answers.How discovering ketogenic and metabolic therapies opened a new path for mood, energy, and overall stability.Why nutrition, metabolism, and brain health are deeply connected, especially in cases labeled “treatment‑resistant.”How sharing lived experience publicly (and now on film in The Cholesterol Code) can reduce stigma and offer hope to others.🔑 Key Insight“We have an option for people—and they need to know what’s out there, because the most frustrating thing is that doctors often aren’t interested, even after they see the change.” -Eric Rodgers🌐 Connect with Dr. Eric RodgersX FacebookMetabolic Mind​🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information:  https://cholesterolcodemovie.com🎟️ DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening! 🎟️#depression #bipolar #mentalhealth #metabolictherapy #CholesterolCodeMovie

📋 A terrifying ER visit, the smell of acetone on her 9‑year‑old’s breath, and an A1C of 11% launched one family into the world of type 1 diabetes overnight. When doctors insisted “he needs carbs to grow” and later pushed hard for statins after his total cholesterol hit 832, this mama bear turned to keto, Dr. Bernstein’s low‑carb approach, and the TypeOneGrit and LMHR communities to keep her son’s blood sugar in the non‑diabetic range while his cholesterol steadily fell—without medication. In this episode, you’ll hear how Alison Coughlin navigated fear, pressure, and conflicting expert opinions to advocate for her child’s health, and what their life looks like now as he thrives in sports, school, and everyday childhood on a low‑carb way of eating.​⏳ Chapters0:00 – Introduction, Cholesterol Code series, and Alison’s first podcast appearance​1:25 – Johnny’s diagnosis story: acetone breath, ER visit, and A1C of 11%​7:48 – Hospital food, carb counting, and early fears about life with type 1 diabetes​11:53 – Finding TypeOneGrit, discovering Dr. Bernstein, and going low‑carb as a family​13:47 – Non‑diabetic A1C, pushback from the endo, and “he needs carbs to grow”​15:35 – The shocking lipid panel: total cholesterol 832, LDL 741, and FH testing​20:45 – LMHR, cardiology workup, CAC scan, and relentless pressure to start statins​24:37 – Cholesterol trending down to 341 without meds and choosing not to debate doctors anymore​32:28 – Who Johnny is today: thriving teen, baseball, beach days, and no limitations on keto​54:40 – Filming Cholesterol Code and the emotional experience of meeting Dr. Bernstein​💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow a parent recognized early signs of type 1 diabetes at home and pushed for urgent care.​What it looks like to transition a child (and family) to Dr. Bernstein’s low‑carb approach after diagnosis.​How A1C can move from 11% to a non‑diabetic range on keto—and why some clinicians still resist.​What LMHR is, why Johnny’s total cholesterol soared to 832, and how it later dropped to 341 without statins.​Practical insights on advocating for your child when doctors warn you’re “doing it wrong” but your child is thriving.​🔑 Key Insight“The most important thing is keeping his A1C in check and keeping his blood sugars in a non‑diabetic range—and that is what we believe is truly the best thing for him.”​ -Alison Coughlin🌐 Connect with AlisonInstagramTYPEONEGRIT facebook groupLMHR facebook groupBook: Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars (not an affiliate link)​🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information: https://cholesterolcodemovie.com🎟️ *DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening!* 🎟️🎧 Listen to More Episodes:New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.🔗 Subscribe + follow + leave a review to support the show!🌱 Know someone with a Keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: ketobiography@gmail.com 👥 Connect with Robyn:https://www.robyndobbins.comhttps://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins#keto #type1diabetes #cholesterolcodemovie #statins

📋 What if the diet advice you trusted your whole life was actually feeding your cravings—and your lab “red flags” didn’t tell the whole story? In this Ketobiography episode, host Robyn Dobbins continues her Cholesterol Code series with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jen Unwin to explore the intersection of food addiction, low-carb nutrition, and cholesterol. Drawing on her professional experience with the NHS and her own lived experience as a “lifelong sugar addict,” Jen explains how she finally found food freedom with low carb and why, for many people, understanding addiction is the missing piece that makes change stick. She also shares the story behind her sky-high LDL, zero CAC scores, and appearance in The Cholesterol Code documentary, inviting listeners to rethink what “risk” really looks like in the context of metabolic health.​⏳ Chapters0:00 – Welcome to Ketobiography & the Cholesterol Code mini-series​1:31 – Jen’s lifelong sugar addiction and early weight struggles​3:02 – Discovering low carb and the “miracle” of fewer cravings and more energy​4:28 – Creating a type 2 diabetes remission program with David’s patients​5:52 – Why food addiction is a “leaky boat” in a world where you have to keep eating​8:17 – Realizing “this is addiction” and starting to campaign for recognition​31:01 – The LDL of 19 mmol/L shock, CAC scans, and lean-mass hyper-responders​35:24 – Letting go of everything you were taught about “healthy eating” to feel well​45:01 – Healing the brain with enough protein and fat—not just restriction or willpower​47:05 – Practical advice: meds, keto flu, salt, and why you should expect a rough first 8 days​💡 What You’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow a clinical psychologist came to see her own pattern as true food addiction, not a lack of willpower​Why low-carb or keto can transform cravings and energy—and why that alone may not solve addiction for some people​The CRAVED framework for recognizing food addiction in yourself or your patients/clients​How Jen and Dr. David Unwin helped type 2 diabetes patients reach drug-free remission with dietary change and data tracking​What Jen’s extreme LDL, zero CAC scores, and Cholesterol Code involvement suggest about lean-mass hyper-responders and risk assessment​🔑 Key Insight“It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility—to build the routines, boundaries, and ways of living that keep food addiction from finding its way back in.”​ -Dr. Jen Unwin🌐 Connect with Dr. Jen UnwinXThe Collaborative Health Community Book – Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedomnot an affiliate link​🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information: cholesterolcodemovie.com🎟️ DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening! 🎟️🎧 Listen to More Episodes:New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.🔗 Subscribe + follow + leave a review to support the show!🌱 Know someone with a Keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: ketobiography@gmail.com 👥 Connect with Robyn:https://www.robyndobbins.comhttps://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

📋 What happens when a prevention-focused cardiologist finds himself at the center of both a new field—metabolic psychiatry—and a documentary that’s challenging everything we think we know about cholesterol? In this Cholesterol Code series episode of Ketobiography, Robyn talks with Dr. Bret Scher about his journey from conventional cardiology into metabolic health advocacy and his role in the upcoming film The Cholesterol Code. They explore how ketogenic therapies are reshaping care for serious mental illness, why LDL can’t be understood in isolation from metabolic health, and what Bret hopes viewers will take away from the documentary when it lands.​​⏳ Chapters00:00 – Welcome and series setup​03:00 – Handling nerves and being “looked up to”​06:00 – From cardiology to metabolic medicine​09:00 – Jan, Matt, and the heart behind Metabolic Mind​12:00 – Exponential growth of metabolic psychiatry​16:00 – What traditional psychiatry misses and where keto fits​20:00 – Patient agency, bringing keto to your doctor, and safety​24:00 – How a health coach changed Bret’s view of keto​28:00 – Cholesterol, risk, and lessons from recent data controversies​32:00 – Bret’s role in The Cholesterol Code and reflections on the film💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeWhy Bret felt “woefully trained” in prevention coming out of cardiology—and how that opened the door to metabolic health and keto.​How low-carb and ketogenic diets moved from “dangerous” in his mind to essential tools in both heart and brain health.​The story of Metabolic Mind, the Baszucki family, and how one son’s bipolar recovery sparked a global push to transform psychiatry.​Why metabolic psychiatry is suddenly growing fast, with new clinicians and trials emerging beyond Metabolic Mind’s direct involvement.​How Bret’s work and perspective feed into The Cholesterol Code documentary—and why metabolic context matters when we talk about LDL and risk.​​​🔑 Key Insight“Modern medicine is incredible at saving lives in a crisis—but when you see someone get their life back with a metabolic intervention, you realize we’ve been missing something huge in both cardiology and psychiatry.”​ -Dr. Bret Scher🌐 Connect with Dr. Bret ScherMetabolic Mind​Coalition for Metabolic HealthXLinkedIn​​🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information: cholesterolcodemovie.com🎟️ DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening! 🎟️🎧 Listen to More Episodes:New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.🔗 Subscribe + follow + leave a review to support the show!🌱 Know someone with a Keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: ketobiography@gmail.com 👥 Connect with Robyn:https://www.robyndobbins.comhttps://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins#CholesterolCodeMovie #MetabolicMind #BretScher #Ketobiography #MetabolicPsychiatry

📋 Award‑winning filmmaker Jennifer Isenhart joins Ketobiography to share how a lifelong struggle with sugar pulled her out of mainstream TV news and into the world of low‑carb storytelling. She and Robyn trace the personal sugar detox that shattered everything Jen thought she knew about “heart‑healthy” eating and led to her first metabolic documentary, Fat Fiction. Jen then takes us behind the scenes of The Cholesterol Code, from inheriting 10 terabytes of Dave Feldman’s footage to weaving human stories of bipolar, schizoaffective disorder, and type 1 diabetes into complex lipid science. Along the way, they talk about being labeled a “non‑compliant” patient, the pressure to take statins, the power of coronary calcium scans, and why community and story may be as therapeutic as any prescription.​⏳ Chapters00:00 – Welcome to Ketobiography & why Jen’s work matters now​06:00 – Sugar addiction, hypoglycemia, and the class that changed everything​19:30 – Making Fat Fiction and confronting diabetes guidelines and politics​32:00 – Meeting Dave Feldman and the origins of The Cholesterol Code project​45:00 – Lean mass hyper‑responders, scary LDL numbers, and what scans reveal​59:00 – Mental health miracles: bipolar, schizoaffective disorder, and keto therapy​1:11:00 – Robyn’s “non‑compliant patient” label and finding a supportive doctor​1:25:00 – How the study became the spine of the film—and Dave’s roller‑coaster ride​1:36:00 – Practical first steps: classes, programs, and finding your low‑carb community​💡 What you’ll Learn in this EpisodeHow Jen’s background in TV news and “low‑fat era” health reporting collided with her own sugar addiction and hypoglycemic crashes.​The inside story of Fat Fiction, including what shocked her most about type 2 diabetes guidelines and the quiet addition of low‑carb to official recommendations.​What lean mass hyper‑responders are, why some people see LDL of 300–500 on keto, and how coronary calcium scans can change the risk conversation.​How ketogenic metabolic therapy is helping real people reverse or dramatically improve bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes.​Concrete ideas for getting started or going deeper with low‑carb: structured programs, group support, and how to navigate doctors who don’t yet “get” your way of eating.​🔑 Key Insight“It’s been drilled into us that these are chronic, progressive diseases we just manage until we get worse—but people need to know they have so much more agency than that.”​ -Jennifer Isenhart🌐 Connect with Jen:Wide Eye ProductionsX​Instagram​Facebook (Wide Eye Productions)​Fat FictionThe Cholesterol Code Movie🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information: cholesterolcodemovie.com🎟️ DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening! 🎟️🎧 Listen to More Episodes:New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.🔗 Subscribe + follow + leave a review to support the show!🌱 Know someone with a Keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: ketobiography@gmail.com 👥 Connect with Robyn:https://www.robyndobbins.comhttps://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins#CholesterolCode #Ketobiography #LowCarb #MetabolicHealth #MentalHealth