Bret Scher, MD

Medical Director Baszucki Group, Host Metabolic Mind podcast. Low Carb Cardiologist. Connecting metabolic, mental, & cardiac health. Views are my own.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

Why do so many people believe a keto diet causes heart disease when there’s actually no evidence for that? I explore that in my latest Metabolic Mind video!

[Metabolic Mind @Metabolic_Mind]

There is NO evidence that a keto diet increases the risk of heart disease.

What there IS emerging evidence for is the potential metabolic & mental health benefits of #TherapeuticNutritionalKetosis. These alone merit future studies on its use as a medical treatment.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@GetEbayDeals @StrictlyK 😂

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

Cardiology calls statins miracle drugs. Social media calls them poison.

Both sides cite published scientific papers. How can they be looking at the same evidence and reaching opposite conclusions?

As a cardiologist, I think both sides are are on to something. Let me explain. 🧵

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@jaimeladulaney That's such an important part of the messaging. I'll never forget running into an old friend of mine who was drinking beer, eating chips and salsa, having Carne Asada tacos and said I can eat the meat now cause it's healthy right? It's far too easy to take things out of context.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

For decades we have been told saturated fat is bad and must be limited. All of it. Cap it at 10% of calories or less. The science is settled.

A new review suggests that framing is fundamentally wrong and misleading. And this changes how we think about food. 🧵

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@zerothworld Do they explain why?

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@StrictlyK @GetEbayDeals You two have taken this off the rails. Can we keep the conversation relevant to the original tweet please???? Thanks

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

Here’s a link to the article https://t.co/CGsxwYEzMS

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

The conclusion seems straightforward.

Saturated fat content alone is a poor predictor of a food's health effects. Food quality, processing level, and overall dietary pattern matter far more. A cap on a single nutrient extracted from its food context is not good nutritional science and is not helpful dietary advice.

What do you think? Has your own thinking about saturated fat shifted over time?

[Metabolic Mind @Metabolic_Mind]

Why are so many patients with type 2 diabetes following standard advice and still not getting better?

@KenDBerryMD joins us at CoSci to discuss type 2 diabetes remission, pharmaceutical influence on clinical guidelines, and the case for individualized, metabolic approaches to chronic disease.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@AroundRob @Metabolic_Mind I think that's the perfect use of protein shakes. There are people who struggle to get enough from Whole Foods and that's where shakes play a great role.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

@RacecarengTom That's kind of my point. Stopping soft plaque from getting calcified is not likely a good thing. But as you said, the best of all worlds would definitely be preventing the plaque in the first place. Great point.

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

1/ A new RCT in @JAMACardio found that vitamin K2, specifically MK7, slowed coronary artery calcification progression compared to placebo in 180 adults over two years.

Promising finding. But it raises a fascinating question about how we measure cardiovascular disease. 🧵

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

Here's a link to the study https://t.co/lYS7YkauTa

[Bret Scher, MD @bschermd]

9/ Of course there are plenty of caveats. What about a higher dose of K2? Or longer duration? All good questions. But from what the trial shows, CAC decreased, but we are left wondering if that is a good thing or not.

So be careful reacting to a headline about decreased coronary calcium over time. It may not mean what you think.