Episode 035: Benjamin Richardson, Personalized Carbohydrate Testing, Insulin Resistance and the Flexitarian Approach to Eating Well

In episode 035 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being, I welcome back the curious citizen scientist Benjamin Richardson.

In Part I of this series, Episode 031 to be exact, Benjamin introduced us to intermittent fasting, the fasting mimicking diet and the role of personalized experimentation to discover what your body really needs to remain well.

In this conversation, Benjamin leads us into a discussion of personalized carbohydrate testing, insulin resistance and a thoughtful examination of all the reasons we choose to eat the food that we do.

We start out the podcast with Benjamin sharing some background behind his reason for undertaking another self experiment, this time to meticulously monitor his blood sugar in response to various foods and eating environments. Together we delve into the implications of personalized glucose testing and tailoring one’s diet to avoid large fluctuations in blood sugar.

Benjamin then explains some of his own personal findings as part of the experiment and describes the importance of understanding all of the inputs, outside of just diet, such as sleep, stress, and chronic disease burden that can influence someone’s insulin and blood sugar response to certain foods.

Benjamin then moves us into a thoughtful inquiry of the many reasons we humans choose to eat the food that we do. Benjamin offers his thoughts on the concept of eating for pleasure, and explores the implications of one’s food choices on the health (or lack thereof) of our gut microbiota.

This is another wonderful discussion with Benjamin and I am honored to have his efforts and wisdom as part of our podcast. Be sure to check out the podcast page where Benjamin has provided a wealth of links and additional resources related to the conversation today.

And lastly, I wanted to also share some exciting news as I have recently partnered with my close friends Ryan Hall and Kerri Cooper in starting my newest and perhaps biggest wellness endeavour: The Charlottesville Center for Functional Medicine. While I will still be in Front Royal for the next 2 years as part of my family medicine residency training, we are already laying the foundations for discovering whole being wellness in the City of Charlottesville. You can explore our new homepage at cvillefxmed.com as well as our facebook page to find out more about upcoming free community workshops.

And with that, lets dig into the show!

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