Don’t Give Up The Ship: Health, Food as Medicine, & Citizen Science at Ketofest 2018, New London, CT USA

2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04974
2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04974 (View on Flickr.com)

The title of this post comes form the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in New London, Connecticut, which appears to be experiencing a nutritional science renaissance due to the work of Carl Franklin and Richard Morris (@2ketodues).

Because my generation of physicians trained during the most profound ethical crisis in our profession, we are at some level all health activists. I have also always been attracted to people and movements who work to control their own health and life destinies, because I’ve seen the devastating results of this not happening.

What’s different to me this time is the scientific rigor being brought to the discipline of understanding health destinies, by a generation of true citizen scientists.

2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04923
2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04923 (View on Flickr.com)

They’re reading and understanding the medical literature and applying it to their daily lives, as well as implementing the tools, more often in the kitchen than in the pharmacy, with good results:

  • Diabetes reversed and in remission
  • Improved understanding of lipid profiles
  • Improved metabolic health with exploration of areas including mental health and cancer, among others
2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04937
2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 04937 (View on Flickr.com)

It’s well known that nutritional science is flawed (saying this charitably). A great quote from yesterday, by Richard Feinman, PhD:

When it comes to nutritional science, we are all lay people.

Allies Need Allies

We came to medicine to change everything, and we’re not going to do it alone. Fortunately, we don’t have too. This is still the decade of the patient, and the best century ever 🙂 .

2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 05003
2018.07.21 Ketofest, New London, CT, USA 05003 (View on Flickr.com)

Enjoy the photos, all are @CreativeCommons licensed. Comments always entertained, of course.

Ted Eytan, MD