Episode #42: Ask the Primal Doctor – Q&A with Dr. Cate Shanahan

Primal Blueprint Podcast welcomes Dr. Cate Shanahan, who will join the podcast to answer questions on a monthly rotation. In this show, we learn some fascinating insights about Cate's unique approach to optimal eating–a Primal-friendly philosophy that's based on her unique "4 Pillars of World Cuisine" philosophy, which examines the dietary habits of traditional cultures for similar health-promoting themes. Cate suggests that a collective downfall in diet occurred around 1950, when the post-war momentum drove us toward chemically-altered, heavily-processed foods that inflicted deep harm on a genetic level. She discusses how her interest in the genetic effects of food first took shape when she was a frequently injured collegiate runner, and later when she noticed the exceptional health of her patients in rural Kauai who ate a nutritious native islander diet. As a longtime primary care practitioner, Cate then discusses the conflict between her dietary philosophy and the traditional medical care system, especially in the field of cardiology. Finally, Cate explains how the momentum is turning in mainstream medicine to respect the success of low-carb eating for weight loss and the idea that carbohydrates are the primary driver of lifelong weight gain and the metabolic syndrome epidemic.