Foodloose Iceland

Feb. 25, 2016

Something wonderful is happening in Iceland, and it has nothing to do with geysers, volcanoes or even Björk. A group of medical doctors led by Dr. Guðmundur Jóhannsson are actively engaging in a discussion of the utility of high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein diets for treating some of the chronic health complaints they see in practice.

Imagine for a moment you’re a doctor working in emergency care. How frustrating must it be only to see the end stages of the diseases caused by insulin resistance? You’d be just like a mechanic working on the damage done to an engine caused by failure to change the oil. Not only is the situation potentially preventable, it’s also expensive enough to bring down the entire national health service.

My question is why Iceland? Is it the manageable size? Dr. Jóhannsson has been able to bring around 200 doctors to the discussion on a Facebook group. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but that’s a significant proportion of all the doctors on the island. Is it because they have nationalised health care? Nationalised means there’s a finite budget, and that may be relevant here, but I don’t see this happening in the UK, and they also have a national health service.

For now, we may have to accept that the Icelandic people are smarter than the rest of us. I’m hoping we will follow their lead.

I’m still excited about geysers and volcanoes because this May I will be visiting Iceland with my wife and food scientist Julia and chief medical officer Dr. Tommy Wood. Tommy will be speaking alongside Gary Taubes, Professor Tim Noakes and many other like-minded experts in the field at the Icelandic Health Symposium’s Foodloose conference.

Please let me know if you will be there!

Here’s the outline of this interview with Dr. Guðmundur Jóhannsson and Dr. Tommy wood:

0:01:00    Dr. Guðmundur Jóhannsson is a medical doctor from Iceland, trained in Sweden.

0:01:46    Guðmundur was overweight in medical school.

0:02:05    He quickly figured out it was the carbohydrates that were causing the problem.

0:02:45    I've visited Sweden on several occasions and the Swedes are not fatphobic.

0:03:13    The Icelandic people have started consuming more carbs in recent decades.

0:04:02    Guðmundur is an emergency doctor.

0:04:22    It's frustrating to only see people at the end stages of disease.

0:04:39    Some of this could be prevented.

0:05:10    With the right information, diabetes is preventable.

0:05:35    I work with registered nurse Amelia Luker, her motivation for a career change was similar.

0:06:08    It's so much more costly to treat once the disease has developed.

0:06:27    From insulin resistance to injecting insulin is a long process.

0:06:51    Tommy's mum is from Iceland.

0:07:25    Is the health care system in Iceland similar to those in the US or UK?

0:07:33    Tommy sees it as very similar to the NHS in the UK.

0:07:39    The Icelandic people have upgrade options.

0:08:02    Would an Icelandic doctor ever talk to a patient about food?

0:08:14    Doctors are not trained in nutrition biochemistry or exercise physiology.

0:08:38    More and more doctors are choosing to further their education.

0:08:55    In Iceland, there is a Facebook group for doctors.

0:09:18    200 doctors is a significant number.

0:10:14    Why is this situation unique to Iceland?

0:10:31    Iceland is so small, news travels fast.

0:10:49    Where did the idea for the Foodloose conference come from?

0:10:53    Book: Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

0:11:15    The problems extend further than diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

0:12:15    Professor Tim Noakes has been on my podcast.

0:12:28    Why do people want to come to Iceland?

0:13:26    The Icelandic doctors are not necessarily on board with low-carb, but they are taking part in the discussion.

0:13:46    Tommy will be speaking alongside Gary Taubes and Tim Noakes.

0:13:52    Axel F. Sigurdsson.

0:14:00    Aseem Malhotra.

0:14:05    Denise Minger.

0:14:13    Maryanne Demasi will be moderating.

0:14:19    ABC Australia Catalyst Program.

0:14:28    The presenters will present and then give the audience a chance to ask questions.

0:14:57    Tommy has been on a panel with Aseem Malhotra before.

0:15:07    Tommy and Guðmundur will be publishing a paper with Axel Sigurdsson soon.

0:15:43    Gary Taubes will be talking the carbohydrate insulin hypothesis.

0:15:57    Aseem Malhotra will be talking about sugar and more.

0:16:08    Sigurdsson is going to talk about diet and heart disease.

0:16:20    Denise is going to bring in the opposing viewpoint.

0:17:53    Denise has dug up some interesting data.

0:18:10    Everybody else is going to talk about food, Tommy is going to talk about all the other things that we've found to be important.

0:18:58    Diet is the first thing people figure out.

0:19:10    Everything else is important!

0:19:38    May 26 is the main day, workshops will take place on the 27th.

0:19:52    There will be culinary workshop for people that would like to meet with the speakers.

0:20:13    High-fat, low-carb, moderate protein cooking classes.

0:21:11    What else should people see and do in Iceland?

0:21:18    Iceland is all about nature.

0:21:22    You don't go for the weather.

0:21:23    It's like a sample from all parts of the world.

0:21:45    Hiking, kayaking and biking.

0:22:08    Tommy and my family will be doing touristy stuff, come join us!

0:22:33    The Golden Circle.

0:22:42    Gullfoss waterfall.

0:22:47    The first parliament in the world.

0:22:57    The Blue Lagoon.

0:23:26    Day trips to hike up glaciers.

0:23:34    Not far Reykjavik.

0:23:51    If you're going to Iceland you have to be .prepared for anything.

0:24:06    Probably around 10c

0:24:35    The difference between summer and winter in Iceland is that in the summer you can see the rain.

0:25:12    If you're going to the conference, please email me.

0:25:32    foodloose.is

0:25:56    Updates in our Concierge Clinical Coaching group.

0:27:01    Tommy recently posted his talk for doctors on insulin resistance.

0:27:17    All the members have done testing with us.

0:27:52    Physicians for Ancestral Health.

0:28:18    Modelling insulin resistance.

0:29:03    Guðmundur and Bob Hanson has been sending the studies to put into the model.

0:30:11    It's not as simple as restricting carbohydrate.

0:30:51    Wasting is saving study.

0:31:08    The ketogenic diet may be an advantage at altitude.

0:31:36    Ketones create the same amount of energy using less oxygen.

0:32:15    Too much muscle mass could be a disadvantage at altitude.

0:32:41    People have been asking about adaptogens.