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About Frank Lipman, MD
Founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City, Dr. Frank Lipman is a pioneer and internationally recognized expert in the fields of Integrative and Functional Medicine. His personal brand of healing has helped thousands of people reclaim their vitality and recover their zest of life.
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Books Mentioned in this Podcast
The New Health Rules: Simple Changes to Achieve Whole-Body Wellness
10 Reasons You Feel Old and Get Fat…: And How YOU Can Stay Young, Slim, and Happy!
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Show Notes
01:30 No One Right Diet: Everyone is different. A low carbohydrate Paleo-type diet works well for most of his patients. Dr. Lipman takes people off sugar, gluten, junk food, corn, and sometimes dairy. Older generations have a challenge understanding that fat is good for them and going low carb. As we age, we have a more difficult time digesting carbs. He scares this age group by telling them that Alzheimer’s is now type 3 diabetes. If they don’t decrease carbs and sugar, brain issues may be in their future.
06:43 Dr. Lipman’s High Fat Diet Journey: He was afraid to eat fat, like everyone else. He felt that he was eating a healthy diet, but he became pre-diabetic. His hemoglobin A1C was high and that was when he began to understand that the low fat/fat free concept was nonsense.
08:41 South Africa: In the 1950s and 60s, people in South Africa got their food ate local meats, vegetables and fruits. A famous sports doctor used to preach a high carb diet, until he became diabetic and shifted to preaching a low carb diet. He started a huge low carb movement in South Africa.
10:35 Stress Reduction as a Therapeutic Tool: Dr. Lipman studied eastern medicine. As a result, he saw the human body in different way and with a different philosophy. It is about how to improve function and create balance. He rethought everything he had learned in western medicine. He got into stress reduction through yoga, meditation and Buddhism.
12:12 Ancient Herb Berberine: Dr. Lipman likes berberine because it is an anti-microbial, killing bugs in the gut. He recommends berberine and also uses it as a key anti-microbial in his cleanse formula. It also helps to balance sugar levels. Gut flora imbalance and sugar imbalance are the two main issues that Dr. Lipman sees. Berberine helps with both issues.
13:19 Start with the Gut: Clinically, he always starts with the gut. His Chinese medicine instructors told him that if you don’t know what to do, you should treat the gut. It is the center. He bases his treatments on what he sees and not the studies. He is disillusioned with the scientific method as it is practiced today. He is also not convinced as to the accuracy of testing.
18:14 The Presentation of Yeast vs Bacteria: When Dr. Lipman sees patients with SIBO, they often have yeast infections. Yeast is difficult to test; however, clinically there is usually a telling history. To treat yeast, he may use nystatin, Diflucan, or Iitraconazole for a few weeks at a time. There is less collateral damage using herbs.
20:37 Treating Hormones: Dr. Lipman starts with diet change and stress reduction. They affect your insulin and cortisol. If you can get your insulin and cortisol under control, the other hormones of then fall into place. Thyroid sometimes needs to be boosted. He uses adaptogens, if needed. It is a personal choice to do bioidentical hormones, but that is not Dr. Lipman’s recommendation.
25:02 Gaining Optimal Function as We Age: Older people think that they are losing their, memory, have aches and pains, are gaining weight and cannot function as well as they used to. They attribute this loss of function to old age. Ageing need not be a journey toward illness. It can be a journey toward health when we work to improve the function of our muscular skeletal system, nervous system and digestive system. When these are improved, we will feel vital again. With perhaps a few exceptions and adjustments, we can remain high functioning. Drugs won’t do it.
27:49 The Importance of Sleep: Sleep is when your body repairs itself. While we sleep, the glympathic system clears the brain of toxins and the byproducts of what is being used in the day. If the toxins and byproducts are not removed at night during quality sleep, they build up. If you are not sleeping properly, it affects cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin, the hormones involved in hunger and satiety. Therefore it affects what you eat and how you eat. Seventy percent of the people that Dr. Lipman sees do not sleep well. People who sleep well tend to be healthier. Those of us who do not sleep well, put on weight. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time in the morning is important.
32:05 Electronic Sundown: TV, phone, computer and all electronics should be turned off at least an hour before you go to bed. Have a transition period and then go to sleep in a completely dark room.
33:09 Meditation to Help with Sleep: Dr. Lipman meditates in bed and tries to teach his patients to do the same as an option. A popular ap that he recommends is the Head Space. It may not be traditional, but it is helpful. Learning to relax, breathe and get out of your head and into your body is a great entry point, as is yoga.
36:43 Supplements for Ageing: Co-enzyme Q10, alpha lipoic acid, glutathione, and mitochondrial formula, along with vitamin D, fish oil, and probiotics are helpful.
37:18 Ubuntu and Ageing: What makes us human is the humanity we show each other. If you have meaning in your life, a community, and something about which you feel passionate, chances are that you will age better. Find your tribe.
42:07 Dr. Lipman’s Favorite Nutrient: Turmeric is his choice for its anti-inflammatory effects. It is in his anti-aging formulations.
42:48 Dr. Lipman’s Morning Routine: He awakens early and meditates in bed for at least 15 to 20 minutes or longer. He does some work at the computer and then he has a morning shake of chocolate whey protein with organic ground coffee, almond butter, coconut oil, avocado, cinnamon, chia seeds, and coconut milk. It is thick and full of fat, more like ice cream. He listens to music on the train to work. On days when he is not working, he goes for a long ride and spends half an hour in his infrared sauna. If it is warm outside, he will add a swim after the sauna.
47:12 One Health Tip for Americans: Our current medical system is a crisis care medical system. It is wonderful if you break a bone or have a heart attack, but that model is effective for less than 20% of patients having problems. It does not address the vast majority of people in need. People are suffering unnecessarily. There is a better way. The corporate, political, economic agenda that drives western medicine is not what is best for people, the country, or our health.
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Hi Mike,
Very interesting video, I wonder what your thoughts are on the Blood Type Diet? I’m a type A, and this goes against what I should be eating which vegetarian, higher carb diet. It caught my attention, because it sounds like Dr Lipman did follow the type A diet.