The top 10 Intelligent Medicine podcasts of 2014

By Dr. Ronald Hoffman

The holiday season is upon us, and the week between Christmas and New Years offers many of us some welcome downtime. It's an opportunity to head to the multiplex, and catch that Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy romp, The Interview... Oops!

Okay, let's rethink that one. (Unless you're near one of those select theaters that will be releasing it this week.) Instead, perhaps a chance to binge-watch back seasons of The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, or Homeland.

But whether you're cozying up at home, stuck interminably in an airport, or braving winter storms in your car, how about harnessing some of your leisure time to personal health enhancement? You could be listening to some of this year's great Intelligent Medicine podcasts, available here for downloading.

Play them on your computer, or cue them up on your mobile device for portable infotainment!

They're all great, and there are literally dozens to choose from, but I've collected my choices for Top Ten Intelligent Medicine podcasts of 2014. Herewith are some important interviews I conducted this year with some of the great thinkers and innovators in integrative medicine. They are voices that need to be heard, and I strongly recommend that you hear what they have to say:

1) Dr. William Davis, Wheat Belly. Dr. Davis articulates the rationale for the popular gluten-free diet, and argues persuasively for low-carb eating. I was impressed by the level of scientific sophistication he brings to a trend that some have casually dismissed as a mere passing fad.

2) Dr. David Perlmutter, Grain Brain. America's foremost integrative neurologist makes the case for a low-carb approach to brain disorders. Amid the conspicuous failure of conventional treatments for Alzheimer's, it makes sense to employ diet and lifestyle to prevent this devastating modern epidemic.

3) Nina Teicholz, The Big Fat Surprise. Her book made headlines this year as the best-researched, detailed scientific refutation of the low-fat diet delusion. Teicholz describes how health authorities took a serious wrong turn in promoting the now-discredited Food Pyramid.

4) Dr. Kelly Turner, Radical Remissions. Dr. Turner musters evidence for "psychoneuroimmunology", the science underlying extraordinary disease remissions. In denying the power of the mind, medicine is neglecting a potent avenue for healing.

5) Dr. Jeff Bland, The Disease Delusion. A venerated pioneer of integrative medicine, Dr. Bland calls for doctors to transcend their outmoded system of reductive disease classifications, and instead embrace the true causes of illness. His visionary book envisions a new, effective paradigm for conquering disease.

6) Dr. Allison Siebecker, SIBO. The key to many diseases--not just of the GI tract, but also chronic ailments like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia--may be Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Dr. Siebecker discusses how SIBO arises, how to diagnose it, and treatment options.

7) Dr. Martin Blaser, Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. A professor of medicine at one of America's top hospitals has become convinced that overuse of antibiotics is a modern scourge. He is researching the microbiome--the bacteria that colonize our intestines--and believes that its composition may be the key to unraveling the root causes of many modern degenerative diseases.

8) Dr. Ben Lynch, MTHFR. Dr. Lynch has pioneered our understanding of a common genetic variation that renders many us susceptible to an array of challenging medical problems. Proper application of nutrient supplementation and detoxification is the key to healing individuals possessing MTHFR pathway defects.

9) Dr. Jeanne Drisko, Intravenous Vitamin C for Cancer. Dr. Drisko, Chair of the Department of Integrative Medicine at Kansas University Medical College, is the world's authority on the use of high-dose intravenous vitamin C for treatment of cancer and other chronic ailments. Drawing on a wealth of experience, she describes how vitamin C "drips" can be used as an effective adjunct to conventional cancer therapies.

10) Dr. Nathan Bryant, Harnessing the Power of Nitric Oxide. Dietary nitrites from foods like beets are potent inducers of nitric oxide (NO) in the body. NO may be the key to optimizing blood pressure, coronary circulation, brain function, athletic performance, and more. Research on NO precursors promises to usher in a revolutionary new category of functional nutrients.

Please enjoy these podcasts this holiday season, and best wishes to you and your families for a Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!