Author Archives: Peter Megdal PhD

People want simple answers to complex problems. Atherosclerotic plaque—that fatty, inflammatory buildup inside artery walls—feels like something you should be able to “clean out” like a clogged pipe. That hope fuels massive interest in supplements that promise to “dissolve plaque,” “unclog arteries,” or “reverse heart disease naturally.”

In a world of "biohacking" and rapid weight-loss trends, two dietary paradigms often clash: the Low-Fat Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet and the high-protein/high-fat Paleo/Ketogenic diets. While both claim to improve health, the scientific literature—specifically long-term clinical trials and centenarian studies—reveals a clear distinction between short-term metabolic shifts and long-term disease reversal.

What do people on social media mean by “ketosis,” and does it automatically mean “healthier”?

Ketosis simply means your blood ketones (often β-hydroxybutyrate, βHB) are elevated because carbohydrate availability is low (fasting, very-low-carb diets) or because you ingested ketones.

Dr. Loren Cordain vs. Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Original context: Public nutrition debate from the mid-2000s reflecting two competing paradigms: evolutionary biology versus whole-diet epidemiology.

Participants and Context Verification

To truly settle the long-running "cold war" between Dr. Loren Cordain’s Paleo camp and Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s plant-based paradigm, we have to look past the slogans and focus on the biological mechanisms of disease. For decades, we’ve been told it’s a binary choice. But the research from late 2024 and 2025 has given us a far more interesting "middle way." One side holds the crown for heart health, while the other was right to sound the alarm about food quality all along.