This webinar with Dr. Mike T. Nelson dives deep into metabolic flexibility, the body’s ability to efficiently switch between burning fats and carbohydrates based on activity, diet, and fasting states. He explains that this adaptability is crucial for metabolic health, athletic performance, and longevity. Impaired flexibility is linked to conditions like metabolic syndrome, while improving it can enhance energy efficiency and recovery. Fuel use depends on exercise intensity: fats dominate during low-intensity activity, while carbohydrates are key during high-effort sessions. Strategic training, intermittent fasting, and tailored nutrition can shift the body’s “crossover point” to optimize fuel use.
Nelson also highlights the role of muscle mass and quality in metabolic rate and emphasizes personalized approaches using technologies like indirect calorimetry and muscle oxygen sensors. Tools like these can help individuals tailor their training and nutrition for better fat oxidation, performance, and recovery. Practical strategies include fasted morning walks, targeted carb timing, resistance training, and gradual fasting protocols. Ultimately, Nelson encourages a data-informed, iterative approach: combining science, self-assessment, and consistent action to build sustainable metabolic health.
This BSI Medical Society Webinar was streamed on May 14th, 2025.
A 10-minute summary of the webinar is available here free, for anyone, while the full webinar is available for Medical Society Members and MetFix affiliates in their dashboard.
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Metabolic health, medical education, and the case for bringing clinicians and coaches together
At the 2026 Unbreakable Health Retreat in Miami, Emily Kaplan hosted a panel with Bob Kaplan, Professor Thomas Seyfried, and Dr. Derek Lee on what it means to treat cancer as a metabolic disease. They discussed the glucose-ketone index (GKI), nutritional ketosis, and strategies aimed at restricting the fuels cancer cells depend on while considering how metabolic therapy can fit alongside standard cancer treatment.
The conversation also addressed the practical realities patients face when trying to pursue a metabolic approach within the conventional oncology system, including questions about nutrition, repurposed drugs, inherited cancer risk, and how to evaluate different treatment options. Seyfried and Lee connected these clinical questions back to mitochondrial dysfunction, fermentation, and the metabolic vulnerabilities that may offer additional targets for cancer treatment.
An abbreviated version of this discussion is available here, for free.
At the 2026 Unbreakable Health Retreat in Miami, Professor Thomas Seyfried presented the case that cancer is fundamentally a mitochondrial metabolic disease rather than primarily a genetic one. He contrasts the dominant somatic mutation theory with a metabolic model in which impaired mitochondrial respiration drives a shift toward fermentation, dysregulated cell growth, and the mutations commonly associated with cancer.
Citing the work of Otto Warburg and research from his lab at Boston College, Seyfried explains how cancer cells rely heavily on fermentable fuels—particularly glucose and glutamine—and why mitochondrial dysfunction sits upstream of many of the genetic abnormalities seen in tumors. He also discusses reactive oxygen species, altered cellular signaling, and the role of mitochondria in regulating cell growth and behavior.
The presentation then turns to the therapeutic implications of this model. Seyfried explains strategies aimed at placing tumor cells under metabolic stress by restricting the fuels they depend on, including ketogenic metabolic therapy and approaches targeting glucose and glutamine. For Seyfried, the therapeutic target follows directly from the biology: restrict the fuels cancer cells depend on, exploit their metabolic weaknesses, and treat mitochondrial dysfunction as the central feature of the disease.
An abbreviated version of this discussion is available here, for free.
MetFix and BSI Members can view the full 54-minute video.
