24 - 26 January 2025

Symposium for Metabolic Health
Held at The Boca Raton Marriott Hotel

An SMHP Event | Hosted by LowCarbUSA®

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About this Conference

Every conference broadly addresses various areas that can benefit from metabolic health interventions, including therapeutic carbohydrate reduction. These interventions target key issues such as insulin resistance, inflammation, and hyperinsulinemia.

However, each conference now includes one day dedicated to a specific area of focus. This year, we are devoting an entire day to Women’s Health.

Why You Should Attend

In-Person as well as Livestream ticket options are available so there is no excuse to miss it!

  • Expert Insights: Understand the critical roles of insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and inflammation in chronic diseases from world-renowned experts.
  • Evidence-Based Therapies: Explore the evidence supporting carbohydrate reduction as a therapeutic intervention for a wide range of metabolic disorders such as  type 2 diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, PCOS, cardiovascular disease, and neurological pathologies.
  • Diabetes Management: Gain invaluable insights into stabilizing blood sugar; reducing medication/insulin needs, and decrease risk of complications in both type 2 and type 1 diabetes through innovative dietary strategies.
  • Obesity and Weight Loss Solutions: Discover effective strategies for treating obesity and achieving sustainable weight loss, shared by clinicians with significant success stories.
  • Global Health Impact: Discuss improvements in health and education policies worldwide, focusing on the establishment of standard of care regarding therapeutic carbohydrate reduction and its clinical outcomes.
  • CMEs: 22.00 Prescribed Category 1 CME credits available. 4 Years CEU credit for NASN practitioners

Confirmed Event Speakers

Breakout Speakers

Event Schedule

* indicates that the session is eligible for CME credits.

Time Detail Description
12:00 pm
Registration for Workshop Attendees - the workshop is a special bonus for in-person attendees only, it will not be available on the Livestream.
1:00 pm
Why Low Carb
1:35 pm
Insulin Resistance / CGM
2:10 pm
Tia Reid, CDM, CFPP, MHP
How to Low Carb: The Basics
2:45 pm
Amy Eiges, CHC
Hidden Sugars: Understanding Ingredients and Nutrition Labels
3:20 pm
Break
3:30 pm
Brian Wiley, CHC, CPT
Low Carb on a Budget
4:05 pm
Vic Basmadjian, MHP
Managing Social Events, Vacations and Feeling Deprived (Harm Reduction)
4:40 pm
Implementing Low Carb in a Clinical Setting
5 pm - 7 pm
Early Registration for Symposium (Non-Workshop Attendees )
Time Detail Description
08:00 am
Registration / Expo
Great to visit the Expo when it is fresh and not too crowded
09:00 am
Welcome Message
09:30 am
A Contemporary View of Menopausal Hormone Therapy: Are we stuck in 2002?*
10:15 am
Addressing Metabolic Imbalances to Prevent Female-related Cancers*
11:00 am
Endometriosis*
11:45 am
Barbara Levy,
Wafaa Abdel-Hadi,
Madison Kackley
1st Women's Health Day Panel*
1:00 pm
Lunch
Expo / Breakout
2:30 pm
Exercise in Women*
3:15 pm
Endocrine Disruptors + Hidden Toxins (Histamine, Metals, etc.)*
4:00 pm
Menopause Brain*
4:45 pm
Andrea Salcedo,
Jodi Nishida,
Dr.Boz
2nd Women's Health Day Panel*
6:00 pm
Low Carb Wine Tasting
Expo
7:30 pm
Low Carb Dinner
Time Detail Description
07:30 am
Expo
08:00 am
“Eat What You Are,” “You Burn What You Eat” and Other Clinical Pearls*
09:30 am
Reimagining Metabolic Health: Scaling Technology Enabled Solutions*
11:00 am
The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of High Intensity Exercise*
12:15 pm
Lunch
Expo / Breakout: Caitlin Prickett - Optimizing Metabolic Health Through Micronutrient Testing and Addressing Food Sensitivities and Intolerances
1:45 pm
Once and Future Use of GLP1 Peptide*
3:15 pm
Hearts and Minds: Special Issues in Women’s Cardiovascular Health*
4:45 pm
TBD*
6:00 pm
Low Carb Wine Tasting
Expo / Poster Presentations - Hosted by Keto-Mojo and the SMHP™
7:30 pm
Low Carb Dinner
Time Detail Description
07:30 am
Expo
08:00 am
Evaluating the Evidence: Low-Carbohydrate Diets for Children with Metabolic Disease*
09:30 am
Screening and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in a Low Carb Setting*
11:00 am
Ketone Metabolic Therapy for Brain Cancer: Science to Application*
12:15 pm
Lunch
Expo / Breakout
1:30 pm
Stay Off My Operating Table: A Collaborative Approach to Metabolic Healing*
3:00 pm
Barbara Levy,
Lily Johnston,
Annette Bosworth,
Wafaa Abdel-Hadi,
Rob Cywes,
Dom D'Agostino
Final Panel*
5:40 pm
Doug Reynolds
Closing
5:45 pm
RAFFLE DRAW
(Includes 2 sets of 2 Tickets to a future LowCarbUSA event!)

Sponsors & Supporters

FEATURED SPEAKER

Registration for Boca 2025

You need to be logged in to register for this event. Please login to your account or register to become a member.

FEATURED SPEAKER

Reserve Your Room for Boca 2025

Make sure you book your room in our special block before it fills up.  Last year our block filled up way before the event and attendees late on the uptake had to find accommodation in other nearby hotels.

FEATURED SPEAKER

Upgrades for Boca 2025

Robert Cywes, MD, PhD

Dr. Cywes is Dual Board Certified in General Surgery and in Pediatric Surgery. He specializes in Pediatric and Adult obesity, diabetes and metabolic management including bariatric surgery.  His focus is on helping people understand and treat the true cause of obesity and diabetes.  He has been doing bariatric surgery for 19 years and has performed around 7000 surgeries.  Despite this, Dr Cywes firmly believes that obesity and diabetes are not treated by surgery, however, surgery may be a invaluable tool along the journey of becoming carbohydrate-free.

His medical training began in Cape Town, South Africa where he received his medical degree from The University of Cape Town training with Prof Tim Noakes amongst others. In 1989, Dr. Cywes moved to North America and completed a year-long residency in pediatric surgery at Ohio State University’s Columbus Children’s Hospital before moving to Canada where he completed his general surgery residency and specialized in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Cywes also earned a PhD in liver transplant immunology and the effect of glucose metabolism on vascular endothelium injury, working with Dr David Jenkins, the father of the Glycemic Index.

After completing his paediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Dr. Cywes was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Paediatric and Fetal Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he did hepatic stem cell research.  During this time, Dr. Cywes became increasingly interested in adolescent obesity and the impact of carbohydrates on the liver and metabolic syndrome in young patients. Dr. Cywes’ research led to a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity of chronic excessive carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of obesity and so-called obesity-related co-morbidities. In the late 1990s Dr Cywes understood that the prevailing treatment of obesity using a Calories in, Calories out (CICO) model was erroneous, and he developed the Carbohydrate Insulin Model of Obesity and Diabetes (CIMOD). Using this model in combination with his understanding of the psychology of addiction, he developed a clinical program to treat obese adolescents using this approach. Dr. Cywes relocated to Jacksonville, Florida where he joined the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Nemours Children’s Clinic and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. This led to a national meeting in Jacksonville where guidelines for adolescent obesity surgery were established.

In 2004, Dr. Cywes established Jacksonville Surgical Associates to continue his work in both adolescent and adult obesity treatment and surgery, and in 2013 opened a practice in West Palm Beach, Florida.  He now works with a highly experienced team of professionals from a variety of medical sub-specialties to better care for obese patients.  He has developed the practice into a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for obesity surgery. The practice uses a cognitive behavioral therapy approach that addresses carbohydrate addiction, along with bariatric surgery, to help patients manage the cause of their obesity long term. Based on his extensive clinical research and observations, Dr. Cywes lectures internationally regarding the physiological impact of carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of the current Chronic Non-Communicable Disease (CNCDs) epidemic.  He also lectures on the behavioral aspects of carbohydrate addiction as the cause of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities and the use of substance abuse methodology, rather than a diet and exercise approach, to the effective long term treatment of obesity.

Dr. Cywes is a member of ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) and is a member of the ASMBS Childhood Obesity Committee. He is also a member of APSA (American Pediatric Surgery Association). He has earned a Centers of Excellence designation by the Surgical Review Corporation. Dr. Cywes trains other surgeons to perform bariatric surgery as well as developing an aftercare model to help patients maintain weight loss.

Dr. Cywes and his team are active in obesity research, including an ongoing Adolescent Bariatric Surgery trial. He has become one of the foremost authorities in the treatment and management of obesity in adolescents. He recently co-authored a book, Diabetes Unpacked outlining an effective approach to understanding and treating diabetes into remission. Dr. Cywes’ vast experience in pediatric and general surgery serves him well in using bariatric surgery to treat obesity in both adults and children.

Dr Cywes maintains an active clinical practice in Palm Beach Gardens and in Jacksonville as well as being active on conveying the CIMOD message on social media and through his websites – Obesityunderstood.com and diabetesunderstood.com.

Vincent (Ben) Bocchicchio, PhD

Dr. Ben has been at the forefront of health and wellness for nearly 50 years. As a clinician in the fields of fitness and health he has initiated and promoted behavioral interventions that have proven to be effective in the treatment and management of the degenerative diseases that plague our public health.

Dr. Ben’s philosophy states that on the continuum of illness to wellness, our collective health plans should attempt to drive the needle towards wellness and away from illness through scientifically sound and safe applications of behavioural endeavors.

Dr. Ben has applied his extensive, recognized background and experience in diet and exercise as the basis of his intervention protocol. Initially (1974), he introduced slow resistance training to the exercise world in a successful attempt to provide safe, high intensity exercise to all populations.

He was the first practitioner to include resistance training to phase II cardiac rehabilitation in 1982. It is now accepted, standard protocol. He pioneered high intensity exercise for high endurance athletes in the mid 1980’s. Lastly, he introduced high intensity exercise for weight loss and management programs including the Opti Fast protocol used by the first popular bariatric physicians (Opti Fit).

Furthermore, Dr. Ben has exposed the paucity of legitimate science supporting conventional medical and governmental practices in treating and managing the aforementioned health dilemmas. He contends that a singularly pharmaceutical oriented solution as currently applied has failed individually and on an international basis.

Dr. Ben provides a simple history of the escalation of degenerative diseases (diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancer etc.) that correlates, at an inordinate level, with behavioral changes in physical activity and dietary preferences.

Lastly, Dr. Ben offers a simple, sound and scientifically based plan that incorporates a universally applicable system that directly addresses the alarming, current state of public health. Topics included are: Diet, exercise, disease treatment and management options and cost analyses of these.

Dr. Ben Bocchicchio has published more than 200 articles and study reports in the fields of Fitness, Health and Exercise. His work includes his acclaimed book “15 Minutes to Fitness” and the sale of more than 300,000 SMaRT DVD’s in 31 countries. He is continuing work as an investigator and consultant to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, ASU and a number of academic and corporate health institutions.

Matt Calkins, MD, MHP

Dr. Matt Calkins is a second-year family medicine resident at Wake Forest in Winston Salem, North Carolina. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Florida. He subsequently matriculated and graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is working towards his SMHP certification and plans on being board certified in Obesity Medicine soon after finishing training.

Matt’s passion is centered on improving health and performance. His initial interest in optimizing performance came from competing in weightlifting competitions and long-distance hiking, including a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2014. He has a particular interest in the processes around making changes accessible to his patients – including improving communication and education between clinicians and patients.

As the Chair of the Resources Committee for the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners, Matt’s role is to curate resources on nutrition and metabolic health, and then work with medical students, residencies, and clinicians to integrate them into their educational programs and daily practices.

Jodi Nishida, PharmD, MHP

Dr. Jodi has been living a well-formulated ketogenic lifestyle for over 4 years. By eliminating carbs and sugar, the autoimmune condition that she suffered with for 13 years went into remission.  She no longer had to inject herself in the abdomen weekly.  After both researching and personally realizing the numerous benefits of low carb, she opened a private practice in Honolulu, HI based in ketogenic nutrition. She has helped hundreds of patients with their medical conditions from head to toe and works tirelessly to make keto a sustainable lifestyle in Hawaii. Partnered with a Cardiologist, The Keto Prescription Clinic accepts 90% of insurance plans to be able to help all socioeconomic groups. Dr. Jodi also holds unique menu collaborations with food companies such as Zippy’s Restaurants, 7-Eleven Hawaii, Big City Diner, Via Gelato, Feast, and others.  She has been featured on the radio, numerous podcasts, and TV shows in Hawaii where she advocates for a low carb lifestyle through education and showing the fun, delicious side of being healthy. You can find her on Facebook @Jodi.Nishida or Instagram @theketoprescription. 

Annette Bosworth, MD

Annette Bosworth, M.D., (Dr. Boz), is an internal medicine physician, and an authority on optimizing brain health. Author of the bestseller, ANYWAY YOU CAN, Dr. Boz, has helped patients overcome long-term chronic conditions such as obesity, depression, autoimmune problems, & addiction.

Dr. Boz is a frequent lecturer at youth shelters, schools, universities, churches, jails, seminars, & the military.  She has taught at the University Of Utah & University of South Dakota Schools Of Medicine. Being born into a farming family in rural South Dakota, she witnessed first-hand the value & importance of individual contribution to strengthening a community. She has also been featured on CNN, TimeUS News & World Report, Fox News, & more.

Dr. Boz & her husband savor the adventure of raising three energetic, fast-growing sons through debate, wrestling, music, & theater.

Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MHP, MBA

Dr. Padda is a Medical Physician, Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Addiction and Interventional Pain.  For over 20 years he has practiced in the Urban Core, helping his patients regain their metabolic health.

Pain is the final pathway, the body screaming that something has gone terribly wrong.  Dr. Padda treats clinically patients at the intersection of the pain epidemic, opioid epidemic, and the diabetes epidemic.  They are all inter-related pathologies, the clinical manifestations of systemic metainflammation. 

I spend most of my clinical hours dealing with chronic degenerative diseases that are primarily driven by Metabolic Syndrome leading to Metainflammation.  Metabolic Syndrome is a form of malnutrition, a malnutrition of excessive energy consumption and toxicity from:
     Acellular Carbohydrates
     Synthetic Vegetable Oil consumption

This malnutrition of excess is aggravated by leaky gut from plant based chemical defenses. 

The Standard American Diet has become calorically dense, but diluted of protein, minerals, and micronutrients.  

Unfortunately, Governmental policy combined with the profit motives of Big-Food and Big-Pharma encourages the consumption of manufactured foods, which may be non-nutritive and promote chronic systemic diseases.  This disparity of synthesized food (which contains low nutritional value but high caloric load) leads to caloric over consumption, energy toxicity and eventual diabesity.

Addiction behavior is manipulated by dopaminergic modulation by food manufacturers and gamification of passive activities, in the context of individual loneliness.  Social media “connectedness” has created a false paradigm of human interaction, leaving individuals in silos of anonymous and self-destructive behavior.

Humans are complex adaptive systems, and systematic failure is rarely a single cause phenomenon.  Our historical disease models of single cause pathology are inadequate for this new synthesized Universe.

Mark Cucuzzella, MD, FAAFP

Mark Cucuzzella, is a Professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He is also a LtCol in the US Air Force designing programs to promote health and better fitness in the military with the USAF Efficient Running Project. (available on iphone format here) In military and civilian community he has been a tireless promoter of healthy movement, nutritional interventions in patients with any spectrum of the metabolic syndrome, and injury free training for running.

He was a lead writer of one of the first grants supporting education of Medical Students in nutrition and physical activity in Medical School.  Mark is also the lead on a large USDA grant to double SNAP benefits at Farmers Markets- the goal is reducing food insecurity as a barrier to healthier eating.

He’s also been a competitive runner for over 30 years — with more than 100 marathon and ultramarathon finishes — and continues to compete as a national-level Masters runner. He has won the Air Force Marathon twice. He is the race director of Freedom’s Run race series in West Virginia and director of the Natural Running Center, an education portal designed to teach healthier running . Mark is also the owner of Two Rivers Treads — A Center for Natural Running and Walking in his hometown of Shepherdstown, W.Va.  Mark’s vision of a future of health is housed in his site www.drmarksdesk.com

Mark’s innovative work and story has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, Outside Magazine, Running Times, Runners World, Air Force Times, the Washington Post, JAMA, Blue Ridge Outdoors, and other medical and media outlets.  

Mark Cucuzzella MD FAAFP
Professor West Virginia University School of Medicine

DrMarksDesk.com 

store/race HQ 304-876-1100
mobile 304-268-8813
[email protected]

Lily Johnston

Dr. Lily Johnston, MD, MPH, is the associate medical director for Nexus Healthspan, and is board-certified in both vascular and general surgery. Dr. Johnston received her MD from the University of California, San Diego; she completed her residency in general surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and then completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Johnston also has a Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. She has authored over 25 peer-reviewed studies in cardiovascular disease, and has given numerous talks on topics ranging from vascular and metabolic health to cognitive biases in physicians.

After several years of practicing vascular surgery full-time, she witnessed too many people losing their lives and limbs to preventable and reversible diseases. She has now dedicated her career to addressing the root cause of cardiovascular disease, and is passionate about bringing the principles of whole person medicine and metabolic health to her patients. Dr. Johnston is an expert in complex cardiometabolic therapy including cardiovascular testing and imaging, lipid management, therapeutic nutrition protocols, and hormone replacement therapy.

Dr. Johnston is the founder of the Vascular Health Institute, and is a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery. She is an accredited metabolic health practitioner with both the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners and the Nutrition Network, and she is currently pursuing additional training in functional medicine.

Andrea Salcedo, DO

Dr. Salcedo is a board certified OBGYN in Southern California and practices at Loma Linda University Health. She treats and addresses all benign gynaecologic issues and has a special emphasis in using lifestyle to address women’s health concerns. Particularly, she uses low carbohydrate high fat nutrition as one of her tools to treat abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis, and infertility.

Barbara Levy, MD

Barbara Levy, MD is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and certified Menopause provider. She has over 40 years of experience in direct care, research, and physician training in women’s health care. Dr Levy is currently Chief Medical Officer of Visana Health, Inc., a virtual first women’s health company, and Chief Medical Officer of Uroshape.  In addition, she is Vice-Chair of the American Medical Society’s CPT Editorial Panel, past Chair of the AMA RBRVS Update Committee, and was the vice president of health policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for over 7 years. She has published over 95 studies and peer reviewed articles. Much of her personal and professional experience has focused on improving the health, well-being, and livelihood of women across the United States and around the world.

Dr. Wafaa Abdel-Hadi

Dr Wafaa Abdel-Hadi is a Clinical Oncologist & Functional Medicine Doctor,  an international Speaker, researcher and the Founder of AWARE clinic – a professional Educational platform that guides people on how to take charge of their health through analyzing the pattern of their imbalances and trusting in the Miracle of the human body to heal when given the right tools to survive and thrive, That is called “Reprograming of your body” by implementing the “Recovery Fundamentals”.  She is an advisory board member of the German-based European Keto Live Centre for Ketogenic Metabolic Therapies. She is also on the scientific curriculum board committee of the Integrative Oncology Working Group (IOWG), USA and the first certified Functional Medicine Doctor in Egypt and the Middle East from The Institute for Functional Medicine, IFM, USA and a certified international health coach from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, USA, which empowers her to closely establish the confidence and empathy needed to work with her patients.  

Dr. Madison Kackley

Dr. Madison Kackley is a research scientist and director of SHE IS Lab (Scientific Health Empowerment & Integrative Solutions) at Ohio State University. This is an all-female led research lab dedicated to advancing women’s health and wellness through cutting-edge research, nutrition, and exercise. With a focus on complex health issues affecting women, Dr. Kackley’s work spans areas like athletes, PCOS, postpartum health, and reproductive wellness.

Philip Ovadia, MD

After growing up in New York, Dr. Ovadia graduated from the accelerated Pre-Med/Med program at the Pennsylvania State University and Jefferson Medical College (now Sidney Kimmel School of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University).  He then went on to complete a Residency in General Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry on New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical School.

Dr. Ovadia has practiced Cardiothoracic Surgery in Beaver, PA and Clearwater, Florida.  In 2020 he established Ovadia Cardiothoracic Surgery and now works as an independent contractor Cardiothoracic Surgeon in various locations throughout the United States.

In an effort to overcome his lifelong struggle with obesity, Dr. Ovadia adopted a low-carbohydrate focused way of eating in 2015.  He has maintained a weight loss of approximately 100 pounds and since March, 2019 has adopted a carnivorous way of eating.  He has extensively researched the health benefits of low-carb with a focus on heart health through many hours of reading the medical literature, books and listening to podcasts, as well as personal discussions with many of the physician leaders and citizens scientists involved in the low-carb movement.  In his recent book, Stay Off My Operating Table, Dr. Ovadia discusses the principles of optimizing metabolic health to prevent heart disease and other chronic diseases.

Dr. Ovadia has also established Ovadia Heart Health a Telehealth practice that focuses on the prevention and treatment of metabolic and heart disease utilizing lifestyle and dietary modification.   He incorporates his hands-on, clinical experience with heart disease and the personal insights he has gained in his own struggle with obesity and poor metabolic health.

Dr. Ovadia is board certified in Cardiothoracic Surgery and General Surgery.  He is a founding member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners.  He makes frequent podcast appearances discussing the role of metabolic health in the prevention of heart disease as well as the importance of health sovereignty.

Dr. Ovadia currently lives in Florida with his wonderful wife and 2 amazing daughters.

Dominic D’Agostino, PhD

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and also a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). The primary focus of his laboratory is directed towards understanding the physiological effects of hyperbaric oxygen and developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, including ketogenic diets, ketone supplements and drugs that target specific metabolic pathways.

His research explores the use of these therapies for a broad range of disorders linked pathophysiologically to metabolic dysregulation, including seizures, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic diseases and cancer. D’Agostino’s laboratory uses in vivo and in vitro techniques to understand the physiological, cellular and molecular mechanism of metabolic therapies. His research is supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Department of Defense (DoD), private organizations and foundations.

Eric Westman, MD, MHS

Dr. Eric Westman is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University. He is Board Certified in Obesity Medicine and Internal Medicine, and founded the Duke Keto Medicine Clinic in 2006 after conducting clinical research regarding low carbohydrate ketogenic diets. He is Past-President and Master Fellow of the Obesity Medicine Association and Fellow of The Obesity Society. He is an editor of the textbook: Obesity: Evaluation & Treatment Essentials, and author of the New York Times Bestseller The New Atkins for a New You, Cholesterol Clarity, and Keto Clarity, and End Your Carb Confusion. He is co-founder of Adapt Your Life , an education company based on low carbohydrate concepts: https://adaptyourlifeacademy.com/

Tro Kalayjian, DO

My name is Tro Kalayjian, I am a board-certified physician in both Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine, I lost 150lbs to reclaim my health for myself and my family. I did it by ignoring much of the conventional medical advice that we have been told.  My life’s goal is to get my patient’s healthy, prevent disease. and get them OFF of their medications.  I completed medical school at TouroCOM in New York. I completed my internal medicine residency and chief residency within the Yale system at Greenwich Hospital. I have been practicing medicine for 8 years, the last 3 have been in private practice. My practice focuses on tracking patients seamlessly and remotely with smart-devices, including scales, blood pressure cuffs, wearable technology and continuous glucose monitors. My practices focuses on de-prescribing medications and using lifestyle, diet and exercise to improve the course of disease. 

My personal weight loss story begins at childhood. I grew up obese, in an obese family. I have personally dealt with the deep emotions and feelings involved with being overweight for most of my life. I have dealt with the same issues that many of my patients face, which affords me the capacity to empathize with them and guide them in a special way. This connection is why my patients are successful in their wellness journey, because I am not preaching from some Ivory Tower. I lived through what my patients live through, and I have experienced what they are experiencing. In order to heal myself, I studied for countless hours through medical literature, researched thousands of papers, read hundreds of books in order to find the answer, for myself, to the ever important question: Why are we fat?

And what I found during my journey and research was in such stark contrast to what we have been told. Eating multiple small meals DOES NOT speed up your metabolism. Fruit Juices ARE NOT healthy. Red Meat, Fish & Full-Fat Yogurt ARE healthy. If most physicians and nutritionists can’t get it right, why do we expect anything different from our patients? Are we surprised that obesity epidemic has exploded? What patients may not realize is that most physicians DO NOT have sufficient training in nutrition and can’t help you lose weight or reverse disease. Furthermore the food industry and special interests have made it so hard to understand what a healthy lifestyle really is.

Ultimately, I find I am best able to serve my patients because I understand what it is like, I have been through it, and I help my patients every step of the way.  I succeed when they succeed.

Laura Buchanan, MD, MHP

Dr. Laura Buchanan is a double board-certified physician in family and obesity medicine with a passion for using lifestyle modification as the first-line standard of care. She is also a certified metabolic health practitioner (MHP), and a Board and founding member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners.

She completed her family medicine residency at Wake Forest in 2022 and was a valedictorian of her class at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

The mission that drives her is to help people age successfully. That passion was initially derived from a love of sports but has since evolved and expanded to include a passion for healthy living generally, including the importance of nutrition, exercise, mental wellness, and an optimal use of the medical system. She sees her role as a doctor being two-fold: promoting prevention and practicing medicine. She is currently accepting patients across the United States via Telemedicine with Dr. Tro Kalayjian.

Caitlin Prickett, DO

Dr. Caitlin Prickett is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, and founder and medical director of Concierge Medicine of Boca Raton, a premier concierge medical practice in South Florida.  With a focus on personalized, patient-centered care, Dr. Prickett is dedicated to advancing wellness through prevention, lifestyle optimization, and innovative medical therapies.

Dr. Prickett specializes in metabolic health, integrating cutting-edge diagnostic tools and evidence-based treatments to optimize patient outcomes.  Her practice emphasizes proactive heart health management using AI-driven imaging, early cancer detection, and customized nutritional therapies, including IV infusions and personalized supplements, to address micronutrient deficiencies and enhance overall well-being.

Passionate about empowering her patients, Dr. Prickett combines her expertise in metabolic health with a holistic approach to care.  She advocates for clean-living principles and has been seed-oil free for several years, an approach she incorporates into her practice to inspire and guide her patients toward healthier lifestyles.

Dr. Prickett’s commitment to delivering high-quality care and fostering strong patient relationships makes her a trusted leader in her field.  She is honored to participate in the Symposium for Metabolic Health and share her insights on improving metabolic wellness

Doug Reynolds, Founder and CEO

Doug Reynolds is the Founder and CEO of LowCarbUSA®.  The original organization was founded in the beginning of 2016 with the initial  intention of providing  a platform, through an annual conference, for internationally renowned scientists and medical practitioners to present the ever-increasing body of evidence on the benefits of reducing carbohydrates in the diet (and adding in healthy fats).  He felt that education about the power of the low carb/ketogenic diet for the individual who may not get the information from their medical team or from mainstream nutrition advice, and for practitioners who may then be able to prescribe it in their practice was critical.

However, his mission quickly evolved when he realized how important this was to the medical professional community.  Valuable tools are needed, not only to provide hope to their patients to reverse and prevent disease but restore hope to that very practitioner. This is why they went to medical school and got professional training, to help people heal and not just put Band-Aids on and never address the root cause of the problem.  Too many practitioners are being taught that the many chronic diseases our communities are facing are just chronic and processive.  With effective tools and supportive information, complications can be stopped in their tracks and further complications reduced and the disease process may even be reversed.

The tools and resources LowCarbUSA® has been providing,  not only includes the live conferences, but also  a huge library of educational videos, a growing database of practitioners, and nutritionists and sports trainers who are open to  the carb restriction conversation as well as a searchable database for papers and articles covering the research into the evidence supporting this lifestyle.

Most importantly, though, he has coordinated the establishment of a panel of advisors to oversee the creation and maintenance of a set of ‘Clinical Guidelines for Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction’ which was first published in May, 2019.

He has worked tirelessly over this period during the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown to now establish this nonprofit, the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners, and this organization will now house most of the above body of work as education and training of Metabolic Health Practitioners and the entire community interested in making a difference in worldwide metabolic health.  The aim is to stall and reverse the increasing prevalence of noncommunicable, lifestyle related diseases, influenced by metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance.  Accreditation pathways have even been established for practitioners within this society to introduce credibility to the practice of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction and to help establish alternative Standard of Care for those whose metabolisms are different because they don’t eat excessive carbohydrates.

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