How Scientific Research (& Supplement Companies) Mislead You with Kamal Patel, Examine.com

Greetings, superfriends!
In this week’s episode, we have a really exciting guest. In a lot of previous episodes, we’ve talked about the idea that research can be manipulated to deliver the results that the researchers often want to generate… So time and time again, the question has come up… who can we trust?
Well, my guest today is Kamal Patel, a man who definitely has some suggestions on just that. He’s the director of an organization called Examine.com, which provides does unbiased evaluation of supplements and nutrition. He has a master’s in public health and an MBA, and actually put a PHD in nutrition on hold to start his organization.
In this episode, we cover the difficulties with trusting and interpreting research, supplementation, overtraining, and much more. It’s a bit more of a laid back episode than usual, and has a bit of a more conversational pace. Nonetheless, there are a lot of great takeaways and interesting points. In fact, I would love it if you guys would let me know what your favorite piece of information was by sending us a tweet to @gosuperhuman.
In this episode with Kamal Patel of Examine.com, we discuss:
- The importance of Vitamin D in proper mood and energy levels
- Kamal's story, and how he got to where he is today, an expert on supplements
- What is Examine.com, what do they do, and why is it important?
- How much trust can we place in the information we find online today?
- How can we validate the information and research studies we find?
- Some examples of how the media misinterprets research to generate click-bait
- What is the most popular and referenced supplement on Examine.com right now?
- Which supplements absolutely work, and which ones do not?
- How do public health and business school classes relate to how Kamal thinks about supplements?
- Which things should you be eating to improve your athletic performance?
- What does Kamal say about caffeine, raspberry ketones, and other “fat loss” supplements?
- A longer discussion of increasing testosterone naturally and safely
- Thoughts on overtraining, adrenal fatigue, and taking time off training
- What would a $100 health optimization kit designed by Kamal look like
- What is Kamal's dream for Examine.com's future?
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- Evidence-Based Practice Centers
- Examine.com, your unbiased source on nutrition
- Reddit, specifically /r/nutrition
- A recent study on low carb vs. high carb
- Creatine Supplements (my recommended brand)
- Modafinil, a favorite of folks like Dave Asprey
- Beta-Alanine supplements (which I strongly endorse)
- Nitric-oxide boosting supplements
- HMB supplements, a metabolite of Leucine
- Kamal's recent article on CrossFit.com
- The Mind Body Medical Institute
- The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson
- BodyBuilding.com
- Surprise Ride, which was featured on The Shark Tank
3 Comments
Thanks, I learned a lot of interesting things in past episodes.
loved th heart and the depth of the conversation. The way that Dr. Metivier shared from his enormous experience and insights was just amazing. Thank you Jonathan for doing this podcast!! 🙂
Great interview with Dr. Greg Wells! He mentioned a doctor from Colorado around the 42:30 point of the podcast, discussing turmeric and black pepper. I couldn’t make out the doctor’s name. Can you provide me with his full name and maybe his website or contact info. Interested in his products.
Thanks,
Rob