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STEM-Talk

Episode 59: Stephen Cunnane discusses the role of ketones in human evolution and Alzheimer’s

STEM-Talk

Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford

Natural Sciences, Alternative Health, Science, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.7706 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2018

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nearly five million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease. In 30 years, that number is estimated to be 16 million In today’s episode, Ken and Dawn interview Dr. Stephen Cunnane, a Canadian physiologist whose extensive research into Alzheimer’s disease is showing how ketones can be used as part of a prevention approach that helps delay or slow down the onset of Alzheimer’s. Cunnane is a metabolic physiologist at the University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He is the author of five books, including” Survival of the Fattest: The Key to Human Brain Evolution,” which was published in 2005, and “Human Brain Evolution: Influence of Fresh and Coastal Food Resources,” which was published in 2010. He earned his Ph.D. in Physiology at McGill University in 1980 and did post-doctoral research on nutrition and brain development in Aberdeen, Scotland, London, and Nova Scotia. From 1986 to 2003, he was a faculty member in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto where his research focused on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in brain development and human health. He also did research on the relation between ketones and a high-fat ketogenic diet on brain development. In 2003, Dr. Cunnane was awarded a senior Canada Research Chair at the Research Center on Aging and became a full professor at the University of Sherbrooke. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed research papers and was elected to the French National Academy of Medicine in 2009.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to STEM Talk.

0:01.2

Stem Talk.

0:01.4

Stem Talk.

0:03.3

Stem Talk.

0:03.7

Stem Talk, where we introduce you to fascinating people who passionately inhabit the scientific

0:11.2

and technical frontiers of our society.

0:14.4

Hi, I'm your host, Don Kornagis, and joining me to introduce today's podcast is the Man

0:18.6

Behind the Curtain, Dr. Ken Ford, HMC's director and chairman

0:22.2

of the double secret selection committee that selects all the guests who appear in STEM Talk.

0:25.9

Hi, Dawn. Great to be here. So nearly five million people in the U.S. today have Alzheimer's disease.

0:32.2

In 30 years, the Alzheimer's Association predicts that number is going to swell to 16 million people.

0:38.3

So today's podcast is Dr. Stephen Cunane, who is a Canadian physiologist whose extensive research into

0:43.4

Alzheimer's disease is showing how ketones can be used as part of a prevention approach that

0:48.3

helps delay or slow down the onset of Alzheimer's. But before we get on to today's interview,

0:54.1

we have some housekeeping to take care of.

0:56.7

We really appreciate all of you who have subscribed to STEM Talk, and we are particularly

1:01.7

appreciative of all the wonderful five-star reviews positively piling up on iTunes.

1:08.4

As we announced in earlier episodes, the Double Secret selection committee has been

1:13.3

continuously and carefully reviewing the iTunes reviews with an eye towards selecting the wittiest

1:19.0

and most lavishly praise-filled reviews to read on STEM Talk. If you hear your review read on

1:26.8

STEM Talk, just contact us at STEMTalk at IHMC.

1:31.9

Dot U.S. to claim your official STEM Talk T-shirt.

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