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Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

The HIDDEN Killer Deadlier than the Plague

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

One in 4 people is infected with this silent killer disease that’s deadlier than the plague. You may even have this infection! Find out about this deadly microbial threat and how to stay healthy so you don’t become the next victim.

0:00 Introduction: Infectious disease deadlier than the plague

1:30 Latent infections

2:59 Tuberculosis facts

4:39 Tuberculosis and vitamin D

7:38 Immune system function

8:20 Sun exposure and infrared rays


Many people are infected with a disease that’s worse than the plague! The plague killed 200 million people, and in total, this bacterium has killed 1 billion! It’s the world’s deadliest infectious disease and kills more people than HIV and malaria combined. It kills around 1.3 million people each year, yet you don't hear much about it.


Latent infections such as herpes, EBV, CMV, HPV, and Hepatitis B and C are able to go in and out of remission. Today, we’re going to talk about the pathogen that gives you tuberculosis.



Tuberculosis (TB) doesn’t evade the immune system, it invades it. TB hides inside the macrophage, which is responsible for cleaning up bacteria and infections in the body.


TB affects more people in the northern hemisphere away from the equator, and its incidence increases in the winter. Older people or those with type 2 diabetes, HIV, or low vitamin D are at an increased risk of an active TB infection.


TB blocks the vitamin D receptor, which lowers your immune function. There was an uptick in TB outbreaks in the 80s when sun phobia was promoted. This campaign significantly reduced vitamin D levels by reducing sun exposure.


Before the development of antibiotics, people with tuberculosis would go to sanatoriums for fresh air and sunlight exposure. Cod liver oil was also shown to be beneficial for people with tuberculosis infections.


The immune system destroys TB with a compound called cathelicidin, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial that depends on vitamin D.


Not only is the sun vital for vitamin D production, but it also exposes you to infrared light. Infrared reverses mitochondrial damage and can increase vitamin D signaling, further protecting you from a TB infection.


Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:

Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Disclaimer:

Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Today we're going to talk about a hidden killer deadlier than the plague and you may even

0:06.2

have this infection.

0:08.1

It's extremely common.

0:10.1

In fact, one in four people have this bacterial infection and many people don't even know

0:14.0

that they have it.

0:15.1

It's a bacteria that killed more people than the plague.

0:19.6

The plague killed 200 million people. If we take a look at the

0:22.8

accumulated people that this bacteria killed, it's over 1 billion people. And each year this bacteria

0:28.4

kills just under 1.3 million people. Yet it's not even really in the news. You don't hear much

0:34.4

about it, even though it is the world's deadliest infectious disease,

0:39.3

which kills more people than HIV and malaria combined. And the reason of bringing this up is not

0:45.3

just because it's very common. It infects 25% of the population. That's over 2 billion people on

0:51.8

planet Earth. If you were infected, you would need to know this information.

0:56.7

The somewhat good news about this particular bacteria is the great majority of this infection.

1:03.0

95% of it is in an inactive stage. It's in a dormant, latent stage. So only about 5% of this bacterial infection is in the

1:14.8

active stage. Despite that, there's over a million people a year that die. It's contagious. It

1:21.1

affects the lung. And it's one of the oldest pathogens that has evolved to persist or survive in your body in a dormant state.

1:31.7

And so actually there's a group of microbes in your body that can go in and out of remission.

1:37.6

And they're called latent infections.

1:40.1

Like, for example, herpes and epistine bar virus and cytomegalovirus and human papillomavirus

1:46.5

and hepatitis B or C are all latent microbes.

1:50.7

But the microbe that I'm going to focus on today is TB, which is a microbe that gives

...

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