The B.rad Podcast

Get ready for another great show with Ben Azadi, author of the new book KetoFlex. Ben has an incredible story—after struggling with obesity and depression in his early 20s, he lost 80 pounds and completely transformed his health.
Today he's helping people better understand metabolism, fasting, and the ketogenic diet by simplifying complex science and turning it into practical, actionable habits that don't feel overwhelming.
We talk about why eating too close to bedtime can interfere with your body's biggest fat-burning window of the day, why Ben believes in making just one "tweak a week" instead of overhauling your life overnight, and why he says, "You don't lose weight to get healthy—you get healthy to lose weight."
We also discuss metabolic flexibility, the role of hyperinsulinemia and seed oils in today's obesity epidemic, why keto isn't meant to be a forever diet, and the simple mindset shifts that make lasting change possible—including Ben's memorable reminder: "If you treat your health casually, you'll end up a casualty." Ben also shares the productivity habits that have helped him write multiple bestselling books while staying focused on his mission of helping others reclaim their health.
Ben Azadi is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and functional diagnostic nutritionist known as "The Health Detective." After struggling with obesity and depression in his early 20s, he transformed his health by losing 80 pounds and reducing his body fat to 6%—an experience that inspired his mission to help others improve their metabolic health. Today, Ben is the founder of Keto Kamp, where he educates people on intermittent fasting, the ketogenic diet, and metabolic flexibility. He is also the host of the award-winning Metabolic Freedom podcast, which was named Keto Podcast of the Year at the 2022 Metabolic Health Summit.

TIMESTAMPS:
Ben Azadi explains in this podcast some complex scientific insights about sleep, about metabolic health, about how the body's supposed to burn fat while we sleep, about what's going on during the day and how to manage this global obesity epidemic. [01:05]
Ben's story of being a very unhealthy depressed young man involves an 80-pound weight loss he experienced. This started his journey toward better health. He will explain the basics of the ketogenic diet. [04:55]
If you treat your health casually, you'll end up a casualty. If you are 23 years old or 63 years old, your body will respond when you change the signals you're giving it. [10:10]
What does it take to get motivated and inspired to take on the responsibility of managing your own health? [16:31]
When you eat too close to bedtime, you're missing out on the most important window within a 24-hour period for fat loss and fat burning. [18:14]
If you eat the same meal in the morning and evening with exactly the same calories and micronutrients, the insulin response is different. [22:44]
When you are most insulin sensitive in the morning, is that a good time to fast? [28:40]
If you put rules and guidelines into your life, that is a really nice method of succeeding. [32:34]
Start with whole foods, start with good sleep, start with movement and then build from there. [37:33]
Keto Flex is a spin on metabolic flexibility. It's do keto but don't do it forever. [38:22]
When you're in ketosis, it signals to your body that you're going through kind of like a famine. It's a stressor to the body. [43:13]
How did Ben lose 80 pounds in nine months? You don't lose weight to get healthy, you get healthy to lose weight. [48:54]
Are seed oils promoting hyperinsulinemia or are there other things at play here that's interfering with our ability to burn stored body fat? [52:33]
The definition of whole food is that it is a single ingredient food. [58:11]
What kind of application does the consumption of exogenous ketones have? [58:42]
Ben explains his KetoFlex plan here. [01:01:04]
Ben shares some of his secrets of managing his busy life, writing books, teaching, podcasting and keeping that 80 pounds off. [01:06:16]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
Brad Nutrition.com
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com˜
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Keto Flex
Metabolic Freedom
Burn
ketoflex.com

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
B.rad Nutrition: Premium quality, all-natural supplements for peak performance, recovery, and longevity; including the world's highest quality whey protein! Get 20% OFF your first order!
Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Jaspr Air Scrubber: Ultra high-performance air purifier - blows other air filters away! Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD.
Get Stride: Advanced DNA, methylation profile, microbiome & blood at-home testing. Hit your stride the right way, with cutting-edge technology and customized programming. Save 10% with the code BRAD.
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a most informative and inspiring show about the amazing ancient superfood of cacao!
This episode will give you everything you need to know about its remarkable health benefits, healing properties, and how to choose the most sustainable, eco-friendly, fair-trade bean-to-bar products. You will learn about the fascinating history of cacao as a sacred food, currency, and medicine, why it remains one of the most highly regarded superfoods on the planet, and how the food industry took this extraordinary raw material, stripped out everything useful, and transformed it into little more than a heavily sugared version of the original.
Along the way, I explain the science in plain English—from the powerful polyphenols that support your heart, brain, blood pressure, gut microbiome, metabolism, and mood, to why cacao may be the single most antioxidant-rich food you can eat.
I also reveal the disturbing reality behind much of today's commercial chocolate industry, including how mainstream processing destroys many of cacao's most valuable compounds and why ethical sourcing matters. You'll learn the difference between raw cacao powder, cacao nibs, and high-percentage dark chocolate, how to identify truly high-quality bean-to-bar chocolate, why I became a dark chocolate connoisseur, and the artisan brands I recommend.
When this episode is over, you're never going to look at a chocolate bar the same way again, and you'll be fully armed to make the best product purchasing decisions and obtain the maximum benefits from consuming foods high in nutritious cacao.

TIMESTAMPS:
Cacao is one of the most highly regarded superfoods on the planet. [00:56]
When you are finished listening to this episode, you will never look at a chocolate bar the same way again. [02:28]
The best way to enjoy chocolate is to put it on your tongue and allow the flavor to dissolve in your mouth. [06:38]
The history of cacao is fascinating. It is one of the most nutrient dense, biologically active foods in all of human history. [08:10]
Early civilationa learned to ferment, roast, and grind cacao beans into a drink. It was more than a flavoring agent, it was very much a spriitual centerpiece as well as used for medicinal purposes. [10:11]
After the Europeans added sugar to cacao, it lost some of its medicinal purpose, although it still is a good source of antioxidants. [12:29]
There are many cardiovascular benefits from cacao. It improves platelet function. [18:17]
Cacao has been shown in studies to produce meaningful reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It is also known to help boost levels of HDL (high density lipoproteins.) [20:55]
Cacao consumption improves your overall lipid profiles, including helping with healthy triglyceride levels. [27:24]
Does cacao help with weight loss goals? [28:27]
Cacao has an impact on brain function and mood. [31:37]
In contrast to the powerful, hard and fast effects of caffeine, theobromine in cacao works more slowly. It has a gentler mechanism and a longer half life. [35:08]
Studies show wonderful benefits from cacao on the gut. It has been identified as a potent prebiotic which is what feed probiotics to flourish in the intestinal tract. [38:59]
Reasearch shows cacao has properties protecting you from UV damage from sunburn. [46:35]
Just how damaging to health is mainstream modern chocolate processing? One of the terrible aspects of the low-priced chocolate is because of the support of child slave labor harvesting these beans. [50:02]
Look for the designation of "bean to bar" on the product. It should also have cacao beans as the first ingredient. [55:05]
In mainstream processing of the beans, they have to use super high temperatures which degrades the polyphenol. [57:17]
There are three categories of products which can deliver these wonderful health benefits. [01:00:07]
When the bar is above 80%, this is where most of the research showing cardiovascular cognitive benefits was conducted. The words "cacao beans" should be the first ingredient on the label. [01:05:53]
Brad lists his recommendations for good chocolate bars. [01:19:44]
How much chocolate should one consume? [[01:29:06]
Do not refrigerate high quality dark chocolate. [01:32:50]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Burn
The Primal Blueprint
Podcast with Shawn Askinosie (Chocolate)
Podcast with Todd White (Dry Farm Wine)
Dry Farm Wines
Askinosie Chocolate
Chocovivo
Cocoa Runners
Nomosu
Pump Street Chocolate
Puna Chocolate
Ranger Chocolate
Rausch
Spring and Mulberry

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
B.rad Nutrition: Premium quality, all-natural supplements for peak performance, recovery, and longevity; including the world's highest quality whey protein! Get 20% OFF your first order!
Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Jaspr Air Scrubber: Ultra high-performance air purifier - blows other air filters away! Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD.
Get Stride: Advanced DNA, methylation profile, microbiome & blood at-home testing. Hit your stride the right way, with cutting-edge technology and customized programming. Save 10% with the code BRAD.
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, how about a podcast guest of the fittest female athlete in the world?
Her name is Lauren Weeks and she is a Hyrox legend and a three-time world champion widely considered to be the most decorated competitor in the sport’s history and the world’s fittest woman. That’s a title you can throw around and argue about, but she has a legitimate claim because Hyrox is an incredible athletic challenge that demands both extreme endurance capability and the strength and power to perform these challenging stations that happen in between one-kilometer runs.
Lauren breaks down the entire Hyrox competition, how this fitness sensation has taken the fitness world by storm, and her journey to becoming a three-time world champion—including winning world championships, competing while eight months pregnant, returning to take second in the world, and eventually breaking the world record in both the pro and open divisions.
You’re also going to learn some really interesting insights about her training. Sneak peek: most of her training is comfortably paced. I want to pound this message into our heads over and over—here is a woman performing at the very highest level ever seen in total athletic, functional fitness, and most of the time she’s training well within her capacity.
Lauren shares how she balances aerobic training, strength work, and specific Hyrox preparation, and why building your aerobic system, staying strong, and training consistently are the foundation for performing at the highest level and staying fit and healthy throughout life.

TIMESTAMPS:
Lauren Weeks, World Champion in Hyrox, is here to give an explanation of the sport and some trips for training. [01:03]
It's a sport that encourages you to have an aerobic base, but also work on strength, which I think is really important for longevity. Lauren explains the stations. [04:29]
So pacing, no matter what level you're at, is gonna be incredibly important. [12:18]
If you're racing full bore for around an hour, that's pretty much the definition of the anaerobic threshold. [16:01]
The participants in these events vary in their skill level. There are divisions differing in the weights at the stations. [19:11]
On average, the average time is probably just about 90 minutes, but the range is anywhere from just under an hour to probably just over three hours. [22:31]
Range of motion might be a problem for folks who haven't trained for these stations. [25:17]
Did it take a long time for Lauren to get to the world champion level? What is it like being a professional these days? [27:04]
How many different events are there on the calendar? [32:48]
What does her daily training regimen look like? [34:54]
How can you be 8 months pregnant and compete in a Hyrox competition? [45:55]

Learn more about the Centr x HYROX ecosystem:
For gym owners and operators interested in Centr x HYROX commercial opportunities:
https://shop.centr.com/pages/commercial?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=TheB.radPodcast&utm_campaign=Podcast
Try the Centr App (includes the only HYROX-certified digital training programs):
https://centr.com/p/hyrox/all-programs?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=TheB.radPodcast&utm_campaign=Podcast

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
High Rocks (Hyrox)
Wikipedia: Lauren Weeks
Emom Training
thehybridengine training

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
B.rad Nutrition: Premium quality, all-natural supplements for peak performance, recovery, and longevity; including the world's highest quality whey protein! Get 20% OFF your first order!
Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Jaspr Air Scrubber: Ultra high-performance air purifier - blows other air filters away! Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD.
Get Stride: Advanced DNA, methylation profile, microbiome & blood at-home testing. Hit your stride the right way, with cutting-edge technology and customized programming. Save 10% with the code BRAD.
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am so excited to welcome back to the B.rad Podcast, Cynthia Monteleone, my good friend and sprinting mentor coach to numerous Olympic and world champion masters track and field athletes, and a former world champion herself in the 400 meters for women aged 45 and over!
Our last show was dedicated to discussing the dangers of chronic endurance training and the wide-ranging physiological benefits of sprinting. This conversation is focused on another hugely important topic: recovery.
The workout is the signal. The recovery is where the adaptation occurs.
You’re going to learn how Cynthia became a world champion in sprinting while taking four days off per week to recover, why cortisol is not the enemy, and the difference between the productive stress of training and the chronic stress that can interfere with health, hormones, and performance.
We also get into sprinting for longevity, chasing youth versus chasing longevity, and the simple recovery habits that matter most: sleep, walking, sunlight, spending time with family, and creating space where your body and nervous system can rebuild.

TIMESTAMPS:
The body doesn't know whether the stress comes from sprinting, scrolling, financial pressure, or a difficult conversation. It simply responds to stress. [03:37]
Cynthia publishes a free newsletter with educational information on various topics such as the importance of recovery. [05:51]
There is a difference between chasing youth and chasing longevity. [08:44]
The problem of taking outside hormone replacements is common. [12:23]
There are natural ways to get around some symptoms like those that hit women in midlife. Men often aromatize testosterone into estrogen, thus the spare tire. [18:10]
Cynthia uses a metabolic pinch to analyze what is going on in a client's body. This is based in Chinese medicine. [21:04]
The workout is the signal and the recovery is where the adaptation occurs. [22:03]
There's a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation about what cortisol does in the body. Learn to use Eustress in a positive way. [24:07]
Beer creates this enzyme aromatase that changes the testosterone to estrogen. [33:27]
If anyone wants to track their longevity potential and their overall wellness and vitality, test your sex hormones frequently. The more calories burned, more classes attended, more miles run, still creates worse results, especially for the menopausal female [34:80]
Aging with a broken body is not the best quality of life. [39:04]
How can someone become a champion and win the medal but take tremendous amount of recovery time? Don't you have to train every day? [43:18]
Walking after meals is such a great habit to adopt. [47:27]
Walking in those barefoot shoes basically strengthens your foot. [50:17]
Getting the right amount of sleep is essential for all your endeavors. [56:86]
Find joy in what you are doing. Decompress, let go of stress. These are very important for recovery and longevity. [01:03:11]
Some people think if you have a good diet, you don't need supplements. Some are based in ancestral medicine. [01:03:47]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com - 20% OFF Your First Order!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes - Save 10%
Instagram @FastOverForty
fastover40.com
Brad's Podcast Cynthia Monteleone
Eustress vs. Distress
Primal Endurance

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
B.rad Nutrition: Premium quality, all-natural supplements for peak performance, recovery, and longevity; including the world's highest quality whey protein! Get 20% OFF your first order!
Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Jaspr Air Scrubber: Ultra high-performance air purifier - blows other air filters away! Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD.
Get Stride: Advanced DNA, methylation profile, microbiome & blood at-home testing. Hit your stride the right way, with cutting-edge technology and customized programming. Save 10% with the code BRAD.
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The more hardcore and devoted you get to fitness, the more risk you bring that you might actually be doing things the wrong way and getting counterproductive results.
In this episode, I break down 5 ways you may be screwing up your fitness goals—even if you’re consistent, disciplined, and training hard.
We talk about why sleep, rest, recovery, and downtime are the foundation for everything else, why the body is a dynamic organism and not a machine you can program, and why you have to be careful about outsourcing your intuition to technology.
I also dive into why VO2 max is overhyped, why zone 1 deserves more attention, how chronic cardio and narrow fitness goals can compromise longevity, and why so many people are missing the most important pieces of lifelong fitness: strength, power, and sprinting.
In this episode, I reveal that the solution is simple: move frequently at a slow pace, lift regularly, and sprint occasionally.
Whether you’re an athlete or someone focused on staying fit, strong, and capable throughout life, this episode will challenge how you think about training for true full-body functional fitness and longevity.

TIMESTAMPS:
The more hardcore and the more serious and devoted to fitness you get, the more risk you bring in that you might be doing things the wrong way. [01:27]
Everything flows downstream from getting a good night's sleep, rest and recover. The hyperconnectivity that we now experience interferes with that. [01:58]
We have chronic low level stress hormone production from consuming variable digital content like text messages or scrolling through social media. [05:26]
Some of us are so devoted to exercise, that we don't know that we are overdoing it. What are some of the biggest signs that we are overdoing it? [07:21]
When you try to apply too much regimentation to a fitness program, you can very easily get yourself into trouble. [15:24]
There is technology measureing your HRV telling you what your body is doing but don't obsess about it. Listen to you body. [25:50]
Zone one exercise is all than most people need. [30:48]
Let's look at endurance training in general. It is a very narrow sliver of total body functional fitnes. [34:55]
There is a cutoff point where doing too much can put you into elevated risk for metabolic problems, including adding excess body fat and not being able to remove it. [37:47]
By exercise physiology definition, anything lasting over a few minutes is strongly emphasizing the aerobic system with minimal stimulation to the anaerobic system. [41:50]
The anaerobic muscle fibers are in that "use it or lose it" category. [50:52]
The void of strength training and sprint training in one's program is a great way to screw up everything. [52:11]
The general guideline for a great sprint workout template is four to eight reps of 10 to 20 seconds duration with a six to one recovery to work interval. [58:05]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com - 20% OFF Your First Order!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes - Save 10%
The Stimulated Mind
Podcast with Dr. Tommy Wood
Primal Health Coach Institute.
Is VO@ Max Overated Podcast
BradBeat HRV

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
B.rad Nutrition: Premium quality, all-natural supplements for peak performance, recovery, and longevity; including the world's highest quality whey protein! Get 20% OFF your first order!
Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Jaspr Air Scrubber: Ultra high-performance air purifier - blows other air filters away! Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD.
Get Stride: Advanced DNA, methylation profile, microbiome & blood at-home testing. Hit your stride the right way, with cutting-edge technology and customized programming. Save 10% with the code BRAD.
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.