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In this episode of the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast, I interviewed Ben Azadi.
Ben is the founder of Keto Camp and an author of four bestselling books, including his latest, Metabolic Freedom, set to release on May 13, 2025. His journey began in 2008 when he was an obese man struggling with metabolic dysfunction, ultimately losing 80 pounds and dedicating his life to helping others achieve similar transformations. Ben is known for his belief in education over medication, aiming to inspire one billion people to improve their health through natural methods.
We dive deep into the concept of metabolic freedom and flexibility, discussing how our bodies can effectively utilize various energy sources. Ben emphasizes the importance of understanding how to achieve this flexibility, particularly for those with thyroid dysfunction and other metabolic challenges.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Metabolic Flexibility is the True Goal: Rather than staying in continuous ketosis, Ben emphasizes the importance of metabolic flexibility — being able to efficiently switch between burning glucose and fat. This flexibility improves energy, resilience, and long-term metabolic health, especially when personalized to one’s needs, like cycling carbs for hormone support.
- Mitochondrial Health Drives Everything: Ben explains that mitochondria aren’t just energy factories — they’re intelligent sensors of stress. When overwhelmed, they trigger a “cell danger response” that can lead to chronic illness, including autoimmunity. Supporting mitochondria with ketones, glutathione, and melatonin is key for energy, mood, and thyroid function.
- Poor Liver Function is a Keto Dealbreaker: A sluggish liver can sabotage the ketogenic transition by impairing fat digestion. Ben recommends prepping with bitter foods like arugula and apple cider vinegar, and in some cases, using ox bile or castor oil packs to improve bile flow and detoxification — especially important for people with thyroid issues.
- Dairy-Free Keto is Often a Key Component to Keto Success in Hashimoto’s. Many people hit a wall with keto due to hidden food sensitivities — especially to dairy — which can trigger inflammation, hormone imbalances, or stalled weight loss. Removing dairy can ease congestion, support clearer skin, and reduce bloating
- Fasting for Women Requires Strategy: Fasting is not inherently harmful for women or those with thyroid issues, but it must be introduced gradually and strategically. Ben advises monitoring HRV (heart rate variability) as a marker for resilience and recommends premenstrual carb cycling to support progesterone production and hormonal balance.
- Hypoglycemia Can Be Reversed with the Right Keto Entry: Many with Hashimoto’s or adrenal issues experience hypoglycemia, making keto or fasting initially difficult. Ben suggests a “low and slow” approach — gradually reducing carbs, increasing nutrient-dense fats, and possibly using supplements like chromium, magnesium, or carnitine to ease the transition and stabilize blood sugar.
Guest Resources/Connect with Ben Azadi
- Keto Camp Website
- Follow Ben on social: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube
- Pre-order Ben’s Metabolic Freedom book to learn about the metabolic “reset switch” that helps you melt fat, rebalance hormones, and revive your metabolism — without counting calories or giving up your favorite foods.
- Listen to the Metabolic Freedom podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple
- Ben’s 90-Day Canivore Experiment Vlog
Supplements We Discussed
- MCT Oil: Beneficial for energy and potential cognitive benefits.
- How Does Carnitine Support Hashimoto’s?
- The Importance of Electrolytes for Hashimoto’s
Other Tools and Resources
- KETO-MOJO GK+ Bluetooth Glucose & Ketone Testing Kit
- 8 Benefits of the Infrared Sauna That Can Reduce Symptoms of Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism
- Oura Ring is a wearable sleep and recovery tracker often used in biohacking for optimizing rest and recovery.
Books and Articles About Thyroid Health
Get the Full Episode Transcript
Let’s Connect!
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Got questions? Drop them in the comments! 🙂
About Our Host
Dr. Izabella Wentz
Dr. Izabella Wentz is a compassionate, innovative, solution-focused integrative pharmacist dedicated to finding the root causes of chronic health conditions. Her passion stems from her own diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in 2009, following a decade of debilitating symptoms.
Dr. Izabella Wentz has written several best-selling books, including the New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause, the protocol-based #1 New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back, the Wall Street Journal bestseller Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid Health, and her latest book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol.
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About Our Guest
In 2008, Ben Azadi was an obese man who went through a personal health transformation of releasing 80 pounds of extra weight, and getting metabolically healthy. Ever since, Ben Azadi, FDN-P, has been on a mission to help 1 billion people live a healthier lifestyle. Ben has a 10-year mission to help over 1 million people naturally reverse their diabetes. He is known as ‘The Health Detective’ because he investigates dysfunction, and he educates, not medicates, to bring the body back to normal function. Ben is the founder of Keto Kamp, a global brand bringing awareness to ancient healing strategies such as the keto diet and fasting. He’s the author of four best-selling books, including his latest Keto Flex. Ben is the author of the upcoming book Metabolic Freedom, published with Hay House. Ben has been the go-to source for intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet since 2013.
Ben is the host of a top 15 podcast, The Metabolic Freedom Podcast, which won Keto Podcast of The Year (2022) by The Metabolic Health Summit. Ben has the fast growing Ben Azadi YouTube channel with over 400,000 subscribers and 25 million video views, and TikTok channel with over 330,000 subscribers and over 50 million video views. Ben is a keynote speaker who delivered a keynote lecture for Ketocon 2022, 2023, and Hack Your Health 2024; and he’s been featured in Forbes, Tampa’s NBC WFLA, LA Weekly, Disrupt Magazine, NY Times Mag, LA Entertainment Weekly and other publications.
Could I please get the transcript?
Thank you.
Hi Carol, thank you for following! If you scroll to the bottom of this podcast and enter your email address (where it says “Get the Full Episode Transcript”) we will be happy to provide you the transcript. If you have any trouble please feel free to email my team at info@thyroidpharmacist and they will be happy to help.