Metabolic OS with Dr. Chad Larson

Why we add fat to a fish that doesn't have any

This episode covers oven-baked tilapia served over a Mediterranean salad — and organizes the argument around a practical fish hierarchy: good is tilapia, better is salmon, best is wild Alaskan sockeye. The framing is a more clinically useful way to think about what each fish is doing and what the rest of the plate needs to contribute. Chad Larson, NMD walks through the SMASH framework — salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardines, herring — as the oily fish category delivering 1,500 to 2,500 mg of EPA and DHA per 100 grams, versus tilapia's roughly 100 to 200 mg. That gap is structural: farmed tilapia's omega-6 to long-chain omega-3 ratio averages around 11:1 (Chilton et al., Wake Forest, 2008), a feature of corn- and soy-based aquaculture feed that hasn't materially changed. What tilapia does contribute — 26 grams of protein per 100 grams, selenium, B12 — earns it a place as a legitimate weeknight protein source. The omega-3 case has to come from elsewhere in the week. The episode also covers sourcing: nearly all tilapia sold in US retail is farmed, with domestic producers (Regal Springs, Blue Ridge Aquaculture) operating under tighter feed standards; Trader Joe's frozen tilapia is flagged as a practical default. The cardiometabolic argument rests on the olive oil, not the fish. Tilapia has roughly 2 grams of total fat per 100 grams. The butter and high-polyphenol EVOO used in cooking, and the additional olive oil added at the end, are filling in what the fish doesn't bring. Oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, the active phenolic compounds in early-harvest EVOO, carry the mechanism. A 2023 meta-analysis of 33 trials in the Journal of Nutrition found meaningful improvements in insulin sensitivity associated with high-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil. The Mediterranean salad — Kalamata olives, chickpeas, pepperoncinis, romaine, Pecorino Romano — is built around the same framework. This episode is part of the ongoing Kitchen Video series. The full video version is available on YouTube.

Why we still eat pancakes

In this episode, Dr. Chad Larson and Nicole demonstrate a metabolically aligned pancake recipe filmed in their home kitchen. The conversation covers the carbohydrate math behind traditional pancakes — roughly 50 to 70 grams of net carbs per stack — and how reformulation drops that to about 1.5 grams per pancake without giving up the experience of pancakes as a meal. Each ingredient swap carries its own clinical reasoning. Almond flour and flaxseed meal replace wheat flour, with the flaxseed contributing lignans, omega-3 fatty acids, and a soluble-insoluble fiber blend that supports the gut microbiome. Monk fruit and allulose replace sugar without measurably affecting glucose or insulin. Coconut oil supplies medium-chain triglycerides — a fat your mitochondria convert to ketones with very little metabolic friction. Cinnamon contributes to post-prandial glucose regulation. The broader point of the episode is the distinction between restriction and control. Restriction is what diets do. Control is what food literacy gives you, and it's the basis for the kind of metabolic health that survives a stressful quarter, a holiday week, or the rest of your life. This episode is part of the ongoing Kitchen Video series. The full video version is available on YouTube.

Four ingredients. One Skillet. Every benefit we want.

Dr. Chad and his wife Nicole walk through a four-ingredient  skillet meal they fall back on most weeks — rotisserie chicken,  mushrooms, onions, and arugula, cooked in a single cast-iron pan  in about twelve minutes. The conversation moves through why each  ingredient earns its place metabolically and why the most durable  patients aren't the most precise eaters — they're the most  repeatable. Topics covered: - Protein as the metabolic anchor — thermogenesis, glucose    steadying, and muscle protein synthesis - Why arugula's glucosinolates support phase 2 liver detoxification - Inulin in onions and what prebiotic fiber actually does for the    gut microbiome - Beta-glucan in mushrooms and its role in immune and    gastrointestinal function - Why "good, better, best" beats "perfect" when sourcing real    ingredients - How Nicole plans meals around tomorrow's schedule instead of    prepping for the week Dr. Chad is a naturopathic medical doctor (NMD) running  The Adapt Lab, an integrative metabolic health practice in  Solana Beach, California. Learn more at doctorchadlarson.com. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not  constitute medical advice. Always consult your physician  before making changes to your health regimen. Tags: metabolic health, naturopathic medicine, functional medicine,  real food, gut microbiome, integrative medicine

Why we dump butter on our chicken

Most people didn't stop eating butter because they wanted to. They stopped because a generation of nutrition advice told them they had to. In this episode, Nicole and I walk you through a real Sunday dinner at our house — bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs basted in grass-fed butter and avocado oil, an arugula salad, cooled rice for the kids, and a scoop of kimchi on the side. We cover why the skin stays on, why butter earns its spot back on the plate, what glycine and butyrate actually do inside your body, why cooled rice behaves differently than freshly cooked rice, and why a fermented food on the table is doing more work than most people realize. The framework is the same one we keep coming back to: protein anchor → fiber base → healthy fats → optional carbs calibrated to your own tolerance. Master that, and butter isn't a guilty pleasure. It's how the meal holds together. This isn't a diet-rules showcase. It's what eating well actually looks like when a naturopathic doctor makes Sunday dinner for his family.

What a Metabolic Doctor's Kitchen Actually Looks Like at Dinner Time

Most people don't struggle with knowing what to eat. They struggle with actually building a metabolically healthy meal when life is moving fast and the fridge is full of leftovers. In this episode, Nicole and I walk you through a real weeknight dinner — a lamb taco bowl built around what we had on hand, the shortcuts we lean on without apology, and why this meal works metabolically even when it isn't perfect. We cover the protein anchor, slow-carb vegetables, healthy fats that keep your mitochondria burning clean, and how to think about carbohydrates relative to your own tolerance. The framework is simple: protein anchor → fiber base → healthy fats → optional carbs. Master that, and you can build this meal a hundred different ways out of whatever's in your kitchen. This isn't a perfection showcase. It's what a metabolically healthy lifestyle actually looks like when you're busy, you have a family to feed, and the guacamole is leftover from Easter.