Dr. Vera Tarman – Author, Speaker & Food Addiction Expert

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Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 176: Dr. Vera Tarman

Dr Vera Tarman

Dr. Vera Tarman is the Medical Director of Renascent and a senior staff physician at Salvation Army. Dr Tarman has a special interest in the clinical syndrome of food addiction. She has presented at international public forums and media platforms to educate and advocate. She is author of “Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction”, and is cohost of the popular Food Junkies Podcast. She is also the founder and moderator of the free Facebook group, “I’m Sweet Enough: Sugar Free for Life”. Check out her YouTube videos at veratarmanmd.

Today, we spoke with her about her newly published paper “One size does not fit all: Understanding the five stages of ultra-processed food addiction” and the topic she is presenting on at our International Food Addiction Consensus Conference on May 17, 2024, London, UK. If you can’t join us, we hope you watch the livestream to support us. It is not to be missed, as the latest cutting-edge discussions around food addiction will be happening that day!

In today’s Episode:

  • What are the five proposed stages of food addiction, and how do they progress from mild to severe?
  • Why is it important to recognize the stages of food addiction for diagnosis and treatment?
  • The neurobiological and hormonal factors involved in the progression of food addiction
  • How does distinguishing between food addiction and eating disorders impact treatment approaches?
  • In the early stages of food addiction, what interventions are effective in promoting inhibitory control and addressing hormonal imbalances? How do we reach people in this early stage before the progression occurs?
  • What role does mindful eating play in food addiction treatment?
  • What are some potential medical treatments and interventions for severe stages of food addiction, and how do they address neurobiological imbalances?
  • Why is it important to tailor food addiction management to address the specific phase of the syndrome that an individual is experiencing?
  • What challenges exist in implementing stage-based interventions for food addiction, and how can they be addressed?
  • What is Vera speaking about at the IFACC Conference next week?

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 175: International Food Addiction Consensus Conference

International Food Addiction Consensus Conference

Dr. Jen Unwin, PsyD, FBPSs co-founder of Food Addiction Solutions (FAS)

Jen is a clinical psychologist who has worked for over 30 years in the NHS in the UK. She specialised in the role of hope in quality of life and was chair of the UK Association for Solution-Focused Therapy. After a lifetime of addiction to sugar and carbohydrates, she finally understood that the solution was abstinence and trained in Holistic Addiction Medicine with Heidi. They have been working together to devise and evaluate successful treatment approaches to food addiction and to raise awareness of the condition internationally. Jen’s best hopes are that treatment will be more available and that the condition of food addiction will be formally recognised.

Heidi Giaever, Founder of The Collaborative Health Community, CFK and co-founder of Food Addiction Solutions (FAS)

Heidi’s original degree was in chemical engineering. She subsequently retrained in Nutrition, Lifestyle Medicine and Holistic Addiction Medicine (HAM), following her declining cognitive and mental health during her late 30s, found to have been caused by her poor diet and struggle with sweet foods addiction. Heidi’s mission is to provide suitable platforms and further collaborate with her partners to raise awareness of food addiction and develop creative community-based initiatives to work preventatively with children and young families.

Molly Painschab, LCPC, LAC, Sweet Sobriety Co-Founder

Molly is a dual-licensed mental health and addiction counsellor specializing in behavioural change using Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). Molly is passionate about empowering individuals with self-determination on their healing journey. Her best hope is to continue advocating for marginalized individuals to receive the services required to overcome disordered eating and addiction.

Clarissa Kennedy, RSW, Sweet Sobriety Co-Founder

Clarissa possesses expertise and practical experience across multiple therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-Based Interventions, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) tailored for Eating Disorders, and Motivational Interviewing. Having navigated her journey of recovery from food addiction, she aims to raise awareness about this disorder, help distinguish it from eating disorders, and highlight how addressing it can help support recovery from other substance use disorders.

In today’s Episode:

  • How we got here
  • What the consensus process consists of
  • What we are most excited about
  • How the Consensus work ties into the Food Addiction Recovery Clinical Study
  • Next steps
  • The International Food Addiction Consensus Conference

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 174: Dr. Paul Kolodzik

Today, we speak to Dr Paul Kolodzik, a medical doctor specializing in metabolic health and weight loss. He completed his medical training at the Wright State University School of Medicine and has been an Assistant Clinical Professor at this site since 1989. He is board-certified in preventative and emergency medicine and has over 20 years of experience in emergency medicine. He is also board-certified in Addiction Medicine and has treated people with food addiction, as well as weight loss and metabolic disease over the last five years.

In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Kolodzik is the author of “The Continuous Glucose Monitor Revolution,” which provides a comprehensive guide on using CGMs for improved health and weight management. His passion lies in educating people about the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring and helping them achieve their weight loss goals using low-carb diets and other lifestyle changes. We at the Food Junkies Podcast are wondering if these devices can help us in food addiction recovery.

In today’s Episode:

  • What is a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and how does it work?
  • What is the connection between blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and weight gain?
  • What are some key advantages of using a CGM for weight loss and improving metabolic health?
  • How does a CGM provide insights into other methods versus other means of tracking, like a regular glucometer or a fitness tracker?
  • What are the steps to getting started?
  • How can someone interpret and make sense of their CGM data?
  • What are the key patterns to look for to show good or poor metabolic health?
  • How would you use these to make adjustments to your diet?
  • Should you work with a healthcare provider using these?
  • Besides diet, what other lifestyle factors can influence CGM readings?
  • How can CGMs help food addicts better understand their triggers and cravings?
  • How can these help create a food addiction recovery food plan?
  • Are your patients with food addiction any different than other patients – do you have special/different advice to give us?
  • What resources or support are available for non-diabetics looking to use CGMs?

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 173: Dr. John Kelly, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH, and the Program Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service. Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, a Fellow of the APA, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies, non-federal institutions, foreign governments, and the United Nations. Dr. Kelly has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and books in addiction medicine. His work has focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behavior change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 172: Dr. Debbie Danowski

Dr. Debbie Danowski

Dr. Debbie Danowski is an expert on media literacy and food addiction. She holds a Ph.D. in Media Education from Capella University. She is an associate professor at Sacred Heart University, where she has researched and taught for over 25 years on the intersection of media, advertising, and problematic eating behaviors.

Dr. Danowski’s research and publications focus on the role of advertising and media in enabling food addiction and disordered eating patterns. She is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and, most recently, her 2023 book ‘Happy Eating’ and Food Addiction in American Advertising.

Dr. Danowski also served on the board of directors of the Food Addiction Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about food addiction and providing pathways to recovery. Through her research, writing, speaking engagements, and public health advocacy, Dr. Danowski aims to spread an understanding of how media and advertising can enable food addiction, reduce stigma around this disease, and highlight evidence-based treatment approaches.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 171: Dr. Georgia Ede

Dr. Georgia Ede

Dr. Georgia Ede is an internationally recognized expert in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry. Her twenty-five years of clinical experience include twelve years at Smith College and Harvard University Health Services, where she was the first to offer students nutrition-based approaches as an alternative to psychiatric medication.


Dr. Ede co-authored the first inpatient study of the ketogenic diet for treatment-resistant mental illness, developed the first medically accredited course in ketogenic diets for mental health practitioners, and was honored to be named a recipient of the Baszucki Brain Research Fund’s first annual Metabolic Mind Award. Her new book, Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind, was released on January 30, 2024. 

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 170: Jason Tetro (Part 2)

Jason Tetro

Jason Tetro, or the “The Germ Guy,” is an Author and renowned media personality in science communication and marketing. He has been working to increase public awareness of microbes and health for nearly a decade. Most of his efforts are in the form of columns and blogs. He has a weekly blog column with Huffington Post Canada. He is featured on various radio and television stations in Canada and worldwide, notably the CBC Radio One and Sirius XM. He also authored The Germ Code, which was shortlisted for Book of the Year by the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada, and The Germ Files, which was acclaimed both in Canada and around the world and appeared on the Globe and Mail national bestseller list.

Jason started out in Biochemistry but eventually gravitated towards Microbiology and Immunology. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry/Microbiology from the University of Guelph. He has worked in several fields, including bloodborne, food, and water pathogens, environmental microbiology, disinfection and antisepsis, and emerging pathogens.

Jason is a Knowledge User on the grant. He will act as an Independent Contributor, facilitating knowledge translation to the public and media, developing social media strategies to increase awareness and reach, supporting researchers in science communication, and assisting with fundraising/network longevity planning.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 169: Jason Tetro

Jason Tetro

Jason Tetro, or the “The Germ Guy,” is an Author and renowned media personality in science communication and marketing. He has been working to increase public awareness of microbes and health for nearly a decade. Most of his efforts are in the form of columns and blogs. He has a weekly blog column with Huffington Post Canada. He is featured on various radio and television stations in Canada and worldwide, notably the CBC Radio One and Sirius XM. He also authored The Germ Code, which was shortlisted for Book of the Year by the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada, and The Germ Files, which was acclaimed both in Canada and around the world and appeared on the Globe and Mail national bestseller list.

Jason started out in Biochemistry but eventually gravitated towards Microbiology and Immunology. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry/Microbiology from the University of Guelph. He has worked in several fields, including bloodborne, food, and water pathogens, environmental microbiology, disinfection and antisepsis, and emerging pathogens.

Jason is a Knowledge User on the grant. He will act as an Independent Contributor, facilitating knowledge translation to the public and media, developing social media strategies to increase awareness and reach, supporting researchers in science communication, and assisting with fundraising/network longevity planning.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 168: Dr. Kari Anderson

Dr. Kari Anderson

Dr. Kari Anderson has positioned herself as a respected clinician and leader in the field of eating disorders. Her career spans over three decades of leading treatment teams in all levels of care, Kari has developed several treatment models, most recently for treating binge eating.

Kari earned her Doctor of Behavioral Health with her research project, The Mindful Eating Cycle: Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder, at Arizona State University in 2012. Co-creator of the Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating for Binge Eating Program, Kari also co-authored the acclaimed book Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat for Binge Eating: A Mindful Eating Program for Healing Your Relationship with Food and Your Body. Her memoir, Food, Body, and Love: but the Greatest of These Love, was released in 2021. This work digs deeper into the science behind effective treatment and includes research on food addiction and issues faced in obesity medicine.

She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire, and trains graduate students in treatment methods for eating disorders.

As a licensed therapist in three states and certified eating disorder specialist and supervisor (CEDS-S), Kari maintains a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 167: Michael Cowl Gordon, MD

Michael Cowl Gordon, MD

Dr. Michael Cowl Gordon is a family physician and addiction specialist who practiced in Wisconsin and Georgia for over 50 years until he retired last year.

He completed medical training at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1967 And received his board certification in Addiction Medicine in 1986. Inspired by his recovery journey, as well as those of his patients, Dr. Gordon has dedicated much of his career to understanding and treating addiction.

He is the author of “The 12-Step Pathway: A Heroic Journey of Recovery”, which is a collection of individual stories demonstrating how people struggling with addiction can embark on a transformative journey of recovery using the 12-step program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Using the metaphor of the hero’s journey, as conceptualized by Joseph Cambell, he convincingly explains why the 12-step program holds the key to overcoming addiction. Although the 12-step program is almost 90 years old, it still offers a journey of recovery that is motivating and inspiring for all addictions, including the newer food addiction.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 166: Ann Saffi Biasetti

Ann Saffi Biasetti, PhD, LCSWR, CEDS, CIAYT, is a practicing clinician for over 34 years. She is a Transpersonal Psychologist specializing in somatic psychotherapy, eating disorders, and trauma recovery. She is the originator of the Befriending Your Body Program, a program of somatic self-compassion for disordered eating recovery and the Embodied Life training center for yoga therapeutics. She is a certified mindfulness teacher, Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher, and Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT).

Dr. Biasetti specializes in integrating somatic self-compassion into disordered eating recovery. She consults and lectures extensively on the topics of somatic psychotherapy, embodiment, polyvagal theory in recovery and interoceptive awareness, and eating disorder recovery and is an instructor at the Center for Mindful Body Awareness. She has featured CE webinars and workshops through PESI and trains professionals in the Befriending Your Body (BFYB) certification program for eating disorder recovery.

She is the author of Befriending Your Body: A Self-Compassionate Approach to Freeing Yourself from Disordered Eating and The Awakening Self-Compassion Card Deck: 52 Practices for Self-Care, Healing and Growth. Dr. Biasetti maintains a private practice in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Food Junkies Podcast Ep. 165: David Wolfe

David Wolfe

David Wolfe, co-author of The Fix for Cravings, and cofounder of SUGARx Global. 
 
Once an artisan bread maker and Registered Dietician, David left those careers and is now a  Food Addiction Counsellor, food addiction Coach, and Certified High-Performance coach. David received his Master’s in Clinical Nutrition from Ohio State University in  2012 and worked as a registered dietitian for ten years in Critical Care, Bariatric Surgery, and elderly care. He was also the dietician who designed the abstinent food plan for the food addiction residential program at Renascent preCovid. 

While a dietician, David received his food addiction training at INFACT (International Food Addiction and Counselling Training) in 2017 and, since that time, has been under the study of Bitten Jonsson; he is currently a faculty member for her Holistic Medicine for Addiction program. Of particular interest to us, David had his battles with sugar and grain and, like many of us, has identified other struggles, namely coffee, screens, alcohol, and more. 
 
David is coauthor of the groundbreaking book ‘The Fix for Cravings’,  along with Cynthia Myers Morison. He is a vocal advocate for understanding Addiction Interaction Disorder, championing the idea that addiction is a singular beast with many masks. His favorite analogy is, “ Switching outlets is like  switching  seats on the Titanic: the ship is still sinking!’ Thus, his treatment is focused on changing the dynamic of addiction itself. As visionary cofounder of SUGARx Global, David offers an online food addiction recovery platform using his holistic blueprint of CARE: Connection, Action, Recovery Protection, and Education. 

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