2023 Integrative Dermatology Symposium

Featured Speakers

October 27-29, 2023

Reno, Nevada

Neal D. Barnard,

MD FACC

Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, hormonal symptoms, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health, that paved the way for viewing type 2 diabetes as a potentially reversible condition for many patients. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 100 scientific publications and 20 books for medical and lay readers, and is the editor in chief of the
Nutrition Guide for Clinicians, a textbook made available to all U.S. medical students.

As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. His research contributed to the acceptance of plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In 2016, he founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC, as a model for making nutrition a routine part of all medical care.

Working with the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association, Dr. Barnard has authored key resolutions, now part of AMA policy, calling for a new focus on prevention and nutrition in federal policies and in medical practice. In 2018, he received the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Service Award. He has hosted four PBS television programs on nutrition and health.

Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Barnard received his M.D. degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee.

IDS 2023 Sessions

The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health - 1.0 CME Credits Day Two: Saturday, October 28, 2023 | 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM PDT:

Hormonal problems are pervasive in medical practice. Diabetes, hot flashes, menstrual pain, fertility issues, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and many other conditions are driven to a great extent by hormonal issues—hormone levels that are too high, too low, or shifting too much. Surprisingly, studies show that hormones can be altered by simple diet changes, often leading to life-changing benefits. This session will help clinicians put these findings to work and provide the evidence base clinicians need. A case in point: Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance. In turn, insulin resistance is caused by the accumulation of lipid particles in muscle and liver cells. While this is well-known to researchers, it is largely unknown to medical practitioners and the lay public. Nonetheless, once one understands how insulin function can be altered, diabetes itself can be greatly improved and sometimes eliminated by diet changes alone. A second example: As many as 80% of postmenopausal women in North America have hot flashes. A growing understanding of how foods alter hormone function has led to clinical trials putting simple diet interventions to the test, yielding remarkable relief for many women. Menopause is also a time when other health concerns arise, including the risk of heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, and persistent weight challenges. Food choices influence each of these. Nutrition research is giving clinicians new insights into the role of diet in other hormone-related conditions. This session will empower clinicians and their patients with new tools for altering hormones naturally and improving health.

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will describe the role of intramyocellular lipids in insulin resistance.
2. Participants will evaluate research findings on how diet changes influence vasomotor symptoms
3. of menopause.
4. Participants will discuss simple methods for helping patients improve their diets
Speaker