Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell

Episode Summary: Dr. Shawn Baker: What's Actually Making Us Fat and Sick (And Why It's So Profitable)

Date: January 27, 2026
Guest: Dr. Shawn Baker (Orthopedic surgeon, Carnivore Diet advocate, health/wellness thought leader)
Host: Natalie Brunell

Episode Overview

This episode explores why chronic disease and obesity rates are soaring in America, the role of engineered and processed foods, and why the food and medical industries are incentivized to keep people unhealthy. Dr. Shawn Baker shares his journey from orthopedic surgery to nutritional and lifestyle medicine and links between broken incentives, the food system, and the broader economic system—including how Bitcoin and the pursuit of sound money play a role in changing these incentives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Baker’s Journey: Medicine, the Military, and Carnivore Advocacy

• Background: Dr. Baker recounts his unconventional path—biology degree, professional rugby in New Zealand, Air Force nuclear weapons officer, and finally medicine and orthopedics.
• Orthopedic Practice: After years of surgery, Dr. Baker became interested in nutrition as patients facing surgery began improving with dietary changes, notably ketogenic and eventually carnivore approaches.
• Pushback from the System:

  “I started to talk to the hospital administration... I'd like to start practicing a bit more lifestyle medicine. And the response was really shocking to me because the answer was basically, no, we don't want you to do that.” (04:09)
  Hospitals profit from repeat procedures, not prevention.

• Shift to Lifestyle Medicine: Ultimately, Baker left surgical practice to advocate and practice lifestyle medicine, founding Rivero—a telehealth company supporting holistic change.

2. The Engineered Food Environment

• Processed Food Addiction:

  “A lot of the food is intentionally engineered to be as addictive as possible. That’s the reality.” (00:12, 08:52)
  Food chemists in major corporations openly develop products to maximize addiction.

• Food Additives and Regulation Gaps:
  U.S. food industry uses “GRAS” designations with minimal testing; contrast with much stricter EU regulations (09:54).
• Obesity—Roots and Misconceptions:
  • Not purely genetic—structural environment and food are the driving factors (21:10).
  • Pharmaceutical response is to produce lifelong drug customers versus actual cures.

  “If you look at the pharmaceuticals solution to any of these problems, it always results in people taking drugs for the rest of their life because it’s such a good business model.” (10:47)

3. Medical Education and "Disease Management"

• Gaps in Doctor Training:
  Baker emphasizes the near-total absence of practical nutrition or disease-reversal education in medical training—surgeons told to recommend weight loss without any system or support for achieving it (11:40).
• Cultural Shift After Covid:

  “Pre-covid, most people viewed physicians—about 70% of Americans—as trustworthy. After, that dropped into the 40s.” (14:50)
  Public trust in healthcare eroding due to profit-driven motives and administrative expansion.

4. Economic Incentives and "Profiting from Sickness"

• Profit Motives Over Cures:

  “Goldman Sachs did an analysis... Does it make sense for pharmaceutical companies to cure disease? The answer was no. It makes zero financial sense.” (15:53)
  Companies create markets for ongoing treatment, not cures.

• Stories of Buried Cures:
  • Not conspiracy, but market forces sideline definitive treatments that would end entire profit centers.
  • Example: Weight-loss drugs now require additional drugs to “fix” their side effects—stacking the customer base (17:23).
• GDP and Sickness:

  “One of the reasons why I hate the GDP metric is because the sicker we are, the better our GDP is.” (19:26)

5. The Systemic Rigging of the Food Chain

• Food System Lock-in:
  Federal regulators stymied from banning harmful additives by industry lawsuits and lobbying, making meaningful change unlikely through legislation alone (25:00).
• Message to Consumers:

  “Stop paying people to poison you. That’s got to stop.” (26:41)
  Personal education and consumer choice are more impactful than waiting for top-down change.

• Protein & "Health-washing" of Processed Food:
  Marketers hijack trends—e.g., "protein chips"—as a greenwashing tactic, obscuring the real need for actual whole foods (27:09).

6. Practical Solutions—How to Take Back Your Health

• Single-Ingredient Foods:

  “If you stick to single-ingredient foods, that’s going to be 90% [of the solution].” (28:09)

• Support Local Agriculture:
  Baker underscores the importance of supporting local farmers/ranchers as a matter of personal and national security (29:24).
• Generational Health:
  Healthy habits (and role models) impact future generations—not just via genetics but by creating a health-focused family narrative (30:30).

  “If you had physically fit grandparents, you are more likely to be healthier yourself. ... Knowing where you come from, that family lore, has a big impact.” (29:52)

7. The Bitcoin Connection: Sound Money, Broken Incentives

• Medical/Food System Incentives and Money:
  Easy-money policies reinforce the medical-industrial complex; centralized fiat systems enable special interests to shape nutrition guidelines and incentivize unhealthy business models (34:16).
• Dr. Baker’s Bitcoin Origin Story:
  • Persuaded into Bitcoin via Saifedean Ammous (Bitcoin Standard author) and Michael Saylor (Microstrategy CEO) (32:33).
  • Sees parallels: “Stack and hold, you know, they say, or HODL.” (34:16)
• Recent Food Pyramid Reforms:
  Baker highlights the deliberate and symbolic reversal in new dietary guidelines—placing steak and whole animal foods at the forefront (34:51).

  “Let’s get some meat, red meat, let’s get some eggs, whole dairy... Animal fat is an important essential part of your nutrition.” (35:25)

8. Cultural Impact: Cooking, Community, and Purpose

• Return to Roots:
  • Cooking and food preparation are essential, not obsolete. American convenience culture accelerates disease.
  • The family table and mealtime traditions foster health and resilience.
• Purpose as a Health Foundation:

  “A sense of purpose is essential for health. ... Some of the Bitcoiners and others will realize how important it is to touch the grass, be present with family.” (40:56)

• Danger of Outsourcing Humanity:
  Growing dependence on AI, technology, and fast food risks hollowing out purpose, skills, and mental health (39:17).
• Actionable Steps:
  • Whole foods over processed; cook at home; support local agriculture.
  • Prioritize community, purpose, sleep, exercise, sunlight, and stress management.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Food Industry:

  “My job is literally get people addicted to food. I feel horrible about it, you know, but that’s the reality.” (09:08, Dr. Baker recounting a food chemist)

• On Pharmaceuticals:

  “The cure is not profitable.” (15:51, Natalie Brunell) “The optimal situation is you kind of stay sick your whole life, but you’re medicated your whole life.” (17:23, Dr. Baker)

• On Genetics and Obesity:

  “To say that obesity is wholly genetic and unrelated to what you put in your mouth is nonsense.” (21:10, Dr. Baker)

• On Change:

  “Don’t outsource your health to anyone else. Take ownership for it and you can literally, you can will it into being.” (45:16, Dr. Baker)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Food Addiction & Hospital Incentives: 00:00 – 04:20
• Processed Food & Regulatory Lapses: 08:52 – 14:17
• Trust in Healthcare System Changes: 14:50 – 15:53
• Obesity, Genetics, and Oprah Discussion: 21:10 – 25:00
• Barriers to Food Reform: 25:00 – 28:09
• Generational Health and Family Impact: 28:09 – 31:51
• The Money System and Bitcoin Connection: 32:33 – 34:51
• Newest Dietary Guidelines & Symbolism: 34:51 – 37:49
• Food, Tech, and Loss of Purpose: 39:16 – 41:56
• Actionable Health and Purpose Advice: 42:24 – 45:16

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Dr. Baker advocates that lasting health change must come from the ground up—by reclaiming food choices, resisting engineered convenience, and fostering family/community traditions. The episode exposes the perverse incentives in healthcare, food, and finance systems, connecting them to the philosophy behind Bitcoin and sound money as a tool for reclaiming agency. Listeners are left with a powerful call:
Don't outsource your health, or your purpose. Take ownership and build generational change, starting today.

Resources

• Dr. Shawn Baker – Website
• Rivero Health Platform
• The Carnivore Diet (Book)
• Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous

For more episodes and insights: coinstories.com