Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson Podcast By Terry Simpson cover art

Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

By: Terry Simpson
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Fork U(niversity) Not everything you put in your mouth is good for you. There’s a lot of medical information thrown around out there. How are you to know what information you can trust, and what’s just plain old quackery? You can’t rely on your own “google fu”. You can’t count on quality medical advice from Facebook. You need a doctor in your corner. On each episode of Your Doctor’s Orders, Dr. Terry Simpson will cut through the clutter and noise that always seems to follow the latest medical news. He has the unique perspective of a surgeon who has spent years doing molecular virology research and as a skeptic with academic credentials. He’ll help you develop the critical thinking skills so you can recognize evidence-based medicine, busting myths along the way. The most common medical myths are often disguised as seemingly harmless “food as medicine”. By offering their own brand of medicine via foods, These hucksters are trying to practice medicine without a license. And though they’ll claim “nutrition is not taught in medical schools”, it turns out that’s a myth too. In fact, there’s an entire medical subspecialty called Culinary Medicine, and Dr. Simpson is certified as a Culinary Medicine Specialist. Where today's nutritional advice is the realm of hucksters, Dr. Simpson is taking it back to the realm of science.Copyright 2026 Terry Simpson Biological Sciences Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease Science
Episodes
  • Being a Foodie on a GLP-1

    Being a Foodie on a GLP-1
    Apr 24 2026
    Why GLP-1 Made Me Love Food More—Not LessFrom beetroot pasta to backyard salsa, this wasn’t about eating less. It was about finally tasting more.I want to tell you about two people on a GLP-1.First, there’s me.I’ve been on a maintenance dose—7.5 mg of Zepbound—for a while now. And recently, I went to an incredible Michelin-star restaurant. Now, at one point during that meal, I said something that surprised even me.The beetroot pasta was one of the best dishes I had ever tasted.Now, let’s pause there—because this matters.I don’t like beets.In fact, I’ve always said I hate beets.And yet, there I was, enjoying beetroot pasta.So what changed?Well, not my opinion of beets.But absolutely my appreciation of flavor.Then, Something Unexpected HappenedDuring that same trip to Italy, I had one remarkable meal after another. For example, I ate at Ristorante Aroma, right next to the Colosseum. Then, I found a small, unforgettable place tucked away in Venice.Now, let me be clear—this is not a humble brag.Yes, the restaurants were fantastic. Yes, the trip was memorable.However, I’ve been to Europe before.And yet, this time was different.Because this time, I didn’t just eat the food.Instead, I tasted it.Moreover, I slowed down.In addition, I noticed the precision.And perhaps most importantly, I appreciated the flavors.Before, I think I liked good food.Now, I actually understand it.But Then There’s My FriendOn the other hand, there’s my friend.He’s also on a GLP-1. In fact, he weighs a bit less than I do. However, he told me something that stopped me in my tracks.“I don’t enjoy food anymore.”Now, that’s not discipline.And it’s certainly not success.Instead, that’s anhedonia.In his case, the dose was too high. As a result, appetite didn’t just quiet down—it disappeared. Furthermore, dehydration crept in. And on top of that, nutrition slipped just a bit.Consequently, food wasn’t enjoyable anymore.It was just… there.So, we made a small adjustment.We lowered the dose.Now yes, that can feel frightening. Naturally, people worry:“If I lower it, I’ll gain the weight back.”However, that didn’t happen.Instead, what came back was enjoyment.And Then There’s the Protein Bar ProblemNow, let’s shift gears—because this is where things get interesting.Every now and then, you need a snack. That’s normal. That’s life.However, when it comes to protein bars, I have to be honest.Most of them don’t taste like food.Instead, they taste like wet sawdust. Or, perhaps more accurately, dry particle board with a chocolate label slapped on it.Yes, they try. They add peanut butter flavor. They add cocoa.But still, the texture is off. The taste is off. And ultimately, your brain knows it.Now, to be fair, I do like some Aloha bars. They’re better than most.But even then…Recently, I skipped the bar.Instead, I had something entirely different:Tocino.A few bites.That’s all.And yet, those few bites delivered something protein bars rarely do:Flavor.Real flavor.Not engineered. Not simulated. Not “chocolate-adjacent.”Actual spices. Actual cooking. Actual food.And, frankly, it was fantastic.Meanwhile… the $32 Steak SnackOf course, I also tried one of those dried carnivore steak snacks.Thirty-two dollars.And honestly?Awful.Dry. Chewy. Completely joyless.At that point, you’re not eating—you’re making a statement to someone online.Instead, you’d be far better off flying to Spain and enjoying someJamón Ibérico.Because then, at least, you get flavor. And culture. And an experience.Now, Let’s Talk About BreakfastMost mornings, I have a smoothie.And it works.Specifically, I use oat milk, protein powder—this week I’m trying Ora pea protein—along with cocoa, coffee, blueberries, and a bit of banana.It’s quick. It’s consistent. And importantly, it fits into life.Especially when you’re stuck in California traffic.In fact, traffic moves so slowly here that I didn’t even have to get out of the car to move a snail off the road—he made it across before I got there.So yes, smoothies make sense.However, When I’m Home…Things change.Now, there’s nothing wrong with a bowl of Cinnamon Chex.It’s fine.But often, I want something more.So instead, I make:Poached eggsA splash of Louisiana Hot SaucePico de galloFresh tortillasBeansAnd, of course, real salsa.Not the jarred kind.Instead, the kind that takes an afternoon to make. The kind that improves overnight. The kind your neighbor brings over—and yes, you briefly consider paying her to keep making it, before realizing that might get a little awkward.So What’s Going On Here?At this point, you might think this is about “good food” versus “bad food.”But it’s not.Instead, it’s about awareness.Because much of what we eat today comes from a system designed for convenience.For example, extrusion—the process that creates cereals, protein bars, and many snack foods—makes food:Shelf-stableAffordableEasy to ...
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    10 mins
  • The Peptide Bazaar: Real Medicine vs. Vials from the Internet

    The Peptide Bazaar: Real Medicine vs. Vials from the Internet
    Apr 16 2026
    The word “peptide” is doing too much workLet’s start with the simplest truth.A peptide is just a chain of amino acids—like pearls on a necklace. That’s it. Nothing mystical. Nothing magical.However, structure matters. Sequence matters. Biology cares deeply about both.Because of that, some peptides are extraordinarily powerful. Others are biologically interesting. And a growing number are simply… marketed.That last category is where things get messy.Before the hype, there was a miracleNow rewind to a hospital ward in Toronto in the early 1920s.Children with diabetes were dying. Not slowly improving. Not plateauing. Dying.Then Frederick Banting and Charles Best walked in with something crude and experimental.Insulin.They injected it.The children woke up.Not metaphorically. Not in a graph. They woke up. Families watched death reverse in real time.That is what a peptide can do when it actually works.Then came the desert and the lizardFast forward a few decades.Out in the Southwest—near where I started my first job as a bariatric surgeon in Phoenix—lives the Gila monster. Not exactly a creature you expect to change medicine.Yet inside its venom was a peptide that led, eventually, to drugs like:SemaglutideThat discovery didn’t go straight to Instagram.Instead, it went through:receptor biologypharmacologyclinical trialsoutcomes researchAnd the results were real:lower blood sugarmeaningful weight lossreduced cardiovascular riskSo yes, peptides can be extraordinary.But only when the science is finished.And then we lost the plotNow, enter the modern peptide market.Suddenly, everything is a peptide. Everything promises:healingrecoveryfat lossanti-agingYou’ve seen the names:BPC-157TB-500CJC-1295IpamorelinMOTS-cAOD-9604Meanwhile, they are sold in places that should make you pause immediately.Gyms.Wellness clinics.Online “research chemical” shops.Rarely, if ever, through the same channels as actual medicine.BPC-157: the peptide that does everything… on paperStart with the most famous one.BPC-157 is marketed as a cure-all:tendon healinggut repairanti-inflammatoryaccelerated recoveryThe claims are sweeping. The confidence is impressive.But then you look at the evidence.Animal studies? Yes.Human randomized trials? No.Long-term safety? Also no.That gap matters.Because when something claims to stimulate healing broadly, it raises an uncomfortable question:What else might it stimulate?The answer, at this point, is simple.We don’t know.TB-500: recovery without receiptsNext comes TB-500.It is sold as a recovery peptide. It promises faster healing and improved flexibility.The biology is plausible. The mechanism sounds reasonable.Yet human evidence for those claims is lacking.Even so, it thrives in:bodybuilding circlesperformance clinicsonline forumsIn other words, environments where anecdote travels faster than data.Hormone peptides: changing numbers vs. changing outcomesNow we get to the hormone crowd.CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin are sold as a stack. They stimulate growth hormone release.That part is real.What comes next is not.Because increasing a hormone level is not the same as improving health.We do not have strong evidence for:long-term outcomessafety over yearsmeaningful clinical benefitsStill, they are marketed as anti-aging therapies.That leap—from signal to certainty—is where the trouble begins.Melanotan II: the one that proves the ruleMelanotan II is different.It actually does something.It increases pigmentation. It affects melanocortin receptors.And with that comes:nauseablood pressure changesmole darkeningdocumented toxicitySo here is the lesson.When a peptide truly works, you don’t get silence. You get side effects.The absence of side effects in marketing should never reassure you.It should make you suspicious.AOD-9604 and MOTS-c: the fantasy layerAt the far end of the spectrum are peptides like AOD-9604 and MOTS-c.They promise:targeted fat lossexercise-like metabolic effectslongevityThe evidence?Mostly cells and animals.Yet they are already being sold, injected, and promoted.At this point, we are not even pretending to wait for human data.Where these actually come fromNow let’s talk about the vial.Because this is where things shift from questionable to concerning.Many of these peptides are:manufactured overseasshipped in bulkrepackagedrelabeledThey are often sold as:“research chemicals”“wellness therapies”Independent testing has found:incorrect dosingcontaminationinconsistent puritySo when someone says they are taking a specific peptide, the real answer is uncertain.They hope they are.Why this is suddenly in the newsRecently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed to expand access to peptides restricted by the FDA.The argument is framed as freedom.The FDA’s concern is simpler:lack of safety datarisk of contaminationunknown long-term effectsIn other words, we do not yet know enough to call these safe.That is not obstruction.That is the job.GLP-1: the difference data makesNow ...
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    10 mins
  • Fat Shaming and GLP-1 - It's Biology

    Fat Shaming and GLP-1 - It's Biology
    Apr 9 2026
    The Chorus of “Just Eat Less”Spend a few minutes on social media, and you will hear it. On Bill Maher's podcast the other day, I heard it. Two people who know less about GLP-1 drugs than almost anyone, opining about how GLP-1s are horrific.Bill Maher says, “Just eat less.”Jillian Michaels warns that GLP-1 medications are dangerous. Did she even graduate from college?Meanwhile, a rotating cast of gym bros, coaches, and influencers insists that anyone using these medications is taking the easy way out.At first glance, these seem like different voices. A comedian, a fitness personality, a group of online trainers.However, they are all saying the same thing.If you are overweight, this is your fault.If you need help, you are weak.If you use medication, you are cheating.That message travels well. It is simple. It fits into a tweet. It sounds like common sense. Science shows us that fat shaming doesn't work (reference).It is also wrong.Who Is Doing the Shaming—and WhyThe fitness industry has something to lose here, and that part is easy to understand. Entire businesses are built on the idea that weight loss is a matter of discipline. Follow the plan, buy the program, track the macros, and success will follow. If it doesn’t, the explanation is built in.You didn’t try hard enough.However, the criticism does not stop there.When someone like Bill Maher reduces obesity to “just eat less,” it is not about selling a diet plan. Instead, it reflects something else entirely. A kind of cultural impatience with complexity. A belief that if a problem can be described simply, it must also be solved simply.And when that belief meets a condition like obesity, the result is dismissal.If I don’t struggle with this, then it must not be real.If you do struggle, then you must be doing something wrong.That is not analysis.That is a failure of imagination.The Problem with Simple AnswersMedicine has a long history of being wrong in simple ways.We once believed ulcers were caused by stress alone. Then came Helicobacter pylori and antibiotic treatment. We once thought hypertension was simply a matter of salt intake and personality. Then we developed therapies that addressed the underlying physiology.Obesity has followed a similar path, except we have been slower to let go of the old explanation.“Eat less, move more” is not incorrect.It is incomplete.Because it ignores the system that determines how much you want to eat, how often you think about food, and how your body responds when you try to lose weight.The Part I Didn’t AdmitFor years, I saw the damage this thinking caused.I ran support groups for patients struggling with weight. I watched them come in carrying not just pounds, but shame. They believed they were weak, that they lacked discipline, that something about them was broken.We worked to change that.We talked about biology. About appetite regulation. About how the body defends weight. We tried to replace blame with understanding.And yet, I quietly held myself to a different standard.I didn’t blame my patients.I blamed myself.The Surgeon Who Thought He Could Outwork BiologyIf anyone should be able to power through something, it is a surgeon. That is the job. Endure long hours. Stay focused. Push through fatigue. Delay gratification.So I assumed I could do the same with weight.I tried diets. I cleaned things up. I ate vegetables, cut back on certain foods, and experimented with structure. And like many people, I saw results.At first.Weight loss is not the mystery.Weight maintenance is.Because over time, the same thing happened again and again. The body adapted. Hunger increased. Energy dipped. The system pushed back.And eventually, the weight returned.What the Data Shows (and Why It Matters)When you look beyond personal stories and examine long-term studies, the pattern becomes clear.In the Diabetes Prevention Program, participants lost weight early, then gradually regained some of it. In the Look AHEAD trial, an intensive lifestyle intervention produced initial success, but the gap narrowed over time.Observational data suggest that only a small percentage of people—often cited around 3 to 5 percent—maintain significant weight loss at five years.That number should change the conversation.Because it tells us this is not a widespread failure of discipline.It is a predictable outcome of a biological system.The Loop We Keep IgnoringWeight gain does not happen in isolation. It is part of a loop.Sleep worsens, which increases appetite. Movement becomes uncomfortable, so activity declines. Food becomes more rewarding, not less, because it offers relief.Then intake increases.Then the cycle repeats.And yet, into that loop, we continue to insert the same advice.Try harder.What Finally ChangedFor years, I thought I just needed to try harder myself.I was wrong.Today, I am down fifty pounds.Not because I discovered a better diet, but because something changed in the system itself.I started a GLP-1–based ...
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    8 mins
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I have been following. Dr Simpson for awhile now, he is so knowledgeable and speaks to us ðirectly. Thank you for being a wonderful teacher !@

love learning from Dr Simpnon

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