1 Thing I’m Doing
Watching the Regenerate Conference Livestream (in my PJs, while the kids are at camp)
Last year, the Regenerate Health Summit changed the way I see the world.
I walked away questioning what I thought I knew about food, the system, and what truly creates vibrant health.
In fact, I shared a lot of what I learned in our newsletters over the year — from how DHA fuels a healthy brain, to why the food pyramid is upside-down, and how a starving brain can’t heal a sick body.
So when Regenerate 2025 rolled around a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to dive in again.
I didn’t make it in person this time (life and family commitments), but I did curl up with my livestream pass and a pot of liquorice tea… and wow.
Today, I want to share with you one of the talks that stopped me in my tracks — Dr Gary Fettke’s no-holds-barred presentation, “Is It Safe to Eat Real Food?”
Let’s find out….
2 Things I’ve Learnt
The modern diet isn’t just broken — it’s making us sick.
To get things started, just who is Dr Fettke?
A retired Tasmanian orthopaedic surgeon and anti-chronic disease advocate, Dr Fettke is an experienced regenerative farmer of over 30 years. He is also the man who got reported to the Australian Medical Board for telling his patients to avoid sugar (yes, really).
Dr Fettke covered a lot but let’s start with some of the hard hitting facts.
According to a study, and as kindly highlighted by Dr Fettke, 93.2% of our population is metabolically unwell.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
That means the pretty much all of us — even the ones who “look” healthy — are living with silent inflammation, insulin resistance, or pre-diabetes.
And yet we’re still being told to follow the same food pyramid that’s been failing us for decades.
You know the one — the pyramid that tells us to load up on grains, eat low-fat everything, and fear butter like it’s Voldemort.
Dr Fettke summed it up perfectly:
“Eat by the food pyramid. Look like the food pyramid. Die by the food pyramid.”
Source: Dr Gary Fettke’s presentation. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing it here…
And honestly, when you see the explosion in chronic disease, it’s hard to argue with him. We’ve been sold a dietary model that’s disconnected from our biology, our ancestry, and even our local food systems.
This wasn’t just another lecture on nutrition. It was a wake-up call. Because it’s not about “being on a diet” — it’s about real food… or fake food. And our bodies know the difference.
For the record, I do not follow a carnivore or keto diet but going low carb is something I’m trying to do more of. I place a high priority on eating plenty of proteins and healthy fats, and as someone that happily munches her way through almost two dozen eggs a week at least, and a good slab of butter, I’m slowly getting there.
As the daughter of an Italian / Croatian mother, there are some things I cannot disconnect myself from (yet) – one being my Mum’s homemade gnocchi which are honestly out of this world! But if I were facing a chronic illness or health challenge, following a stricter keto / low carb lifestyle would be most definitely on my list and a path that I would explore further, so never say never right?
Inflammation is the root of all chronic disease — and food is either feeding it or fighting it.
At last year’s event, I walked away with the gem that the food we eat is either creating calm or chaos in our body – which I shared with you all here.
Another similar gem from Dr Fettke’s talk this year that really stayed with me was:
“If we can identify the cause of inflammation, we might just solve chronic disease.”
I’ve talked about inflammation in the past and it’s not just a buzzword — it’s the common thread that runs through everything from diabetes and heart disease, to autoimmune issues, mental health struggles, cancer, and neurological disorders.
And the modern trifecta that’s driving inflammation?
🍭 Sugar — makes you hungry and spikes your insulin.
🥖 Refined carbs — store as fat and keep you on the blood sugar rollercoaster.
🧪 Seed oils — the evil oil hidden in everything from salad dressings to “healthy” snacks.
Fettke calls this combination the “perfect storm” — a daily onslaught that keeps our systems inflamed, our energy low, our brains foggy, and our bodies stuck in survival mode.
What we put on our plate each day and night is not about perfection. It’s a journey of connection. Our connection to food, to nature and to your body’s signals.
And as Dr Fettke said (with that signature Tasmanian sparkle in his eye and his cheeky wit), “Science evolves by being challenged — not by being followed.”
3 Things to Explore
A Dirty Book
If you’ve ever thought soil was just “dirt,” this book may just flip your world upside down and change how you see the ground beneath your feet.
Dr Fettke recommended Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David Montgomery — which I’ll be adding to the Unstoppables’ Library.
In a nutshell, it’s an interesting read about how societies rise and fall based on how they treat their soil. And the bad news? We’re repeating history.
Modern agriculture has stripped our soil of life — and with it, the nutrients our food should be giving us.
If we want healthy humans, we need healthy food. And to grow healthy food? We need living, breathing, microbe-rich, water-retaining, carbon-holding soil.
Without it, we’re toast.
(And not the organic sourdough one I enjoy with my three scrambled eggs every morning!)
Where to learn more from Dr Fettke
If Dr Fettke’s message has resonated with you — follow that spark.
He and his wife Belinda have an incredible archive of talks, interviews, and educational content online that goes way deeper into food, farming, metabolic health, and the madness of our current system.
Here’s where to start:
YouTube: Search Gary Fettke — his talks are fiery, funny, and unforgettable
Facebook: No Fructose
Twitter / X: @FructoseNo
And if you’re a healthcare professional or practitioner feeling like you’re swimming against the tide, check out the Australasian Metabolic Health Society (AMHS).
This is where the revolution against the modern diet lives.
Nations Destroying Their Future
“The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
BONUS FEATURE
12 Unstoppable Truths from Dr Gary Fettke
There were so many more gems that Dr Fettke shared during his talk I just had to share them with you here:
- Only dead fish swim with the current. Challenge the narrative — especially when it’s making us sick.
- Topsoil is our biggest agricultural export. We’re literally bleeding the planet dry.
- One spoon of dirt = 8.2 billion organisms. That’s the same number as people on this planet!! Soil is alive — and we’re destroying it with every till.
- Seed oils are silently wrecking your body. Inflammation is the real villain — and they’re fueling it.
- The modern food experiment has failed. Chronic illness is exploding… while we still follow the same outdated “guidelines.”
- Termites produce more methane than cows. Yes, you read that right so in a natural environment it’s the bugs, not the regeneratively farmed beef.
- Low carb isn’t a fad — it’s food against diabetes. And it works. Fast.
- Our healthcare system isn’t a health system. It’s a sickness industry that profits from chronic disease.
- 93% of people don’t need standard dietary guidelines. They need real food. Simple, healing food.
- You can reverse type 2 diabetes in days. Fettke’s patient did — with food alone.
- Fettke was silenced for telling patients to avoid sugar. But he kept speaking — and he won.
- Science evolves when it’s challenged — not when it’s followed.
A reminder that questioning the status quo is not rebellion – it’s how we progress as individuals and a society.
Over to you: your soil, food and health future
If you’re the kind of person who cares deeply — about your health, your family, and the future of this planet I hope you’ve found this insightful. Remember, when you buy food that’s organic or from regenerative farming, you’re not only investing in your own health, but you’re investing in the health of future generations.
Here’s to fresh, organic, seasonal food… healthy soil, plants and animals… and living like your life depends on you questioning food guidelines, diets and science. Because it does!
And for all those that may be curious, here are Dr Fettke’s very simple guidelines for a healthy diet:
Image: Dr Gary Fettke Regenerate Health Summit 2025
Agree agree agree……No sugar , low carbs and NO seed oils !
Looking forward to going deeper into your work
i applied so much of this to my own health when given a choice of chemo or make my own way!
Choosing my way was the opportunity that has transformed me.
Thank you so much Jude and what an inspiring story. In the face of a massive challenge, you demonstrated so much courage and strength to follow a path less travelled. Truly amazing! And if wounds create our wisdom, you are light years ahead of most.