2026 Symposium for Metabolic Health at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside Hotel

Dr. Ben has been at the forefront of health and wellness for nearly 50 years. As a clinician in the fields of fitness and health he has initiated and promoted behavioral interventions that have proven to be effective in the treatment and management of the degenerative diseases that plague our public health.

Dr. Ben’s philosophy states that on the continuum of illness to wellness, our collective health plans should attempt to drive the needle towards wellness and away from illness through scientifically sound and safe applications of behavioural endeavors.

Dr. Ben has applied his extensive, recognized background and experience in diet and exercise as the basis of his intervention protocol. Initially (1974), he introduced slow resistance training to the exercise world in a successful attempt to provide safe, high intensity exercise to all populations.

He was the first practitioner to include resistance training to phase II cardiac rehabilitation in 1982. It is now accepted, standard protocol. He pioneered high intensity exercise for high endurance athletes in the mid 1980’s. Lastly, he introduced high intensity exercise for weight loss and management programs including the Opti Fast protocol used by the first popular bariatric physicians (Opti Fit).

Furthermore, Dr. Ben has exposed the paucity of legitimate science supporting conventional medical and governmental practices in treating and managing the aforementioned health dilemmas. He contends that a singularly pharmaceutical oriented solution as currently applied has failed individually and on an international basis.

Dr. Ben provides a simple history of the escalation of degenerative diseases (diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancer etc.) that correlates, at an inordinate level, with behavioral changes in physical activity and dietary preferences.

Lastly, Dr. Ben offers a simple, sound and scientifically based plan that incorporates a universally applicable system that directly addresses the alarming, current state of public health. Topics included are: Diet, exercise, disease treatment and management options and cost analyses of these.

Dr. Ben Bocchicchio has published more than 200 articles and study reports in the fields of Fitness, Health and Exercise. His work includes his acclaimed book “15 Minutes to Fitness” and the sale of more than 300,000 SMaRT DVD’s in 31 countries. He is continuing work as an investigator and consultant to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, ASU and a number of academic and corporate health institutions.

Dr. Cywes is Dual Board Certified in General Surgery and in Pediatric Surgery. He specializes in Pediatric and Adult obesity, diabetes and metabolic management including bariatric surgery.  His focus is on helping people understand and treat the true cause of obesity and diabetes.  He has been doing bariatric surgery for 19 years and has performed around 7000 surgeries.  Despite this, Dr Cywes firmly believes that obesity and diabetes are not treated by surgery, however, surgery may be a invaluable tool along the journey of becoming carbohydrate-free.

His medical training began in Cape Town, South Africa where he received his medical degree from The University of Cape Town training with Prof Tim Noakes amongst others. In 1989, Dr. Cywes moved to North America and completed a year-long residency in pediatric surgery at Ohio State University’s Columbus Children’s Hospital before moving to Canada where he completed his general surgery residency and specialized in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Cywes also earned a PhD in liver transplant immunology and the effect of glucose metabolism on vascular endothelium injury, working with Dr David Jenkins, the father of the Glycemic Index.

After completing his paediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Dr. Cywes was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Paediatric and Fetal Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he did hepatic stem cell research.  During this time, Dr. Cywes became increasingly interested in adolescent obesity and the impact of carbohydrates on the liver and metabolic syndrome in young patients. Dr. Cywes’ research led to a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity of chronic excessive carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of obesity and so-called obesity-related co-morbidities. In the late 1990s Dr Cywes understood that the prevailing treatment of obesity using a Calories in, Calories out (CICO) model was erroneous, and he developed the Carbohydrate Insulin Model of Obesity and Diabetes (CIMOD). Using this model in combination with his understanding of the psychology of addiction, he developed a clinical program to treat obese adolescents using this approach. Dr. Cywes relocated to Jacksonville, Florida where he joined the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Nemours Children’s Clinic and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. This led to a national meeting in Jacksonville where guidelines for adolescent obesity surgery were established.

In 2004, Dr. Cywes established Jacksonville Surgical Associates to continue his work in both adolescent and adult obesity treatment and surgery, and in 2013 opened a practice in West Palm Beach, Florida.  He now works with a highly experienced team of professionals from a variety of medical sub-specialties to better care for obese patients.  He has developed the practice into a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for obesity surgery. The practice uses a cognitive behavioral therapy approach that addresses carbohydrate addiction, along with bariatric surgery, to help patients manage the cause of their obesity long term. Based on his extensive clinical research and observations, Dr. Cywes lectures internationally regarding the physiological impact of carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of the current Chronic Non-Communicable Disease (CNCDs) epidemic.  He also lectures on the behavioral aspects of carbohydrate addiction as the cause of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities and the use of substance abuse methodology, rather than a diet and exercise approach, to the effective long term treatment of obesity.

Dr. Cywes is a member of ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) and is a member of the ASMBS Childhood Obesity Committee. He is also a member of APSA (American Pediatric Surgery Association). He has earned a Centers of Excellence designation by the Surgical Review Corporation. Dr. Cywes trains other surgeons to perform bariatric surgery as well as developing an aftercare model to help patients maintain weight loss.

Dr. Cywes and his team are active in obesity research, including an ongoing Adolescent Bariatric Surgery trial. He has become one of the foremost authorities in the treatment and management of obesity in adolescents. He recently co-authored a book, Diabetes Unpacked outlining an effective approach to understanding and treating diabetes into remission. Dr. Cywes’ vast experience in pediatric and general surgery serves him well in using bariatric surgery to treat obesity in both adults and children.

Dr Cywes maintains an active clinical practice in Palm Beach Gardens and in Jacksonville as well as being active on conveying the CIMOD message on social media and through his websites – Obesityunderstood.com and diabetesunderstood.com.

Gary Taubes (born April 30, 1956) is an American science writer. He is the author of Nobel Dreams (1987), Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion (1993), and Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007), which is titled The Diet Delusion in the UK. He has won the Science in Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers three times and was awarded an MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship for 1996-97.

Born in Rochester, New York, Taubes studied applied physics at Harvard and aerospace engineering at Stanford (MS, 1978). After receiving a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University in 1981, Taubes joined Discover magazine as a staff reporter in 1982. Since then he has written numerous articles for Discover, Science and other magazines. Originally focusing on physics issues, his interests have more recently turned to medicine and nutrition.

Taubes’ books have all dealt with scientific controversies. Nobel Dreams takes a critical look at the politics and experimental techniques behind the Nobel Prize-winning work of physicist Carlo Rubbia. Bad Science is a chronicle of the short-lived media frenzy surrounding the Pons-Fleischmann cold fusion experiments of 1989.

Peter Ballerstedt (aka The Sodfather) received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1981 and Master of Science in 1983, both from the University of Georgia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 1986, specializing in forage management and utilization, minoring in ruminant nutrition. He was the forage extension specialist at Oregon State University from 1986 to 1992. He worked in the forage seed industry from 2011 until 2023. He is a member of several national and international scientific societies, participates in related global initiatives, and is the current President of the American Forage and Grassland Council.

His study of human nutrition is fueled by his personal experience. He is an advocate for ruminant animal agriculture and its products, speaking to audiences in several countries about the role of ruminants in humanity’s past, present and future. He strives to build bridges between his agricultural tribe and his low-carb/keto/carnivore tribes. Peter blogs and posts to Facebook at “Grass Based Health” and on Twitter and Instagram at @GrassBased. Peter and Nancy live in western Oregon with their three dogs Conor Noni and Iris.

Dr. Kiltz is the Founder and Director of CNY Fertility, one of the largest and most innovative fertility practices in the country. Dr. Kiltz is a Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Fellowship trained and Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He spent more than two decades helping families grow by developing cutting-edge approaches to fertility grounded in Western medicine and supported by practices of holistic medicine.

To treat the whole person—mind, body, and spirit, Dr. Kiltz revolutionized the Fertility industry by providing full-service healing arts centers where patients receive massage, acupuncture, and yoga instruction. This patient-centered approach extends to Dr. Kiltz’s commitment to expanding access to fertility treatments by pricing most fertility treatments at only 1/3 the cost of the national average.

Dr. Kiltz routinely shares his thoughts on diet, wellness, spirituality, and fertility in his blog and via bi-weekly Facebook and YouTube Lives.

A thought leader in the keto carnivore movement, Dr. Kiltz believes that an animal-based diet dramatically improves mental clarity, fertility, and health, empowering people to live their best lives. In addition to his own media channels, Dr. Kiltz appears regularly on numerous popular blogs and social media outlets and has shared his views as a speaker at TEDx.

Dr. Kiltz is a Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Fellowship trained and Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. A Graduate of the University of Southern California, he completed medical school at the University of California, Davis. After residency at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver, he practiced at Kaiser Permanente in California followed by a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Prior to founding CNY Fertilty, Dr. Kiltz practiced reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Alta Bates In Vitro Fertilization Program while a clinical faculty member at the University California San Francisco, annually ranked among the top two medical schools in America.

Connect more with Dr. Kiltz

Website: https://www.doctorkiltz.com/

Keto + Carnivore Support – Group Kiltz Mighty Tribe: https://kiltz-mighty-tribe.mn.co/ 

Kiltz Cups: https://kiltzcups.com/

Doctor Kiltz Nutritional Solutions: https://www.doctorkiltznutritionalsolutions.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorkiltz/ 

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@doctorkiltz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doctorkiltz

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/doctorkiltz

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Kiltz/e/B005EIXDWU%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share 

Books by Dr. Kiltz: https://www.doctorkiltz.com/books-by-dr-kiltz/

I obtained my MD in Mexico and specialized as an internist at Mexico’s National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition.  Afterward, I trained as a Data scientist at Harvard and obtained my Ph.D. in Physiology at Oxford.  My research has focused on the clinical applications and prescription of ketogenic interventions.  However, most of my collaborations have involved advanced Statistical Analysis and Clinical Prediction Tools.  Currently, I am a tax-funded clinical researcher and Internal Medicine consultant at Mexico’s National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition.

Barbara Levy, MD is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and certified Menopause provider. She has over 40 years of experience in direct care, research, and physician training in women’s health care. Dr Levy is currently Chief Medical Officer of Visana Health, Inc., a virtual first women’s health company, and Chief Medical Officer of Uroshape.  In addition, she is Vice-Chair of the American Medical Society’s CPT Editorial Panel, past Chair of the AMA RBRVS Update Committee, and was the vice president of health policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for over 7 years. She has published over 95 studies and peer reviewed articles. Much of her personal and professional experience has focused on improving the health, well-being, and livelihood of women across the United States and around the world.

I hope to be the most unique cardiologist you have ever encountered. Sure, I am a card-carrying, board certified cardiologist. And I spent years learning the invasive procedures and the medications used to treat heart disease. Now I want to do everything in my power to make sure those multibillion dollar tools and drugs go unused.

My goal is to inspire individuals just like you to dictate your own health by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Lifestyle habits that allow you to achieve your best health ever. Health free of prescription drugs. Health that leaves you feeling great, feeling energetic, and living the life you have always dreamed.

Having competed in triathlons ever since I was a teenager, fitness and health were always obsessions of mine. In college at Stanford University, I was able to maintain my daily training and focus on healthy nutrition. Then, real-life happened. I entered Ohio State University’s medical school, followed by my internal medicine residency at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, and a fellowship in preventative cardiology at Scripps Clinic

Suddenly those gym visits, long runs and bike rides became a struggle to maintain. Finding time to eat well, stay active, get enough sleep, and handle the stress of a high-stakes job became a constant presence in my life. Fortunately, I knew the importance of these habits and I did my best to maintain them, even if on a smaller scale.

As I entered my cardiology practice in San Diego, I encountered thousands of people who struggled far more than I did to maintain healthy habits. Some had never exercised or paid any attention to their nutrition. It just wasn’t how they were raised and they hadn’t considered it important. Others knew what they “should” be doing but lacked the tools and support structure to implement them.

As a result, our healthcare system is full of people suffering from diseases that are completely preventable.

Suddenly, I had a clear mission: to empower all my patients to help themselves. To empower them to make the best-informed choices possible about everything from food to activity to sleep to stress management, every single day. After all, the best way to “treat” someone is to prevent the need for treatment in the first place.

I’ve since studied extensively in the areas of functional medicine, personal fitness training, and nutrition and added the following certifications to my credentials as a physician

• Functional medicine from Functional Medicine University
• Personal training from NASM
• Fitness nutrition from NASM
• Behavioral modification from NASM
• Medical and fitness provider from Titleist Performance Institute

This extra training has broadened my perspective, allowing me to be a doctor, a health coach, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, and a cheerleader all wrapped into one. It is with this mindset that I can give my clients all the tools they need to lead healthy, natural lives.

So, am I the most unique cardiologist you have ever met? In the end, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I can help you take control of your health. I can help you experience natural health that comes from daily healthy lifestyle habits. I can help you safely get off your medicines or ensure that you never need them in the first place. Let’s start this journey together, and you will see how great you can feel!

Education, Titles and Certifications:

Graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in biology 1994

Graduated from The Ohio State University Medical School with a M.D. 1998

Internal medicine internship and residency at Mercy Hospital San Diego, CA completed 2001

Chief Resident for the Mercy Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program 2002

General and Preventative Cardiology fellowship at Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA completed 2005

Cardiology partner at Sharp Rees Stealy, San Diego 2005-present

Founder and lead physician Boundless Health 2015-present

Board certified in:

Adult cardiovascular diseases

Adult echocardiography

Nuclear cardiology

Cardiac computed tomography

Certified practitioner:

Functional Medicine

Personal Trainer

Fitness nutrition’

Behavior modification

Level 2 fitness and medical provider by Titleist Performance Institute

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and also a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). The primary focus of his laboratory is directed towards understanding the physiological effects of hyperbaric oxygen and developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, including ketogenic diets, ketone supplements and drugs that target specific metabolic pathways.

His research explores the use of these therapies for a broad range of disorders linked pathophysiologically to metabolic dysregulation, including seizures, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic diseases and cancer. D’Agostino’s laboratory uses in vivo and in vitro techniques to understand the physiological, cellular and molecular mechanism of metabolic therapies. His research is supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Department of Defense (DoD), private organizations and foundations.

Dave is a senior software engineer and entrepreneur.   He began working with programming and system engineering at a very young age and has always enjoyed learning new mechanistic patterns and concepts.

After starting a low carb diet, Dave found his cholesterol numbers increased considerably.  He then began reverse engineering the lipid system through self-experimentation and testing, finding it was very dynamic and fluid.  He has now demonstrated this phenomenon multiple times by moving his cholesterol up and down substantially in a matter of days.

I am a USC trained, board certified Internal Medicine doctor and have been in practice for 16 years but did not understand the implications of metabolic syndrome until only 2 years ago. I have had a personal struggle with obesity since childhood and became officially pre-diabetic in February of 2017 despite my medical knowledge.

Although I was voted one of the “Top Doctors” in San Diego for 11 of those years, I still felt a void as many of my patients with chronic conditions continued to decline and require more medication. After attending LowCarbUSA^® in San Diego, my practice of medicine changed and I have taken control of my health. 

I have been honored to be a guest on multiple podcasts and I have been a speaker on the Nutrition Network educational series for medical professionals.  I am currently co-hosting the Low Carb MD podcast with Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Tro Kalayjian, and Megan Ramos.  I am also on the panel of advisers for the LowCarbUSA^® Clinical Guidelines for Medical Professionals and just finished recording an interview for the upcoming documentary “Big Fat Lie” with Wide Eye Productions.  I am the Medical Director for TriSystem Nutrition.   Together we can do our part to reverse the healthcare crisis that is facing the world one life at a time. I am excited about the journey ahead.