Food Addiction, Cholesterol and Finding Freedom

Mar 26, 2026

57:52

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📋 What if the diet advice you trusted your whole life was actually feeding your cravings—and your lab “red flags” didn’t tell the whole story? In this Ketobiography episode, host Robyn Dobbins continues her Cholesterol Code series with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jen Unwin to explore the intersection of food addiction, low-carb nutrition, and cholesterol. Drawing on her professional experience with the NHS and her own lived experience as a “lifelong sugar addict,” Jen explains how she finally found food freedom with low carb and why, for many people, understanding addiction is the missing piece that makes change stick. She also shares the story behind her sky-high LDL, zero CAC scores, and appearance in The Cholesterol Code documentary, inviting listeners to rethink what “risk” really looks like in the context of metabolic health.

⏳ Chapters

0:00 – Welcome to Ketobiography & the Cholesterol Code mini-series

1:31 – Jen’s lifelong sugar addiction and early weight struggles

3:02 – Discovering low carb and the “miracle” of fewer cravings and more energy

4:28 – Creating a type 2 diabetes remission program with David’s patients

5:52 – Why food addiction is a “leaky boat” in a world where you have to keep eating

8:17 – Realizing “this is addiction” and starting to campaign for recognition

31:01 – The LDL of 19 mmol/L shock, CAC scans, and lean-mass hyper-responders

35:24 – Letting go of everything you were taught about “healthy eating” to feel well

45:01 – Healing the brain with enough protein and fat—not just restriction or willpower

47:05 – Practical advice: meds, keto flu, salt, and why you should expect a rough first 8 days

💡 What You’ll Learn in this Episode

How a clinical psychologist came to see her own pattern as true food addiction, not a lack of willpower
Why low-carb or keto can transform cravings and energy—and why that alone may not solve addiction for some people
The CRAVED framework for recognizing food addiction in yourself or your patients/clients
How Jen and Dr. David Unwin helped type 2 diabetes patients reach drug-free remission with dietary change and data tracking
What Jen’s extreme LDL, zero CAC scores, and Cholesterol Code involvement suggest about lean-mass hyper-responders and risk assessment

🔑 Key Insight

“It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility—to build the routines, boundaries, and ways of living that keep food addiction from finding its way back in.” -Dr. Jen Unwin

🌐 Connect with Dr. Jen Unwin

The Collaborative Health Community

Book – Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedom

not an affiliate link

🎥 Screenings and Cholesterol Code Movie information: cholesterolcodemovie.com

🎟️ DFW! Grab your ticket for The Cholesterol Code theatrical screening! 🎟️

🎧 Listen to More Episodes:

New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🔗 Subscribe + follow + leave a review to support the show!

🌱 Know someone with a Keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: ketobiography@gmail.com

👥 Connect with Robyn:

https://www.robyndobbins.com