Summary of 🔴 The Unholy Trinity with Daniel Trevor!

In this engaging and in-depth episode of The Plant-Free MD, Dr. Anthony Chaffey hosts Daniel Trevor, author of the bestselling book Unholy Trinity, which exposes how modern dietary staples—carbohydrates, sugar, and industrial seed oils—have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity, chronic disease, and addiction. Daniel shares his personal story of nearly dying from a heart attack despite being “Mr. Healthy,” which propelled him into deep research uncovering decades of misleading nutrition advice and harmful food industry practices.

Main Plot & Highlights:

Daniel’s Journey: After his heart attack, Daniel dove into medical literature, uncovering how the “Unholy Trinity” of processed carbs, sugar, and seed oils are addictive and destructive to health. He reversed four serious comorbidities—type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and osteoporosis—through a low-carb, ketogenic, and eventually carnivore-style approach.
Exposing the System: Daniel highlights systemic corruption in medicine and nutrition, including how Big Food, Big Pharma, and parts of Big Medicine prioritize profits over health. He cites historical examples like Procter & Gamble’s promotion of trans fat-laden Crisco and how cardiologists sometimes resist prevention because procedures are lucrative.
Scientific Insights: The discussion covers cutting-edge science such as the role of the glycocalyx (arterial lining) being damaged by refined carbs worse than smoking, the danger of small dense LDL particles created by these diets, and how soft inflamed arterial plaques—not calcified ones—cause heart attacks and strokes.
Lab Testing & Monitoring: Daniel emphasizes the importance of advanced blood tests and scans (like the oral glucose tolerance test with insulin, myeloperoxidase, and coronary artery calcium scoring) that most doctors don’t order or understand. He shares his own experience with a rising calcium score despite improving metabolic health, explaining it reflects healing.
Addiction & Food Industry Tactics: The episode reveals how addiction scientists from Big Tobacco were hired by food companies to engineer foods that stimulate opiate receptors in the brain, making wheat and sugar highly addictive. Daniel discusses the addictive nature of wheat’s gliadin protein and how 59,000 supermarket products contain wheat.
Critique of Medical Practice: They discuss how many doctors are poorly educated on metabolic diseases, often overweight themselves, and stuck in outdated paradigms of “eat less, move more.” Daniel recounts a shocking story of a UK cardiologist openly admitting he wants more heart disease to perform lucrative procedures.
Hope & Community: Despite the grim realities, Daniel shares uplifting success stories from people reversing diabetes and improving health by escaping the “Unholy Trinity.” He praises Dr. Chaffey’s work and stresses the importance of diverse voices spreading this message in different ways to reach more people.

Jokes & Personality Moments:

Daniel’s candid humor shines when he nervously recounts his first live podcast with millions of viewers, joking about stumbling over his words.
The hosts share light-hearted banter about their “Philly rough edges” and the irony of doctors prescribing diets that actually harm patients.
They poke fun at the absurdity of the medical establishment’s shifting cholesterol and blood pressure targets designed to increase drug sales.

Key Takeaways:

The “Unholy Trinity” of processed carbs, sugar, and seed oils is a major driver of modern chronic disease and addiction.
Medical and nutritional advice has been corrupted by vested interests for decades.
Advanced testing beyond standard blood glucose and cholesterol is crucial to detect hidden metabolic disease.
Healing requires escaping these addictive foods gradually and adopting whole-food, low-carb or carnivore diets.
Awareness and education are vital, and diverse communicators like Daniel and Dr. Chaffey play a critical role.

Personalities Featured:

Dr. Anthony Chaffey (The Plant-Free MD) – Host and clinician focused on metabolic health.
Daniel Trevor – Author of Unholy Trinity, heart attack survivor, researcher, and advocate for low-carb/keto/carnivore nutrition.
Mentioned experts: Dr. Ford Brewer, Ivor Cummins, Nina Teicholz, Dr. Chris Kresser, Dr. Kate Shanahan, Dr. Philip Ovadia, and others.

This episode stands out for its frank, science-backed critique of the food and medical industries, personal storytelling, and practical advice on reclaiming health from diet-induced chronic disease. It blends hard-hitting facts with relatable humor and hope, making complex science accessible and motivating listeners to take control of their metabolic health.

Notable Quotes

— 01:29 — « I discovered look I was just like everybody else what we've been told to eat for decades 70 years or so has been killing us. »

— 08:51 — « The unholy trinity in the 20th century: the carbs, the sugar and the oils in the amounts and concentrations never before seen. »

— 31:13 — « I don't want to try to prevent heart disease. Like that's my business. I want there to be more heart disease, I want to do more procedures, I want to do more stents because I make more money that way. »

— 33:23 — « Big tobacco companies bought up the big food companies and brought their addiction scientists over to the big food companies to figure out how to get people to eat the whole bag instead of half the bag. »

— 45:15 — « Soft inflamed plaque causes heart attacks and strokes, not the calcified plaque; the body lays down calcium to heal and stabilize the dangerous plaque. »