Episode 22 – air date October 14, 2026

HOST: Betsy Miller, MS, CNS, RH(AHG), DCN-c

GUEST: Nathan Rose, BHSc (Naturopathy)

Nathan Rose and Betsy Miller sit down for a conversation about the influence bitter herbs  have on digestion, appetite regulation, and weight loss. They discuss weight loss, GLP-1 medications, neuroinflammation, and the vagus nerve. Betsy asks Nathan about the importance of whole food nutrition, especially fiber and protein, in influencing the incretin hormone pathway that includes GLP-1, CCK, and PYY. Nathan also cites several important studies on weight loss and appetite regulation, including a study on how mindset and framing language around food can influence appetite regulation and metabolic signaling.

Nathan Rose is the Head of Education at Integria Healthcare, leading practitioner education across MediHerb, Eagle and Eagle Clinical in ANZ, the US, UK and South Africa. With over 20 years of industry experience in clinical practice and leading teams in education, innovation, and research and development, Nathan brings a broad skill set and passion to deliver cutting-edge, engaging and clinically relevant information.

Combining his background in naturopathy with his innate curiosity, Nathan has a relentless drive to uncover and broadcast new solutions to common clinical presentations. As a recognized international speaker and industry-thought leader, Nathan’s presentations are novel and insightful, and at times question the status quo, all in attempt to continue to progress the power and efficacy of natural healthcare. 

Podcast Summary

• 2:18 Bitter herbs, bitter taste receptors, and their influence on digestion, appetite regulation
• 5:18 Evidence that bitter herbs influence digestion and appetite regulation
• 8:23 Effectiveness of taking bitter herbs on the tongue versus ingesting bitter herbs in a tablet form
• 10:51 How bitter herbs influence weight loss
• 15:13 Maintaining weight loss after discontinuation of GLP-1 medications
• 21:22 Metabolic set point – regaining weight after weight loss
• 25:59 Ability of bitter herbs to communicate with the brain via the Vagus nerve
• 27:26 Neuroinflammation as a potential driver of the stuck metabolic set point – reduce neuroinflammation with neuroprotective herbs to reduce the metabolic set point
• 29:53 Importance of whole food nutrition, especially fiber and protein, in supporting the GLP-1 pathway
• 38:36 How mindset can influence appetite regulation and metabolic signaling
• 47:04 Clinical takeaway – working with patients through a multisystem condition like obesity and unwanted weight gain requires using bitter herbs, as well as whole food nutrition and reframing language around food to help shift the needle

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