24 years of Experience in Emergency Health Care
Dr Ricardo grew up in the beautiful surroundings of Cape Town, South Africa. As a youngster, he led an active life, making the most of the outdoors and the perfect weather. He enjoyed rugby, cricket, tennis, athletics, and cycling during school.
When he attended UCT medical school in the early 90s, he had great aspirations to “save the world” and “make things better”. He was placed at Frere Hospital in East London for his internship, where his education in medicine began. The long hours and minimal time for recreational activities led to a lifelong struggle with weight and an unhealthy relationship with food. After a 36-hour shift, nothing was more rewarding than eating junk food. Eventually, any form of exercise was replaced by rest and eating.
His subsequent placement was at a rural hospital in the former Transkei homeland, reinforcing the unhealthy food reward cycle. His CEO at the hospital shared a helpful bit of information relating to meetings.
He said, “If you want a good turnout for any meeting, advertise that you will provide food”.
Following this enforced service in the Eastern Cape, Dr Ricardo returned to Cape Town and started building a career in Emergency Medicine. He had a natural affinity for emergencies and enjoyed the chaos and the pressure of finding the solution to life-threatening dilemmas.
Again, as a proficient emergency doctor, food played a huge role. He used to carry a lunch box with enough food and snacks for all the meal times imaginable. And every hour, we had a reason to eat. Every successful resuscitation was a reason to eat. Every break was a reason to eat. The best thing about working at the time was that everyone else also bought into the food-reward philosophy.
He started his career at 180 pounds, with a 32-inch waist. By the time he worked for 8 years, he had reached 250 pounds and a size 40 waist. His scrubs were more flattering and well-fitting than before.
Despite his efforts to remain active, the weight just kept piling on. He had also tried multiple “diets”, including shakes, calorie counting, and fat-burning supplements. Nothing was able to stop the weight gain. In addition to gaining weight, he also witnessed the adverse effects of poor diet, with the overwhelming disease burden of metabolic diseases, which exploded over the last few years.
By chance, his wife (a specialist physician) had looked into a low-carbohydrate lifestyle and shared the idea with him. His initial skepticism, which lasted for about 2 years or so, eventually faded, and he accepted the idea of eating a low-carb, healthy-fat diet.
After several failed attempts, something clicked, and he lost weight very quickly, dropping to 180 pounds again. This was with hardly any exercise and no starvation and suffering. He was immediately surprised by how effortlessly he could control his appetite despite being surrounded by mountains of food, cakes, biscuits, and sweets in the EU and still working long hours and shifts.
Even as a father of two young children with sleepless nights, he managed to keep the weight off consistently for 12 years. He also practiced (and still does) intermittent fasting, and despite not eating for over 48 hours, he has not died yet!
Know anything, nothing, and nutrition. He currently eats a mixture of keto and carnivore, with intermittent fasting, adjusting it to suit his body’s needs.
It has been a constant battle to convince people that eating more healthily is better because of all the advertising, especially related to sugar and grains/cereals.
Dr Ricardo has worked in South Africa and the United Kingdom. He has extensive experience in Emergency Healthcare. He is fortunate to have been taught by some of South Africa’s most well-known clinicians. He has worked in tertiary, secondary, and district hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa. He teaches newly qualified doctors, more senior doctors, and nurses alike. He enjoys sharing knowledge. He believes medicine is truly a magical art that requires just the right amount of knowledge, mystery, and magic to succeed.
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