Symposiums for Metabolic Health: Changing the Lives of Patients & Family Members

Maurice St. Martin (aka Dr. Moe) Enthusiastic About Upcoming San Diego Conference

He’s known as Dr. Moe, and if you attend the upcoming Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (TheSMHP™) Symposium for Metabolic Health, August 25-28, in San Diego, you’re likely to see him, along with members of his family. 

He’s been a fixture at these conferences since he first discovered our organization in 2016, shortly after LowCarbUSA^® hosted the inaugural event in San Diego.

Maurice St. Martin is a primary care physician in Canada who, along with his daughter, Dr. Monique St. Martin, has applied much of what they’ve learned at the Symposiums to help patients in their practice – a group of 12 physicians in a family health organization with a patient roster of approximately 18,000 patients.

Many of those patients have been able to come off insulin and other medications as a result of the lifestyle changes that are discussed at every Symposium for Metabolic Health.

“It’s amazing how many things that we can actually do by changing our macros and nutrients that are pretty cheap or free, and in fact, can save  people money. When you deprescribe massive doses of insulin—we’ve had people in my private office that have gotten off 150 to 200 units of insulin—that’s a lot of money.”

Dr. Moe is a believer in therapeutic carbohydrate reduction (TCR), not only because of what it offers to his patients, but what it’s done for his family.

Dr. Moe used TCR to sustainably lose 150 pounds and his daughter Monique is down 180 pounds from her heaviest weight during pregnancy. The rest of his family has also seen weight loss benefits and they’ve all seen improvements in their health and quality of life..

“I followed the Canada Food Guide for years,” said Dr. Moe, “and it led me to a point where about 20 years ago, I was 150 pounds more than I am today. I’m currently at my grade nine high school weight.”

Dr. Moe praised the Symposiums for Metabolic Health, LowCarbUSA^® for the high-level, science-based information available to practitioners and researchers, but he emphasized that these conferences are also ideal for lay people interested in learning practical and actionable information and getting the chance to meet and interact with many of the foremost experts in the field.

“At these events, you’re toe to toe with giants, and you’re treated as an equal,” said Dr. Moe. “We’ve been able to network and meet so many people. Whether it’s the founder of Diet Doctor (Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt), or Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Robert Cywes, or so many others, you get to meet them and talk with them, and it’s just an amazing forum.”

At the 2019 Symposium for Metabolic Health in San Diego, Dr. Moe brought a total of 14 people, including his wife Lucie, their three grown children and their spouses, as well as six grandchildren.

Dr. Moe described the low-carb dinners as one of the highlights, where presenters and attendees have the opportunity to relax and converse over good food and beverages, including low-carb wines. “You have the chance to socialize with these giants, and we’re all equals in this journey,” said Dr. Moe. 

He also talked about the importance of the Symposiums in bringing credibility to some of the things he had learned with respect to low-carb diets. “The presentations corroborated a lot of the things I was doing in my practice, intuitively, on my own,” said Dr. Moe. “Everything was supported with medical science, and with the backing of other physicians. And now, the evidence base has just taken off, so now it’s becoming easier and easier to talk to my peers.”

Dr. Moe’s patients have benefitted from what he’s learned and from the connections he’s been able to make at the conferences. “I have access to all this information… credible, evidence-based information from the giants in the field.”

Another aspect of the Symposiums Dr. Moe said was important was that attendees get the benefit from hearing from presenters with a wide range of perspectives and experiences. “You can find what fits you best at a particular time, whether it’s LCHF, pure keto, or carnivore, with the knowledge that people change and evolve. It really blows you away, the amount of information you have access to.”

He expressed gratitude to LowCarbUSA co-founder & SMHP President Doug Reynolds, MHP, and LowCarbUSA co-founder Pam Devine, who have orchestrated each of the 17 events, especially their willingness and ability to make the conferences available virtually when COVID-19 prevented in-person attendance. 

“We are thankful to Pam and Doug for allowing us to still stay connected over the past couple of years.”

Dr. Moe said he and his family have attended virtually since the 2019 Symposium in San Diego, but he’s extremely enthusiastic to get back to San Diego in-person this August.

Learn more and register for the Symposium for Metabolic Health- San Diego here.