The experts behind RealFoods
RealFoods content is grounded in peer-reviewed research and the published work of leading metabolic scientists, clinicians, and researchers. Every author listed here has contributed to the science of insulin, blood sugar regulation, and weight loss that the app is built on.
Dino Pohilj
Founder, RealFoods
Founder of RealFoods. Builds tools that help people lose weight without counting calories by measuring the metabolic impact of food.
Benjamin Bikman, PhD
Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, Brigham Young University
Dr. Benjamin Bikman is a metabolic scientist at BYU whose research centres on the role of insulin in driving fat storage, obesity, and chronic disease. He argues that chronic hyperinsulinemia, not excess calorie intake, is the root cause of the modern metabolic crisis. His work directly underpins the insulin-first framework of the RealFoods WI Score.
Jessie Inchauspé
Biochemist, Author
Jessie Inchauspé is a French biochemist known as the Glucose Goddess whose research on glucose curves explains how food sequencing and meal composition alter the blood sugar spike. Her work underpins the food-ordering principles inside RealFoods: fibrous armor before starch, protein and fat before sugar, vegetables before everything else.
Dr. Jason Fung, MD
Nephrologist, Intermittent Fasting Expert
Dr. Jason Fung is a Canadian nephrologist and clinical researcher who pioneered the use of therapeutic fasting to reverse type 2 diabetes. His framework treats chronically elevated insulin as the sole proximate cause of obesity. The fasting tracker inside RealFoods is grounded in Fung's clinical protocols for suppressing insulin through timed eating windows.
Dr. Robert Lustig, MD, MSL
Professor Emeritus of Pediatric Endocrinology, UCSF
Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF whose research on fructose metabolism explains why certain processed foods rank high on the WI Score even when their glucose impact appears moderate. His work shows that fructose is processed exclusively by the liver, forcing fat synthesis and chronically suppressing leptin, the satiety hormone. Together with insulin, this dual mechanism explains why processed food drives metabolic disease independently of total calorie intake.
Dr. Eric Berg, DC
Doctor of Chiropractic, Nutritional Educator
Dr. Eric Berg has educated millions through his YouTube channel and books on the link between insulin, cortisol, and body fat storage. His practical frameworks for ketogenic eating and intermittent fasting align directly with the insulin-first logic of the RealFoods WI Score, and his emphasis on electrolytes and nutrient density informs how RealFoods evaluates food quality beyond the glucose curve.
Dr. Mark Hyman, MD
Functional Medicine Physician, Author
Dr. Mark Hyman is a functional medicine physician and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine whose work reframes food as hormonal medicine rather than a collection of macros. His research on blood sugar regulation, ultra-processed food, and metabolic root-cause medicine directly supports the RealFoods thesis that insulin control, not calorie restriction, is the lever that determines whether the body stores or burns fat. His work is especially relevant for people managing type 2 diabetes or supporting a family member with the condition.
