Robert Cywes

In an email to me: Dr Rob Cywes wrote: "Personally, our entire family is 95%+carnivore including our 22 month old son who has been carnivore since he was a pre-embryo."

Dr. Cywes is Dual Board Certified in General Surgery and in Pediatric Surgery. He specializes in Pediatric and Adult obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic brain development including Autism Spectrum Disorder and metabolic management including PCOS, Lipedema and other endocrine disorders. His focus is helping people understand and treat the true cause of their endocrine/metabolic disease including obesity and diabetes. He is increasingly working with high performance athletes as well. Dr Cywes is a strong proponent of Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction and is comfortable anywhere along the continuum of lowcarb vegetarian to pure carnivore ways of life. 

Dr Cywes received his medical degree from The University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1987. He moved to North America and studied at Ohio State University's Columbus Children's Hospital before moving to Canada where he completed his general surgery residency and specialized in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cywes also earned a PhD in liver metabolism and immunology and the effect of glucose metabolism on vascular endothelium injury working with Dr David Jenkins, the father of the Glycemic Index. 

After completing his pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Dr. Cywes was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Pediatric and Fetal Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he did hepatic stem cell research. During this time, Dr. Cywes became increasingly interested in adolescent obesity and the impact of carbohydrates on the liver and endocrine/metabolic syndrome in young patients. Dr. Cywes’ research led to a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity of chronic excessive carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of obesity and so-called obesity-related co-morbidities, particularly diabetes and vascular inflammatory disorders. In the late 1990s Dr Cywes understood that the prevailing treatment of obesity using a Calories in, Calories out (CICO) model was erroneous, and he developed the Carbohydrate Insulin Model of Obesity and Diabetes (CIMOD). Using this model in combination with his understanding of the psychology of addiction, he developed a clinical program to treat obese adolescents using this approach. 

In 2004, Dr. Cywes established Jacksonville Surgical Associates to continue his work in both adolescent and adult obesity and endocrine/metabolic treatment, and in 2013 opened a practice in West Palm Beach, Florida. He now works with a highly experienced team of professionals from a variety of medical sub-specialties to better care for obese patients. He has developed the practice into an internationally recognized Center of Excellence for obesity and metabolic management. The practice uses a cognitive behavioral therapy approach addressing carbohydrates as addictive substances to help patients manage the cause of their disease and establish remission. Based on his extensive clinical research and observations, Dr. Cywes lectures internationally regarding the physiological impact of carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of the current Chronic Non- Communicable Disease (CNCDs) epidemic including PCOS and gestational diabetes.  He also lectures on the behavioral aspects of carbohydrate addiction as the cause of obesity and obesity- related co-morbidities and the use of substance abuse methodology, rather than a diet and exercise approach, to the effective long term treatment of obesity. Dr Cywes firmly believes that metabolic disease, obesity and diabetes are not treated by surgery, however, surgery may be an invaluable tool along the journey of becoming carbohydrate-free. 

Dr. Cywes is a Founder Member and on the Board of Directors of SMHP the Society for Metabolic Health Practitioners. He is also a member of ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) and is a member of the ASMBS Childhood Obesity Committee. He is also a member of APSA (American Pediatric Surgery Association) and siths on the APSA Childhood Obesity Committee. He has earned a Centers of Excellence designation by the Surgical Review Corporation. Dr. Cywes trains healthcare workers in developing a CIMOD aftercare model to help patients maintain the changes to their lifestyles that they are making. Dr Cywes has become one of the foremost clinical authorities in the treatment and management of obesity and metabolic disease in adolescents. He is active in clinical research. He written several lowcarb book chapters and co-authored a book, Diabetes Unpacked outlining an effective approach to understanding and treating diabetes into remission. Dr. Cywes' vast experience in pediatric and general surgery serves him well in using bariatric surgery to treat obesity in adults and children. Dr Cywes maintains an active clinical practice in Jupiter and Jacksonville, Florida as well as conveying the CIMOD message on social media and through his websites – He has many podcasts freely available on YouTube at carbaddictiondoc. His website is Obesityunderstood.com and he is active on Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram. For consultations in person or on Zoom, Dr Cywes can be reached by texting 561 5170642 including via Whatsapp for international clients.