Since last week I discussed the functions of the different macros this week I’ll be showing you how to calculate the amount in grams of each macro you’ll need for a bioenergetic diet. I’ll also discuss timing, rhythm and the basics of movement from a pro-metabolic standpoint.
Read MoreCreating a diet based around bioenergetic principles requires a deeper understanding of macronutrients (and micros). In today’s article I’ll discuss the three macronutrients, their main purposes and constructing a pro-metabolic macro split that maximizes energy production and minimizes stress.
Read MoreEssentially there are two approaches to longevity and health, Rate-of-Living and Bioenergetics. Rate-of-living is the hypothesis that our bodies are machines with a finite amount of heartbeats and breaths. Increasing lifespan from this vantage becomes a matter of conservation and reducing wear & tear. Bioenergetics sees the body as machine-like, but with the innate capacity to regenerate (like soil). Regeneration requires energy and only when we lack energy does the body breakdown in the way Rate-of-living theorist see it.
Read MoreOur dear friends the cows have come under fire in the last few years as being drivers of climate change. Bovines are strong allies of humanity and in the right context are key players in lowering carbon, not increasing it. In this article I’ll explain how ruminants, the class of four-leggeds of which cattle belong, are necessary for human and planetary health.
Read More"The dose makes the poison" is a fundamental principle in toxicology, attributed to the Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus from nearly 500 years ago. This concept emphasizes that the toxicity of a substance depends on its dose or concentration, rather than its inherent properties alone.
Two good examples of this are blue light and seed oils. Yes, the color blue coming out of your phone, tablet, HDTV, monitors, headlights, streetlights and work/home LED bulbs and vegetable oils used in everything from organic tortilla chips to restaurant french fries. There are so many parallels between the massive overuse of these two metabolic disruptors I had to write about it.
Read MoreWe made it to part 4, the final article in this series on healing your gut!
In this segment I want to give you common symptoms and general rules for figuring out a gut issue. I also want to give you my favorite at-home tools for fixing them.
Read MoreToday in part 3 I’ll be exploring gut testing markers, in particular, functional digestive markers along with a review of the “keystone bacteria” that constitute a healthy microbiome.
Lastly we’ll look at re-feeding carbs for those who been low carb for a long time. If you’re just tuning in, it is helpful to read part 1 and part 2 beforehand for background.
Read MoreThis week in part 2 we’re going to discuss the mechanics of digestion, absorption, fermentation and the role of fiber. These processes occur in the stomach, small intestine and colon and are co-dependent. For example, poor digestion because of high cortisol/low thyroid not only leads to malnutrition but SIBO. Fiber is a doubled-edged sword that can improve or worsen gut function so its important to know when to increase or decrease it.
Read MoreHippocrates, the ancient Greek physician and father of modern medicine, famously stated that “all disease begins in the gut.” In the last decade this statement has renewed meaning with over 40,000 publications listed in PubMed (60% of these in the last 3 years) on the microbiome demonstrating its impact on metabolic disease, cognitive decline, mental health disorders, and autoimmunity.
What has also manifested recently are the myriad of ways to restore gut health with some of them working for others but not you and vice versa. The reason for these inconsistencies lies in your unique gut status.
In this series we’ll seek to understand how the gut functions, it’s major disrupters and a few approaches to healing it.
Read MoreIn bioenergetics, the foundational cause of metabolic disease is something called Reductive Stress. This occurs in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, usually in the complexes themselves, when electrons are not efficiently flowing forward to complex 4 and attaching to oxygen. This process increases oxidative stress and induces everything downstream of insulin resistance.
This article is a bit technical, but if you can grasp it, you’ll have the key to unlocking chronic disease.
Read MoreLast week I covered Prolactin’s role in calcium regulation and a bit about it anti-metabolic effects. This week we’re going to look at how Dopamine, Estrogen, Cortisol, Hypothyroidism and Serotonin affect Prolactin along with ways to measure it.
Read MoreCalcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body with over 99% residing in the bones and teeth. The regulation of calcium is not only important for maintaining these structures but also energy production and preventing a host of chronic diseases. In today’s post I’ll discuss the necessity of dietary calcium and how it's dysregulation is anti-metabolic.
Read MoreEven after the largest study ever on serotonin published in 2022 destroyed the myth that low brain serotonin causes depression, the fiction that serotonin is the ‘happy hormone’ still persists.
In today’s article I’ll demonstrate serotonin’s primary role in the body, how elevations in serotonin are more likely leading to mood disorders, and how too much serotonin is anti-metabolic.
Read MoreEveryone agrees that elevated cortisol is catabolic and shortens lifespan. Some functional medicine practitioners understand how high cortisol destroys our protective, wellness hormones progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. But very few understand its most important and fundamental role, regulating blood sugar. In today’s article I’ll unpack how cortisol is wrecking metabolic health and what you can do about it.
Read MoreWhat’s the rage behind seed oils? Why are some doctors saying seed oils are “heart-healthy” and others are saying they’re the biggest threat to health. Today I’ll explain why this issue developed and how the core of it is about PUFA aka polyunsaturated fats.
Read MoreElevated estrogen in men and women is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. The pro-metabolic hormones like progesterone for women and testosterone for men are both lowered by estrogen dominance. And unlike those pro-metabolic hormones, estrogens continue to be produced by men and postmenopausal until end of life.
Today we’re going to investigate how estrogen blocks T3 conversion in the liver as do the other major inhibitors like CORTISOL, PUFA and PLASTIC.
Read MoreLevothyroxine (T4) aka Synthroid has been a mainstay in the pharmaceutical industry for decades due to the high prevalence of hypothyroidism and until this year (overthrown by Lipitor, a statin) was the most prescribed drug on the planet.
What is hypothyroidism? Why has Lipitor now taken the gold medal? And are the conditions of hypothyroidism and elevated cholesterol related?
Let’s have a look…
Read MoreIf you’re considering a GLP-1 agonist (like Ozempic) its crucial to understand how it works, evaluate the risks, and most importantly what the underlying cause is in the first place.
Let’s dig in…
Read MoreIn classical acupuncture there are 12 major meridians and 2 midline meridians. The 12 major meridians are further divided into 6 yang (downward flowing) and 6 yin (upward flowing) meridians that are paired based on whether the associated organs are considered 'hollow' or 'solid'. This pairing creates a looping, longitudinal circuit that is continuously flowing Chi up and down the body. These meridians have superficial aspects that allow them to be needled (acupoints)
Read More….an anecdotal study performed by Australian journalist, Graham Phillips, and Graham’s personal investigation into Mindfulness meditation’s effects on his brain. You can view the 30-minute tv report here.
Graham hooked up with a research team at Monash University to obtain baseline values for standard behavioral and neurological tests including MRI. After 2 months, one of the most significant changes was Graham’s increased performance in cognition - decreased distractibility, increased reaction time and increased working memory. At the same time, he had a simultaneous decrease in neural activity. So, what does this mean?
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