These are taken directly from How to Reset your Metabolism.
Check out the comprehensive Holistic Nutrition Program
1. Enzymes, Nutrients & Real Food
2. Fats
3. Salt
4. Sugar
5. Cholesterol
6. Proteins
7. Water
8. The No-No List
9. Caffeine
10. Alcohol & Drugs
Enzymes, Nutrients & Real Food
Nutrient deficiency, especially iodine, magnesium, B-vitamins and vitamin D are rampant these days, mostly because people eat more processed foods than real foods. A major problem with our modern, obesity-causing and processed diet is that the natural, anti-inflammatory components of food have been removed. Not to mention all of the additives and calorie-rich “ingredients” added in the process.
The good news is that the solution is so simple: JUST EAT REAL FOODS. If you want enzymes and inflammation fighting properties to come from your food, then eat them as nature intended you to eat them, not as some company intended you to eat them.
Fats
This is a dicey subject that dates back to the 1940s when unsaturated fats were touted as healthy. Let’s just say that was a scam and research and real-life observation and statistics back that up. I will let Ray Peat tell it like it is for you if you want to know more, continue that tangent here.
In the meantime, you should know that natural saturated fats are good for you and help fight inflammation, promote weight loss and improve metabolism. So start getting these foods back in your diet! Butter, coconut oil, meats, milk, cheese and eggs to name a few.
Naturally raised and hormone-free are the only way to go with meats and dairy. Sorry, donuts and potato chips don’t make the list.
Ray Peat also says this about coconut oil, “When added to a balanced diet, coconut oil slightly lowers the cholesterol level, which is exactly what is expected when a dietary change raises thyroid function. This same increase in thyroid function and metabolic rate explains why people and animals that regularly eat coconut oil are lean, and remarkably free of heart disease and cancer.”
Stay away from these unsaturated fats: canola and vegetable oils, soy oil, nuts* and seeds*, avocados* and any other super-dense foods that make you feel sluggish.
* These can be tolerated in small doses, but not for those who are trying to lose weight and boost their metabolism. They are too dense to fully process.
Salt
Here’s something you don’t hear often, “both salt and sugar lower the adrenalin level, and both tend to raise the body temperature”. Those are both good things. Of course we are talking about natural salts and sugars and in the right amounts.
Ray Peat takes it a step further and says “…a lack of sodium slows metabolism, lowers carbon dioxide production, and creates inflammation, stress and degeneration. Rephrasing it, sodium stimulates energy metabolism, increases carbon dioxide production, and protects against inflammation and other maladaptive stress reactions.”
Simply put, salt your foods and enjoy them. This does not include anyone who eats mostly processed foods, because as we all know those are already loaded with salt, albeit crappy salt. So go find some healthy sea salt and start shakin’!
Sugar
As you read above, both salt and sugar lower adrenalin levels, and they tend to raise the body temperature. I am not talking about candy bars and cake here; I am talking about real foods, starches, honey, fruits and the like.
If you are a relatively healthy and active person, then you may go through a few times in a day when your blood sugars are low, especially if you go long periods without eating. This often leads to headaches, cold hands and feet, lack of concentration, and an overall feeling of “I wanna kill the next person who talks to me!”
This is obviously not good short or long term, and is easily fixed by eating or drinking enough sugar throughout the day. Yeah, I said it, eat sugar!! Just make sure its natural and you are doing enough movement in your daily routine to burn it off and not have it accumulate as fat. It doesn’t need to be high intensity movement or the WOD, just movement, i.e. walking.
My favorite way to keep sugar in my blood is to make a big batch of tea at home, mix some honey in it while it’s hot, then cool it down in a glass container in the fridge. Once it cools I put it in a bottle and take with me to work or wherever I’m going. As an added bonus, this will often decrease the number of times you need to go pee as well – read the water section below for more on that WIZardry.
Cholesterol
Another huge error of the 20th century and still to this day is the cholesterol myth. I will sum it all up by saying that we need cholesterol and it’s good for you if you get it from natural sources like eggs, meat, cheese, butter and the like.
An interesting fact about cholesterol is that whether it is produced internally by the cell or taken in from the blood stream, it is the precursor for all steroids in the body, several of which are anti-inflammatory, including cholesterol (Mikko, et al., 2002; Kreines, et al., 1990).
And finally, there are plenty of studies now indicating low cholesterol levels increase mortality rates. For more details on the benefits of cholesterol, read here and here.
In summary, don’t be afraid of cholesterol, you need it. Also, unless you’re cholesterol numbers are astronomically high, you don’t need medication to lower it. High cholesterol is often due to low thyroid function that can be improved by following the Top 10 list here.
Proteins
Are you getting enough protein? The latest news recommends for active people to range from eating 0.5 – 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body wt. for the best performance and health.
Protein is the building blocks of our muscles and the key to recovery for active people. It is also thermogenic, which means it raises and helps to stabilize body temperature. Proteins are also full of the enzymes we need to catalyze so many reactions in the body that keep us going strong.
When eating meat for protein, think about this…there is no natural tribe or culture that just eats the meat/flesh, i.e. they make stews, cook the bones for broth, eat the liver, skin etc. They did it out of instinct, but we have shown that all the components of an animal feed all the components in the human body, i.e. animal liver helps our liver, their skin and bones helps our skin and bones, etc. If all you eat is muscle flesh, then you will have too much acid and inflammation in the body.
If you don’t eat meat, then make sure you are getting enough protein from natural sources to keep up with your activities.
Water
Yes, water is what we are mostly made of, and yes, we should drink it and keep hydrated. Howeverrrr, there are some instances when an average amount of plain water is not good for someone. How is this possible? Well, imagine you’ve got a person who is undernourished and lacks certain vitamins, sugar or salt.
Then you have them drink half their body weight in ounces because that’s what everyone says; even I have said that. All that water now dilutes the blood and cellular levels and makes that vitamin or whatever deficiency even more pronounced.
This leads to a lot of peeing and “water in and water out” cycles to protect the balance of the cells. Now if you take that same person and improve their deficiency, water is again awesome for them.
If you drink a lot of water or liquids, pee a lot and have cold hands and feet, you may be low on sugar or salt. You can experiment by adding sugar/honey to your liquids and seeing if that helps your symptoms. If so, you’re welcome. If not, try adding them into your overall diet, including the salt and see if that helps. If none of that helps, then get crackin’ on the other Top 10 items!
Bottom line: make sure you’re not diluting yourself by drinking too much plain water. A sign of that is frequent peeing and cold hands and feet.
The No-No List
Here is The NO-NO LIST…in no particular order. It is up to you to read labels and find out where you are getting them in your diet. The goal is not to be uptight about this list and feel guilty every time you have something on it. The goal is to slowly train your habits so that this list is naturally avoided.
If you eat fresh, whole, organic foods, you won’t have to worry about any of this.
- Artificial Sweeteners
- Refined Sugar
- Pesticides
- Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
- BHA and BHT
- Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite
- Soda
- Artificial Colors
- Olestra (Olean)
- Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
- Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Trans Fat)
- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
- Growth hormones in animals
You can read the entire article here.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a drug, a good one, but still a drug that too many people abuse. Coffee for example is a very healthy drink that is full of antioxidants. However, it is only beneficial if taken in the right doses, which is usually WAY smaller than most people realize. Jumbo, grande mocha is not a health drink and is killing you faster than the normal aging process.
If coffee or caffeine makes you jittery, pee a lot, have soft bowel movements or any other abnormalities, then it is either not for you or you are drinking too much of it. Abuse of coffee is one of the most common ways people treat their adrenal fatigue and also contribute to their adrenal fatigue.
Alcohol & Drugs
This is an obvious one: don’t abuse them. Alcohol leads to overeating and poor fat metabolism to name a few problems, while drugs like sleeping aids and other “innocent” aids throw off the body’s own ability to regulate its own hormones and regulating systems, leaving the body to rely on drugs; not good.
If you have to use drugs right now, fine. Just use this Top 10 list to help get you of them, slowly and safely.
