Discover Your WHY and Stick to It “He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any how.” Victor Frankl What is Metabolism? When scientists talk about metabolism, they are referring to mitochondria. You have trillions of little energy factories called mitochondria that provide the fuel to run everything in your body. Mitochondria decides if you store fat or burn fat. They decide whether a cell lives or dies or turns into cancer. They call the shots as to what happens to us on a daily basis. Effective mitochondria = a fast metabolism and calories burned efficiently Ineffective mitochondria = a slow metabolism and no calories burned Want a Strong Body and a Powerful Mind? It starts with your cells! Weight loss resistance is an epidemic. It’s a cellular issue. The key is to fix the cell to get well. Healthy mitochondria on the left Unhealthy mitochondria on the right. Think Your Metabolism Could Use a Boost? • Ongoing fatigue • Mood disorders like anxiety and depression • Struggling to lose weight • Frequently urinating • Cold body temperature, frequently feeling cold • Excessive thirst and dry mouth • Thinning hair on your head • Trouble concentrating or brain fog • Cracked, dry skin • Allergies and hypersensitivities • Low libido and poor sexual health • Low energy levels • Irregular periods • Low motivation for physical activity • Slow-growing, brittle fingernails • Getting sick more often: when you have a • Premature aging sluggish metabolism, the body’s natural defense mechanisms and levels of immunity • Trouble sleeping through the night drop and you become more susceptible to • Obesity lurking viruses, yeasts, fungi, parasites, and bacteria that surround us • Constipation and slow-moving bowels • Bloating after eating What Damages the Metabolism? • Aging- From Ages 30-70 mitochondria efficiency decreases by 50%! This means that the average 70 year old is making half the cellular energy as the average 30 year old. 50% decline in your energy level is considered “normal.” Not good! • Environmental toxins impact your mitochondria like pesticides, mercury (mercury fillings) and radiation, as well as hidden infections and stress can harm your energy system. • Your gut microbiome can even be a problem if unhealthy, inflammatory bugs outnumber the good bugs. The biggest hit comes from DIET When you eat a lot of sugar and processed, inflammatory foods, including refined oils, or simply consume too much food period, you overload your energy factories and damage production. ReTHINK Calories The most powerful tool you have to change your health is your fork. Food is not just calories. Food contains information that talks to your genes, turning them on or off & affecting their function moment to moment. What Is A Calorie Anyway? A calorie is a unit of energy in food. There are three basic types of foods: PROTEIN FATS CARBOHYDRATES 4 calories per gram 9 calories per gram 4 calories per gram fat burning neutral fat making Purpose of Each Type of Calorie PROTEIN: to replace FATS: to build body tissues. CARBOHYDRATES: Depending on the type of carbohydrates, and rebuild body The outer part of every single it will either cause you to make fat or burn fat. tissue, muscle, cell wall is made from fat. Your • Carbs consisting of sugars: refined grains, pancakes, ligament, collagen, brain, hormones, nervous muffins, waffles, crackers, cereal, juice, hidden sugars in hair, nails, and some system (the covering around yogurt, and alcohol, will all trigger insulin which will make hormones. If you the nerves) is made from fat. fat, so carbohydrates are converted into fat if they break consume too much Fats have the most calories down into sugar really fast. protein, you’ll but as far as hormones and • Carbs consisting of vegetables: the non-sweet/non- trigger the opposite insulin, it does not trigger the starchy vegetables have a lot of nutrition and fiber, and hormone, INSULIN. fat making hormone. When low sugar, so they do NOT convert into fat. You need the That makes fat. you are eating more healthy vitamins and minerals within vegetables to provide the Excessive protein fats, it forces your body to nutrition which allow the fats and proteins to work can cause fat release your own fat. In other optimally. storage. words, fat doesn’t turn into fat The purpose of nutrition is to allow the raw material to be if it’s from healthy sources. Fat converted to body tissue, to allow that egg that you eat to is used as an energy source to be turned into your hair you need vitamins and minerals at satisfy hunger. the DNA level and that’s why we have these nutrients, to repair and rebuild body tissue Calorie Counting Model – No, No If you’re basing your diet on a calorie counting model, you’ll tend to choose carbs (”I’ll just walk off that donut!”) and avoid fats because carbs are less in calories. However, the insulin (sugar) response from something such as a donut can last up to 2-4 days! A little bit of the wrong thing could nullify a lot of good things. Not All Calories Are Created Equal Not all calories are created equal. A Twinkie has 150 calories but so do 22 almonds. It’s about the quality of the calories consumed. This is the KEY to optimizing mitochondria and metabolism. Before you buy, make, or eat something, first ask yourself, “How is this food going to make me feel if I eat it?”, rather than, “how is it going to taste?”. Eat Healthy Fats Toxic Fats When selecting oils make sure that they are In a dark glass bottle, organic, first-pressed, cold-pressed, extra virgin, and unrefined. Problem with plastics- leaching, plus being exposed to light-/heat in travel/warehouses oxidized fats Terms to avoid are: expeller-pressed, refined, and solvent extracted. The Benefits of Saturated Fats • About 97% of the fat content in the human body is saturated. • Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50% of the cell membranes. This is what gives our cells necessary stiffness and integrity. • They play a vital role in the health of our bones. For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50% of the dietary fats need to be saturated. • They lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease. • They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins, such as Tylenol. • They enhance the immune system. • Omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats. • Saturated fat foods are good for the heart, which is why the fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated. The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress. • Saturated fatty acids protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract. Butter, Truly a Super Food! 1. Butter is real food that our ancestors have been eating for generations. 2. Butter doesn’t require any heavy processing at all. You could even make it in your own kitchen if you wanted. 3. Unlike margarine, which has only oxidized oils and other ingredients that you probably can’t pronounce, real butter, from grass-fed cows, has enough nutrients that it could be called a superfood. Some ancient cultures actually revered butter as a sacred, life-giving food. 4. The fatty acids in butter stimulate the release of bile, which allows absorption of vitamins, and eliminates toxins and old hormones from the body. 5. The fats in butter slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood stream. Carbohydrate consumption should always be paired with a source of healthy fats, like butter, to improve blood sugar stability. 6. High in CLA- Conjugated Linoleic Acid- butter reduces fat, builds muscle, and keeps cholesterol in check. 7. Butter has the X Factor, Activator X, to be exact! Vitamin K2 works synergistically with calcium and vitamin D to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth. New studies show increased consumption of K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35%! Feedlot cows have virtually no K2 in their butter. Dairy from pasture-grazing cows is rich in K2 and other fat-soluble vitamins. Your Mitochondria’s Preferred Fuel – Healthy Fats! What About Cholesterol? After waging a 30-year war against cholesterol, the government and the American Heart Association reversed their stance on this vital compound. In 2015, the US Department of Health’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reversed its previous ruling on cholesterol, announcing that, “Cholesterol is NOT considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” “This recommendation is brought forth because available evidence shows no relationship between the consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol.” US Department of Health’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2015 Cholesterol-LDL vs HDL The confusion comes in the labeling of LDL as “bad cholesterol” and HDL as “good cholesterol.” For example, not all LDL cholesterol is created equal: • The large, fluffy LDL particles are benign. • The small, dense LDL is correlated to heart disease Sources of saturated fats (like butter, animal fats, and coconut oil) change the dense LDL to fluffy LDL and raise HDL (good cholesterol). BOTH health protective factors! Processed grains (like cereal) and vegetable oils, turn the fluffy LDL into dense LDL, increasing the risk of heart disease. Correct Cholesterol Testing-Prevention VS Reaction It isn’t only the quantity of LDL circulating in your blood, it’s the quality. Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) Test This test will analyze your LDL cholesterol and determine if it is made up of predominantly the small, dangerous particles or the larger, more benign particles. • Large, fluffy particles, which are not dangerous • OR small, dense particles (known as “LDL-pattern-B”) that are dangerous.They TRIPLE the likelihood of developing coronary plaque and suffering a heart attack If it turns out that your LDL cholesterol is mostly of the small, dense variety, you will want to address your cholesterol levels much more aggressively than if your LDL cholesterol is mostly the large, fluffy type.