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- Fun Fact Friday -
Hi all,
I hope you've had a great week and are glad that it's Friday.
Here's your Fun Fact Friday to end the week with some extra pizazz. Enjoy!
Please leave a review here if you enjoy reading this newsletter.
Fun fact 1
Saturated fat, especially palmitic acid, is frequently blamed for excess fat gain, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome. But the real cause is actually excess cortisol, which promotes de novo lipogenesis (DNL; the synthesis of fat from glucose and amino acids) and palmitic acid synthesis. So palmitic acid consumption in the diet is actually not the issue, but rather excess cortisol that causes all of these effects (R).
Fun fact 2
I'm currently working on an article on omega 3 and I must say that I haven't found one study that looks at fish oil vs coconut oil in terms of inflammation. Many studies show that coconut is anti-inflammatory, but no one compares it to fish oil. They usually create inflammation with lots of omega 6 and then show how great fish oil is. But on the contrary, supplementing coconut oil might actually have the same, if not much superior, effects (since it can't undergo peroxidation).
"Regardless of the concentration used, VCO (virgin coconut oil) supplementation promoted lower adiposity and also improvement in glucose tolerance, lower serum glucose and lipid levels and decreased hepatic steatosis. Moreover, VCO intake induced a lower inflammatory response due to decreased number of leukocytes and TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations in adipose tissue, as well as reduced counts of total leukocytes, mononuclear and polymorphonuclear circulating cells. Our data showed that VCO can be considered as an interesting potential dietary approach to attenuate obesity and its metabolic and inflammatory alterations" (R).
This study showed that adding coconut oil to a high omega 6 diet significantly lowers inflammation. Sounds like a much better (and healthier) strategy to me compared to taking fish oils.
I've recently posted a study showing that even 1g of coconut oil per day is effective at improving insulin sensitivity and lowering cholesterol (isn't that the primary reason why people take fish oils in any way?)
Fun fact 3
Berberine has many great benefits, but this one side effect might actually prevent me from using or recommending it. It potently activates AMPK, which mimics a semi-fasted state, which is very non-ideal for regeneration and growth.
"The long-lasting phosphorylation of AMPK was associated with persistent elevation in AMP/ATP ratio and reduction in oxygen consumption. An increase in glycolysis was observed with a rise in lactic acid production. Berberine exhibited no cytotoxicity, and protected plasma membrane in L6 myotubes in the cell culture. These results suggest that berberine enhances glucose metabolism by stimulation of glycolysis, which is related to inhibition of glucose oxidation in mitochondria. Berberine-induced AMPK activation is likely a consequence of mitochondria inhibition that increases AMP/ATP ratio." (R)
It's also shown to inhibit complex I, which can significantly increase the production of ROS, and can then enhance lipid peroxidation (R). For optimal glucose oxidation to occur, you need optimal complex I function. As a sidenote, Metformin has also been shown to have similar side effects.
Fun fact 4
Some people think the brain prefers lactate over glucose for energy production. But, excess nitric oxide production in the brain is neurotoxic. And excess NO production promotes glycolysis and lactate production. Lowering neurotoxic NO can restore proper glucose oxidation and allow the brain to work more optimally.
"Besides its essential role at regulating neural functions through cyclic GMP, nitric oxide is emerging as an endogenous physiological modulator of energy conservation for the brain. Thus, nitric oxide inhibits cytochrome c oxidase activity in neurons and glia, resulting in down-regulation of mitochondrial energy production. The subsequent increase in AMP facilitates the activation of 5'-AMP-dependent protein kinase, which rapidly triggers the activation of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase--the master regulator of the glycolytic pathway--and Glut1 and Glut3--the main glucose transporters in the brain. In addition, nitric oxide activates glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the first and rate-limiting step of the pentose-phosphate pathway" (R).
Agmatine, methylene blue, and aspirin are great inhibitors of excess iNOS and nNOS (thus lowering lactate production and restoring proper glucose oxidation), all of which have anti-depressant and nootropic benefits.
NO also upregulates the pentose phosphate pathway, which produces NADPH. However, this pathway is also significantly upregulated in cancer.
What I'm working on
My functionality. After I started communicating with Alex (will soon be having a podcast with him) he started talking to me about compensation, sleeping/dormant muscles, etc. He then analyzed my vertical jumps and walking form and saw some compensations that are the cause of certain physical issues, such as flat feet, lax knee, super-stiff leg muscles that won't get flexible with stretching (especially hip flexors, hammies and calves), slightly anterior tilted pelvis, etc. The compensations were caused by parkour injuries and squatting duck stance for many years (I haven't been squatting like that for more than 6 years now, yet I still have those compensations).
He really has a very different perspective on functionality compared to the typical guru out there that says you have to stretch, roll, floss, smash, yada, yada. He says that such things just make the compensations worse. It's like taking an anti-depressant to cover the symptoms but not addressing the root cause, which might be hypothyroidism and then the anti-depressant makes things worse over time.
In a short period of time of doing certain movements/exercises, he has given me, I already feel more balanced in my body and I'm also feeling a lot more dynamic in my lower body. I'll be continuing a lot of these exercises until I'm completely in balance without any compensations.
I'll be sharing our podcast together as soon as we're done recording so keep a lookout for it in an upcoming newsletter!
Food combinations (liquids vs solids)
It's relatively common to see people drink 3-4L of milk per day with the premise that they should do that to get them to an optimal state of health. However, while doing so, many actually suffer from poor energy, frequent hunger, frequent urination, poor sleep, etc., and they think that the reason why that is happening is because their metabolism is slow.
If it was fast, then they would have been able to evaporate all the liquid through thermogenesis and almost never have to go urinate.
But if they replace most of the milk with yogurt, cheese, and/or meat, then most of their issues go away. So is it better to keep on struggling with no visible light at the end of the tunnel, or is it better to make a dietary change now that will improve most of your symptoms right away?
If you consume the right amount and ratios of solids vs liquids (for you), moderate fat vs low fat, starches vs fruit, etc., then your body will be much better off. It will be able to digest the food properly and release it adequately into the bloodstream and it will be able to balance blood sugar and maximize energy production without overwhelming your body.
But finding the right amounts and ratios takes time and patience to figure out, but can be greatly accelerated with guidelines (questions to ask yourself, symptoms to look out for, etc.) so that you can learn what your body wants and does best on at that specific time.
Health knowledge is great, but without proper guidelines on how to personalize them, that knowledge doesn't serve you much good.
All these guidelines on how to personalize your own diet, what symptoms to look out for, which foods are best combined, and which are best avoided are all included in The Alpha Energy Nutrition Course. Fixing your health shouldn't be complicated. Some people might think it's a stress problem, others might think it's a hormone deficiency or a vitamin deficiency, but it could simply be that you're eating the wrong food or the wrong combination for you at that time.
I have found that food always makes a much bigger difference in how I feel vs supplements and that's always where I start with my clients.
What I use for focus when researching or writing
There is a pyramid of importance, which goes like this: (body temps + metabolism + glucose oxidation) > (supplements)
It's more complicated than that, but you get the idea. First I focus on making sure my body is optimally fed and I have no gut irritation. The moment I get gut irritation I start getting brain fog and struggle to stay focused on one topic.
Being well fed can include a meal with meat and honey and some fruit juice. Or milk with maple syrup. I have to have some protein, carbs, and salt.
If it's a cold day and I feel a little chilly, I'd throw in some sodium salicylate and coffee to increase my body temps. If my body temps aren't optimal, my IQ isn't optimal either. There is a lot of research to support the correlation of body temps with IQ. Sodium salicylate not only helps with uncoupling (increasing body temps) but also helps to keep stress hormones low and improve glucose oxidation, both of which are essential for optimal brain function.
Then, if I still feel off for some reason, which almost never happens anymore, I'd add in 300mg vitamin B1, 5mg methylene blue, 10mg PQQ (sublingually), 10 drops Pyrucet, and 10mg PRL-8-53 (sublingually (it increases dopamine and lowers serotonin) and 3g piracetam. If I had to narrow it down to only 3 supplements, it would be B1, aspirin and pyrucet, as all three optimize glucose oxidation, which is the most important for cognition.
Check out my DDT (dopamine dream team) Stack for focus, euphoria, motivation, etc.
New article, video & podcast released this week
If you enjoy reading my articles and find them informative, please don't forget to share this content with others so that they can benefit from the information as well.
Quote I like
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
That's it for today. Hope you all have a great weekend!
- Hansius
P.S. If you would like to give me some feedback e.g. what you found interesting, or give any suggestions, maybe of things that you think I might find interesting; let me know by replying to this email.
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