Turbo Metabolism. Pankaj Vij
the highest incidence of osteoporosis in the civilized world, even though it has the highest consumption of milk and cheese. Cow’s milk and products derived from it spike insulin and cause inflammation, which of course is bad news.5
And by the way, milk or cheese is an excellent delivery mechanism for cholesterol. Homogenizing milk creates particles that are small enough to penetrate the lining of the blood vessels and cause damage.
Holstein cows, which form the basis of modern industrialized dairy farming, have much higher levels of harmful and addictive A1 beta-casein than Jersey or Guernsey cows, the previous (though less-productive) industrial “cow of choice.” We now know that A1 beta-casein strongly correlates with diabetes, as does the essential amino acid isoleucine found in milk.6
This is a good example of a food choice that causes hormonal imbalance as well as creating a toxic load.
Why Is Alcohol on the Trash List?
Alcohol is derived from carbohydrates that have been allowed to languish so that they start fermenting, as with beer and wine. A distilled spirit — also called a distilled liquor, including brandy, whiskey, rum, and vodka — is an alcoholic beverage that is obtained by distilling wine or some other previously fermented or brewed fruit, plant juice, or starch (such as various grains). Alcohol has almost twice the calorie content per gram of a carbohydrate. As alcohol cannot be excreted by the body, it must be metabolized by the liver. Whenever we ingest alcohol, the liver has to spend time away from fat burning to metabolize alcohol. The end products of alcohol metabolism stimulate the liver to produce more fatty acids and store them. In fact, you can induce a fatty liver with as little as three days of alcohol ingestion.
Even worse, some of the metabolites of alcohol are toxic for your hormonal balance. The bottom line is that alcohol is not a health food, and if you are trying to turbocharge your metabolism, alcohol does not belong on your menu at all. About 20 percent of Americans have a drinking problem. You cannot rationalize drinking for health reasons, not even red wine. In fact, most of the red wine produced in the United States is loaded with toxins like pesticides, mold toxins, and synthetic chemicals (to hasten the chemical reactions in order to maximize profits), as well as heavy metals and phthalates.7 Ladies, all alcohol (including wine) is a strong risk factor for breast cancer.
As for resveratrol, the “magic ingredient” of red wine that has antiaging and anti-inflammatory effects, you would have to drink about 111 glasses of wine every day to get enough resveratrol shown in animal studies to be beneficial!8
Why Is Red Meat on the Trash List?
Red meat contains heme iron, which is toxic to the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Also, red meat (especially processed meat) contains nitrates, which reduce insulin secretion and impair glucose tolerance. To top that, environmental pollutants and toxicants are concentrated in the more fatty red meats.
Is All Fat Bad?
Saturated fat, especially from red meat, contributes to insulin resistance in several ways. Excessive consumption of saturated fat is believed to directly block the insulin receptors and the muscles, causing insulin resistance. It is also known to cause inflammation and oxidative stress. Unhealthy fats include margarine, commercial mayonnaise and salad dressings, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and fried foods.
Good sources of fat include raw nuts (almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, and pistachios), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon, flax, hemp, and chia), olives, coconuts, avocados, and wild-caught cold-water fish. These are healthier sources of fat, which can actually suppress appetite and promote Turbo Metabolism.
Don’t All Fatty Foods Have Cholesterol?
Actually, cholesterol is only produced by animals that have a liver. The human liver produces about 800 mg of cholesterol a day, enough to cover your body’s needs: to regenerate cell membranes, maintain brain function, and manufacture hormones. Most of the cholesterol in the body is recycled, so you actually do not need to take in any cholesterol at all. Cholesterol-rich foods include meat, eggs, and dairy, such as milk and cheese. If you eat more cholesterol-rich food, your liver tries to make less. If you eat less cholesterol-rich food, the liver makes more. Cholesterol is an important raw material that gets converted to vitamin D, steroid hormones (such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol), and bile acids needed for digestion. Cholesterol is needed to construct the semipermeable membrane that surrounds the cells and to repair damaged endothelial cells, which line and protect the blood vessels. Cholesterol itself is not the culprit. The problem lies in an inability of the body to process cholesterol properly, or an inability of the body’s antioxidant system to guard against oxidation of cholesterol. This is why a nutrient-dense plant-rich diet is so important.
Facts and Fallacies
• Alcohol, even in low doses, can cause breast cancer and birth defects.9
Technically, any alcohol at all is poisonous, even from mouthwash!
• Wine is a health food because it has resveratrol.
At one time, resveratrol, an ingredient in many wine products, was suggested to act as a protective agent against the carcinogenic effects of ethanol. The assumption was based on animal studies, which have shown that resveratrol above certain thresholds may reduce the incidence of tumors in several of the alcohol-related cancer sites (colon, liver, and female breast). However, the protective and health-promoting aspects of wine/resveratrol are highly exaggerated and simply not true.10
• French fries are 47 percent fat, and donuts 50 percent fat.
Fried foods have a lot more “dirty” fat from unhealthy, processed oils than we can even imagine! These create chronic inflammation and increase risk for cancer.11
• Avocados have lots of cholesterol.
Avocados do not have a liver, so they do not have any cholesterol! As I say, livers produce cholesterol as an important component of cells and for hormone production. Most of the cholesterol in the body is recycled, so we do not need to consume it at all.
Shopping for Health
After taking out the trash, your next step is to shop for foods that will keep you healthy. What you include in your diet is almost as important as what you exclude. Always choose real food — unprocessed whole foods or items made with ingredients that your body recognizes. If you can focus on food quality, you will never need to worry about counting calories or even about carbohydrates, fats, or proteins. Instead of counting calories, make the food that you eat really count.
I often run into my patients at my local grocery store, Sprouts, and they are always curious to find out what I am buying. First, you should choose a grocery store where you can see all the different sections from the front of the store and one that features fresh produce, as opposed to store layouts that confuse shoppers with thousands of packaged, processed items labeled as food. Nowadays, many small grocery stores, like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s, as well as major supermarkets, such as Whole Foods, are introducing a wide array of organic produce — priced competitively — so it’s easier to make the right choice.
Here are shopping lists for healthy Turbo Metabolism foods. Keep in mind that the produce and bulk aisles of the grocery store are where the health-promoting magic happens. Generally, the middle aisles of the supermarket are filled with unhealthy processed food and junk snacks, typically packaged in colorful boxes and plastic bags, replete with mascots of tigers, cheetahs, and other animals. Stay away from the middle aisles as much as possible!
Seeds, Grains, and Beans to Buy in Bulk
Seeds,