Book Review:
How to Heal Your Metabolism:
Stop blaming aging for your slowing metabolism
by Kate Deering, 2015

 

This book was eye opening in several respects.  I felt like it ran against many of the current nutrition trends, which really caught my attention.  A few things you might find yourself asking...you mean root veggies and fructose are okay?  Skip the broccoli...what?  Is fiber overrated?  And coffee and juice are beneficial?  The author comes at health from a metabolic perspective, specifically that a high metabolic rate corresponds to a healthy body.  Here are some of my many takeaways!  

• A well working metabolism means that sugar enters the cells and is converted to energy (ATP) efficiently, and the higher your metabolism (i.e. healthier), the more energy (or heat) your body produces.  

• An interesting definition of health: the ability to adapt to one’s environment.  The more I think about this, the more I like it.  It really makes sense!

• Low thyroid is highly tied to low metabolic rate, and by deduction then, thyroid health and general health are highly related.  

• I’m an analytical person and this checklist for high metabolism was useful (page 15).  And I was surprised at the range of things related to metabolism, according to the author.

  • Body temp upon waking of 97.8 F, 98.6 mid-day

  • Pulse 75-90

  • Warm feet, hands, nose all day…nose!...never thought of that one!

  • 1-3 BM daily

  • Urinating 4-5 times/day, not 10-12 times/day

  • Good sex drive, no PMS, fertile

  • Shiny hair, smooth skin, strong nails

  • 7-9 hrs good sleep

  • happy/content

  • Energy all day

  • Maintain weight w/o diet and excessive exercise

• Which is first?...high cholesterol or inflammation?  The author, contrary to what many people believe, argues that cholesterol is a response to inflammation and that is why increasing saturated fat is a way to help the body heal (page 34).  

• I was shocked to hear that the body suppresses endogenously produced (and safer…less reactive) polyunsaturated fats (which it can make with saturated fat and sugar) when we eat linoleic (omega 6) and linolenic acids (omega 3). 

• And the surprises don’t stop there!  She notes that fructose (sugar from fruit) is more heat producing that glucose and that there are some clear metabolic benefits of fructose, including (page 60) liver detoxification, CO2 balance, energy and has little effect on blood sugar/insulin.  This last point surprised me!...and especially when she mentions that it can increase insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism!!  Fructose can enter the cell without assistance from insulin and can be used as energy.  What does this mean for diabetics??  And…fructose can improve magnesium (so important!) and nutrient retention!  

• Potassium helps push sugar into cells (similar to insulin).  Could eating foods with potassium help reduce blood sugar fluctuations?  She argues, yes.  (page 61)

• High protein meals lacking carbs can cause insulin to surge since insulin is needed for protein to enter cells (page  62).  This surprised me!  What does this mean then when you eat a high protein meal without carbs (umm, this is what I do for breakfast quite often!)...the response is a drop in blood sugar which then causes the stress response cascade (increased adrenaline then increased cortisol, dysregulating blood sugar).  Is this why I often get tired if I just eat cheese for a snack?...hmm, something to think about!  She does note, later, though that all fruits and veggies should be eaten with a protein and fat to slow blood sugar response (page 87).

• How many times have you heard, just add more fiber for IBS symptoms?  Adding fiber does not heal the gut, according to the author.  Rather, it disguises dysfunction for awhile…this is because increased stool size will lead to more irritation and inflammation in the gut lining and this undigested cellulose can feed bad bacteria (page 84).  Stay away from leafy greens?

• Rather than leafy greens, the author is a big proponent of root veggies.  Even though I have been shoulder deep in oxalates and lectins for some time, I had never heard about growing below the ground being a defense mechanism (and thus containing less anti-metabolic substances).  Wow, mother nature is so smart!  Nature continues to amaze me!  So the root veggies can be good for energy when you are avoiding legumes/grains (like so many of us that are dealing with autoimmunity are!).  She recommends cooking them thoroughly (except carrot) and eating with saturated fat for easier digestion and slower release of sugars.  She does warn against overindulging in potatoes though!

• Interestingly, she calls out raw carrots as being a root veggie that should be eaten RAW though, due to its natural fungicidal, antiseptic and antibiotic properties.  Raw carrot can therefore help with removing toxins and lowering estrogen.  

• Unsurprisingly, she recommends always cooking cruciferous veggies (to avoid goitergens, which suppress thyroid) (page 85).  

• She recommends eating RIPE fruit to reduce pectin and other substances that harm digestion.

• Too much phosphorus (protein rich foods) causes calcium to leach from bones.  This is why Weston A Price linked diets with a high phosphorus to protein ratio to degenerative disease) (page 99).  An ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 2:1.  So what does this mean?  Avoid a lot of muscle meats, brazil nuts, grains, soy and colas.  Dairy actually shines here (it is high in phosphorus AND calcium).  In fact, milk contains the perfect balance of fat, carbs and protein..and the bonus of having lots of vitamins and minerals.  

• She recommends eating pastured organic eggs, grass fed beef liver, shellfish and low fat fish, potato protein, gelatin and bone broth.  Why is bone broth so great?  It lacks the inflammatory amino acids found in meat and contains antiinflammatory amino acids.  Is this why we eat chicken soup when we are sick?  She recommends 1-2 cups of  bone broth daily and to eat 1 c when eating muscle meats.  If someone has very poor digestions, she recommends having half the protein coming from broth and gelatin (page 262).  I would imaging she would be on board with the soup diets that are popular for healing!  

• She explains the benefits of grass fed meat (page 156), including lower fat, higher vitamin and mineral content, higher CLA levels.  However, interestingly, she recommends eating muscle meat w/ bone broth or gelatin to offset the amino acid profile.

• I learned that trypsin inhibitors are anti-nutrients that inhibit protein digestion in seeds and nuts (page 159).

• She lays out the worst to best nuts based on PUFA content (page 160): walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia, sesame, pecan brazil, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts,cashew, macadamia nuts.  

• Benefits of salt include raising metabolic rate and reducing inflammation and cramping.  So many benefits to salt (although some would say this is controversial), including helping with magnesium absorption, relieving constipation, decreasing stress hormones, and decreasing blood pressure (what?...I know this is controversial).  She suggests salting to taste (page 210).  All in moderation!

• Coffee drinkers may be happy to see the author recommending coffee.

• She recommends journaling to monitor your progress and even has tips about what temp and pulse before and after meals can mean.  This was difficult for me though due to all the variables involved.  (page 223)

• So with all these carbs, how does one burn and loose weight?  During sleep and at rest, the heart and skeletal muscles prefer to burn fat, but while being active, sugar, she argues, is the best source of fuel.  She recommends eating before exercise to avoid cellular damage (page 241).

• She offers an interesting tip for sleep: 30 to 60 mins before bed, eat something salty and sweet to lower stress hormones (eg milk+raw honey+salt, pulp free oj+gelatin+salt, bone broth+salt+fruit).

• Interestingly, a hypometabolic person should refrain from intense exercise (especially aerobic exercise).  Consider weight training instead.  

• Have you ever heard the recommendation to drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day?  Well, the author argues that hydration should be based on thirst not based on a rule.  And always with enough salt and sugars for electrolyte balance.  

• Her tips for happiness were worth noting: write down what you want to improve, change one thing at a time, make small changes, get help, trust the journey (this is tough!), do the work, allow shifts, be authentic, don’t worry, and believe in in yourself (page 251)

• Drops in temperature and pulse post workout can mean thyroid was suppressed and may indicate overexertion (ie not good for healing the metabolism). (page 263)

• She does discuss the benefits of juice as an easily digestible carb source, but notes the importance of combining with a protein and fat to slow blood sugar rise (unless someone has a high metabolic rate already).  And it’s advisable to add juice slowly to the diet to avoid hormonal and blood sugar problems. As I read this…ahhh, food combining alarms were going off!...makes sense from a blood sugar perspective though

• She has a great recipe section to check out with an interesting and balanced breakfast smoothie, raw carrot salad, chocolate milk.  She also has an optimal carb list.  Yes, maybe not all carbs are bad!