Thoughtful Thursday… Radical Metabolism: How to Cleanse, Increase Metabolism, Burn Fat & more...
Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday. This GreenNote Fitness newsletter mindfully gathers and distills useful information that is supportive to our journey. It is my mission to educate, inspire, and propel you into action that moves you towards your goals and life of purpose. Take control of your journey today.
Ann Louise Gittleman’s new book is “Radical Metabolism: A Powerful New Plan to Blast Fat and Reignite Your Energy in Just 21 Days”. This new book provides steps to reviving a sluggish over-40 metabolism - steps that work even faster if you are in your 20’s or 30’s, or you suffer from liver, gallbladder or thyroid issues.
Even if you don’t fall into one of the above categories, there is great information to follow and implement into your lifestyle for healthy living. After reading the book I have a better understanding on the importance of the health of cell membranes (you live or die by the health of your cells); why you should have healthy Omega-6’s in your diet; and the necessity of the gallbladder and keeping it in tip-top shape.
We will delve into the crucial fats we need to have in our diet and the important roll that our gallbladders play on our metabolism, as well as take a look at Gittleman’s 5 Radical Rules to rescue metabolism. First though, let’s get to know a little bit about the author’s background.
A Columbia University graduate, Ann Louise Gittleman is often called “The First Lady of Nutrition”. She is a nutritionist and internationally recognized as a pioneer in dietary, environmental, and women's health issues. She is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of over 30 books on health and nutrition including diet, detox, women's health, men's health, perimenopause, menopause, beauty and the environment.
As one of the world's foremost experts in functional and integrative medicine she holds an M.S. in Nutrition Education from Columbia University, has the title of Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S.) from the American College of Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition. Ann Louise has also served as the Chief Nutritionist of Pediatric Clinic at Bellevue Hospital and is the former Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, CA. She has won numerous awards, including The American Medical Writers Association Award for Excellence.
In 2016 Ann was presented with the Humanitarian Award from the Cancer Control Society. She currently sits on the Advisory Board for the International Institute for Building-Biology & Ecology, the Nutritional Therapy Association, Inc. and Clear Passage, Inc.
The Radical Metabolism program that Gittleman has put together consists of:
a 4-day Radical Intensive Cleanse designed to rest your digestive tract and detoxify your body
a 21-Day Radical Reboot where you'll learn exactly what combinations of foods to eat for results you can feel and see
a Maintenance Plan for a radically healthy life
Regardless if you do the 4-day or 21-day program, this book is a wealth of information to help us understand what’s going on in our bodies at the cellular level. It makes it easy to understand and explains what processed foods, over-processed oils, and sugars do to us. Our culture has been misguided in some respects; this book is a step to get us on a better path.
Clearly presented in the book is how to create a fat-fueled metabolism that keeps you lean, healthy, and energized. There are five primary objectives:
Revamp your fats - eating enough Omega-6 fat (yes, she said Omega-6; we will find out which ones shortly) is vitally important to your metabolism and the heath of your cell membranes, and it’s crucial to eat the right kinds.
Restore your gallbladder - when it comes to reversing a toxic metabolism and losing stubborn extra body fat, the importance of bile and the gallbladder cannot be overstated. Your gallbladder performs many essential physiological functions that dramatically affect metabolism. Gallbladder disease and obesity are occurring at epidemic rates…the two are related…the connection is the bile. An example of a setup for toxic bile? The standard American diet...
Rebuild your muscles - it is important to prevent or reverse age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia. Guess what accompanies muscle loss - fat. Although sarcopenia is often characterized as a problem of the elderly, declining muscle mass actually begins much earlier in life and is often accompanied by weight gain, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome, which can progress to full-blown type 2 diabetes. Lean body mass is crucial to your health and longevity.
Repair your gut - Gut inflammation is rampant today, and once the gut is inflamed, the rest of the body soon follows. Individuals with high intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”) are much more susceptible to accumulation of abdominal fat, hormone imbalance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. An imbalanced microbiome is directly linked to obesity and weight-loss resistance.
Reduce your toxic load - if your body has a heavy toxic burden, it cannot function optimally or perform its many metabolic operations. The toxins come from the hormone-disrupting chemicals (known as obesogens) in our everyday products that hijack our estrogen receptors, to heavy metals and electropollution that relentlessly assault our DNA. When your body is toxic, all your resources are needed just to keep the poisons cleared out - and this leaves precious few to fire up fat burning.
Revamp your Fats - Radical Rule #1
A crucial point that Gittleman explains is that our body was actually made to run on fat and not sugar. The brain is more than 50% fat, and apart from nerves, every single cell in your body uses fat as its primary fuel source. In order to feed those cell membranes, you need the right kinds of fat to help reverse hormone resistance, insulin resistance, thyroid issues, as well as hormonal issues.
Not only will the right kind of fat reduce chronic inflammation and weight gain, but it can also supercharge your metabolism. A term Ann Louise wants us to remember is "membrane medicine”. Omega fatty acids are necessary to repair the cell membrane. Specifically with the omega-6’s, she is referring to is hemp seed oil, the highest in omega-6’s. Interestingly it’s very good for your skin. You may have seen people who loose weight and their skin sags. This oil can help with that dragging and sagging skin to help it be taut, toned, and tight.
The book goes into the history of the omega-6’s and how they became blamed for inflammation. Blood levels revealed most of our diets are extremely top-heavy in omega-6 fatty acids and light on omega-3s. Not all omega-6 fats are equal however. While people were overloading with omega-6’s, the problem was which kind were being consumed which were actually toxic, mainly oils destroyed by over-processing. On the other hand, functional omega-6s are extremely restorative to cell membranes, and strong cell membranes are key to achieving proper weight and a good metabolism.
These wonderful fats come from:
Nuts (almost all of them)
Oils: hemp; sesame; Siberian pine nut oil
Hemp oil is good at promoting brown fat (the type that we want); brown fat is loaded with mitochondria
Siberian pine nut oil can help repair and regenerate your digestive tract
Take one teaspoon 3x per day before a meal will help with a damaged esophagus, an eroded GI tract, problems with ulcers and gerd. It’s very healing for the mucosal membranes
Oils are anti-inflammatory if they are unheated and unaltered and cold pressed
Ghee - clarified butter, it has a lower lactose content than butter
Grass fed butter (my personal favorite is KerryGold Butter
We need both omega-6’s and omega 3’s-; the right kinds in the right ratios of 4:1 of omega-6’s to omega-3’s. The standard American diet is around 20:1. If you have that kind of ratio, then they are coming from junk oils, they’re damaged and provide no nutritional benefit. Omega-3s can’t compete with omega-6’s and end up getting shutdown.
Restore your Gallbladder - Radical Rule #2
The gallbladder’s purpose is to store, concentrate and eject bile when needed. Without this infusion of bile, you can’t absorb your fat-soluble nutrients, vitamin A, D, E, and K, and those all-important essential fatty acids. If you can’t process fats, you won’t get the fat-blasting, immune-boosting, membrane-protecting, fuel-providing benefits from fats.
How does your gallbladder relate to metabolism? It’s because of the secretion of bile and bile is a very important liquid which is stored in the gallbladder. It is promoted by the liver and it breaks down fat and it carries away toxins. So it’s an important detox mechanism. Those that have a slowdown in bile promoting or production (those without a gallbladder or a sluggish metabolism), those with reduced bile flow are 7 times more likely to suffer from hypothyroidism.
The problem is that when bile becomes sludgy, conformed stones that can be very painful, can clog up the gallbladder which can lead to gallbladder surgery, the most frequently performed abdominal surgery in the U.S. We see a rise in weight gain with people who have their gallbladders removed (women are particularly susceptible to this). So it’s important to maintain a healthy gallbladder (if you get your gallbladder removed, metabolism will do a downward turn very quickly).
The book talks about eliminating certain foods which can be very inflammatory, particularly to the gallbladder. It also goes into the elevation of blood sugar in terms of making sludgy bile (a bad thing) and it speaks to getting rid of bad fats in processed foods and sugar, which also can clog up the bile. The book gives you remedies to break up the stones, it outlines supplements, herbs, tinctures, and bitters. I personally have started to incorporate the use of bitters as a cocktail and before a meal to help aid in digestion.
I’m recommending this book to my clients. I’m already incorporating more omega-6’s in the form of hemp seeds, hemp oil, walnuts, and of course, my KerryGold butter is right in the refrigerator. Also, I’m really enjoying the use of bitters. It’s a great alternative to a typical cocktail and it will help you digest those wonderful fats.
Do something good for yourself.
Be mindful of how you are nourishing your body, mind, and spirit…you certainly deserve it.
Enjoy your journey,
Lisa Schaffer
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