Week 2
Day 8: Did you know most all of the popular diets promise longevity and good health but have almost no long-term human trials to prove it?
Even though the keto diet has been around since the 1920’s or so, excellent longevity trials on humans are essentially nonexistent. Almost all trials have been done on rats or mice and then, based upon a few temporary benefits like risk factor benefit are extrapolated to imply increased longevity and good health which isn’t necessarily the case. These extrapolations are simply wrong and improper use of the scientific literature. In fact, some popular diets increase death rate?
1) A study published in Lancet in 2019 involving the global deaths and disabilities in 195 countries reported that 90% of deaths and disabilities were due to inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, Omega 3 fiber and the excess of sodium. Inadequate diet is the #1 cause of death and disability globally.
2) IGF-1 (which I’ll talk more about later) is a hormone made by the liver and associated with promoting tumors. When protein intake, especially animal protein intake is above 10%, the risk of cancer and mortality increase
3) Studies among people with no diabetes at baseline who consume over 10% of their calories with animal proteins increased their risk of diabetes 23 times.
You’ve been told that diabetes just comes from excess sugar but it’s more complicated than that. One popular diet that is high fat and high protein diet has only been shown to result in two-four pounds of weight loss after one year but increases your risk of disease. Most keto diets are high fat/moderate protein diets. Be safe. Reduce animal protein intake and reduce all protein to around 10% of your diet.
Day 9: What are the financial costs of obesity?
Obesity is expensive and reduces lifespan. Obesity increases the death rate 1.5 to 3 times with all its associated diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia. It is estimated that obesity alone will increase (this is just the increase) health care costs between $120 and $200k per person over a life time which is between $266 and $1, 723 per month. It is worth it for you now to pay money to save yourself a ton of money later. Those numbers I just gave you are on top of what you are already paying. It wouldn’t help to have a nationalized healthcare system because these numbers would bankrupt our whole economy. Best for you to get serious about changing your lifestyle now which will save you a lot of money and pain in the future. That’s why I want so much to help you get there and be set free from the health problems that are or will hold you captive.
Day 10: What are the financial costs of unnecessary supplementation?
Please know that what I’m about to tell you comes from the former medical advisor/director of the largest supplement manufacturer in the world. I believe there is a role for supplementation but, many of you are wasting a lot of money each month that wouldn’t be necessary to spend if you ate the Makkarios M2 diet. For example, many of you eat one or two sweetened yogurts per day which are perhaps helping increase some good organisms in the bowel but are in no way a replacement for the gold standard diet of healthy gut organisms, namely, the Mediterranean Diet. With the right diet, you could save yourself $30 - $60 dollars per month on just that product alone. Many of the supplements you are consuming now to get the fruit and vegetable nutrients associated with polyphenols, flavonoids, digestive health, sugar metabolism, joint health, etc. would largely be unnecessary if you ate well. This could save many of you hundreds of dollars per month. Are some supplements good? Yes, of course but putting you money into healthy food first is better. Every supplement we recommend will be supported with excellent published research supporting them, like ignite, or we won't have anything to do with them. We don't want to waste your time or money but rather desire to reduce your financial burdens.
Day 11: What is inflammation and why is it critically important including with obesity?
There is good and bad inflammation. Scientifically, inflammation is defined by four words: red, hot, swollen and tender. We have all seen this when a sliver gets into our skin. The skin develops those four characteristics which is good because those are signs that our immune system is destroying germs. But, when our immune system is turned on when it shouldn’t be for many different reasons like leaky gut or herbicides in our diet, then it can become destructive to us. Obesity is an inflammatory condition which worsens when we consume inflammatory foods or participate in inflammatory activities like smoking or vaping. Fat cells make leptin which triggers our immune system further and it becomes a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, many people who consider themselves health experts who even admit that inflammation is bad don’t really understand the topic because they are recommending inflammatory foods for you to eat in their diets. I wrote a book which was published a number of years ago about the role that chronic excessive inflammation (CEI) plays in the development of chronic disease. The book is entitled The Optimal Health Revolution. I have a solid understanding of this topic and if others differ from my teaching, I would suggest you stay with me to reduce your confusion. More about that later.
Day 12: What is microbiota and how do most popular diets harm it?
Microbiota are the bacteria and organisms which line our digestive tract. A group of global scientists formed the Human Microbiome Consortium to study different aspects of the gut bacteria. They estimate that there are 10¹² bacteria in our digestive tract which is roughly 10 bacteria for every cell of our body. There is more of them than there are of us! There are at least 1000 different species. They are bacteria that line our digestive tract from our mouth clear to the end. They have a DNA diversity that is 150 times larger than ours. There are good and bad microbiota. The good ones produce amino acids, vitamins and anti-inflammatory molecules which are necessary for our health and well-being. The bad microbiota increase inflammation. We begin colonizing bacteria into our gut as soon as we are born and many factors influence the kinds of bacteria we have there. The healthiest microbiome is one where the numbers of species is very high and diverse. Restricted diets, like most keto, high fat, paleo and gluten free limit the diversity tremendously resulting in short term gains with long term negative consequences. Diets with low fiber (which are food for the microbiome) reduce variety. High animal protein diets result in the microbiome even breaking down the protein into harmful byproducts. Yogurts can help add microbiota but I don't recommend sugar sweetened yogurts because the sugar enhances the growth of bad bacteria. Instead of focusing on yogurts to help you, it's better to focus on a high fiber diverse modified Mediterranean diet as we are doing her for you.
Day 13: Microbiota –A virtual organ and incredibly important to protect.
You would want to protect all your organs, right? You’re probably not going to let someone slug your liver without trying to protect it right? Well, beside the things I mentioned yesterday that the microbiome does, they have many more functions in our body including producing and being influenced by hormones. Even though they aren’t in a confined space like our other organs, our microbiome functions as a virtual organ. For example, it produces dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and much more. We really need to protect our microbiome and make sure it’s healthy for us to be healthy. "If the microbiota aren't happy, ain't nobody healthy." :) When you think of eating, think of feeding your microbiota with many different varieties of fiber which the Makkarios M2 Diet is all about. The different grains, vegetables, legumes, herbs, fruits, breads, etc. all have differing fibers which are what the microbiota eat. The more diverse your fiber intake, the more diverse the microbiota and the healthier you become. That's pretty simple and true.
Day 14: End of week number 2
You are at the end of the second week and a quarter of the way through the challenge! Many of you are maybe thinking something like, “I could have eaten a little better” or “I wish I exercised more” or something like that. No problem. You are making the changes you can and none of us are perfect. If you just exercised once this week by walking, it’s probably more than you did a month ago at this same time. Maybe you can shoot for twice this week. Walk up a flight of stairs. Whatever you do in the right direction is improving your health and I’m proud of you. Pretty soon, you’ll start feel like this is normal. How are you doing with sugar? Did you know that simple sugars are somewhat addicting and affect the same area of our brain as addictive drugs? I’ll talk about that tomorrow. Whenever you feel the urge for sugar or chocolate, wait a few minutes and it usually calm down. Then maybe eat a tablespoon of almond butter or some nut butter which is quite satisfying and calms everything down usually. If it doesn’t go away after that, eat some just to take the edge off. You’re ok. We'll start incorporating healthy sugars substitutes more and more and this will soon be normal for you. More on that later.