I had a great time talking to fellow Optimiser Debra Cleveland about her journey through the Data-Driven Fasting Challenges and Masterclasses.
During our live Q&As, Debra was always full of enthusiasm, inspiration, and positive energy as she learned to nourish her body instead of depriving it.
This stuck out to me, and I wanted to chat with her to hear more about her ride through health and to see if she had any learnings and insights to share.
We discussed:
It’s been fascinating watching Sidi’s journey progress since initially taking part in our Data-Driven Fasting Challenge and then hopping into the Nutritional Optimisation Masterclass. Sidi has shed an incredible 20kg (44 lbs) in just five months. She has also lost 15% body fat and reduced her waist to height ratio from 0.61 to a very healthy 0.49!
After getting the ball rolling with Data-Driven Fasting, Sidi powered on to dial in her macronutrients and micronutrients with her local cuisine in Kenya and Cyprus, achieving an incredible 100% Optimal Nutrient Score.
Sidi’s journey has developed quite a following amongst her friends, family, and workmates in Kenya. In fact, her progress has since inspired many people close to her to follow in her footsteps.
We love seeing people optimise their nutrition to suit their goals while applying different personal and cultural contexts to their food availability, selection, and preparation.
I’ve received numerous requests from community members to learn more about Sidi and her inspiring story and decided to invite her as a guest on the podcast. I had to have her on for a chat to learn more about her journey and any tips or tricks she had for others embarking on similar journeys towards nutritional optimisation.
Chris Kelly is the founder of Nourish Balance Thrive. Building on his experience as a programmer for hedge funds and large internet companies, he has done amazing things in the health space.
After experiencing his own health transformation, he launched Nourish Balance Thrive to help high-calibre athletes optimise their health and performance.
After regularly running expensive tests on his clients for years, he figured he could do things his way to save time and money. So he eventually developed BloodSmart.ai, a software that uses inexpensive blood tests from doctor visits to highlight potential issues. Rather than performing thousands of dollars worth of extra tests to find an obscure issue, BloodSmart.ai says, ‘you look like someone with X’.
‘X’ can include various conditions, from heavy metal toxicity to hormone imbalances and nutrient deficiencies. The client can then order targeted tests or address their health situation as if they had ‘condition X’. While a condition might not be validated using the blood test, this can give users the hindsight to address their symptoms with early diet and lifestyle changes. BloodSmart.ai is an extremely impressive and intelligent application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in health.
Chris was one of the early members of the Optimising Nutrition Facebook Group, a hive mind of learning. I’ve enjoyed following his learning journey on his Nourish Balance Thrive Podcast and being a part of his Keto Summit back when keto was all the rage.
During Chris’s time on the podcast, it was also interesting to discuss the Four Quadrant Model view of health management. We often start with the most complex ‘hacks’ to manage our biology’s ‘source code’. Sometimes this is necessary. However, we often get the most significant benefits from simple things, like optimising nutrition, managing stress and relationships, and prioritising sunlight, movement, and sleep that align with our evolutionary biology.
I’m excited about the potential applications of BloodSmart.ai. This program allows users to take their standard blood tests and use them to identify nutrient deficiencies. From there, you can manage them with real food rather than resorting to supplements and use Nutrient Optimiser to stay back in Quadrant 1.
I hope you love this chat with Chris, who I believe is one of the smartest and wisest people in this health space.
You can also listen to my chat with Chris on his Nourish Balance Thrive Podcast discussing our latest research on nutrient density.
Chris has a fascinating background. After studying economics, business and psychology at Stanford and Harvard, he worked as a trader Ray Dalio at Bridgewater Capital, the world’s biggest hedge fund (now with $150b under management), to a private investor, author, father, athlete and biohacker.
Like me, Chris believes in the numbers!
After a couple of rounds of Data-Driven Fasting, he’s been trying to get his Silicon Valley biohacker buddies to try it to optimise their health.
As a data-driven engineer who’s dabbled in trading, I thought it would be fun to chat with Chris about how we can manage our psychology and biology with data. How can we tame our lizard brain to avoid self-sabotage that is often caused by our self-doubt in any area, including nutrition?
It was fascinating to hear how Data-Driven Fasting helped his brain find peace and calm around food and nutrition. Having peace that your body will get food exactly when it needs it is a nice change from the anxiety that popular extended fasting methods can often cause.
Paul Burgess has been a great mate, supporter, and mentor throughout my journey to quantitatively define optimal nutrition.
When he first invited me on his podcast, I put him off. I felt I still had more work to do before promoting what we were doing at Optimising Nutrition (and also felt a strong sense of imposter syndrome).
I’ve now had the privilege of being a guest on his podcast three times. So it was an honour to finally return the favour and have him on the Optimising Nutrition Podcast.
Paul has experience in just about every form of tracking, hacking, testing, and biohacking from his four decades of experience in the health space. His podcast is a constant flow of deep dives into the latest testing and functional medicine trends to manage complex issues.
While he’s recently become a massive advocate for Data-Driven Fasting, he’s also mellowed. He has become more passionate about encouraging people to do simple things that work first before diving into rabbit holes of tracking and hacking that often cause plenty of stress and anxiety (not to mention expense!). Likewise, worrying about the latest test, tracker, or supplement is a waste of time if you don’t have your nutrition, sleep, stress, and activity dialled in.
Once you get the basics sorted, most people find they don’t need to waste their time, money, and limited headspace on new-fangled fancy stuff!
It was fantastic to talk with Paul about what he considers the ‘big rocks’ that most people struggle to get in place and pursue what makes you happy.
It was an honour to chat with Mark Schatzker about his new book, The End of Craving: Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well. I’ve been a MASSIVE fan of his work since reading The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor.
Many diet authors blame the obesity epidemic on a single smoking gun (e.g. carbs, fat, tasty food etc.). However, Mark wades through the complicated situation in a fascinating narrative that gives a sense of wonder and mystery to the complex interplay between appetite, flavour, taste, wanting, and liking.
Once you have a deeper understanding of how food manufacturers have exploited our neurobiology, you will understand why it’s so important to seek out food that naturally tastes great because it contains the nutrients your body requires. Conversely, if your body doesn’t trust that the smell, flavour, and texture of your food aligns with the nutrients and energy it provides, your appetite will become risk-averse and seek out more food, just in case.
One of the narrative threads in The End of Craving discusses the differences in how the US and Italy individually addressed the Pellagra epidemic in the 1930s, a condition resulting from a lack of dietary vitamin B3 from a diet too rich in corn and fat.
The U.S. decided they would address the issue with science by fortifying their foods with synthetic versions of the nutrients they were missing. Meanwhile, the Italians saw food as a cure, not the cause, and encouraged their people to keep rabbits for cheap meat and drink cloudy wine containing yeast that provides B vitamins.
Today, the areas in the U.S. that once were called the ‘Pellagra belt’ now make up ‘the obesity belt’. In contrast, Italians are some of the leanest people in the world and are famous for having some of the most sumptuous edibles on the planet.
Mark also draws attention to experiments in the 1960s where pig farmers realised they could grow pork more quickly without their livestock getting sick by keeping them indoors and feeding the diet high in corn fortified with B vitamins. As a result, the pigs would chow down on more fortified grains and achieve historically unprecedented growth rates.
Shortly after this discovery, food manufacturers ramped up the fortification of breakfast cereals and other processed foods for humans. Initially, this looked like fortification benefited the public. However, it’s now evident that we’re more likely to continue to chow down on highly processed foods without stopping and negating cravings for foods that naturally contain nutrients.
I read The End of Craving while analysing an amassed 125,761 days of macronutrient and micronutrient data from 34,519 people who have used Nutrient Optimiser to fine-tune their nutrition. It was fascinating that we crave foods that contain more of these nutrients in the amounts found in nature. However, once levels of select nutrients like B1, B3, iron, and folate exceed natural levels from supplementation or fortification, we seem to simply eat more processed foods without getting all the other nutrients we require!
I hope you love this chat with Mark, and I highly recommend his books to understand the beautiful complexity of modern nutrition.
This chat with Matty Lansdown was part interview, part therapy session as I’ve been working on focusing on getting the essential things done in a world designed to distract and monetise your attention.
I hope this episode of the Optimising Nutrition Podcast will inspire you to kick start the habits you want to build to empower you to move towards your goals in 2022.
Matty Lansdown is a fellow Aussie and host of the popular How Not to Get Sick and Die Podcast, where he dispenses simple, no-nonsense practical health tips.
Before becoming a popular speaker in health and nutrition, Matty studied forensic science and was a molecular biologist and epigenetics researcher.
I wanted to chat to Matty about the biology of habit change - why we often know what to do and don’t do it. What ensued was a fun freeform chat and practically a therapy session about managing the overwhelm of dopamine overdrive from food, social media and our modern lifestyle.
Listen to our chat to learn how you can do what you want and need to do and turn your hopes into habits in the real world.
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What really underpins our beliefs about nutrition and the food we eat?
The truth might shock and surprise you!
Our nutritional guidelines and beliefs about food reflect a mixture of cultural, ritual, and religious beliefs and biases, overlayed by financial gains and food propaganda disbursed by manufacturers. But the influence of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) in establishing our current nutritional guidelines cannot be understated.
My family was part of the SDA church until I was about ten, so I have a unique perspective and background regarding this topic. And so does Belinda Fettke. Belinda dove deep down the rabbit hole to investigate the religious and financial conflicts of interest that govern our food supply and government-recommended dietary intake (RDI).
She began her research after her husband, Dr Gary Fettke, an orthopedic surgeon, was professionally reprimanded for suggesting to his patients that they limit sugar to prevent amputations secondary to diabetes. After Belinda's work, Dr Fettke received a formal apology, and the legal ban on teaching patients about the dangers of excess sugar was retracted.
Belinda has been a great friend over the years on our shared journey to cut through the noise and conflicts of interest and teach people how to get the nutrients they need from the food they eat. This is something we are both extremely passionate about. Empowering people to optimise their nutrition with an unbiased approach is crucial if we are to thrive and not merely survive.
I REALLY enjoyed this conversation with Brenda and discussing:
University of Sydney Professors Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer’s work in protein leverage is perhaps the most important body of research around, empowering us to understand our appetite and what leads us to eat more (or less) than we need to.
Professor Stephen Simpson is the executive director of Obesity Australia and the academic director of the Charles Perkins Centre. PubMed shows that he has published a whopping 361 journal articles!
Professors David Raubenheimer, originally from South Africa, began working with Professor Simpson as a PhD student in Oxford. Many of his 197 research articles are co-authored with Professor Simpson.
They are perhaps best known for their 2005 Protein Leverage Hypothesis paper, which aligns with much of our research and analysis of data from people using Nutrient Optimiser.
In 2012 they published The Nature of Nutrition, and in 2020 they published Eat Like the Animals to bring their research to the public. In August last year, I wrote a blog discussing Eat Like the Animals. They subsequently reached out to start a dialogue to discuss some points of difference and agreed to take the time to come on for a podcast chat.
It was such a pleasure and honour to discuss a range of topics around their groundbreaking research, including:
Craig Emmerich is the author of the book “Keto: The Complete Guide” and the PMSF Cookbook and hubby to Maria Emmerich.
Mariah and Craig have been at the forefront of the keto movement since way before it was trendy. Craig is a fellow engineer who seeks to understand how things work to understand how to help people more effectively with their books and MANY cookbooks, website and Facebook groups.
I have been chatting with Craig for years about nutrition for the past six years since the early days of the Optimising Nutrition Facebook Group, where we were all avidly sharing and learning the nuances of nutrition. Like me, he shares a lot of the frustration of what ‘keto’ has become and works to correct the many false beliefs that lead people down the wrong path.
This was a great chat to reflect with Craig on the past and future trajectory of the ‘keto’ movement. We discussed:
You can also check out my chat with Mariah and Craig here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reXt0p7P1-I
There is plenty of debate about how we can feed a rapidly growing population in a way that is healthy for us and our fragile planet with limited resources.
Diana Rogers and Robb Wolf recently weighed into the debate. Their book Scared Cow proposed that, rather than doubling down on an industrial, agricultural system that created the problems we are now facing, we should move towards a mix of old and new technologies to grow our food.
Regenerative agriculture aims to create a food production system that brings plants and animals together with less reliance on external energy inputs from non-renewable fossil fuels to regenerate our natural resources.
Diana has been a great supporter and friend, helping spread the word about a quantified approach to nutrient density.
I was super excited to talk to her to cover some of the frequently asked questions around the intersection of regenerative agriculture and nutrient density, including:
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Perhaps even more than weight loss, the transition women experience as they transition through middle age is one of the hottest topics in our Data-Driven Fasting Facebook Group.
Not only do blood sugars, cravings and insulin sensitivity change across the month, but the changes that occur during menopause can make maintaining a healthy weight and vitality more challenging.
Karen Martel, the host of the Other Side of Weight Loss Podcast, is a powerhouse of knowledge, experience, and passion for these complex issues.
It was an honour to talk to her about the common questions that come up around the intersection of fasting, nutrition and optimising hormonal balance, including:
I also really enjoyed being a part of Karen’s podcast. You can check it out here.
2xTED speaker and host of the popular Everyday Wellness Podcast Cynthia Thurlow had just finished writing the manuscript for her new book specifically on intermittent fasting for women when we recorded this chat.
In a world where more often equals better, Cynthia delivered a ton of practical and pragmatic information to help women navigate this often challenging time while maintaining optimal health.
Over the past few months, Cynthia has become a great friend and advocate for Data-Driven Fasting, helping spread the word about the insights your pre-meal blood sugars can provide!
In this whirlwind chat, we discuss:
Gin Stephens, author of Delay Don't Deny and Fast Feast Repeat, has been a powerhouse in the booming intermittent fasting movement!
It’s also Gin’s support and promotion that has helped Data-Driven Fasting explode the way it has! I am very grateful to her!
It all started when she had Lori Leeke on her Intermittent Fasting Stories Podcast. After Lori’s encouragement, I made an appearance on her podcast later on Melanie Avalon’s Biohacking Podcast. They also said some very kind things about Big Fat Keto Lies on their Intermittent Fasting Podcast. And the rest is now history.
It was great to have her on to chat about her research for her new book, Clean(ish) and the importance of WHAT to eat (nutrient density) as well as WHEN to eat (intermittent fasting).
We also covered the perils of extended fasting, what she's had to unlearn and what it's like to leave Facebook after nurturing several groups to more than half a million members!
I’ve been super impressed with Melanie Avalon’s ability to synthesise complex topics and bring them to life for her listeners. All of her podcast episodes are a fascinating DEEP dive into the topic to elucidate the practical application.
We had a ton of positive feedback from my interview on her podcast. Our Data-Driven Fasting Facebook Group exploded after she and Gin Stephens started raving about it all the time on their Intermittent Fasting Podcast.
After binge-listening to her podcast with a wide array of fantastic guests, I had a ton of questions for Melanie.
It was great to get her on the other side of the interview mic for a rare video interview including:
Watch now on YouTube at https://youtu.be/d5uSeKMH49E
You can also check out my brain bending epic chat with Melanie on her podcast here. Some people have told me they have listened to it three times!
Clark is a nutritionist, biohacker, and now medical doctor (and future endocrinologist).
After achieving great results in our Data-Driven Fasting Challenge, Clark has become a moderator in the Data-Driven Fasting Challenges, offering some fantastic insights, troubleshooting some of the more challenging scenarios and bringing some fantastic content to the live Q&A sessions.
We’ve also had some lengthy, nerdy chats over the past few months, and I’ve enjoyed the conversation, friendship and insights. So I thought it would be fun to have him on the podcast to answer some frequently asked questions that we see in the challenges:
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We are all about optimising your nutrition, regardless of your food preferences. Our mantra is your diet doesn't need a name, just enough nutrients. And Karen Lerner-Mayrand takes it to heart!
It was great to chat with Karen about how she dialled in her vegetarian diet to top the nutrient density leaderboard in our Nutritional Optimisation Masterclass not once but twice.
After trying different diets for decades and fasting for weeks on end, under the guidance of the biggest names in fasting, everything fell into place once Karen focused on giving her body the nutrients it needed!
These are some of the topics we discussed:
- Why do you follow a vegetarian diet?
- Why did you want to solve the puzzle of nutrition?
- What did you find the hardest?
- What surprised you the most?
- What did you learn from Data-Driven Fasting vs. the Masterclass?
- What foods do you eat less of now?
- What do you eat more of now?
- What are your primary protein sources?
- Do you use supplements on your vegetarian diet?
- How do you feel now?
- What excited you most about the process of nutritional optimisation?
- Where would you recommend someone start without becoming overwhelmed?
You can also learn more about Karen’s journey and check out some of her nutrient-dense vegetarian recipes at: https://optimisingnutrition.com/karens-chart-topping-nutrient-dense-vegetarian-diet-with-recipes-and-photos/
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I’ve been super excited to see the change in direction recently at Diet Doctor. CEO Dr Andreas Eenfeldt, with some inspiration from Dr Ted Naiman, has led his team to help members tailor their nutritional guidance to consider satiety and protein leverage for fat loss (if that is their goal).
It was fun to chat with Andreas about his recent learnings, research and his n=1 experience. We got to discuss a wide range of topics, including:
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After being a super fan for so long, it was fantastic to chat with Robb Wolf about how Nutritional Optimisation can save the world.
Robb has been the most significant influence in my nutritional explorations over the past decade. I see my work as simply putting numbers and systems around his thinking and using multi-criteria analysis to identify optimal foods and meals for different people with different goals.
Once optimal nutrition is quantified, we no longer have to rely on names, trends, fads, or belief systems - nutrition becomes a (relatively simple math problem that can be solved – we can skip the endless circular debate and angst. We can identify and agree on a shortlist of foods and meals that contain the nutrients we need to function optimally and thrive.
Ensuring we have a planet that can sustain future generations may not be as sexy as “how to get abs overnight” with the optimal mix of carbs, fat and protein (i.e. MACROnutrients). But the macro trends (i.e. long term, big picture) in how we obtain our food is a far more important topic, not only because the health of our planet is critical, but acting in the interest of our planet will, in turn, better nourish us (and vice versa).
We have a shared dream that more people would eat in a way that both nourishes themselves (to make them look and feel great) and regenerates the planet so it will be a place that future generations will want to live.
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It was super inspiring to chat with Abby, who made some incredible progress over time with Data-Driven Fasting and our Nutritional Optimisation Masterclass.
In this chat, we discuss:
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