Switch Your Metabolism Class: set for Mondays: Oct 7,14,21, 6 – 7:30;  and Wednesdays: Oct 9,16,23, 1 – 2:30.  The goal: to teach you how to be a Fat Burner and not a Sugar Burner.  We’ll cover the Paleo Diet, Digestion, Blood Sugar (you HAVE to understand your biology to lose weight and get healthy), Ketosis, Power Cooking, Compliance Strategies and much more.  The class will be held at the Marshall Community Center (4133A Rectortown Rd, Marshall Va), which is right off Rt 17 and Rt 66 – it’s easy to get to.  The total cost: $100.  My goal:  to help you understand that your weight and your health are a matter of your Biology, not a low cal/low fat diet that never works, ever; and that you have the Power to change yourself.  Email me if you can attend.  Phone and Skype sessions are available if you’re long distance.

I’m just about finished the book, Cholesterol Clarity.  If you’re at all interested in your cholesterol or your heart health, you should read it. (In Nutritional Therapy School, one of our basic tenants is “the health of the Heart reflects the health of the Body”.)  Jimmy Moore interviews 28 Cardiovascular experts and Lipids experts (scientists who study fat), all who are on the cutting edge of today’s science, and they really blow the roof off of common MISconceptions still championed by most doctors today. (By the way, his website, livinlavidalowcarb has the BEST podcasts!!)

Here’s some quotes from the book:  “The way the body transports fats and cholesterol into the body is really interesting bc it doesn’t go directly into the bloodstream from the gut.  Instead, much of it gets shipped through the lymph nodes and it arrives right at the big vein that goes into the heart.  Basically, it wants to direct cholesterol and fat toward the heart to give it first dibs.”  Stephanie Seneff, PhD, Senior MIT Research Scientist.   Did God make a mistake here?  Nope.

“We have this issue of cholesterol being the number-one cause of heart disease in the eyes of most of my cardiologist colleagues.  That would have some merit if it was 1963.”  Dr. William Davis, Cardiologist and Asst Professor of Medicine, check him out at WheatBellyBlog.com.

“The idea of cholesterol being dangerous has become such a deep part of our culture that it is now automatically synonymous with cardio-metabolic risk.  Until we make a change in our thinking about cholesterol, it will be difficult to convince people.  And frankly, you’ve got to first convince a lot of medical providers to shift those particular terms bc we can’t seem to get away from the idea that cholesterol is the bad guy.” Dr. Philip Blair, you can check him out at SpaceDoc.com/Blair_Phillip_MD

“We’ve long known that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. In the absence of inflammation or injury to the endothelial cell, the cholesterol would never go through the arterial wall and it would never stay there.”   Dr. Dwight Lundell, TheCureForHeartDisease.net.

“Over the past decade we have found that cholesterol causality is nothing but a massive con job organized by Big Pharma.  Cholesterol has nothing to do with atherosclerosis, which helps to explain why, in over half of new heart attacks, the cholesterol levels are normal or well below normal.  Dr. Duane Graveline  SpaceDoc.com (different from Dr. Blair).

Remember, every single cell in our body produces cholesterol.  It’s an antioxidant, a healing molecule, and comprises part of all our sex hormones, Vitamin D, and much of our brain.  Again, cholesterol is NOT a big accident by God.  We need it for health and survival and vitality.

I could go on and on, but I hope you’ll take the ball and run with it because (one more quote):

“The population will become split between the smart and the dumb.  The smart ones will begin taking their health into their own hands bc they’re already seeing that what we are doing is not working.  Our diet is not working bc 70% of us are overweight and obese, we have 29 million diabetics and 75 million more prediabetics.  People are realizing that what we’re doing is not working and they are looking for other ways.  That’s where do-it-yourself healthcare and self-monitoring will become norm.”  Dr. Dwight Lundell.

This might be my favorite quote, because this is what I’m all about – being responsible for your own health.  Our doctors are great, but science is constantly evolving and current science on fat and cholesterol has debunked several invalid medical “truths”.  We especially can’t count on Big Pharma, which is a business who’s primary goal is to make money.  The statin drugs alone bring in more than 29 BILLION in profits.  Do you really think that Big Pharma’s going to halt their push to educate doctors and the public that cholesterol is dangerous and we need to lower it?

The take-away:  Eat a diet that’s really good for your cholesterol, and see your weight and all other health markers improve.  Ditch the “healthy whole grains”, starchy carbs and sugars,  and move to a Real Whole Foods diet of clean meats, healthy fats, tons of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, and some whole dairy (if your stomach says yes).  This is a diet that lowers inflammation, improves mental focus, lowers insulin and glucose values, is anti-cancer, and puts you at your healthy weight.

Fat and cholesterol don’t make you fat and unhealthy, GLUCOSE (from flours and sugars) and INSULIN (the hormone that gets glucose out of the bloodstream), TRANS FATS, and TOXIC CHEMICALS  drive Inflammation, Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s, and every disease out there.

Every bite matters.  Food either helps us or hurts us, there is no “neutral” food; our body breaks it all down to it’s barest nutrients and they all have either a positive or negative effect.  Your foods break down to become YOU.

In the Switch Your Metabolism class we’ll be talking a lot about glucose and insulin, and how to track it using glucometers.  It’s important to know how your body reacts to fruit, dairy, coffee/tea, starches, etc.  It’s the only way to go from being a Sugar Burner to a Fat Burner. We’ll also be exploring Ketosis, and if that’s a state you should aim for.  Hope to see you there!