The Flex Diet: A Science-Based Guide to Metabolic Flexibility

We’ve got exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, PhD, MSME, CSCS, CISSN back on the podcast today. Mike’s areas of expertise include metabolic flexibility, heart rate variability, and human performance. He’s an adjunct professor for the Carrick Institute of Functional Neurology and the American College of Sports Medicine and has published research in both physiology and engineering journals. He also works 1 on 1 with clients seeking to optimise their performance.

On today’s podcast, Mike and I talk about his new Flex Diet Certification, a metabolic flexibility course for trainers, coaches, gym owners and fitness enthusiasts. Mike discusses some of the different components of his 8-week course, as well as why he created it and who should (and should not) take it. We also talk about recent developments and research in the areas of cannabidiol, heart rate variability, and blood flow restriction training.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Mike T. Nelson:

[00:05:10] Mike's previous appearances on NBT podcast: 1, 2, 3, 4.

[00:05:23] Cannabidiol (CBD).

[00:05:43] DEA prohibits synthetically-produced Delta-8, as of August 2020.

[00:06:41] Sleep and CBD.

[00:07:31] Review of cannabinoids in the treatment of PTSD: Cohen, Jacob, et al. "Cannabinoids as an Emerging Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders." Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology 37.1 (2020): 28-34.

[00:08:28] Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

[00:08:41] HRV fails to predict readiness to train; Studies: 1. De Oliveira, Ramon Martins, et al. "Effect of individualized resistance training prescription with heart rate variability on individual muscle hypertrophy and strength responses." European journal of sport science 19.8 (2019): 1092-1100; 2. Thamm, Antonia, et al. "Can heart rate variability determine recovery following distinct strength loadings? A randomized cross-over trial." International journal of environmental research and public health 16.22 (2019): 4353.

[00:14:17] Oura Ring.

[00:16:49] Oura Ring’s ability to differentiate sleep stages; Study: de Zambotti, Massimiliano, et al. "The sleep of the ring: comparison of the ŌURA sleep tracker against polysomnography." Behavioral sleep medicine 17.2 (2019): 124-136.

[00:20:57] Flex diet certification.

[00:31:55] Book: The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It, by John Tierney.

[00:34:01] Physiology flexibility.

[00:37:46] Wim Hof breathing exercises.

[00:43:05] Exercise training can alter how the body handles a large meal; Review: Goodpaster, Bret H., and Lauren M. Sparks. "Metabolic flexibility in health and disease." Cell metabolism 25.5 (2017): 1027-1036.

[00:44:06] Pop tart test.

[00:45:19] Article: The Porcelain Doll Diet.

[00:48:55] Breathing as a homeostatic regulator.

[00:52:18] Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training; Podcast: Blood Flow Restriction Training for Improved Strength, Performance, and Healthspan, with Jim Stray-Gundersen, MD.

[00:55:12] Hypertrophy from walking using BFR training; Study: Abe, Takashi, Charles F. Kearns, and Yoshiaki Sato. "Muscle size and strength are increased following walk training with restricted venous blood flow from the leg muscle, Kaatsu-walk training." Journal of applied physiology 100.5 (2006): 1460-1466.

[00:55:31] Moxy muscle oxygen monitor.

[00:57:10] Fat Gripz.

[00:57:15] Supplements.

[00:58:07] Beta-alanine; Meta-analysis: Dolan, Eimear, et al. "A systematic risk assessment and meta-analysis on the use of oral β-alanine supplementation." Advances in Nutrition 10.3 (2019): 452-463.

[00:59:45] Sodium bicarbonate.

[01:01:14] Lactate; Cytosport’s Cytomax.

[01:01:46] Recent study evaluating IV lactate: Ellekjaer, Karen L., et al. "Lactate versus acetate buffered intravenous crystalloid solutions: a scoping review." British Journal of Anaesthesia (2020).

[01:03:21] Flex Diet Podcast, hosted by Dr Mike T Nelson.

[01:04:31] Dom D’agostino on the Flexdiet Podcast: Dr Dom D'Agostino on Red Light, Ketones, Fasting, Zapping Monkeys and More. Dominic on the NBT podcast: Dominic D'Agostino: Researcher and Athlete on the Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet.

[01:05:52] flexdiet.com; miketnelson.com.