Nourish Balance Thrive

I've just got back from three wonderful weeks of travelling in the UK, and while I was there, I ran into some old friends who've been listening to my podcast. "Lots of great information, but not much prescriptive," they said. "What the heck is it that you do for a living now?". Well, that's the question that this show attempts to answer.  And who better than Amelia to help me describe what it is that we do at Nourish Balance Thrive. Amelia and I have been working together for about a year now, and I'm proud to announce that she's now my first full-time employee. In a nutshell: Nourish Balance Thrive is the wellness programme created by athletes, for athletes. We've had great results recommending a Paleo diet, especially The Whole30 and Autoimmune Paleo protocol, along side environment hacks to improve sleep and manage stress. We don't design training plans, but we do recommend walking and lifting heavy things. If you're already doing these things and aren't getting the brochure experience, then now might be a good time to start doing some testing. Each set of results are unique, but the set of tests I use don't vary much. The tests are: The BioHealth 205 Adrenal Stress Profile The Genova Diagnostics 0091 Organix Comprehensive Profile The BioHealth 401H GI Pathogen Screen A basic blood chemistry with CBC, CWP, iron panel, Vitamin D, A1c, insulin, homocysteine, B12, folate and more. Am I missing a test you've found to be helpful? Let me know in the comments below. I know from personal experience that when you've been feeling like crap for a long time, perception of normal becomes distorted. You can now quantify your normal and track its improvement using my Health Assessment Questionnaire, coded by my own fair hand using the Python programming language. In the show, I mentioned this LED lighting kit.

I've got Dr. Tommy Wood back on the podcast to talk about supplementing with carbohydrates for endurance performance. I had a terrible time with maltodextrin-based sports gels back a few years ago, and I've since noticed that some of the best athletes I know do well on long rides without eating anything. But still, the studies show a clear advantage in supplementing with carbohydrates during workouts lasting longer than one hour. Luckily Tommy is here to help me understand the studies, the potential pitfalls and the biochemistry of supplementing with carbs. For the past couple of years, I've been supplementing with UCAN Superstarch during long, hard workouts and races. I think of UCAN as the training wheels that enabled me to be a better fat burner. Now I'm left wondering, is there something out there that works better? Or is there something as good but cheaper, e.g. waxy maize? Or fructose? Tommy and I intend to find out which is best for me using an oral glucose tolerance test. In the show, I mention the UCAN study, and also these two studies on waxy maize and fructose. I also said that I wasn't sure whether or not I'm ketosis. I've since measured blood ketones at 2.1 mmol/L and six green flashes on a Ketonix Sport breath meter.

On the show this week, author and podcast host Jimmy Moore. I wanted to get Jimmy on to talk about his new Ketogenic Cookbook. I have a paper copy of the book, and I love it. The pictures are big and beautiful, and there's tons of variety. Who said a ketogenic diet is too restrictive? It's just not true. For those of you that don't already know, I've been working with Jimmy over the past few months in an attempt to him break through a fat-loss plateau. Jimmy has done blood, saliva, urine and stool testing, and I've been helping him understand the results. Jimmy published his results and then broadcast the interview in which I do the interpretation. In this episode, I'm joined by my wife and food scientist Julia to discuss the changes that Jimmy has made to his diet. Julia recommended going dairy-free for a month and introducing a wide variety of non-starchy vegetables.  In the interview, I mention the uBiome test.

Amir works for a large technology company in Silicon Valley and came to me for help to resolve his chronic inflammation, bloating, allergy and food sensitivity issues: I couldn't eat a piece of food without feeling sluggish afterwards right away, to the point where it would really interfere heavily with my job and the work that I was doing. I have to perform at work. It's quite challenging not to be able to think clearly throughout the day. It was to the point where I was really dreading foods. The Paleo diet has been extremely helpful, and AIP even better: The last two months I've been very strict on my diet, I mean, very, very clean living, no booze, no nothing. I think that also makes a big difference. For the past two months, I would say I've been doing exceptionally well. Diet and lifestyle hacks are always helpful, but if you don't get the brochure experience, then it's time to do some testing to figure out why. In Amir's case, we found low cortisol (a.k.a adrenal fatigue) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). And now:  On good days, I feel outstanding. I see it in my physical performance and when I look in the mirror too. A lot of the drawbacks that I had before are pretty much gone. I feel really energetic. I picked up lots of new hobbies, actually, which is an indicator of feeling like you have more energy to tend to the things that you want to do. I think that was the goal overall, just making sure that I can do the things again that I like. On the left, Amir's organic acids result from July 2014, on the right, the April 2015 retest. Each row describes an abnormality; fewer is better.

Functional Medicine expert Dr. Michael Ruscio lectures to doctors and students nationwide and runs a private practice in California. I first became aware of his research through a series of excellent Robb Wolf podcasts, here, here and here. Dr. Ruscio now hosts this podcast that I've been enjoying tremendously.  Over the past few weeks, I've been developing a tool to help people better understand their µBiome test results and open up the possibility of automating analysis of the bacteria that reside in our guts. This type of microbiota testing goes beyond the core of what I do at Nourish Balance Thrive, and I was keen to get Dr. Ruscio on to discuss its potential clinical relevance. Dr. Ruscio is open to the idea of testing and manipulating the microbiota but feels that the association between test results and health outcomes are not yet understood. Furthermore, Dr. Ruscio remains skeptical that we can "custom manipulate the microbiota" to produce a health outcome. I also couldn't resist the opportunity to ask Dr. Ruscio about his thoughts on treatment for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).  Have you done the µBiome test? Did you find any bifidobacteria? Have you been able to manipulate the results using probiotics and prebiotics?  Was there any association with your health or athletic performance? Let me know in the comments section below.

Dr. Tommy Wood is a qualified medical doctor, graduating from Oxford University in 2011. He has a previous Bachelors degree in Natural Sciences and Biochemistry from Cambridge University. After working as a junior doctor in the UK for two years, Dr. Wood is now working towards a Ph.D. in neonatal brain metabolism at the University of Oslo, Norway. I was inspired to record this interview by the questions I received after people heard my interview with Jimmy Moore in which we review his recent lab work. To keep in balance, we have both positive and negative ions in the blood. The positive ions (cations) measured on a basic blood chemistry are sodium and potassium. The negative ions (anions) are chloride and bicarbonate. Just to confuse you, bicarbonate is labelled CO2. The anion gap is the sodium plus the potassium minus the chloride and the bicarbonate. Put another way, the anion gap is the unmeasured anions in the blood. The anion gap is a calculated number and is relevant because the greater the number, the greater the likelihood of an acidosis. The only way to know for sure is to analyse blood gas. If you have an anion gap greater than 30, then it's very likely you have an acidosis. In the show, I mention the Khan Academy Chemistry module and Bryan Walsh's Metabolic Fitness Pro training course. Both of these have helped me understand blood chemistry. Have you run a basic blood chemistry recently? What was your anion gap?

Patrick Arnold is an organic chemist renowned in the field of performance enhancement and sports supplements.  Patrick first hit the public eye in the late 1990’s when he introduced androstenedione (“Andro”) to the world of professional sport. Patrick has since turned his attention away from prohormones and towards exogenous ketone supplements (BHB). Will ketone supplements ever be banned from sport? Patrick thinks not: It's a good question. No. I can't see how it could possibly be a banned substance. I mean, BHB is present in many foods, be it in small levels. BHB is naturally occurring in your body. It's a actual energy substrate. It's an actual nutrient. I mean, it's right there along with protein, carbs and fats. I've been using KetoForce for almost two years now in mountain bike, gravel grinder and cyclocross races. Of course, I don't know if it improves my performance, but 30ml (three capfuls) reliably raises my blood ketone levels by about 1.5mmol/L. I make KetoForce more palatable using this recipe, courtesy of the late Chef Rachel Albert: 30ml of KetoForce 250ml (8oz) of water The juice of half a lime One teaspoon of apple cider vinegar Rachel used Stevia, I skip it More recently, Patrick has introduced KetoCaNa, a more palatable and portable powdered form of BHB. Are you using ketone supplements to help with your athletic performance? What sport? Have you been able to quantify the difference? Please, let me know in the comments below.

In this episode, I'm joined again by Toréa Rodriguez FDN,  a former biochemist, Silicon Valley executive, and professional pilot. Now she is a Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner and health coach herself. We discuss her current progress with her Hashimoto’s, gut healing protocols and her personal experience using an AIP low inflammatory diet. Toréa now works full-time helping other people recover from autoimmunity. Book a free consultation to find out how she can help you.  

Reed is a Nutritional Therapist and Founder of the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® (FDN) Certification Course. Reed is known as one of the most successful and experienced clinicians in the world today, having provided functional lab assessments to over 11,000 people for hormone levels as well as adrenal, digestion, detoxification, mucosal barrier, pathogenic, bone density and diet-related health problems. He served as the Health Director and Case Manager at The Better Health & Wellness Center in Poway, California for over eight years before launching the FDN Certification Course. FDN is one of the training courses that I completed before launching Nourish Balance Thrive, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to uncover the cause of their health complaints. You never know, it may just lead to a career change! Find out more and sign up for the FDN course.

My guest Dr. Tommy Wood is a qualified medical doctor, graduating from Oxford University in 2011. He has a previous Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences and Biochemistry from Cambridge University. After working as a junior doctor in the UK for two years, Dr. Wood is now working towards a Ph.D. in neonatal brain metabolism at the University of Oslo, Norway. Takeaway message: do not take antioxidant supplements during or immediately after working out. Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to cellular oxidative stress is linked to numerous pathologies including cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases [1–4]. Oxidative stress can be measured using the organic acids P-Hydroxyphenyllactate and 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). The former is a marker of cell turnover and the latter a breakdown product gaunine of DNA. Many tissues can produce ROS during exercise [5], and so it makes intuitive sense that over-exercising athletes are prone to the deleterious effects of oxidative stress and should increase their antioxidant intake accordingly. More recent evidence suggests that exercise is in fact an antioxidant [6] and taking antioxidant supplements during or immediately following exercise may shut down the beneficial adaptations [7-8]. During the interview, Tommy says “Superoxide is basically just a normal oxygen molecule with an extra electron attached to it” and would like to add: “To be correct, superoxide is oxygen that has lost an electron, leaving it was a "spare" (extra) unpaired electron. It is oxygen that has become oxidised. Though technically oxidation is the loss of an electron (reduction is the gain of an electron), some processes in the body involving the gain of electrons will add to oxidative stress if they are not completed fully. For instance, this is often seen in mitochondrial dysfunction.” I mentioned Bryan Walsh’s Metabolic Fitness Pro training course and the Khan Academy chemistry module. Is content this technical useful? Let me know in the comments section below! References [1] Valko, M.; Rhodes, C. J.; Moncol, J.; Izakovic, M.; Mazur, M. Free radicals, metals and antioxidants in oxidative stress-induced cancer. Chem. Biol. Interact. 160:1–40; 2006. [2] Xie, K.; Huang, S. Regulation of cancer metastasis by stress pathways. Clin. Exp. Metastasis 20:31–43; 2003. [3] Wei, W.; Liu, Q.; Tan, Y.; Liu, L.; Li, X.; Cai, L. Oxidative stress, diabetes, and diabetic complications. Hemoglobin 33:370–377; 2009. [4] Reddy, V. P.; Zhu, X.; Perry, G.; Smith, M. A. Oxidative stress in diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. J. Alzheimers Dis. 16:763–774; 2009. [5] Powers, S. K.; Jackson, M. J. Exercise-induced oxidative stress: cellular mechanisms and impact on muscle force production. Physiol. Rev. 88:1243–1276; 2008. [6] M.C. Gomez-Cabrera, E. Domenech, L.L. Ji, J. Viña, Exercise as an antioxidant: it up-regulates important enzymes for cell adaptations to exercise. doi:10.1016/j.scispo.2005.06.012 [7] Michael Ristowa, Kim Zarsea, Andreas Oberbachc, Nora Klo Michael Stumvollc, C. Ronald Kahne, Matthias Blu, Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans. doi:10.1073/pnas.0903485106 [8] Tina-Tinkara Peternelj and Jeff S. Coombes, Antioxidant Supplementation during Exercise Training, Beneficial or Detrimental? doi:10.2165/11594400-000000000-00000