
Mastering Nutrition
Welcome to the Mastering Nutrition podcast.
Mastering Nutrition is hosted by Chris Masterjohn, a nutrition scientist focused on optimizing mitochondrial health, and founder of BioOptHealth, a program that uses whole genome sequencing, a comprehensive suite of biochemical data, cutting-edge research and deep scientific insights to optimize each person's metabolism by finding their own unique unlocks.
He received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences from University of Connecticut at Storrs in 2012, served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Comparative Biosciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Veterinary Medicine from 2012-2014, served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College from 2014-2017, and now works independently in science research and education.
Latest episodes

Jul 13, 2021 • 13min
Combining carbs and fat, LDL-C, calcification, and atherosclerosis | Masterjohn Q&A Files #233
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Combining carbs and fat, LDL-C, calcification, and atherosclerosis Generally speaking, if someone is overweight and hyperglycemic, then they're probably going to get a lot of benefit from trying to separate their carbs and fat, whereas if someone has amazing body composition and a totally healthy blood glucose level while they're eating a mixed diet, then I think it's kind of pointless. I would say that for blood lipids, generally, if macronutrients are going to affect your blood lipids, that's probably involving your fasting blood lipids, which is what's usually measured. If changing your macronutrients around is going to affect those, I think it's probably going to be in the context of some level of insulin resistance or overweightness, really insulin resistance or it would just be one of several ways to get there with carbohydrates generally pumping the sort of VLDL production and triglyceride content. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 12, 2021 • 6min
Could low-normal phosphorus be from my calcium intake? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #232
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Could low-normal phosphorus be from my calcium intake?Given that your calcium is coming from milk and yogurt and Traditional Foods Market brand whole bone meal to get your calcium, you're definitely consuming plenty of phosphorus, and so I don't think your dietary phosphorus is off. I wouldn't really worry about the phosphorus being low in that range. It's not low, it's on the low end of the range. I think the PTH being suppressed to 18 is great. I think the calcium doing that is great. I think that the calcium did that, even when all your calcium sources were balanced by phosphorus, sounds really good because phosphorus would do the opposite. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 9, 2021 • 12min
Exercising in the fasted state | Masterjohn Q&A Files #231
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Exercising in the fasted state The answer is necessarily subjective because the cut-off between a fasted state and a fed state is arbitrary. It's not like there's an on switch or an off switch for the fasting-feeding cycle. There's just tens of thousands of things happening that cluster together in different ratios and proportions that proportionally shift in one or another direction, depending on how much food you've eaten and how recently. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 8, 2021 • 4min
What does an upregulated GGT gene do to glutathione status? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #230
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here. Question: What does an upregulated GGT gene do to glutathione status? Well, if you assume that whatever the genetic test told you is actually happening as increased GGT activity, then what it should do is break down blood glutathione and help the breakdown products get into the cell to increase intracellular glutathione. I think as to what it does to glutathione status measured in the blood, I don't know. Because on the one hand, it's probably going to break down glutathione in the blood. But in general, if you're improving glutathione status inside the cell in the liver, you're going to increase the export of glutathione. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Jul 7, 2021 • 12min
A question on urinary lactate, pyruvate, and Krebs Cycle metabolites | Masterjohn Q&A Files #229
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: A question on urinary lactate, pyruvate, and Krebs Cycle metabolites When the NAD+ sensitive steps of the citric acid cycle are being inhibited, that could be hypoxia, it could be high-intensity exercise, it could be taking metformin or berberine, it could be having a complex 1 disorder, and of course, I would sort of measure this against symptoms. So if you feel great, I wouldn't overinterpret this. But if you have something that feels like messed up energy metabolism, then I think it's best correlated with a deficiency in the respiratory chain, whether that's driven by oxygen, by increased demand, through high-intensity exercise, through taking complex 1 inhibitors like metformin or berberine, or through having a genetic complex 1 disorder. Thiamine is possible but if it's thiamine deficiency, then you should also see elevations in alanine as well. So I would get a plasma amino acids test, and then you could also look at the thiamine level in the blood and you could look at... HDRI has an erythrocyte transketolase activity test, and it's listed as ETKA on their requisition form. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 6, 2021 • 8min
High-dose EPA, triglycerides, and general health | Masterjohn Q&A Files #228
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here. Question: High-dose EPA, triglycerides, and general healthIt's definitely the case that high dose EPA lowers triglyceride levels in people with high triglycerides. And it does that by interfering with carbohydrate signaling. So carbohydrate signaling, part through glucose itself, and part through insulin, increases triglyceride synthesis and in insulin resistant people, generally the average person with insulin resistance has an amplification of that pathway and is actually hypersensitive to it while being resistant to glucose handling part of the pathway. So blood glucose and blood triglycerides increase. And if you take high-dose EPA, you will interfere with the signaling and you will lower the triglycerides. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Jul 5, 2021 • 5min
Are there any downsides to eating lots of nuts and seeds? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #227
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Are there any downsides to eating lots of nuts and seeds?I would mainly be looking at phytate and PUFA, and on the PUFA front, that's polyunsaturated fatty acids, on the PUFA front, I'm not in the extreme minimize it at all costs camp, but I am in the camp of, don't really overdo it beyond what you need to get your nutrients in. So I would look at the contribution of nuts and seeds to your micronutrient intake, and if you're flying real high on the pattern of nutrients that are in the nuts and seeds way more than you need of those types of nutrients, and I think I would cut back on that. And I would be a little bit concerned about the PUFA intake, whereas if you're not hitting your magnesium target, unless you eat the nuts and seeds, then I have a very different view of that. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 2, 2021 • 11min
Low cystine & sulfate, mid-range methionine, high homocysteine: what to do? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #226
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Low cystine & sulfate, mid-range methionine, high homocysteine: what to do? My default position on this would be, you probably don't have a problem recycling homocysteine to methionine. And that might explain why, I'm assuming this is in the fasting state, your homocysteine is only slightly elevated. Now, if you mean by slightly elevated, if you mean slightly elevated outside of the lab's reference range, then that's very elevated. And so I would look at that a little bit differently, but especially when paired with the low cystine and sulfate levels, it sounds like you have a low rate of the transsulfuration pathway or the CBS enzyme, which is the first step in that pathway, which takes homocysteine down to cysteine, which then can be metabolized to sulfate. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jul 1, 2021 • 6min
Is TMG a good source of glycine? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #225
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Is TMG a good source of glycine?And so glycine is a methyl buffer. So it's not the default that one extra methyl group from TMG is going to make one molecule of glycine get lost, but generally if you put TMG into the system, you're going to lose methyl groups and you're going to wind up with probably the dimethylglycine going into the mitochondrion. Maybe that improves your glycine status, but I'm not so sure about that and I wouldn't rely on it. So I would just treat them completely differently. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Jun 30, 2021 • 9min
Zonulin: what nutrients to look at if it's high? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #224
Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support! Question: Zonulin: what nutrients to look at if it's high? I think of that from my perspective, which is much more focused on nutrients and biochemistry, I'm thinking especially if you have the ION panel, which kind of takes apart my end of the spectrum, actually I would look at arachidonic acid levels because arachidonic acid in the gut is associated with lymphoid tissue, is metabolized to prostaglandin E2, which promotes immune tolerance. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.
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