
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

Oct 4, 2018 • 6min
Why I Don’t Believe in “Overmethylators” and “Undermethylators” | Chris Masterjohn Lite #74
Are you an undermethylator or an overmethylator? Neither! Chris Masterjohn Lite is a show about what works. Today we kick off a short series on a few things that don’t work by discussing why I don’t think it’s useful and why I think it’s actually counter-productive to classify people as undermethylators and overmethylators. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Oct 2, 2018 • 11min
What EVERYONE Should Be Doing About Methylation | Chris Masterjohn Lite #73
MTHFR or not, this is the minimum that EVERYONE should be doing to support methylation, boiled down into five simple rules. Tune in to learn the rules! This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 27, 2018 • 7min
Five Rules for a Healthy Diet | Chris Masterjohn Lite #72
Here is a healthy diet, boiled down into five simple rules. Tune in to learn the rules! This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 25, 2018 • 8min
Your Best Weapon Against Food Allergies and Food Intolerances | Chris Masterjohn Lite #71
Food allergies seem more common now than ever. Are we just hearing about them more because of better awareness, or are they really more common? We have reliable data about celiac disease: it’s four times as common now than it was a half century ago. I suspect the same is true of other food intolerances and of food allergies. Your best weapons? The egg yolks and liver that have disappeared from our diets during this timeframe, and avoiding unnecessary use of over-the-counter anti-inflammatories. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 20, 2018 • 9min
Vitamin A for Allergies | Chris Masterjohn Lite CML #70
When I was in Greece this August, I didn’t have any allergies at first, but then they started acting up, and they kept getting worse throughout my trip. I thought it was from the local environment, but when I woke up with conjunctivitis in the last week I looked back and realized my diet had been very deficient in vitamin A while I was there. Vitamin A deficiency can be an important cause of allergies, and if you suffer from allergies you should consider your vitamin A status. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 18, 2018 • 7min
Blood Tests for Food Allergies | Chris Masterjohn Lite #69
Many people have asked me what I think about blood tests for food allergies. In this episode, I explain. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 13, 2018 • 7min
Seasonal Allergies? Think About the Histamine in Your Food | Chris Masterjohn Lite #68
If you suffer from allergies, you may need to remove fermented, aged, and cured foods from your diet. While the ultimate solution should be to make yourself more resilient to both pollen and these foods, lowering the amount of histamine in your “histamine bucket” may provide needed relief in the short-term. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 11, 2018 • 8min
When Measuring Your Waist Circumference Doesn’t Work | Chris Masterjohn Lite #67
In the past I have recommended measuring your waist circumference in addition to your scale weight when you are trying to lose weight or gain muscle. This is an easy way to gauge how much of your change in weight is fat versus muscle. But sometimes it just doesn’t give you good information. Waist circumference is influenced not just by abdominal fat but also by the amount of undigested food in the stomach, and by retention of water and gas from hormones, inflammation, and digestive distress. This episode is about how to tell when you should and shouldn’t be measuring your waist circumference. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 6, 2018 • 8min
Why You Shouldn’t Manage Iron Overload With Diet | Chris Masterjohn Lite #66
It may seem that people at risk of iron overload should manage it by avoiding iron-rich foods, but in most cases this is a bad idea. Iron-rich foods are rich in many other nutrients, like copper, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin B12. Chelators like phytate can induce deficiencies of other minerals, like zinc. In this video, I explain why dietary management should be a last resort for iron overload. This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sep 4, 2018 • 8min
Why You Probably Don’t Need to Care About Avoiding Iron-Rich Foods | Chris Masterjohn Lite #65
A lot of people seem to think that they should avoid iron-rich foods, even if they have no reason to believe they have a genetic predisposition to iron overload. In this video, I show you why this is ridiculous. I *do* have a genetic predisposition to iron overload, and I consume over 5 times the daily value for iron, including 10 ounces of red meat, and my iron status is kept on the low end of the physiologically healthy range by donating blood about once a year. Watch the video to see the numbers! In the video, I reference this previous episode on looking up your genetics for iron overload: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/03/22/know-youre-risk-iron-overload/ This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off. To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.