Today’s PrimalMed Prescription…be a “fat-burning” beast!..
Which fuel should YOU choose? Sugar, Fat….or both?
I never know what I’m gonna talk about until Monday.. an idea hits and I cobble together a random musing….it ain’t Pulitzer prize material…my go to line is… “I’m honing my craft!” So please indulge me today while I tell the tale of fat, fuel and why we need to be a Prius. This one’s a little longer so grab your coffee☕️
Here’s the deal.. our bodies NEED fuel… everyday!. We need fuel to breathe. We need fuel for our organs to function. Most of our caloric intake is deployed just to keep us alive (it’s called our basal metabolic rate for us geeks). But we also need fuel to think, move, and to write newsletters etc. So.. which fuel do we choose to allow our bodies to function at it’s most efficient.. and derive as much cellular energy with as little cellular damage as possible?
WE get to CHOOSE which fuel to use. The two major fuels or energy sources are Carbs and Fats…or.. for those scientifically inclined… Glucose ( glycogen) and fatty acids. (I’m not counting the minor players Protein, Alcohol or Ketones)
Now here’s the car analogy….We can be a Ferrari.. a pure gas guzzler which burns fuel (glucose) to create energy at a very high rate and throws off all sorts of pollution ( think using oil soaked rags and kindling wood to stoke the fire). Or….We can be a Tesla… which is all electric.. and uses electricity (fat) as its fuel .. energy at a slow and steady rate…clean burning fuel with no pollution ( stoke that fire with big logs that burn long and clean). Being strictly one or the other, ironically, actually makes you metabolically inflexible and unable to use the other substrate.
PrimalMed says… BE a Prius.. a hybrid.. a metabolically flexible machine that uses both fuels (shifting strategically between fat and glucose) efficiently, according to our bodies needs at any given time.
And to “fuel” the analogy.. consider that we have 2 tanks for fuel in our bodies…. when we take in sugar and glucose.. we can store 2000 cal in our liver and muscles as glycogen OR over 40,000 cal in our fat cells…as fatty acids. Storing fat in our fat cells and using it for energy is aligned with our ancestral genes.. we were meant to go long periods of time without calories and use fat as a fuel. In fact, FAT is our default fuel. It is our default factory setting. Our bodies prefer burning fat over sugar as an energy source. But can you access that mega-fat tank?… or are you just able to access the small glucose tank?
Question: Are you hangry if you don’t eat 6 meals a day with snacks?.. Then you just have access to your glycogen tank. You slam down the carbs and get a sugar spike, your insulin rises to handle the glucose load, your blood sugar then drops and your brain cries out for more fuel. “More sugar, more sugar!” You’re hungry, foggy and groggy in 2 hours and you repeat and repeat and repeat the cycle. Those continual sugar spikes are a constant stressor, which fuels chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and leads to a whole host of chronic disease.
TO REPEAT.. if all you burn is sugar, then you constantly have to feed your body sugar. Constant processing of sugar, and constant insulin responses is what will age you faster than a Ferrari tearin up the autobahn. Insulin has many crucial functions but .. it IS a fat storage hormone. Constant high insulin levels brings the excess glucose into the cell which can get stored as fat AND keep fat locked in your cells and not accessible as a fuel source….Say NO to the continual Insulin drip!!! Your body needs to have some downtime and not always be processing quick burning fuel….
You do have TONS of fuel at your disposal.. its in your hips and butt and thighs. Even the leanest 12% body fat athlete has 40,000 cal of high test octane. The typical American with 30-40% body fat?..probably over 100,000 stored cal of fuel. But if you are carb dependent… you can’t access that energy..it’s trapped in your fat cells.
We need to be a PRIUS.. a hybird… so we can access the glucose tank in times of stress or high energy need, but ALWAYS rely first on our fat tank to fuel us when we sleep at night and move and work during the day. Burn fat, not sugar… Fat burns slow and smooth.. and doesn’t prompt an insulin response…no energy crashes, no more hangry. Less fat storage and less inflammation…and that = happy you !!!
So pray tell….HOW do we get there?..HOW do we become fat-burning beasts? Make sure glucose is NOT always available !!! Make sure insulin is not always activated. Our bodies will LEARN to utilize the available fuel sources or those it is fed. When you wake up…ask yourself….DO I REALLY NEED FUEL? or is it a ritual?..maybe, just maybe we can teach our bodies to access our fat stores by NOT feeding it first thing in the AM. Have a cup of coffee (no sugar) and go for a walk. Coffee mobilizes free fatty acids so your body can use fat as fuel. Allow your body a chance to access the fuel belt you are always wearing around your hips rather than hitting it with grains or cereal and juice first thing in the morning. Try to have your first meal a little later in the day and fuel yourself then with healthy fats and protein (the incredible, edible egg). Learn to NOT snack/ fuel yourself all day long (and turn off that continuous insulin drip). Give your body a chance to access its own fuel stores.
Carbs are not the bogey man, but excessive carbs all day long WILL set you up for energy spikes and crashes and, unless you are obsessively exercising morning, noon and night to utilize the glucose in your muscles the excess carbs will convert to triglycerides (fat) that winds up in your love handles and in your liver.
Our bodies are agile.. and they will learn to access the fuel source it is fed. The best fuel.. the fat you have stored in your body. The second best?.. the fat you eat. The PrimalMed take?….Teach your bodies to “burn fat” by eating later in the day and prioritizing protein and healthy fats in your meals…….use carbs and insulin as strategic tools…think “Responsible Carb Inclusion.” More on that in the future…..
Today’s PrimalMed Prescription?….. Learn to utilize FAT as your preferred energy input. Your best health is achieved when you access the fuel that your ancestral genes prefer…and your genes prefer fat !!!
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Thanks Nancy. Glad you like the content. Share with all your like-minded friends !!!
Very interesting Dr metzger