Team Asprey

7 Natural Solutions to Balance Your Hormones

July 30, 2019 by Team Asprey

If you don’t sleep well, if your sex drive isn’t what it used to be, if you have a temper, if you’re holding onto excess weight, or if your moods seem to be all over the place, there’s a good chance that your hormones are imbalanced. While all of these concerns can be frustrating and even hard to talk about, there are a variety of hormone-balancing solutions for you to try, and many of them are natural.

In a recent Bulletproof Radio podcast episode (iTunes), T.S. Wiley, a prolific health writer who specializes in women’s hormonal issues and who is the brain behind a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy known as the Wiley Protocol, shares how she got turned onto hormones.

“I remember being in bed with my husband and thinking this would be what it’s like if I had a brother, because I don’t have a brother,” she say. “What the hell happened to my libido? I have a raging libido, and it was just gone one day. I thought, ‘I need hormones. I’ve got to figure this out.’”

What are hormones?

Hormones like estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, adrenaline, and growth hormones act as chemical messengers in your body. They are secreted by various glands and work in concert as part of your endocrine system to keep you in homeostasis, your body’s auto-regulated healthy state. Specifically, hormones govern your thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands, as well as your ovaries or testicles, and pancreas. The key to their functioning is in their proper levels and balance with each other.

Interested in how your hormones work together synergistically? Check out this post about Dr. Sara Gottfried’s book “The Hormone Reset Diet.”

What happens when your hormones are not balanced?

When your hormones are off, you may experience irregular periods, infertility, weight changes, mood swings, fatigue, hair loss, and insomnia. While hormone levels change with natural cycles like menopause, sometimes the result leaves you feeling less than powerful. There are also other unnatural causes of imbalanced hormones, like exposure to environmental pollutants and high levels of stress.

If you work with your doctor to get your hormone levels checked and find that they could use some recalibration, read on for tips to gently guide them back into balance.

7 natural hormone-balancing hacks

Eat healthy fats instead of carbs

Saturated fat serves as the building block for all hormone creation in your body[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3014093″] Research confirms that male athletes who eat saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and cholesterol have higher testosterone levels.[ref url=”http://jap.physiology.org/content/82/1/49″] However, testosterone is not just for male bodybuilders and athletes. Women need testosterone too, otherwise they may experience diminished sex drive and weight gain.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866448/”]

Carbohydrates, on the other hand, actually deplete your hormones, specifically testosterone. One study found that consuming 75 grams of glucose (19 teaspoons of sugar) is sufficient to lower testosterone levels by 25 percent.[ref url=”www.azcentral.com/health/news/articles/2009/06/13/20090613bloodsugar-spikes-send-testosteronelevels-down.html”]

Bottom line: While carbs throw your hormones off, saturated fat helps your body to create just the right amount of hormones. Good sources of saturated fats include:

Organic, grass-fed red meat, which is lower in dioxins (highly toxic chemical compounds that destabilize your hormones) than conventionally raised meat
Grass-fed butter or ghee
Coconut oil
Dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cacao)
Pastured egg yolks
Krill oil, wild salmon and sardines
Extra virgin olive oil
Avocados and avocado oil
Brain Octane Oil

Use adaptogenic herbs

An adaptogen is an herb that simultaneously protects the body from stress and combats the effects of stress. Ashwagandha and holy basil have very specific effects on your stress hormone (cortisol) as well as your sex hormones (estrogen and testosterone):

Ashwagandha: This adaptogen has hormone-balancing properties that help to treat sexual dysfunction and diminished sexual desire.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4609357/”]
Holy basil: Holy basil also helps to balance hormone levels, specifically by decreasing cortisol. Holy basil protects against chemical and environmental pollutants, which can contribute to other hormone imbalances.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4609357/”]

Try essential oils

Essential oils are aromatic compounds that can help to bring your hormones back into balance. They are typically used either topically on your skin, as a tincture you swallow, or as a spray mist in your home. Clary sage and geranium have proven hormone-balancing benefits:

Clary sage: Clary sage balances estrogen levels by taking the place of estrogen at its binding site.[ref url=”http://roberttisserand.com/2010/04/is-clary-sage-oil-estrogenic/”] It also helps to reduce cortisol levels in the body and improve thyroid hormone levels.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24802524″]
Geranium: Geranium relieves perimenopausal symptoms like hot flashes and breast tenderness that are caused by low levels of estrogen. It also aids your body to secrete more estrogen.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24802524″]

Take vitamin D

Vitamin D is a necessary precursor to the creation of testosterone, human growth hormone, and estrogen.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56061/”] Like saturated fat, you want to ensure your body has enough vitamin D, so that hormones can be created.

Aim for 125mcg, or 5,000 IU, a day. Also consider taking vitamin D with vitamin K2 for maximum benefit. You can try Vitamins A-D-K. The combination works together to support your bones, heart, and immune system.

Use stress management techniques

Stress-management techniques can go a long way to help your hormones to self-regulate:

Meditation: A mindfulness practice like meditation lowers cortisol levels in the blood, leading to reduced stress.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462″]

Deep breathing: While your hormones ultimately control your breathing[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12475861″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642889/”], regulating your breathing through concentrated effort also stabilizes your cortisol levels and reduces stress.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27995346″]

Focus on regular HIIT exercise

As Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey points out in “The Bulletproof Diet,” body composition and shape are directly related to your hormones. So, it’s logical to use exercise as a tool to control your hormones too. High-intensity interval training (HIIT), in particular, helps to increase testosterone and human growth hormone levels in the body.[ref url=”https://www.omicsonline.org/hormonal-and-metabolic-responses-to-high-intensity-interval-training-2161-0673.1000e132.php?aid=11001″]

Aim for quality sleep

Sleep time, duration, and quality affect your hormones. In “The Bulletproof Diet,” Dave also talks about the benefits of deep sleep, or stage three sleep, to restore your brain and body so that your hormones can be released. Growth hormones, cortisol, and hunger hormones are particularly dependent upon this quality sleep for proper release.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079864/”] While deep sleep only lasts a few minutes per cycle, your hormones are dependent upon these crucial moments to self-regulate and release into your bloodstream.

Try the Wiley Protocol

The Wiley Protocol is a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) devised by T. S. Wiley. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is the use of hormones in the form of pills or cream that are identical to those found in your body.

The Wiley Protocol uses topical hormones made from yams to address hormone imbalances affecting sleep, memory, libido, and pain levels. There are male- and female-specific protocols that take rhythmic dosage into account:

“[For the women’s protocol] I knew I had to figure out a dosing schedule. I found something that was 20:1. One milligram of estrogen to 20 milligrams of progesterone. I figured out how every three days (every 72 hours), there’s a receptor roll over (steroid receptor rollover). Every 72 hours, you make new ones [hormones]. I changed the dose every three days. You build it and they will come. I made the tipping points.” To learn more, listen to the Wiley podcast episode [LINK].

What’s Behind the Mask? Ways to Discover Your True Self

July 2, 2019 by Team Asprey

Today, we welcome Emotional Intelligence Expert, Chenoa Maxwell as a guest author on the Bulletproof Blog. Founder of the Live Limitlessly practice, Chenoa rose from the darkness of attempted suicide as a teenager to her own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Chenoa now helps celebrities, Fortune 500 companies and people around the world live a limitless life.You can listen to her chat with Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey on this episode of Bulletproof Radio(iTunes).

The saying, “Know Thyself” seems pretty self-explanatory, right?

While you may have heard this widely-used phrase, you still may continue to underestimate the importance and the benefits of what truly “knowing” yourself means.

For many of us the answer to the question, “Who am I? “ has been significantly influenced and shaped by so many outside sources, that unless you have spent conscious, considerable time getting to know yourself, you don’t really know the core of your being at all.

The truth is, you move through life crafting narratives of who you want to be, or what you want to have thus, creating aspects of your identity that you either want to present to others or you wish to hide. Read on to learn why we hide who we really are, and ways to connect with and discover your true self.

How you’re masking who you really are

Unbeknownst to you, over time you end up creating “masks” in order to shield, protect, influence or dictate who you want others to see or respond to.

In Paul Laurence Dubar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” he writes: “We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.”

Some of us invent wonderfully ornate and decorative masks by design. They become so elaborate and laborious that these particular masks eventually begin to dictate how we move through the world. Everything is by design. Who we befriend. Who we love. What we consider success. How we rate beauty. The more elaborate the mask, and the more it is worn, the more your authentic self is hidden. Not only do you no longer know yourself, you don’t even really know how you are feeling.

But what happens as the mask chips, cracks, wears, and tears?

Because at some point it eventually does, and your authentic self always manages to catch up to you no matter how much you try to run or hide from it.

You may have heard the saying, “No matter where you go, there you are.” And no matter what — no matter how successful, how famous, how curated, how far and fast you run from your life, the exhaustion of keeping the mask manicured is going to catch up with you. And then the cracks and fissures in the mask are going to expose what is really behind the facade.

The path to self-acceptance

You wear a mask when you live in fear, ideals, and you don’t know and accept yourself as you are. Knowing who you are means being self-aware, matching who you are with who you say you are, and being aware of how you are feeling and what is happening on the inside. Only then can you begin to accept yourself instead of judging yourself. Accepting yourself means not being ashamed of the person you are.

When you know yourself to the core of your being authentically, you are empowered. When you accept who you are and you are okay with it, then you become invincible.

What would happen if you took the time to really know yourself and loved yourself so deeply that you never felt the need to conceal your feelings or parts of your identity?

Ways to discover your authentic self

Get quiet: By taking a little time each day to be quiet and present with yourself, you can hear your thoughts, get in touch with your feelings, and spend time getting to know your core desires and values better. This could be through meditation [link to blog post] or journaling. Once you are able to create a bit more self-awareness on why you are putting on a mask, and who you can let it down with, you will be more free to be yourself.
Ask questions: Think about a time when you have pretended to be something that you are not or when you have hidden your true feelings. Ask yourself, why did I choose to hide a part of my identity? Knowing and being your truest self begins with being brave enough to pay attention to the situations and circumstances under which you hide.

When you lack self knowledge, then true happiness, success, and lasting pure love is elusive and fleeting.

An important first step in the process of awakening love inside of self and in every relationship, is reintroducing yourself to you.

Know thyself. Be love. Live limitlessly!

Learn more at livelimitlessly.com.

7 Most Powerful Anti-Aging Superfoods

June 24, 2019 by Team Asprey

The Truth About Superfoods: What Really Makes Them “Super”?

You’ve seen the buzz around foods like acai berries, salmon, avocados, and kale, all celebrated as “superfoods.” But what does it actually mean for a food to be “super”? The term “superfood” is often used as a marketing tactic to suggest that a food is packed with nutrients that can boost your health and performance. While it sounds impressive, the label can be overused, with everything from snacks to smoothies claiming superfood status.

What to Really Look for in a Superfood

A true superfood goes beyond just having vitamins and minerals; it’s loaded with antioxidants. These powerful compounds fight oxidation and inflammation, helping to protect your cells from aging prematurely. The more antioxidants you include in your diet, the better it is for your long-term health.

Maximize Your Antioxidant Intake

Fill your plate with a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, and even seafood to boost your antioxidant intake. The vibrant colors often signal high concentrations of these beneficial nutrients.

Explore the top 7 antioxidant-rich superfoods to keep you fit, resilient, and youthful. Read on to discover the foods that pack the most powerful anti-aging benefits.

Download this list of the top anti-aging superfoods to add to your diet now

Top antioxidant-rich superfood list

To index every superfood here would leave you with a hefty shopping list, but fortunately, the National Institute on Aging developed a ranking system. The ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scale measures the antioxidant capacity of different foods. Foods with high ORAC scores boast potent antioxidants in lab tests, and include leafy greens, colorful fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, and certain spices, herbs, and teas.

Antioxidant-rich superfoods usually contain several antioxidant compounds, with one or two making up the brunt of their composition. Here, the top superfoods to keep you fit, resilient, and young.

1. Glutathione

If there’s one antioxidant you remember, make it this one: Nicknamed the “master antioxidant” for its free-radical-busting superpowers, glutathione is crucial to detoxing and boosting performance in every cell of your body. This powerful antioxidant is your body’s natural detox agent: it protects against inflammation, oxidation and toxins, while supporting your mitochondria, boosting immunity, and recharging other antioxidants and enzymes. (It’s even great for hangovers!)

While your cells produce some themselves, today’s polluted, high-stress world can quickly sap your glutathione stores. It’s a good idea to take a supplement, or give your body the raw building blocks to build its own, from n-acetyl-l-cysteine, glutamine, alpha-lipoic acid, or grass-fed whey.

2. Co-enzyme Q10

CoQ10 is another potent antioxidant produced in your body, and used to protect all cell membranes. Its antioxidant abilities make it necessary for cell communication, mitochondrial function, and ATP formation. Low CoQ10 levels are associated with a range of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative, muscular and cardiac diseases, as well as diabetes and cancer. CoQ10 also helps re-fuel other antioxidants, keeping you young and resilient. As you age, your body has a tougher time converting CoQ10 into its active form, ubiquinone, so consider adding supplements or ubiquinone-rich foods like organ meats and fatty fish.

3. Vitamin C

On top of being vital for collagen formation and a big immunity-booster, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is also a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C easily donates electrons to neutralize free radicals, and help prevent oxidation in your body. [8] It’s also used to manufacture glutathione, another big name antioxidant.

Load up your plate with vitamin C-rich foods, including broccoli, spinach, and sweet potatoes. It can be hard to get enough vitamin C from food, so supplement with at least 500mg per day.

4. Vitamin E

Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a fat soluble antioxidant, and protects the fats in your cell membranes from oxidation and damage. It plays a big role in protecting your skin from damage and aging caused by the free radicals that form with UV exposure. There are 8 forms of vitamin E, although your body’s preferred form is ?-tocopherol. You can up your vitamin E intake by incorporating more nuts, seeds, and olive oil in your diet.

5. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)

Lipoic acid is known as the “universal antioxidant” for its ability to ease oxidative stress throughout the body. Studies show that ALA supports lowering glucose levels in diabetic conditions, boosts mitochondrial function, and fights premature aging. ALA also has neuroprotective and cancer-fighting effects, and acts as an anti-inflammatory. On top of its own benefits, ALA can also help recharge vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione to be useful again as antioxidants. Your body makes some ALA to cover basic functions, but higher amounts are needed to tap into its potential as an antioxidant. You can boost your ALA intake from muscle and organ meats, or supplements. Aim for between 300 and 600mg a day.

6. Astaxanthin

This powerful antioxidant comes from red marine algae, and is what gives wild salmon and crustaceans their reddish flesh. Astaxanthin is a highly potent antioxidant that prevents oxidative stress in your brain, nervous system and heart, and boosts your mitochondrial energy production.

Astaxanthin makes its mark as as an eye and skin defender. It slows and reverses age-related eye degeneration and accumulates in your skin to protect you from UVA rays and prevent wrinkles and sun damage. Load up on astaxanthin by eating wild-caught seafood (especially salmon), or supplementing with a high quality krill oil supplement.

7. Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a diverse group of antioxidant plant chemicals that promote memory, learning, and cognitive function by protecting your brain from oxidation and inflammation. You can find them in berries, teas, dark chocolate, and coffee.

Here are two especially potent flavonoid antioxidants you want to add to your diet:

Resveratrol: You can find resveratrol in cocoa, red wine, and the skins of grapes and blueberries. As a strong antioxidant, its anti-aging superpowers include boosting cardiovascular health, protecting skin, and defense against cancer, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.
Fisetin: Recent studies with mice found that the anti-aging antioxidant fisetin increases lifespan by about 10 percent and improves quality of life with age. Clinical trials are underway to see if the same is true for humans, but for now it can’t hurt to add more strawberries, apples, persimmons, and cucumber to your plate. Fisetin also shows promise in protecting from stroke, Alzheimer’s, and depression, and helps reduce inflammation-related disease by knocking out several inflammatory compounds.

17 Proven Ways to Heal Your Gut Microbiome

June 20, 2019 by Team Asprey

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Your gut microbiome is involved in nearly every aspect of your health, so you want to pay attention to the trillions of microbes living in and on you.
Ways to reduce damage and promote good gut microbiome health include: avoiding gut-damaging behavior, staying away from certain foods, and taking a gut microbiome test.

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Your gut microbiome is involved in nearly every aspect of your health. So, if you want to feel better, have more energy, and improve your overall well-being, you’ve got to pay attention to the trillions of microbes living in and on you.

Your richest population of microbes by far is found in your gut. This is great news because your gut microbes are heavily affected by your diet and behavior – meaning you have a lot of influence over the activity of your gut microbe population, also called the gut microbiota.

These little guys are your body’s natural pharmacy: they help you digest your food, influence your mood, and even help you maintain a healthy weight. The science of the gut microbiome has given us new insight into what it means to be healthy. We now know that to truly be healthy, we must take the right steps not only for ourselves, but also for our microbiomes.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can reduce damage and promote good gut microbiome health with 17 science-backed ways to heal your gut microbiome.

Avoid gut-damaging behavior

The following are 4 gut-damaging factors, according to science.

1. NSAIDS

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen influence the composition of the gut microbiome.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26482265″] NSAIDs also increase intestinal permeability (leaky gut) in as little as 24 hours after ingestion.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19148789″]

NSAIDs are a double whammy when it comes to your gut health. So, when it comes to taking Advil for your headache, you should ask yourself – is it really worth it?

Order your Viome Gut Intelligence test for $199 (aff link)

2. Antibiotics

Antibiotics are another medication we need to be better about weighing the costs against the benefits. While there are times when it’s necessary to take antibiotics, as a society we use them far too liberally.

Because antibiotics don’t discriminate between the microbes they blast through, you are killing both good and bad bacteria when you take a dose.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27028893″] Antibiotics are like a nuclear bomb for your gut microbiome, which can cause consequences like dysbiosis to last for years after you take them.

3. Stress

There are many lines of communication between your gut microbiome and brain along the vagus nerve through the immune system, gut hormone signalling, tryptophan signalling, and microbial metabolites.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29276734″] Through these pathways, stress can have a significant effect on gut microbiome composition and intestinal permeability. On the flip side, dysbiosis and leaky gut can contribute to low-grade inflammation and potentially contribute to stress-related psychiatric disorders.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604320/”]

This cyclical gut-brain axis takes stress reduction to the next level. Not only should you try to reduce daily stress through exercise, mindfulness, and meditation, but you’ll also benefit from working to improve your mental health through your gut health.

4. Smoking

Hopefully, you aren’t smoking. But if you are, here’s yet another reason to quit. Smoking changes the composition of the microbiome. Some studies have found that the changes in the gut microbiome caused by smoking resemble the microbiomes of people with conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and obesity.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29626219″]

Yikes.This means if you’re smoking, you can be causing shifts in your gut microbiome towards disease states.

Avoid gut-damaging foods

The following are three gut-damaging foods, according to science. Remember, there could be more foods to add to this list depending on your unique gut microbiome.

5. Sugar

You may have heard by now that sugar can wreak havoc on your gut. High-sugar diets alter gut microbiome composition and function.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1379072/”] Bad bacteria and other microbes like the fungus Candida albican love sugars. When you reduce your sugar intake, you reduce the food supply to harmful gut microbes.

Western diets are extremely high in refined sugar due in part to the hidden sugars in so many processed foods. When you lower your sugar intake make sure there isn’t any hiding in your favorite sauces, condiments, and more.

6. Artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are sometimes thought to be a better alternative to sugar due to the lack of calories. But when it comes to your gut health, artificial sweeteners are bad news. Artificial sweeteners are capable of inducing dysbiosis and contributing to metabolic abnormalities. Artificial sweeteners also promote glucose intolerance through changing the composition and functions of the gut microbiota.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4377866/”]

In an effort to lose weight you might have switched to artificial sweeteners, but science shows this may be doing you more harm than good.

7. GMO foods

When it comes to genetically modified organisms or GMOs, the problem lies in the fact they’ve been modified to withstand the harsh chemicals that are being sprayed on them. Specifically, GMOs are made to withstand glyphosate, more commonly known as Roundup.

Essentially, when you eat GMO food you run the risk of consuming glyphosate and glyphosate contributes to dysbiosis and leaky gut.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841035/”]

How to Increase Good Bacteria in the Gut Naturally

Below are 10 factors that can positively impact your gut microbiome.Most of these are pretty easy to implement. Let’s get real about gut health!

8. Take a gut microbiome test

Taking a gut microbiome test to learn about your personal gut health is a great way to gain profound insights and personalized recommendations. While there are many gut microbiome tests on the market, Viome is the only test with RNA sequencing technology that can see down to the strain level, and it includes the metabolites being produced by your gut microbes. Viome uses artificial intelligence analysis to develop personalized food recommendations so you can put your individual findings into action.

Learn more about Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test – Now only $199 (aff link)

9. Get dirty

Decades ago, many more people used to live on farms. However, we gradually move to the cities and with that move we’ve lost microbial diversity in our day-to-day lives.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25231862″] Research on how certain environments impact the health of the gut finds that microbe-rich environments like farms have a protective effect on the gut microbiome.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/”]

This suggests that to counterbalance city life, we should take opportunities to play outside in nature more. Not only is nature beautiful and enjoyable, it can also increase the good bacteria in the gut.

10. Exercise

We know exercise is good for us, but the way in which it affects the gut microbiome composition and metabolic activity is yet another reason for us to exercise regularly. Exercise increases the number of beneficial microbial species, enriches diversity, and specifically promotes commensal bacteria.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18089942″] Commensal bacteria are those that we derive certain nutrients from, making them extra good for us.

Exercise isn’t just good for you, it’s good for the health of your microbes too!

11. Stick to a schedule

You probably think of your circadian rhythm as your sleep and wake cycle, but it’s much more than that. Your whole body runs on internal circadian rhythms that keep you healthy when they stay on time. Your gut microbiome has a delicate microbial rhythm as well, which is regulated by what you eat and when you eat it. When timing is thrown off, like when you change time zones or work a graveyard shift, it can contribute to diseases.

When you stick to a healthy schedule, this can significantly impact your metabolism and immune system homeostasis.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5635058/”]

12. Get a dog

Exposing children to household pets has been shown to reduce allergies and obesity.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357536/”] These fascinating findings are believed to be because pets increase gut microbiome diversity. Pets do more than just bring us immense joy, making it a good idea to get a furry friend for your family.

13. Improve your home microbiome

Now that we know how important microbes are to our health, it’s no surprise that we are finding the microbes of the home are also important.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27793218″] That’s right, your home also has a microbiome. A few things can be done to improve the microbiome of your home, including avoiding harsh cleaning products, getting an air filter, checking for mold, and even using home probiotics.

14. Get veggies from your local farm

Buying your vegetables from a local, organic farm could be good for your gut microbiome because they are more likely to be grown in soil rich with microbes. It appears that gut microbes and soil microbes share evolutionary trends.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5382463/”] Eating vegetables grown in healthy soil can help gut microbiome health through increasing diversity and richness.

15. Vaginal birth

While you don’t have much say over how you were born, the delivery method plays a big role in the formation of the gut microbiome for future children. It’s ideal if babies are delivered vaginally because this helps build a strong and resilient gut microbiome.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661444/”]

If you had to have a cesarean section – fear not! You can help your baby build a strong gut microbiome with baby probiotics and possibly vaginal swabbing.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3536091/”] Vagina swabbing is a relatively new concept and should not be done on your own. Some hospitals are putting it into practice, so be sure to bring it up with your doctor.

16. Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is another important time for gut microbiome development.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23926244/”] There is bacteria in a mother’s breast milk that seeds the gut and helps strengthen the immune system. We’ve come to realize that breastfeeding is not only important for nutrient delivery but also for gut microbiome health, setting a child up for a healthier life.

17. Sleep well

Poor sleep can change the composition of the gut microbiome and negatively impact health.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26828196″] It’s important that you’re not only getting plenty of sleep, but also that your sleep is high quality. We tend to focus on getting between 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, but if your sleep is interrupted this can prevent your body from going into the deepest, most healing stages of sleep. Things like snoring, interrupted breathing, and sleeping with a pet can all negatively impact your quality of sleep.

The great gut microbiome diet myth

You probably noticed there aren’t any specific foods listed thus far. But if you were to do a quick Google search you’d probably see some of the following:

Fiber
Fermented foods
Bone broth
Yogurt

Truth is, there are no “best foods for the gut microbiome.” Remember, your gut microbiome is unique to you and therefore your ideal diet is going to be one-of-a-kind. Having a healthy gut microbiome is dependent on diversity, so try and incorporate plenty of organic vegetables into your diet to cover your bases.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28492938″] Also, consider getting a gut microbiome test that is designed to help increase microbial diversity, like Viome (aff link).

Probiotics are also not on this list because although they’ve been found to be helpful in many cases, it’s likely that they should also be individualized in the same way your diet should. Also, there are tons of variations in quality, strain, and outcome. So be sure to do your research if you take probiotics and make sure you’re taking the right one for you.

The potential for improving your health through your gut microbiome is proving to be exciting and powerful science. One thing is for sure, your gut microbiome is unique and therefore future health advice must be personalized to reflect these scientific findings. Order your Viome Gut Intelligence test for $199 (aff link).

5 Ways You’re Slowing Down Your Metabolism

June 17, 2019 by Team Asprey

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Even if you’re conscious about your health, it’s possible you’re unintentionally slowing down your metabolism — or overlooking metabolism-boosting opportunities.
Learn about the five mistakes that may be slowing down your metabolism, plus ways to increase it.

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In terms of universally coveted things, a lightning-fast metabolism has to be right up there with the fountain of youth. After all, a fully-functioning metabolism makes losing weight and staying in shape a lot easier. However, even if you’re conscious about your health, it’s possible you’re unintentionally slowing down your metabolism — or overlooking metabolism-boosting opportunities. Here, five mistakes you might be making, plus ways to increase your metabolism.

1. Your go-to workout is running, biking, or some other form of cardio

Even if you’re sweating on the reg, if your primary form of exercise is cardio, you’re missing out on the opportunity to rev up your metabolism. Instead, reach for those dumbbells (or resistance bands, or body-weight exercises). Strength training could be your ticket to a speedier metabolism. You see, that hella-cut six pack and pair of rippling biceps aren’t just easy on the eye; having more muscle helps you burn more fat.[ref url=”https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.2002.282.1.E132″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2243122″]

In fact, one study found that resistance training helped boost subjects’ resting metabolic rate by 7 percent.[ref url=”https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/fulltext/2012/07000/Resistance_Training_is_Medicine___Effects_of.13.aspx”] What’s more, you don’t have to do hours of reps to reap the metabolic benefits of resistance training. Researchers found that as little as 11 minutes of resistance training, three days a week, was linked to a faster metabolic rate and increased fat- and calorie-burn.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2862249/”]

Do this: Pump iron (or do body weight exercises) 3 times a week to increase your metabolism. Download this printable workout for building muscle now.

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2. You’re skipping your morning coffee

Need another reason to start your day with a Bulletproof Coffee? Caffeine can help fire up your metabolism. One study found that as little as one cup of coffee consumed in the morning can have a positive effect on your resting metabolic rate.[ref url=”https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jbcpp.2017.28.issue-1/jbcpp-2016-0090/jbcpp-2016-0090.xml”] Other literature reviewed in the study found that consuming caffeine before exercising can also boost the fat- and calorie-burning effects of your workout. If you don’t drink coffee, green tea can also do the trick. Research shows it’s a metabolism booster in its own right, thanks in part to the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).[ref url=”https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2009135″]

Do this: To increase your metabolism, drink Bulletproof Coffee each morning. Switch to green tea in the afternoon.

3. You’re not getting a good night’s sleep

Here’s some motivation for hitting the hay at a reasonable hour: Adequate sleep can help prevent weight gain. A 2012 study found a correlation between a longer total sleep time — and particularly the time spent in the deeper stages of sleep — and a higher resting metabolic rate. In other words, sleep quality is as important as quantity.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3517705/”] Conversely, not getting enough sleep or having disruptive sleep has been linked to a more sluggish metabolic rate, as well as potentially increasing your risk for diabetes and obesity.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678519/”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2398753/”]

Do this: Get more high-quality zzz’s by turning off electronics two hours before bedtime and sleeping in a pitch-black room. Get more science-backed sleep hacks here.

4. You aren’t hacking your gut bacteria

To lose weight and keep it off, you need to show some love to your gut — and specifically to slimming gut bacteria. Among the organisms hanging out in your gut, there are two big players when it comes to metabolism: beneficial Bacteroidetes and metabolism-thwarting Firmicutes. Research has shown that obese people and animals tend to have a greater proportion of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, while lean people have more Bacteroidetes.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154098/”]

Fortunately, your gut microbiome makeup isn’t predestined. You can cultivate the friendly bacteria residing in your gut by feeding it prebiotics (foods your gut loves). Load up on polyphenols (think brightly colored fruits like raspberries or blueberries). Coffee’s another great source of polyphenols. Eating more high-fiber foods and resistant starch may also help shift the Bacteroidetes-to-Firmicutes ratio in your favor to increase metabolism.[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/101/1/55/4564325″]

Do this: Eat high-fiber vegetables, foods high in resistant starch liked cooked and cooled white rice, and brightly colored berries.

5. You’re cutting calories

Yes, this goes against all of the weight-loss diets that have been peddled for years, but restricting calories can have a negative effect on your resting metabolic rate[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/72/5/1088/4729774″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19198647/”] that can last beyond your dieting days.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4989512/”] Restricting your calorie intake can also impact your body’s metabolism-friendly leptin levels.[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/102/4/807/4564599″]

Leptin is a hormone that tells your brain when you should stop eating.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/25232147/”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4170570/”] A fully-functioning leptin system helps regulate your energy homeostasis[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/3/980S/4596832″] (aka keeping the calories you consume and expend balanced), while leptin deficiencies have been linked to obesity.[ref url=”https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2005.178″]

You can hack the leptin in your body by avoiding fructose[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/3/980S/4596832″] and high-lectin foods (that’s not a typo — lectin with a “c” is a protein that can mess with your gut), which can contribute to leptin resistance. (Here are some other ways to make leptin work for your metabolism).

Do this: Instead of counting calories, focus on quality, whole foods and eat until you’re comfortable, not full.

Could Understanding Your Gut Microbiome Help Reverse Autoimmune Disease?

June 14, 2019 by Team Asprey

Your gut microbiome is more than a collection of bacteria. It’s a complex ecosystem of around 100 trillion microbes that can include bacteria, archaea, viruses like bacteriophages, yeast and fungi, as well as parasites. It helps to think of this ecosystem of microbes more like an organ. In fact, your gut microbiome weighs between four and five pounds, making it heavier than your brain.

Your gut is home to the majority of your immune system, around 70 to 80% of all immune system cells. So it’s not surprising that this ecosystem plays a huge role in the development of autoimmune disease. Read on to learn more about the link between an imbalanced gut and autoimmune issues, and the best ways to heal your gut microbiome.

Leaky gut and autoimmune disease

Think of the gut microbial ecosystem as a rainforest, in that it thrives when there is high biodiversity. Unfortunately, antibiotics, toxins, a diet high in processed foods, and the overall Western way of life have contributed to a significant loss in diversity, stability, adaptability, and resilience of the gut microbiome. That’s a problem, and here’s why: A gut microbiome imbalance (dysbiosis) contributes to leaky gut syndrome and immune system dysregulation – which can lead to autoimmune disease.

The leaky gut and autoimmune connection is more than an association – these two conditions lie on a spectrum. As the leakiness of your gut worsens, you’re more and more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. On the opposite end, when you take steps to repair your gut lining, you move towards reversing autoimmunity.

How to tell if you have a leaky gut

If you have an autoimmune condition, it is likely that you have a leaky gut. Here are the 9 signs you have a leaky gut:

Chronic or recurring digestive issues: These can range from mild gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation to debilitating irritable bowel syndrome and more.
Food sensitivities or allergies: When a patient comes into my office with a food sensitivity, this tells me they likely have a leaky gut. The more sensitivities they have, the leakier their gut is likely to be.
Brain fog: Difficulty thinking, concentrating or even ADD (attention-deficit disorder).
Mood-related issues: Leaky gut often contributes to anxiety and depression.
Skin conditions: Rosacea, eczema, dandruff, acne, and psoriasis are all associated with leaky gut.
Seasonal allergies: Allergies and asthma are other common signs of leaky gut.
Hormonal imbalances: Irregular periods and hormone-related conditions are exacerbated by leaky gut.
Autoimmune disease: Leaky gut leads to autoimmunity. So if you’ve received an official diagnosis, it’s time to work on healing your gut.
Chronic fatigue: Gut issues can contribute to extreme fatigue and related diagnoses like fibromyalgia.

If you experience one or more of the symptoms above, you’ll want to take steps towards healing your gut.

As mentioned, leaky gut and autoimmune disease lie on a spectrum. As your gut health degrades and you develop symptoms, it becomes more and more likely your immune system will be sent into hyperdrive – eventually resulting in an autoimmune disease.

Optimizing gut intelligence could help you heal faster

To repair your gut you want to:

Remove damaging elements.
Restore essential ingredients that might be missing.
Reinoculate beneficial bacteria and other microbes.
Repair by providing nutrients that help to repair the lining of the gut.

Your gut microbiome is completely unique. What if you had a way to see into your gut and identify even more closely the specifics of your gut microbiome composition and activity, so you could further individualize food and nutrient recommendations?

That’s where a gut test comes in.

Viome’s testing uses metatranscriptomic sequencing of the gut microbiome. That simply means it can identify all your active microbes down to the strain level, and understand exactly what each of your microbes is doing, eating, producing, and how they are interacting with each other. Through an expert trained AI analysis engine, Viome is able to give personalized dietary and nutrient recommendations that will help to balance your unique microbiome.

Learn more about Viome’s Gut Intelligence Test

Find the perfect diet to heal your gut

Reversing your autoimmune condition starts with your diet, and eating the foods that are right for you. You begin that process by eliminating inflammatory foods — the foods that cause your immune system to go into overdrive.

Gluten and dairy are major culprits behind leaky gut and autoimmunity, but there may be other problematic foods that are exacerbating the issue, including so-called “health” foods.

For example, a food component called oxalates are common in foods like spinach, chard, kale, nuts, seeds, and cocoa. Viome has identified that about 40% of their customers’ microbiomes are not able to metabolize oxalates in a way that neutralizes their damaging effects. Ingesting oxalate-rich foods without having the bacteria that can properly metabolize them can cause big problems, especially if you already have a leaky gut.

But how do you know if you belong to the 40% of people who should eat fewer oxalate-containing foods? Viome’s testing can provide you with that information.

When you minimize problematic foods, you significantly reduce the wear and tear on your gut. It’s like pulling back the troops and giving your gastrointestinal lining a chance to recover and regroup – and it’s an essential step in reversing autoimmune disease.

Viome recommends food for better inoculation

This is one of the most fascinating aspects of Viome testing. With today’s probiotics we only have access to maybe 30 or so different strains of bacteria – but your gut contains hundreds of different strains of bacteria, not to mention all the viruses, fungi, and more, meaning available probiotics are barely making a dent in the biodiversity that should be there.

High levels of biodiversity make a stronger gut microbiome, which in turn supports a stronger immune system – but we are limited by what’s available on the market.

Viome testing, analysis, and recommendations specifically tell you what to eat in order to manipulate the microbe activity in your gut. This tips the scales in your favor. Not only do you get targeted nutrition advice that tells you exactly what to eat to optimize your gut – you also learn what is going to feed beneficial microbes, while reducing harmful ones.

Your microbes are like picky children — they only like certain foods. When you get your Viome results back, the recommendations tell you which foods you should eat to support the best microbes for your health and wellness.

Improving gut health from multiple angles

Viome is a new technology that was originally created for biodefense purposes. When you’re working on reversing autoimmune disease, add Viome to your biohacking arsenal. Knowing what’s going on in your gut is the first step to healing it.

Order your Viome Gut Intelligence Test now for only $149

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