Mastering Nutrition

In this short episode, I describe how voodoo flossing my computer-damaged wrists has made a tremendous difference in my ability to tolerate weight lifting (especially Olympic lifting) without wrist pain. I use a protocol from Kinetics Sports Rehab that I modify slightly to make my own, which builds on a concept developed by Kelly Starrett of San Francisco CrossFit and MobilityWOD. I don't think yo...

In this episode I describe why a set of two yoga blocks has beenone of my best low-cost investments in the last year, playing avariety of unexpected roles around my apartment, and allowing me tomake major strides in increasing the diversity of positions I canwork in to get a healthier level of hip mobility. A standing deskis not enough, and yoga blocks allow me to rest in a squattingposition or si...

In this episode, I respond to a listener's question aboutwhether glycation is a good argument against a high-carbohydratediet. I agree that we should avoid refined carbs and emptycalories, but in this episode I describe why "glycation" is reallya misnomer and why carbohydrate is actually likely to protectagainst glycation. Glycation can be driven by the metabolism ofprotein, carbohydrate, and fat....

In this episode I describe how I have designed my evening and morning routines to maximize my quality sleep and productivity. I include the roles of blue-light deprivation using f.lux, iOS 9.3 Nightshift, blue-blocking amber fits-over glasses and lights from lowbluelights.com. I also include the roles of list-making, television, movies, video games, paperback fiction, making the bed, morning walks...

I am often asked what I eat, so here is my answer. To simultaneously meet the goals of productivity, fat loss, and good nutrition over the last few months, I get most of my food through Thrive Market and Whole Foods via Instacart, use Epic Liver Bites, Kettle and Fire broth, fresh meats, eggs, cheese, starches cooked in big batches, and supplemental fruits and vegetables. I also discuss how I have...

In his April 7, 2016 piece in The Guardian, "The Sugar Conspiracy" Ian Leslie argues that the politics of nutrition has blinded us to the fact that sugar is more deserving than saturated fat of the status of dietary arch-villain and that the politics continue but the status of sugar and saturated fat are starting to switch. But we need to move beyond nutritional boogeymen, not switch one for anoth...

Is it really true that saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are the "bad fats" and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are the "good fats"? Christopher Ramsden uncovered previously unpublished data undermining the conventional wisdom that we should replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. The public health establishment dismissed the findin...

Why I drink coffee and won't apologize for it, but why I'm skeptical of the large body of literature associating coffee consumption with reduced disease risk. Do we drink coffee by choice? Sort of. I discuss why our genes may play a role in our coffee consumption and may be the ultimate influence on the risk of diseases that ultimately cannot be changed by coffee consumption. Access the show notes...