There’s a lot of important discussion around macronutrients in the nutrition world regarding what percentage of our daily calories should ideally come from protein versus carb versus fat. In all this discussion, what’s often overlooked is the fact that simply overeating puts a stress on the system. And what’s never discussed is the fact that pro-inflammatory PUFA fat from seed oils puts more of a stress on the system than clean burning, traditional fats.
[For description of PUFA, seed oils, and traditional fats click here]
I think we should include a fourth macronutrient: time between meals.
The longer you can go without a meal or a snack or a beverage other than water, the healthier your mitochondria will be.
But the calorie-counting folks do have a valid point: Calories matter. The reasons they propose are horribly oversimplified and their calorie balance equation doesn’t explain the illnesses that develop from gaining fat.
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Kobe Bryant
NBA baskeball player
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I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic.
Leontyne Tompkins
I feel free
For the last month, I have really been reading all labels on everything. I have completely remove those 8 oils you talk about. I must tell you, I feel great! I have more energy and I am now 197 lbs (have always been around 205 to 210lbs). I eat potatoes with real butter, grass fed steak, pasta with the right toppings. I eat everything! I seem to crave less sugar. I love it!
Robert Kirkendall
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The biggest difference for me (and a surprising one) is that my allergies have almost completely disappeared! This is a big deal for me, because I’ve had allergies most of my life and they have often affected what I do which is a teaching music in [a public school district]. In general, I feel much better and have more consistent energy throughout the day.
Erica Turrell
Heart Palpitations have Stopped
I’ve lost 20+ pounds (also fasting 16-24 hours daily) and haven’t had palpitations except for one occasion — I had a mini bag of Fritos for the first time in July. And, I feel better now on a daily basis than I ever did all through college.
Mike Wright
Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix reader
I’ve lost over 50 pounds
I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I’m 56 years old. Cutting processed food and unhealthy fats from my diet was one of the first things I did on my health recovery journey...I went cold turkey off the bad oils. Emptied my pantry into the trash and just started eating real food
Mitzi Wilkinson Champion
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Your Fatburn Fix book is amazing, my friend. Thank you! I’m an Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know my stuff. This is the extra layer of knowledge I didn’t know I needed. Well done!
Jennifer Dillman
Fatburn Fix reader
Lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork is great
I have lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork (after 3 months of eating your way) was even better! I was metabolically healthy (per your book) before I read your book, but barely. Lowering my weight, sealed the deal! I have been talking about you and your book to anyone who will listen...Thank you for all you’ve done and what you continue to do! You are changing lives for the better!
Missy Cramer
FatBurn Fix reader
Lost 20 lbs I could never shed
I love your Fatburn Fix! Has helped me so so much! I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed. I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils. It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn. I work out in the am and believe I am burning fat for energy not from food!
My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.
Richard Janelle
Completed Dr Cate's online course
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Whenever I advise my clients about eating to perform I go straight to what I have learned from Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition has become the go-to for strength and conditioning coaches across the country.
Kent Matthes
Major League Baseball Agent with WME Sports
Dismantles the lie
Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.
Ken D Berry, MD
Author of Lies My Doctor Told Me
She knows the chemistry
Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.
Dr. Drew Pinskey, MD
Globally recognized internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist, media personality, LoveLine Host, and New York Times bestselling author
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Dr. Cate has had the single greatest impact on how we talk to people about fueling for both performance or durability. While we all are a little unique, the foundational principles of human nutrition are immutable. If you are looking to create a more durable, resilient body, no one is better at communicating nutritional truth than Dr. Cate.
Dr. Kelly Starrett
Physiotherapist coach and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Highly recommend The Fatburn Fix
Dr. Shanahan has had a significant impact on my practice of medicine. I am known as a Low Carb Doctor, but I never really appreciated the negative effects of processed seed oils on the health of my patients. I highly recommend The Fatburn Fix to my patients and have a loaner copy in my waiting room. It is amazing how quickly blood sugars and overall health improves with cutting seed oils. It is not just about the carbs!
Dr. Brian Lenkzes, MD
CEO of LowCarbMD San Diego, co-host of Low Carb MD Podcast and host of Life's Best Medicine Podcast
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Dr. Cate reordered my diet when I was with the L.A. Lakers, and the benefits, for me personally, were felt immediately and have served me to this day. I’ve come to take real food so seriously I started a small family farm. I know of no M.D./nutritionist more respected in the sports world than Dr. Cate Shanahan.
Chris Kaman
NBA Player
Brought seed oil issue front and center
Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.
Mark Sisson
Founding Father of the Primal/Paleo Movement
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If you want to understand how optimal health starts with food, start with Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition leaves you with an appreciation of the profound relationship between our genes and the planet, inspiring us to be good shepherds of both.
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Dr Grewal Internal Medicine, MD, author of Genius Foods
Radically improve your health…
Dr. Shanahan has provided a solid reference that deserves a place in the library of anyone who is seriously interested in nutrition. Her perspective on the vital role that healthy fat has in our diet is novel and, if implemented, can radically improve your health.
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Author of Fat for Fuel and Founder of Mercola.com
Pull up a chair…
I have based my work on the idea that getting the right kinds of healthy fats into your body and avoiding the worst fats is essential to optimal health. I've interviewed dozens of the world's top experts about this, and I know of no one who speaks more eloquently on this topic than Dr Cate. If she’s talking fats, pull up a chair. Take notes.
Dave Asprey
Author of the Bulletproof Diet
The key to unlocking my fatburn
I love your Fatburn Fix! Has helped me so so much! I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed. I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils. It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.
Lauren Smith
Saved my life
I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine.
Leontyne Tompkins
> Tears of joy
I'm crying tears of joy and appreciation for all you've done for me and my health! Without Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix, I would literally still be in the vicious cycle I'd been fighting all my life! In a nutshell - I am no longer a compulsive overeating addict suffering under the crushing 'thumb' of all food and alcohol.
Penni Wicks
This 15 minute youtube lecture below provides a fundamental insight to what overeating does to our metabolism. In order to understand the true origin of insulin resistance and other diseases of overconsumption we must look inside mitochondria. Mitochondria are the battery packs powering most of life on Earth including our brain and muscle cells. It turns out most of us have been overstuffing these little guys with too much energy, and now we know that doing so can harm them.
Dr. P. Darrel Neufer explains how a mitochondria works like a battery. We literally charge mitochondria with electrons when we eat, and drain those electrons with activity that moves protons through the pump. The problems arise when we over charge our batteries. Unlike real batteries, which simply ignore the charge and the electrical balance inside our house is unaffected, our mitochondria must disrupt our body’s hormonal balance in order to protect themselves.
His advice “Don’t eat too many electrons and keep your protons flowing.” And he shows that if you push too many electrons into the system, you blow out the battery.
When a cell is sitting in a state of battery overcharge, it doesn’t want to blow itself out by accepting more energy, be it sugar or fat. So what does it do? It simply ignores the insulin signal that’s trying to drive more sugar (and to a lesser degree, fat) into the cell. So this is one reason that no matter if you are on a low carb or high carb diet you can get insulin resistance simply by over eating relative to your activity level. So calories do count–but of course there’s more to it than that.
This idea of needing to avoid the state of battery overcharge helps to explain why fasting, even short term (like skipping a lunch) has a powerful ability to reverse insulin resistance and diabetes.
I’d like to propose the idea that in addition to describing a diet by the three major macros, we include the time between meals as a fourth. I’m not sure how we’d quantify it though, so if anyone has any brilliant ideas about how to do that please share them in a comment!
With over two decades of clinical experience and expertise in genetic and biochemical research, Dr. Cate can help you to reverse metabolic disease and reshape your body.
Did you know that the cut off for "high" cholesterol used to be nearly twice as high as it is today? The number considered low enough has had to shift downward multiple times. Cholesterol-lowering “targets” are lower today than ever before. And lately, heart attacks are increasing.
Is the calorie-free sweetener erythritol safe? The FDA did not evaluate long-term use, and new research suggests it may cause blood clots in people with high blood pressure and other risk factors.
Please note: Please do not share personal medical information in a comment on our posts. It will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.
This Post Has 7 Comments
Thank you Dr Cate. I read your articles eagerly and have The Fatburn Fix and Dark Calories which I try to follow as well as possible. I live in Australia and some things are not so readily available, not having Cosco where I live. I suffer from IBS and am gluten sensitive and lactose intolerant. I also have Dr Gundries Gut Check and The Plant Paradox, which has help me tremendously with leaky gut. I am currently still doing “baby steps” to change my fuel from carbs to fat burning and have extended my fasting time, while still careful not to get hangry. I am trying to work towards a long term diet amalgamating both your aspect of insulin and veg oils and Dr Gundries gut and microbiome. With this in mind, I would like to ask your view on the molecule Neu5Gc and Neu5Ac. Dr Gundry claims in the Gut Check that the Neu5Gc found in red meats have been found to increase risk of heart disease, arthritis and even cancer, whereas Neu5Ac found in chicken, fish and seafood being the same molecule as we have doesn’t pose this risk. I love beef and pork and find just fish and chicken a bit limiting on the diet. Please let me know what you think.
Kind Regards Doris
I finally took care of this request, in THE FATBURN FIX. It was actually a very big topic, so I ended up writing a book. https://www.amazon.com/Fatb… (also available in hardcover)
Please discuss reasons we should not intermittent fast. Like adrenal disfunction, imbalanced thread or other hormones?
Thank you! I love following your work.
There’s no reason not to IF. However there are ways you can make it harder or easier. You make it harder by trying to IF during times you are hungry, and by having a high carb/PUFA breakfast. Not to shameless promote DN but I wrote the book to serve as a resource so here goes: In CH 10 of DN I describe how to make healthy low carb and health IFing easier.
Of course, you are right. Only thing is you have put it in a way that immediately puts the significance about fasting right where it ought to be; In the front.
After all, we have reinvented the wheel many times.The science of benefits of Interval fasting and Autophagy is for all of to us to study and understand.
Your pie chart spurs me on to brush my knowledge in this field. Thank you.
Note: Please do not share personal information with a medical question in our comment section. Comments containing this content will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.
Thank you Dr Cate. I read your articles eagerly and have The Fatburn Fix and Dark Calories which I try to follow as well as possible. I live in Australia and some things are not so readily available, not having Cosco where I live. I suffer from IBS and am gluten sensitive and lactose intolerant. I also have Dr Gundries Gut Check and The Plant Paradox, which has help me tremendously with leaky gut. I am currently still doing “baby steps” to change my fuel from carbs to fat burning and have extended my fasting time, while still careful not to get hangry. I am trying to work towards a long term diet amalgamating both your aspect of insulin and veg oils and Dr Gundries gut and microbiome. With this in mind, I would like to ask your view on the molecule Neu5Gc and Neu5Ac. Dr Gundry claims in the Gut Check that the Neu5Gc found in red meats have been found to increase risk of heart disease, arthritis and even cancer, whereas Neu5Ac found in chicken, fish and seafood being the same molecule as we have doesn’t pose this risk. I love beef and pork and find just fish and chicken a bit limiting on the diet. Please let me know what you think.
Kind Regards Doris
No need to avoid actual food.
I finally took care of this request, in THE FATBURN FIX. It was actually a very big topic, so I ended up writing a book. https://www.amazon.com/Fatb… (also available in hardcover)
Do an article on sick gall bladders and going boco crazy on good fats..
Please discuss reasons we should not intermittent fast. Like adrenal disfunction, imbalanced thread or other hormones?
Thank you! I love following your work.
There’s no reason not to IF. However there are ways you can make it harder or easier. You make it harder by trying to IF during times you are hungry, and by having a high carb/PUFA breakfast. Not to shameless promote DN but I wrote the book to serve as a resource so here goes: In CH 10 of DN I describe how to make healthy low carb and health IFing easier.
Of course, you are right. Only thing is you have put it in a way that immediately puts the significance about fasting right where it ought to be; In the front.
After all, we have reinvented the wheel many times.The science of benefits of Interval fasting and Autophagy is for all of to us to study and understand.
Your pie chart spurs me on to brush my knowledge in this field. Thank you.