Introducing one of the world’s leaders in addiction therapies, Bitten Johnsson. Bitten is a nurse, a recovering addict herself and an addiction specialist. She is on a mission to free people from this painful illness and to decrease the shame and stigma around addiction.

We are going to be exploring how sugar can be a gateway drug into food addiction, alcoholism, nicotine and harder drug addiction because of the impact the sweet stuff has on rewiring our brains and desensitising our dopamine receptors. 

Addiction is actually far more prevalent than you might think as we seek dopamine highs through social media, shopping, food and illegal drugs. These addictive behaviours often begin in childhood and escalate from one drug to another… Bitten shows us how a low carb approach can be used to heal the addicted brain. We start by discussing the reptilian brain, what Bitten calls the ‘red dog’ and how it attempts to persuade us towards immediate gratification and prevent us from achieving our goals. Even if you have no addictive tendencies this is an enlightening look into the biochemistry of the brain

This week we have the awesome Dr Tommy Wood, a biochemist, doctor and neonatal brain health specialist. We have a great conversation about the nutrients you need to build a healthy brain. Why we need DHA, ketones and cholesterol. The best course of action to take after a brain injury to promote recovery. How babies are born in ketosis and why they have Michelin man rolls of fat in contrast to all other mammalian newborns. How we can store different types of fat in our own body fat stores—not just toxins. And finally, we discuss how on the quest to being healthy you can become unhealthily obsessed with health—to the extent that how we think and eat can become more important than what we eat—and have a more negative impact. 

This week we have the incredible Gary Taubes, investigative journalist and debunker of health myths.

Gary is a best-selling author, his books include The Case Against Sugar, Good Calories, Bad Calories and most recently The Case for Keto.  A serious critical thinker on how conventional wisdom is formed. 

We have an incredible chat-Gary is so much fun and seems to be looking younger and younger—a testament to the keto diet and the Californian sunshine. We discuss how the focus on calories and energy expenditure debate has overshadowed the examination of the endocrine system, our hormonal mechanisms for fat accumulation and obesity; that carbohydrate consumption and the resulting release of excess insulin is really why people keep getting fatter. 

We discuss the type 2 diabetes epidemic; how hard it can be to get your own doctor on board with your own health issues and what it will take for the ‘New Science’ to be reflected in government nutritional guidelines…particularly in light of the plant-based movement gaining traction. 

I really hope you enjoy episode one as much as I did!

For Episode 2 we have the incredible James Strong, CEO of Red Light Rising, a semi-pro rugby player, and biohacking aficionado…as well as a very good friend of mine.

We discuss numerous health hacks that you can easily incorporate into your life: from, avoiding junk light to optimise your sleep, how infra-red light therapy can work to increase your energy levels, reduce muscle soreness and even alleviate concussion symptoms. As well as James’ supplement and productivity routine.

Exogenous Ketones originally developed for the military and special forces.

We start by delving into how Matt met the directors of Real Ketones, Rob Rodgers and Gary Millet, at a health convention in which Matt was first introduced to exogenous ketones as a supplement used only for military and government personnel. 

Exogenous ketones were very much of the elite world and not accessible to the mass market—Rob and Gary were the original trail blazers in bringing exogenous ketone supplements to the mass market with Real Ketones.

Once Matt began to experiment with the supplements and experience the benefits, he dove into the world of keto, metabolic flexibility and ultimate health. 

In this episode we cover: 

• How ketones are the fourth macronutrient
• How ketones protect the brain 
• How and why to incorporate exogenous ketones into your diet.
• Why it can be difficult to sleep on a ketogenic diet and what to do about it. 
• How women can lose weight on a low carb protocol, what to eat, what type of exercise to do and how often
• Whether you should eat more carbs depending on the type of exercise that you are doing.
• What inspires Matt 

Struggling to lose weight? Here is the protocol: 

In this episode we specifically address the case study of a 40-year-old woman, mildly overweight, of moderate health who is struggling to burn fat, despite having a good knowledge of food and being on a relatively healthy diet. Matt takes us through the nutritional, exercise and supplemental protocol he would advise for our lady case study. 

Exercise: 

• Resistance, weightlifting 3 times a week 
• Low intensity exercise, walking every day     

Nutrition:

• Calorie cycling: Eating an excess of calories on resistance training days;
• and having a caloric deficit on low intensity days
• Adapt macronutrient intake depending on the level of intense exercise. On higher training days, incorporate more carbohydrates and protein. On lower intensity days, eat a high fat, higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet.
• Excessive fasting is not advised for women
• Ensure adequate mineral intake and sufficient Vitamin DK 
• To eat a small portion of carbohydrates before bed to aid sleep, particularly on calorie restrictive days. Another reason to eat more chocolate!
• Use exogenous ketones in the morning, as a ‘pick me up’ or as a pre workout.

Hormonal:

• Women have a tendency to put their bodies under undue stress and are more likely to over exercise, particularly with excessive cardio.
• Avoid unnecessary stress 
• Have their thyroid assessed as this is most commonly the explanation for unexplained weight gain

Of course, if Matt were to work with our ‘case study’ many other individual factors would be taken into consideration too. 

Curveball: 

We ended beautifully on a very yin point that we need to listen to our gut amidst the chaos that life can throw at us—that each pain point or difficulty has been a lesson for him to change something in his life. He has learned to listen. 

Where to find Matt:

Website

Instagram

Real Ketones  Better Health and Body Radio