00:00:00
If you know data based on data, real data, what your body blueprint really is, you're gonna
00:00:06
stop guessing what to eat.
00:00:07
You're gonna stop trying random diets without getting anywhere.
00:00:11
And you're gonna really stop like blaming yourself and guilting yourself for making the
00:00:14
same mistakes every holiday season.
00:00:16
Instead, you will become intentional.
00:00:18
You will know which foods actually fuel you, which foods inflame you.
00:00:21
You'll know what to do with sugar, how much sugar, carbs, or alcohol your body really can
00:00:26
handle biologically, and how to optimize yourself, not restrict yourself.
00:00:31
Welcome to Health Decoded, your number one source for real health information with your
00:00:36
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
00:00:42
Alright.
00:00:42
Welcome back to another episode of Health Decoded.
00:00:46
I'm your host, doctor Alessi, and I'm excited to talk about something today that I think
00:00:52
everyone needs to hear and that we've been hearing a lot of people talking about and
00:00:57
asking questions about lately is how to stay healthy during the holiday season, or do you
00:01:04
just let yourself go and kind of fall off the wagon for the next eight weeks and then try to
00:01:11
rebuild all the progress that you've made this year?
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And I think everyone can agree that that second option is probably not the way to go about it.
00:01:19
So I really wanted to kind of just get into it on, you know, the questions we hear are often
00:01:25
around how to shop healthier, right?
00:01:29
When it comes to groceries, how to eat healthier, how to have a little bit more self
00:01:34
control when we're at a function or a party or a family event.
00:01:38
And there's things on the table that are just within, you know, arm's reach and you know, how
00:01:44
do we fight back against that?
00:01:45
And there's some really cool ways that we can hack and take control of not just our mental
00:01:51
but also our biology and on a physiological level that will lower us wanting to have
00:01:58
cravings and make those impulsive choices.
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So, excited to talk about this.
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Know, really it's the biggest thing here is that our metabolism is what is at stake when we
00:02:11
abuse food.
00:02:13
And I think if you're a listener for a long time now, you understand that concept.
00:02:17
But if not, you know, your metabolism is what really regulates really how effective your body
00:02:22
is at managing caloric intake and then utilizing that and expending that as energy
00:02:27
versus or storing it, right, as fat.
00:02:31
And so, the biggest thing here is, you know, all year long you work hard.
00:02:35
You've been putting in effort and the patients we work with and our clients, they've been
00:02:41
consistent, they've been doing the right things to make choices to get healthier.
00:02:45
Why sacrifice that?
00:02:47
Why throw all that away just because of the holidays which come around every year, right?
00:02:51
So, it's it's a bit redundant, if you will.
00:02:54
And so, you know, it's like November hits and then suddenly everybody's diet just goes to
00:02:59
crap.
00:03:00
And so, what I really want to get into is like, you don't have to it doesn't have to be where
00:03:05
you're skipping things, you're not going to events, you're missing out, but how can we just
00:03:09
be a little bit better and how can we make smarter choices?
00:03:12
And so, again, it's every year we see this in the clinic where people are undoing months and
00:03:17
months of progress in a couple of weeks because they're gonna become so inflamed, the hormones
00:03:24
are gonna get all dysregulated, thrown all over the place, digestion gets destroyed by the
00:03:29
sugar, and people have cravings and again, that progress that you've made over the course of a
00:03:35
year or months has just been destroyed.
00:03:38
And so, then we're trying to dig ourselves out of this hole.
00:03:40
So, let's start a little bit with what is actually happening, right, when we hit what we
00:03:46
call the holiday spiral or a downfall.
00:03:50
And it's really the sugar and stress are probably the two big things, the two S's that
00:03:55
we talk about because that just creates so much inflammation.
00:03:59
When you load up on sugar, alcohol, processed carbohydrates, you're spiking your insulin as
00:04:04
well as your cortisol.
00:04:06
These two hormones work together and that's how they create inflammation and this shows up with
00:04:12
things like fatigue or bloating, more joint pain, maybe brain fog.
00:04:17
And so, the other things that happen are we get poor sleep, right?
00:04:21
Maybe we're staying up later because we're at a party or we're at a function for too long and
00:04:27
we're just pushing, you know, a little bit outside of our normal circadian rhythm.
00:04:31
And so, what happens is less sleep leads to more secretion of what's called ghrelin, which
00:04:37
is the hunger hormone.
00:04:40
And then less leptin, is actually the hormone that tells your body that you're satiated and
00:04:43
you're not hungry.
00:04:44
And so you're literally, by wrecking your sleep, you're wiring yourself to crave more
00:04:49
unhealthy foods and make those choices.
00:04:53
What then happens is that our hormones start to get dysregulated from this.
00:04:58
Know, the sleep is so important to controlling our body's hormone production and if our body
00:05:04
needs more cortisol, if we're spiking that, it's going to divert the production of hormones
00:05:11
towards cortisol and away from other important hormones.
00:05:14
And so, just a few nights or even a few days of erratic eating and later nights can wreak some
00:05:22
havoc on things like testosterone.
00:05:24
It can really lower testosterone.
00:05:26
It can disrupt your thyroid conversion into usable thyroid hormone.
00:05:31
It can spike estrogen and even slow your metabolism.
00:05:34
And so then this is why people, they gain weight even if really they're not eating that
00:05:40
much more, they're just eating the wrong things and the timing.
00:05:44
And so, then this leads to the immune system getting weaker and we all know that everybody
00:05:49
gets sick this time of year and it's just so rampant all the time and people wonder why.
00:05:54
Well, it's because we're really just tanking our immune system.
00:05:57
And so, the one final thing that and Matt Tack talks about this all the time is the trap of
00:06:05
like, I'll just I'll just start in January.
00:06:06
I'll be okay.
00:06:07
Right?
00:06:07
I'll just let myself go for the next couple months and then I'll just pick it back up.
00:06:11
Well, this is probably the most damaging because that's now a mindset thing and your
00:06:15
body goes where your mind tells it to go.
00:06:18
And so if it's, hey, I'll just wait until next year, then what's to say, oh, January comes
00:06:22
around, I'll just wait till February.
00:06:23
I'll just wait till March.
00:06:25
I'll pick it up next week, next week.
00:06:27
We just continue to push this off.
00:06:28
Now, have lost control of our own biology and we're going down a rabbit hole of just making
00:06:34
those unhealthy decisions.
00:06:36
There's some really cool data actually out of the New England Journal of Medicine that found
00:06:40
that the average adult gains around five to 10 pounds over the holidays.
00:06:45
Sometimes more, right?
00:06:46
That's an average.
00:06:47
And nearly 70% of that weight is never lost again.
00:06:51
So, it's, you know, these permanent changes that can happen because we've not only made
00:06:57
some decisions that weren't ideal for our health in the moment, but habits that stuck and
00:07:02
became our habitual things for the rest of the year.
00:07:05
And so, it's the inflammation, the poor sleep, the disrupted hormones that then lead to a
00:07:10
metabolic dysregulation that the body then stores that fat.
00:07:15
And so, you know, your metabolism, it doesn't take off the holidays, right?
00:07:19
Even if you get off work, your metabolism does not.
00:07:22
So, how you treat your body from November to January really determines how you're gonna feel
00:07:28
for the first half of the new year.
00:07:30
And what I want to get into today very much so is that we don't talk about perfection ever.
00:07:35
The goal is not perfection.
00:07:37
It's being more intentional.
00:07:39
And so if you can stay 70 to 80% consistent through the holidays, you will enter January
00:07:45
ahead of everyone else and not behind and ahead of where you thought you were going to be as
00:07:50
well.
00:07:51
And so, let's get into, you know, in this next part here, a little bit about like more
00:07:56
actionable.
00:07:57
How can we actually eat healthy during the holidays?
00:08:00
Because everyone's probably wondering like, what is this guy talking about right now?
00:08:03
How?
00:08:04
Right?
00:08:04
What is the how?
00:08:05
So, now that we've established why it's important to remain healthier over the
00:08:09
holidays, let's talk about the how because the goal isn't to avoid every treat or you know,
00:08:15
live like a monk.
00:08:16
The goal is to navigate the holidays with strategy and a plan and some awareness, right?
00:08:21
If we can be self aware, we can get that balance.
00:08:24
And so, you know, I like this blueprint for like the holiday plate, right?
00:08:29
We call it every event you go to, there's food everywhere and how do we load up, right?
00:08:32
Or not load up.
00:08:33
And so, keep it simple, not restrictive.
00:08:37
So, here's the blueprint I give to my patients and that I'll give to you.
00:08:41
Number one is front loading protein.
00:08:43
So, every plate should have 25 to 40 grams of protein.
00:08:48
Ideally in, you know, lean meats and healthy options, maybe eggs, things like that.
00:08:54
So, prioritize protein first.
00:08:57
This will lead to less overeating and hunger pangs later.
00:09:02
The next step, make half of the plate colorful and fiber, right?
00:09:06
And so, veggies, salads, fruit, maybe root vegetables, fiber will slow your glucose spike
00:09:13
and support your digestion.
00:09:15
And you can enjoy your carbs, just be smart, right?
00:09:18
So, if you want stuffing, macaroni, pie, that kind of thing, just make sure you're combining
00:09:24
with protein or some fat so you're not spiking the blood sugar that's just gonna crash later.
00:09:29
So again, being smarter.
00:09:31
And then, what I call picking your indulgence.
00:09:34
So, you know, ideally we don't need bread, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie, all cookies,
00:09:39
cocktails all at one time.
00:09:41
Maybe choose one.
00:09:43
One thing that's like the best one that you like and enjoy that, right?
00:09:46
And then enjoy it guilt free.
00:09:48
That way you're not, you know, at the end of that meal feeling lousy, feeling inflamed and
00:09:53
really regretting the decision.
00:09:56
And so, you know, if I could sum it up, it's like you can have what you want, just maybe not
00:10:02
all of it all at one time.
00:10:03
And that's realistically just a healthier approach.
00:10:06
Now, when it comes to shopping, right, a lot of us still are going to be grocery shopping and
00:10:10
maybe shopping for these parties if we're hosting, things like that.
00:10:14
When you're shopping for meals or groceries, use this framework, okay?
00:10:18
Dict to the perimeter of the grocery store.
00:10:21
Anyone who's been to a grocery store knows that the perimeter is where the produce, the meats
00:10:25
and the healthier whole foods are.
00:10:28
So produce, meats, eggs, even seafood.
00:10:31
These are better choices.
00:10:33
When you get into the aisles, you're gonna get more of the packaged, processed, even hyper
00:10:37
processed foods.
00:10:39
If you are buying processed foods, avoid added sugars.
00:10:43
Check for the seed oils, know, canola oil, vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners, dyes,
00:10:49
gums, those things that are gonna create inflammation and obviously mess with the
00:10:55
digestion and absorption in the gut.
00:10:58
And even the quote unquote healthy or organic things that you see, it can be organic and
00:11:04
still be loaded with sugar.
00:11:05
So, don't fall for the marketing traps that these companies use to market healthy foods
00:11:09
that are actually unhealthy.
00:11:11
Again, whole foods, it's very difficult to overeat whole foods.
00:11:15
Go try to overeat steak, chicken and some broccoli.
00:11:20
You're gonna get to a point where you're good.
00:11:22
And so, it's very easy to overeat on processed hyper palatable foods like chips and things
00:11:27
like that.
00:11:29
And then, you know, strategic eating at parties.
00:11:31
This is another good one, right?
00:11:34
Don't have to be the guy who brings his Tupperware to meal prep, right?
00:11:38
But you know, eating before you go, that's a good tactic.
00:11:41
I actually just did this yesterday.
00:11:42
I went to a friends giving and I ate a little bit before I left.
00:11:45
I had a protein shake and some chicken and then when I got there, it's not like I was starving
00:11:51
and just loading up.
00:11:52
I made, you know, I ate some salad and I ate some of the good stuff too, but I didn't eat a
00:11:56
ton.
00:11:56
And so, you know, Greek yogurt, protein shake, maybe a handful of nuts, things that are going
00:12:01
to give you some satiety.
00:12:04
Next thing is make sure you're scouting the room, right?
00:12:06
Like doing some recon and having a plan versus just going for it.
00:12:10
No, I'm going get this, I'm going get some of that, I'm going get that.
00:12:12
But next thing you know your plate is loaded up and you're probably going to end up eating it
00:12:17
all.
00:12:18
So, you know, you don't have to just grab the first thing.
00:12:20
Look around, pick, again, pick the protein first, what am I going to get for protein, What
00:12:26
colorful veggies am I going to have with some fiber?
00:12:28
And then what other things can I enjoy a bit of?
00:12:31
And then, you know, I tend to think alcohol doesn't serve any purpose being ingested.
00:12:39
But if you are gonna be drinking, the hydration rule.
00:12:42
So, drink a glass of water before each alcoholic beverage.
00:12:46
It will probably lead to you drinking less because you'll be more full and it will keep
00:12:51
you hydrated.
00:12:51
So, that's a great balancing tip there.
00:12:55
And then some really good hacks if you're gonna be you know going somewhere and you tend to
00:13:00
have issues with blood sugar or want to avoid those blood sugar spikes.
00:13:04
And these aren't gimmicky either.
00:13:06
These are really cool scientifically backed things you can do.
00:13:09
But apple cider vinegar, you can get capsules of it, you can you know, take shots of it, but
00:13:14
one to two tablespoons before a meal will blunt the glucose spike and improve your sensitivity
00:13:20
to insulin.
00:13:21
Going for a walk for ten to fifteen minutes after a meal, Great, great idea for lowering
00:13:27
blood sugar and your body processing that better.
00:13:29
There's actually a study out of diabetes research in 2022.
00:13:34
Post meal walking reduces glucose significantly better than pre meal exercise.
00:13:39
So, you've ingested this thing, this meal, whatever it is, it has some carbohydrates, go
00:13:44
for a walk after.
00:13:46
Starting your meal with veggies, I like fruit or veggies first, it gives our body those
00:13:51
fibers and things that are going to slow down glucose absorption.
00:13:55
Using things like digestive bitters or lemon water is going to stimulate your body's stomach
00:14:01
acid to be produced and the enzymes.
00:14:03
You will digest your food better.
00:14:05
You can use enzymes.
00:14:06
We prescribe enzymes to our patients all the time.
00:14:10
Magnesium before bed, this will support sleep, relaxation and control of glucose.
00:14:15
And electrolytes in the morning.
00:14:16
Again, this is going to reduce cravings even later in the day.
00:14:20
So, the overall strategy should always be consistency with some flexibility.
00:14:27
You don't need to be perfect, but let's try to avoid the two extremes, right?
00:14:31
All or nothing, I'm just going to eat everything now and then fix it later in
00:14:34
January.
00:14:35
Or the perfectionism where it's like I'm avoiding every single tree and eating nothing
00:14:39
but protein.
00:14:40
You're going fall off that wagon and usually fall off pretty hard.
00:14:43
The middle path is more sustainable.
00:14:45
We call it eightytwenty principle.
00:14:47
80% of the time you're doing really well, you're making the right decisions, you're
00:14:50
clean.
00:14:51
20% of the time you can enjoy some some not healthier options and be okay.
00:14:57
It's when we get away from the eighty twenty to more fifty fifty that we tend to have a
00:15:01
problem.
00:15:02
And so, you know, if you can commit to this through the holidays, I promise you, you are
00:15:07
going to feel better come the new year.
00:15:09
You're going to feel better about yourself.
00:15:11
You're going to have a better jumpstart to everything.
00:15:14
And I think a little bit of maybe a unpopular opinion is that we need to stop thinking of it
00:15:20
as like, the new year.
00:15:21
Right?
00:15:22
Oh, the new year is when I'll kick it in.
00:15:23
Just think of it as like the next day.
00:15:25
Right?
00:15:25
It's just another day.
00:15:26
It's just another year.
00:15:27
Life is gonna keep going.
00:15:29
And if we can put if we put too much stigma on it as if it's like this new year, new me type
00:15:33
of thing, that just puts so much pressure on ourselves.
00:15:37
Just be healthy, right?
00:15:38
And make these decisions consistently for as long as we can for forever ideally.
00:15:43
And so, let's get into some other cool ways, you know, ways that maybe are a little bit more
00:15:49
a little less mainstream, but functional medicine focused that can help.
00:15:53
But before we do that, let's take a quick word from one of our sponsors.
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00:17:27
Alright, welcome back.
00:17:29
Now let's get into some of the fun stuff because everybody wants to know, right?
00:17:33
What's the best diet?
00:17:34
Is it keto, paleo, Mediterranean, carnivore?
00:17:37
Like what should we do?
00:17:39
And here's the truth, there isn't a perfect diet.
00:17:42
There's only the perfect diet for your biology.
00:17:44
So everybody's different.
00:17:46
We all have different genetic predispositions.
00:17:49
We have different epigenetic predispositions, meaning the way we are raised, environment we
00:17:54
are brought up in controls how our body is going to respond to certain dietary.
00:17:59
That's just the way it is.
00:18:00
Look at different ethnicities and people from different areas of the world respond
00:18:05
differently to things.
00:18:06
You know, you wonder how can Asian people eat rice as a primary staple of their meal and
00:18:12
honestly not have the issues with obesity that we have in our country.
00:18:16
And it's because their genetics are conditioned with that.
00:18:20
Certain tribes that eat just meat, that's all they eat and they are fine with their blood
00:18:25
sugar, right?
00:18:26
So, it's really based on our genetics and epigenetics.
00:18:30
And so, the cool thing with functional medicine is we don't have to guess, we can actually
00:18:34
test.
00:18:35
And so, a few of the ways we do that, some of the blood tests that we use that really matter
00:18:40
is you know, looking for metabolic clues, using blood work for metabolic clues like how does
00:18:46
eating affect your blood sugar and your inflammation.
00:18:49
So checking things like fasting insulin.
00:18:52
What does my fasting insulin do?
00:18:53
How do I make sure that that's not going to be an issue?
00:18:56
My hemoglobin A1C which basically is a three month average of your blood sugar.
00:19:00
If this is creeping up, then the holiday season is going to hit a lot harder.
00:19:05
And then things like lipids and inflammatory markers, your triglycerides, HSCRP, which is C
00:19:12
reactive protein, and then homocysteine.
00:19:15
These are inflammatory markers that can be exacerbated by sugary diet and stress and all
00:19:22
that kind of things.
00:19:24
There was a study from the Journal of Clinical Lipidology twenty twenty one.
00:19:29
People with elevated triglycerides and CRP show significantly worse metabolic responses during
00:19:36
high calorie seasons.
00:19:37
So, you're going into the holidays and these levels are already elevated, you are going to
00:19:43
have worse metabolic outcomes.
00:19:45
You're going to feel worse.
00:19:46
And so, it's good to know where do you stand if you haven't had blood work done in the last six
00:19:51
months or what I hear a lot is ever.
00:19:53
People have, oh, I've never had my blood work done to check for those things.
00:19:56
Now is probably a good time.
00:19:59
We always are proponents of staying ahead versus trying to react to a crisis.
00:20:05
And so, the next thing we do is functional gut testing.
00:20:08
So, how can your gut work for you, not against you?
00:20:12
We run really cool tests called our deep gut scan, which is going to look for everything.
00:20:16
It's going to look for what is the ecosystem of your gut bacteria doing?
00:20:20
I actually talked about this in a webinar that I did recently.
00:20:25
You can go to our website, alessifunctionalhealth.com/gut and that webinar
00:20:31
is hosted there.
00:20:33
Really great, breaks down kind of how this test looks for things like dysbiosis, SIBO, yeast or
00:20:38
fungal overgrowths, parasites, leaky gut, inflammation and even digestive enzyme
00:20:44
deficiencies.
00:20:45
Because if your gut is off, then even the healthy holiday foods are gonna trigger things
00:20:50
like bloating, fatigue and inflammation.
00:20:53
The next thing we look for which is this is where it gets really, really cool and really
00:20:57
out of the box is like genetic nutrition markers.
00:21:01
So really your personalized blueprint for how are things affecting you.
00:21:04
I actually just ran one of these on myself and it's a really, really awesome test.
00:21:08
Do you process caffeine fast or slow, right?
00:21:11
This can determine whether or not holiday coffee or cocktails are gonna mess with your
00:21:15
sleep system.
00:21:16
Do you metabolize carbohydrates well or does your body take longer, right?
00:21:21
Is it going to lead to more of a spike real quick?
00:21:23
Is it going to slowly taper it off?
00:21:25
Are you sensitive to saturated fats?
00:21:27
Some people gain weight from the cheese boards, right?
00:21:30
There's a ton of cheese everywhere and others don't.
00:21:33
Why?
00:21:33
Why is that?
00:21:34
And it's genetic.
00:21:35
And then, is our body detoxifying?
00:21:37
Do we have proper detoxification from within, within our genes like the MTHFR gene, the COMT
00:21:44
and the GST gene which tell us whether you're good at clearing alcohol, toxins, hormones, or
00:21:52
if your body needs extra support.
00:21:54
Really cool study out of Nutrients Journal in 2020, said that personalized nutrition based on
00:22:00
genetics leads to significantly better weight loss, metabolic health and dietary adherence
00:22:07
compared to just generic diets.
00:22:09
So again, it's not a one size fits all.
00:22:11
You can't expect that one diet's gonna work for everyone if we have different genetic
00:22:15
predispositions or what we call SNP's, different snips off our genes.
00:22:21
Now, the reason we do this with functional medicine is because data creates freedom, not
00:22:26
restriction.
00:22:27
Right?
00:22:27
If you know data based on data, real data, what your body blueprint really is, you're gonna
00:22:33
stop guessing what to eat, you're gonna stop trying random diets without getting anywhere,
00:22:38
and you're gonna really stop like blaming yourself and guilting yourself for making the
00:22:42
same mistakes every holiday season.
00:22:44
So instead, you will become intentional.
00:22:46
You will know which foods actually fuel you, which foods inflame you.
00:22:50
You'll know what to do with sugar, how much sugar, carbs or alcohol your body really can
00:22:55
handle biologically and how to optimize yourself, not restrict yourself.
00:22:59
That's what we need to focus on as the positive is how do we optimize things, not focus so much
00:23:04
on like what you can't have, but what can you have.
00:23:07
And so, you know, in summary of that, it's most people are not failing because they're weak.
00:23:12
Most people are failing because they don't have a plan and they're not following a diet that
00:23:16
matches their metabolism.
00:23:18
And so, and genetic testing gives you an owner's manual for your body.
00:23:22
It's like the owner's manual in your car.
00:23:24
Hey, what does this thing take?
00:23:25
What kind of fuel does this thing take?
00:23:26
Right?
00:23:26
I gotta make sure I put the right gasoline in, put the right tires on it, all of that.
00:23:31
Once you have that, healthy holidays become easy.
00:23:34
And so, we're always doing really, really awesome tests here and getting great results in
00:23:39
the clinics and even virtually.
00:23:41
We do a lot of telehealth with people all over the country.
00:23:44
So, you're interested, go to alessifunctionalhealth.com and look into our
00:23:49
functional medicine lab testing.
00:23:51
Book an appointment with me.
00:23:52
Happy to do a free consultation to see if this is something that could help you.
00:23:56
Just mention the podcast so we know to give you that free phone call or in person and see if we
00:24:03
can help you out.
00:24:04
Now, let's get into some of the more actionable things that we can do.
00:24:09
So, I always like to end with like, okay, what can you do today to start making change?
00:24:15
And so, this is where we get into the fun stuff, the bio hacks.
00:24:19
And so, we're gonna break this down into three buckets.
00:24:23
So, bucket number one, before you eat, right?
00:24:26
Front loading your health.
00:24:27
So, walking ten to fifteen minutes before a big meal, this is going to prime glucose
00:24:31
metabolism.
00:24:33
A really cool journal in Sports Medicine 2022 said short walks before meals significantly
00:24:39
reduce post meal glucose spikes.
00:24:42
We talked about this earlier, apple cider vinegar, shots or capsules before a meal is
00:24:47
gonna slow the gastric emptying and reduce blood sugar spikes as well.
00:24:51
Magnesium before bed on a busy night, hydration early in the day and of course prioritizing
00:24:57
protein.
00:24:58
Eating twenty to thirty grams of protein before carbs and fats.
00:25:02
And so this is gonna stabilize blood sugar, calm cravings, and help you avoid that
00:25:06
overeating that we do during the holidays.
00:25:09
And so again, the order of eating actually matters more than the total calories.
00:25:13
If you prioritize protein first, you'll be less hungry after and make those quick decisions.
00:25:18
And so, during your meals, some really cool things you can do to kind of biohack the feast
00:25:24
as you will.
00:25:25
Again, protein first, then veggies, then carbs and then fats.
00:25:30
This controls your body's glucose spikes and drops.
00:25:34
There was a cool study out of Diabetes Care in 2015 that said eating protein and vegetables
00:25:39
before carbohydrates will reduce blood sugar spikes by up to 73%.
00:25:44
That is huge.
00:25:45
Slowing down your eating.
00:25:47
Everybody's just shoveling food in their face, chewing it up and swallowing.
00:25:51
Maybe it's not even fully broken down at that point.
00:25:53
So chewing 20 to 30 times, put the fork down between your bites.
00:25:57
This will improve digestion.
00:25:59
Your body will produce the enzymes it needs to actually pre digest this food and it will
00:26:03
reduce overeating.
00:26:05
Using bitter foods before or during a meal, arugula, lemon, ginger, dandelion greens
00:26:10
stimulate stomach acid and digestive enzymes.
00:26:14
And then again, if you're gonna have alcohol, drinking wisely, avoiding the sugary drinks, if
00:26:21
anything, keep it clean with some water and making sure you're hydrating in between.
00:26:27
Electrolytes with water in between is another great option.
00:26:31
And then again, after eating, the recovery mode is everything.
00:26:35
So, going for a ten to twenty minute walk is going to literally burn the glucose you just
00:26:40
ate.
00:26:40
Journal of Physiological Anthropology in 2020 said walking after meals improves blood sugar
00:26:47
more effectively than metformin in some cases.
00:26:50
And so, that's awesome because everybody's getting put on metformin for something that you
00:26:55
can literally achieve by walking.
00:26:58
Using a sauna or like a hot bath or you know, a hot tub is gonna boost blood flow.
00:27:04
It's gonna lower inflammation, activates a lot of those detox pathways as well.
00:27:09
High dose omega threes lower inflammation from processed foods.
00:27:13
Digestive enzymes, and if you need support with this, we're happy to be a resource for you.
00:27:17
Digestive enzymes help break down those larger, richer meals without the bloating afterwards.
00:27:24
Another cool one is activated charcoal is a great binder.
00:27:27
So, if you are ingesting a lot of these things that have toxins in them, it can help prevent
00:27:31
that digestive distress.
00:27:32
This isn't something you would do daily, it's more of an occasional thing, maybe every month
00:27:37
or something like that.
00:27:38
But again, I think the thing to focus on is if you don't know what to do, ask for help and get
00:27:43
some resources.
00:27:44
We have this on our website at lesifunctionalhealth.com.
00:27:48
And then a little bit of a bonus here, right, some other cool functional medicine hacks.
00:27:53
Berberine is a great way to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce glucose spikes.
00:27:59
So, taking this before more carb heavy meals, which around the holidays tend to be all of
00:28:04
them.
00:28:05
Red light therapy, ten to fifteen minutes is gonna reduce inflammation and boost
00:28:09
mitochondrial function.
00:28:11
Cold exposure.
00:28:12
Post meal cold exposure increases insulin sensitivity and metabolic rate.
00:28:17
So, if you're in a state that's cold, go outside and walk in the cold, now you're
00:28:20
doubling up on that insulin sensitivity.
00:28:23
Protein shake before parties, again, that's my hack is before you go to a party where you're
00:28:28
gonna eat a ton, drink a 50 gram protein shake.
00:28:30
Guarantee you eat half as much as you were gonna do before.
00:28:34
And then sleeping, right?
00:28:35
Let's make sure we prioritize sleep, not stress.
00:28:38
Because if you're not sleeping, stress will raise cortisol, high cortisol plus high amounts
00:28:43
of sugar ingested will lead to inflammation and metabolic dysregulation.
00:28:49
And so, thing is detoxing through the season, not after.
00:28:53
Again, it's why wait until there's a fire to go buy a fire extinguisher.
00:28:58
Maybe just try to avoid starting fires.
00:29:02
That's the approach here.
00:29:03
So, detoxing shouldn't be like, oh, I'm just gonna blow everything up over the holidays and
00:29:08
then detox after, I'll be good.
00:29:10
You're gonna put a lot of stress on your system and your organs.
00:29:13
Instead, you can focus on daily detoxification to get you through the holidays more healthily.
00:29:18
And so, daily detox looks like hydration, electrolytes, sweating, so either exercise or
00:29:24
sauna use.
00:29:25
Twenty five to thirty five grams of daily fiber, cruciferous vegetables like things like
00:29:30
broccoli and kale and brussels sprouts are gonna help activate that detox.
00:29:34
And then, some of the more powerful things are things like milk thistle, which is an herb for
00:29:38
the liver, NAC or glutathione, which are powerful liver support detoxifiers.
00:29:44
And so really the final takeaway from all of this that I want everyone to take home today if
00:29:48
you took nothing else, is that you don't need to be perfect during the holidays.
00:29:53
You just need to have a plan.
00:29:54
And if you support your blood sugar, your gut, your sleep, and your detox pathways, you can
00:29:59
enjoy the holidays, but enter January ahead of the game and ahead of everyone else.
00:30:05
And I promise you it is worth it, to make that little bit of sacrifice now.
00:30:10
And so, thank you again for tuning in to Health Decoded.
00:30:14
I hope this episode provided you with some really good actionable things and some value.
00:30:19
If you know anyone that would benefit from this and would like to hear this information, please
00:30:24
do share.
00:30:25
As always, we ask that you subscribe and like the show and follow it.
00:30:29
That helps us to reach more followers and spread the word to make a bigger impact.
00:30:33
If you're interested in any of our functional medicine services or any of the other cool
00:30:37
things we do within our clinics, go to alessifunctionalhealth.com and you can book an
00:30:43
appointment with me as a podcast listener.
00:30:45
We always give exclusive discounts on labs, blood work, tests, and consultations and things
00:30:51
like that.
00:30:51
We are more than happy to help.
00:30:54
And as always, if you have questions, you can send those over to us at askalessiefxhealth dot
00:30:59
com.
00:31:00
Happy to answer those, and often we answer those live on the show as well.
00:31:04
Thank you again for tuning in.
00:31:06
I'm Doctor.
00:31:06
Lesse and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode.
00:31:10
Thank you for tuning in to Health Decoded, where we break down the truth about all things
00:31:15
health and empower you to take charge of your well-being.
00:31:19
If you found value in today's episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with
00:31:24
someone who needs to hear this.
00:31:26
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00:31:32
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00:31:33
To hear your questions answered live on the show, send them to askalessifxhealth dot com.
00:31:39
That's askalessifxhealth dot com.
00:31:45
Until next time, stay curious, stay empowered, and remember, your health is in your hands.