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Lewis HowesThe TOP FOODS You Absolutely SHOULD NOT EAT To Live Longer! | Dr. Sten Ekberg & Lewis Howes
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Eat Real Food and Why Low Carb Matters
Lewis Howes asks for the top foods to eat. Dr. Ekberg answers that the first rule is to eat real food and says most calories today come from white flour, white sugar and processed seed oils. He stresses low carb because he says most people are insulin resistant.
- •Physical, mental and spiritual health are not separate: what works for the body works for the body
- •He says 60-70% of calories come from fake food such as white flour, white sugar and seed oils
- •Asian populations ate carbs for centuries but without added sugar, constant snacking and with physical labor
- •He cites an estimate of about 88% of the US being insulin resistant, and about 60% globally
Insulin Resistance and Fat Storage Explained
Ekberg explains insulin resistance as the body's adaptation to repeated carb exposure, using a neighbor-bringing-pies analogy. He describes insulin as a storage hormone that converts excess glucose to fat.
- •Carbs raise blood sugar and the body releases insulin to move glucose into cells
- •Eating again while insulin is still high drives it higher in a stairstep
- •Insulin resistance is likened to resisting too many neighbors bringing pies
- •The body stores about 1,500 calories as carbs but has a nearly unlimited capacity to store fat
Meat as a Foundation and Limiting Grains
Asked about the top foods, Ekberg says humans are made to eat meat and should be limited on grains. He uses the paleo philosophy and the rapid change in modern wheat varieties to argue this, and discusses oatmeal and resistant starch.
- •Meat of all kinds has roughly similar protein and nutritional value, and variety is good
- •Human DNA is largely unchanged, while modern grains have been hybridized for yield instead of health
- •Grains should be the first thing to go for anyone with sensitivities, digestive issues or brain fog
- •Oats are a friendlier, naturally gluten-free grain, but still mostly starch
- •Resistant starch still mostly turns into glucose
Vegan vs. Carnivore and Foods You React To
Howes asks about vegetarianism, veganism and the lion diet. Ekberg shares his seven years as a vegetarian, and argues that plants have cleansing properties while animal foods are better for rebuilding. He says the food to avoid most is the one you react to, and that carnivore works largely as an elimination diet.
- •Ekberg says the World War II argument about less heart disease confuses correlation with causation
- •Plant food may help cleansing, while animal foods supply replacement parts, vitamins and minerals
- •Deficiencies in long-term vegetarians can take many years to appear
- •The number one food to avoid is the one you react to, since it creates inflammation
- •Carnivore is the ultimate elimination diet, but he doesn't see it as optimal forever for most people
Other Recommended Foods: Tubers, Vegetables, Eggs and Dairy
Ekberg lists further foods he likes: tubers, non-starchy vegetables, avocado, eggs and some dairy. He discusses nightshades and lectins, individual sensitivities and food quality.
- •Tubers like rutabaga, turnips and parsnips are fairly low carb and fit most regimens, though potatoes are nightshades
- •Broccoli and cauliflower are staples with about 4-5% net carbs, and avocado about 2-3%
- •Nightshades and lectins hurt only some people, and low carb is not right for everyone
- •Eggs are a separate category because a share of people are sensitive to them, and quality matters
- •He recommends yogurt, sour cream and good-quality cheese, getting food as close to nature as possible
Three Things to Eliminate: Sugar, Seed Oils and Artificial Sweeteners
Howes asks for three foods to eliminate. Ekberg names refined sugar, processed seed oils and artificial sweeteners, explaining why sucralose is a chlorinated compound. He then covers stevia, monk fruit and sugar alcohols in moderation.
- •Refined sugar in the quantities we eat is toxic
- •Seed and corn oils require heavy processing, bleaching and deodorizing
- •Sucralose is a chlorinated carbon that he links to pesticides
- •Stevia and monk fruit are plant extracts he considers acceptable if not mixed with other chemicals
- •Erythritol is the best sugar alcohol, but sugar alcohols should be used in moderation
Does Age Change What You Should Eat?
Howes asks whether diet should differ across decades of life. Ekberg says it is largely consistent and warns against overcomplicating things, using a giraffe analogy.
- •Diet needs are about 99% the same across ages
- •Overcomplicated rules about who should fast which way are not necessary
- •Giraffes of different ages and sexes eat from the same trees
Obesity, Diabetes Trends and Reducing Insulin Through Fasting
The conversation turns to rising obesity and pre-diabetes. Ekberg says testing fasting insulin is the simplest way to detect insulin resistance, and that eating fewer carbs and fewer meals lowers insulin. He explains why intermittent fasting becomes natural and how Type 2 diabetes grew from the 1970s.
- •Obesity is around 40% in the US and about a third are called pre-diabetic based on blood sugar only
- •Measuring fasting insulin catches resistance years before blood sugar changes
- •Lower insulin by eating fewer carbs and fewer meals; fasting is zero carb
- •Our ancestors ate once or twice a day, and the low-fat craze pushed people toward carbs and constant hunger
- •Type 2 diabetes was rare until the 1970s
Stubborn Weight, Stress and the Holistic View
Ekberg describes a 'broken carbohydrate processing machine' that makes weight loss hard for some people. He explains that health has chemical, structural and emotional legs, and that stress raises cortisol and worsens insulin resistance.
- •Some people do everything right yet lose little weight, and he looks at organ communication and thyroid issues
- •Holistic means addressing the whole: chemical, structural and emotional
- •Cortisol raises blood sugar and insulin, so stress makes insulin resistance worse
- •Food is the larger factor, while stress mainly matters for people already insulin resistant
Exercise Intensity, HIIT and Cortisol
Ekberg argues that people with midsection weight gain should avoid intense boot camps and do truly aerobic exercise. He defines real HIIT as very short, maximal intervals and describes his own hill sprints, along with the hormones such exercise produces.
- •Midsection weight gain is indicative of too much cortisol, so frequent intense workouts can backfire
- •Aerobic exercise means an intensity at which you can breathe comfortably
- •True HIIT is about 30-second intervals, only a few of them, no more than twice a week for the average person
- •HIIT and fasting produce growth hormone and BDNF, needed for new synapses
- •Elite athletes training for events need more, and people should watch how their body responds
Fasting Benefits: Autophagy, Longer Fasts and Brain Trauma
Ekberg describes the benefits of fasting, including lowered insulin and autophagy, and when autophagy kicks in. They discuss their longest fasts, exercising while fasting, and fasting after brain injury. He also explains why people feel they need sugar when they're carb-dependent.
- •Autophagy barely starts at 16-18 hours and rises significantly between 18 and 24 hours and beyond
- •Growth hormone helps spare muscle during fasting while the body recycles broken cells and pathogens
- •Keep exercise purely aerobic during long fasts
- •Autophagy is the brain's main way to clear inflammation after trauma, so avoid sugar and consider a fast
- •Feeling shaky without sugar comes from carb dependence, which can break in a few days of cutting carbs
Raising Growth Hormone, Eustress and Recovery
Asked for top ways to raise growth hormone, Ekberg names fasting and high intensity exercise, plus other stressors like breathing and cold. He draws the line between eustress and distress and says recovery, not exercise, is what builds strength.
- •Fasting is the most powerful natural way, followed by high intensity exercise
- •Think like the body: it makes growth hormone when challenged
- •Wim Hof breathing and other brief stressors also raise it, but less strongly
- •Eustress is helpful, while chronic distress causes maladaptation
- •After a very hard workout, he says muscles may need up to 72 hours to recover
Future of Health, Common Sense and Why It Matters Now
Asked what's coming in the next decade, Ekberg says he hopes to promote common sense about what the human body needs. He argues that degenerative disease starts decades earlier, that the world has changed faster than the body, and that quality of life into later years is possible.
- •Fads and yo-yo diets persist because people want quick fixes
- •The body needs chemical, structural and emotional balance, and this is a law of nature
- •Degenerative conditions start in the 30s but hit in the 60s and 70s, and they don't kill fast enough for people to care
- •The world changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 50,000
- •Many people live longer but 'die longer' with a poor quality of life
Three Truths, Greatness and Closing
Howes asks his closing three truths question. Ekberg answers that the body is an incredible healing machine to be respected and that healing is a law of nature, like water flowing downhill once obstacles are removed. He defines greatness and ends on food as medicine.
- •Your body is the most incredible healing machine, so respect it and learn what it needs
- •Healing is a law of nature, and you remove obstacles instead of teaching the body to heal
- •Greatness is being honest with yourself and going after the ultimate version of you
- •Food is a medicine we take three times a day
