Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Dr. Gundry Podcast, the weekly podcast where Dr. G gives you the tools you need to boost your health and live your healthiest life.
Dr. Gundry (00:13):
Thousands of Americans struggle with belly fat, and if you’re one of them, you probably know how difficult it is to get rid of. You see, excess belly fat is a sign of more significant issues. In this episode, I reveal why so many of us struggle with belly fat, what it may indicate about our health, and how you can finally say goodbye to it.
(00:32):
Plus, I share healthy snacks and coffee alternatives to ensure you keep the pounds off while improving your health. If you’re new to my eating protocol, you probably notice it’s nearly impossible to find all the foods you need for a lectin-light diet at your local grocery store, especially at an affordable price.
(00:52):
That’s why I recommend you get yourself a membership at Thrive Market, a healthy online marketplace. Thrive Market is a one-stop shop for many of my go-to high quality grocery essentials, like non-toxic household cleaning supplies, wild caught canned salmon, organic pistachios, lectin-free flowers, and so much more.
(01:11):
Thrive Market is your stress-free solution. Order from the comfort of your couch and skip the grocery lines and crowded parking lot. And I absolutely love how easy it is to use their website and app. Whether you’re looking for gluten-free, zero waste, or keto, you can filter by 90 plus different values and lifestyles to find exactly what you want.
(01:34):
Best of all, when you join Thrive Market, you’re joining a community of one million plus members and sponsoring a membership for a family in need. Get convenient, high quality, affordable groceries delivered fast with Thrive Market. When you join Thrive Market today with my link, you’ll get $80 in free groceries. That’s thrivemarket.com/gundrypodcast to get $80 in free groceries.
(02:08):
The Dr. Gundry Podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, while you’re listening to me talk, you’re probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you’re not in some kind of moving vehicle, there’s something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
(02:29):
It’s easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save over $700 on average and auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts, discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more.
(02:47):
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24/7, 365 days a year so you are protected no matter what. Multitask right now, quote your car insurance at progressive.com to join the over 27 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates national annual average insurance savings by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2020 and May 2021.
(03:15):
Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. The best diet to lose belly fat, eat this, not that. Okay. The truth is you cannot choose which area of the body that you can lose fat from, but what you can do is tackle the cause behind why fat may be accumulating in the belly area.
(03:41):
Now I’ve said for years that fat in the gut, you are out of luck, fat on your ass, you’re good to last. And I really mean that. Fat in the gut is a incredibly good indicator of bad gut health. Why? Well, it turns out 80% of all of our white blood cells, our immune cells line the walls of our intestine are in the fat in our abdomen.
(04:13):
And if you’ve got leaky gut, if you’re slicing your gut open with razor blades in the food you eat like lectins, like gluten, then there is a war going on inside your abdomen. And that war requires fuel for the troops, your immune cells. And there’s very strong evidence that I’ve written about in most of my books that this abdominal fat is actually the fuel depot, the ammo depot for your immune cells that are fighting a battle in your gut.
(04:50):
That’s why fat in your gut, you’re out of luck. So one of the best ways to actually lose abdominal fab is to support your gut health. And there’s some easy steps that I use in my clinics to support this. First and foremost, you’ve got to eliminate the foods that contain lectins.
(05:17):
Those are those little tiny proteins that act like razor blades when you eat them. And they literally poke holes in the wall of your intestine, which allows these proteins which are foreign to get across the wall, allows bacteria and bacterial particles to get across the wall, and strangely enough, allows normal healthy food that would normally be fully digested before it’s absorbed to actually get across the wall of your gut and your immune system recognizes it as foreign.
(05:58):
Can you imagine? I actually have patients who their immune system thinks broccoli is a foreign substance because they have leaky gut and they eat a lot of broccoli. Number two, we know that your gut microbiome is your major defensive line against lectins getting into you.
(06:24):
And yet for most of us, our gut microbiome has been destroyed by the amount of antibiotics that we personally take, and probably just as importantly, if not more so, the amount of antibiotics that have been fed to our animals to fatten them up for slaughter. So you got to be careful with the animals you eat. You got to find organic, grass fed, grass finish, pastured or wild caught seafood.
(06:57):
Don’t let organic fool you. Most of these animals are fed organic corn and soybeans, which are loaded with lectins. And as you’ve heard in other lectures, not only you are what you eat, but you are what the thing you’re eating ate and they will pass that trouble onto you. Secondly, if you want the gut to repair itself, you actually have to ask it to have some downtime, some rest time.
(07:28):
That’s why time restricted eating or intermittent fasting where you compress your eating period to say 16 hours a day, you give the gut rest the rest of the time. And it’s during that rest period that repair work can be done. Many people say, “Well, I’m just going to repair my gut with gut repair supplements.” That’s fine.
(07:56):
I even make several gut repair supplements. But if you keep swallowing razor blades every time you repair the wall of your gut, it gets sliced open again. So the first thing you got to do is get those razor blades out of your diet. Now why should we concentrate on belly fat? Well, because it is a sign of inflammation and inflammation is the root cause of almost everything bad that’s going to happen to you.
(08:29):
But remember, belly fat rarely shows up on a scale. So measurements of your weight and even your BMI, body mass index are not good indicators of health. What’s really important is visceral fat. And in fact, there’s strong evidence that skinny obesity is an incredible health problem in this country.
(08:55):
As I mentioned in unlocking the keto code, 50% of normal weight individuals have metabolic inflexibility, have insulin resistance, 50% of normal weight individuals. That’s why the scale may lie to you. Now there are ways of finding out what your belly fat percentage is. Certain scales have a setting for belly fat percentage. And I talk all about this in episode 184 where I’m joined by the CEO and CSO of Bello, the world’s first portable belly fat scanner.
(09:41):
It’s fun, it’s easy to use, and it makes it easy to track what’s the most lethal fat in your body, and that’s the fat in your belly. So remember, fat in your gut, you’re out of luck. As the temperature drops, I’m brewing more cups of tea than usual these days. Sure, in the wellness community, we tend to obsess over the quality of our tea and coffee beans, but the purity of our water deserves equal if not more attention because all water is not the same.
(10:14):
According to extensive research by the environmental working group, three out of four homes in America have harmful contaminants in its tap water. That’s why you’ve got to check out AquaTru. AquaTru purifiers use a four stage reverse osmosis purification process. And their countertop purifiers work with no installation or plumbing.
(10:35):
It removes 15 times more contaminants than ordinary pitcher filters, and they have water purifiers to fit every type of home. From installation free countertop purifiers to higher capacity under sync options. They even have a wifi connected purifier and alkaline options. It’s the same technology used by all the major bottled water brands, but now it’s available for your home and without the plastic waste.
(11:02):
The filters are affordable and long lasting. Meaning you can say goodbye to changing filters every two to three months. AquaTru filters can last up to two years. Best of all, the water tastes fantastic. AquaTru comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and even makes a great gift. Today you’ll receive 20% off any AquaTru purifier. Just go to AquaTruwater.com, that’s AquaTruwater.com and enter code GUNDRY20 at checkout.
(11:37):
That’s 20% off any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTruwater.com and use code GUNDRY20. My favorite blue light glasses company, BLUblox has rebranded. BLUblox is now called BON CHARGE. Founded on science and inspired by nature, BON CHARGE is a holistic wellness brand with a huge range of evidence-based products to optimize your life in every way.
(12:06):
Their extensive range of premium wellness products helps you sleep better, perform better, have more energy, recover faster, balance hormones, the list is endless. From blue light glasses to EMF management and circadian friendly lighting, BON CHARGE products help you naturally address the issues of our modern day way of life effortlessly and with maximum impact.
(12:30):
One of the coolest products BON CHARGE offers is their EMF protection laptop mat. BON CHARGE also offers other wellness solutions to combat current day problems such as blue light glasses, 100% blackout sleep masks and blue light free light bulbs, all backed by science. BON CHARGE ships worldwide in rapid time with easy returns and exchanges.
(12:54):
Go to BONCHARGE.com/gundry and use coupon code GUNDRY to save 15%. That’s BONCHARGE.com/gundry and use coupon code GUNDRY to save 15%. Along with avoiding inflammatory foods like sugar and lectin-rich grains, probiotics are an important part of keeping your gut healthy. And there’s one probiotic I recommend the most, and that’s Akkermansia, my favorite good gut buddy.
(13:26):
It’s that miraculous mucus producing strain I rave about in all my books. Other scientists have tried for decades to capture this very special good bacteria as a stable supplement, but nobody could figure out how to populate the gut lining with Akkermansia in pill form until now. Pendulum is the first and only company to offer probiotics containing their patented Akkermansia [inaudible 00:13:52] bacterial strain in a standalone probiotic.
(13:54):
We lose Akkermansia as we age, so the only way to get it back into your body is through Pendulum’s Akkermansia probiotic since you can’t get it from food. And they’re offering a 20% discount on the first month of an Akkermansia membership with code GUNDRY20. Go to wwwpendulumlife.com and use my code GUNDRY20 at checkout. That’s pendulumlife.com and use my code GUNDRY20 for a 20% discount on your first month of membership.
(14:33):
Shocking benefits of eating pistachios every day for 30 days. Do you need a healthy movie snack or something easy to eat on the go? Look no further than pistachios. Not only are they delicious, but they are also one of the healthiest nuts on the planet. What’s the benefit of pistachios? Well, first of all, if you’ve read my most recent book, Unlocking the Keto Code, you know that pistachios are one of the richest sources of melatonin that there is.
(15:08):
Now what the heck is melatonin? While most of you think about melatonin and you think about the sleep hormone, and in fact it’s true. Our pineal gland, this little bitty gland in the middle of our brain produces melatonin at the time or just before we go to sleep, and we have elevated melatonin levels during sleep. And so for many, many years we’ve associated melatonin with production of sleep.
(15:38):
But as you found out, in fact, the reason melatonin rises during the time we’re asleep is because melatonin is only one of two available antioxidants inside mitochondria. And mitochondria, of course, are the energy producing organelles in all of our cells, including our brain. So the recent research is that melatonin is produced during sleep because that’s when the repair work of our brain and our brain’s mitochondria takes place.
(16:15):
And so naturally, you’d want more antioxidant melatonin production during sleep. But surprisingly, because melatonin is our preferred antioxidant, getting melatonin throughout the day also protects our mitochondria during daytime. And the best source for melatonin is pistachios. So it’s not going to put you to sleep, it’s going to repair your mitochondria while you’re eating.
(16:48):
So do not think, “Oh, pistachios make me sleepy.” They’re actually repairing your mitochondria. Now an antioxidant is there because as many of you have learned, mitochondria making ATP, they get damaged. It’s hard work. Your mitochondria are running sweat shops trying to make you ATP. And all that damage has a consequence.
(17:18):
In fact, many of us believe that the ravages of what we view as aging is actually accumulated mitochondrial damage. So if we can get one of the two major antioxidants on a daily basis into our diet, then why wouldn’t we? Now you’re going, “Well wait a minute. Melatonin is a sleep hormone and plants don’t go to sleep. Why do plants produce melatonin?”
(17:49):
Why in the world would a pistachio have melatonin? Well, just like we need melatonin to protect our mitochondria, plants have their own mitochondria. They’re called chloroplasts. And these mitochondrian plants are also damaged, believe it or not, by sunlight. Sunlight is necessary for plants to make ATP, but sunlight is damaging to their mitochondria.
(18:19):
So plants produce melatonin and Polyphenols to protect their mitochondria. So we can get melatonin from red wine, we can get melatonin from olive oil, we can get melatonin from mushrooms. And in fact, many of the theories of the French paradox where the French, despite eating large amounts of fatty things and fatty cheeses have significantly less coronary artery disease than Americans.
(18:58):
The French paradox or the benefit of the Mediterranean diet may be in fact the melatonin content of the foods that these people are eating and drinking. Let me give you an example. One study showed that over an eight week period of pre-diabetic individuals, now calling somebody a pre-diabetic is like telling a woman she’s a little bit pregnant. There’s no difference, folks, I can assure you.
(19:29):
So these are metabolically inflexible individuals. They were given 75 grams of pistachios per day. At the end of eight weeks, their oxidized LDL decreased significantly. Now what the heck does that mean? Well, LDL is quote “The bad cholesterol.” And rather than give you a cholesterol lesson today, it doesn’t matter what your LDL cholesterol is, as long as that cholesterol is not oxidized, rusty or rancid.
(20:04):
If cholesterol is rusty or rancid, then it has the potential to stick to blood vessels. If it’s not rusty or rancid, not oxidized, then it will not stick to blood vessels and promote heart disease. So lowering oxidized LDL is a really important thing to do. In fact, I measure oxidized LDL in all my patients every three to six months to see how we’re doing.
(20:34):
So adding pistachios to pre-diabetics lowered their oxidized LDL. In another study, this is even better, A Mediterranean diet was administered to normal cholesterol, 32 healthy young men for four weeks. After four weeks, the participants continued to receive the Mediterranean diet, but pistachios were added to the diet for four more weeks.
(21:05):
Just by adding the pistachios, the participant showed an improved blood glucose level, improved endothelial function. That means how flexible your blood vessels are. It also means that your blood vessels aren’t sticky, that they aren’t lined with fly paper. And I measure this in my clinics and a reduction in oxidative stress markers, same sort of thing.
(21:34):
Oxidation is really what we’re trying to avoid. Oxidation of our red blood cells, oxidation of our glucose, oxidation of our LDL. And so just adding pistachios to a perfect Mediterranean diet improved things even more. So that’s why in a tasty way, adding pistachios to anybody’s diet is the [inaudible 00:22:07] of a healthy snack.
(22:10):
So add pistachios to your diet. They’re great roasted or raw. Interestingly enough, roasting sometimes affects the Polyphenol content of nuts. But in the case of pistachios, it’s been shown that roasting has no effect on the Polyphenol content. Now if you got a choice by the in shell pistachios rather than the already peeled pistachios. There’s two reasons for this.
(22:43):
Number one fun fact, once you crack open that pistachio shell, you’ll see that there’s a little membrane, a little almost looks like a feather attached to the pistachio. That’s actually the highest Polyphenols content of the entire pistachio. And so get that thing and eat it. The other thing is shelling pistachios slows you down and it will take you a longer time to get those pistachios in you and you’ll get fuller faster.
(23:15):
And quite frankly, you won’t eat as many pistachios. Pistachio butter, if you can find, it’s great. It’s expensive, but it’s another great way to get pistachios in your diet. In fact, check out my pistachio cookie recipe right here on my YouTube channel. It’s fabulous. They’re also great in salads, put them in trail mix, make homemade granola bars with pistachios. Hummus, make hummus with pistachios.
(23:47):
And soups, you can actually blend them into soups. So there’s numerous ways to get pistachios in your diet. And remember, you’re going to get a double whammy of melatonin, which is going to protect your mitochondria, and you’re going to get polyphenols, which is going to protect and boost your mitochondrial function, all in one of those tasty snacks you can get.
(24:15):
In fact, my wife and I have pistachios as our snack every night right before dinner. I recommend that you do too. Healthy coffee substitutes. If you know me, you know I love coffee. I drink it every day, both for energy and for my health. But I also understand that coffee isn’t for everyone. In fact, even some of the most diehard caffeine addicts I know hate coffee.
(24:45):
So what should you do if you’re not a coffee person but you need a morning pick me up or a 3:00 PM jolt? Well, in just a minute, I’m going to share some of my favorite coffee substitutes and a hack for people who just don’t love the bitterness of coffee. First, I want to know why you’re looking for a coffee alternative.
(25:08):
If you simply don’t like the taste or if it’s got too much caffeine, I’ll get to those concerns in a minute. But if you read an article saying that coffee is unhealthy, I want to put that myth to rest once and for all and tell you, coffee is healthy for you. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, it’s fine to drink coffee.
(25:32):
In fact, regular coffee drinkers are shown to burn fat faster, enjoy improved energy and focus and even have an easier time with their blood sugar. Plus, there’s also some links between long-term cognitive health and coffee drinking. So if you happen to love coffee and your doctor says it’s okay, go ahead, drink up.
(26:00):
Just don’t add sugar or A1 milk to the mix. Those are what makes coffee unhealthy. Of course, if you’re one of those people who only likes their coffee sweetened and milky, consider coconut milk, stevia, unsweetened cocoa powder, or even cinnamon as additives. You’ll get the essence of sweetness without the dangers of sugar.
(26:26):
In fact, if you blend coffee with ice, coconut milk, a couple drops of stevia and cocoa powder, it tastes just like a mocha milkshake. Yum. But what if you actually want to avoid coffee entirely? Well, one of my favorite warm, comforting drinks of all time is your basic hot cocoa. I’ve actually got a hot cocoa recipe right here on this channel.
(26:53):
Really, all you need to do is melt bittersweet chocolate into simmering coconut milk and you’re taken care of. You’ll still enjoy some fantastic Polyphenol benefits, and it’s a great sweet treat at the end of the day. And whether you like it hot or iced, tea is always an option. And better news, just about every unsweetened tea out there is plant paradox friendly.
(27:20):
Now I’m not talking about those fruit flavored bottled teas. Of course, plain old tea is great, no matter how you brew it. That means black tea, white tea, green tea, and herbal teas are all on the menu whether you drink them hot or cold. And the same goes for matcha, that Polyphenol dense, powdered Japanese green tea.
(27:44):
Just don’t get it from China. Now remember, much like your coffee, you should not be drinking your tea with sugar or milk, no matter how traditional it may be. Love a matcha latte? I’ll bet you’d love it more with coconut or almond milk. Now you might be thinking, “But Dr. Gundry, what about all those popular coffee substitutes? You know the ones that look like coffee and may even taste like coffee but aren’t made with coffee beans?”
(28:17):
Well, before I go, I’ll break a few of the most common ones down for you, starting with chicory coffee. Now you can find chicory root in coffee or you can find it on its own in a dark, bitter coffee free drink. It’s pretty common in the American South, but these days you can find it anywhere. It tastes pretty similar to coffee, but it’s naturally caffeine free.
(28:40):
And you know what? It’s great for you. Not only is it delicious, but it’s a fantastic source of Inulin. And Inulin is a kind of fiber that is your gut bug’s favorite thing to eat. So when you drink a warm comforting cup of chicory, you’re feeding those gut bugs too. Now another common coffee swap is called Teeccino. Think tea cappuccino.
(29:08):
These are tea bags made primarily from Carib, that not as delicious chocolate substitute. And these drinks are also pretty high in sugar because they’re made with dates and other sweet ingredients. So in my opinion, they’re best to avoid. Now if you shop in health stores, you maybe seen containers of mushroom coffee. And in case you are wondering, yes, there’s actually a drink made from mushrooms. And an important note, a lot of mushroom coffee contains both mushrooms and coffee.
(29:43):
So if your doctor has told you to skip coffee, read your labels carefully. But for most people, because mushroom coffee features nutrient-rich mushrooms and no added sugar, it’s a great swap out for coffee, just not a caffeine free one. Another great coffee substitute is actually tea, Rooibos tea Tea. This strong dark tea comes from South Africa. It’s low in tannins, but high in other health boosting Polyphenols.
(30:14):
Now because it’s low in tannins, that means it doesn’t get bitter even when you steep at a long time, which means you can brew this tea as dark as coffee without sacrificing flavor. Now before I go, I need to share a pretty important warning. You see, there’s one coffee substitute that you should avoid at all costs, and it’s a pretty well established one.
(30:40):
It’s called Postum. And it’s been around since 1895, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Not only does it taste not so great, at least in my opinion, but it’s made with three remarkably unhealthy ingredients, wheat, wheat bran, and molasses. That’s right. This coffee swap is basically brewed lectin, so steer clear no matter what. But other than Postum and Teeccino, go ahead and enjoy these common coffee swaps as much as you want, just don’t add milk and sugar.
Dr. Drew (31:20):
Hey, this is Dr. Drew, and I’d like to invite all of you to subscribe to the Dr. Drew Podcast. We are very proud of what we’re doing there at that podcast. I am interviewing some of the most interesting, well, people you could ever want to talk to. Just whatever I find fascinating.
(31:34):
Whether there’s a smart person or an expert in a field that I’m interested in or maybe I’m not even interested in, I’m only interested because I’ve heard them speak and become intrigued. I think you’ll be intrigued as well. We get deep into topics that are quite important to the current age.
(31:49):
Things like cognitive dissonance, cognitive distortions, how does our mind work. We talk about everything at the Dr. Drew Podcast that is of real relevance. We get all the way into deep physics and all sorts of stuff. But trust me, it’s all very accessible. It’s very interesting. Headaches, if you’re even in a position of learning about headaches, we get there. We go to the interesting topics of the day. Please join us at the Dr. Drew Podcast.
Dr. Gundry (32:15):
Now time for the question of the week. This comes from Josephine on YouTube. She asked, “Does the skin of walnuts contain lectins or do we have to skin them off before eating?” Well, that’s a great question, Josephine. Lectins are not present in the skin of walnuts, but walnuts have a number of similar compounds that are called tannins.
(32:37):
Some of my female patients notice that when they eat walnuts, it bothers the inside of their mouth, irritates the inside of the mouth. If that’s one of your problems, here’s the deal. Soak walnuts, or many stores now sell already soaked raw walnuts, and that usually takes care of the problem.
(32:59):
The other thing to realize is that it’s very important for consumption of walnuts, for your brain, for your skin, for just about every aspect of your health. So don’t forgo the walnuts if they bother you, soak them and see if that does the job. Review of the week.
(33:18):
This comment comes from Lex Dog 17 on my YouTube channel, “Dr. Gundry, thank you so much for all that you do. My blood pressure is below normal for the first time in three years, and I’ve been losing weight and feeling great.” I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry Podcast. To stay updated on the latest news and episode drops, don’t forget to follow the Dr. Gundry Podcast on your favorite platform, and sign up for my free newsletter at drgundry.com. If you like what you hear, be sure to leave me a review so I can feature it on an upcoming episode.
