Did you know that eating butter can help prevent and reverse obesity, diabetes and a whole host of other degenerative diseases? That's right, I said butter! The following is a guest post by Matt Stone of 180degreehealth.com Enjoy!
Modern humans are simply not that healthy. Eating healthy food can help, but it's not a sure thing. To be able to take advantage of healthy food and have health like we all aspire to have – free of degenerative disease and most of our minor maladies, we have to be able to digest, metabolize, and assimilate that healthy food like we are supposed to. This is where a huge layer of complexity is added to nutrition, and how it can best be used as a tool to improve health.
What Is a Healthy Diet?
Weston A. Price showed us all that, at the core, changes in nutrition brought about a multi-generational cumulative effect that totally changed the human organism starting with the formation of the teeth, the nostrils, and more. Price and others such as Denis Burkitt, Hugh Trowell, and T.L. Cleave also showed us all that human diets, as long as they lacked refined grain, white sugar, and vegetable oil and included at least some animal products, could deliver perfect health.
Modern-day squabbles about how many carbohydrates or fats should be in the diet or whether Neolithic foods such as grains and dairy are acceptable are sheer minutiae. Healthy humans free of Western disease have been discovered in every corner of the globe. Several of those diets contained either grains or dairy or both. Some diets contained very low amounts of carbohydrates and over 300 grams of fat per day. Other disease-free peoples ate 90% of their diet as carbohydrate, with hardly an ounce of fat.
There is no commonality amongst healthy peoples and a particular macronutrient ratio. Nor is dairy or grain synonymous with the onset of Western disease (unless grains were consumed in isolation without their essential “protective” counterparts such as fish, meat, insects, or dairy).
The commonality is simply the presence of white sugar, refined grain — white rice, and to a greater extent white flour — and vegetable oil. No one knows exactly why that is, or how these foods wreak their mayhem. Lack of nutrients or fiber are but small pieces of that puzzle.
The big unanswered question, and one that I've been pondering and exploring for years is how to overcome and reverse that damage. How to, ahem, perform a 180 Degree turnaround.
Raising Metabolism
So far, the biggest weapon I've found is raising the metabolism — raising the mitochondrial activity of every cell. Consider the response of some lab animals before and after raising the metabolism (using the help of a substance naturally produced in the gut in response to something present in natural foods but not the aforementioned white sugar and white flour).
Stephan Guyenet of www.wholehealthsource.blogspot.com writes:
Susceptible strains of rodents fed high-fat diets overeat, gain fat and become profoundly insulin resistant. Dr. Jianping Ye's group recently published a paper showing that the harmful metabolic effects of a high-fat diet (lard and soybean oil) on mice can be prevented, and even reversed, using a short-chain saturated fatty acid called butyric acid (hereafter, butyrate).
The butyrate-fed mice remained lean and avoided metabolic problems. Butyrate increased their energy expenditure by increasing body heat production and modestly increasing physical activity. It also massively increased the function of their mitochondria, the tiny power plants of the cell.
Butyrate lowered their blood cholesterol by approximately 25 percent, and their triglycerides by nearly 50 percent. It lowered their fasting insulin by nearly 50 percent, and increased their insulin sensitivity by nearly 300 percent. The investigators concluded:
‘Butyrate and its derivatives may have potential application in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome in humans.'
[Note from CHEESESLAVE: Butter is the very best source of butyrate.]
Dieting Lowers Metabolism
Anyway, I don't propose to have answered all the questions about how to raise the metabolism, but I do know that the vast majority of my loyal (okay fine, brainwashed) followers have had tremendous success in raising the best outwardly indicator of mitochondrial activity — their body temperature. Some have even managed to raise their body temperatures in excess of 2 degrees F in as little as a few months, prompting me, in my infinite shallowness, to start a “Hot Chicks Club” for all the women that have achieved a body temperature of 99 degrees F following my “theories.”
Fortunately, restricting your diet or cutting calories is not the answer. That has been known for over a century to lower the metabolism, lower the body temperature, increase the body's ability to store fat, induce overeating, and so on.
Even Dr. Atkins understood this:
…remember that prolonged dieting (this one, low-fat, low-calorie, or a combination) tends to shut down thyroid function. This is usually not a problem with the thyroid gland (therefore blood tests are likely to be normal) but with the liver, which fails to convert T4 into the more active thyroid principle, T3. The diagnosis is made on clinical ground with the presence of fatigue, sluggishness, dry skin, coarse or falling hair, an elevation in cholesterol, or a low body temperature. I ask my patients to take four temperature readings daily before the three meals and near bedtime. If the average of all these temperatures, taken for at least three days, is below 97.8 degrees F (36.5 C), that is usually low enough to point to this form of thyroid problem; lower readings than that are even more convincing.
Actually, eating MORE nutritious, unadulterated food is a ticket to major metabolic breakthrough for many, and I feel very fortunate to have stumbled across such a thing so that I can share it with you. It may sound crazy, and require some serious faith on your part, but I believe it to be one of the most powerful tools out there for permanently improving health in a hurry.
Your metabolism governs, among other things, the rate of fat burning in the body and insulin sensitivity (and thus your risk for insulin and glucose-related illnesses such as diabetes, dementia, stroke, heart disease, obesity, many cancers). People are consistently bringing body temperature up at 180degreehealth.
If you are a devout eater of the “healthy foods” championed by Cheeseslave and other Real Food Media heroes, and have yet to experience any health breakthroughs (or have experienced the opposite of a health breakthrough), you might wanna check out www.180degreehealth.com
Get the eBook
I've just written an eBook specifically geared towards raising the metabolism. Specifically, you can expect the information in the book to be able to help you:
- Raise your metabolism
- Decrease hunger and cravings for sugar, caffeine, and other junk foods
- Increase physical energy
- Increase body temperature
- Increasing the rate of lipolysis (burning fat for energy, as opposed to storing it as body fat)
- Increase Insulin sensitivity
The book is completely free of charge. All you have to do to reserve your copy is sign up to be on my mailing list at 180degreehealth.com
You can also read more about the pivotal importance of the metabolism on my blog: https://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/importance-of-basal-metabolism.html
Eat the Food!
Read more about Matt Stone.
Photo credit: Vicious Bits on Flickr
I am a huge fan of Matt Stone and also the Weston A. Price way of eating. I was able to raise my own metabolism and I’ve lost 77 pounds so far. Butter and olive oil are my favorite fats, I also indulge in grass-fed meats and pastured eggs. I can honestly say I have not restricted my calories or “dieted” to lose that 77 pounds and the weight just keeps coming off, my energy level is high and I am healthier than I’ve ever been. Fantastic blog post!
This sounds wonderful but I wonder how applicable it actually is to Type 1 diabetes. I wish people would learn to differentiate between the two types and that someday someone would come up with SOMETHING that actually helps Type 1 diabetics… which is what my youngest son was diagnosed with about 18 months ago.
I would love feedback from anyone experienced with this particular type of diabetes.
I just talked to a fellow who had type 1 diabetes and he told me that he was no longer on insulin…..I was very curious as to how this happened as I always thought that it could not be cured.
He told me that “Diet is the key”. He had gotten a lapband and has lost some 140 lbs? if I remember correctly. In addition he has changed the what he eats.
He said that he is still on metformin, but hey, he no longer has to take insulin. That’s great.
My wife is type 2 diabetic. We have been trying to get her blood sugar readings down from 250, and thus have been eating more eggs, potatoes, butter, and such. Her last readings are between 130 to 140 so far. I am hoping to get Matt Stone’s book so that we can help her improve even better.
I love Matt! and I love Butter, esp. raw cultured butter. I confess to eating chunks of it right out of the tub.
Yum!
xo
deb
.-= Debbie´s last blog ..Casa Paradiso- My Adventures with Anthony and the Blackbird Naturals Family- =-.
Woohoo! Matt-aroni and Cheeseslave are at it again. Thanks for having him guest post. He constantly challenges even the WAPF mindset (if there is such a thing) and I love him for it!
Beth,
I here you about your son. I am a type 1 diabetic and have been since I was 10. I have been eating real food since about January. I have noticed great difference, but I think the big difference will not happen until I can detox my body. I was reading about that today on livingthenourishedlife.com. My insulin levels have come down dramatically. I have lowered my basal rates (I am on an insulin pump) drastically since I have been eating this way. One eye opener was last month I was sick and did not have any food made ahead for when I could not cook. My husband does not cook, so he went out and brought home dinner. I not only gained a lot of weight, but my blood sugars were really out of wack. We have now been eating all real food again and I now have to lower my basal rates back down.
Through all of this I do know that the liver and the prancreas work together, I think if I can detox my liver there may be a chance of helping the pancreas out. If I did not work outside of the home I would start detoxing tomorrow, but it is going to have to wait for now. Go to the livingthenourishedlife.com. She has been talking about detoxing all month. I am really anxious to try it. It would be hard to have your son do this if he is very young though. It does take a while to go through the steps in the right order to detox our bodies.
I beleive it is possible to heal our bodies, but it will not happen over night.
I have only just recently discovered Matt and am reading his materials now. He gives me hope for my raging diabetes dilemma and I am indeed excited that information like this is coming out. I’ve never quite believed that diabetes and other such diseases are irreversible or incurable. If there is no truth to what Matt and others are saying, then my life is over. I, too, thank you for guesting Matt and allowing many others to hear this truly good news.
I love my Butter. A while back I was using mainly coconut oil as a fat source but now I have switched to more butter with my veggies or when frying eggs, Living in the UK allows me to get some pretty tasty Irish butter which is amazing!
Keep up the great work and awesome E-Book, It can certainly help a lot of people!
Modern-day squabbles about how many carbohydrates or fats should be in the diet or whether Neolithic foods such as grains and dairy are acceptable are sheer minutiae. Healthy humans free of Western disease have been discovered in every corner of the globe. Several of those diets contained either grains or dairy or both. Some diets contained very low amounts of carbohydrates and over 300 grams of fat per day. Other disease-free peoples ate 90% of their diet as carbohydrate, with hardly an ounce of fat.
This is sheer heretical nonsense! I mean, what would Weston think? Didn’t he stop writing his book after he bumped into the Eskimos?
Good stuff Mr. Stone!
.-= Michael´s last blog ..Say What Your Tax Dollars At Work- Eat Local Run Amok =-.
Thanks, Ann Marie for this guest post. I am subscribing to Matt’s blog now. As if Jon and I needed an excuse to eat more butter, LOL! We need more bloggers promoting healthy, nutrient-dense food and educating about Weston A. Price’s research. Thank you, Matt, for sharing your e-book with us.
.-= Cathy Payne´s last blog ..ONL062 Conversation with Jimmy Moore – Living the Low-Carb Life =-.
Excellent post! (What else can I expect when two of my favorite bloggers team up?)
You really hit the nail on the head, Matt. Weston A Price never came back from his research recommending macronutrient ratios. He only advised the inclusion of certain foods (animal foods!) and the exclusion of others (as you said, refined grains and sugar, etc.).
.-= Elizabeth @ The Nourished Life´s last blog ..Detox Month Post Round-Up- 10 Exciting Posts on Detoxification =-.
Ann Marie. I’ve left a ton of legendary comments throughout the internet over the years, but this one – linking back to this post from the NYTimes Well Blog is by far the most legendary. You guys’ll love this! The NYTimes trying to make French cooking more healthy…
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/french-cooking-made-healthful/#comment-543447
Thanks for the comments above everyone. Naomi, please contact me via e-mail (sacredself@gmail.com) once you’ve read 180 Degree Diabetes and let’s see what we can do. No two cases of diabetes are identical – and depending on the health of your beta cells there’s no guarantee that restoring insulin sensitivity will be enough. But I’ve got my fingers crossed.
.-= Matt Stone´s last blog ..Improve Insulin Sensitivity =-.
Matt: I could not stop my “comment whore” nature and left a post after yours on the NY times blog.
too good, keep up the poking at the silliness of food nazis.
deb xo
.-= Debbie´s last blog ..Casa Paradiso- My Adventures with Anthony and the Blackbird Naturals Family- =-.
It’s refreshing to get out of trying to find the exact precise perfect diet, and instead think of all whole foods as good, and all refined foods ad bad. It makes life much easier, cause we’re going to have to live this in order to regain health and have hopefully life long health. Counting calories and developing phobia for certain food groups can not be part of life long health in my opinion.
I too have been wondering how in the world I can reveres my ruined health. 180DegreeHealth seems to have come up with the most powerful answer to that question.
Yay to rest, butter and potatoes!
Also, I can recommend getting the eBook. It’s fantastic, interesting, chocking, and funny!
I don’t believe grains are necessary for a healthy diet in any way. I don’t think there is a problem with not getting enough fiber in our diet; I think that there’s a problem getting TOO much fiber in our diets.
I agree with WAP ways except when it comes to drinking A1 milk even if raw and eating grains even if properly prepared.
I wished I had seen this post ealier in the year!
Oh dear. I went to 180degreeshealth site, and I want to see what’s on that site. What kind of useful information does it have? You know, learn a bit more about improving my health.
Unfortunately, that site has a video playing at the top. With speech. And there is NO WAY to turn it off or control volume on that site.
I’m sorry, but that’s the height of rudeness and bad website practices.
And, since I cannot shut it off, my only other choice is to shut down that website.
I’m really disappointed. I am. I would have liked to read what was there, but I am not willing to subject myself to that noise.
Laurie
I gotta agree with you – that’s not cool. Especially when you may be browsing at work. Matt must have just put that up. I don’t like any kind of video or audio that auto-plays on websites.
Check out his blog: https://www.180degreehealth.blogspot.com/
No auto-play media on that
Hey, where did that photo of Weston A Price come from? I’m trying to get it accepted on Wikipedia. I’ve never seen one that is high resolution and sepia toned like that.
I’m going to check out this website. I have hypothyroidism and whenever I have my temperature taken it is usually below 97.5. I also have a really hard time losing weight. Raising my metabolism sounds like a key point to losing weight and getting healthy!
I wish I would have read this a year ago when I was diagnosed w/ hypothyroidism. Well, I’m reading it now, and all I can say is, “Woohoo”! This makes absolute sense. I’ve also subscribed to Matt Stone’s e-messages. From the comments I’ve read here, the e-book is going to be a real help. Thanks again for such excellent health tips, Cheeseslave.
I did not know about Matt Stone before but I just went to his website and it looks fantastic! Loved the post!
how do I recieve your free e-book on diabetes
thankyou for your work
I think if you believe that bacon, cheese and butter are good for you, you are not the smartest individual I’ve ever come across. Just because it makes you lose weight, doesn’t make it healthy. The world health organization says that two of those products are unsafe for human consumption.
I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, endometriosis that was growing into my bowels and poly-cystic ovary syndrome. I was obese, and honestly, my food was killing me slowly.
My doctor saved my life by having me try a healthy diet.
I am living on a low fat, high carbohydrate diet.
You may wonder how I’ve gotten better (without surgery that my doctor said I would need), lost weight, lowered my cholesterol, and lowered my blood pressure in about a month.
I am a raw vegan. This is a healthy fruit based diet that gets rid of all of the oil, salt, meat, and processed foods I once ate.
I am not an idiot. I don’t blindly follow a person just because they wrote a book and are on the internet.
I see a nutritionist and a physician before I start any diet, and you should always make sure to consult your doctor before you start an exercise regiment.
Just remember that being vegan is the only diet proven to reduce chances of Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, & Eczema.
I recommend talking to your doctor, reading about the china study, and taking the time to read the new study Harvard just came out with.
Also, please try not to kill yourself following uninformed individuals. It would be the dumbest thing you could do to yourself.