In this episode, I put together five simple, practical tips to age gracefully and optimize energy and body composition.

I’m recording this on the heels of a lot of Energy Balance commentary— my interviews with Jay Feldman and multi-part reflections on the Energy Balance concept: the idea that we want our body functioning at maximum energy production at all times so that we can feel naturally energetic and active throughout the day. We want all our dials turned up at maximum—this includes metabolic dials, processing energy efficiently so we can perform workouts and stay active and energetic throughout the day, rather than dragging ourselves through life and feeling that constant, lingering fatigue—which comes from having inferior energy production and inferior energy balance. 

How does that happen—how do we even get into this situation in the first place? As you will hear in this episode, it comes from prolonged periods of stillness (which actually makes you more tired) and a lack of fitness in general. In this show, I talk about how energy is a renewable resource, explain how exercise actually makes you a more energetic person, and share ways you can actually become a more energetic person. I also share the #1 longevity factor and talk about what lean muscle mass indicates about your health, highlight the problems that come with losing muscle mass as you age, and reveal the secret to truly aging gracefully. 

QUOTES:

• “Not only are these plant superstars unnecessary and pale in comparison when it comes to the nutrient density of animal foods, they can also be potentially problematic.”
• “Soaking, sprouting, fermenting and cooking neutralizes plant toxins—this is why humans have been doing this for many years!”
• “Gluttony and sloth are not the causes of obesity; they are the symptoms.”

TIMESTAMPS:

We want our bodies to be functioning at maximum energy production at all times. Too much stillness will actually make you more tired. [01:02]

It has become normal to assume that with aging comes accelerated decline and demise. [04:09]

Consuming processed food will lead to lifelong insidious weight gain. Get rid of toxic modern foods. [06:14]

Your choice of olive oil should be Extra Virgin First Pressed Domestic olive oil. Avocado oil is a good alternative, however, beware that all avocado oils are not created equal. [13:32]

Refined sugars and grains are nutrient deficient and prompt many physical problems. [16:46]

Another food elimination to consider is foods that are high in natural plant toxins. [18:04]

Most commercial nuts like cashews, almonds, and such can be poisonous until they are processed. [23:00]

Even if you have a gluten-free diet, you can still ingest many other things that have a similar effect. [28:29]

LINKS:

• Brad Kearns.com
• Brad’s Shopping page
• Why We Get Fat
• Primal Kitchen
• Olive Oil Lovers Club
• Monterey Bay Acquarium.org
• Food Lies film

LISTEN:

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B.Rad Podcast

Brad (00:00):
Hello, listeners.Let’s put together five simple practical tips to age gracefully and optimize energy and body composition. And I’m recording this on the heels of a lot of energy balance commentary. My two interviews with Jay Feldman, my multi-part reflections on the energy balance concept, the idea that we want our body functioning at maximum energy production at all times maximum energy status, so that we can feel naturally energetic and active throughout the day. We want all of our dials turned up at maximum, and that means our metabolic dials. We wanna be processing energy efficiently so that we can do our workouts, we can keep active, we can stay energetic, we can pop up from our chair and dash down the hall to get another pad of post-it notes rather than dragging through life and feeling that constant lingering fatigue from having inferior energy production and inferior energy balance. And how does that happen? Well, guess what? That’s driven by prolonged periods of stillness. So too much stillness will actually make you more tired.

Brad (02:18):
A lack of fitness in general. So if you are, are not putting your body under resistance load, you’re not getting sufficient cardiovascular activity, you’re not doing anything that’s brief, explosive, and putting your muscles and your energy systems through those challenges, you will actually have less energy. Remember, energy is a renewable resource. So when you go out there and burn caloric energy through exercise, you are in many ways becoming a more energetic person. We’re not, uh, machines where we only have a a certain amount of gas in the tank, and then, uh, you’re outta gas and then you die. Of course not. And we can see the differences in lifespan and how important it is for energy optimization. So when you lead this more energetic lifestyle, that leads to even more energy. That, of course, develops and preserves more lean muscle mass, which we are now pointing

Brad (03:14):
the scope, the the focus for longevity is on preserving and maintaining lean muscle mass throughout life as arguably the single most important factor or predictor of longevity, health span disease protection. Uh, I’ve heard some great podcasts recently. Peter Attia has been talking about this a lot and many others saying that if you have lean muscle mass, it’s kind of a proxy for excellent metabolic health. We don’t even have to draw your blood. We can just see that you’re lacking a, a visceral fat waistline, a beer belly, and you’re preserving lean muscle mass throughout your body, and that means that those muscles are soaking up glucose what you eat from your diet. So you have good metabolic status, you have good glucose control and all those things that you might be also able to infer from using a continuous glucose monitor.

Brad (04:09):
But in general some guy walking around whose buff or some gal is a healthy specimen, unless of course they’re overdoing it or getting too lean. But I think you know what I mean when we’re talking about the compare and contrast versus maintaining sufficient muscle mass throughout life or choosing the other route the masses are taking these days, which is the accelerated decline and demise into aging. That is so common that we have come to perceive it as normal. And that is losing muscle mass, getting those legs, turning them into pencil legs. Growing that spare tire around the midsection for males and females is a very prominent marker of metabolic disease or poor metabolic health and accelerated aging. So keeping the spare tire away and keeping the muscle mass on is the essence of aging gracefully. I think, Dr. Layne Norton is also famous for his clips in these areas where he is talking about, Hey, if you got, if you’re ripped, you are metabolically healthy, just by definition, there’s no other way to get there.

Brad (05:15):
Especially think about the outliers, the amazing athletic specimens that we see occasionally in the older age groups and what’s possible in those older age groups. Jack Lalanne doing his crazy athletic feats on his birthday every year into his seventies and eighties and still rip city with the bulging biceps and all that great stuff. So the more we can do that, the more we can focus on that. Uh, we’re gonna hit these five tips to help you out and get, get things teed up so that you have the potential to succeed with aging gracefully. So on one path, we have the maintenance of lean muscle mass and high energy levels. Then we have the poor energy status from inactivity, lack of fitness consuming processed foods leading to sarcopenia as you get older. And boy, the biggest driver here, and this is why it’s gonna be tip number one, is to ditch the processed foods that are so prevalent in the modern diet.

Brad (06:14):
Consuming process foods will lead to lifelong insidious weight gain in the ancestral health scene for the last 15 years, we’ve been talking extensively about this, uh, so-called carbohydrate insulin model of obesity, whereby if you consume an extensive amount of carbohydrates in the diet as seen with the standard American grain-based diet, you’re gonna produce too much insulin and the insulin’s gonna keep fat locked in storage or put you in a fat storage pattern to do something with all this excess food that you’re eating. But now the message is getting more nuanced and sophisticated and it’s really looking like industrial seed oils are the number one culprit in the disease patterns, such as metabolic syndrome type two diabetes. So when you consume these agents, even though they don’t spike insulin like consuming sugar, the seed oils quickly and immediately interfere with your mitochondrial function, your ability to burn stored energy.

Brad (07:17):
They are integrated into healthy fat cells and rendering those fat cells difficult to burn for energy. So if you cannot burn body fat efficiently, you are really screwed because you have to turn to diet and because your energy is unstable, you’re going to crave these quick energy foods that cause the trouble in the first place. And oftentimes, the refined industrial seed oils are paired with processed carbohydrates refined sugars, grains, uh, sweetened beverages, and so you’re getting a hit of carbohydrate that’s spiking insulin. And then you’re also not good at burning body fat. So yes, you’re going to be locked into the fat storage pattern and the disease patterns of things like oxidation, inflammation, glycation. Glycation is the where, uh, excess glucose molecules floating around in the bloodstream attach themselves to healthy protein molecules and render them dysfunctional. And all kinds of organs are strongly affected by this process of glycation.

Brad (08:23):
It’s kind of the essence of aging. Interestingly, the longest lasting cells, the longest living cells in the body are most vulnerable. So guess where you see the biggest problems with elevated glucose levels in the bloodstream as evidenced by type two diabetes and the glycation causing problems with the retinas, the kidneys and the cardiovascular system. And indeed, the type one diabetics routinely have problems with vision and kidney function because they have a poor ability inability to regulate insulin. So this high insulin state is going to cause glycation and especially hit those very vulnerable areas. So you heard these terms used by Jay Feldman on my interviews, endotoxins and metabolic inhibitors. So these are what’s happening in the processed foods that is damaging your body’s metabolic function. Endotoxins are internally manufactured toxins in the digestive tract. So these are chemicals released upon the ingestion of these processed foods because they’re toxic to the body.

Brad (09:30):
And these endotoxins inhibit fat metabolism. They inhibit mitochondrial function, and they cause or they trigger an assortment of inflammatory or autoimmune conditions. So you’re consuming endotoxin, you’re, you’re consuming processed foods, producing endotoxins, and you are turning into someone who is tired, lazy, and, and hungry. Um, Gary Taubes book, Why We Get Fat, had that epic, quote that gluttony and sloth are not the causes of obesity. They are symptoms. You get the difference? <Laugh>, and that takes the blame off of the poor individual who’s been blamed for being lazy or being undisciplined with the eating habits. But in truth, it’s because those who are tired and lazy get hungry because that’s the only way to generate energy is from, uh, a toxic processed food. You get a quick hit of glucose into the bloodstream, you can last for two more hours at work until you come home and collapse on the couch, reach for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and go through this process of consuming chemicals, consuming toxics and burning those what few calories you can get and burn off quickly.

Brad (10:45):
But then long term, you’re in big trouble and you’re ruining your body composition, your overall general health from the consumption of processed foods. The term metabolic inhibitors encompasses what’s the agents in these foods that inhibit your metabolism, inhibit your ability to generate energy internally. So number one on the tips of five tips to age gracefully is to get rid of these toxic modern foods. We talk about the big three in our recent books, Mark Sisson and I. And that would be the refined industrial seed oils, the refined sugars and the refined grains. And so these seed oils are pervasive in all manner of foods, especially processed package, frozen foods, fast food, and they’re also pervasive in all manner of restaurants from the medium chain dining to fine dining. The restaurants use cheap oils to cook their foods.

Brad (11:42):
And because oils are so calorically dense, that salmon that you’re getting or that broccoli or whatever you’re ordering is oftentimes going to be bathed in these industrial seed oils. To the extent that Dr. Cate Shanahan quotes research suggesting that up to 40% of the calories that you consume from dining in a restaurant come from these industrial seed oils. So I know a lot of health enthusiasts like myself, doing a great job. There’s nothing in the house that contains these industrial seed oils. They’ve been ditched a long time ago, and there’s no junky treats or sweets or condiments. We’ve switched over to Primal Kitchen by now, right? But it’s very, very difficult to navigate this when you’re out there dining. And I’ve been known to order sweet potato fries as a wonderful indulgence out of the restaurant, but it’s very likely that those fries were, uh, were done up in some type of cheap industrial seed oil.

Brad (12:36):
And shockingly so, even at the most expensive restaurants, like my son worked at one of the, one of the most expensive and finest restaurants in Los Angeles, confirming that even the top dollar places still use these cheap oils on account of saving money. It’s absolutely ridiculous. So we want to completely eradicate the industrial seed oils from your diet. And if you have a bottle of canola oil in the cupboard now, and that’s what you cook with in the pan, you can immediately switch over to a temperature stable, saturated fat to cook with. This would be things like ghee butter, lard, coconut oil, things like that. You wanna go with the saturated fats because they are, when you have that term saturated, the hydrogen ions are saturated in the fat molecule that makes them more temperature stable, so they will not become oxidized and, uh, inflict immediate damage at the cellular level when consumed.

Brad (13:32):
So it’s cooking with saturated fats. As far as consuming oils, you want to go for the, Extra Virgin First Cold Press. Domestic olive oils are fresh olive oils as you can find, I joined the olive oil club and they will do a regular shipment. There’s a couple clubs out there that I participated in, and some of them come from Europe, but they’re extremely fresh. And so the litmus test, the taste test to determine whether you are getting a quality fresh olive oil is when you take a spoonful of that, you should actually have a burning sensation in the back of your throat. And that is from the high potency tocopherols antioxidants that are contained in a fresh olive oil. Olive is a great oil because it’s very easy to extract oil from the olive. It’s an oily plant to start with, just like coconut oil.

Brad (14:23):
And so it’s minimal processing, or actually no processing necessary. When they call it first cold press only that means cold temperature, no heat involved, no chemicals involved, and the olive is pressed once and then discarded, and you get this incredibly fresh and nutritious product. Now, if the olive oil has a bland taste or does not have a dark, rich color, you can bet that it’s probably been adulterated or it’s old. And that’s when you’re going to the big box stores and seeing these giant jugs of olive oil, even though they’re labeled extra virgin, that term is used very loosely and poorly regulated, especially when we’re talking about imports. And a lot of those imports might have been sitting on the shelf for six months or 12 months. So if the olive oil does not sting your throat, go find a different brand. And I’ll send some links in the show notes about these olive oil clubs that I’ve had wonderful success with. And a domestic is a big help because then you have a little more assurance that it’s been fresh pressed.

Brad (15:28):
Now we know that avocado oil has become a sensation. It was the foundation of the launch of the Primal Kitchen line as a healthy alternative to the refined industrial seed oils that are contained in condiments, mayonnaise, salad dressings, things like that. Unfortunately recently, uh, there’s been some research published that many of the commercial olive avocado oils are of very poor quality and oftentimes adulterated with a cheaper oil. So again, we have poor regulation here, and if you wanna search for extra virgin avocado oil that has a strong taste, that has a distinct color, you’re probably gonna be okay. I know Primal Kitchen sells a very small bottle of extra virgin that costs way more than regular avocado oil at the store. So beware that all avocado oils are not created equal.

Brad (16:18):
And oh my gosh, all of oils are not created anywhere near equal, including the lauded distinction of extra virgin. I like to see an expiration date or excuse me, a press date on some of the bottles that I’ve ordered. So it says, when those oils were pressed, and boy, use those up. Enjoy fine cuisine and junk all the other crappy oils. Okay, so that was the number one on the big three list.

Brad (16:46):
And then we talk about refined sugars and grains. So we know that these are nutrient deficient. Uh, they prompt the release of endotoxins from the gut, they can contribute to leaky gut syndrome, and also hyperinsulinemia consuming a lot of processed foods that spike blood sugar, prompt excess insulin production, a really chronically excessive insulin production. And those are pretty easy to do away with when you think about how little nutritional value they add.

Brad (17:16):
A lot of the athletes, uh, talk about, uh, making the best choice in the carbohydrate category. And so is white rice. Okay? Yeah, white rice has minimal objections in terms of endotoxins or difficulty to digest due to antinutrients, but again, you’re not getting a lot of nutritional benefit from there. So it’s kind of like, uh, a source of calories for those high calorie burners that need extra calories, and not too many people fit in that category. So, as we’re gonna talk about in step number two of en emphasizing nutrient dense foods, you want to get the majority of your calories from foods that have a tremendous nutritional profile. And those are by and large, the animal-based foods. So again, to ditch the big three toxic modern foods, refined industrial seed oils, refined grains and sugars.

Brad (18:04):
Now we’re looking good, but we have to add another food to the elimination category, and that are the foods that are high in natural plant toxins. And this message comes on the heels of the wonderful and extreme emergence of the carnivore movement. So people experiencing amazing health transformations by eliminating plant foods that are widely regarded as healthful and delivering a lot of antioxidant micronutrient benefits, but contain high levels of these natural plant toxins that the plant produces to, uh, to survive, to, uh, deter predators. As Dr. Paul Saladino, leader of the carnivore movement, author of the Carnivore Code says so frequently, plants can’t run away. So they have to produce these toxins to discourage people from eating them. And the categories of plant foods that have the highest levels of these natural toxins are roots, seeds, stems, and leaves. So in this, falling into these categories are, uh, many of the plant superstars, such as the leafy greens, the cruciferous vegetables, the broccoli, the cauliflower, the spinach, the kale, the celery.

Brad (19:23):
We’re talking about all nuts and seeds. We’re talking about all grains and legumes. Now, do you have to eliminate all those foods for the rest of your life, especially as they’re the centerpiece of many people who are indulging in plant-based eating? Of course not. But what you owe to yourself is a temporary restriction period to assess whether you have any improvement of symptoms in the body. And most people experience routine or common, gas, bloating, digestive discomfort maybe flareups of allergies, asthma, autoimmune conditions, inflammatory conditions, perhaps to a mild extent where there has never been the urge to draw a correlation between these wonderful kale smoothies and spinach and almond salads that you’ve been eating your whole life thinking these are the centerpiece of health. And in fact, they’re very high in natural plant toxins. So it can be a real eye-opener to realize that not only are these plant superstars unnecessary and pale in comparison when it comes to nutrient density versus the animal-based foods, not only are they unnecessary, they can also be potentially problematic and, uh, severely problematic in the case of many people who have had this wonderful awakening.

Brad (20:48):
So if you’re consuming these toxins and you’re sensitive to it, what’s gonna happen is you are gonna develop leaky gut syndrome, which is an emerging field in health. Very exciting. People are drawing a lot of conclusions that many downstream health conditions emerge from, uh, a condition of gut permeability whereby you are consuming foods, they’re going into your small intestine, and because the walls have been damaged and become inflamed by the consumption of processed foods, you are allowing a lot of unwanted, uh, molecules, particles into the bloodstream whereby a tight, uh, gut junction will have a wonderful, graceful ability to only allow the nutrients that we want into the bloodstream. So if your gut is gut lining is torn up from consumption of processed foods, you are going to allow shit to come into your bloodstream. And that is literally true because what we’re talking about is waste products that you don’t, aren’t supposed to, uh, digest and assimilate, but now you have that gateway has become compromised, and when gets into your bloodstream, this can lead to all sorts of downstream conditions, like I mentioned, autoimmune inflammatory.

Brad (21:59):
And the, uh, digestive discomfort that everyone has come to think is normal is actually, um, the extremely undesirable and unnecessary. And I’ve told the story before on previous podcasts where, uh, for a while there, several years ago, I was, uh, uh, inspired by the viral YouTube video from Dr. Rhonda Patrick to consume this super duper green nutrition smoothie every morning. And so I’d freeze big piles of kale and spinach and celery and beets and drop them into a powerful blender, uh, and grind them up. And then once they’re ground up, you can drop more in. You can drop more in. So I had this very, very nutrient dense smoothie teaming with the wonderful nutrition that comes from raw green produce that happens to be the highest in plant toxins, especially when something is consumed raw. It’s much higher in plant toxins because cooking, soaking, sprouting, fermenting and cooking neutralizes the plant toxins.

Brad (23:00):
And that’s why humans have been soaking, sprouting, fermenting and cooking plant foods for many years to render them easy to digest. You may know that most, uh, commercial nuts like cashews, almonds, these can be poisonous until they are heavily processed and soaked out and the chemicals are, uh, soaked out. But even still, um, almonds and spinach, that’s why I said the spinach salad with almonds, those are two of the highest oxalate foods. Oxalates cause all kinds of problems in the digestive tract. Things like kidney stones inhibiting your digestion and assimilation of the nutrition that you want to get from your diet. So these things can be thrown off when you are trafficking in a lot of, of natural plant toxins. So I’d consume this smoothie every morning, and then reliably for the next several hours, my stomach would pop out.

Brad (23:53):
So I’d experience this uncomfortable bloating effect. It felt like I had gas. I couldn’t get rid of the gas, I was uncomfortable. I had stomach pain. Sometimes I’d get these transient pains that would last for a few seconds, like a sharp pain, and then it would go away. And I’d go about my busy morning, and then eventually the condition would subside and I’d go on with my busy life and my super nutrition smoothie in the morning. And I was talking to another health enthusiast friend of mine who I had inspired to start with the smoothie program as well in the name of getting all these wonderful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits from the many, many plants. And he said, yeah, you know what? My stomach bloats out as well, but it’s so healthy that it’s worth it. And that comment stopped me in my tracks cuz I thought, you know what?

Brad (24:39):
If something is truly healthy to the body, it should not cause a big bloated stomach and transient digestive pain. It just did not make sense to me. And that was right around the time, uh, that Dr. Saladino emerged with his very strong and compelling message, always backed by extensive scientific research. Dr. Shawn Baker was coming on strong too. Another, avowed or recognized leader of the carnivore movement saying, look, we do not need these foods and the compelling and controversial statement that plants are survival foods so we can have an opposing point of view where someone’s gonna argue that humans are definitely omnivores that we have been consuming plants and animals for millennia, you know, dating back into pre-history and even early hominids, right? However, that’s a compelling point that we don’t necessarily prioritize. Plant foods have never done that.

Brad (25:39):
Throughout evolution, we’ve always gone for the most nutrient dense foods. And indeed evolutionary, evolutionary biologists and anthropologists assert that our access to nutrient-dense animal foods, especially marine life as we migrated the globe along the, uh, along the water’s edge, and also getting smarter and able to bring down the big game and get access to those maximum nutritional value, is what drove the development of the complex human brain and allowed us to branch further away from our plant-chewing ape cousins and become rulers of the earth and the top of the food chain. So that is one plug for animal foods, if you’re still listening to this show and a vow avoider of animal foods for whatever reason, and I understand those moral objections, uh, however, we do have to just, uh, speak in terms of evolutionary biology and the circle of life on the planet and realize that it’s very, very difficult and very high risk to go through life avoiding animal foods for morality reasons, or some people laughing laughably.

Brad (26:49):
So avoiding it for health reasons. I understand the moral objections, especially the severe treatment of animals. But fortunately today, we have the wonderful ability to be highly selective with the animals that we choose. So when you go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s handy website where you can determine which fish are sustainable and harvested with approved manner versus those that have some environmental destruction or are endangered species or filled with mercury, uh, that’s a handy guide. And we know the difference between a wonderfully sustainably raised buffalo out on the pasture and a conventionally raised cattle that’s grown in the feed lots and has a pretty rough life and causes some environmental destruction as well. So if we can source grass fed, if we can source wild caught and do a great job there, we’re minimizing, minimizing any objection to the planet.

Brad (27:49):
And speaking of that, when you’re talking about a plant-based diet and the foods that are contained in that person’s diet that’s also causing a lot of planet destruction of mono crop agriculture. And you can listen to Dr. Saladino go into more detail talking about the comparison between plant agriculture and animal agriculture and how it’s pretty much a wash when it comes to global warming. And many of the things, many of the criticisms we hear about consuming animals. So, um, the natural plant toxins back to this script here can be a big problem, uh, especially when you’re unknowingly sensitive.

Brad (28:29):
Now everyone’s familiar with the. the prevalence of gluten allergies, gluten sensitivity. So gluten’s one of the worst offenders. It’s in the category of lectins. There are many other lectins that cause problems and sensitive people. So even if you have a gluten-free diet, you can ingest many other things that have a similar effect that are found in things like oats and rice. And so, the escape pattern here, the escape strategy is to restrict all plant foods for a short period of time and then gradually reintroduce the ones that are least offensive. And fruit is tops on that list. So I’m still on tip number one here, um, to ditch junk food. But I wanted to expand the list from the big three that we’ve talked about for so long, and also add the, uh, consideration to eliminate natural plant toxins, especially in the categories of roots, seeds, stems and leaves. So I mentioned gluten as a common and widely understood or widely acknowledged danger of consuming a plant toxin. And we also have all the people with nut allergies, which is very prominent, knowing that seeds, nuts and seeds are both falling under the category of seeds. And these are the, the most defensible parts of the plant because it’s the origination of the plant.

Brad (29:46):
If you consume the seed of the plant, the plant’s gone. In contrast, if you consume the fruit of the plant, the plant wants you to consume that fruit because that’s how the seeds are dispensed. The, uh, the animal or the person <laugh>, let’s say the animal in the classic example of plant botany. The animal consumes the berry and then poops out the berry seed somewhere else. And the berry gets to grow and evolve and survive in the survival of the fittest evolutionary conditions. You get what I’m saying? So fruit is meant to be consumed in botany, in evolutionary biology, whereby the plants, the, the, the plant wants to protect its stems, its leaves its roots. Ah, okay.

Brad (30:30):
So that is number one. And we have four more to go, but there’s so much to consider there. I’m gonna wrap it up just talking about number one on the list of one through five. I love the take that Brian Sanders offered here on this topic of an animal-based diet and the role of plants in the nutritious diet. He is the host of the Peak Human Podcast and the producer of the Food Lies series that’s coming soon to Netflix. We Will put a link to the amazing, absolutely amazing introduction video, one of the most compelling and well produced scenes, imagery I’ve seen in a long time. It’ll get you super excited about his Food Lies project that he’s been working on. And he started with a completely unbiased perspective and just wanted to investigate what was healthy for the human. A lot of interviews, a lot of knowledge dispensed in this nice show that’s coming soon, uh, hopefully to streaming video to learn more. But Brian’s take on optimizing your diet. He suggests scoring your food choices as either a minus one, and that of course will be the processed food, the junk food, the nutrient deficient food, a zero or a plus one.

Brad (31:51):
And in the zero category, after his thorough research in interviewing the world’s leading experts, he says most plants fall in the zero category. Like they’re not that necessary. They’re not doing this tremendous benefit to you that you can’t live without him. Uh, so the, the kale smoothie, or the spinach and almond salad has some nutritional properties, of course, but it also has these antinutrients that could quite possibly make it a negative. So out of the gate to put a zero on plants. Boy, that’s a <laugh>, an eye opener that gives you a whole different perspective about a lot of the things, the foundational principles of ancestral health, the stuff we’ve talked about a long time where plants and produce and especially vegetables, should be the centerpiece of the diet. And now it’s time to ask why they pale in comparison to the true nutrient dense superstars of the planet, which are found in the animal category, grass fed beef, eggs, liver in the other organ, meats, nose to tail consumption, bone broth.

Brad (32:51):
Oh boy, yeah, A real eye opener to put vegetables, to put plants in the zero category. And then in the plus one category will be the things like red meat, wild caught fish. And we could probably, uh, with Brian’s permission move fruit over there because of the fact that it has tremendous nutritional properties and it’s easy to digest. It does not have those objections that we find with the many in the vegetable category, the root, seed, stems, and leaves. Okay, so five tips to age gracefully. Number one, ditch process foods. And then we will tee you up for the next show where we’re gonna talk about emphasizing nutrient dense foods, moving more throughout daily life, conducting brief intense workouts, and then finally, as number five, stress management. So I can’t wait to share that show with you, but thanks for listening to this first one and sharing with somebody who deserves it.

Brad (33:47):
Don’t say needs it, they deserve to listen to this show. So please hit that button on your podcast player. It’s so easy. I love my podcast player called Overcast. In fact, they just came up with like a new update to the app and now you can more easily categorize your shows. It’s got so many handy things. So I prefer that even to Apple Podcast, which is also getting better. But on a lot of those, you can hit one of the buttons and share a, a, a link to the show or a clip or just send a friend an email or a text and say, Hey, listen to this guy’s stuff. And if you can take the time to leave a review on Apple Podcast or Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, that is a huge help to the show. We really appreciate it and also appreciate you patronizing our wonderful sponsors.

Brad (34:36):
Especially Butcher Box where I get most of my calories, uh, in my life through a convenient monthly shipment. And they’re just getting better and better. The quality is so fantastic such that we don’t have any excuse to say that it’s difficult to source grassed beef or pasture raised chicken or heritage breed pork. You can get the very, very best quality meat for a much more affordable price than I have found shopping at the great stores in whatever town where I’m staying or traveling to. Stuff’s expensive. I totally get that. And when I see like at Erewhon in Los Angeles, a super premium market chain, there’s only five of ’em. And boy, they have some wonderful stuff there, including the best selection of dark chocolate I’ve ever seen at a supermarket. But you go into their meat section and it’s like $35 for a, you know, a 12 ounce ribeye.

Brad (35:28):
I’m too nervous to pay that much. I don’t wanna screw it up when I’m cooking it. So instead, sign up for Butcher Box right now at butcherbox.com slash brad Kearns. And they have a new promo at the time. This, uh, show is releasing where you get free inclusions into your box of a lot of good stuff. I think they have some chicken and some, bacon, but it’s a wonderful promo only available at my special link. And you can totally customize, uh, the type of box that you order, the stuff that you want in the box. You can do plus minuses on your chart so you can get some chicken this month and then skip it next month. You can get some scallops this month. You can get more ribs. I always load up on the ribeyes, but I’m so happy with them and boy, I’ve been a customer for so long and now to have ’em a sponsor. How about that? For an authentic plug over and above my recorded advertisement, go try it out right now. It’s gonna change your life and change your diet. Butcher box.com/brad Kearns. All right, ending on a high note. I’m gonna go eat cuz I’m hungry. Gonna get my Butcher Box going. Peace out.

Speaker 2 (36:33):
Thank you for listening to the show. I love sharing the experience with you and greatly appreciate your support. Please email podcast brad ventures.com with feedback, suggestions, and questions for the q and a shows. Subscribe to our email list@bradkerns.com for a weekly blast about the published episodes and a wonderful bimonthly newsletter edition with informative articles and practical tips for all aspects of healthy living. You can also download several awesome free eBooks when you subscribe to the email list and if you could go to the trouble to leave a five or five star review with Apple Podcasts or wherever else you listen to the shows, that would be super incredibly awesome. It helps raise the profile of the B Ad podcast and attract new listeners. And did you know that you can share a show with a friend or loved one by just hitting a few buttons in your player and firing off a text message? My awesome podcast player called Overcast allows you to actually record a sound bite excerpt from the episode you’re listening to and fire it off with a quick text message. Thank you so much for spreading the word and remember, be rad.

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