Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health

Dr. Casey Means, nearly completing a surgical residency in otolaryngology, “exited prestigious institutions in pursuit of better medicine in the quest of learning to help patients actually heal rather than be managed”. Now, as a functional medicine physician, she focuses on evidence-based nutritional and lifestyle changes, and overall cellular and metabolic support to reduce inflammation, which transforms stubborn problems like type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, chronic pain, sinus infections, migraines, hearing loss, autoimmune conditions, infertility, chronic fatigue, metabolic dysfunction in children, stroke, dementia, heart disease, respiratory disease, arthritis, and complications with COVID-19, often reducing or eliminating medications.

“The modern medical system has systematically, overwhelmingly, and unequivocally let us down in preventing and reversing chronic disease.”

Our cells need to metabolize food into energy to do their jobs of keeping us nourished, clear-minded, emotionally-regulated, hormonally-balanced, immune-protected, heart-healthy, and structurally sound, thus energy determines our mental and physical health. The metabolic processes that run our bodies evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in a synergistic relationship with the environment around us. But those environmental conditions have profoundly and rapidly changed in recent decades; for example, our diet, movement and sleep patterns, our stress levels, and exposure to nonnatural chemicals.

The reality is that every institution that impacts health – from medical schools to insurance companies to hospitals to pharmaceutical companies – makes money on managing disease, not curing patients. We are locked into a reductionist, fragmented view of the body that breaks us into dozens of separate parts; however, the body is an interconnected entity that is constantly regenerating and exchanging energy and matter with the external environment every time we eat, breathe, and bask in sunlight. Cells require good energy – ATP generated in the mitochondria of cells – to make proteins that function as the structural, mechanical, and signalling workhorses of the cell. Cells use ATP to repair, regulate and replicate DNA; for cell signalling through hormones, neurotransmitters and electrical impulses; for transport by packaging, labelling and shipping molecules with incredible precision; for homeostasis of pH, salinity, and temperature; for creating gradients of charged molecules that can generate electrical impulses; for cell waste cleanup; and for metabolism to produce energy itself.

The environment damages our mitochondria by chronic overnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, gut microbiome issues, sedentary lifestyle, chronic stress, environmental toxins and pollutants, artificial light and circadian rhythm disruption, sleep deprivation, thermoneutrality (constant ambient temperature), and medications and drugs. With the mitochondria not working properly, the conversion of fats and glucose to ATP becomes impaired, and these raw materials are stored as damaging fats inside the cell. Any cell that is not a fat cell that is filled with fats is a big problem because it blocks normal cell activity; for example, impairing insulin signaling required to regulate blood sugar levels. The trifecta of dysfunction inside our bodies that generates bad energy and leads to our health care epidemic involves mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and oxidative stress. Mitochondrial dysfunction means less ATP produced, more fat in cells, and cell activity blocked. Chronic inflammation can result as an immune response to mitochondrial dysfunction and low cellular energy that contributes to a range of chronic diseases. Oxidative stress results from a backup of cellular waste, namely free radicals, that damage cells leading to cellular dysfunction.

Chronic overnutrition, which means simply eating too much food, has consequences for the body and the mind. Eating too much can be caused by ultra-processed foods, which are engineered to be addictive and to trigger hunger and cravings without providing an adequate nutritional profile of needed micronutrients, while providing excess fats, sugar, and carbohydrates. Too much of the wrong nutrition backs up cellular waste and inhibits cellular activity causing systems to eventually break down. Free radicals are a natural byproduct of metabolism that can cause cell damage if not neutralized by antioxidants. Too much nutrition increases free radical production in excess of antioxidant production, creating oxidative stress that damages cellular mechanisms.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a lack of vitamins and minerals that needed for cellular processes. People are commonly deficient in vitamin D, iron, CoQ10, selenium, magnesium, zinc, and several B vitamins. With appropriate micronutrients, the cells do not have the available materials to carry out their cellular processes, which causes cellular metabolic issues and therefore overall metabolic diseases. Micronutrient deficiencies are most commonly caused by eating a diet of processed foods that are high in calories in the form of fats, sugar, and carbohydrates, but deficient in micronutrients. Most foods that are processed are also highly inflammatory and increase gut inflammation, which compromises absorption of the few micronutrients that are available in processed foods. Most people are not eating enough diversity in their diet, especially fruits and vegetables. This lack of diversity prevents people from getting the full range of micronutrients they need. For those eating real food from nature, modern industrialized farming has severely depleted our soil of microbes and nutrients that are needed to grow micronutrient-rich food. This is because of heavy pesticide and herbicide use, tilling, and other environmentally destructive farming practices. The result is micronutrient-deficient fruits and vegetables that look good but are lacking the micronutrients these foods contained just decades ago.

Gut microbiome issues are increasingly common due to our processed food diet. A healthy, flourishing gut microbiome, fed with microbiome-supportive foods and free of microbiome-harming chemicals, produces thousands of “post-biotic” chemicals that travel from our gut into the rest of our bodies, and act as important signaling molecules, some of which directly affect the mitochondria in our cells. Post-biotic molecules, such as short-chain fatty acids, are essential for the proper functioning of mitochondria and protect mitochondria against oxidative stress. When microbiome imbalance (dysbiosis) takes hold, the production of these helpful chemicals gets derailed, depriving mitochondria of this signaling and support. Dysbiosis can be triggered by excess refined sugar and processed foods, but also by pesticides, medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS, like Advil), antibiotics, chronic stress, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, smoking, and infections. An unhealthy gut microbiome leads to poor signaling to the brain that affects our mental health. For example, bacteria in the gut produce serotonin which acts on the brain to help us feel happy. In fact, the gut bacteria produce 90-95% of our serotonin. Because of this, a poor microbiome from a poor diet can cause depression and other mental health issues.

Our increasingly sedentary lifestyle is destroying our bodies and our minds. A lack of physical activity leads to decreased mitochondrial function, and a reduction in number and size of mitochondria. Movement stimulates energy production from mitochondria, as well as antioxidant production, which protects mitochondria from oxidative stress caused by free radical production. Exercise releases feel-good endorphins that enhance mood, reduce pain, and relieve stress – providing us with feelings of pleasure and overall wellbeing. Our mind and body functions best when movement is a regular, consistent part of our lives, not just a task to be performed in an hour or two. Until very recently, continual movement was essential for daily survival: hunting, gathering, and traveling long distances on foot. We now sit or lie down virtually all the time. People who live the longest (in the blue zones) include movement as a natural part of daily life, not a targeted activity.

Chronic stress is caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system that is constantly releasing stress chemicals. Stress can come from our outer environment – work, family, friends, school, life events, and trauma – as well as our inner environment – thoughts, feelings, and ill health. Stress activates the steroid hormone cortisol that directly damages mitochondria and inhibits the expression of genes involved in producing new mitochondria, therefore resulting in less mitochondria and less energy production. Excess cortisol promotes increased free radicals, in part by inhibiting the production of antioxidants, resulting in oxidative stress.

Environmental toxins and pollutants are everywhere now. Industrial modernity has taken away our opportunity to live in a nontoxic world that protects our cells from being overburdened and damaged. Approximately eighty-thousand synthetic chemicals are now used by industry – polluting our air, water, soil, food, and homes with substances that interact with our cells, many in ways that are either known to be harmful to our cells by directly impairing neurotransmitters, the microbiome, mitochondria, our genetics, and our hormones, or have unknown effects. Synthetic chemicals in our food, water, air, soil and consumer products include: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for industry; phthalates in plastics and scented products; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in nonstick cookware, food packaging, and many other products; bisphenol A (BPA) in plastics, resins, dioxins, and others; heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium; cigarette smoke (cyanide, aldehyde, benzene) that impairs mitochondrial function, mutates mitochondrial DNA, and causes mitochondrial structural changes; harmful vaping chemicals; and alcohol, which changes mitochondrial shape and function, damages mitochondrial DNA, generates oxidative stress, and impairs generation of new mitochondria. These toxins and pollutants are poorly regulated, and poisoning our population. The government allows this due to lobbying from industry.

Artificial blue light disrupts our circadian rhythm required for timing healthy sleep patterns. Artificial blue light from devices with screens contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as when used at unnatural times, such as before bed, and can impact circadian rhythm required for healthy sleep timing by delaying melatonin release that initiates sleep. Compounding this, we now spend little time outdoors, depriving ourselves of viewing direct sunlight early in the morning, which is one of the best signals we can give our brains to reinforce our natural circadian rhythms.

Sleep deprivation is a silent epidemic in our society. Metabolically, a lack of quality and quantity of sleep leads to hormonal imbalances; including altered cortisol, insulin, growth hormone, and melatonin levels, all of which interact with the mitochondria. Disruption in these hormones leads to issues with signalling the mitochondria, thus issues with creating good energy needed for optimal functioning. Sleep deprivation disrupts gene expression for new mitochondria, and increases free radicals by activating cellular machinery that makes free radicals and by inhibiting the production of antioxidants. This creates oxidative stress without protection. Sleep deprivation also prevents the proper resolution of inflammation, thus contributing to chronic inflammation.

Thermoneutrality (consistent ambient temperature) is now available to most people who can afford it in their homes and indoor workplaces. Cold stimulates the body to generate warmth by increasing mitochondrial activity, and stimulating more ATP generation and use. Heat exposure activates heat shock proteins within cells, which protect mitochondria from damage, help to optimize function, and stimulate production of new mitochondria. A constant ambient temperature deprives us of these benefits.

Medications and drugs are at an all-time high in our society. Doctors prescribe medications to cover up symptoms without addressing root causes or thinking about the consequences these medications have on their patients and society. Pharmaceutical companies create drugs for profit at the expense of our health. Antibiotics, antiretrovirals, chemotherapy drugs, statins, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers inhibit mitochondrial function, as well as alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin, and ketamine. With dysfunctional mitochondria we are at risk of metabolic syndromes and numerous other related health consequences, and are not told this by our prescribing physicians.

Why are we waiting for people to get sick then writing prescriptions and performing procedures that don’t reverse the underlying reasons they’re sick? Because it generates massive revenue for the health care industry. Dr. Means exposes: “The truth: we should consider listening to the medical system if we have an acute issue like a life-threatening infection or broken bone. But when it comes to the chronic conditions that plague our lives, we should question almost every institution regarding nutrition or chronic disease advice. All you need to do is follow the money and incentives.” This is corruption in our health care system that is neglected by government and mainstream media because they also benefit from maintaining the status quo.

Dr. Means warns: “Your doctor also likely doesn’t understand the role they play in this medical industrial billing complex or the economic and political puppet strings controlling their educational curriculum, the research literature around nutrition, and their decision-making.” Pharmaceutical companies and processed food companies, through lobbying, have influenced virtually every piece of health care legislation and guidelines; however, a bottoms-up revolution is happening where patients are better equipped today to take charge of their own metabolic health. We are living in an exciting time where we have the potential to live the longest, healthiest lives in human history, but this will require optimization. We are each the primary person in charge of understanding our own body. The body can heal itself, we just need to create the right conditions in which it can do so optimally.

With help from a functional medicine physician, we can carefully monitor triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, blood pressure, waist circumference, triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, high-sensitivity CRP, hemoglobin A1c, uric acid, liver enzymes, and vitamin D. We can now use wearables. These include continuous glucose monitoring, sleep trackers, step trackers, and heart rate and heart rate variability monitors. We can also use nutrition apps and food journals. With these biometrics, we can begin to take charge of our own health. First, we must understand the basics.

To optimize our biomarkers, we need to stop falling into traps of dietary philosophies and start breaking food into its individual parts and analyzing whether those parts are good or bad for our cells. Food is nothing more than a set of molecular components, and whether those components meet our cells’ needs largely determines our health. Bodies, neurotransmitters, hormones, nerves, and mitochondria are all made, exclusively and necessarily, from what you (or your mom) put in your (or their) mouth; we don’t arise from thin air, we arise from food and air. Our genes don’t determine most health outcomes. What we eat and how we live impact our gene expression and cellular biology, determining our health outcomes. This is epigenetics.

Our microbiome is the trillions of bacteria cells living inside and outside of us. A big part of the purpose of eating is to feed these bacteria cells inside so that they serve us by converting the food we eat into various chemicals that control our thoughts, emotions, and bodies. Mistreat or misfeed the microbiome, and our lives will suffer: depression, obesity, autoimmune disease, cancer, sleep disturbances, and more. Fiber, probiotic-rich foods, and polyphenol-rich plants all feed and support microbiome health, allowing for a robust gut lining (which minimizes chronic inflammation) and for the microbiome to generate metabolism-supporting chemicals and neurotransmitters – like transforming food into medicine.

We are eating ourselves into a state of bad energy because the food we eat is tapping into addictive pathways and inflammatory processes, rather than meeting our needs. Ultra-processed food intake drives hunger, weight gain and overeating. Unprocessed, clean, whole natural, nutrient-dense food from healthy soil give cells what they need to function and cue satiety mechanisms so we don’t overeat, keeping us energized and symptom-free with optimal biomarkers. Ideally, every meal should include micronutrients, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, fermented foods, and protein. It is essential to avoid any processed food with refined vegetable or seed oil, refined grains (especially wheat), dairy, sugar, or any ingredient that is not an obviously recognizable food, such as the excess of food additives that poison our food. The majority of our plate should be fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, with sustainable protein and occasional noninflammatory grains (like quinoa). Produce should be organic to avoid the chemicals that contaminate our food and our health. Meat should be grass-fed, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free to avoid the health risks associated with this. Fish is an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, but should be wild-caught.

Food with the highest levels of antioxidants or polyphenols include:

Almonds
Allspice, dried
Amla berries, dried
Apples
Artichokes
Asparagus
Bay leaves, dried
Basil, dried
Black beans
Black chokeberries
Black elderberries
Black pepper, dried
Blackberries
Black tea
Blueberries
Broccoli
Capers
Caraway seeds, dried
Cayenne pepper, dried
Cherries
Chives, dried
Chili, dried
Cinnamon bark, dried
Clove, dried
Cocoa powder
Coffee beans
Cumin, dried
Curry powder
Dandelion leaves, dried
Dark chocolate
Dill, fresh or dried
Fennel leaves, dried
Fennel seeds, dried
Ginger, fresh or dried
Green mint, dried
Green olives, with stone
Green tea
Hazelnut
Kalamata olives, with stone
Lavender, dried
Mustard seed, dried
Nutmeg, dried
Oregano, fresh or dried
Paprika, dried
Peaches
Pecans
Peppermint, dried
Pistachios
Plums
Pomegranate, whole
Red lettuce
Red onion
Rose flower, dried
Rosemary, fresh or dried
Saffron, dried
Shallots
Spinach
Strawberries
Tempeh
Thyme, dried
Turmeric, dried
Vanilla seeds
Walnuts
White beans
Wild marjoram leaves, dried

Industrially extracted vegetable and seed oils – like canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, grapeseed, corn – are harmful due to their concentrated omega-6 content, which causes inflammation. Some of the concentrated proteins in modern grains can contribute to leaky gut, regardless of whether we have a strong sensitivity, and most grains in North America are covered in toxic pesticides. Wheat is the most common grain consumed and one of the most inflammatory. Refined sugar spikes blood glucose and thus insulin levels creating metabolic instability and disease, including mental illness. Dairy is inflammatory and typically comes from cows who are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, which contaminates the milk and causes numerous health issues. Many of the additives in North American ultra-processed foods are outlawed in other countries because they are toxic to our health. All of this is allowed by regulatory bodies due to industry lobbying. The problem goes a bit deeper. Those that profit from making toxic food also profit from selling us health care for the chronic diseases that they cause. This is analogous to a glass repair shop paying people to go around breaking windows so that they profit from fixing the broken windows. This is corruption that is left out of the mainstream media because the mainstream media is part of the corrupt system that aims to control people by keeping them sick and ignorant. This is by design at a high level. To understand this, all you have to do is follow the money.

Our roughly thirty-seven trillion cells can contain a thousand or more mitochondria, each with innumerable proteins that require adequate levels of specific micronutrients to function correctly. These vitamins, minerals, trace metals, and antioxidants are crucial links in chain reactions that regulate every part of our body’s metabolism. Omega-3 fatty acids are key elements of cell structure, inflammatory pathways, metabolic pathways, and arterial elasticity. Getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids limits the impact of omega-6 fatty acids, that, in excess, contribute to inflammation. The standard Western diet contains a ratio of as much as 20:1 omega-6s to omega-3s when it should be closer to 1:1 – this is a recipe for chronic inflammation and disease. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate found in plants that is not fully broken down by the body and therefore does not get converted to glucose in the bloodstream, but rather is fermented by the gut microbiome and absorbed though the gut to regulate metabolism, improve insulin and glucose levels, regulate hunger and appetite, promote anti-inflammatory effects, protect the gut’s lining and mucus membranes, and slow digestion, which increases absorption of micronutrients. Fermented foods are helpful because of their probiotic content that increases gut microbiome diversity and decreases inflammation. Intermittent fasting, such as eating all meals within an eight-hour window, lowers blood glucose levels, regulates insulin, and helps to burn stored fat. We need to understand and adjust what we are eating and when we are eating to optimize our health.

Food and lifestyle impact our sleep. Sustained disruptions to the ingrained sleep needs of our bodies result in measurable brain damage, emotional dysregulation, metabolic issues, and memory deficits. We need to get 7 – 9 hours a night of good-quality sleep, at consistent times, during the dark in tune with our circadian rhythm – this allows for optimal health and healing. Eating the wrong foods at the wrong time can disrupt food. Eating inflammatory foods cause inflammation in the body, particularly the blood and gut, that creates metabolic distress and therefore increases the stress response in the body and mind that disrupts sleep. Eating food before bed overwhelms the body with the task of digestion when it is time to relax and can delay the onset of sleep. Falling asleep and staying asleep can be impacted by sleep breathing disorders, like snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome, and obstructive sleep apnea. If you have difficulty breathing at night, consider getting a sleep test to screen for a sleep breathing disorder. Emotional and mental stress, like fear and anxiety, can also impact our ability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep, contributing to insomnia. Mindfulness-based practices can be very helpful to address fear and anxiety. If you have difficulty sleeping, consider looking into sleep hygiene practices.

It is our fundamental job to be aware of the persistent fear triggers in our life, and commit to healing them and limiting exposure. Fear comes from unresolved trauma. We must investigate our past traumas, process them, and release them. To transcend fear and trauma, we can use modalities like boundary setting, introspection, meditation, body scans, breathwork, mindful movement (yoga, tai chi, qigong), tapping, positive affirmations, mantras, chanting, visualizations, art therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), somatic experiencing, digital detox, journaling, therapy/counselling/coaching, plant medicine and psychedelics, aromatherapy (lavender oil), grounding, spending time in nature, loving kindness, empathy, gratitude, self-love, being mindful of negative self-talk, cultivating community, improving heart rate variability with a tracker, and reading inspirational books about mindset, trauma, and the human condition.

When resilience and supportive choices consistently outweigh the stressors on the body and the mind, we’re going to feel good and thrive. It is about unlearning bad habits and learning healthy habits that tip the balancing scale toward health and away from disease, disorders, and dysfunction. We need to make small, incremental changes to our daily routine that are easy to do and require minimal effort for sustainable change built through confidence and momentum. This can involve coupling healthy choices to a routine that is already in place. For example, doing a meditation right after you brush your teeth in the morning and/or before bed. This can involve working with a health coach or an accountability partner to implement your plan based on your research and their advice. This can involve rewarding yourself for milestones in the changes you are making toward optimal health. To get us started, Dr. Means offers us a four-week plan to good energy and numerous healthy recipes.

In my experience, my own research has led me to the same conclusions that Dr. Means presents in her book. I’ve adopted these practices over the years and used food as medicine with transformative effects – gut microbiome health, mental clarify, natural energy, weight loss, and discontinuing medication completely. Understanding the root cause of my sleep struggles – obstructive sleep apnea – and implementing sleep hygiene practices allowed me to overcome decades of insomnia and sleep deprivation, and changed how I navigate my daily life. I now breathe better day and night, and sleep soundly. Implementing daily movement practices, whether it is going to the gym or just going for walks in nature, has improved my fitness, but also my mood. It has provided me with much needed balance, focus, and contentment. Understanding the trauma in my past gave me insight into the things I was afraid of and the patterns created because of this. Using various modalities, I was able to overcome my past traumas and fears that were holding me back from enjoying my life moment-to-moment. My traumas and fears were dragging me back to my past and causing me to worry about the future. I now live in the present moment in a state of gratitude and harmony with all that is. This took considerable effort – a lot of intention and attention – a lot of research and commitment, but it was worth it. My vision is for this information to become common knowledge and taught to our children so that they grow up happy and healthy, and avoid the pitfalls that most of us succumb to.