This is how you protect your brain...and your body

Autophagy. Its importance is often overlooked, chiefly because it isn’t peddled by Big Pharma or Big Food as the self-preservation process that it is. Big Pharma and Big Food can’t line their pockets with fat revenues from a society that is educated on autophagy. They can, however, line their pockets with fat revenues from a society that chases every new dietary trend or pharmaceutical that encourages minimal autophagy. So today I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to do in order to achieve peak human status and why most people are unable to.

So what is autophagy? Simply put it is your body’s natural process of cellular recycling and repair. It is the body’s ingenious method for seeking out dysfunctional, broken, or dying components of a cell and repairing them if possible. Cells that can’t be repaired are consumed by white blood cells known as “phagocytes” —which break down the dead cells in an attempt to enable the body to recycle the cell’s components. This process is called apoptosis and takes place without damaging any nearby cells.

The body —being the remarkable specimen that it is— also implements its own natural detox process every night during sleep to remove toxins and other harmful substances from the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and the digestive system. This along with any other waste is collected and exits the body by the passing of stools or urine. All of this is in a best case scenario, or what we’d call the “happy path”. This is how your body is meant to work. When it works well your mind and body operate at peak human.

The reason why most people aren’t operating at peak human is because these processes aren’t taking place as they should. There is a breakdown in the body at the cellular level and these cells face necrosis —which is irreversible damage to the cell caused by disease, autoimmune disorders, poisons, injury or even lack of blood flow. Unlike apoptosis, when a cell is in necrosis it erupts and spills its toxic contents to nearby cells generating inflammation, causing damage to neighboring cells.

Cell Function

Since we’re discussing cells, it’s important to touch on a critical aspect of what enables them to function properly. Every cell consists of organelles located within the cytoplasm known as mitochondria. Mitochondria are like little machines or factories that produce a cell’s energy which gets stored as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the energy source —or currency— the body then uses for all of its physiological and biochemical processes. For this to take place, the mitochondria breaks down nutrients from the foods we eat. This eventually leads to the creation of ATP —energy. A mitochondria’s failure to produce ATP creates low cellular respiration and eventual death of the cell. If the body starts experiencing unhealthy cellular death it can and often does lead to disease. Cancer is a great example of this.

In the case of cancer cells, they’re deprived of oxygen and attempt to survive on an alternative energy source such as fermentation. When this happens the cells become dysregulated and start dividing. The dysfunctional mitochondria which is now the culprit of the dysregulation can ultimately result in the development of a tumor. Contrary to popular belief, cancer is absolutely not genetic. This has been proven through the Nuclear Mitochondria Transfer Experiment:

Cancer is widely considered a genetic disease involving nuclear mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. This view persists despite the numerous inconsistencies associated with the somatic mutation theory. In contrast to the somatic mutation theory, emerging evidence suggests that cancer is a mitochondrial metabolic disease, according to the original theory of Otto Warburg. The findings are reviewed from nuclear cytoplasm transfer experiments that relate to the origin of cancer. The evidence from these experiments is difficult to reconcile with the somatic mutation theory, but is consistent with the notion that cancer is primarily a mitochondrial metabolic disease.

Researchers have discovered that if you take the nucleus of a mutated cancer cell and place it within the cytoplasm of a healthy cell (where its original cell was removed) with normal mitochondria and then place that cell into a mouse or rat, cancer will not spread. This is even with the cell containing a tumor nucleus. However, if you place the nucleus from a healthy cell into the cytoplasm of a tumor cell which had its original cell removed, then place that into a mouse or rat then the cancer grows. This proves that the origin of cancer is not in gene mutations but in the cytoplasm with the mitochondria.

It is the mitochondria that enables all cells to function to obtain metabolic homeostasis. This is all important because in America alone, only 6.8% of the population is metabolically healthy. However, this isn’t an “American” problem. It is a global problem —Global burden of metabolic diseases, 1990–2021:

Common metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), have become a global health burden in the last three decades.

In the 21st century, common metabolic diseases are presenting a significant global health challenge. There is a concerning surge in DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) and mortality associated with these conditions, underscoring the necessity for a coordinated global health initiative to stem the tide of these debilitating diseases and improve population health outcomes worldwide.

When mitochondria become dysfunctional it leads to metabolic disease. We now know that cancer is a metabolic disease. But not just cancer, also neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease —Metabolic Syndrome as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Focus on Insulin Resistance:

In addition to genetics and environmental factors, AD is highly associated with metabolic syndrome, defined as the combination of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Among these risk factors, the connection between AD and T2DM has been deeply studied. It has been suggested that the mechanism linking both conditions is insulin resistance. Insulin is an important hormone that regulates not only peripheral energy homeostasis but also brain functions, such as cognition.

Disease is something that should be incredibly rare. However, in our society we’ve all been indoctrinated with lies concerning human health which have made us dependent upon the medical industrial complex. The programming has largely been effective with humans everywhere forgetting that our species has lived and thrived for many thousands of years without the medical establishment. Now that we live in “modern” times we’ve been told that we need the medical establishment to keep us from dying out. There was a time when the human race didn’t wake up everyday worrying about their health, fiber intake, macros or calorie count. We’ve all bought into the nonsense around “preventative care” where well-meaning doctors probe our family history to seek out any potential future genetic diseases. It is a fear driven scheme. It is time to take our health and our lives back. It is time to live as peak humans once again.

While there can be different causes for mitochondria dysfunction, they’re mostly external and not genetic. Some causes can include toxins, radiation, intermittent hypoxia and viral infections. These things can disrupt mitochondria function. In order to become peak human, popping supplements and eating more fruits and veggies isn’t going to solve the root problem behind any illness. It is necessary to do the work that involves uncovering what is causing the dysfunction. But that doesn’t mean you can’t boost your mitochondrial function so it operates with superpowers in the meantime.

To be healthy our mitochondria need to function at peak. This is why understanding autophagy is so important. Through autophagy the body attempts to prevent disease as it performs cellular cleanup and repair. Without healthy, functioning cells driven by healthy mitochondria disease will eventually ensue. A body that is in constant autophagy is a body that can prevent and even heal from disease —granted the root cause has been eliminated.

Autophagy is a process that everyone experiences throughout the day at varying degrees. The goal should be to experience as much as humanly possible. To reach maximum autophagy all you need to do is place your body into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state that enables the body to produce ketones as its fuel source instead of carbohydrates. Autophagy enhances this process. Ketones get produced in the liver when fat is broken down. This is what’s behind the Keto Diet and Intermittent Fasting (IF) becoming popular. People began to use IF as a means to throw their body into ketosis to burn fat while taking advantage of autophagy. But there’s a downside to this approach. Fasting means you’re not eating. It means you’re not consuming nutrients. It means you’re depriving the body of what it needs to function at peak —all for the purposes of seeking fat burning and autophagy. It’s counterproductive and a luxury modern people have because we’re no longer hunting and gathering. It’s easy to refuse food when you can walk to the fridge at any time.

While the body can burn different types of fuel sources, it highly prefers fatty acids over carbohydrates. Cell mitochondria are able to run more efficiently on fatty acids and ketones. This was proven with a study conducted by the late Dr. Richard Veech:

Following a similar line from Dr. Veech’s lab, Suissa et al. explored the effect of a ketone ester in altering brain mitochondrial bioenergetics in mice. Among their several results, they found that exogenous ketones (via the ketone ester) increased brain citrate cycle intermediates, suggesting greater available energy. Further, they showed that higher ketones resulted in diminished brain glucose use, hinting at a competitive use and even perhaps a fuel preference (i.e., ketones over glucose). In the end, they provide evermore evidence that the ketone ester should be considered in the therapeutic approach to neurological disorders.

Eat More Fat

Regardless of what you may have heard about fat being harmful, the body actually prefers it and runs more efficiently in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is now being used as a therapeutic measure for patients with neurological diseases. Why? Because the brain is made up of 60% fat. It is the fattiest organ in the entire body and we’re now learning that energy deficiency is what leads to neurological disease —a result of cellular dysfunction. When the body is placed into ketosis, diseased brains are able to function better due to the more efficient fatty fuel source.

In order to reach ketosis one must limit carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams. But that’s not all. A high increase in fat is necessary for ketosis to be effective because fat will become the primary fuel source. Many people do ketosis wrong. They decrease their carbohydrate intake while still attempting to eat lean. That’s a recipe for disaster and disease because the body is being starved of energy, not just nutrients. This means cells receive inadequate energy for the mitochondria to do their magic which will lead to cellular dysfunction.

If you’ve been following my work you know that I’m a huge fan of what’s called the Carnivore Diet —eating mainly beef and liver. It’s not really a diet but, more of a way of eating, however, that’s the moniker that’s been assigned to it. I’ve been eating this way for a couple of years and can attest to the transformation the body goes through when switching to this way of eating. And this isn’t a result of switching from an unhealthy diet. In fact, I spent the last two decades eating “cleaner” than most people you’ll ever meet; lean meats only, low to no salt, nuts, seeds, oats, no butter, coconut and avocado oil, spinach salads, whole fruits, whole veggies, gallon of water per day, beet and watermelon juice, no refined sugar, supplements, weightlifting, cardio, etc… It all damn near killed me which is what caused me to go carnivore. I now enjoy the human species appropriate “diet”. I started eating what we’ve all been told was bad for us —only meat and fat. The transformation which the entire carnivore community can attest to is astounding. Eating this way means my body is always in ketosis and is always going through maximum autophagy. This gives my cells the best chance on earth at healing, repairing and recycling regardless of what I’m dealing with. This is how you protect your brain and your body —by building a strong foundation at the cellular level.

Despite subscribing to the carnivore way of eating —which is essentially anything animal based— I’m not advocating that in order to reach ketosis this is the only way to eat. In fact, many people in the carnivore community are not in ketosis because they consume a lot of dairy, as dairy is still animal based. I, however, have a problem with dairy. But eating a high fat low carbohydrate diet is key to entering ketosis and we’re not talking jars of avocado and coconut oil. No, we’re talking meat. The good stuff; steaks, bacon, lamb, bison, sausage, dark meat chicken, fatty fish and eggs. Fatty meat and low to no carbs. Your body will thank you for it.

Methylene blue

I want to leave you with one more thing as I wrap up. Albeit I’m not big on supplements as I believe meat provides all the nutrition the body needs to thrive, there is one product I would highly recommend and that is methylene blue. However, it is NOT recommended for people that are on medications such as SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, and TCAs that increase serotonin. Doing so will elevate serotonin to dangerous levels.

Methylene blue has resurfaced as a popular product lately. That’s most likely due to the video of RFK Jr. using methylene blue on a flight making its rounds on the internet. I came across this synthetic dye about 20 years ago before it was popular. It was incredibly hard to find a consumer grade version back then and it was expensive. In the more recent years it’s been used as a fish tank anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and disinfectant.

Methylene blue was developed in 1876 as a textile dye. However, a couple decades later a biochemist, Paul Ehrlich, decided to use it as a means of staining to better examine specimens. He quickly learned that certain bacteria were susceptible to this dye. This eventually lead to methylene blue being used as an effective treatment for malaria during World War I. It was later used as an antidote for cyanide poisoning and methemoglobinemia. Methylene blue has a remarkable ability to target cells with impaired mitochondria function. It boosts mitochondrial production of ATP —our energy currency— and thereby increases cellular energy. Because it has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier it works to improve neuronal function and overall brain health. There are many studies that speak to its efficacy; depression, bipolar disorder, mitigation of neuroinflammation and many others. In fact, yesterday I came across an interesting post from a father on Reddit. For the past two years he and his wife had been battling an autoimmune issue their daughter was experiencing. The pictures of her inflamed skin are hard to look at as a parent. After two years of being jostled around by the medical industrial complex he came across methylene blue. After administering it to his daughter, her skin cleared up in a few months. The before and after is quite amazing. I don’t want this article to be longer than necessary as this topic can be an article itself but, I would highly recommend researching methylene blue. It is proven to support mitochondrial function while also killing bacteria such as Staph. Combined with light therapy you’ve got a powerhouse team.

Autophagy; support the body at a cellular level so it has the capability to heal and rebuild where necessary. Ketosis; so you can enter into maximum autophagy. Fatty meat and low to no-carbs; so you can enter into ketosis while maximizing nutrient density. And if you’re unsure about eating fatty red meat and you’d like some receipts, feel free to check out my article Meat keeps you alive; which is why you're told to avoid it.

Now go become a Peak Human being!

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed it, please restack and share it! Feel free to leave comments as I’d love to hear your thoughts.

---

How you can support my work

• 🤗 Share my articles far and wide so we can help other humans.

• 🤑 Upgrade to a paid subscription to keep me going.

• 😎Leave a comment so the Substack algorithm thinks I’m more important and popular than I really am.

---

---