Steven Bartlett - Mindy pelz

1) Dr. Mindy Pelz discusses the benefits of fasting and explains how it can help the body heal itself. By compressing the eating window into a 10-hour period and leaving 14 hours for fasting, individuals can tap into a healing state that they never knew was there. Fasting allows the body to switch to a fat-burning energy system and produce ketones that repair the brain. In just 12 hours, the body starts to make a good dose of ketones and turns off the hunger hormone, leading to mental clarity and a lack of hunger. Pelz emphasizes that fasting is an incredible tool for everyone to use and learn how to do.

2) Mindy discusses the benefits of fasting, specifically how prolonged fasting for 15 hours can help increase growth hormone and testosterone while decreasing inflammation in the body. She goes on to explain that if one fasts for 17 hours, the body turns to getting rid of senescent cells, the ones slowing down our cells and leading to diseases such as cancer, before fixing and recycling the usable cells. She also debunks myths surrounding the importance of breakfast and the notion of eating six small meals a day, stating that our ancestors ate when they found food, not by a clock or schedule.

3) Mindy explains how our primal ancestors switched to a ketogenic energy system in the absence of food, which supercharged their abilities to find food. When ketones kicked in, they became mentally focused, calm, and had incredible muscular energy. Our Primal ancestors lived in a feast-famine cycle, where they feasted after a successful kill and starved when food was scarce. Dr. Pelz explains how fasting and exercise can help imitate this cycle and improve performance and health. She also shares the six different types of fasting, with intermittent fasting being the most common. It involves a 12-16 hour period of eating followed by a 12-8 hour period of fasting, during which the body switches to fat-burning mode.

4) Mindy discusses different fasting styles, including autophagy fasting. Autophagy fasting involves going without food for 17 hours, allowing cells to turn within and heal themselves. When autophagy is stimulated, it turns on the intelligence inside the cell, identifying and repairing issues such as infections and mitochondria not working correctly. Autophagy can also prevent viruses from replicating within the cell, making it a useful tool in preventing colds.

5) Mindy discusses the potential link between the decline in male testosterone and our modern lifestyle and eating habits. She explains how phthalates found in colognes, perfumes, laundry detergents, and air fresheners are the top toxin that is destroying testosterone levels and reducing sperm counts. She also highlights how what we put on our skin is just as important as what we eat since our skin is a breathable organ that can push toxins out and take toxins in.

6) Mindy discusses how poor health is multifaceted and not just a one-door solution. She mentions that people who are healthy and want to get in better shape have an easier path than those who have cancer diagnosis or are suicidal during menopause. These individuals typically receive pills from their doctors but aren't taught how to live a life that works with their body in the modern world. Dr. Mindy then discusses five different styles of fasting, including intermittent fasting, autophagy fasting, gut reset fast, fat burner fast, and dopamine reset fast.

7) Mindy discusses the importance of the dopamine system, which is responsible for happiness and motivation. She explains that people who are overeaters or have food addiction may not enjoy their food as much because their dopamine receptor sites are saturated, causing them to eat more to achieve the same level of happiness. However, a 48-hour fast can help to reboot the dopamine system and create new dopamine receptor sites, leading to more enjoyment of food with less consumption.

8) Mindy shares how she healed her Achilles tendon injury through a five-day water fast. She explains that when we don't eat or are injured, our body sets about repairing whatever needs to be fixed, prioritizing survival. She also shares the Thrifty Gene hypothesis, which suggests that humans evolved a specific genotype that allowed them to be stronger in a fasted state, and how we are going against this genetic profile with our current eating habits. On the topic of coffee, Dr. Pelz says that drinking black coffee during a fast is most likely okay, as it does not spike blood sugar, but it's important for individuals to test their blood sugar to ensure it doesn't spike. Creamers and additives with sugar can pull one out of a fasted state.

9) Mindy discusses the problems with calorie restriction diets and the importance of metabolic switching. She explains that calorie restriction diets do not work long term because they lower the set point for maintaining weight, causing weight gain when you return to normal calorie intake. Instead, she suggests monitoring blood sugar levels and practicing metabolic switching, which involves maintaining stable blood sugar levels to switch between burning sugar and fat for energy. Dr. Pelz emphasizes the importance of metabolic health and how sugar addiction causes metabolic health crises leading to chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, and mental health challenges.

10) Mindy talks about the importance of minding your stress levels, prioritizing sleep, and doing more relaxation exercises during the week before your menstrual cycle. She suggests that women take menstrual leave three days before their cycle, as that is a crucial time when the body needs to relax and avoid engaging in high-intensity activities. Dr. Pelz explains that estrogen and testosterone levels increase during the front half of the menstrual cycle, while progesterone levels start to increase after ovulation.

11) Mindy discusses how to understand a woman's cycle and how to interact with her at different stages of it. She explains that day one of her cycle to day 10 is when estrogen is building, and females may feel more outgoing and present. Conflict resolution should occur during this stage, between day two to day 12, as estrogen is at its peak. Day 12 is when ovulation occurs and libido is highest, making it the best time to plan romantic activities. After day 15, hormone levels may crash, and the woman may feel low, requiring more attention and care from her partner, especially during day 17 or 18 when progesterone is coming in.

12) Mindy discusses how being aware of a woman's hormonal cycle can help to prevent misunderstanding and build empathy in relationships. Women have more volatile hormones compared to men, and as such, their moods also fluctuate. Understanding the pattern of a woman's hormonal cycle can help enable partners to be there for them when they need support, acknowledge when they need space, and avoid arguments. Dr. Pelz mentions using The Clue app to monitor her menstrual cycle and having her husband and staff members utilize it to track it together, building a deeper understanding between one another.

13) Mindy discusses menopause, perimenopause and pre-menopause and how they affect the mental and physical health of women. She explains that after 40, sex hormones start declining, which can lead to fluctuating estrogen levels and decreased stress resilience. When women lose their menstrual cycle, they may also lose the ability to retain information easily, which can be frustrating. Pelz advises men and women to have more compassion for women going through this phase of life, as it can be an extreme sport and cause significant mood swings. However, once a woman goes an entire year without a period, they tend to do better, as the brain is accustomed to the fewer hormones.

14) Mindy talks about the importance of lifestyle changes for women after the age of 40, especially those going through perimenopause and menopause. She suggests five lifestyle changes, including fasting, cycling your food, paying attention to your microbiome, reducing exposure to toxins, and scheduling downtime to reduce stress. Dr. Pelz also talks about the need for men and women to rewrite the blueprint of how they live their lives as she believes a consumerist, workaholic, sugar-laden, toxin-ridden life leads to an unhealthy and unsustainable lifestyle. She suggests that both men and women should have a balance between their parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems and reduce their working hours to maintain this balance.

15) Mindy shares her thoughts on the ideal work hours, eating habits, and supplements for men and women. Dr. Pelz suggests that people should take a break from work during the winter and work more in the summer, as well as design work around menstrual cycles. She recommends that men follow a meat-based diet to build muscle and avoid refined sugars and flours, while women can benefit from more fruits, squashes, and potatoes. Dr. Pelz warns against eating meals when it is dark out, as it can lead to fat storage instead of being burned for energy. Lastly, she suggests that women take magnesium supplements, and men take zinc supplements for hormone maintenance, while everyone should monitor their vitamin D levels.

16) Mindy emphasizes the importance of respecting the body and understanding that it is always working for us, not against us. She talks about how we often villainize our bodies, attributing weight gain and other inconveniences to them working against us, when in reality, the body is trying to save our lives. Dr. Pelz believes that we are in an evolutionary mismatch, where the modern world does not align with the human body's design, leading to many health issues and concerns. Additionally, she discusses how weight loss injections and medications may create limited short-term benefits, but at the expense of muscle loss, which is detrimental to our long-term health.

17) Dr. Mindy Pelz discusses different fasting methods one should follow to achieve their fitness goals and recommends elongating the fast for a day a week, having one meal and fasting for 20-24 hours. She also suggested a fasted snack called a keto cup, which is found to have benefits of fasting without switching one to carbs. Dr. Pelz also advised finding one's own path and building a lifestyle that matches that uniqueness. Lastly, she answered the closing question by emphasizing on the importance of taking care of oneself, putting their needs first and identifying their own unique needs. Therefore, it's important to maintain muscle mass while exercising and avoid medications that may reduce muscle.