Theresa

Welcome to the bio energetic view. I'm your host, Teresa Piela joined as always by Jay Feldman and Mike Fave. Today we'll be talking about tracking calories, whether all calories are created equal and jumping into some listener questions regarding lactose digestion to close out the show. So from around the internet, these, a lot of these influencers are brand new to me. So thank you both for bringing them to my attention. Ryan Fisher never heard of him, but I'm excited to jump into this clip.

Alright Mike, so this sounds like a great idea to me. Can you tell us why this is a great idea?

Mike
It's interesting to think about even the mindset someone might be in if they feel like they have to be a certain level of controlled and rigid throughout the week to the point where they feel like they need to even let loose or, you know, assault their body on the weekend. And Mike, like you, like you mentioned, this frame seems so wild to me to think about, you know, treating the body with a certain level of respect and care for a certain amount of time, but only so that you can get away with abusing it and then thinking about that as being balanced or healthy. Jay, what do you think about this framework?

I don't know. like it. mean, normally what I do every year is I, is I allot myself 3,500 calories a day for those 365 days. So that's 1.27 million calories, give or take. And then every day I eat, I just subtract from that. It's really simple. I just make sure that by the end, I haven't overdone it, you know?

That's why your skin looks so nice. The anti-aging effect of caloric restriction. Okay. So you've been working with this model for quite some time. What have you noticed?

Absolutely.

Past this model, right? He's just looking at it on a week to week basis, but. That's true.

It's funny you say that I was scrolling through the comments just to see how people were taking this in and someone mentioned they like to do the 30 year track every 30 years before they pivot. So that was another good idea.

Well, as, as Mike was saying, I think it's just a really poor framework. The starting assumption was that your body doesn't change day to day, but then at the end he says it only changes on a weekly basis. As if what happens is your body knows when it's Monday and then the next Monday and it's got a calculator just like, you know, we're doing here and it calculates out everything that happened. doesn't change anything. No change in body fat, no change in muscle, no change in hormones.

Like nothing, there's no change in detoxification, gut health, anything until the seven days have passed. And then it decides what to do. It decides how to respond. And if there was less calories that came in, you lose body fat. It's that simple. It's this like extreme oversimplification. think it encapsulates so much of what's wrong with how people typically apply calories and calories out. And even the people who pretend that they're accounting for the other factors in that are in play with calories in like absorption and digestion and the things that are going out. Like, you know, obviously movement is the only one that's focused on, let alone all the things affecting mitochondrial function and hormonal state, which is going to influence calories out of the state of the thyroid hormone activity. Obviously thermic effect of food and, and, you know, you're, you're neat, you're not exercise activity, thermogenesis. Like they pretend like they're accounting for all that, but then you hear things like this, that entirely ignore all that. It's literally just this baseline assumption of you calculate up their numbers and then you figure out what happens at the end of the week. And as Mike was saying, our bodies are on a second to second basis responding to their environment. so if you have a day where you eat a lot less, like let's take this to a slightly less extreme than like the year example, but just look over a week. Like if you were to say, all right, so I have 14,000 calories a week because I have 2000 calories a day.

So for two days of the week, I'm going to eat 7,000 calories and the other five I'm going to eat zero. And then you're pretending that that's going to have the same effect physiologically as if you were to eat 2000 calories a day. And forgetting what the calories are, even if you the exact same meal composition and everything, those two scenarios would have very different effects on your physiology and on body composition. You'd see massive increases in stress hormones on the days that your calories are zero, that you're fasting. You'd see a massive decrease in T4 to T3 conversion. That's going to have downstream effects on steroid hormones, reproductive hormones, it's going to inherently decrease your metabolic output. It's going to decrease your energy expenditure, the amount of ATP you're producing. And then on those really high calorie days, you might not absorb all that food because you're eating all of it at once. You might put a huge burden on your digestion, end up with increased endotoxin absorption, which is going to interfere with mitochondrial function. could affect your sleep, which keep all the calories the same and sleep five and half hours instead of eight and a half hours.

There are studies looking at that and there's a huge difference in body composition as much as 40 % difference in body fat loss between those two groups, just from changing sleep when they're on the exact same diet. And to pretend that your body is not going to respond until it's counted up seven days, you know, obviously in an arbitrary, like what we call a week is just an arbitrary period of time. And it's not going to respond in between. There's absolutely ludicrous. And so I think it's really gets at.

How insanely oversimplified people try to apply this calories in calories out model and where it falls so flat. And I think if you're actually going to try to account for all of the factors that go in, you have to get a lot more granular as opposed to here where you just count up your calories at the end of the week.  All of that, not to mention two other things. One is going out on the weekends with your friends to the bar and eating at restaurants or whatever it is, even if it's the same number of calories and alcohol and McDonald's, does not mean it's going to have the same effect as if you were to eat those calories evenly throughout the week, not from those foods. Like 3000 calories of alcohol is very different from 3000 calories of meat and fruit and potatoes. And it's going to have dramatically different effects on all of these different, know, aspects of our physiology from gut health to liver function, obviously to body composition. So to, again, to pretend that it's all about calories and that if you just eat less during the week, you've fully made up for any of those effects on the weekend.

And those won't matter anymore is I think a really dangerous and harmful message to share with people. You know, you, doesn't matter. You're not going to have a negative effect from eating McDonald's or drinking alcohol, as long as you just eat less calories during the week. mean, it's like, that is going to be worse on both ends. so that's what Mike was getting at too. Like eating less is a huge problem. Just chronically eating less is a huge problem here. So to do that, to try to make up for, You know, eating worse on the weekends, I think is, is really dangerous premise. And the last thing he did mention it here. So I think it's worth touching on because again, it's a good example of the mistaken applications of calories in calories out. says that it takes 3,500 calories for you to gain one pound. there's a number of huge misconceptions, misunderstandings that are built into that statement. So for one, he didn't say a pound of fat, which is important here because a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, but not a pound of muscle pound of muscle contains 500 calories because it's mostly water. So you could say that you ate an extra 3,500 calories in a week, but if that was pure muscle, you would have gained seven pounds versus if that was pure fat, you would have gained one pound. If you actually ended up in that surplus after quote unquote, calculating everything out. But that brings us to the other problem here, which is that eating an extra 3,500 calories does not put you in 3,500 calorie excess because there are, you know, Mike mentioned the homeostasis.

There are these intricate mechanisms that our bodies have to adapt to changes in calorie intake, even forgetting the types of foods and all the other factors. Two of the ones that are most recognized, kind of like umbrellas in the research are metabolic adaptation and behavioral compensation. And metabolic adaptation is basically your body saying, there's more fuel here. I'm going to rev up my metabolism and burn more. And behavioral compensation is your body saying, there's more fuel here. So I'm going to move more.

And it's not always intentional movement, like going to the gym, although some of it is it's like, you might do a longer workout or workout a little bit more intensely, but also a lot of it is just fidgeting, moving around in your chair, know, tapping your foot, moving around the house. And the effects of each metabolic compensation and behavioral compensation are massive. So the point where in studies, when they look at them, they found that from overeating, the amount of weight gain is as much as 96 % less than is expected from just calculating the amount of calorie consumption excess.

Just from behavioral compensation. So that basically means is you ate 3,500 extra calories and basically you burned extra 96 % of that, which is 3360 just from behavioral compensation, just from moving more, being a little bit more active. So you actually only ended up with a quote unquote 140 calorie surplus. Even if you ate 3,500 calories throughout the week. Again, that's like in some of the studies that's shown to be that much just from the behavioral compensation. So to pretend that there is 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. So if you eat 3,500 calories more by the end of the week, you have gained a pound of fat is ignoring the vast majority of physiology that exists. And it's such a harmful message to be sharing something like that. And I think the takeaways that people get from how most people talk about calories in calories out are not only incredibly like inaccurate, but just harmful, just, you know, teaching people the worst ways to consider their life and environment and food.

And really stand people in the wrong direction. When it comes to creating a diet for optimal health, there's a lot of conflicting information out there. And that's why I've created the Energy Balance Food Guide to help you determine exactly what to eat, to optimally support your metabolism and help you lose weight, improve your digestion, get amazing sleep, boost your energy and so much more. The Energy Balance Food Guide is a one page infographic that organizes foods on a spectrum based on how effectively they support your metabolism.

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So honoring that it might be causing some harm and confusion and misconceptions around calories in calories out. Mike, what, how can you frame this in a way that would be supportive for people as they approach their week, as they approach a month? And maybe they do want to let loose a little bit. Is there even any room for that without causing significant metabolic harm? Can you talk a little bit about that?

Don't you dare.

Yeah, the second clip ties right into this interesting lens. Jesse James and Jeff Nippard. Nippard? You guys are seriously exposing me to everything I need to learn in this world of influencers and bodybuilders. But this clip on if calories are all created equal, let's jump in.

Theresa
Okay, Jay, so we're back with framing everything in this simplistic, narrow lens of calories being just calories. Can you talk more about maybe how an apple and were those gummy worms? Sour gummy worms? Okay, Sour Patch Kids. Can you talk about some of the effects we'd expect maybe basing a meal around something that's like apple and meat based and maybe like meat and gummy worms? Sour Patch Kids? with Sour Patch God.

Jay Feldman
I think it's a great example. think it was like, you know, they picked a really good example here to center this around and ignore, you know, what's really at the core of the question. And they kind of skirted around the question a little bit too, which was, it was kind of funny to see the way they answered it, right? was like, the question was like, are all calories equal? And, you know, he, picks up the apple and says, well, this has 110 calories and picks up the sour patch kids and says, well, this has a hundred percent calories.

So they're equal because they have the same number of calories. But that's not the question here. The question is, are they equal in terms of their effects despite having the same number of calories? That's the whole, that's what we're trying to get at here is it's not, do they have the same number of calories? It's are those calories equivalent in terms of their effects? And then we get into this apple, this apple and sour patch kids question. And it's like, they'll both do the same damage because they have sugar. The sugar is going to do the same damage in both cases, but apples have nutrients where sour patch kids have food die. there's our, so on a health standpoint, they're different. And we didn't, I don't know if Jeff like was intentionally avoiding that part of the question of talking about whether there's a difference in health, because he only responded in this, at least in this clip, which was obviously cut from the original video. the response was only in regard to weight loss. I'd be curious to know if he just totally skirted around the question of whether there's a difference in terms of health, but not weight loss. He did mention that the difference would come because the sour patch kids are more likely to make you eat more, which is always what they default to.

But I would love to kind of drill down and actually know whether he thinks that there's literally no difference in terms of health between the two because they're equivalent in calories. But in any case, when we're actually talking about the differences there, I think it's even this is simplified. Well, one has food dyes and one has nutrients is also getting at how like that's that is not everything here in terms of the differences between apples and sour patch kids. I know that wasn't necessarily.

Certainly their take is like, let's compare and contrast these two things. But this idea that both are going to cause damage because of the sugar, sounds like we had a little bit of Robert Lustig peeking his way through here, sharing that piece. But you have this beneficial effect of nutrients in apples is missing so much. So when it comes to apples, we do have beneficial effects in terms of micronutrients. We also have some fiber in there and polyphenols. And both of those have a number of benefits too, and have anti-inflammatory effects and benefits on the gut.


And all the rest, but also it's nowhere near as simple as just because it has more nutrients, it is healthier. And because the Sour Patch don't, they're not healthier. Obviously like we, you know, let's say the food dyes aren't great and we want to avoid those, but I think it just shows the lack of nuance here because for some people, I would argue that an apple could be worse than Sour Patch kids. Yeah. And if they have a major bacterial issue, let's say, you know, they have SIBO, they have problems with digestion and you're eating a really high FODMAP food in an apple of feeding bacteria, you're getting bloating, gas, and no toxin. That could be worse than the Sour Patch Kids. And you know, we talked about the sugar diet in those last couple of episodes. And I think that's part of why a lot of people had benefits on it was they were cutting out a lot of potentially irritating foods, even though it could have included, you know, that they were still eating apples. But I think what we're seeing here very clearly is a lack of depth in terms of really getting at what's important to understand in terms of differences between foods.

That is again, one of the biggest disservices of this calories and calories out method and approach and what people are sharing is that people are going to walk away from this clip and say, as long as I have the same number of calories and I don't overeat from eating Sour Patch Kids, doesn't matter. Literally doesn't matter. It's such a disservice. Obviously, I think something that we see with the people who are of this belief and like Layne Norton-esque people and of course Layne Norton himself is that they
would see so quickly how much that isn't the case if they worked with the type of clients that we work with. Like you can never take on that belief if you were seeing what we see. Like I think, you know, the type of people they're working with are just, you know, I want a six pack, I to lose weight, whatever it is. people are dealing with the severe health issues that we see, I mean, you could never get away with this idea that there's no difference between these outside of the number of calories that they have. Like you wouldn't get anywhere.

I'll, I do have some other thoughts here that I'd like to share, but I'll let you hop in, Mike, because I'm sure you have a lot to say too.

It's definitely a simplified perspective if someone's only thinking about, okay, let's tailor everything for weight loss. But as Jay mentioned, most people are in pretty abysmal shape and it's, you know, they don't have the luxury of having this oversimplified view. Jay, what were you gonna add before, before we jumped back?

Well, I mean, definitely a number of things that Mike mentioned. And I think one that we're getting in here is this, I, separation that they have between weight loss and health, which for one is, I, you know, the vast majority of people we're working with are people who were dieting without regard to their health, right? It was orienting their diet and lifestyle toward weight, not toward health. And they end up in such rough situations, end up destroying their health in the process due to this sort of advice. And then you end up having to face the reality that weight and health are inextricably linked. Obviously you're, it's not like you have this one little organ in your body. That's just the calorie calculator. And then there's everything else, you know, you know, it's like, there's so much going on with your, I mean, I even want to say the nutrition. goes so far beyond nutrition. It's nutrition and sleep and stress and all of the rest.

Obviously the nutrients and the polyphenols and your digestion and your thoughts and all of those effects, not only health, but also weight loss. And I think what we should be the way that I like to frame it at least is that weight loss should be a byproduct of improving our health as opposed to the primary goal. And when we have weight loss as our primary goal, it typically ends up coming at the cost of our health. And then we end up with a short-term fix, short-term weight loss that leads to a not long-term sustainable or physiologically sustainable weight loss because we ended up regaining it, but then B, also other health problems as result. So I think that's the biggest issue I see with that sort of framework. I mean, you heard it here, Jeff was saying, you your body responds to calories in, reverse calories out. And at that point, we're just coming back to that same first clip. Like that is the exact same framework that we're having. And it's like, so your body doesn't respond to any other inputs in your environment. It literally just responds to calories.

That's the complexity of our view. That's what we think the human body is. It's insane. It's so insane. So yeah, I mean, I think that we want to consider how the other aspects of our environment affect gut health, inflammation, mitochondrial function. And when we account for those things and we eat a diet that is healthy and has the proper amount of fuel, which yes, we measure with calories because that is the best measure that we have for it. And that's fine. It's good for that. That's how it's useful. we do that and we correct the other aspects of our lifestyle and we can improve our health and see weight loss. And that's, think the goal here. And again, also phrase it as overeating or energy toxicity are really where the problem is at. And that's just caused by how palatable food is, right? That's why the sour patch kids are going to cause you to overeat is because they taste better. Again, ignores all of the factors that affect our hunger signals. And we've, we've talked about these ad nauseam, but If you're, just to keep it really simple, if there's a nutrient deficiency and you're not converting, let's say it's a B1 deficiency. And so you're not converting your carbohydrates effectively into energy, into ATP. And so the hypothalamus in your brain has a lack of ATP and you ate a lot of food. So it's supposed to turn your hunger signals off, but there's a lack of ATP there. So it doesn't. And then you have the signal to keep eating. And so you keep eating and then you blame the number of calories coming in as if those are the problem. And we're then missing that not only was what we were eating or not eating interfering with our ability to produce energy and turn the hunger signals off properly, but also that has effects on so many other factors, testosterone levels, thyroid levels, cortisol, and the rest, which all then affect body composition and affect your tendency to overeat, quote unquote, overeat. So yeah, I mean, I think that's broad concern with it all.

I didn't want come back to one thing that you mentioned, Mike, which is some people saying like this idea that calories don't matter. And, I think it's a really imprecise statement. And normally what people mean by that is the amount of food that you eat doesn't matters. I mean, I'm assuming that's like the, the suggestion is that the amount of food doesn't you eat doesn't matter. I obviously think that that's as crazy as saying that the nutrients don't matter. Like the amount of food matters a lot. The amount of potential energy in the food that you consume is really, really important.

It makes a huge difference on how much energy you can potentially produce. If you're not effectively producing energy, how much you might store. I mean, it obviously matters a lot. yeah, I think that's just a consequence. You see that in every camp other than Seco, of course. Like you see that in the low-carb sphere as well. And I think on one hand, sometimes it's people just saying things as they often do. But I think there's also an aspect of truth in the idea that we shouldn't have to excessively focus on calories. If like when we get to a better state of health where we don't need to calculate our calories for the week and then make sure that we're saying the exact amount every day. It kind of sorts itself out in a lot of cases, but in the process of getting there, knowing how much you're eating can be really, really helpful. yeah, so I don't think we would want to ignore that and telling people that calories don't matter. So you shouldn't even consider the amount you're eating is definitely a disservice as well.

Simple. So simple. Jay, just to touch back on this for a moment, when you've worked with people where maybe the apples really were causing severe digestive distress and maybe they felt a lot better on some of the simple sugars, are there some better options that people can lean on that maybe don't require Sour Patch Kids?

Yeah, yeah, of course. You know, generally, one of the biggest concerns with the apples is that they're very high in fermentable carbohydrates, which are often grouped in this category called FODMAPs. And so you can choose, you know, fruits that are much lower in these fermentable carbs. Melons like honeydew, cantaloupe, citrus is generally pretty good. Oranges, mandarins, tangerines. There's a ton of options. Berries pineapples, pomegranate, papaya. Juices can be good option as well. Pineapple juice, grape juice, orange juice. You would want to be careful with something like apple juice, for example, which does have a lot of those fermentable carbs too. Honey and maple syrup can often be good options. We did a pretty extensive energy balance podcast episode talking about FODMAPs. So I'd recommend people to listen to that one because there's also some nuance in there that's a little bit too deep to go into here. But I would keep that kind of general framework in mind. Some people also do better with starches than sugars. You know, you could try some white rice, cooked potatoes, make sure they're peeled or skinned, plantains, know, see how you respond to those different things. And then the other thing I would say is experiment, right? Consider that you, for one, it might not only be a FODMAP issue, there are other issues in foods that could be irritating, could cause bloating.

Want to do some different testing. And there could be a number of reasons why you do better with papaya than bananas or something like that or vice versa. you know, I would test some different things out, but keep that kind of general framework in mind and maybe consider some of the lower FODMAP options. The high FODMAP options would be, you know, apples and pears, stone fruits, which is nectarines, peaches, plums, cherries.

Those aren't the stone fruits though. Apricots was the other stone fruit I was thinking, but yes, then watermelon and mango being other high FODMAP foods. Yeah. So those are things to definitely keep, like those are foods to keep a closer eye on. Doesn't mean that these are bad foods or that we generally want to avoid them. In fact, if we digest them well and we don't get the bloating and gas and everything, they can be really beneficial and support a healthy microbiome. So we don't want to avoid them if that's not the case. But if you're dealing with bloating, gas, either shifting between of having that swing between loose stools and constipation, which is a really common presentation, kind of like the IBS type presentation, or if you just lean in one direction or the other, then I would be especially careful with those types of foods.

Mike, anything to add before we shift to the Q &A?

And my husband actually. I've dried mango and I'm shocked.


Well, you can add to that list. mean, my wife falls on that category. I've got a number of clients who do well with it, but it is definitely in the iffy category. I also think there's a quality issue there with a lot of dried fruit. And that's also the case with dried mango. you're getting, and this isn't everything, even with fully ripe, good quality, some people can have issues, but a lot of the dried mango, it's sour and it's really fibrous. And sometimes that can be worse too. There's different varieties of mangoes, some that are much higher in fiber and lower. So a lot of possibilities, but I guess I'm one of the chosen ones.

Bess.

Look at you.

So for today's Q &A, Daniel PR4UK was asking, if lactose by itself causes issues, what's best to pair it with to improve its digestion? We had another listener chime in, but do you guys want to talk about that first before we start to dissect what this listener added to the conversation? Mike, what's your thought there?

Yeah, I've seen similarly in the sense that a lot of people that are still reacting to milk, once they find a good quality A2 milk, then they're fine. So this whole time they were thinking it was a lactose issue, but I think sourcing matters, brands matter. anything to add to that for people that are not necessarily trying to pair something with lactose, but even just trying to rebuild their tolerance and digestion?

Yeah. Well, I do think pairing it with foods can be a part of that, but just to zoom out a bit first and then zoom back into maybe that strategy of how to improve lactose digestion. do think, you know, Mike, as you alluded to, this is a potential common problem in the PEAT sphere, the bio-energetics sphere, where dairy is encouraged and dairy is a really great food. You could call it a superfood, I think, due to all the benefits and that I love categorizing things to superfoods, as you guys know.

But, yes, but no, it can be a really great food if you digest it well. And it is one that a lot of people struggle with. Part of that can be the lactose. so for people who aren't aware, lactose is a combination of glucose and galactose and they're bound together. And in order to digest it, you have to have the lactase enzyme, which breaks those sugars apart. So then you can absorb the galactose and the glucose. And if you don't do that and you have the lactose intact, cause you don't have enough lactase.

We know.

Then typically that lactose is going to not be absorbed by us and it's going to feed bacteria. And that's typically where you can run into issues like gas and bloating and gurgling and discomfort after having high lactose foods, which typically it's milk. you know, when we're talking cheese and yogurt and cream, those are very low in lactose, typically don't cause a lactose issue, which is also a bit of a clue because if you do well with those, but you don't do well with milk, then that could be assigned to lactose issue. Whereas if you aren't doing well with any forms of dairy, could be a sign that it's not actually a lactose issue or it is a lactose issue, but it's also an issue with something else. It could be multiple problems. You could react to the casein or whey as you were mentioning, Mike, or the bacterial cultures that are in the yogurt. There's a number of different possibilities, maybe some of the additives in the cheese. there's a number of reasons that you could be having a negative response, but lactose intolerant or basically a lack of lactase and poor lactose digestion can be a big one.

And as you were saying, Mike, there's some genetic influence here for sure. And there's also a large environmental influence when it comes to lactase production that I think isn't emphasized as much. And there's really cool research on this showing that there are a number of things that can decrease your lactase production. Again, this is the enzyme that helps you use, break down the lactose and absorb the galactose and glucose. And there's also a number of things that increase lactase. The things that decrease it, some of the most notable ones, one is bacterial overgrowth like SIBO.

Will decrease lactase production as well as other digestive enzymes. And then PUFA is another one that will actually decrease lactase production. Now the flip side, carbohydrates help to increase lactase and thyroid hormone helps to increase lactase. Again, that doesn't mean if you have lactose intolerance, just supplement with thyroid hormone, but doing the foundational things that help to improve your state in terms of thyroid health can help a lot here. So those are some things to keep in mind that even if you don't change anything about the type of foods you're bringing in, you can improve your lactase production just by getting your thyroid health up, improving your gut microbiome, eating a low proof of diet and eating enough carbohydrates. And so those alone could be enough. But if you're still struggling with the lactose issue, then there are some things to consider when it comes to how you consume it. And I think you mentioned this, Mike, that you're drinking a lot of milk on an empty stomach. That's going to be a lot tougher to digest or break down in terms of the lactose compared to if you had it with the meal, because it's going to digest a lot faster.

So if you have a lack of lactase, if you have less lactase than is optimal, you're not going to have enough time, your digestion is not going have enough time to break down all the lactose if you're just drinking pure milk, let's say without any other food with it. So you're going to be more likely to have some of these symptoms. Whereas if you were to pair it with a meal, you're going to have more time to break down the lactose because it's sitting a little longer, it's digesting slower. So that might be a situation where you can tolerate the milk better. Some other things that could help. One is just doing a smaller amount.

And slowly, gradually increasing. So having a small amount with your meals, maybe just a couple ounces and slowly increasing from there. Making sure to pair it with carbohydrates considering that the carbs increase the lactase production. So you can add sugar, honey, maple syrup to the milk or just have it alongside fruit or other carb sources, starches as well. And another one to consider is heating up the milk, which can also help with increasing the lactose breakdown and helping to digest it easier.

And then you have those other factors that you guys mentioned, which is try different quality or types of dairy, know, goat milk, sheep milk might do better. Even if it is a lactose issue, there are some slight differences in lactose content. And so trying those other forms could make a difference, or it might be, let's say a casein issue. so goat dairy, sheep dairy, or A2 cow dairy might be much better again, but that would be a separate issue from the lactose. And then on the whole, working on your gut health.

And your thyroid health can make a huge difference. And so if you can't tolerate the milk right now, don't force it. Even if you try those things. I mean, you could also try lactose free milk, I should mention, just normally there's more additives and things like that. You could also use lactase as Mike mentioned, and those are good ways to get the milk in, or you could just rely on low lactose dairy for the period, you know, for this period of time, more cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, if you do well with those. And then if not, you can just hold off on dairy for this period of time and see if you might be able to tolerate it later.

Good reminder not to force, because especially in more pro-metabolic world, I think people are like, well, that's diet. I should be eating and drinking a gallon of smoke a day. But we're getting these signals every meal, you know, and it's not something we need to ignore. And also not feeling like it has to be a permanent thing. Like you mentioned, Jay, it's temporary. Maybe it's more of a sign of your current state, but not something that you need to...

You know, fall victim to or assume that it's going to be the way you digest food for the rest of your life. It's always changing. I'd say, you know, season by season, people tend to be really surprised that they are tolerating foods that they haven't. Or Mike, I remember even you mentioned that chocolate all of a sudden started working really well for you when it in the past maybe wasn't a helpful food. So I think it's good to remember that maybe some of your favorite foods, even if they're not available right now and don't digest well right now.

That could change, especially when you start experimenting and paying attention and learning to find what works for you. was going to jump to the other listener's response, trying to help out this person who's having issues, but what were you going say, Mike?


So, edian3776 was saying it's best to add in leafy greens, anything with potassium rich, because it assists in maintaining an alkaline environment plus numerous other benefits, digestive enzymes, prebiotics to feed the gut bacteria, and slippery elm to coat the digestive tract about a half an hour to an hour before eating to protect the intestinal tract from leaky gut. So yeah, Mike, you were saying that this is...

This is what you did when you were adding milk back in?

wrote that comment.

Theresa
And no shame to Eddie and I really do appreciate, mean, I think trying to help others based on what works for you is such an admirable thing. again, honoring that we are all a little bit different and maybe some things we'll read on the internet might not be actually helpful. So Mike, in addition to the leafy greens, what have you found to be helpful?

Theresa
Jay, what about you?

Jay
Yeah, I agree. And I, again, of course we appreciate that people are trying to help out others and aren't trying to discourage that here or like trash this person or anything. But I do think it goes to show how much conflicting information there is out there and how challenging it can be when someone is saying, all right, I have an issue digesting lactose. What do I do? And they're looking it up on the internet. Obviously this is a comment on our video, but they're just looking it up. And I'm sure that's where these ideas come from.

Who knows? I don't know where this person's coming up with these ideas, but I would say they're really off base when it comes to anything relevant to lactose digestion. Alkalinity versus acidity, not really relevant at all here. As you said, Mike, digestive enzymes only if there's lactase, the rest of the digestive enzymes wouldn't be relevant at all to lactose. Prebiotics again, outside of the GOS, not going to make a difference here. Slippery elm, wallets.

It can be a great herb, anti-inflammatory effects, know, increase mucus production in the intestines, support the microbiome, like tons of really good effects. But even just the idea that they mentioned where you would take that to protect the intestinal tract from leaky gut, you shouldn't be having leaky gut from consuming lactose. That's a sign that there's a problem and this isn't going to fix the problem with lactose digestion. If even if it was to protect against that intestinal permeability, but that wouldn't change.

The bloating, the gas, the feeding bacteria in a harmful way. I think we're missing some things here. And hopefully with our explanation before talking about everything that's involved with lactose digestion and kind of routes to go, helps to clear up any of the confusion there on this front.

And they, yeah, still a big thanks for the good intention of wanting to help out. And maybe we can keep things a little bit more simple for, you know, if someone is having real issues. But let's close out this episode for today. Jay, where can people find you?

Yeah, head over to Jayfeldmanwellness.com. Tons of free resources there for you guys to check out. And then of course, here on my YouTube channel.

Awesome. And you can find me at livingrootswellness.com, also on Instagram, and then my tapping and brain rewiring app, Tapping with T, or wherever you download apps. And yeah, thank you everyone for listening and we will see you in the next episode.