by Dr David Minkoff March 20, 2024 7 min read
Your digestive tract’s ability to fully digest and absorb protein determines, in large part, your body's ability to build muscle and lose body fat.
It also affects our energy levels, hormones, inflammatory response, and overall health.
When protein isn’t properly digested, this triggers a sequence of actions, involving our immune system, which leads to higher levels of cortisol, the hormone that prevents fat loss and breaks down muscle.
Even more, without full digestion, our body receives less of the protein we consume in a form it can actually use.
So we get less protein for muscle, properly balanced hormones, and overall health and energy, while at the same time we’re eating more that goes to waste.
This is a big deal. Due to processed foods and sugars, many of our digestive tracts don’t function at optimal levels, preventing a significant amount of the food we eat from being fully broken down so our body can use it.
Beyond this, improper digestion leads to not only heart burn, acid reflux, GERD, and gas and bloating, but also allows for harmful bacteria, parasites, and fungi to take root, further causing us trouble.
Everything hinges on protein.
So, understanding exactly how digestion works and how to keep or get it working properly is very important.
by Dr David Minkoff March 19, 2024 7 min read
Those are some big claims in that title.
And how could they be true when we have statements like:
“BCAAs stimulate the building of protein in muscle and possibly reduce muscle breakdown.”
“Valine is needed for your muscle fibers to fire, for tissue repair, and for the maintenance of proper nitrogen balance in the body.”
“Leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis and may be the dominant fuel involved in anabolic (tissue building) reactions.”
Well, unfortunately, the claims in the title of this article are true.
They come from research studies done on BCAAs, while the above quoted statements come from marketers.
BCAAs, or Branched Chain Amino Acids, taken on their own regularly and over time, can have a significant effect on body fat creation, muscle gain reduction, kidney trouble, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.
And it's becoming quite a problem. Just google "BCAAs side effects" or "BCAAs and Type 2 Diabetes" and you'll find much more than you wanted to.
But how can they say these things and how does this all work?
Let's dig in and see.
by Dr David Minkoff March 17, 2024 6 min read
Welcome to Week One of the Lean Body/Lean Bulk Challenge!
In this article we cover what metrics to keep track of, dialing in your macros and workouts, and what to expect during week one.
In the first week of this challenge we have several things happening.
We’re trying to switch our diet so our bodies are getting what they need to build lean muscle without the excess calories or hormone-triggering foods that would cause fat gain.
With this comes restructuring our cells so they will use the foods we’re giving them properly and balancing or increasing hormone levels so our body will prioritize building lean muscle over body fat.
We’re addressing digestion, which is crucial to our overall health as well as building muscle, as we need our cells to receive all of the nutrients and vitamins we’re consuming.
You will be consuming a lot of whole food proteins, which your stomach is probably not used to receiving, and it will need extra help until it builds up enough stomach acid and enzymes of its own.
So make sure you’re taking your digestive enzymes with each meal during this.
We’ll also be working to dial in our exact macros.
And we may be experiencing some cravings.
by Dr David Minkoff March 12, 2024 7 min read
On this protocol you will be lifting 5 days per week.
As this protocol is very specific to building lean muscle and toning, there will mainly be weight lifting.
There will also be something called Zone 2 Cardio, which will not cause muscle loss, but other than that there is no cardio during this challenge.
If you would like to take a walk, that’s fine. But adding in other forms of cardio could hamper your progress.
And it’s only 30 days.
Okay, let’s run through a few key points and then jump into the workouts.
by Dr David Minkoff March 12, 2024 8 min read
On this protocol you will be lifting 5-6 days per week.
As this protocol is very specific to building lean muscle and toning, there will mainly be weight lifting.
There will also be something called Zone 2 Cardio, which will not cause muscle loss, but other than that there is no cardio during this challenge unless you have extra energy for Day 6.
But if you really want to build muscle, extra cardio is not recommended.
If you would like to take a walk, that’s fine. But adding in other forms of cardio could hamper your progress.
And it’s only 30 days.
Okay, let’s run through a few key points and then jump into the workouts.
by Dr David Minkoff March 10, 2024 7 min read
Here we cover the specific supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.
This protocol is meant for significantly increased lean muscle, so the macros may seem high to some.
But it's also meant to be used with the Advanced Workout Regimen, so the macros will be used by our body.
There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from depending on which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.
There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting the correct amount for what your body needs.
Let's start.
by Dr David Minkoff March 10, 2024 8 min read
Here we cover the exact supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.
There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from, depending on which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.
There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting enough for what your body needs.
by Dr David Minkoff March 10, 2024 7 min read
Here we cover the exact supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.
There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from depending which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.
There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting enough for what your body needs.
Let's start.
by Dr David Minkoff March 10, 2024 6 min read
by Dr David Minkoff February 25, 2024 7 min read
It hasn’t been understood by most people just how vital our gut health is to our heart health.
But in truth, it’s key. If our gut health is good, and our digestive tract working properly, the risk of poor heart health is much lower.
If our gut is in poor condition, however (heart burn or acid reflux often, bloating, pains, regular diarrhea, or worse), then this will, over time, lead to poor heart health.
But gut health among Americans has diminished drastically in recent times, worsening every year mainly due to our processed foods and sugars, and the 50x increase in toxins in our environment in the last 7 decades.
Now, younger and younger people every year are experiencing more and more gut issues which were rare even in older individuals in earlier generations.
This is something we need to address now, for each of us, to ensure a long and healthy life.
by Dr David Minkoff February 22, 2024 6 min read
Approximately 1.2 million Americans suffer a heart attack every year. That’s about 1 in 300.
But of those who die each year, about 50% of them have, but ignore, the warning signs that a heart attack may be coming.
In the last article we covered how cardiovascular disease, or heart disease, comes about in the first place.
In this article we go deeper into what happens here, what the aftermath is, what the warning signs are (which can be minutes, hours, days or even weeks beforehand), and what the best prevention is.
This is an important one.
by Dr David Minkoff February 20, 2024 8 min read
Cardiovascular Disease, or Heart Disease, is the number one cause of death not just in the US, but in the world.
And, despite spending more on medical treatment for this, per person, than any other country, the US has one of highest rates in the world, higher than most so-called developing countries that don’t have the same money to spend on medical treatment for it.
As of 2019, approximately 7,617 in 100,000 Americans had heart disease. And many more are on the path to it, with this number growing every year.
Compare that to the early 1900s when there was very little heart disease.
(This is actually a created problem, and we’ll get to that.)
But the saddest thing is that while it is, in most cases, preventable (even when we’ve already started on the path to it), the solutions provided only allow us to “manage it” or slow it to a degree. Not reverse or prevent it.
And they don’t even do that very well.
If we want to lower our risk of heart disease, then we need to know the exact factors that do cause it so we can prevent them.
And it starts inside our blood vessels, at a very thin mucous lining that runs all along the inside walls of these blood vessels, protecting them from harm.
by Dr. David Minkoff
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