Bionic Beat v4: Insights on Nutrition
At Bionic, we use each member's unique biology, family history, lifestyle and goals to inform a personalized action plan.
However, there are some common recommendations we find ourselves referencing again and again.
In this week's newsletter I wanted to share 3 topics that can be part of anyone's journey to optimal health.
Wait, how many fruits & veggies?!
We all had our mom telling us to eat our veggies, but did she really have any science backing that up? I love to make things easy, so I challenge my members to eat 800 grams of fruit, veggies, and legumes. The veggies include potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Why do I do that? Because of this study: Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality—a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies
It showed that eating 800 grams of fruits and vegetables per day was linked to a:
24% lower risk of heart disease
33% lower risk of stroke
28% lower risk of cardiovascular disease
14% lower risk of cancer
31% lower risk of dying from any cause
800 grams is hard to do, and you can almost get the same benefit by getting to 500 grams, but optimal benefits were found at 800 grams.
Why use a CGM if I'm healthy?
First off, if you don’t know what a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) is, here is a quick explainer.
At Bionic Health, we love for our members to be educated about how their bodies work. There are few things you can track as easily as glucose, and it gives so many insights about how stress, sleep, what you eat, and how you exercise affect your glucose. Some key things to know. Not all high glucose spikes are bad, sometimes your body is reacting to heavy exercise.
The monitors are tuned for diabetics, so we’ll help you turn off the alarms during the overnight period.
It’s optional. It’s not for everyone, but overwhelmingly our members tell us that learn a lot over a short period of time and that it affects their habits.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Healthy Adults
Why do we talk so much about protein?
Protein has been shown again and again to be one of the most important tools in building and maintaining muscle mass.
Our basic rule of thumb is this: If you are trying to lose weight, make sure to eat enough protein to maintain muscle mass. If you are trying to build muscle, you have to eat enough protein.
So, how much is enough?
Use this simple equation. 0.8 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
For me at 210 pounds, that’s 168 grams of protein per day. Caveat: this is an oversimplification but a safe way to do this.
Check out this paper if you want to geek out around protein: Protein Intake and Muscle Function in Older Adults
Listen to Peter Attia talk about protein on his podcast or read about protein and exercise.
Are you eating enough protein?
Read this: Protein & exercise
Member benefit reminder
Last week, we shared that we expanded our supplement discount to 35% off all supplements from Fullscript with a wider selection from the top manufacturers.
For members, you will see a Benefits section under the Profile page shortly. In the meantime, chat us for early access to the link.