Pro Metabolic Eating: The Key to Boosting Your Metabolism and Thyroid Health

Pro metabolic eating has many benefits for metabolism and improving health through improved cellular function. Many people struggle in our society with weight gain, low energy levels, and other health issues related to a sluggish metabolism. This is because many of the things we are doing to better our health are actually depleting our health. But what if there was a way to rev up your metabolism and improve your overall health without resorting to extreme diets or strenuous exercise routines? Enter pro-metabolic eating, a concept created by Dr. Ray Peat that focuses on nourishing your body with the right nutrients to support optimal metabolic function and thyroid health.

So, what exactly is pro-metabolic eating? In simple terms, it involves consuming foods that are rich in nutrients that support metabolism and thyroid function. This includes foods like fruits, dairy products, lean proteins, and healthy fats. These foods provide your body with the essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids it needs to function at its best and keep your metabolism running smoothly.

Key Principles of Pro Metabolic

Consume Foods That Are Easy To Digest

One of the key principles of pro-metabolic eating is to prioritize foods that are easy for your body to digest. This means avoiding processed foods, foods containing added sugars, and other inflammatory foods that can disrupt your body's natural metabolic processes. Instead, focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods that provide your body with the energy it needs to function optimally.

Aim For Balanced Macros At Each Meal and Snack

Another important aspect of pro-metabolic eating is to balance your macronutrients. This means ensuring that you are getting a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in your diet. Ensuring you have a balance of carbs, fats, and proteins also helps to keep blood sugar in balance throughout the day. Carbohydrates are particularly important for supporting thyroid function, as they help to regulate your body's production of thyroid hormones. By including plenty of healthy carbohydrates in your diet, favoring fruits and no-pulp orange juice,  root vegetables, and a few starches, you can support your metabolism and promote overall thyroid health. 

While eating all 3 macros at each meal, we should also be aiming to eat about 50% of our protein from dairy foods such as milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese. This helps to reduce the inflammatory amino acids like tryptophan and methionine in our diet from animal muscle meat. Adding protein foods rich in glycine, lysine, and proline, like collagen, gelatin, and bone broth, to meals that contain muscle meats can also help to balance out pro-inflammatory amino acids and reduce inflammation in the body.

For those who don't do well with dairy, you can easily reverse dairy intolerance and lactose intolerance, like I did, using these simple tips. 

Meal Timing

In addition to focusing on nutrient-dense foods and balancing your macronutrients, pro-metabolic eating also emphasizes the importance of proper meal timing. Dr. Ray Peat recommends eating regular meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism revved up and your energy levels stable. This means avoiding long periods of fasting or skipping meals, as this can slow down your metabolism and lead to weight gain.

Avoiding PUFA's - Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (nuts, seeds, whole grains, and seed oils)

PUFA's suppress thyroid function and cellular respiration, leading to blood sugar dysregulation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and free radical damage, inflammation, fatigue, and down-regulating the metabolism.

PUFA's were never consumed by our ancestors in the ways in which we consume them now. Before 100 years ago, there were no factories to refine, process, and deodorize the seed oils. Other than olive oil (which is a monounsaturated fatty acid), no other seed oils have been consumed in the past 6,000 years on this earth. Coconut oil is made from the fruit and is not a seed oil; it is also a saturated fatty acid, which our bodies have been designed to consume. Prior to the industrial revolution, people used animal fats in cooking, such as butter, ghee, lard, tallow, and dairy fats, such as those found in whole milk, cream, and cheese. 

Heart disease was virtually non-existent prior to the change to refined seed oils and PUFA's being present in nearly all processed foods. There are no seed oils that are not already rancid by the time they reach store shelves, and even omega-3s, once consumed, become rancid in the body. It is impossible to completely remove all PUFA's from your diet (trace amounts will still be present), but it is possible to replace PUFA's with saturated fatty acids in your cooking and avoid processed foods and whole grains, which contain them. 

Low PUFA breads include those made with a traditional sourdough starter. Sourdough bread should not be  "whole grain" as the whole grain contains the germ, which is high in PUFA. This is also why white rice is favored over brown rice, as the brown rice contains the germ. 

Minimize or Eliminate Goitrogens

Reducing and eliminating goitrogens, leafy greens, and raw veggies can have a profound benefit to your thyroid gland and, therefore, your metabolism. I know this goes against many of your pre-conceived notions that the government, USDA, and dieticians who are pushing these foods as health foods and superfoods, even. Goitrogens suppress thyroid function and down-regulate metabolism.

Consuming large amounts of cellulose from leafy greens, which is an indigestible fiber, can actually cause many of the digestive complaints we are seeing today. These foods, 100 years ago, were considered famine foods and foods that were only grown to be fodder for cattle and other ruminant animals. They also contain plant toxins or poisons that are meant to defend the plant against animals eating them. These plant toxins cause digestive distress in animals and also humans who unknowingly try to consume them, hoping to improve their health. 

If you want to consume vegetables, aim for including root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, or vegetables that are actually fruits like squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes. These vegetables are known to have a higher concentration of absorbable nutrients and much lower concentrations of anti-metabolic and anti-thyroid substances.

Benefits of Pro Metabolic Eating

So, what are the benefits of pro-metabolic eating for metabolism and thyroid health? For starters, this approach can help boost your metabolism, making it easier for your body to burn calories and maintain a healthy weight. By providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function optimally, you can support your thyroid health and promote overall metabolic function. "Fat loss favors a fast metabolism", as Cheryl Frost likes to say (top figure athlete and Ms. Universe 2014).

In addition, pro-metabolic eating can also help to improve your energy levels and reduce fatigue. By fueling your body with the right nutrients, you can avoid the energy crashes that often come with consuming processed foods and refined sugars. Instead, you can enjoy sustained energy throughout the day, making it easier to stay active and alert.

Overall, pro-metabolic eating offers a natural and sustainable approach to improving your metabolism and supporting thyroid health. By focusing on nutrient-dense foods, balancing your macronutrients, and eating regular meals, you can optimize your body's metabolic function and promote overall well-being. So, why not give pro-metabolic eating a try and see the benefits for yourself? Your metabolism and thyroid will thank you! 

This post is just scratching the surface, as there is a lot more that I have to share with you about Pro Metabolic eating. If you're ready to learn more about Pro Metabolic foods and how to implement this in your lifestyle habits, check out our Pro Metabolic Nutrition email course here.