Healthy summer grilling and the test to know what vitamins you actually need

Author

Casey Means
May 07, 2024

Welcome back! This week’s newsletter includes:

  • 🥑 Good Food: A HEALTHY, easy homemade hot dog bun recipe!

  • 🔄 Good Swap: Simple swaps for a metabolically healthy summer grill-out!

  • 🧠 Good Thought: A test to know what doses of vitamins to take and which foods to emphasize in your diet 🤯

And before we jump in, make sure not to miss my episode that aired yesterday with Dr. Andrew Huberman. Please watch and if it resonates: comment, like, and share!

Episode link here.

You can also listen to the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🥑 Good food - Healthy hot dog buns & hot dogs 🌭

It’s estimated that Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year 🤯. That works out to about 70 hot dogs per person each year. Hot dogs are served in 95 percent of homes in the United States. 

Most hot dogs are highly processed, and filled with additives like artificial nitrates and “natural flavors.” Nitrates and nitrates from food additives have been linked to breast and prostate cancer risks, amongst others. Another study found processed meat as a powerful multi-organ carcinogen (Carcinogens are substances that increase the risk of cancer. Finally, a fairly old study of pregnant women found that consuming one or more hot dogs a week was associated with childhood brain tumors. Similar results were found in children who regularly ate hot dogs.

The research is clear - you should avoid ultra-processed foods, and processed meats. However, if you love hot dogs or they scratch a nostalgia itch for you, let’s talk about how to have a hot dog that supports your metabolic health (and tastes delicious)!

First, let’s talk about those buns! 🌭 

Hot dog buns represent what I call the unholy trinity - they are a 1) refined grain, and often made with 2) refined sugars, 3) seed oils, and other additives. Most hot-dog brands are also made with “enriched wheat flour” or “bleached” flour which as I mentioned in a previous newsletter goes through a bleaching process which makes it even more inflammatory to our cells. 

I’ve not seen a single hot dog bun on the market (forward one to me if I’m wrong!) that meets my Good Energy standards. So, my colleague Sonja and I developed a simple, delicious, grain-free, metabolically healthy recipe for a hot dog bun (see below). 

Nutrient dense, grain free, fluffy on the inside but a little crispy on the outside hot dog buns!!

Now, what about the hot dog itself? There are a few better-for-you options on the market like a grass-fed, regenerative beef hot dog from Force of Nature or a grass-fed, organic hot dog from Applegate. You could also try your hand at making your own hot dog by blending grass fed ground beef or pork with spices! 

As another note, I also love using these homemade hot dog buns as a way to eat my Good Energy “tuna salad,” which is a weekly staple for me for lunch!

🧑‍🍳 🌭 Healthy Homemade Hot Dog Buns

Makes 4-5 buns (double recipe for 8)
🖇️ Download this recipe as a PDF here.

Dry ingredients 

Wet ingredients 

  • 2 eggs, whisked

  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, melted

  • 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp milk of choice

  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  2. Combine the active dry yeast in a bowl with 1/4 cup warm water and let sit for 10-20 minutes to activate. Gently stir.

  3. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon.

  4. In a small bowl, crack the two eggs and whisk well.

  5. In a small saucepan, combine the shredded mozzarella with 2 tbsp water. Heat and stir until melted and smooth.

  6. Combine eggs, melted mozzarella, milk, and the activated yeast into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well.

  7. Cover the bowl with a towel and let sit in a dry, warm place to proof for 1 hour.

  8. After an hour, roll the dough into a hot dog shape in your hands until smooth and press into the silicone mold. Alternatively, you can put these on a baking sheet without a mold!

  9. Sprinkle with a little bit of water on top to keep the dough moist.

  10. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack, and then enjoy!

If you want to get the silicone hot dog bun mold Sonja used, the link is here! 

📹️ Check out this reel where Sonja and I make this recipe!

I love homemade hot dog buns because you know EXACTLY how and what was used to make them - plus so much more healthy fats, fiber, protein, vitamins, and ZERO added sugars!

🔄 Good swap - Summer Grilling Swaps ☀️

Now that I’ve got you thinking about summer grilling, let’s talk about some other swaps to consider as you build a metabolically healthy mind and body this summer. 

The image below shows items you might find at a typical BBQ or grill-out, as well as my suggestions for swaps. The items on the left have refined grains, sugars, and/or seed oils, and the items on the right are FREE of refined sugar, refined grains and seed oils. Make these swaps to not only feel better this summer, but to better support your cellular health. Why not have a grill-out this summer that supports your family and community’s health? It’s quite simple, and avoids so many unnecessary ingredients that hurt our cellular biology, while also adding in so many ingredients that support our cellular health.

Now is the time to have a Good Energy Summer! ☀️🏖️ 

Here are the products/recipes mentioned in the image 👇️ 

🌭 Protein

🥗 Sides

🧂 Condiments

🍻 Drinks

🍦 Dessert

Another way to to zhuzh up your bbq would be in addition to having some organic pickles, add some sauerkraut to the table to get some fermented probiotics in the meal!

Now this is just a starter list, there are tons of other ways to add some good energy into your grilling.

Do you have a favorite swap or summer BBQ recipe? Share on Instagram and tag me at @drcaseyskitchen - I’d love to see!

🧠 Good thought

In my episode with Dr. Andrew Huberman that launched this week, I talk about the trifecta of metabolic dysfunction – or the “trifecta of Bad Energy” as I call it in my upcoming book, Good Energy – which includes mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation. If this sounds complicated, don’t tune out - I’m going to break it down! 

Mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation are the invisible processes happening inside our cells and bodies that actually cause that metabolic dysfunction I talk about so often in this newsletter! These are the out-of-control biological disturbances leading to MOST modern American disease. Infectious diseases used to be the main causes of early death… Now that many of those have been minimized or eradicated, it’s these more subtle, smoldering processes that are hurting us. 

It’s very likely that if you have symptoms and diagnoses that aren’t going away (ranging from migraines, to infertility, to erectile dysfunction, to depression, to brain fog, to belly fat, to acne, and so many more conditions), these processes are a part of the problem. We want the lab tests that we order to help us understand the status of each of these processes in our body, and then work to improve each of them as we invest in dietary and lifestyle strategies.

Before we jump into the trifecta, recall that the mitochondria are the part of the cell that convert food to cellular energy (ATP!), and when this process is broken because of environmental factors that hurt the mitochondria, we get underpowered cells that are dysfunctional. 

  1. Mitochondrial Dysfunction: With mitochondrial dysfunction, our cells can’t make energy properly because they are overburdened with so much junk from the modern industrial environment that their energy ­factories—​­ the ­ mitochondria—​­ are overtaxed and damaged, leading to less ATP production. Because the cells aren’t able to convert food energy (like glucose and fatty acids) to cellular energy (ATP), the cells STORE that food energy inside cells as toxic fats, which blocks normal cellular functions.

    • The “junk” from the environment I’m referring to includes micronutrient-depleted ultra-processed “food” (making up 70% of our calories in the USA now!), poor sleep, near constant sedentary living, not enough sunlight (Americans now spend over 93% of their time INDOORS!), too much blue light, too many environmental toxins (80,0000 synthetic toxins in our food, water, air, personal care products, cleaning products!), and too much low-grade stress! 

  2. Chronic Inflammation: Mitochondrial dysfunction and low cellular energy (ATP) production are perceived as a “threat signal” by our bodies, so the body revs up a fighting response by activating the immune system. Think about it: what could be more threatening to the body than a cell that can’t make energy properly to do its jobs? This immune response becomes chronic because the “threat signal” doesn’t go away unless the environment changes. These immune cells try to help, but since they can’t change the toxic environment, they can’t do much. In their efforts, they create chronic inflammation, which shows up as so many of the symptoms we’re facing today. To get the immune system to “calm down,” we need to fix the environmental triggers by doing things like eating clean real food, sleeping, eliminating toxins from our home and personal care products, etc.

  3. Oxidative Stress: The cells create damaging, reactive waste in the form of free radicals while trying to process all the junk being thrown at them from the environment and from damaged mitochondria. These free radicals cause damage to cells, leading to more dysfunction.

With basic lab testing that can be done through any lab, we can get a hint of these processes. Here’s how: 

  1. Mitochondrial dysfunction: Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, triglyceride, blood pressure, waist circumferences, and liver function tests (like AST and ALT) can all tell us a little bit about our level of mitochondrial dysfunction. If these lab tests are elevated, it’s a signal that the mitochondria are struggling and can’t process food energy to cell energy well, so the cell is adapting by generating insulin resistance, causing glucose to be rejected from the cell and then rise in the bloodstream (higher glucose levels). With higher blood sugar levels, the body converts much of this excess glucose to triglycerides (high triglycerides) and increases insulin secretion to try to drive more glucose into the insulin resistance cells. That insulin resistance blocks the dilation of blood vessels (high blood pressure), and causes the storage of abdominal fat (waist circumference). I include liver function tests here too, because if there is insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction present in our liver cells, our AST and ALT will go up. 

  2. Chronic inflammation: hsCRP and white blood cell count (WBC): these can both rise in the setting of inflammation. 

  3. Oxidative stress: Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) and uric acid: Because GGT’s role is to metabolize the protein glutathione, a key antioxidant our bodies make that neutralizes free radicals, levels will increase in the face of more oxidative burden and glutathione activity. Excess uric acid generates oxidative stress that disturbs mitochondrial function, shunting things that should go to cellular energy (ATP) production toward fat instead. 

There are more advanced tests that can tell us even more about our status on the trifecta of Bad Energy. I love the Metabolomix+ test by Genova Connect which is a Comprehensive Nutritional Profile that tells you over 125 biomarkers that together can help you read the “tea leaves” of the trifecta.

This test tells you about your levels of many of the cellular intermediates in key mitochondrial processes (see below for an illustrative example!), and from that information it is able to give you personalized, specific recommendations for food, supplement, and lifestyle adjustments that would help you improve these metabolic processes.

Here are some of the charts and results you get from Metabolomix+, one of my favorite tests.

If you’ve ever wondered what dose of vitamins you would benefit from taking and which foods to emphasize in your diet based on micronutrient compositions, this test will finally answer it! And the most critical part is that by adjusting the levels of these nutrients, you can move towards easing the “trifecta of Bad Energy.”  ⬇️

You can get a 10% discount on this test by using the code CASEY10 at Genova Connect. 

Until next time ❣️

Casey

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎙️ New podcasts!

Check out these recently released podcasts where I talked about all things metabolic health and Good Energy:

🥗 Grants from the Food Freedom Project! 👇️ 

The Food Freedom Project (FFP) launched their first Community Angel Fund and are offering grants of $1000 to 5 organizations actively working to establish local food sovereignty and advocate for food freedom in their communities.

Are you making a difference in your local community, or do you know someone who is? Apply today for a chance to receive an award of $1000 and grow your impact.

FFP are accepting applications now until May 15, 2024.

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