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How To Use Food To Heal Your Body, Boost Brain Health, Improve Circulation & Live Longer with Dr William Li #485

Oct 15, 2024 1h 44m 49 insights
How much power do your food choices really have over your health? You probably already know that your diet can hugely influence how well you feel, but did you know that the food you choose to eat can change the make-up of your entire body, all the way down to the health of your cells?   This week, Dr William Li returns to the podcast for the 4th time. He is an internationally renowned physician, food scientist and bestselling author of two books, including his latest ‘Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism & Live Longer’. Dr Li’s ground-breaking work has led to the development of more than 30 new medical treatments and has impacted the care of more than 70 different diseases, including cancer, type II diabetes, blindness, heart disease and obesity. And, his TED Talk, ‘Can We Eat to Starve Cancer?’ has had more than 11 million views. In this engaging and enlightening conversation, Dr Li shares his expertise with his trademark clarity and enthusiasm. His unique ability to break down complex scientific concepts into relatable analogies makes the information accessible to anyone. We explore the intricate relationship between what we eat and how our bodies function. We discuss how certain foods can stimulate and protect our vital stem cells, which enhances our body's natural ability to regenerate and heal. We also discuss how some foods can improve everything from our blood vessel health to the function of our brains.    Dr Li also sheds light on some common myths surrounding metabolism, the importance of personalised nutrition and the very ‘modern’ issue of over-consuming calories. As always, Dr Li shares some of his top practical tips to help.   I thoroughly enjoyed talking to William again. He is passionate, incredibly knowledgeable and wants to empower each and every one of us to be active, engaged participants in our health. I hope you enjoy listening.   Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.   Thanks to our
Actionable Insights

1. Take Ownership of Your Health

Recognize that you are the architect of your own health, and commit to making lifestyle changes, as feeling better directly leads to living a more fulfilling life.

2. Prioritize Blood Vessel Health

Focus on maintaining healthy blood vessels as they are fundamental to optimizing all other aspects of your health. Unhealthy blood vessels make it impossible to optimize other parts of your body.

3. Prioritize Brain Health for Longevity

Focus on choices that improve your brain health now, as good cognitive function is essential for truly living well and enjoying a long life.

4. Support Body’s Regeneration with Food

Select foods that stimulate and protect your vital stem cells to enhance your body’s natural ability to regenerate and heal from within.

5. Prioritize High-Quality Food

Select high-quality food as fuel for your body, as the quality of what you eat significantly impacts your metabolic health and overall well-being.

6. Invest in Healthy Food Choices

View healthy food choices as an investment that ‘grows your health,’ leading to long-term benefits, especially for brain health and overall well-being.

7. Avoid Calorie Overconsumption

Prevent over-consuming calories to avoid abusing your metabolism, which can slow it down and lead to health issues like weight gain and metabolic diseases.

8. Cultivate Self-Knowledge for Health

Spend time contemplating what makes your body ’tick’ and how individual choices make you feel, rather than solely consuming external information.

9. Understand Your Body’s Responses

Dedicate time to understanding how your body feels when healthy and unhealthy, and how individual choices affect you, to find your unique health path.

10. Practice Self-Compassion in Health

Be self-compassionate on your health journey, allowing for occasional deviations from strict guidelines without guilt, knowing your body can rebound if you mostly stick to good choices.

11. Continuously Improve Health

Make continuous, small efforts to improve your health, even if you feel good now, as this investment can significantly enhance your brain health and overall well-being in the future.

12. Scrutinize Pre-packaged Food Labels

Before buying pre-packaged foods, check ingredient labels for added sugars and artificial chemicals; opt for products with minimal ingredients or prepare them yourself for better health.

13. Maintain a Food Diary

Record everything you eat for a few days or a week to assess the quality of your food choices and identify any low-quality items that may be hindering your health.

14. Reduce Portion Sizes

Serve yourself only two-thirds of your usual portion size to avoid overeating and reduce caloric load on your metabolism.

15. Eat Slowly, Stop When Full

Practice eating slowly and stop consuming food once you feel full, as it’s a beneficial health habit that prevents overeating.

16. Avoid Post-Dinner Snacking

Refrain from snacking after dinner to prevent overloading your body with excess calories, which can stress your metabolism.

17. Load Vegetables First

Prioritize loading vegetables onto your plate first during meals to ensure adequate consumption and support overall health.

18. Prepare Food Healthily

Cook food mindfully, avoiding excessive butter and salt, and choosing healthy preparation methods over frequent frying to protect your blood vessels.

19. Consume Olive Oil for Stem Cell Protection

Regularly consume olive oil to benefit from its polyphenols, such as hydroxytyrosol, which protect your stem cells from oxidative stress and help them reach areas needing repair.

20. Cook with Olive Oil

Use olive oil for cooking, including high-heat methods like sautéing and stir-frying, as it’s a healthy choice with a suitable smoke point, but avoid reusing it after hot heating.

21. Choose Mono Varietal Olive Oil

Select ‘mono varietal’ olive oil, made from a single olive variety, to guarantee higher quality and purity, avoiding products cut with other oils.

22. Select High-Polyphenol Olive Oils

Opt for mono varietal olive oils made from Picual (Spanish), Koroneiki (Greek), or Moraiolo (Italian) olives to ensure the highest polyphenol content and superior quality.

23. Consume Daily Olive Oil

Incorporate approximately three to four tablespoons of olive oil into your daily diet, using it for cooking, dressings, or as a healthy fat source.

24. Eat Whole Olives

Consume whole olives to gain fiber and more polyphenols from the flesh, in addition to the benefits of olive oil.

25. Eat Leafy Green Brassicas

Incorporate leafy green brassica vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts into your diet, as their sulforaphanes lower inflammation and help burn harmful body fat.

26. Drink Tea and Coffee

Consume tea and coffee, as their polyphenols protect blood vessels from oxidative stress, lower inflammation, improve gut health, and boost metabolism by burning excess body fat.

27. Activate Brown Fat with Beverages

Consume green tea and coffee, as their polyphenols activate brown fat, which helps to burn down harmful excess white fat.

28. Swap Soda for Tea/Coffee

Replace soda with tea or coffee to avoid empty calories and promote brown fat activation, which helps burn harmful visceral fat.

29. Engage in Cold Exposure

Utilize cold exposure, like cold plunges, to activate your brown fat, which in turn burns down harmful white fat and boosts your metabolism.

30. Eat Fruit Peels for Stem Cells

Consume the peels of fruits such as apples, pears, cranberries, and blueberries, as they contain ursolic acid which stimulates stem cells to aid regeneration and blood vessel repair.

31. Utilize Mushroom Stems

Do not discard mushroom stems when cooking, as they contain twice the amount of beta-glucan (a stem cell stimulant) compared to the caps, contributing to regeneration.

32. Eat Oats and Barley

Include steel-cut oats and barley in your diet as they are sources of beta-glucan, which stimulates stem cells to regenerate circulation and repair blood vessels.

33. Consume High-Cacao Dark Chocolate

Drink two cups of hot chocolate made with 80% or higher cacao daily for 30 days, as it can double circulating stem cells and improve blood vessel resiliency.

34. Eat Onions for Fat Burning

Consume onions, especially red onions, and retain the outer layers, as they contain quercetin that activates brown fat and aids in fat burning.

35. Eat Tomatoes for Fat Loss

Consume tomatoes, as the lycopene they contain can burn down excess body fat, including visceral fat, through thermogenesis, helping to reduce your waistline.

36. Eat Ripe Strawberries

Include ripe strawberries in your diet, as research indicates they can help burn down harmful visceral fat.

37. Daily Strawberries for Brain Health

Consume one cup of ripe strawberries daily, as human clinical studies indicate this can reduce cognitive decline and associated depression.

38. Eat White Beans Regularly

Consume a can of white beans five days a week, as studies suggest this can help reduce your waistline by burning harmful body fat.

39. Eat Carrots Daily

Eat approximately three medium-sized carrots daily to activate thermogenesis, which helps burn down harmful visceral fat.

40. Consume Diverse Seafood

Eat a variety of seafood, including affordable options like cod, mussels, and shrimp, to obtain omega-3 fatty acids that activate beneficial brown fat to burn harmful white fat.

41. Select Trusted Health Sources

Carefully choose a few trusted health experts who are trained and research-backed, verifying their credentials to avoid misinformation in the vast online landscape.

42. Apply and Teach Health Insights

Actively apply one insight from the conversation to your life and teach another to someone else, as teaching enhances your own learning and retention.

43. Share Health Knowledge

Share your health insights and practical tips with family and friends, empowering them to make healthier choices and creating a positive impact.

44. Follow Dr. William Li’s Resources

Access more health information by following Dr. William Li on his YouTube channel (Dr. William Li) and visiting his website (www.drwilliamlee.com).

45. Enroll in “Eat to Beat Disease” Course

Enroll in Dr. William Li’s ‘Eat to Beat Disease’ online course for a comprehensive, month-long deep dive into your body’s health defense systems.

46. Subscribe to Friday Five Email

Sign up for Dr. Chatterjee’s free weekly ‘Friday Five’ email at drchatterjee.com/fridayfive to receive exclusive insights on health, happiness, and time management.

47. Read Dr. Chatterjee’s Books

Check out Dr. Chatterjee’s five best-selling books, available in various formats, for comprehensive guidance on topics like happiness, food, stress, and weight loss.

48. Share Podcast, Leave Review

If you enjoyed the podcast, share it with your friends and family or leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help spread the message.

49. Subscribe to Ad-Free Podcast

Opt for an ad-free listening experience by subscribing to the podcast for a small monthly fee via the link in your podcast app’s episode notes.