Channel Title: Chris Masterjohn, PhD Channel Description: Welcome to the Mastering Nutrition youtube channel. Mastering Nutrition is hosted by Chris Masterjohn, a nutrition scientist focused on optimizing mitochondrial health, and founder of BioOptHealth, a program that uses whole genome sequencing, a comprehensive suite of biochemical data, cutting-edge research and deep scientific insights to optimize each person's metabolism by finding their own unique unlocks. He received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences from University of Connecticut at Storrs in 2012, served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Comparative Biosciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Veterinary Medicine from 2012-2014, served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College from 2014-2017, and now works independently in science research and education. <video> Secrets to Superior Cognitive Performance (Without Drugs) Description: Nutrition is far more powerful than drugs to improve cognitive performance. We start by looking at cocaine, Adderall, and Ritalin, and show why these drugs cannot possibly hold a candle to nutrition. Optimal nutrition can definitely optimize the function of dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, histamine, creatine, and the methylation system, and in doing so can simultaneously optimize focus, motivation, sustained attention, and mental flexibility, and methylation, all while eliminating anxiety, depression, and distraction. Yet, popular nutritional cognitive stacks in the nootropic space do not have convincing evidence behind them, and this is probably a result of them trying to do too many things in one capsule. This presentation covers the low-hanging fruit of nutrition for brain power, supplements that help, the importance of individual nutritional optimization, and the central power of finding one's genetic "health super-unlock." For my simple protocol to optimize methylation, see here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/mthfr-protocol For more detail on finding your own personal genetic health super-unlock, see here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/unlocking-performance-and-longevity For more information, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> Vitamin C, Whole Food Vs. Synthetic: Does It Matter? Description: Debunking the myth that vitamin C in plants is found in a special "tyrosinase complex." For the written article with references, see here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/vitamin-c-whole-food-vs-synthetic For issues of vitamin C dosing and balancing with other nutrients, see these two links: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/the-powerful-duo-how-glutathione https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/balancing-vitamin-c-and-glutathione-d6f For more information, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> What's the Deal With Seed Oils? PhD Explains Description: Question: What Is the Real Issue With Seed Oils? Short Answer: The main issue with seed oils is that they present an oxidative liability. They do not acutely cause oxidative stress, but their polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are more vulnerable than any other macronutrient to oxidative damage. Oxidative stress can increase because of nutrient deficiencies, toxins, infections, other sources of inflammation, alcohol, or smoking, and it will inevitably increase as a function of aging. As oxidative stress increases, more PUFAs in the tissues mean more damage. At least 0.6 milligrams of vitamin E should be gotten per gram of PUFA in the diet, but vitamin E cannot fully protect against PUFA, so their intake should be moderated to the very low levels needed, as obtained by eating fatty fish once or twice a week, eating eggs daily, and eating 4-8 ounces of liver per week. Additional secondary problems with them include residual solvents and heat damage prior to intake, but the main issue is that we do not want to increase our tissue PUFA content more than needed. This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-hair-trace-mineral-analysis In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question: Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful? Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different? If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included: *Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else? *What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios? *Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen? *If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox? *Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4? *What to do about low alkaline phosphatase? *If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals? *Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly. *Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+? *How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter? *Is monounsaturated fat the best fat? *Manganese followup. *Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test? *What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low? *NAD infusions, yay or nay? *Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine? *Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick? *Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger? Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl? *How much eating out is too much? *When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements? Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55 For more information and to read more of my work, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> Understanding the risk-reward ratio of drugs vs nutrients Description: </video> <video> What is the optimal human diet? Description: </video> <video> What Experts Aren’t Saying About D-Lactate: Groundbreaking Research Description: D-lactate is commonly stated to be exclusively a microbial metabolite. This is found in assumptions within the medical literature for decades even when it was long-known to be false. While D-lactate is indeed made by bacteria, D-lactate is also inarguably and irrefutably produced by human enzymes. In this video, moreover, I will argue the following: Microbial contribution to D-lactate in humans under normal circumstances is negligible. I coin the term “the D-lactate shuttle” to describe a role for D-lactate that should eventually make its way into biochemistry textbooks alongside the malate-aspartate shuttle and the glycerol phosphate shuttle. The D-lactate shuttle operates alongside these other shuttles to balance the priorities of conserving cytosolic NAD+, reducing cytosolic acidity, bypassing complex I, or generating ATP. It is uniquely useful as a shuttle when there is an absolute deficit of niacin or NAD(H). D-lactate is an important contributor to gluconeogenesis that could account for up to 11% of it and rival an individual amino acid. While D-lactate concentrations in human plasma are infinitesimal, when the downstream metabolism of D-lactate and L-lactate are blocked by genetic disorders, the concentrations of the two forms are similar in plasma. This contrasts wildly with the common claim that flux through D-lactate is “minuscule.” Most likely D-lactate is produced in considerable quantities in liver and kidney but is rarely secreted into plasma because doing so would risk neurotoxicity. D-lactate should be taken seriously for its potential role in Parkinson’s and in neurological problems generally, for its role in diabetes, and for its extremely underappreciated roles in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the respiratory chain. Oxalate powerfully impairs D-lactate clearance, so D-lactate should be investigated as a potential link between oxalate and autism, and oxalate-lowering strategies should be seen as a way to improve D-lactate clearance and reduce its potential role in diabetes and neurological disorders. See the sections on riboflavin, zinc manganese, and glutathione in Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet, as well as Does CoQ10 Deserve a Spot on Your Longevity Plan? and the How to Detox Manganese guide for managing the relevant nutrients. Look forward to more Masterclass with Masterjohn Energy Metabolism lessons on the D-lactate shuttle in the context of the related shuttles and the roles of L-lactate coming soon. Read the written version for live links and references: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/d-lactate-groundbreaking-research 00:00 Introduction 02:30 Summary 06:15 Will Probiotics Give You Brain Fog? 08:55 Methylglyoxal at the Origins of Glycolysis 16:35 My Doctoral Dissertation: Physiological Roles of Methylglyoxal 33:48 A Brief History of D-Lactate 48:15 Is D-Lactate Production "Minuscule"? 57:21 Why D-Lactate Is So Low in the Blood 1:03:15 Is D-Lactate Mainly Produced by the Microbiome? 1:06:10 D-Lactate in Diabetes 1:07:30 The Physiological Purpose of D-Lactate 1:19:40 Introducing the D-Lactate Shuttle 1:27:12 Glycolysis starts acidic and ends alkaline, made possible by L-lactate and the malate-aspartate and glycerol phosphate shuttles. 1:35:30 The D-Lactate Shuttle Is Superior for NAD+ Conservation 1:38:18 Pros and Cons of the Three Shuttles 1:40:08 D-Lactate, Gluconeogenesis and the Malate and 2-Oxoacid Antiporters 1:40:49 Does Glyoxalase-III Spare the Brain? 1:46:10 Practical Considerations 1:48:27 The Bottom Line Read the written version for live links and references: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/d-lactate-groundbreaking-research For more information, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> PhD Explains: Alcohol’s SURPRISING Role in Your Health and Longevity Description: The widespread claims in the nutrition and longevity spaces that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption are total nonsense. For the written version, with somewhat more technical detail and links to all the references, see https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/alcohols-surprising-role-in-your 00:00 Overview 01:06 Why Alcohol Is a Macronutrient 02:17 Why Alcohol Is Not Uniquely Toxic Among the Macronutrients 03:27 Alcohol and Hormesis 06:11 There IS a Safe Amount of Alcohol for the Brain 06:39 Mendelian Randomization Nonsense 07:41 Low-Level Alcohol Is Associated With Longer Life 08:47 What's the Optimal Dose of Alcohol? 14:35 How Much Should You Drink in One Session? 16:45 Why Is the Optimal Dose Different for Different People? 17:05 There are Hundreds of Metabolic Impairments that Generate Neruotoxins and Cardiotoxins From Protein and Fat For a primer on hormesis, see this lesson of mine: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/8-beneficial-toxins-phytochemicals For more on individual variation in metabolism of normal food, see How I Found My Health “Super Unlock” After 20 Years of Research and 20,000 Genes Tested: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/unlocking-performance-and-longevity For more information and to read more of my work, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> How Lactate Alkalinizes Your Muscles Description: For a long time, most people believed that when we exercise, our muscles make lactic acid, this acidifies the muscles, and the acidity contributes to contractile failure, fatigue, and delayed-onset muscle soreness. Some people still believe this. You may have heard the argument against it from well-known figures like Andy Galpin, or, if you’re deep into the science, you may have read the work of George Brooks. In this lesson, we are going to cover the biochemistry of lactate production. We will see that we never make lactic acid, ever. We make lactate. Making lactate is fundamentally alkalinizing. We will take a look at the presentation of glycolysis in the Berg and Lehninger biochemistry textbooks to see that, on the one hand, they give us everything we need to know to understand that the human body never makes lactic acid, but, on the other hand, they really do not equip us well to understand where acidity does comes from during exercise. This is because they do not consider acid-base balance important enough to completely present the proton balances of the chemical reactions. Finally, we will cover what does cause muscular fatigue, take a look at the research on lactate supplements, and come to some conclusions about the best way to manage acidity during exercise to maximize performance. This is part of a larger course on the biochemistry of how we derive energy from food and use it to fuel our wellness, performance, and longevity. Take the full course here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/masterclass-with-masterjohn-energy This is a PREVIEW of the lesson. To continue watching this lesson, go here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/how-lactate-alkalinizes-your-muscles 2:52 How textbooks present glycolysis 3:36 What is acidity? 4:32 The acidfying and alkalinizing phases of glycolysis 7:09 Glycolysis: A brief review 10:08 The Principles 29:33 The Reactions -- and Where the Textbooks Go Wrong 38:59 Human beings do not make lactic acid 42:13 Lactate transport is even more alkalinizing to muscle 47:44 Robert Robergs Fights an Uphill Battle in Clarifying the Sources of Acidity and the Alkalinizing Effect of Lactate 1:01:08 What causes fatigue? 1:05:15 Does CO2 contribute to acidity? 1:13:45 Where is Glycolysis Getting Backed Up? 1:23:10 Conclusiuons: What's realy going on with exercise-induced acidosis. 1:26:34 Lactate supplements 1:30:53 How to use this information in training for optimal performance. For more information about me, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> How important is protein in the role of cancer prevention? Description: </video> <video> Game changing supplement on a high protein diet Description: </video> <video> Never Just Measure Glucose! The ONE Biomarker You're Missing Description: For the written version of this video, see here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/stop-measuring-glucose-without-measuring For more detailed information on how to interpret these markers, see here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/my-secret-weapon-the-four-biomarkers For more information, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful? Description: Question: How useful is hair trace mineral analysis (HTMA) for nutritional testing? Short Answer: Hair trace mineral analysis is included as an optional add-on in the comprehensive nutritional screening from Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet, because it can capture data for some ultra-trace minerals for which there are no better-validated tests, and it might capture a pattern that might not be picked up as quickly with blood work, such as a mineral transport issue. However, its utility is limited by the fact that hair mineral content is not well validated as a test for any specific mineral, is generally anti-validated when there is enough science on a mineral (such as zinc, where hair zinc does not go down in deficiency), and should not be used as a central piece of data without corroboration from other more well-validated tests, which exist for most of the nutrients. This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-hair-trace-mineral-analysis In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question: What's the Deal With Seed Oils? Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different? If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included: *Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else? *What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios? *Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen? *If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox? *Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4? *What to do about low alkaline phosphatase? *If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals? *Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly. *Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+? *How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter? *Is monounsaturated fat the best fat? *Manganese followup. *Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test? *What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low? *NAD infusions, yay or nay? *Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine? *Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick? *Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger? Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl? *How much eating out is too much? *When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements? Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55 For more information and to read more of my work, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> The 3 Things Bryan Johnson is Missing From His $2 Million Dollar Longevity Routine: PhD Explains Description: What’s the 80/20 of Bryan Johnson’s longevity routine? What can we learn with it that we can use to improve our lives without losing all our time and money in the process? Bryan Johnson is an entrepreneur who sold his company Braintree Venmo to PayPal for $800 million in 2013, and now identifies as the world’s most measured human, and his goal is to use his Project Blueprint, a longevity project on which he spends $2 million a year, to bring longevity strategies to the common person for the benefit of all humanity. As a PhD in Nutritional Sciences with over 20 years of research, including the vetting of hundreds of biomarkers, these are the three key types of data I believe he’s missing, what I think we can discard from his plan, what can be improved, and what you can learn from this to apply in your own journey toward a longer and healthier life on a budget of much less than $2 million a year. Here is the written version of this analysis, with live links and references: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/critique-of-bryan-johnson-article For my protocol to uncover your unique super-unlock using ranked and sorted genetics, functional markers of nutritional status, and markers of idiosyncratic bottlenecks in energy metabolism, see How I Found My Health “Super Unlock” After 20 Years of Research and 20,000 Genes Tested: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/unlocking-performance-and-longevity 00:00 Intro 00:05 Who is Bryan Johnson? 00:56 Johnson Goes to Great Lengths to Bring Longevity Strategies to the Common Man 02:29 What's the 80/20? 03:54 3 Things He's Missing 04:36 Reversible Infertility 06:25 Decreased Sensitivity to Thyroid Hormone 08:02 Calorie Restriction Effect on Lifespan Depends on Genetics 11:02 The 80/20 of Body Composition and Longevity 14:16 Reasons for Genetic Effect on Calorie Restriction 17:39 Hacking the Tests 20:27 Is Johnson’s Energy Metabolism Optimized? 25:42 Missing Ingredient: Functional Markers of Nutritional Status 28:28 Erroneous Interpretation of Nutritional Tests 29:52 Missing Ingredient: Ranked and Sorted Genetics 31:00 The Bottom Line For more information and to read my work, visit https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/ </video> <video> When to be careful of biotin Description: </video> <video> The most critical defense against autoimmunity Description: </video>

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Description

Welcome to the Mastering Nutrition youtube channel.

Mastering Nutrition is hosted by Chris Masterjohn, a nutrition scientist focused on optimizing mitochondrial health, and founder of BioOptHealth, a program that uses whole genome sequencing, a comprehensive suite of biochemical data, cutting-edge research and deep scientific insights to optimize each person's metabolism by finding their own unique unlocks.

He received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences from University of Connecticut at Storrs in 2012, served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Comparative Biosciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Veterinary Medicine from 2012-2014, served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College from 2014-2017, and now works independently in science research and education.

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