Biospark Health - Dr. Steven Presciutti, MD

The Metabolic Truth About Fat Loss: Why Calorie Restriction Fails and What Actually Works Spring is approaching, and many of you are thinking about shedding some winter weight for beach season. Before you jump into another calorie-restricted diet, I want to share some critical information that could transform your approach to fat loss. The Failure of Calorie Restriction Did you know that calorie restriction fails 70-85% of people long-term? Yes, it works initially - you can lose weight eating Twinkies if you're in a calorie deficit. But is it optimal or sustainable? Absolutely not. Research clearly shows that humans eating ultra-processed foods experience more hunger and consume MORE calories compared to those eating unprocessed foods, who naturally eat about 400 calories LESS per day while feeling more satisfied. And the science is crystal clear: the vast majority of people who lose weight through calorie restriction regain it - usually with interest.

Solid list. You left out the cheapest tool on it: the raw carrot salad. The indigestible fiber acts like a sponge in the gut, binding endotoxin AND excess estrogen before they get reabsorbed, the same anti-cortisol effect antibiotics give without nuking your microbiome. 1 shredded raw carrot, a tsp of coconut oil, a tsp of vinegar, pinch of salt. Daily. Ray Peat's line on it: the carrot salad raises progesterone while lowering cortisol and estrogen the way antibiotics do, minus the toxicity. And endotoxin doesn't just spike cortisol, it fires aromatase and converts your testosterone straight into estrogen. Fix the gut, the hormones follow. You're pointing at exactly the right organ.

High endotoxin is the real reason your cortisol won't come down. If I wanted to fix it without medication, here's what I'd do: ➱ Run a stool test → identify which gram-negative bacteria are producing LPS ➱ Add activated charcoal away from food → binds endotoxin before absorption ➱ Add lactoferrin → binds iron that pathogens need to survive ➱ Add white button mushrooms 200-400g daily → lowers inflammatory tone and aromatase simultaneously ➱ Fix transit time → slow gut = more fermentation = more endotoxin produced daily ➱ Add milk → casein phosphopeptides bind endotoxin in the gut. Cortisol dropped 33% in one week in my own experiment ➱ Remove caffeine on empty stomach → stops the morning cortisol spike before it starts ➱ Fix digestion → low stomach acid means undigested protein ferments and feeds the bacteria producing the cortisol signal Cortisol isn't the problem. It's the symptom. The gut is the problem.

You're right, and it's worse than oxidation. PUFAs don't just go rancid in a warm body (DHA oxidizes ~320x faster than a stable fat), they crawl into your mitochondria and choke the enzyme that makes cellular energy, and they block T3 from doing its job. Half-life in your tissue is ~600 days, so every dose lingers and oxidizes for years. The 'heart healthy' label is the cruelest part: more than 1g/day of omega-3 raised atrial fibrillation risk 49% in a meta-analysis of 81,000 people. Ray Peat said it cleanest: saturated fats end the stress reaction, PUFAs amplify it. Fish oil isn't a scam by accident, it's seed oil with better branding.

FISH OIL pills are a massive scam A new study showed they are associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Fish oil pills and omega 3s are highly oxidized. Plus, human beings are WARM creatures, and when we take these pills they accumulate and oxidize in our bodies. They're like seed oils, but way worse. Avoid

'My body makes its own glucose, so carbs aren't essential.' Sure. It makes it by raising cortisol and glucagon and breaking down your own muscle. Gluconeogenesis isn't a feature, it's a stress response: 6 ATP spent to get 2 ATP back. 'The body can make it' doesn't mean optional, it means glucose is too vital to ever go without. And that 'stable energy, no more food thoughts'? That's adrenaline suppressing your appetite. Stress feels like focus until the bill lands: T3 drops, reverse T3 rises, metabolism downshifts. You didn't cut something unnecessary. You put yourself on backup power and called it freedom. x.com/LiveAncestral/…

'My body makes its own glucose, so carbs aren't essential.' Right, and it makes it by raising cortisol and glucagon and breaking down your own muscle to do it. Gluconeogenesis isn't a feature, it's a stress response: 6 ATP spent to build a glucose molecule that returns 2. 'Essential = the body can't make it' is the sleight of hand. Your body CAN make glucose precisely because glucose is too important to live without; it'll cannibalize lean tissue before it lets blood sugar crash. And that 'stable energy, stopped thinking about food'? That's adrenaline and cortisol killing your appetite. Stress feels like focus until the bill arrives: T3 falls, reverse T3 climbs, metabolism downshifts. You didn't cut something unnecessary. You put your body on backup power and called it freedom.

There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. That is not an opinion. That is basic biochemistry. There are essential fats. There are essential proteins. Your body cannot make them, so you need to get them from food. Carbohydrate is not on that list, because your liver can make the glucose you need from fat and protein. That process is called gluconeogenesis. So why were people told to base meals around grains? The 1977 dietary guidelines pushed 6 to 11 servings a day. That was presented as health advice. It also happened to suit a food system built around cheap, storable, profitable products. A population living on meat, eggs, and simple whole food is harder to sell to on repeat. That is worth thinking about. When I cut back on carbohydrates my energy stabilised, my hunger became manageable, and I stopped thinking about food every two hours. That is not what you would expect if you had removed something essential. Your body does not need carbohydrate. It needs enough energy, enough protein, enough fat, and the right signals. What is the most difficult carb for you to give up?

Heartburn is a signal, not a life sentence on acid blockers. We break down the hidden metabolic cost of PPIs here: biosparkhealth.com/blog/acid-refl…

But mastic is a tool, not the whole fix. The real stack: support your thyroid (energy and acid), eat enough salt (chloride builds HCl), and keep vitamin D up, your gut's natural antibiotic against H. pylori.

Mastic gum eradicated H. pylori in a third of patients. No antibiotics. Just tree resin. The bacteria behind most ulcers and reflux, killed by a chewing resin people used 2,500 years ago. Why your acid reflux is not what you were told: 🧵

@DrJesseMorse Bottom line: saturated fat was never the villain. Fragile seed oils were. Full coconut oil vs seed oils breakdown: biosparkhealth.com/blog/coconut-o…

@DrJesseMorse Fix: cook with butter, ghee, tallow, coconut, or olive oil. Drop corn, soy, canola, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed. Check labels, restaurant fryers are the biggest hidden source.

The NFL is ripping seed oils out of team kitchens. Good call, @DrJesseMorse. The 'heart-healthy' label was always backwards. Here's what PUFAs actually do to your cells: 🧵 x.com/DrJesseMorse/s…