Trim Healthy Mama Plan (33 page)

The wisdom BALANCE speaks shows that the answer for a long, healthy life lies not in the reduction of essential nutrients but in the inclusion of their “seesaw” nutrients. The amino acid glycine is the perfect antidote for methionine and high IGF-1. A more recent 2011 study published in
The FASEB Journal
(published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) showed that when rats are supplemented with glycine they experience the same life extensions as those with methionine-restricted diets. Makes sense, since glycine is the vehicle for clearance of excess methionine in the body.

As a Trim Healthy Mama, you'll get your protein from a balance of both glycine-rich protein sources and methionine-rich protein sources. That means you can enjoy steak, chicken breasts, and cottage cheese, which are rich in methionine; but it is also important to eat meat cooked with the bones and to include gelatin-rich foods so you get enough glycine. This is not hard to achieve, not something you have to make a spreadsheet for
and obsess over. Who doesn't like chicken wings or chocolate pudding made with gelatin? You've got some lovely glycine right there!

These new diet approaches that are terrified of methionine might be extreme but they are doing one thing right—promoting a harder look at the way we all get our protein. In olden days or even just across the seas in less-industrialized nations, diets were and are naturally rich in this important amino acid. People didn't think the bones and skins of animals (where glycine is abundant) as gross. They didn't meticulously remove these “nasties” before cooking. They threw them all in the pot or frying pan. Soups were simmered with meat that was still on the bone. Fish-head soup and chicken-feet stock have nourished whole civilizations! Sounds nasty to most of us, but that is only because we are not used to it. Today most meats sold in grocery stores are packaged with this new meticulous pickiness in mind. Sadly, nearly everything seems to be boneless or skinless these days.

As we mentioned in
Chapter 2
, “The Basics,” when we described the crucial role of protein on plan, you can still heartily enjoy skinless boneless chicken breasts and canned tuna; but don't forget your meat on the bone and your homemade gelatin-rich stock or collagen or gelatin supplements. Oh, what a beautiful balance!

If your budget is too tight for the glycine-rich supplements we recommend (see
this page
) and you don't have excess time to make purist bone stock from scratch, you can still easily get glycine in your diet. You don't have to resort to fish heads and chicken feet (although you're welcome to; many of our purist Mamas go gaga over that sort of thing).

Check out our recipe for Drive Thru Sue Bone Stock in our companion cookbook. Make Super Salmon Patties using canned salmon with skin and bones included. Don't let your brain say “yuk” before trying these patties found on our website or in the cookbook. They are a family favorite around here. Process the salmon in a food processor if you are icked out mashing it with a fork. Enjoy Salmon Mousse found in the companion cookbook for a snack with cucumber slices. Buy bags of quartered chicken legs and enjoy Crispy Lickin' Chicken (“Oven Baked or Roasted Meats” chapter in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
). Strapped for time? Pick up some rotisserie chickens, and enjoy some skin on your drumstick! Notice that jelly that forms around the rotisserie chickens when they cool? That is wonderful gelatin in all its healthful glory, chock-full of glycine! It was released because the chickens were cooked with all their bones and skin, enriching the meat with glycine.

One of methionine's jobs in your body is methylation. This function is extremely important for cellular communication and the governing of gene expression in your body. It maintains and repairs existing tissue and supports the building up of new healthy tissue. When methionine fails in this task of methylation it produces instead
homocysteine, which is a burdensome by-product that can contribute to cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and the rise of cancers.
Folate found in foods like lentils, legumes, okra, dark leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, avocados, oranges, egg yolks, and liver assists methionine in performing this important task.

Vitamin B
₁₂
found only in animal products, and of lesser importance B
₆
, also found in muscle meats, as well as
niacin in foods like sweet potatoes and riboflavin in almonds and Parmesan cheese, also helps methylation succeed.
Choline, provided in egg yolks, and
betaine, made in your body from choline or provided through foods like spinach, help as well. All of those foods are abundant in your THM diet, so no worries—but do branch out and include some of these if you've been stuck in a food rut.

Methionine avoiders who cut out meat altogether because they haven't yet relaxed into the natural healthy balance of including seesaw amino acids can create more problems for themselves. Many
vegetarian foods still contain methionine, though not as much as meat does. Vegetarian sources of protein do not provide vitamin B
₁₂
, which is essential for methylation. This broken methylation pathway creates greater homocysteine problems and attenuates the dark side of methionine. Animal protein foods rich in methionine and vitamin B
₁₂
are healthy choices for complete methylation.

Rather than resorting to severe calorie restriction, exercise restriction, and meat restriction to increase longevity—try
hormesis!

Hormesis is the process by which a very small dose of something that the body views as slightly harmful triggers the longevity mechanism of stress-resistance genes.
Catechins and
polyphenols are labeled potent antioxidants, but they are actually slightly toxic to
our cells so they activate this “hermetic effect.” They increase the “voice” of antioxidant genes and in that way they act as antioxidants.

Mamas, let's dig into catechin- and polyphenol-rich foods like green tea found in recipes like our Earth Milk Sip, dark chocolate, turmeric (hooray for the Singing Canary recipe), blueberries and other deeply pigmented berries, and red wine. (Maybe we shouldn't dig too excessively into wine or it won't be in the good-girl category.) Sprinkle the herb rosemary on your grilled and baked meats. Consider using essential oils, especially orange, lemon, and grapefruit, which are rich in these substances that create hormesis in the body. Vanilla also has a hermetic effect, which is just another reason to celebrate healthy desserts on plan.

Tryptophan is kin to methionine in that it belongs to the family of nine essential amino acids that our body cannot manufacture and needs to get in adequate supply from our diet. We are talking about the form found in whole foods here, not the supplement.

Tryptophan-rich foods are on the hot seat because tryptophan is a precursor to
serotonin production and lately serotonin is getting a very bad rap. Serotonin is a brain biochemical that promotes restful sleep, happy emotions, and satiety. The lack of it leads to depression, anxiety, insomnia, sugar cravings, and the impulse to eat yet another brownie. But, of course, it has its dark side. Apparently serotonin can be blamed for a myriad of ailments including hypothyroidism, inflammation, cancer, aging, and the overall demise of your health. People who follow this theory say “down with serotonin and down with
estrogen, too!” When estrogen levels rise, then serotonin levels follow suit.

The problem with demonizing estrogen is once again imbalance. While excessive estrogen, just like excessive anything, is unhealthy, insufficient estrogen is equally detrimental. Progesterone is not healthier than estrogen, just as
glycine is not healthier than methionine or tryptophan. Dopamine is not a better brain neurotransmitter than serotonin. It is just the imbalance of one without the counterbalance of the other that causes issues.

Once again it is glycine to the rescue when it comes to balancing excessive levels of tryptophan, serotonin, and estrogen. As with any hormone or transmitter in the body, when
these three are too high in the body they can do some damage. It is true that excessive levels of these can stimulate more cortisol, overexcite cells, and suppress the thyroid, but when balanced by glycine, their good points can shine rather than allowing their dark sides to take over.
Gelatin-rich foods, which contain glycine, have many antistress actions. Glycine calms cells and inhibits tumor necrosis factor and prostaglandins, two things you don't want excited in your body. Glycine helps the
liver detoxify your body of harmful
estrogens, which are the ones that tend to dominate.

Along with muscle meats and certain dairy products like aged or cultured cheeses, there is a long list of other foods that contain tryptophan. Bananas, chocolate, a host of veggies, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds are all rich in this amino acid. A diet becomes extremely limited if you try to limit tryptophan. But that doesn't deter some new diets. There are a few foods low in tryptophan, so dieters are encouraged to consume them over and over again and basically ditch the rest of God's provision to us. They limit meat yet encourage high amounts of milk as their core protein choice. Apparently, they have their reasons why the tryptophan in this form of dairy is okay.

The science of how tryptophan is absorbed makes their worry over high-protein, tryptophan-rich foods like meat unnecessary. If blood-sugar levels are kept stable, there will not be an excessive tryptophan rise. The only efficient way to absorb tryptophan into the brain and induce a drastic rise in
serotonin is through high carbs or other strong insulin pathways. This means a high-protein meal centered around animal protein, without a bunch of carbs, is not effective alone in dramatically changing serotonin levels in the brain.

Your Trim Healthy Mama meals always safely anchored around ample protein do not promote excessive serotonin rises. But we absolutely need some of this good serotonin stuff, so E meals, with their gentle carbohydrates always balanced with protein (that hopefully frequently includes glycine), help sustain happy levels of serotonin in the brain.

Serotonin is an antidote to
premenstrual syndrome (PMS). As estrogen drops before and during your period, it is common for many during PMS to experience a drop in
serotonin, which is the trigger behind all those high-carb cravings. When estrogen levels rise once again after your period, serotonin naturally rises along with it and all that “lack-of-serotonin grumpiness” and “give-me-chocolate-or-I'll-scream disorder” settles down. Carbohydrates are used to make
serotonin and, sadly, simple sugars are the quick fix for many women. Imagine PMS exacerbated by a low-tryptophan diet—shudder.

To get safe sources of tryptophan during your low-serotonin PMS days, enjoy the recipe for Skinny Chocolate in the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
or find the many creative versions on Pinterest that Trim Healthy Mamas have come up with
.
Chocolate is a rich source of tryptophan but the high sugar that usually accompanies it can undo its merits.
Exercise is another way to increase serotonin when you're feeling grumpy and lousy, but as we advise in
Chapter 29
, “Let's Talk Exercise,” don't overdo it. Finding a little sunshine and bathing in its golden rays for a few minutes also gives a healthy serotonin lift. We can't forget about sufficient
sleep, which gives a natural boost to this happy brain chemical without the impending blues.

Supplementing with
whey protein is another excellent and safe way of getting the “happies” from serotonin when feeling a little depleted. The alpha-lactalbumin in whey is very rich in tryptophan and tips the ratio of plasma tryptophan to the other neutral amino acids in favor of tryptophan's absorption without a lot of competition.

But a caution about whey for those who are nursing and CANNOT drop
weight no matter what you do (possibly due to high levels of prolactin) or for those with hyperprolactinemia for other reasons. In these cases you may be very sensitive to serotonin and anything that works hand in hand with prolactin production. You may wish to avoid whey if you have this issue and choose to use only collagen or gelatin as a protein supplement. Check out
Chapter 24
, “Heads Up: Turtle Losers!,” and our special diet suggestions for those with overly elevated prolactin levels.

Many followers of low-tryptophan or tryptophan-cautious plans also advise abundant fructose—that is, lots of orange juice and the embracing of generous amounts of sugar, even table sugar. These are apparently included to soothe the adrenals.

Looking at the science, it is clear that spiking blood-sugar levels promotes excessive serotonin levels and this carries a bitter backlash! The excessive release of serotonin can
deplete the balanced levels of this happy hormone in the long term and leads to an increased rate of depression in
diabetics.

All of this “sugar-spiking” talk now leads us to warn you of another
diet trend that embraces large amounts of sugar under the guise of healing the adrenals.

While the low-carb diet craze gave the world a lot of much-needed knowledge about the overdoing of carbohydrates, it also did some damage. Many dieters are still confused and left trying to piece the jigsaw puzzle called balance back together. Not only did low-carbism falsely accuse an entire macronutrient of being unnecessary and make it take the blame for everyone's ailments, it desecrated the common sense of balance. This carb-dismissing extreme has contributed to body imbalances in the form of wrecked
thyroids and burned-out adrenals.