Metabolic Autophagy

by Siim Land

  The sleep ritual should start at least 2 hours before bedtime. Start winding down preemptively and incorporate the habitual habits that let your subconscious mind know it’s that time of the day.

  Sleep Nutrition

  What we eat is also extremely important. Of course, filling up your gut right before bed will not only keep your digestive track active but will also keep you awake because of the discomfort.

  What research has shown is that some protein and fat before bed decreases the amount of times people wake up a night in comparison to a high carb diet[671]. It also improves body composition and enhances muscle recovery by providing more assistance to the repair mechanisms.

  To make yourself sleep better, have a nice ketogenic dinner with some good protein and fat, such as butter or coconut oil. However, don’t eat too much protein, as it can spike your insulin. This will increase blood glucose and keeps you up at night. Keep it moderate.

  Carbohydrates can also promote sleep by promoting serotonin production. On carb refeeds, the spike in insulin and following crash will actually make you sleep better. Best options for that are sweet potatoes and rice.

  How to Track Your Readiness

  There are many ways of knowing whether or not you’ve actually recovered from the stress of daily life and exercise.

  Measuring your heart rate variability is a great way to know the state of your nervous system – are you more sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant. There are many chest traps and devices out there that you can use to measure this. I myself use the OURA ring.

  Looking at your physical strength and balance will also indicate the state of your nervous system. If you’re weaker than you were before then you haven’t recovered and it would be better to have an easier recovery style workout before hitting it hard again. If you struggle to maintain balance or suffer from brain fog, then you’re also under-recovered. It takes about 48-72 hours for your muscles to recover and grow but your nervous system can take up to 5-7 days, so you have to be very careful with how intense exercise you do.

  I can tell you this simple 1-minute exercise that can give you some idea about the state of your nervous system. You time yourself for 20 seconds and during that time you tap your finger on the table as fast as you can. You get a score which should tell you how recovered you are. Keep in mind that you have to do this over a longer period to establish a baseline of where you’re currently at and you have to do it at the same time of day as well because your readiness will fluctuate between the morning and evening.

  Tracking your mood and overall sense of well-being in a simple journal are the easiest ways of doing this. You score yourself on a scale of 1-10. 10 being I can run through a wall with no problems and I’m super-motivated. And 1 would be that you’re hospitalized in a bed. Lack of motivation can also mean you’re still tired from your previous workout. Of course, there’s a difference between just being lazy and actually having adrenal fatigue but you have to test and experiment, keep track of your numbers and then develop this intuitive knowledge about your body.

  You don’t want to live a completely stress-free life because it’ll make you less prone to dealing with unexpected stressors but you don’t want to be stressed out long-term either. Think of it as an elusive cycling between stress exposure, recuperation, recovery, and adaptation. This way you’ll have enough time to deal with it and get better.

  What hormesis shows is that it’s not the intensity of the stimuli that matters.

  You won’t get fit by going to the gym once a month

  You won’t lose weight by eating a salad for lunch but still have burgers for dinner

  You have to stay consistent with it as to build up your tolerance to these stressors. And this applies to everything – to meditating, to working on your business, to reading and everything else.

  Consistency will lead to long-term adaptation and it’s the key to positive hormesis.

  It is the principle of balance that we need to keep in mind and respect. Growth happens during rest. The reason why an empowered being is able to perform at such a high level is that they follow the correct pattern of going through a stressful stimulus and proper recollection of resources afterwards. It allows us to push ourselves even further the next time.

  Those who say that sleep is for the weak and wicked don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s the most important thing for our recovery as well as longevity.

  Bonus Chapter

  How to Drink Coffee Like a Strategic MotherF#%ka!

  “I would rather suffer from coffee than be senseless”

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  One of the most commonly used performance-enhancing drugs in the world – coffee. It’s used by many vocations and has been fueling the progress of Western society. Unfortunately, this beverage has some side-effects that can doom those who misuse it.

  Besides the great taste, coffee has a ton of benefits. Long-term consumption of caffeine in the form of coffee is associated with cognitive enhancements[672], reduced risk for type-2 diabetes[673], Alzheimer’s[674], and Parkinson’s[675].

  Caffeine travels to the brain and blocks a neurotransmitter called adenosine (See Figure 103). As a result, norepinephrine and dopamine actually increase, which hastens the firing rate of neurons[676].

  Figure 103 How Caffeine Blocks Adenosine

  Coffee beans have a lot of antioxidants, called quinines, that fight disease and clean the body. After the roasting process, they become even more potent. They also contain naturally a lot of magnesium.

  What about the costs? Are there any negative side-effects?

  You’ve probably seen people who have become addicted to coffee. It’s a dreadful sight – their hands are jittering and they have anxiety. The reason is that they have simply taken advantage of caffeine the wrong way.

  For the wide majority of people, it’s safe. However, additional side-effects can be insomnia, upset stomach, increased heart rate, and blood pressure.

  In my opinion, caffeine should be used only in certain situations when you actually need a boost. It’s just that – a performance-enhancing stimulant that gives us the right amount of energy for whatever the task might be.

  There’s a much healthier way to drink coffee effectively, which I’m about to share with you, that circumvents most of those issues.

  The Best Time to Drink Coffee

  For the ordinary person, drinking coffee immediately after waking up is the only thing that gets them going. They open their eyes, roll out of the bed and have to crawl to get their dose of java ASAP. But those are first signs of dependence and overdosing. It’s not the ideal time to be consuming caffeine either. Coffee acts as a stimulant for the body that triggers some physiological processes.

  Between the hours of 8-9 AM, our cortisol levels are at their peak[677]. It’s the fight or flight hormone, that rises in the morning so we’d have increased alertness and focus. We’re already supposed to be fully alert and energized after waking up. So, if we simultaneously drink coffee, we’re wasting the potential benefits of caffeine and offsetting the circadian rhythm.

  The best time to drink coffee is between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM. Cortisol peaks in the early morning, but also fluctuates during the day. Other times it rises are 12 PM – 1 PM and 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM, so avoid a cup of joe at those hours as well. See Figure 104.

  Figure 104 Drink Coffee at the Dotted Lines

  When we’re doing intermittent fasting, timing our coffee is even more relevant. If we were to cash in on one of our back-up cards, we would be left unarmed when hunger strikes.

  Instead of drinking coffee immediately after we get hungry, we should first drink some water, then wait for about 30 minutes and only then decide whether or not it’s worth it to have a nice cup of joe. In general, wait for a few hours after waking up before getting yours.

  Drinking coffee at the wrong time can also keep you up and prevents you from falling asleep completely. You won’t be able to get a good night’s sleep an
d because of that wake up groggy and tired, you immediately grab another cup and the perpetual cycle continues.

  The half-life of caffeine is about 5.7 hours[678], which means that if you drink coffee at 12 PM, then 50% of it will still be in your system at 6 PM. According to the circadian rhythm, the best time to go to bed is at about 9-11 PM. You should be sound asleep before midnight because that’s when the most growth hormone gets released. Ingesting caffeine in the evening will definitely keep you up at night. That’s why you should stop drinking coffee after 2-4 PM in the afternoon.

  Figure 105 Note how long caffeine actually stays in the body

  But some people don’t report these issues. They can drink coffee even just a few hours before going to bed and still fall asleep just fine. What gives?

  Our metabolism differs between individuals and we have our own unique type, which makes us metabolize nutrients at different speeds.

  The fast oxidizer is someone who digests food very quickly and converts it into energy rapidly. They need to focus on eating heavier meals with more fat and protein that would keep them satiated. By the same token, they will also absorb caffeine that much faster and it will go through their system almost at an instant.

  If you’re a slow oxidizer, then you need more time to convert food into energy. Because of that, you require more carbohydrates, rather than protein and fat. Getting the benefits of coffee will also be less rapid.

  An average cup of coffee contains 100-150 mg of caffeine, but you won’t get the full benefits from just one cup.

  Consuming caffeine in small but frequent amounts is more advantageous. The optimal dose for cognitive functioning may be 20-200 mg per hour[679].

  Small hourly doses can support extended wakefulness, by acting against the homeostatic sleep pressure, which builds up slowly throughout the day[680] and benefits the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher executive functions[681].

  Doses of 600 mg are often comparable to the effects of modafinil, which is a top-notch nootropic and cognitive enhancer. It's a smart drug but there are no reported advantages over large amounts of caffeine.

  To avoid any unwanted side-effects, use filtered coffee. Darker roasts have less caffeine in them, due to the roasting process.

  What Tasks Benefit the Most from Coffee

  Drinking coffee won’t make you a bad person, quite the opposite. There are also a lot of mood-enhancing benefits that will make you more enjoyable to be around. Napoleon Bonaparte said: "The only good thing about St Helena is the coffee."

  The famous French philosopher of the Enlightenment Voltaire was said to be consuming about 40-50 cups of coffee a day. But in that era, those cups were also very small. Given what he accomplished with his writings, it’s safe to say that this “black gold” will definitely help us to become a high performing individual.

  However, caffeine works best for only some activities. It may increase our attention span, the speed at which we work, prevent us from getting side-tracked, and may even benefit recall, but it’s less likely to improve more complex cognitive functions. Like with modafinil, you only get better at what you’re already good at. You can’t expand upon your existing cognitive limitations. The actual benefit you get is just more energy and alertness. In fact, it may actually harm tasks of higher executive functioning, such as creativity or problem solving, because large doses of caffeine may cause shivers and too much excitement.

  Use caffeine to rush through the repetitive activities that require a lot of micromanagement and aren’t too difficult. This way you’ll waste less time doing the small stuff and can free up more space for focusing on what’s more important. With or without coffee depends on your own decision.

  Once you take your first zip of the day, you can immediately feel your energy levels rising. This happens because your body will release more adrenaline and dopamine. What ensues is lipolysis, which is the conversion of stored body fat into energy. However, the increased use of free fatty acids is reported to happen only in low carb/high fat diets[682]. Caffeine may be less useful on a high carb one[683].

  At the same time, coffee will still increase your metabolic rate and has other physical performance-enhancing effects. Caffeine has a positive impact on muscular contraction and fatigue, which makes it a great tool for training.

  When it comes to performance, then drinking a larger dose of caffeine 15-30 minutes earlier will yield some great results. Zipping on some beverage intra-workout is also viable. Even more, post-workout caffeine can also help to refuel muscles and increase fat burning[684].

  How to Drink Coffee Without Getting Addicted

  As great as the benefits of caffeine are, we shouldn’t overdose it by any means. Consuming it daily will increase our body’s tolerance to it, which eventually leads to the receptors in our brain to becoming resistant to coffee. After some time, it stops working and we need a lot more to get the same effect.

  Theodore Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day. His son said that the president's mug was "more on the side of a bathtub." Even though the amounts consumed by Teddy and Voltaire might sound encouraging, don't try to drink as much as them.

  Herein lies the point where people get addicted to coffee. They simply have developed resistance towards caffeine and don’t even feel like they’ve consumed it. To keep themselves awake, they reach out for another cup, crash and burn, and get another one, while getting stuck in the vicious cycle again.

  To prevent that from happening, you have to habitually cycle off caffeine. For at least 1 week of the month, you should allow your body’s receptors to reset and become sensitive again.

  Another option would be to drink coffee only on days where you most need it, say during a hard workout or while doing repetitive tasks. This doesn’t mean you can’t drink coffee every day. You can. Simply swap out the caffeinated version with decaf. The taste is the same and you can get almost all of the benefits. If not the increased energy, then at least you’ll still use it as an antioxidant and a mood enhancer.

  What to Combine Coffee With

  The effects of caffeine will also depend on what else is in your system at that time. Your metabolic type will already influence your rate of absorption but other nutrients will do so as well.

  There are some benefits to consuming caffeine with glucose, which may improve cognition not seen with either alone[685]. Additionally, grapefruit juice can keep caffeine levels in the bloodstream for longer[686]. If you’re a slow oxidizer, then you may find adding these ingredients useful. Because we’ll be fasting most of the time, this option isn’t viable, unless you mask your drink with some MCT or coconut oil.

  If you’re a fast oxidizer, then adding sugar will only hasten your downfall. You may get an immediate boost, but that short high will be followed by a steep low. To not crash and burn, you can add fat to the mix.

  Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee is probably the latest coffee drinking trend. Is it hype or does it actually work? Probably some of both. Adding butter to your cup of joe will definitely have some positive effects. It decreases the rate of absorption, gives you long-lasting energy, keeps you satiated for hours and tastes incredible. Whatever the case might be, you should try it.

  During fasting, you’d want to avoid any extra calories in your coffee because it may reduce some of the autophagy benefits. Coffee itself boosts autophagy in some amounts but not if you over-do it or add too many other ingredients. The only thing allowed would be medicinal mushroom powders like chaga, reishi, or lion’s mane but not over 1 tsp. If you have some adrenal issues or experience too much cortisol in the morning, then it’s not recommended to drink coffee because it may simply overshoot the stress hormones. To not become even more stressed out and catabolic you should have some tea instead.

  It’s also advisable to drink coffee only in the fasted window because it usually coincides with daytime. Most people spend the early parts of the day fasting and eat primarily lunch or dinner. Having caffeine in the system at that time may ca
use some circadian mismatches and sleep issues.

  Use it as you may but never become dependent on coffee. It should be seen as a performance-enhancing stimulant that can increase your physical and mental performance. There are too many caffeine addicts in the world already so we don’t need another one.

  Conclusion

  „It is not death a man should fear,

  but he should fear never beginning to live“

  Marcus Aurelius

  We’ve reached the end of this book. There are definitely many things that could fit between these pages because a lot of nuances could be covered further. Unfortunately, that would require a more specific understanding of the context in a particular situation.

  Nevertheless, I think the main ideas of Metabolic Autophagy should be quite clear in terms of what it means, how to do it, and when to practice intermittent fasting.

  There is no way to know what’s the optimal length to fast, how often to do it, when is the best time to eat, how much autophagy is too much, and when it’s better to be more anabolic. Even if we did have a lot more information about these processes, what works for you may not work for me etc. The context of the situation and the conditions of the individual are still the most important variable when determining what’s good to eat, in what amounts, and when. What this book gave you was the main principles of these cycles and knowing in what direction you’re heading towards with your metabolism.

  There is no such thing as a complete balance either because that would entail stagnation. A perfect equilibrium inside the body and in other complex systems involves being severely out of balance at one time and then getting back into homeostasis. In order to grow and expand, you have to first contract and vice versa.