Speaker Q&A

1. Question:

Concerning the electron transport train, what food source (fat, sugar, etc.) does complex 1 use and what food source does complex 2 use?

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Answer:

Complex I uses NADH and complex II uses FADH2. Fat and carbohydrates both supply NADH and FADH2. The difference is the ratio between them. Saturated fat provides 2 NADH for every 1 FADH2 (roughly).

 

Glucose provides 3 NADH for every FADH2, although there are circumstances where glucose can provide an extra FADH2 and get up to a 2:1 ratio, just like for saturated fat.

 

PUFA provides less FADH2 compared to saturated fat. Unfortunately it’s not a nice number ratio, but linoleic acid provides about 3 FADH2 for every 7 NADH. The higher the ratio of FADH2 is to NADH, the more mitochondrial ROS you should generate.

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2. Question:

Can you please summarize in 1-2 sentences the main points you'd like your listeners to take with them?

 

What's the one dietary change we should make or what kind of oils should we be using (both if we eat meat or not)? Thank you!

 

Answer:

The takeaway is that obesity isn’t necessarily about how many calories you eat, it’s about how efficiently your metabolism runs.

 

Saturated fats make it run more efficiently by regenerating NAD+. My preferred fats are beef tallow, cocoa butter, butter (dairy) and low-PUFA lard. I try to avoid the rest!

 

 

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