
I’m joined again by my friend Dr. Chris Masterjohn today for another round on the topic of nutrition. Chris has a PhD in nutritional sciences and is such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to vitamins, minerals, and supplements. He’s also really great at taking harder to understand topics and putting them into easy to understand, practical principles.
And today we’re covering several different nutrients, including biotin, potassium, sodium, and Omega 3s. While these are common supplements people take (or avoid if we’re talking sodium), there are definitely more nuances to them than first meets the eye.
Chris goes into our salt to potassium ratios, and why most of us probably aren’t getting enough salt. And the insane amount of bananas you’d need to eat to actually get enough potassium, plus better whole food sources. Interestingly, if you eat a lot of protein, it triggers a need for more salt, so he talks about how and when to adjust for that as well.
We also go into the debate on Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids balance. Plus how to get the fatty acids we need from food sources. I love following Chris’s work because I always learn so much, and I hope you’ll find today’s episode just as beneficial!
Episode Highlights With Chris
- What biotin is and why it is important in the body
- Important things to understand about supplemental biotin and what to look for
- High dose biotin supplementation- why people are doing this and what is considered a high dose
- Pros and cons of biotin supplementation
- The biotin candida connection
- Big problems connected to biotin deficiency
- How to actually get enough biotin from food and when supplements are a good idea
- Ways to figure out how much biotin you actually need: serum biotin testing and functional marker testing
- What you need to know about sodium
- A tip for diarrhea: salted rice
- Sodium and glucose keep water in the blood and why this is important
- How potassium comes into play here as well
- Dopamine synthesis is dependent on sodium
- When supplementing with salt is helpful
- Only 6% of your average salt intake comes from what was added at the table, and almost all of it comes from processed foods
- The real deal on if exercise and sauna use increase sodium need
- If you eat a whole food diet you might need more salt
- Food sources of potassium and how to get enough (hint: you aren’t getting enough from bananas)
- The real deal on Omega-3s and Omega-6s
- More reasons to incorporate liver, egg yolks and fatty fish into your diet
Resources We Mention
- Chris Masterjohn – website
- Chris Masterjohn – Instagram
- LMNT
More From Wellness Mama
- 294: Using Targeted Nutrition to Alleviate Hormone Related Issues With Dr. Chris Masterjohn
- 256: Chris Masterjohn on Decoding What Your Body Really Needs
- 386: What the Current Data Says About Viral Risk, Immune Function, and Herd Immunity With Dr. Chris Masterjohn PhD
- 334: Why We Need Salt (& How Much) With Robb Wolf
- 659: Silica, Salt, and Minerals for Collagen and Overall Health With Eidon Minerals
- 631: The One About Oils and Fats – Short Episode
- 564: Chris Kresser on Nutrient Deficiencies & Why the Way We Think About Health Needs to Change
- What is the Best Type of Natural Salt?
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