#114 | My 100 Recipes Quest and The Trifecta of Dysfunction

A collection of the best hidden gems, mental models, and frameworks from the world’s top thinkers; to help you become 1% better and live a happier life ❤️

Hello curious minds 🧠

I have always found so much joy in learning new things.

Over the years, I have realised that I am drawn to a particular theme: learning things that help me become a better human being; to maximise happiness and fulfilment in life.

But what does “better” even mean? It’s such a broad concept. For me, it’s about striving to be… well, for lack of a better word, a superhuman; those who know a wide range of things that contribute to living a happy and fulfilling life.

That said, while I have explored many topics to improve myself, there are two areas I haven’t spend much time on. And one of them is crucial:

Health.

and law.

Now, I am not planning to dive into every aspect of health and law. That’s the beauty of practical learning; you only need to focus on what you most need and are likely to use.

This year, my focus is on health; for myself and my family.

Health is a massive topic, but if we break it down simplistically into sleep, diet, and exercise, here’s where I stand:

• Exercise — I’m solid here, averaging 5 - 6 days a week over the last decade.

• Sleep — It’s decent. I could do more but I aim for 7 hours a night with as much sleep as my body needs over the weekend.

• Diet — 💩. Practically non-existent. Level 0.

So, one of my big goals this year is to build up my diet as well as a solid understanding of health in general. What does that mean?

• Learning how to cook and create a healthy diet.

• Understanding what “healthy” means and how our body works.

• Figuring out how to measure and track my health.

To gamify this, my plan is to learn how to cook 100 recipes by the end of the year and being able to understand the benefits of each ingredient and recipe. Once I figure out how to measure and track my health (and more importantly shorten the feedback cycle), I am sure there will be some key biomarkers I will need to bring into the right range.

While I believe in doing the right thing, I am an even stronger believer in enjoying life. If I can make healthy choices and still enjoy life, that’s the ideal. But sometimes, enjoying life is just as important as doing what’s “right”. It’s all about finding balance and what makes you happy. For example, I love bubble tea. Are they great for me? Most probably not. Will I cut them out completely? Absolutely not. Will I eat less of them? Maybe. Life’s about trade-offs, and as important as making healthy choices is, having fun is just as crucial to me.

Expect more newsletters on this journey as I share what I am learning along the way. Let’s start with something I have recently discovered: the trifecta of dysfunction that makes us sick.

🚀 If you are new here…

Hi, I’m Ryan 👋🏼 I am passionate about lifestyle gamification 🎮, which it’s just a fancy way saying I approach life like a video game, designing my character intentionally, and strive to level up every day. I am obsesssssssss with learning things that can help me live a happy and fulfilling life.

Every Sunday, through The Limitless Playbook newsletter, I share 1 actionable idea from the world's top thinkers 🎯

Oh, and fun fact: I am a PhD candidate in AI 👻 I am deeply interested in how AI can help us 10x the way we live, learn, and thrive; so expect me to share some cool AI tools, insights, and research 🤖

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🏥 The Trifecta of Dysfunction That Makes Us Sick

I have been reading Good Energy by Dr Casey Means, and while I am still reading through it, I am finding it a fascinating read.

The book emphasises the importance of understanding and improving our metabolic health to prevent and even reverse chronic diseases.

But, I am not going to lie… I don’t fully understand all these terminologies yet. What exactly is metabolic? Inflammation? Free radicals? Oxidative stress? 🤯

It’s a new video game.

But, with the help from AI, I have been able to make sense of some of these concepts. So, before diving into what Dr. Means calls the trifecta of metabolic dysfunction, let’s break down a few key concepts:

1. Mitochondria — These are tiny structures within our cells often referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell. Their main job is to convert the food we eat into energy (in the form of a molecule called ATP) that our cells can use to perform various functions. Mitochondria play a crucial role in our overall energy metabolism and health.

2. Metabolic — the processes and chemical reactions that occur within the body to convert food into energy, maintain cellular function, and regulate bodily functions.

3. Metabolic dysfunction — a state where these processes are impaired. When metabolic dysfunction happens at the cellular level, that means the problems are happening within the cells themselves, affecting their ability to produce energy, communicate, and perform necessary functions.

4. Inflammation — This is a natural response of the body to injury or infection. When tissues are damaged, the body sends immune cells to the affected area, which can cause redness, heat, swelling, and pain. While inflammation is a normal part of healing, chronic inflammation can lead to various health issues.

5. Free radicals — These are unstable molecules that can damage cells. They are produced as a natural byproduct of metabolism or can come from external sources like pollution, smoking, and processed foods. Free radicals can cause oxidative stress if they accumulate in the body, leading to damage of proteins, lipids, and DNA.

6. Oxidative stress — This occurs when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants (substances that help neutralise free radicals) in the body. When there are too many free radicals, they can cause damage to cells, leading to inflammation and contributing to various diseases.

7. Bad energy — Not a technical term but a term commonly used in the book. Bad energy refers to a state of metabolic dysfunction where the body's cells are not producing energy effectively, leading to various health symptoms and diseases, as the cells are struggling to perform their functions optimally.

Okay, you should now have all the key concepts you need to understand the following… so let’s talk about why we get sick.

According to Dr. Means, the root cause of many illnesses lies in metabolic dysfunction, which often comes from a mismatch between our modern lifestyles and the needs of our cells. Things like poor diet, lack of exercise, insufficient sleep, chronic stress, and exposure to environmental toxins all contribute to this dysfunction. Again metabolic dysfunction (at the cellular level) means your cells can’t produce energy effectively, which prevents them from functioning as they should.

These lifestyles lead to three main problems — mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and oxidative stress. Together, they form what Dr Means calls the "trifecta of dysfunction", which disrupts cellular energy production and health. I have taken the descriptions of these three dysfunctions directly from the book:

1. Mitochondrial dysfunction — The cells can’t make energy properly because they are overburdened with so much crap from the environment that their energy factories—the mitochondria—are overtaxed and damaged, leading to less ATP production and more fat stored inside cells, which blocks normal cellular functions.

2. Chronic inflammation — Mitochondrial dysfunction and low cellular energy (ATP) production are perceived as a threat, so the body revs up a fighting response. This response becomes chronic because the perceived threat doesn’t go away unless the environment changes.

3. Oxidative stress — The cells create damaging, reactive waste in the form of free radicals while trying to process all the junk being thrown at them from the environment and from damaged mitochondria. These free radicals cause damage to cells, leading to dysfunction.

I am not a doctor and I am new to this space. This is just what I have learned so far and how I understand it. So please do your own research.

One thing this book has taught me is that we can’t blindly trust our doctors. There’s a chapter that explains how the medical system often prioritises treatments and interventions over prevention and holistic health. Instead of addressing the root causes of health issues, like lifestyle and diet, it tends to focus on managing diseases once they have already developed.

A big takeaway for me is the knowledge gap between doctors and patients. Given how the system works, we can’t always rely on doctors to act in our best interest. That’s why I have decided to invest time in learning more about how my body works and taking charge of my own health; and I encourage you to do the same 💪🏼

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I am always curious about what others are passionate about and what they are currently working on. Hit reply and share what’s keeping you busy these days. I would love to learn!

With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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