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Personal Cookbook for Metabolic Health

by Lanhful

Created: April 18th, 2024
Last Edited: May 23rd, 2025

Status: Incomplete

I... shall minimize suffering whenever a cure cannot be obtained...

Here, I will note motivations for and optimizations regarding my personal metabolic health. This cookbook guide is meant for myself. This is not medical advice. If you have a medical issue, I strongly urge you to seek professional advice.

I post this online so others can see my process and my struggle to heal. Cheers.

Introduction

History

I have a history of mental illness [1][2][3]. Though I have no formal diagnosis from a trained professional, I can confirm have experienced drug-induced depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation [4]. I can confirm I have felt these emotions from a young age (estimated about fourteen years old) [5].

I have a history of childhood trauma [13][14][15] which puts me at higher risk for mental illness [37].

I have tried CBT [6], meditation [7][8], exercise [9][10], positive affirmations [11][12], mindfulness, and even venting to friends and family.

As far as my drug profile goes: I have not been prescribed any intentionally psychoactive drugs. I have smoked recreational marijuana three times. I have a history of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol at social events, however I have been sober for half a year now. I have smoked tobacco once in my life during a drunken haze.

Symptoms

I have experienced symptoms resembling autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. The main symptoms are as follows: brain fog, fatigue, inability to speak, inability to focus, inability to listen, depressed mood, addiction to video games, self-isolation, suicidal ideation, hearing voices, addiction to gambling, disorganized worldview, feelings of loneliness, alienation, mood swings, irritability, chronic stress, social anxiety, social awkwardness, muscle tension/rigidity, and withdrawn catatonia.

Why Metabolism?

As stated in the history, I have tried most mainstream psychiatric treatment plans available online, however they have not consistently worked for me (they always lead to relapse within a few days, weeks, or months.)

The remission rates for mainstream psychiatrics is abysmal, sitting at roughly 11-30% for clinical reports of treated depressed patient [19]. Modern psychiatric care is not effective at curing mental illness, but weak help is better than no help at all. Additionally, the number of suicides prevented is hard to measure, which I have no doubt modern psychiatric care has helped alleviate. I do not doubt that modern psychiatric practice has helped humanity. If you are at risk for a psychiatric disorder, I strongly recommend seeking help and a treatment plan.

So why metabolism? Physical health is bi-directionally correlated with mental health [15][16][17].

According to Dr. Chris Palmer in his book Brain Energy [20], depression is associated with higher risk rates of obesity and cancer. The reverse is also true, obesity and cancer are also associated with higher risk rates of depression. Patients with depression can expect lower life expectancies but not because of suicide, rather because of a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Additionally, studies have found higher amounts of inflammatory biomarkers in patients with mental illnesses compared to control populations.

The conclusion I draw is this: mental health is not solely a conscious issue, but one that is bi-directional with physical health. I believe addressing this bi-directional correlation is a step in the right direction, though I will warn the correlation does not prove causation.

There are very important psychosocial factors to consider (as Palmer describes as part of the bio-psychosocial psychiatry model,) however the environment I am currently end lacks strong stressors for that to be a consideration. Though I have historical psychosocial factors, I do not dwell too long on them, so I am left to conclude the only issue must be a physical one. (Notably, I have found that I consciously dwell on those historical stressors only when I have symptoms of strong inflammation, but I will leave my pet theories out of the discussion.)

"Metabolism refers to the whole sum of reactions that occur throughout the body within each cell and that provide the body with energy." [18] The reason I choose the word metabolism to describe this health plan is that it frames the issue as a physical problem. It is a different surface to attack the issue from, and one that I hope to be a more sustainable treatment surface.

Addressing metabolic health may point towards better mental health outcomes. It is well-known that exercise is effective for easing symptoms of depression and anxiety [34]. In this cookbook, I'll be noting down key options in improving metabolic functions which include hormones, inflammatory markers, and the metabolic syndrome as defined by the NHLBI [35].

Regarding the direct connection or causation of metabolic health to mental health, not much is known. But the correlations as provided by Dr. Chris Palmer, as well as my inferences regarding the gut microbiome from Justin and Erica Sonnenberg's research point towards mental health being heavily affected by our core metabolic systems.

To conclude: many strong correlations are drawn between metabolic and mental health without causation; we can posit that perhaps addressing metabolic health may be the cure. Regardless, robust and strong metabolic health is a good indicator of longevity and health [36].

Method

In this section, I will introduce a plan to optimize metabolic health noting down key factors and their effects. I also include a checklist of the important items to consider.

Checklist and Getting Ready

The following is the generalized plan for optimizing metabolic health. I will be going through each main topic thoroughly and cite sources of the key important points to consider when deciding how to optimize these items. Though on the surface level it may seem rudimentary and obvious, I will be going into deep detail how to optimize these things.

Diet
Sleep
Exercise

A key feature to note: simultaneously changing all these items is exceptionally important. Motivation to execute any one of these three items is astonishingly affected by the execution of the other two. This means poor diet may mean poor sleep, and vice versa:

Diet affects motivation to sleep and sleep quality [23][24].
Poor sleep quality or lack of sleep affects hunger hormones, which can lead to poor dietary choices [25][26][27].
Exercise is correlated with sleep outcomes. A systematic review from Muacevic and Adler published in 2023 shows "insufficient physical activity is positively associated with poor sleep quality, sleep disturbances, more than 60 minutes of sleep latency, less than seven-hour sleep duration, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction." [28]
Poor sleep may negatively affect exercise motivation according to Dr. Raj Dasgupta [31].
Exercise may affect dietary choices. Exercise modifies the gut microbiome with positive effects [29]. In animal models, we have shown that gut flora composition influences diet selection [30]. The connection is shaky, but I believe in time we will find out that the same can be observed in humans: exercise affects diet.
The microbiome composition may affect motivation to exercise as seen in animal models [32]. Diet is known to affect microbiome composition, according to the Harvard School of Medicine [33]. In animal models it can be inferred that diet may be correlated with motivation to exercise.

Conclusion: all three items must be done simultaneously for consistent motivation.

When executing this list it is incredibly important to remember we are framing motivation as a metabolic problem, not a psychosocial one. Failure to commit to changing any one of these three items should not be considered a moral failing on part of the patient, rather an issue in the biochemistry and physics of the body.

Recall that mental health affects motivation to take care of oneself [21][22]. This circular nature can lead to a spiral nature, as worsening mental health leads to worse physical health which leads back to worsening mental health.

We have been ignoring psychosocial factors so far, however perhaps we can utilize psychosocial factors in a positive way here to overcome the paradox. Finding family and friends who encourage living healthy lifestyles regarding to sleep, diet, and exercise can create positive psychosocial factors to alleviate poor physical health and eventually mental health.

I will conclude this section by stating that the paradoxical nature of mental and physical health is incredibly oppressive and jailing. Health is hard. But in the case of failure, always try again.

Diet

Historically of the three items, diet has been the easiest to control since food selection was scarce. Hunter-gatherer tribes, nomads, farmers, and fisherman historically relied on natural geography to portion out food for them. It is only in modern times and agriculturally industrialized societies do we have the burden of dietary choice.

Let's start out with a warning: diet may be difficult for some and easy for others. For me, I fall on the easier spectrum. For others, their mental illness may include an eating disorder and precisely relates to food. For them, it would be wise to tread carefully with the help of a professional.

Now that is out of the way, how can we eat well to optimize metabolic health?

Dr. Chris Palmer is a supporter of the ketogenic diet [38], where he states that his brain energy theory that mental illnesses are metabolic illnesses of the brain. The brain being affected by insulin reisistance

2025/5/23

Bryan Johnson recommends EVOO, Cocoa Powder, and his longevity mix. The cocoa powder is exorbantly expensive, so I'll jot here to buy the Target form "Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 8oz - Good & Gather™. "

Sleep

Exercise

Of the three items, I will personally admit this is the hardest change. Most everyone sleeps and eats, however not everyone exercise or has the time to.