The Ultimate Guide to a Metabolism That Burns Fat Again — with Ben Azadi

Dave Asprey

Jun 26, 2025

Episode description

93% of people are metabolically unhealthy, and it’s not because they’re lazy or eating too much fat. It’s because their bodies forgot how to burn fat at all. This episode gives you a complete roadmap to reboot your metabolism, escape the sugar-burning trap, and reignite your fat-burning engine for good.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Ben Azadi, functional health expert, best-selling author of Metabolic Freedom, and one of today’s most trusted voices in the ketogenic and fasting space. After reversing his own obesity through biohacking and functional medicine, Ben has helped millions unlock metabolic flexibility and master human performance through smarter-not-harder strategies.

They explore how high insulin, not fat or salt, drives most chronic disease, and why your doctor probably isn’t testing for it. You’ll learn the truth about seed oils, fructose, and blood sugar spikes, and why most people using continuous glucose monitors are still missing the real metabolic threat.

You’ll also discover how to:

• Switch out of sugar-burning mode and back into fat-burning ketosis

• Use fasting, cold therapy, and sleep optimization to repair mitochondrial damage

• Fix hidden nutrient deficiencies with the right supplements, potassium, and electrolytes

• Build real metabolic resilience with Danger Coffee, functional medicine, and nootropics

• Avoid the trap of endless keto or carnivore and learn how to cycle your way to true metabolic freedom

• Understand why low HRV, high insulin, and sleep debt crush longevity, energy, and brain optimization

• Decode how neuroplasticity, emotional regulation, and resilience all connect to metabolism

This is your science-backed guide to transforming your energy, losing stubborn fat, and becoming metabolically unstoppable.

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday and Thursday, where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to becom

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Avoid endless keto to maintain metabolic flexibility

Staying in ketosis or on a carnivore diet indefinitely is another form of metabolic inflexibility, just like being a sugar-burner.

#keto

#metabolism

Use seed oil allergy card to ensure safe dining

To ensure restaurants don't cook your food in seed oils, use a card that states you have an allergy to them, as they take allergies more seriously than preferences.

#safety

#seed-oil

Avoid cooking with extra virgin olive oil to preserve polyphenols

Despite studies showing it's stable when heated, you shouldn't cook with extra virgin olive oil because it wastes the precious polyphenols that you should be consuming raw.

#olive-oil

#polyphenols

Enhance metabolic efficiency by preserving muscle mass

Your metabolism doesn't slow down significantly between ages 20 and 60; it becomes less efficient, primarily due to the loss of muscle mass.

#metabolism

#muscle

Recognize silent insulin resistance before blood tests reveal it

A person can have insulin resistance for six to 14 years before it shows up in their fasting glucose or A1C blood tests.

#glucose

#insulin

Address high insulin to manage blood pressure effectively

High insulin levels are a major cause of high blood pressure because they lower nitric oxide and constrict blood vessels, not excess salt.

#blood-pressure

#insulin

Beware high-oxalate foods to prevent health issues

Excessive consumption of seemingly healthy foods like almond flour, raspberries, and even collagen supplements can lead to high oxalate levels, causing issues like recurring eye styes.

#nutrition

#oxalate

Eliminate linoleic acid for better cellular health

Linoleic acid from seed oils has a half-life of 680 days, meaning it can take over six years to fully clear it from your cell membranes.

#seed-oil

Evaluate carnivore diet's impact on cholesterol and heart disease risk

A carnivore diet can raise LDL cholesterol to 350, but if inflammatory markers are low and particles are large, a heart surgeon may consider you at a lower risk for heart disease.