MB #036: The Best Breakfast, Secret Sauce To Fat Loss, Pasteurization

Read Time:~3 Minutes

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Hey friends,

Welcome back to The Mission Briefing, the weekly newsletter with the goal of equipping you with what you need to further transform your physical and spiritual health.

Today we're going to talk about pasteurized milk, my favorite breakfast and why, and the secret sauce to fat loss. I think you'll really like this one.

Pasteurized milk

Public health officials advocate for pasteurization as a vital step to ensure the safety and longevity of milk, all while "maintaining its nutritional value". However, this claim is contentious and filled with issues when you look at both the research and the anecdotes. Pasteurization, especially at temperatures of 170°F, has significant drawbacks, as it leads to the degradation of essential nutrients such as vitamin A and the denaturation of proteins and enzymes. Immunoglobulins, vital for the immune system, also fall victim to this high-heat process.

Moreover, the majority of milk available in today's market, including organic varieties, undergoes a more extreme form of pasteurization known as ultrapasteurization. This process exposes the milk to temperatures exceeding 230°F, well above the boiling point. Unfortunately, this elevated heat treatment further depletes the milk's nutritional content.

In both recent studies as well as those starting 45+ years ago, we find evidence that supports concerns about the effects of pasteurization on the nutritional value of milk:

1. Vitamin A Degradation: Regarding vitamin A, an important fat-soluble nutrient, a paper on this subject published in January, 2000 contains the following statement in the abstract. “Vitamin A is very sensitive to chemical degradation caused by oxygen, light, heat, and other stress factors. If light and oxygen are excluded, the dominant degradation reaction for vitamin A derivatives is heat-induced formation of kitols, that is, dimers or higher oligomers”.

2. Effect on Premature Babies and Weight Gain: Studies conducted as far back as 1986 have highlighted the impact of pasteurization on breast milk. Infants fed untreated (raw) mother's breastmilk demonstrated more rapid weight gain (which, weight gain in infants is a good thing!), higher serum alkaline phosphatase, and lower phosphorus values. It is clear that the pasteurization process has negative repercussions on the nutritional quality of milk.

Other research comparing the outcomes of pasteurized milk to raw breast milk reached a similar conclusion. Infants fed untreated mother's milk experienced significantly more rapid weight gain, despite little difference in calorie and "nutritional" content. The explanation lies in the destruction of lipase, an enzyme necessary for the absorption of fats and cholesterol in milk.

4. Destruction of Enzymes: A study from 1977 scrutinized the effect of heat treatments on human milk. It revealed that holder pasteurization at 62.5°C for 30 minutes reduced the concentration of IgA by 20 percent and destroyed most of the lactoferrin. IgA and lactoferrin are incredibly important for immune function. Lysozyme, a critical enzyme, remained stable under these conditions but became progressively more damaged with increasing temperatures, reaching nearly 100 percent destruction at 200°C.

5. Lactose Intolerance: 70% of the world's population is "lactose intolerant" meaning they don't break down lactose (milk sugar) well. But thankfully God made Lactase, the enzyme found naturally in all raw milk varieties, and its purpose is to break down the milk sugar lactose. During pasteurization, Lactase is destroyed causing our bodies to work harder to produce the means to break down lactose when we consume that pasteurized milk. Breast milk also has lactose, but the vast majority of babies have no problem digesting their mother's own breast milk. This is because they're getting the much-needed lactase enzyme in the milk that helps them process and break down the lactose the way God intended.

The move towards mandatory pasteurization has not only disrupted the landscape of family dairy farms but has also led to the destruction of precious nutrients—amounting to what could be considered the greatest loss of nutritional value in the history of human nutrition. The implications of these findings are significant, pointing to the need for a reconsideration of milk processing methods and a reevaluation of their effects on public health.

My favorite breakfast

A fantastic breakfast option is a simple plate of steak and eggs.

A 100-gram serving of sirloin steak contains 194 calories and a whopping 28 grams of protein. It also provides various important micronutrients, including creatine, iron, zinc, selenium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, phosphorus, pantothenate, magnesium, and potassium.

Eggs are often seen as one of natures best multivitamins, alongside beef liver. They are a super nutrient-dense food with moderate protein content (each egg has 6g). Eggs naturally contain vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, and iodine. They also offer vitamin A and several other B vitamins like folate, biotin, pantothenic acid, choline, along with essential minerals and trace elements like phosphorus. I love steak and eggs for breakfast and feel full for a long time due to the protein and healthy fats. One of my recent favorites is the steak benedict at a local brunch place we enjoy.

If I had to choose a single breakfast to eat for the rest of my life, it would definitely be steak and eggs.

The secret sauce to fat loss

Well, the secret is there is no secret. But there is a more preferred method to fat loss that ensures you're actually losing (you guessed it) FAT!

A recent meta-analysis encompassed data from over 92 different studies investigating the most effective methods for fat loss. The researchers assessed these methods based on the extent of body fat reduction.

Their primary discovery was confirming the importance of calorie restriction, which involves consuming fewer calories than needed to maintain your weight. This is probably pretty obvious to most, but it's worth laying that foundation before sharing the rest of the results.

The most successful fat loss approach they identified was a combination of calorie restriction + a high-protein diet + incorporating some form of exercise.

Following closely in second place was calorie restriction + resistance training.

After coaching clients for 12 years I've found the perfect trifecta of fat loss to be:

Calorie restriction + eating a clean, animal-based high-protein diet + strength training. (1-5 rep range w/ heavy weights)

Calorie restriction helps you lose weight in general as the study pointed out. Restricting calories while eating a high-protein diet and strength training helps you burn enables you to because it enables you to keep or build lean mass/muscle tissue.

Remember that when you lose weight you want true fat loss. Not just weight loss on the scale. That's an important difference that if you pay close attention to, you'll be super thankful.

That's it for this week. See you next Sunday!

PS: When you're ready, there are a couple of ways I could help you

1. Are you a Christian father who wants to get healthy, strong, and lean, and improve your family life and relationship with God in tandem? Apply for private one on one coaching here.​​

2. If you’re still looking to get healthy and coaching doesn't work for you, I’d recommend starting with an affordable course + coaching experience:

→ The Mission-Fit Framework™ Transform your mind, soul, body, and life with The Mission-Fit Framework. This comprehensive course + coaching experience will teach you the system I use to get my clients healthier in every aspect of life in 90 days, in only 90 minutes a week. Join other students here.