From Keto to Stress: Why Many Midlife Men Need More Salt Than Guidelines Allow - PART 6
Most men in midlife have been told the same thing about salt: eat less, protect your heart. But the truth is, salt needs aren’t one-size-fits-all. In fact, depending on your diet, lifestyle, and health, you may actually need more salt than mainstream guidelines recommend.
If you’re following a low-carb diet, training hard, working a physical job, drinking a lot of coffee, under high stress, or sweating buckets in the sauna, cutting salt can leave you feeling weak, dizzy, or constantly fatigued. For some men, it can even make blood pressure and heart health worse, not better.
This article breaks down the real-life scenarios where men in midlife need extra salt to perform, recover, and feel their best, and why blindly following the old “less salt is healthier” message could be holding you back.
The Real Deal on Salt: Why “Balancing” is Better Than “Restricting” - PART 5
For many midlife men, a rigid 1500 mg limit could be unnecessarily low and make it hard to stay hydrated and energised.
Another issue is that focusing on a single number ignores context; getting 3,000 mg of sodium from a fast-food burger meal full of trans fats is not the same as sprinkling 3,000 mg worth of mineral-rich sea salt on home-cooked veggies and lean protein.
The source and context matter, but current RDAs don’t distinguish these nuances.
Why Your Doctor Still Thinks Salt Is Bad (And Why He Might Be Wrong) - PART 4
With such compelling evidence piling up, one might wonder: Why do mainstream organisations still tell us to restrict salt so much? There are a few reasons the “salt is evil” narrative persists in conventional guidelines, despite the evolving science:
New Research Exposes the Salt Myth: What Science Really Says About Salt and Health - PART 3
If the historical evidence for salt reduction was flimsy, what does more recent, comprehensive research tell us? In the past 10–15 years, a wave of studies, from large epidemiological analyses to systematic reviews, has challenged the simplistic “salt = hypertension = heart disease” narrative.
These findings reveal a far more complex picture in which moderate salt intake is often harmless (or even beneficial), and both extremely high and extremely low intakes can be problematic. Let’s break down some key insights from modern research:
How Salt Got Its Bad Reputation: A Brief History of the “Salt = High Blood Pressure” Myth - PART 2
The idea that salt is inherently bad for your heart has been repeated so often that it’s taken as gospel. But where did this salt-phobia originate? It turns out the evidence was shaky from the start, relying on extreme experiments and misinterpreted data that became entrenched in policy before the science was settled.
Understanding this history will reveal how we ended up vilifying salt in the first place.
The Midlife Upgrade: How HCL & Betaine Can Transform Your Energy, Gut, and Brain
If you’re a busy man in your 40s, 50s, or beyond, you know the value of simple changes that deliver big results. Maybe you’re noticing a dip in energy, more brain fog, or your digestion just isn’t what it used to be. The good news? There’s a surprisingly straightforward way to support your gut, boost your immunity, and help you feel sharper and more energetic: HCL and Betaine supplementation.
My 2025 Functional Blood Work: Gut Health, Protein, and the Hidden Clues - Part 3
My gut health story goes back to around 2010, when I was deep into the endurance world — marathons, triathlons, and Ironman events. At the time, I thought endurance athletes were the fittest people on the planet. That more hours, more miles, more pain meant more health.
It took a few years (and plenty of symptoms) to realise just how wrong I was.
Endurance sports can do a number on your gut — especially when training volume is high, sleep is poor, stress is chronic, and recovery is an afterthought. If you want to read more about how that chapter impacted my health.
My 2025 Functional Blood Work flagged a 62% probability of GI dysfunction.
Men in Midlife: You Probably Need to Eat More, Not Less
When most men in midlife think about losing weight or getting healthy, the first instinct is to eat less. Skip breakfast. Cut calories. Try intermittent fasting. Maybe just have a coffee and tough it out until lunch.
Sound familiar?
This might feel like discipline, but the truth is: many men are unknowingly under-eating—especially when it comes to nutrients, not just calories. And it’s wrecking their energy, hormones, metabolism, and long-term health.
Let’s break this down.
Why the Dad Bod Isn't Harmless—And What You Can Do About It
When we think about muscle, we often picture movement and physical strength. While it's undeniably crucial for locomotion and performance, muscle plays an equally vital role behind the scenes—boosting metabolism, supporting fat loss, and enhancing overall health. As men navigating midlife, building and preserving lean muscle isn't merely beneficial—it's essential.
Yet most men in midlife aren't training effectively to support their health, boost testosterone, and decrease the risk of obesity and chronic disease. Look around any office and you'll likely see a worrying trend: many men are overweight and undermuscled.
Diet is certainly important, but alone it's insufficient. Cutting calories, intermittent fasting, and skipping meals might seem effective short-term, but these methods can slow your metabolism, often leading to weight regain once regular eating resumes.
There’s a far better solution—one that allows you to eat like a man, boost your metabolism, and lose belly fat sustainably.
Why Men in Midlife Need to Eat MORE Protein, Not Less
For decades, we've been fed a dangerous narrative:
"Eat less red meat."
"Cut down on saturated fats."
"Animal protein is bad for you."
Meanwhile, Big Pharma and Big Food have profited massively as our health has declined. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and muscle wasting have all skyrocketed. Coincidence? Not likely.
One of the biggest tools they used? The Food Pyramid.
Designed in the late 20th century, the Food Pyramid demonised nutrient-dense foods like red meat and saturated fats while promoting grains, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods as the foundation of a "healthy" diet. It steered us away from the very foods that sustain strength, vitality, and metabolic health — and into a carbohydrate-heavy, inflammatory diet that has fuelled modern chronic diseases.
If you're a man in your 40s, 50s, or beyond, it's time to open your eyes: you need MORE protein, not less. Especially high-quality animal protein.
Here's why: