Nutrition: The Third Stair to Stability đź§
Without adequate intake, the body scavenges itself.
With chronic overconsumption, the system becomes inflamed and dysregulated.
Stability requires enough, not excess, and is based 100% on your personal lifestyle.
Nutrition serves three core biological roles:
Structural building and repair
Energy production
Regulatory balance
Protein: The Structural Lego Blocks
Source: Dietary intake.
Protein must come from food. The body cannot manufacture essential amino acids.
Protein is broken down into amino acids, we require 9 of 20 or so of these amino acids, these are used to:
Repair and build muscle tissue
Construct enzymes
Produce hormones
Create neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin
Support immune cells
If intake is insufficient:
Muscle mass declines
Recovery slows
Immune resilience weakens
Mood can suffer due to reduced neurotransmitter precursors
If intake is chronically excessive:
It may displace other necessary nutrients
It increases metabolic workload
In extreme cases, it may strain kidney function in susceptible individuals
Protein is not always about bodybuilding.
It is however, always about maintaining the architecture of the body. The actual building materials required daily to keep the structural form of your body in good repair.
Glucose and Fat: The Dual Fuel System
The body runs on two primary fuels, and should toggle between them easily as supply demands.
1. Glucose
Source: Carbohydrates from food or produced internally via gluconeogenesis (Liver converting fat to glucose).
Glucose fuels:
The brain
Red blood cells
High-intensity physical activity
The brain, despite being only about 2% of body weight, uses roughly 20% of the body’s resting energy expenditure, and under normal conditions, it relies primarily on glucose.
The body stores glucose as glycogen in the liver and muscles. When glycogen is depleted, the body can shift toward fat metabolism.
2. Fat
Source: Dietary fat and stored body fat.
Fat provides:
Long-duration energy
Hormone production support
Cellular membrane structure
When metabolically flexible, the body toggles between glucose and fat depending on availability and demand. This flexibility stabilizes energy and reduces extreme swings.
Underconsumption
When caloric intake is chronically too low:
Cortisol rises
Thyroid function can downregulate
Reproductive hormones may decline
Mood instability increases
Sleep quality worsens
The body prioritizes survival over optimization.
Overconsumption
When intake consistently exceeds demand, especially from refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods:
Insulin levels remain elevated
Metabolic flexibility decreases
Inflammation increases
Energy becomes unstable
Cravings intensify rather than resolve
The body prioritizes energy storage and protective adaptation over metabolic efficiency and optimization
Fiber: Food For Your Gut Bacteria
Source: Plant foods including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Fiber is not digested by human enzymes. Instead, it feeds gut bacteria.
When fermented by beneficial microbes, fiber produces short-chain fatty acids that:
Reduce systemic inflammation
Support gut lining integrity
Influence mood regulation
Improve insulin sensitivity
Low fiber intake reduces microbial diversity.
High ultra-processed food intake shifts gut populations toward less favorable strains.
The gut communicates continuously with the brain via the vagus nerve and chemical signaling. What you feed your microbiome influences emotional tone and stress resilience.
In Storieopolis, after water returned and night was redesigned, Storieopolis expected effortless progress.
Instead, repairs stalled.
The tummy was reporting in erratic signals.
Storieopolis felt sharp one moment and foggy the next.
Mayor Judy Cortex inspected the imports.
The warehouses were full of quick-burn crates labeled “Immediate Energy.” Merely fireworks, not sustainable fuel.
Structural bricks were scarce.
Steve found the old blueprints again. “The city was designed for steady supply,” he said. “Not surges.”
The council reorganized, and soon.
Protein shipments arrived daily.
Fuel was balanced between quick and sustained sources.
New fiber gardens were planted in the tummy district.
Over time, the buildings held their shape.
Energy stopped spiking and collapsing.
Signals between cities grew quieter.
The lesson was simple:
Water sustains.
Sleep restores.
Nutrition constructs and fuels.
Quick Summary
Nutrition provides both the building materials and fuel required for stability. Protein, obtained through food, supplies essential amino acids that build and repair tissues, enzymes, hormones, and neurotransmitters. Glucose and fat serve as the body’s two primary fuel sources. The brain, though only about 2% of body weight, uses roughly 20% of the body’s resting energy and depends largely on steady glucose availability. Metabolic flexibility, the ability to shift between glucose and fat, supports consistent energy and mood. Underconsumption forces the body into survival mode, raising stress hormones and impairing repair. Chronic overconsumption, especially of refined foods, reduces metabolic flexibility and increases inflammation. Fiber feeds the gut microbiome, which influences inflammation, immunity, and emotional regulation through the gut-brain connection.