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Deuterium

This lesson is for those who want to maximize their health. If you’re more casual about your well-being, you can skip overthinking deuterium. However, understanding and managing deuterium is essential if you aim for optimal health.

What Is Deuterium?

Deuterium is a heavier version of hydrogen. It’s still hydrogen, but with some extra weight (1 proton + 1 neutron instead of just a proton).

It’s natural and is present in the water you drink, the food you eat, and even the air you breathe. Your body uses it constantly.

In nature, humans were exposed to significantly lower levels of deuterium. Historically, most of our water and food fell within the 120–130 ppm range. In today’s world, however, that’s rarely the case. In the rest of this module, I’ll break down the major food groups and show you how to navigate your diet and lifestyle to optimize for low deuterium intake.


The Main Harm

In simple terms, the main harm of an unbalanced amount of deuterium is mitochondrial function. Paul Saladino, one of the first mainstream doctors I have ever heard speak on this, discussed it some years back.

It seems in recent years he forgot all about his once-innovative deuterium lesson...

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Anyways, the point is that we want optimal deuterium levels for ideal mitochondrial and metabolic function.


How to get ideal deuterium levels

The ideal range for deuterium in your blood plasma and body water is 120–130 ppm for optimal health and mitochondrial function. To achieve this:

  1. Stick to foods and drinks that fall within this range.

  2. Avoid foods and beverages that exceed 150 ppm, especially those with higher deuterium concentrations.


What compounds boost deuterium?

To understand the fundamentals, these 5 key compounds artificially raise the deuterium of a consumable item:

In short, when considering your deuterium, avoid consuming foods or beverages (unless water is specifically low in deuterium) to manage your intake.

Best Foods for Optimal Deuterium Levels

Water:

In modern day, water is actually relatively high in deuterium by default unless you intentionally seek out low-deuterium sources.

I used ChatGPT to make a breakdown of the PPM cost and the ROI of different water sources:

(I personally rated the ROI, not the AI btw)

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Conclusion:

-Buy Fiji water (140ppm, $1.50 per liter)

-Buy Mountain Valley spring water (140ppm, $1.50-$5 per liter)


Now let's look at some other food groups and their deuterium PPM(Remember, we want as close to 120-130 PPM as possible)


Grains: Typically 150-160 PPM

Wheat: 155 ppm

Rice: 155 ppm

Oats: 150 ppm

Corn: 145 PPM

Potato: 145 PPM


Grains will typically be very high in deuterium, and this shouldn't come as a surprise, as you have learned throughout the course that grains are just sugar, anti-nutrients, and fiber, and are technically seeds.

When we look at our deuterium checklist, we see that grains mark off essentially 4/5 of the key deuterium-raising components.


Even if you include carbs in your diet, getting them from grains is not a good idea.

Other seeds, such as nuts, have a similar range of PPM, so to be concise, I won't cover them.


Dairy: Typically 140-155 PPM

Examples:

Milk: 150 ppm (grass fed 140ppm)

Cheese: 145-150 ppm (grass-fed 135-140ppm)

Yogurt: 150 ppm (grass fed 140ppm)

It may come as a surprise, but dairy isn't too low in deuterium.

Dairy typically sits in the high-moderate range.

Prioritizing grass-fed dairy will ensure a more moderate deuterium level.



Animal Products: Typically 120-140 PPM

If you are consuming wild animals caught/raised outside, fed their natural diet, and not overly processed, their deuterium typically falls into an ideal range of closer to 125 PPM.

Factory-farmed pigs fed soy will have higher levels of deuterium, and frankly, the deuterium will be a lower-tier issue if you are consuming these animals anyway.

Again, here are the fundamental foods with ideal deuterium levels:


Oils and Fats:

Fats: Typically 110-130 PPM

Oils: Typically 130-160 PPM

Tallow: 128 PPM

Lard: 116 PPM

Ghee: 125 PPM

Olive Oil: 130 PPM

Canola Oil: 160 PPM (really bad LOL)

Avocado Oil: 130 PPM

Butter: 124 ppm


Fruits: Typically ~150 PPM

Watermelon: 150 ppm

Orange: 150 ppm

Banana: 147–150 ppm

Apple: 145–150 ppm

Grapes: 149–150 ppm

Blueberries: 148–150 ppm


Vegetables: Typically 140-160 PPM

Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Lettuce): 140-150 ppm

Carrots: 150 ppm

Broccoli: 145-150 ppm

Tomatoes: 145 ppm

Cucumbers: 145-150 ppm

Bell Peppers: 150 ppm

Cauliflower: 150 ppm

Zucchini: 150 ppm

Squash: 145-150 ppm

In conclusion, carefully selecting foods, drinks, and even water sources can optimize serum deuterium levels and support mitochondria and improve overall well-being.

While this may seem like a more advanced approach to health, it is one of the many crucial factors to nail for those committed to achieving optimal health.