Switch4Good by Dotsie Bausch and Alexandra Paul

May 07, 2025 325 - Eat to Beat Your Metabolism with Dr. William Li

“One of the things that I always teach people is listen to your body. You want to actually pay attention to what makes you feel good and what your body is gravitating you towards. This is about bounty. It's not about deprivation. The research has shown us we can lean into the foods that we like. We love to be able to find something that's not only good that we appreciate.” -Dr. William Li

“It is possible to turn back the clock on our metabolism, burn fat, and increase longevity, all while being able to enjoy the food we eat. Are you saying we can sleep and fat burn at the same time?” -Dotsie Bausch

“That's exactly what I'm saying. When you burn down body fat, your metabolism rises. I thought I understood human metabolism as a medical doctor, But I can tell you everything changed in our understanding of modern human metabolism in December of 2021. The human metabolism was found by this research of 6,000 people to be absolutely rock stable. It's hardwired not to go down by itself. And what they found is that if you remove extra body fat, human metabolism is pretty much the same when you're born.” -Dr. William Li

“Our metabolism does not slow down from age 20 to 60. We're eating more and moving less. Therefore, we're slowly or quickly gaining more excess body fat. And excess body fat is what slows the metabolism. Bingo, not our age.” -Dotsie Bausch

“You wanna fight fat, eat the right kind of food. Food isn't about shame, guilt, or fear. Mm-hmm. We now know enough that we can actually make mindful choices and eat those things that activate our health defenses, improve our metabolism.

But it turns out that coffee overall, even coffee with caffeine actually not only slows the burn, the shortening of your telomeres, but it can actually lengthen your telomeres. So drinking coffee can actually slow down your cellular aging. So our, our health overall, our life is not just the absence of disease, it's really the-” -Dr. William Li

Is it possible to turn back the clock on our metabolism, burn fat, and increase longevity, all while being able to enjoy the food we eat? According to our guest today, it most certainly is.

Dr. William Li is an internal medicine specialist, scientist, and New York Times best-selling author. His groundbreaking work in the field of angiogenesis – which is the process of developing new blood vessels in the body – has led to 40 new medical treatments for cancer, diabetes, and obesity, to name a few.

In his new book, Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longer, Dr. Li shatters some of the myths we’ve been conditioned to believe about metabolism, weight loss, and the role fat plays in the human body.

In this wildly informative episode, we take a deep dive into what we should actually be eating and doing to be the healthiest, fittest version of ourselves!

What we discuss in this episode:

A clear and simple explanation of human metabolism.
The truth about body fat.
The importance of listening to your body and being mindful while you eat.
Sleep, fasting, and burning fat.
Dr. Li’s routine to optimize his metabolism.
How excess body fat slows your metabolism.
Why we gain weight in middle age and what we can do about it.
How chronic stress can cause weight gain?
The different types of fat.
How the body’s defenses can be activated by food.
How our immune system is linked to our metabolism.
Inflammation and excess body fat.
How to create balance in the body through food.
The dangers of processed foods to the metabolism and immune system.
Foods that can lengthen telomeres.
How foods with vitamin C can reduce inflammation.

Helpful links:

Dr. Li’s website: Dr William Li
Eat to Beat Your Diet: Eat to Beat Your Diet: Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longer
Eat to Beat Disease: Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself
Instagram: Dr. William Li (@drwilliamli) • Instagram photos and videos
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drwilliamli
Facebook: Dr. William Li
Dr. Li’s newsletter: Subscribe to my newsletter - Dr William Li
Eat to Beat Disease online course: Eat To Beat Online Course
Elevate Your Metabolism online course: Elevate Your Metabolism