In this episode I had the honor of speaking with Shawn Stevenson, creator and host of The Model Health Show, which was featured as the number one health podcast in the United States with millions of listener downloads each year. With the myriad of challenges we’ve all faced this year thanks to COVID-19, there’s a greater need than ever before to return to the basics of health and wellness, particularly regarding what we eat on a day-to-day basis. We discuss how food affects so many different areas of our lives. Beyond metabolism, food affects our relationships, our ability to communicate, how we perform in our professional environments, and other facets of life that we normally don’t even connect to food. In short, we have a conversation on the most fundamental must-knows that we can use to truly take our health back.   Listen in as Shawn shares how eating the right foods can totally transform your body and mind, why he considers sleep as the most important factor to one’s health (even above nutrition and exercise), common nutrition myths, why you need to pay more attention to your gut health if you want to burn more body fat, why it’s time to cease the “war on fat”, and what most people fail to see when it comes to maximizing your health and wellness amid the COVID-19 pandemic.   Follow Shawn @shawnmodel Follow Chase @chase_chewning   Key Highlights [08:28] Why Shawn decided to write Eat Smarter [17:25] What it means to be “smart” about eating [26:25] Dispelling calorie-related myths and overlooked essential aspects in nutrition [46:57] The importance of microbiome diversity to fat loss [52:20] Best food sources of prebiotics for greater gut health [1:01:52] Food sources to fill in the other elements of a healthy gut [1:13:16] Why we shouldn’t be afraid of eating fat [1:23:50] The extent of the health crisis in today’s world [1:30:31] What the focus should really be on if we want to talk about prevention [1:38:55] How Shawn’s challenging background inspired him to write his new book [1:46:40] How Shawn lives a life EVER FORWARD   Episode resources: Save up to 39% on organic lion's mane ground coffee from Four Sigmatic at www.foursigmatic.com/everforward  Get Eat Smarter Get Sleep Smarter Listen to The Model Health Show podcast Watch this video interview on YouTube https://youtu.be/I_8MApca6eA