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How it fits together · free course

Pathways

Nutrients don't help you directly — they help the machinery that helps you. This track is the mechanism layer: the enzyme assembly lines that turn food into energy, repair, neurotransmitters, and detox. Once you see that a single missing cofactor can stall an entire pathway, why a tiny micronutrient gap causes far-reaching effects finally makes sense.

11 lessons · about 77 minutes

  1. 01What a pathway actually isEnzymes, cofactors, and why one missing nutrient stalls a whole assembly line.6 min
  2. 02Energy — how a cell makes ATPGlycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain — and the cofactors they run on.7 min
  3. 03Methylation — the body's on/off switchesMethyl groups, the one-carbon cycle, homocysteine, and the famous MTHFR variant in plain terms.7 min
  4. 04Redox & detox — handling damage and toxinsFree radicals, the glutathione system, and the liver's two-phase detox — plus why 'eat antioxidants' is half a myth.7 min
  5. 05Brain chemistry & NAD⁺ — synthesis and the longevity hypeBuilding dopamine and serotonin from amino acids, the NAD⁺ pathway, and a balanced look at NMN/NR.7 min
  6. 06Inflammation & immune signalingAcute vs chronic inflammation, NF-κB, cytokines, and why low-grade inflammation underlies aging disease.7 min
  7. 07Insulin signaling & glucose metabolismHow insulin moves glucose, GLUT4, insulin resistance at the pathway level, and what tilts sensitivity either way.7 min
  8. 08mTOR, AMPK & autophagy — growth vs repairThe nutrient-sensing switch between building and cleaning up — and an honest look at the fasting/longevity hype.8 min
  9. 09The gut microbiome's metabolismFiber fermentation, short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, the gut as a metabolic organ, and diversity.7 min
  10. 10Hormone & steroidogenesis pathwaysCholesterol → steroid hormones, the HPA and HPG axes, cofactors, and how stress, sleep, and nutrition modulate them.7 min
  11. 11Circadian biology — the master clockThe molecular clock (CLOCK/BMAL1 in plain terms), light/food/sleep as zeitgebers, and circadian hygiene.7 min