Fusion Health and Wellness

Fine Tuning Your Biochemistry to Suit Your Needs

What do 90% of Americans do first thing when they wake up in the morning? They get out of bed, go downstairs and reach for some coffee or tea. Why? It gives them energy, motivation, focus and transforms them from grumpy, sleepy zombies into happy little worker bees, buzzing about. This is because of caffeine’s effect on their biochemistry.

Caffeine blocks adenosine in the brain, which is a neurotransmitter that causes sleepiness. Caffeine also causes dopamine to be released, which is responsible for the increase in attention, motivation and improved mood, as well as norepinephrine to be released, which makes you alert and energized. Norepinephrine is also why you’ll find yourself on the john half an hour after your first cup.

Photo fred The Oatmeal and DBG Technologies — Photo cred The Oatmeal and DBG Technologies

Caffeine is just one substance that you can use to alter your biochemistry in a favorable fashion. I’d love to help you learn how to do just that, but first you have to agree that you understand that this is just a website, that I’m not a doctor, and that anything you decide to do because of this article should be checked out with your primary care physician first, especially if you’re on prescription meds or have depression, anxiety or any other mental illness. There are no cures presented here, just ways to help you get the most out of life.

Let’s get on with it.

First, we need to understand a few terms and concepts. A neurotransmitter is a molecule used for communication between neurons in your brain and nervous system, and can be either excitatory, inhibitory, or both.

Excitatory neurotransmitters include

dopamine
epinephrine (adrenalin)
norepinephrine
acetylcholine
PEA
glutamate

Inhibitory neurotransmitters include

GABA
serotonin
melatonin
glycine

Your mood, outlook and energy levels are strongly correlated to the exact ratio and proportions of the neurotransmitters that are active in your brain at any given moment. This means that if you can tweak the levels of your neurotransmitters, you can positively steer your mood and outlook as you see fit.

Don’t overdo it, though. The body is always trying to maintain homeostasis, and increasing one neurotransmitter too much leads to its receptors becoming de-sensitized, and eventually even a loss in those receptors – this is how addiction and withdrawal forms.

Increasing dopamine – Results in increased drive and motivation, increased pleasure gotten out of most activities, and improves mood and confidence. You’ll remember this feeling as the first cup of coffee of the day, having sex, eating delicious food, or engaging in any rewarding activity

Beautiful, beautiful dopamine. My favorite neurotransmitter. This is responsible for the buzz or high coming from caffeine, cocaine, adderall and other ADHD meds, as well as the more subtle “high” to be achieved from completing rewarding tasks. Go hike a mountain, and when you reach the summit, drink deep from the springs of dopamine.

There are two methods you want to utilize to enhance dopamine, the first of which is making use of long term supplements and strategies to resensitize and increase dopamine receptors. This will have the net effect of causing you to be more motivated, energetic, confident and focused, as well as receiving more pleasure out of most actives, without having to take any substance. It will also enhance the effects of short-term dopaminergics, making them more effective.

You can simply have a few cups of gynostemma tea, an adaptogenic herb from China, to resensitize your dopamine neurons. Inositol works as well, but I find it easier to simply drink a few cups of tea. On top of this, cut back on activities that deplete dopamine – things like constantly texting, checking Facebook and other social media, drinking too much alcohol or coffee, or any other semi-addictive behavior.

Both intense physical exercise as well as fasting are perhaps the strongest methods to re-sensitize the brain to dopamine, and act as a “reboot” for the brain in general. If you aren’t getting regular exercise we need to sit down and have a serious talk, and I strongly advise fasting at least a full day once a month.

Remember, these are long term strategies, and while you may notice benefits within a week or two, it’s ideally something you’d continue to do throughout life.

You can also use occasional supplements to increase the body’s production of dopamine, in much the same way you can use coffee as a morning or mid-afternoon pick me up. L-Tyrosine has been my go-to dopaminergic substance, as it is easily converted into dopamine within the body.

You can also use DL-Phenylalanine, as some of the Phenylalanine will be converted into L-Tyrosine and thus dopamine, and some of it will be converted into PEA, a feel-good neurotransmitter that some have dubbed the “love chemical”. You can also get hefty doses of PEA and the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide (ananda = bliss in Sanskrit), from cacao, either in powder form or in a very dark chocolate bar. Both are very potent mood-boosting compounds.

Further, dopamine can be converted into epinephrine and norepinephrine, two more neurotransmitters that increase energy and alertness.

Have a serious coffee addiction? Try cutting the amount of coffee you consume in half, and use a bit of L-Tyrosine or Phenylalanine for a synergistic energy boost. Both work well any time you need a pick-me-up or need the extra focus and attention. Use anywhere from 100 to 1000 mg, at once or split evenly in 3 doses throughout the day. Take note that those on prescription MAOIs, those with hypertension or those with Phenylketonuria should not take tyrosine or phenylalanine.

GABA – An increase in GABA results in feeling relaxed and at ease. Prescription anti-anxiety meds act on GABA receptors in the brain. That relaxing feeling you get after drinking a nice glass of wine is due to alcohol releasing GABA within the brain.

GABA, which stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter within the brain. GABA produces a nice relaxed feeling, and is involved in decreasing stress and calming the brain enough to fall asleep.

Increasing GABA is especially useful for those who are stressed or suffer from anxiety. Instead of taking pharmaceutical drugs, why not just try to increase the body’s own production of GABA?

According to this study, performing one hour of yoga resulted in an average of 27% increase in GABA levels, which is huge.

One of the best ways to relieve anxiety is by using ashwagandha, one of my favorite Ayurvedic herbs. It’s been found to a be a potent GABA-mimetic, mimicking the effects of GABA without actually changing brain levels of the neurotransmitter. Perhaps even more beneficial is it’s rejuvenating effect on the brain –

Ashwagandha, its constituents and the metabolites of its constituents promote the growth of nerves after taking it for 7 days… It has anxiolytic effect [relieves anxiety] and improves energy levels and mitochondrial health.

Ashwagandha also has a unique ability to lower the stress hormone cortisol. A 2008 double blind, placebo controlled study showed that, “Over a 60-day period, doses ranging from 125 mg to 500 mg daily of a patented ashwagandha extract (Sensoril®) significantly improved scores on a standardized measurement of stress intensity, and also favorably modulated several biomarkers… Moreover, at the end of the study period subjects that received 500 mg of ashwagandha daily had cortisol levels nearly 30% lower than subjects who took a placebo, and their DHEA-s levels were significantly higher as well.”

I recommend this ashwagandha product, which contains 250 mg of the patented ashwagandha extract Sensoril used in the study above. It’s 10 bucks, you have no excuse.

Another excellent choice for reducing anxiety and inducing a sense of calm is L-Theanine, a rare amino-acid like compound found only in green tea.

The most cliched picture of green tea I could find. — The most cliche picture of green tea I could find

Straight from the LEF website, L-Theanine, “has traditionally been used to enhance relaxation and improve concentration and learning ability (Vuong 2011; Wakabayashi 2011; Nathan 2006).

L-theanine is chemically related to the neurotransmitter glutamate, and binds to glutamate receptors in the brain (Cho 2008). Unlike glutamate, however, which can cause a state called excitotoxicity that can destroy nerve cells, L-theanine protects brain cells against excitotoxicity, calming the nerve networks in the brain (Kakuda 2002; Nagasawa 2004; Di 2010).

L-theanine reduces evidence of anxiety and depression in several different animal models of stress (Yin 2011; Heese 2009). In one animal model, L-theanine led to decreases in nearly all frequencies of brainwave activity, indicating a state of calmness and relaxation (Dimpfel 2007).

In one study, healthy subjects took a soft drink containing green tea enriched with L-theanine while their brainwave power was measured (Dimpfel 2007). Power was initially reduced in all frequencies and areas during the first hour, indicating relaxation. Later changes indicated both an increase in mental performance and a higher degree of relaxation. In this case, L-theanine seemed to produce desirable increases in attention, accompanied by durable relaxation—that means subjects could concentrate better without being distracted by anxiety.

A third trial concluded that L-theanine plays a general role in sustaining attention during a long-term difficult task (Gomez-Ramirez 2009).”

L-Theanine has such wide-ranging and strong effects because it increases brain levels of GABA, Dopamine and Serotonin, as well as having affinities for a few other receptors involved in attention and cognition.

As I commented on in my post about A Few Effective Biohacks, combining L-Theanine with caffeine is a powerful brain boosting combo – all the benefits of increased attention, mood and energy from the caffeine, as well as the neuroprotective and zen-like focus from L-Theanine. Some people recommend a dosage of 2:1 L-theanine to caffeine ratio, but I get better effects from a 1:1 ratio. You can play around with the doses and see what works best for you.

You can supplement with straight L-Theanine, or you can consume matcha green tea, which has high levels of L-Theanine, more caffeine than regular green tea, as well substantially more EGCG, the potent anti-cancer, fat-burning antioxidant.

Serotonin – Serotonin is responsible for feelings of relaxation, as well helping to curb hunger, improve mood and help with sleeping patterns. You know that warm, happy, comfortable feeling you get after eating a large bowl of ice cream or anything sugary? That’s serotonin.

I’m personally not a big fan of trying to increase serotonin. While I like dopamine’s mood- and energy-boosting effects, and GABA is useful for focus or relaxing, serotonin makes me feel dopey and lazy. Everyone’s different however, and many people do benefit from a little boost in serotonin, so I don’t want to leave it out.

Serotonin is the neurotransmitter targeted by most anti-depressants, but considering up to 50% of people don’t respond to these anti-depressants, I wouldn’t be quick to claim serotonin is the “happiness” neurotransmitter. That said, if you’re on anti-depressants or taking any MAOIs, don’t try to supplement with any extra serotonin, and nobody should take huge doses of serotonin supplements (or any other supplements) as it can lead to serotonin syndrome.

The reason sugar leads to a serotonin buzz is because the insulin released from consuming sugar sweeps most other amino acids out of the blood stream, but leaves behind tryptophan. Tryptophan then makes its way to the brain unimpeded by other amino acids, where it is first converted in 5-HTP, and then into 5-HT, or serotonin.

While you can supplement with 5-HTP, I suggest you don’t as there is concern about it affecting the heart, and instead simply eat more carbs or supplement with tryptophan.

Acetylcholine – While being a very important neurotransmitter, acetylcholine doesn’t have much of a “feeling” or affect your mood. It is extremely important for memory and learning, however, and may be involved in creativity.

This is the neurotransmitter you want to focus on if you have a lot of studying to do, if you’re trying to learn something quick, or if you just have bad memory. Many people who use nootropics, or cognitive enhancers, have at least one supplement that tries to increase levels of acetylcholine within the brain.

To increase acetylcholine, you can simply consume more choline – the best food sources are liver (just eat it), eggs, grass-fed milk and cheese products, peanuts and cruciferous veggies. You can also supplement with choline – Alpha GPC is a highly bioavailable source of choline, or you can use Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR), which can increase levels of acetylcholine by donating its acetyl group. ALCAR has a whole host of other benefits as well, including being a potent neural antioxidant, helping the mitochondria to burn fat for energy, and is a strong cognitive enhancer in its own right.

In conclusion, many people are unaware that you can tweak your biochemistry to get an edge in life, or just to help you unwind or handle stressful events calmly. This knowledge can make a huge difference in your life and your ability to get things done.

Supplements Everyone Can Benefit From, Pt. 2

In case you missed it, here’s the first post.

In a perfect world we wouldn’t need to consume supplements – everything would taste like pizza while being super healthy. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Omega 3s – Control inflammation, improve joint function, lower weight, improve heart health, ward off depression and improve the quality of your skin

It’s starting to seem very likely that the root cause of modern day chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, depression, Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and more, is inflammation.

Inflammation is an important and beneficial process within the human body, helping to heal the body from infection, wounds and other sorts of damage. This is all well and good unless the inflammatory process goes into overdrive, which is all too often the case in today’s world and largely due to overconsumption of Omega-6 fatty acids and consuming too few Omega 3s.

As you can see from the image above, sources of Omega 6 fatty acids, mainly vegetable oils, lead to the production of pro-inflammatory compounds, an excess of which can start to wreak havoc on the body. GLA is an Omega 6 fatty acid that is actually anti-inflammatory (and very beneficial for the skin and hair), but be aware that GLA can be converted first to DGLA and then AA, which is pro-inflammatory, so don’t assume that simply supplementing with foods high in GLA is wholly beneficial. It’s important to note that most restaurants use corn and soy oils for frying and cooking, and that they’re also ubiquitous in processed, packaged food. Further, the majority of meat, eggs and dairy sold in stores and restaurants come from animals fed corn and soy products, so they too are high in Omega 6s. In short, Omega 6 fatty acids are everywhere.

Omega 3 fatty acids, on the other hand, are entirely anti-inflammatory. Some plants such as flax, walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds and dark leafy greens are good sources of ALA, which can further be converted into EPA, and then DHA. These all have anti-inflammatory effects.

Meat, dairy and eggs are pro-inflammatory if they are conventionally raised and fed corn and soy based foods – if they’re free-range and grass-fed, they have a much more natural balance of Omega 3s to 6s. Meat, eggs and dairy from grass-fed and pasture-raised animals still contain the inflammatory Omega 6 Arachidonic Acid, but it is balanced out by Omega 3s.

And that’s what’s important – the proper balance between Omega 3s and 6s.

Change in Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratios over Time

Human Population	Ratio	Diet Features
Hunter-gatherers (400,000 to 45,000 years ago)	1:1	Wild plants, animals, and fish
Western cultures at onset of Industrial Revolution (150 years ago)	8.4:1	Greatly increased vegetable oils along with animals raised on cereal grains
Present-day Western cultures (70 years ago)	10.3:1	Increased fats, oils, vegetables, and nuts

Source: Kris-Etherton et al. 2000.

As you can see, our diet consisted of a (likely) 1:1 ratio of Omega 6s to 3s for the majority of our existence. Nowadays most people average 10 times as many pro-inflammatory Omega 6 fatty acids in their diet than anti-inflammatory Omega 3s, with some estimates as high as 15:1. Is it really any wonder why we’re seeing such widespread occurrences of inflammation-related diseases?

Omega 3s also improve cardiovascular health and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as ensuring proper nervous system and brain development in infants. There’s also quite a bit of evidence that Omega 3s improve depression, skin conditions and cognition in general.

In order to get back to a healthy balance of Omega 3s to 6s, simply cut out consumption of vegetable oils – check labels on food products for corn, soy, safflower, peanut, sunflower and grapeseed oils, as well as avoiding margarine, mayonnaise and almost every salad dressing out there. Make your own mayonnaise, and use olive oil as the base for your homemade salad dressings. You’d do well to remember that most restaurants cook with these cheap vegetable oils to cut costs and also use them in salad dressings – the occasional serving of french fries won’t kill ya, but it’s something to keep in mind.

At the same time, increase consumption of Omega 3s coming from cold water fatty fish – mackerel, tuna, salmon, sardines and cod – and from plant sources such as hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts and leafy greens. As I noted in my post for Vegans and Vegetarians, the plant-based Omega 3 ALA has quite the difficult time converting into DHA within the body, which is critical for proper brain development and warding off depression, so don’t rely on just plants for your Omega 3s. You can also choose to supplement (I do) with a quality cod liver or fish oil supplement, but make sure it’s high quality, is cold-temperature extracted and comes with antioxidants to protect the delicate Omega 3s. Barlean’s makes a fish oil “swirl” that is insanely delicious, and there’s also algae-based DHA is that is vegan friendly.

Iodine – Boost metabolism, improve thyroid function, ensure healthy fetal development, boost energy and motivation, detox at the cellular level and improve endocrine functioning

Iodine is definitely in my top 10 if not top 5 nutrients I wouldn’t want to be without.

Let me start by saying no, you are not getting adequate iodine from your table salt. The potassium iodide added to refined table salt does not come close to the amount needed by the human body, but is just barely enough to prevent goiter. Much of the iodine evaporates during storage, and what little is left when you do consume it has to compete for absorption with the chloride in sodium chloride, or table salt.

The Great Goblin from The Hobbit could use some iodine. — The Great Goblin from The Hobbit could use some iodine, look at that goiter..

Further, while we used to get some iodine from our food, there’s very little left in today’s over-farmed, nutrient-depleted soils, and thus in the foods we eat.

Iodine is necessary for the production of thyroid hormones. This is really bad news if you’re trying to lose weight and have ample amounts of energy, as the thyroid is the main gland in the endocrine system responsible for controlling metabolism. No iodine, no thyroid hormones.

Iodine is a type of molecule known as a halogen. Other halogens include fluoride and bromide, both of which interfere with the body’s absorption and utilization of iodine. Bromide is found in most breads and refined grain products, and fluoride is in the majority of the US’s water supply and in most toothpastes. These other halogens fit into the same receptors as iodine would, blocking it from doing it’s job. The good news is that consuming iodine-rich foods is an effective way, and some say only way, to detox excess fluoride and bromide.

According to this article, “Dr. Kenezy Gyula Korhaz states that iodine chelates heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium and aluminum and halogens such as fluoride and bromide, thus decreasing their iodine inhibiting effects, especially of the halogens.” Chelation is the process by which a molecule binds to a toxic substance and draws it out of the body.

Iodine is also pretty damn important for the brain and nervous system. The chapter Soils and Iodine Deficiency from the textbook Essentials of Medical Geology (exciting stuff huh?) states

However, while these two diseases are easily recognizable, perhaps the more insidious problem is that iodine deficiency impairs brain development in children even when there is no obvious physical effect. Many researchers have suggested that a relatively low degree of iodine deficiency during fetal development can result in a significant reduction of IQ in children. Indeed it has been suggested that iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation.

Clearly iodine is of prime importance, not just to fetuses (feti?) but to the neuronal health of everyone.

Iodine is also critical to proper dopamine production and utilization. I talk about dopamine quite a bit because it’s crucial for proper levels of motivation and experiencing pleasure, two things that at least I personally never want to be short on. As I already stated, iodine is essential for the production of thyroid hormones. If the thyroid isn’t producing enough of these thyroid hormones, the hypothalamus produces thyrotropin-releasing hormone, which in turn releases thyroid-stimulating hormone as well as prolactin. Prolactin is antagonistic to dopamine, and thus low iodine results in low dopamine, leaving you feeling unmotivated and getting very little pleasure out of life, even in the presence of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Interestingly, this is also the reason guys experience a “refractory period” after sex, and why it’s the best time to cuddle – cuz you’re high on prolactin.

The pineal gland is a tiny endocrine gland located at the base of the brain, shaped like a pine cone the size of a grain of rice. It produces melatonin, a hormone that helps you fall asleep, sets circadian rhythms, and is a powerful antioxidant that is anticancer and promotes neurogenesis. In short, the pineal gland, along with melatonin, are pretty important.

Unfortunately, your pineal gland is likely calcified.

The above is an image of the calcified pineal gland, in a two-day old, no less. The overconsumption of fluoride from water, toothpastes and mouthwashes causes it’s accumulation in the pineal gland. This impairs the pineal gland’s ability to set circadian rhythms and convert serotonin into melatonin. It’s even been found that a calcified pineal gland worsens one’s sense of direction. Again, the only way to detoxify the body from halogens such as fluoride is by consuming adequate amounts of iodine. Some Vitamin K2 will also probably help remove calcium deposits from the pineal gland, but this is just a hunch.

There’s one reliably good source of iodine – seaweeds. Hijiki, kelp, kombu, dulse, nori and others are concentrated sources of nutrients, especially iodine. I simply buy these Kelp flakes and shake them onto most of my meals – a quarter teaspoon provides plenty of iodine and you won’t taste a thing. Most wild-caught seafood also has a fair amount of iodine. Increase your consumption of iodine-rich foods slowly, as some can experience detox symptoms pretty quickly.

If you’re looking for fluoride free toothpaste, I use this brand, but you can also likely find different varieties at your local health food store.

Important note for those with thyroid disorders – if you’re going to be consuming iodine-rich foods, talk to your primary care physician first. Iodine will likely help but may interact with your thyroid medication.

By the way, the fluoride in your water and toothpaste is a waste-product of fertilizer companies, and likely doesn’t even protect your teeth from cavities.

“By recovering by-product fluosilicic acid from fertilizer manufacturing, water and air pollution are minimized, and water authorities have a low-cost source of fluoride available to them.” (Rebecca Hanmer, EPA, 1983)

Bone Broth – Heal your digestive system, improve your skin and hair, detox your liver, bolster your joints, improve your sleep, reduce inflammation, boost the immune system

More a food than supplement, bone broth is one of the best things you could spend time making and consuming. Bone broth is my very top pick for improving your skin and hair, for improving your digestive system, and improving the quality of your joints. On top of this, it boosts your immune system, detoxes your liver, improves sleep and reduces inflammation. Oh yeah, and it’s pretty damn tasty. All this from just boiling some bones in water.

Think that sounds gross? Remember that in France, no kitchen is considered complete with a pot of “stock”, or bone broth, quietly boiling in the corner. Have you had French cuisine? Delicious.

Bone broth is a “hydrophilic colloid” – a substance that attracts and holds different substances, in our case minerals and digestive juices. Because it attracts digestive juices and enzymes, it bolsters out digestive power, making meals easier to digest. It’s also chock full of minerals phosphorus, silicon, calcium and magnesium, in the exact ratios our bodies need, helping to build up our bone tissue.

Bone broth is also extremely rich in easy to absorb collagen, which has numerous benefits within the body. Most importantly, collagen helps to “seal and heal” the mucosal lining of our intestinal tract, a boon for people with Crohn’s disease, leaky gut syndrome as well as your average Joe. As you already know, a properly functioning gut is the foundation of vibrant health.

Collagen is a main component of connective tissues, such as skin, joints and hair. The reason an 18 year old girl has beautiful skin compared to an 80 year old woman is because the 18 year old still has healthy levels of collagen, which helps give skin lift. Why do Asian and French women have such beautiful skin? Both diets use a lot of bone broths or “stock”, which are the base for many of the sauces in these diets. Less collagen means skin is more prone to wrinkles, sagging and cellulite. Don’t want saggy skin, wrinkles or cellulite? Hope you’re consuming some source of collagen.

Collagen is extremely rich in two amino acids that are sorely lacking from the modern diet : glycine and proline. While proline’s main benefit is enhancing “youthful, non-sagging skin”, glycine is necessary for the production of glutathione, our body’s “master antioxidant”. Glutathione

is a powerful antioxidant
has the ability to regenerate other antioxidants – after an antioxidant gets used, it becomes inert, or worse, an oxidant itself
helps to detoxify the liver and kidneys
reduces “photo-aging” of the skin, and reduces build up of melanin
boosts the immune system
helps prevent cancer
attracts and eliminates toxins from the body

Glycine itself helps to detoxify the liver, improves sleep and anxiety, enhances the secretion of digestive juices, helps heal wounds, and is necessary for the synthesis of DNA and RNA.

Bone broth is replete with joint repair substances as well, namely glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). You may know a few of these by name – glucosamine and chondroitan. These are sold in pill form to help relieve pain in the joints of those with rheumatoid arthritis. Another is hyaluronic acid, a popular ingredient in facial creams and skin care products. Hyaluronic acid is one of the best ways to give skin extra lift and smoothness, as well as to help it retain moisture.

Best of all, bone broth is simple to make. Go to your local co-op or health food store and ask the meat department if they have any soup or marrow bones. You can also throw in knuckle and neck bones, as well as chicken feet (wash ’em first) as they’re extremely rich in gelatin. Buy a few pounds of bones and throw them in the crockpot with some water and a tablespoon or two of vinegar, letting them simmer one day for chicken bones or two days for beef bones. At the last hour you can add onions, carrots and celery to give the broth some extra flavor, and then just strain and enjoy.

It may gel up when you put it in the fridge – this is normal and actually a good sign that a lot of collagen has dissolved into the broth.

You can use bone broth as the base for soups, you can drink it with a little salt and pepper (works great for people who do intermittent fasting), or you can boil some of it down to make a delicious reduction. Have a little before or with meals to aid in digestion.

You can buy collagen from grass fed sources, glucosamine and chondroitan, as well as hyaluronic acid, but why spend all that money? Bone broth will cost you $10 tops, and is mighty tasty.

Tapas and Embracing the Uncomfortable – Keys to Success

There’s no doubt about it, I’ve lived a pretty comfortable life so far. That’s great for a little bit of personal enjoyment, but you know what it isn’t so great for? Moving up in life. Why strive for greatness, risk losing things and do a whole lot of work along the way (in short, get uncomfortable), when I can just comfortably stay where I’m at?

Turns out I needed to embrace the uncomfortable – I needed to roll my sleeves up and dive head first into discomfort. The truth is we’ll never really get anywhere unless we embrace the uncomfortable, unless we actively seek out discomfort.

The Stoics of ancient Greece, the Yogis of ancient (and modern) India and many others along the way welcomed discomfort into their lives, because they knew that if they weren’t experiencing some level of discomfort, they were likely stalling, not making progress in life, and wiring their brains to play it safe.

You aren’t making progress if you aren’t getting uncomfortable.

In fact the Yogis have a word for this very concept – Tapas. Tapas is one of the Niyamas, or Observances, needed in order to transcend the ego, which is the actual goal of Yoga. Tapas is the heat or fire needed to burn away the dross that covers and dulls the mind – examples of Tapas could include meditation, fasting, vows of silence, asceticism or even sexual abstinence. The physical postures, or asanas, are a form of Tapas as well.

When I first got into Yoga I was very drawn to Tapas, and in the course of about a month went from being lazy and hedonic to drastically cutting back on everyday pleasures. I went long periods without using social media, stopped aimlessly browsing the web, starting eating simple, plain food, fasted every Monday, and essentially cut out all “time wasters”. At the same time I read plenty of books on a variety of subjects (no fiction though) and did yoga and meditated daily. And by God if I didn’t notice the biggest increase in clarity of thought, calmness of emotion and a huge boost in productivity.

The reason I bring all this up is to help you realize that in order for you to reach your goals, whether it’s losing weight or making your first million dollars, you have to be willing to put in the time, work and effort and be uncomfortable.

Want to lose weight? You’re likely going to have to give up a few comfort foods, start eating new foods you’re not used to, start exercising with more intensity and regularity, etc. The good news is that not only will you start losing weight, but you’ll start adapting to these new discomforts – at which point you’ll have to adjust your regimen so as not to plateau.

I recommend getting uncomfortable every day – train yourself to embrace discomfort.

Maybe you fast on Mondays. Start your morning off with a cold shower. Pick up meditation and meditate 15-30 minutes each day. Do a hundred pushups every Tuesday. I highly recommend fasting from social media for one day once a week, or a few days in a row each month.

Do this toughness training along with the discomfort that comes with aspiring to achieve your goals. This way, when the going gets tough and you need to buckle down for the big storm, you’ll pass with flying colors because you’ve been preparing this whole time.

Train your brain to accept and welcome the uncomfortable, and recognize it as a sign of growth, progress and enhanced resiliency. Neurons that fire together wire together, so make sure your neurons are wired to embrace the uncomfortable.

Leave a comment below and tell me about how you’ve had to embrace the uncomfortable in the past to get where you are now.

Fear and Failure

When was the last time you did something that scared you? It could be anything – confronting someone at work, letting go of something important in your life, skydiving or swimming with sharks.. When was the last time you embraced fear?

Fear obviously serves a very important purpose, namely keeping us alive. If we didn’t have a little bit of appropriate fear, be it of heights, wild animals with huge fangs or even of social faux pas (being ostracized from a tribe often meant death), the human race wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have.

Fear not, the creepy crawlies – just kidding, this thing’s disgusting

But what happens when we succumb to the little fears? The fears that are holding us back in our life, that keep us from reaching ever new heights? These are the fears that must be embraced and overcome if you’re going to truly thrive in this world, and almost all of them can be boiled down to just three things – fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and fear of success.

Fear of the Unknown has obvious implications – just what is in that deep, dark forest? Lions, tigers, maybe bears?

We fear the unknown simply because we don’t know whether it’s dangerous or not. However, most of our fears in the modern world in regards to the “unknown” aren’t life threatening or even any sort of substantial gamble. That new job you’ve been offered? It might be awesome, or maybe it will suck, but it’s not gonna kill you and you’ll likely bounce right back if things don’t work out.

Fear of the unknown stems from being too attached to comfort. The antidote? Get comfortable shaking things up, get comfortable being uncomfortable – actively seek out the unknown every day, or at least a few times a week. Go ahead and start small – strike up a conversation with people you don’t know, explore new hiking trails, try Ethiopian food or a new cuisine that is radically different from what you’re used to. Take bigger bites as time goes on – travel to a new city, a new country, move to a new state, take up a new job doing something radically different, or anything that fully submerges you in the unknown.

Summed up – Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Once you embrace the unknown, it loses it’s power over you.

Fear of failure is probably the most prevalent type of fear in today’s world. Who hasn’t felt that tinge of panic when attempting something you’re not sure will work? I’ve got news for you, it’s time to embrace failure.

The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. – Stephen McCranie

Nothing great ever came from comfort zones! No progress is ever made without some discomfort, so go out there and get uncomfortable! You’ll succeed more than you thought you would, and each time you don’t is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes.

You have to reframe failure as a positive thing, or maybe even erase the word failure from your lexicon. Reframe “failure” as such – each time you attempt something and get a different result than you expected (which most would call failure), you recognize that something simply needs tweaking in your methodology. Become a scientist and think of things as an experiment – they don’t get their feathers ruffled when their experiment gives them a result different than expected, so why should you?

Further, failure is a sign of progress. How many times did you fail before you took your first step? How many times did you fail learning to ride a bike, or hit a baseball, or learning your multiplication tables? My sevens still get me.

“Failure” is simply a sign that you’re getting closer and closer to success.

One of the first tricks you learn on a skateboard is a kickflip, and it took me easily a full year to land my first kickflip. That’s a whole year of trying one trick every day and messing up again and again and again. But if I gave up I never would have found one of my first true passions, had a chance to film in videos, compete in contests or get an all-expense-paid trip to San Diego to compete in an Amateur world finals competition.

0M1vvDK8qh_1402473201070 — The Man, Elon Musk

Summed up – Reframe failure as evidence that you’re getting closer and closer to success. You’re simply a scientist, and each time you get results different than expected, just tweak your methods.

On the flip side of fear of failure is fear of success. Fear of success is insidious because it’s so hard to spot – we think we want success and think we’re doing all we can to achieve it, when in actuality we’re still stuck in our comfort zones. With success comes change, and so fear of success has an element of fear of the unknown in it as well.

Success may also contradict a deep held belief of yours – that you don’t deserve anything good. How so many of us got this belief in the first place is beyond me, but it’s very common.

Long story short, figure out what you want, plan out how to get it, and take action. Every so often take a step back and ask yourself if you’re really doing everything you can to achieve your goals, and figure out what your weak spots and sticking points are.

Summed up – Believe, deep down, that you deserve the best. Figure out what you want, plan out a course of action, attack, and constantly assess and tweak. As Tai Lopez would say, finding and consulting with mentors doesn’t hurt either.

The bottom line is to train your brain to embrace discomfort, to embrace fear, and to reframe failure as a positive thing. Remember, neurons that fire together wire together – the more you feel that twinge of fear and back down, the stronger those neural connections will be in your brain, and the more likely you’ll back down in the future. Rewire your brain to embrace fear and move through it, and watch as it loses all it’s power.

Now go get uncomfortable.

Supplements Everyone Can Benefit From, Pt. 1

A lot of people think that given today’s nutritionally poor food, combined with mineral depleted soils, that it isn’t possible to meet all of your nutritional needs through food alone. The truth is that we most certainly can get all the nutrients we need in our diet, but you have to be willing to go out of your way to consume plenty of seafood, seaweeds, dark leafy greens, organ meats and fermented foods – things that in America and many parts of the western world aren’t exactly common place.

Luckily we live in a time and place where we can easily buy a few supplements to fill in the gaps. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should eat foods that completely lack nutrition – one should still maintain a healthy diet, exercise regimen and practice stress reduction if you want to look and feel great.

So without further ado, here are a few supplements almost everyone should be taking.

Vitamin D – Boost immune function, improve cognition, improve hormonal status and bone health, fight off depression

Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, but an important hormone that has a plethora of uses within the body – it helps the body absorb and utilize calcium, magnesium and zinc, boosts the immune system, and affects more than 2000 genes! This means that if you aren’t getting adequate Vitamin D, you’re not functioning properly at the genetic level, which can lead to many problems down the road.

dna-genes-1405932776 — Your Genes on Vitamin D

Vitamin D is also an important neurosteroid, up-regulating amounts of Nerve Growth Factor within the brain and central nervous system, which helps to repair damaged neurons and even to grow new ones. This has implications for learning, memory and even depression, as there is a strong correlation between low levels of neurotrophic factors (of which NGF is but one) and depression. It’s estimated that 1 billion people are deficient in Vitamin D, and it seems to be that the lower the levels of Vitamin D, the worse the depression.

How much Vitamin D do we really need? Recent research is suggesting that the current RDA of Vitamin D – 600 IU for ages 1-70, and 800 IU for 70 and up – is far too low. It’s best to shoot for blood levels of around 50 ng/dl of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, something you’ll have to get your doctor to test for. Aim to ingest 2000 IUs of Vitamin D on days you aren’t getting sun exposure. I personally use this brand, as it gives well over a year’s supply and is mixed with the next supplement on the list, Vitamin K2. Vitamin D also needs to be balanced with Vitamin A – as I stated in my post for vegans and vegetarians, vegetables are unfortunately a poor source of true Vitamin A, so if you aren’t willing to consume plenty of liver, cod liver oil, or eggs from pasture raised hens, I’d use this Vitamin A supplement if you aren’t vegan, and this one if you are, one pill every other day.

Bottom Line – Vitamin D may improve your mood, decrease the likelihood of you getting sick, improve the expression of positive genes while silencing ones that can cause disease, and even help you remain mentally sharp.

Vitamin K2 – Essential for Bone Health, Prevention of Calcium Deposits in Soft Tissues and Improving Hormone Status

Vitamin K1 is ample in the diet, and most people know that it plays an important role in blood clotting. Few people have heard about Vitamin K2 however, and it’s much harder to come by in the diet, only being present in fermented foods or foods coming from grass fed animals.

Vitamin K2 is a critical factor in the process of calcium utilization – more precisely, it makes sure that the calcium you do consume goes where it’s supposed to – mainly in the bones, and not in the arteries, kidneys (kidney stones) or other organs.

Therefore Vitamin K2 is crucial in preventing atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries. Studies have shown an inverse relationship between Vitamin K2 levels and atherosclerosis. It may further prevent cancer, improves insulin sensitivity, and improve prostate health.

As stated earlier, Vitamin K2 is solely a product of fermentation – without bacteria, there would be no K2. The best source is a Japanese dish called natto, a rather stinky smelling food made out of fermented soybeans.

Other sources include certain aged cheeses from grass fed animals, especially gouda, as well as other dairy products from grass fed animals, especially fermented ones such as yogurt, lassi and kefir, eggs from free ranging hens, and organ meats from healthy, free range animals. All of the K2 present in these animal foods are produced by the healthy bacteria in the animals’ guts, which finally make their way into the organs, eggs, meat and milk of the animal. Most fermented vegetable dishes contain K2 as well – sauerkraut, kim chi, unpasteurized pickles and miso should all have some K2, and be sure to consume them with some fat as K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin.

Don’t like fermented foods? You should really work on developing your palate, but in the mean time don’t hesitate to use the Vitamin D/K2 supplement listed above – I make sure to consume plenty of fermented foods but choose to supplement as well. Scientists are still debating how much K2 we should be getting, but a good recommendation is anywhere from 200 to 1,000 micrograms a day – two drops of the Thorne Vitamin D/K2 supplement is 200 micrograms.

Bottom Line – Vitamin K2 helps prevent osteoporosis, prevents atherosclerosis, improves insulin sensitivity and may even improve prostate health

Magnesium – Important for Bone Mineralization, a Healthy Relaxation Response, Improved Hormonal Status and Improves Drive and Motivation

Ahh, magnesium.. Easily one of most crucial minerals to get, yet so few of us are – only 25% or so of Americans are getting adequate amounts of magnesium.

“Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in your body. It affects everything from your heartbeat to your muscles to your hormones,” – Dr. Danine Fruge, Associate Medical Director at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida.

Feeling stressed? Rundown? Are you overweight? Achey, especially after workouts? Do you have restless leg syndrome, or worry about osteoporosis? Having difficulty focusing or staying motivated? You may be one of many who are deficient in magnesium.

Magnesium is another critical nutrient for bone health – magnesium is required to activate Vitamin D into its active form, to allow calcium to find it’s way to the bones. In fact magnesium is required for all of the enzymes involved in Vitamin D metabolism.

Feeling stressed? “Mg deficiency, even when mild, increases susceptibility to various types of neurologic and psychological stressors in rodents, healthy human subjects and diverse groups of patients. Repletion of deficiency reverses this increased stress sensitivity, and pharmacologic loading of Mg salts orally or parenterally induces resistance to neuropsychologic stressors.” In English, this means having adequate levels of magnesium buffers you to feelings of stress. Magnesium is crucial to the relaxation response, helping your muscles and nervous system to relax.

Magnesium has been shown to increase learning and memory, especially the form Magnesium-L-Threonate.

Turns out that dopamine, that wonderful little neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation and feeling pleasure, is a magnesium-dependent molecule :

“Dopamine has been called the ‘pleasure neurotransmitter’ and evidence shows that dopamine is a magnesium-dependent neurotransmitter. It is possible that low levels of magnesium trigger low levels in dopamine in the brain.”

Magnesium also improves hormone status, at least in middle aged men. This study concludes :

In a cohort of older men, magnesium levels are strongly and independently associated with the anabolic hormones testosterone and IGF-1.

This is great news, as we’ve seen national levels of testosterone plummet, likely due to xenoestrogens in the environment, and is also beneficial because these hormones decline with age. Please note that magnesium supplementation brought these hormones back into a healthy range. Magnesium is not a steroid and won’t make any of you ladies grow a beard.

Soda, caffeine, alcohol, refined grains and sugary foods, as well as stress, intense exercise and sweating all increase the need for magnesium.

The Recommended Daily Amount is around 400 mg, but remember, you may need more depending on how much you exercise, how stressed you are or how poor your diet is.

Magnesium is found most abundantly in pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and raw cacao, bone broth and dark leafy green vegetables. At the center of every molecule of chlorophyl in plants is a magnesium ion, so the greener the plant, the more magnesium-rich it is.

It can still be difficult to ingest adequate amounts daily, especially if you’re stressed or exercising regularly, and for this reason it’s wise to supplement with magnesium in addition to eating magnesium-rich foods. Magnesium citrate is a great choice that is cheap and has the added benefit of helping improve digestion. Two rounded teaspoons is just short of 400 mg – I’d suggest consuming two teaspoons in times of stress or if you don’t have a healthy diet, or one teaspoon if you eat plenty of magnesium rich foods.

Bottom Line – Magnesium improves bone health, reduces stress, calms the brain and improves alertness, improves the functioning of the motivation and pleasure molecule dopamine, improves hormonal status, can help with constipation and may even improve learning and memory.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list of supplements everyone should probably be using, leave a comment if you have any questions, and contact me to learn more about how to fit all this together and taking it to the next level.

Adaptogens, Pt. 2

In case you missed it, here’s Pt. 1, which covered Panax Ginseng, Ashwagandha and Tulsi. This post on Jing also talks about the adaptogenic properties of Cordyceps, Rehmannia and Deer antler extract, and I wrote a whole post on one of the best yet least known adaptogens Shilajit as well.

As a brief rehash, an adaptogen is any substance that delays fatigue, helping you adapt to the stressors of every day life. This is different than say, caffeine, which puts your body into overdrive followed by a crash, and is actually draining on the body. Adaptogens almost always boost the immune system, increase libido and fertility, and are homeostatic, meaning they bring the body back into balance.

Adaptogens make the difference between coming home at the end of the day feeling exhausted and vegging in front of Netflix, and coming home at the end of the day and still having the energy to work out, go out or do whatever it is you actually want to be doing.

Rhodiola Rosea – Great for energy and depression

Rhodiola is a root that comes from the arctic and higher altitude regions. It was one of the Soviet Union’s secret weapons, being doled out to athletes in the olympics as well as cosmonauts in the great Space Race. It is probably the best anti-fatigue substance I’ve come across, and the science seems to agree. A good rhodiola extract results in insane workouts and longer runs, even more so if combined with cordyceps.

This meta-analysis, or a study of multiple studies, showed that rhodiola was associated with improvements in cognitive fatigue, reductions in processing errors, enhanced attention span, enhanced reaction time and improved general well-being.

Rhodiola is neuroprotective, anti-depressive, and improves time to exhaustion in cycling tests.

I highly recommend anyone dealing with fatigue or looking for a boost try out some quality Rhodiola. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for with Rhodiola – I’ve had some extracts that did almost nothing, while others turned me into the energizer bunny. Gaia herbs always makes good extracts, and their Rhodiola is quality, as is Jarrow’s Rhodiola extract. Rhodiola Recharge is another great product, containing a fair amount of standardized Rhodiola extract, as well as other adaptogens like Ashwagandha, and even some L-Tyrosine to help power you through the day.

Chyawanprash – Great as a general tonic, digestive aid and longevity promoter

A staple in Ayurveda, Chyawanprash is a jam made out of anywhere from 20-80 different adaptogenic/medicinal substances, and it tastes way better than it sounds.

As the legend goes in the ancient texts of India, two physicians to the Devas, or gods, specially prepared a jam for the elderly sage Chyawan who was growing weak with age as a means to rejuvenate him. The earliest written recipe for Chyawanprash is found in the Charaka Samhita, one of the first texts on the science of Ayurveda, dating back to 900 BCE.

The main ingredient in Chyawanprash is the Amla berry, which is extremely high in vitamin C and is believed to prolong life, enhance memory and generally tone the body. Other ingredients include ashwagandha (boosts memory, enhances fertility and relieves stress), arjuna (one of the single best tonic herbs for the heart), bacopa (a well known medhya-rasayana, or mind tonic, improving memory and protecting neurons) ginger (anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, improves digestion), black pepper (enhances the absorption of other herbs), honey, shatavari (an excellent herb for women), ghee (clarified butter, which is said to be extremely Sattvic, promoting peace and happiness), tribulus (great for fertility and hormonal balance), and sometimes saffron (decreases appetite and wards off depression). The benefits of consuming such a wide variety of medicinal and tonic herbs over a long period of time, even in such small amounts, are innumerable.

Chyawanprash is widely used throughout India – most people typically consume a tablespoon twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening – it’s almost their equivalent of a multivitamin. Many children have toast with Chyawanprash for breakfast, or dissolved in some warm milk. The Himalayan Institute has a good variety of Chyawanprash, as do Dabur and Organic India.

Astragalus – Great for Energy, Immunity and Anti-Aging

Astragalus is the immune boosting herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s also one of the most common Qi, or energy, boosting herbs within TCM, as it is inexpensive, effective and mild enough to be used by everyone – it’s a favorite amongst martial artists, athletes, Qi Gong practitioners as well as everyday folk as a means to keep energy levels up and illness at bay.

While many adaptogens have immune boosting or regulating effects, Astragalus is a step above most. Astragalus is also the source of a compound called cycloastragenol, which has been found to increase the length of telomeres. Telomeres are essentially end-caps on sequences of DNA – each time our cells replicate, our telomeres shorten, and they can also be shortened by stress, toxins and oxidative stress. When the telomeres get too short, the cell can no longer divide, and thus has reached its last limb. Those with longer telomeres get sick less often, are more robust and generally live longer than those with shortened telomeres, and thus Astragalus and cycloastragenol are at the forefront of some current anti-aging strategies.

Because Astragalus is so common and easy to grow, it’s one of the cheaper adaptogens. Try Gaia’s extract or Jing Herb’s extract, which is concentrated to be 10 times stronger than just the plain herb.

In summary, it’s safe to say that I will continue to use adaptogens on a daily basis. They help me get through long work hours with energy to spare for friends and workouts – try some out and see what they can do for you.

Interested in other ways to increase your energy, decrease your stress, and lose some weight? Contact me.

Fats – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

Alright folks, this one’s a doozy, but I figured I’d put everything in one spot instead of spreading these articles out. Pour yourself a drink and get comfortable.

Interesting things happen in the field of nutrition. It’s really one of the few fields where people can be certified experts and say completely opposite things, and then back these opposing views up with clinical studies that show contradictory results.

Nothing in the health and nutrition world has been more controversial and more vilified than dietary fats – some claim they clog your heart, leading to cardiovascular disease and heart attacks; some claim that extracted plant and vegetable oils are better for you than saturated fats, especially saturated fats from animals; people believe that margarine is better for you than butter; and of course, almost everyone thinks that dietary fats make you fat. Personally, I’ve seen quite a bit of evidence that contradicts every statement above.

The big fat debate started in 1956 with a guy named Ancel Keys, and his Seven Countries Study. As the first international epidemiological study, it “systematically examined the relationships between lifestyle, diet, coronary heart disease and stroke in different populations from different regions of the world.”

So what were the results? This was the graph as it was first published in Time Magazine :

As you can see, as the total amount of fat consumed goes up, it appears that mortality rates go up as well. This was the image and the information that started the entire cascade of events that led to fats and cholesterol being demonized, that led to low-fat diet crazes, and that led to the widespread overprescribing of statins.

However, here’s the original, unpublished plot graph showing the results of the full twenty-two countries he studied :

As you can see, this graph paints a very different picture.

For example, compare Mexico and Israel, numbers 14 and 11 respectively, on the graph. They consume almost the exact same percentage of total calories as fat, yet Mexico ranks lowest for deaths while Israel is in the top 6.

Look at Sweden, Denmark and Norway (19, 6, 17) as well – they consume just as much fat as Americans, yet rank relatively low in the amount of deaths caused by arteriosclerosis and degenerative heart disease.

The truth is, Ancel Keys cherry-picked his data to make it seem as if the more fat you consumed, the more likely you were to die of heart disease.

This is the unfortunate truth about science and the media – the facts can be distorted and the media will run wild with whatever findings prove to be “sensational”.

Turns out, fats are absolutely essential for good health – they are a major component of the membranes of your body’s 37 trillion cells; they are a major component of the myelin sheaths that coat your nerves; fat makes up roughly 60% of your brain by weight; certain fats boost metabolism while others reduce hunger, and some fats reduce inflammation and make you smarter. The truth is you would die pretty quickly if you didn’t consume dietary fats.

Then again, not all fats are created equal. So what exactly is the truth about consuming dietary fats?

Wont Eating Fat Make Me Fat?

To put it bluntly, no. Trans fats as well as rancid omega 6 fatty acids do contribute to the development of diabetes and obesity, but healthier fats will not make you fat.

In fact, it’s becoming more and more evident that increased fat consumption in place of carbohydrates does wonders for weight loss.

A high-fat diet up-regulates the enzymes responsible for burning body fat not only during exercise, but at rest as well. This means your body will be burning stored body fat as you sit and watch t.v.

Consumption of longer chain fatty acids results in the inhibition of the release of ghrelin, the “hunger hormone”, as well as an increased release of CCK, a hunger-suppressing peptide. In short, consuming fat curbs hunger and makes you feel full.

By keeping carbohydrate intake low, insulin levels remain low. This is crucial for weight loss because fat will not be released from fatty acids while insulin is circulating in the bloodstream. By keeping insulin levels very low for extended periods of time, the body enters a state known as ketosis, where it is burning extremely high amounts of fat for energy. How is ketosis achieved? By a diet low in carbohydrates, moderate to low in protein, and high in fat.

Read Ben Greenfield’s two articles on how he became “fat adapted”, allowing his body to burn body fat as fuel during intense exercise, by keeping carbs low and consuming lots of healthy fats. Part 1 here, Part 2 here.

Types of Fat and Why Certain Ones Suck

Let’s start with naming the main types of fats we encounter in our diet – saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. We’ll start with the most demonized of the bunch, saturated fats.

Most everyone has at least heard about saturated fats. These can come from both plants and animals and are so named because the fatty acid molecule is saturated at all points with hydrogen atoms. These hydrogen atoms are able to act as a buffer to light and heat, which have the ability to oxidize the fatty acid, turning it rancid and thus unhealthy. More on this in the polyunsaturated fat section.

Examples of saturated fats include those coming from most cuts of animal meat and wild game, from milk sources, eggs, human breast milk, coconut oil, nuts and from fish, but it’s important to note that none of these sources are 100% saturated fat.

Saturated fat has been made out to be the bad guy, when in reality they’re actually very important to your overall health. A new meta-analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that there was no relationship between consuming saturated fats and increased incidence of heart disease or heart attacks. “My take on this would be that it’s not saturated fat that we should worry about” said Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, the lead author of the study.

New research published in the journal PLOS ONE shows that doubling or even tripling dietary saturated fat intake does not drive up total levels of saturated fat in the blood, while consuming extra carbohydrates will.

Again, one need only look at the actual results of Ancel Keys’ study above, or at the diet of the traditional Inuit or the Masai in Africa or the Tokelau, all of whom consume very large amounts of saturated fat in their diets all while having much better cardiovascular health than Americans, to understand that simply blaming saturated fats is not the way to go.

As you can see from the following graph, there is an inverse relationship between high saturated fat intake and mortality rate from heart disease – as saturated fat intake increases, risk of death from heart disease decreases.

Further, saturated fats are essential to a wide variety of bodily functions.

Roughly half of the membrane of each one of our 37 trillion cells are comprised of saturated fats;
Saturated fats help white blood cells to recognize and respond to invading viruses and bacteria;
Saturated fats help to prevent and reverse fatty liver disease, as does choline, which is naturally found in fatty foods like liver, meats, eggs, nuts and seeds;
The majority of the brain is made up of cholesterol and fat, with the most of the fat being saturated – the less saturated fat and cholesterol you consume, the less building blocks for your brain;
Because saturated fats are longer fatty acids and take longer to be broken down, they aid in satiety, making you feel more full for longer periods of time, and providing a steady release of energy;
Stearic and palmitic acid are two saturated fatty acids that are found in high concentrations around the heart, and are used by the heart as a fuel source in times of stress

Clearly, saturated fats are not the devil they were made out to be. In fact, there’s very little evidence that saturated fats actually do any harm.

Let’s finish this section out with a little common sense. When a person eats too much sugar and gains weight, their body is converting that sugar into fat. What kind of fat? Saturated fat. Why would your body convert sugar into a toxic substance? Why would the average amount of fat in human breast milk be more than 50% saturated fat, if saturated fat is bad for you? Why is the heart surrounded by two saturated fatty acids, stearic and palmitic acid, which it relies on for energy in times of stress, if saturated fat is bad for you?

Monounsaturated Fats

As the name implies, monounsaturated fats have one point on the fatty acid that isn’t saturated with hydrogen.

This means monounsaturated fats are still fairly stable and most can be cold-extracted, but they’re not ideal to cook with. Examples of monounsaturated fats include olive and avocado oil.

These fats have been touted as being very heart-healthy, mainly because if you aim to increase consumption of monounsaturated fats, you’ll consume less saturated fats. But as we just discussed, saturated fat is not the problem. Monounsaturated fats from avocados and olive oil are no doubt a healthy fat, but they aren’t as essential to proper health as saturated fats are.

Polyunsaturated Fats

That leaves us with polyunsaturated fats, which have many points that aren’t saturated with hydrogen.

As discussed above, the saturation of a certain fatty acid with hydrogen is important for one big reason – once any extraction process begins, a fatty acids are exposed to light and heat. This light and heat can cause the fatty acid to turn rancid if it comes into contact with an unhydrogenated bond. This means that almost all polyunsaturated fats that have been extracted are oxidized, rancid and harmful to your health, and shouldn’t be consumed, heated or otherwise.

Let’s take a gander at the following image :

As you can see, it’s a very long process that involves solvents, heating, degumming, deodorizing and bleaching. Any food that needs deodorizing probably shouldn’t be consumed. Compare this to the steps to make butter – milk the cow, let the cream separate, skim off the cream, and finally stir the cream until it hardens.

Why are polyunsaturated fats harmful? Your body still tries to incorporate the damaged fatty acids into cell membranes, the myelin sheaths that cover and protect nerves, your brain (it is 60% fat after all) – everything the body uses fat for, it now is incorporating rancid fats into.

Further, vegetable oils are almost always extremely high in Omega 6 fatty acids. Humans need adequate amounts of both Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, as both are essential, but a balance of anywhere from 1:1 up to 1:4 Omega 3 to 6 ratio is healthy – anymore Omega 6s in the diet and the body begins to become overly inflamed, which is now believed to be at the heart of all modern day diseases – including heart disease. Again, you need both types, but the ratio needs to be less than 1:4 Omega 3 to 6. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about the Omega 3 to 6 ratio.

Oh yeah, and cellulite? A combination of rancid fatty acids and lack of collagen. Buy quality collagen here.

Monounsaturated fats typically fair well for extraction if they’ve been cold-pressed, but for the most part still shouldn’t be heated to high temperatures, as this causes them to oxidize at their one un-saturated point. That leaves us with good old saturated fat being, in almost all cases, the only type of fat to cook with.

Note – Remember, the above applies mainly to extracted oils. Let’s take corn for example – it’s loaded with polyunsaturated fats. This means corn oil is a big no-no, but the polyunsaturated fats found in whole corn are largely safe as long as the corn isn’t over cooked, because the corn kernel comes with their own natural antioxidants to protect the oils. This also makes it important to buy high quality fish oils, ones that are extracted at low temperatures and blended with antioxidants to prevent rancidity. I recommend Carlson’s, Nordic Naturals or Greener Pastures.

So where do we encounter extracted polyunsaturated fats? All vegetable oils and vegetable oil products are concentrated rancid inflammatory Omega 6 laden fats – that tub that says “Vegetable Oil” in your cupboard is in reality a tub of rancid fat. The french fries and other fried foods you eat when you go out? Fried in rancid fats. The oils used to make almost every food product out there? Rancid vegetable oils. Even most beloved hummus products contain rancid vegetable oils instead of healthy olive oil.

Read ingredient labels – canola, soybean, corn, rapeseed, sunflower, safflower, peanut and grape seed oils should all be avoided. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Crisco, Pam, “Vegetable Oil” and any other fake butter products should all be tossed and avoided. The majority of salad dressings also use these rancid vegetable oils.

What does that leave us with in terms of healthy fats and oils to use? For cooking, I recommend sticking to grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, unrefined red palm oil, duck fat, and lard or tallow from from grass-fed, pastured animals. For salads, dressings and non-cooking needs, I always prefer a quality olive oil, but avocado and macadamia oils work just as nicely.

Cholesterol

There’s also cholesterol, which is a type of lipid molecule known as a sterol. Think it’s bad for you? Cholesterol is absolutely essential for

• the integrity of every cell’s membrane in your body;
• for the creation of bile salts so that your body is able to digest and absorb dietary fats along with fat-soluble vitamins;
• the direct precursor for your body to make vitamin D from sunlight;
• the precursor to sex hormones, steroid hormones and the hormones used to deal with everyday stresses;
• and is a potent antioxidant

Further, according to Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, elderly people with low cholesterol died twice as often as those with high cholesterol, from heart attacks!

If you consume less cholesterol from dietary sources, your liver will produce the amount needed by the body. Why would your body be producing something that supposedly clogs the arteries? Nature’s no dummy.

The Truth About High Cholesterol

Having high cholesterol is a warning sign that your body is under too much stress, inflammation or oxidation. The truth is that cholesterol is a major repair molecule within the body. The reason that doctors find cholesterol deposits in the arteries and heart is because it is there patching up damage done by excessive oxidation, excessive sugar intake, trans fat intake or damage caused by other stressors. If you go to the doctor and he tells you that you have high cholesterol, what he’s actually saying is that your body is in an over-inflammed and stressed out state, and is producing extra cholesterol to help mitigate some of the damage.

Let me reiterate that your body will produce its own cholesterol if it is not obtained from the diet, and the body would not produce something that would clog the arteries in the heart.

Trans-Fats

After Ancel Keys’ study came out and saturated fats and cholesterol became the most vilified fats of all, people in the Western world were confronted with a dilemma – what will I spread all over my toast and grease my pans with if butter and lard were out of the question?

Scientists finally came up with a solution. They took extracted oils from plants and added hydrogen bonds to them, which allowed these new Franken-fats to be stable at room temperature. Voila! Spreadable plant fats, known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats.

Only problem is these new fats are pretty much the worst thing you could ever consume, a main culprit leading to heart disease, increasing the likelihood of diabetes, and inhibiting the metabolism of other healthier fats.

In fact, the New England Journal of Medicine reported in a comprehensive review of trans fats that :

“On a per-calorie basis, trans fats appear to increase the risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] more than any other macronutrient, conferring a substantially increased risk at low levels of consumption (1 to 3% of total energy intake)”.

Let me repeat that – even at 1-3% of total calorie intake, there is a substantially increased risk of coronary heart disease. Talk about truth bombs..

Trans fats are found in things like shortening, Crisco, margarine, and many processed foods. Some restaurants still continue to deep fry with trans fats; for example, Popeye’s hash browns have a full 10 grams of trans fats. Needless to say, this is the one and only type of fat to avoid completely.

On labels, look for any ingredient that says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.

In Summary

Other than trans fats, don’t fear fat! It’s essential for many processes within the body, including creating hormones, improving the integrity of your cellular membranes, and as basic building blocks of the brain
Do your best to avoid consuming extracted vegetable oils or products made with them, as they are guaranteed to be rancid by the time you consume them.
Don’t fear saturated fats and cholesterol, they are not the enemy and are in fact quite essential to good health!
Saturated fats are the only type of fat that you should be cooking with
Monounsaturated fats are generally healthy as long as they’re cold pressed and properly extracted, but shouldn’t be cooked with
Try to keep your ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats as close as possible to 1:1 – more on this in a future post
Avoid trans fats like the plague!!

If you’re interested in….

which fats can make you smarter,
which fat you can use to enhance cognitive power and boost energy levels for a workout
a certain type of fatty acid which suppresses appetite, and another which helps you burn more body fat

As well as other lesser known tricks of the trade on how to lose weight, have less stress and be on top of your game both mentally and physically, contact me.

Shilajit – The Most Powerful Substance You’ve Never Heard Of

(photo cred : Super Man Herbs)

Looks delicious right? That right there is shilajit, a mineral pitch that oozes out of rocks in the Himalayas in the heat of summer. What actually is it? It’s thought to be an ancient ecosystem, a once-pristine forest that has been highly compressed and thoroughly decomposed during the formation of the Himalayan mountains.

Shilajit is one of the coolest substances in my eyes. As the story goes, thousands of years back in India, people noticed that monkeys would climb up to the rocks of the Himalayas in the summer time to consume a black, sticky tar that oozed out between the cracks. After consuming this gooey substance, the monkeys would be filled with energy, bouncing around like maniacs and making sweet, sweet monkey love.

Naturally, as is so apt to happen back in those days, the humans who saw this immediately became curious and decided to collect some and consume it themselves. Indeed, they too noticed an increase in energy, longer lifespans and the ever-sought after increase in libido. They named this strange new substance shilajit, literally “rock-invincible”, translated as “Conqueror of Mountains and Destroyer of Weakness”.

Within Ayurveda, India’s traditional system of health and medicine, shilajit is one of the most powerful known rasayanas, a substance which increases strength and is highly rejuvenating. It is said that there is no disease which shilajit cannot cure, and that it possesses a rare property known as yogavahi, meaning it helps make any other substance taken with it multitudes more effective.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s all just old wives’ tales,” I hear you thinking. Let’s delve into some facts about shilajit…

Let’s start with it’s claims of being a rasayana. According to Segen’s Medical Dictionary, a rasayana is “Any of a number of health-promoting regimens that a person uses regularly to maintain health and harmony, activate tissue repair and arrest or reverse the effects of aging.” Does shilajit fit the bill?

According to this study, “Shilajit is an important, known component of the ayurvedic medicine given its characteristics as a rasayana. In this context, health benefits such as an increase in longevity, rejuvenating, and arresting aging roles have been attributed to it.”

“The Sherpas [people who carry luggage for Westerners up Mt. Everest] claim to have shilajit as part of their diet; they constitute a population of strong men with very high levels of a healthy longevity. Our laboratory has found evidence on the high activity of the Andean form of shilajit in improving cognitive disorders and as a stimulant of cognitive activity in humans.”

So far so good. Shilajit has been found to be roughly 60% humic substances, a main component of which is fulvic acid. Humic substances are by-products of microorganisms’ decomposition of plant material and have profound health benefits. Unfortunately, ever since we humans switched from eating wild plants fresh from nature to growing our own crops, and especially with the widespread use of poor agricultural practices and over-sanitization of foodstuffs, modern humans are getting very little to no humic and fulvic acids.

Why are humic and fulvic acids so critical to health? Because “fulvic acid derived from humate usually contains 60 or more minerals and trace elements that are nutritionally essential for cell health and balance (including cell growth and replication)” They also help “transport minerals to living cells, catalyzing vitamins within cells, and metabolizing proteins, RNA, and DNA”. Fulvic acid also acts as a powerful organic electrolyte, antioxidant, and is a natural chelator, binding to and removing toxins from the body.

As this study states, “It is likely that the curative properties attributable to shilajit are provided by the significant levels of fulvic acids that shilajit contains, considering that fulvic acid is known by its strong antioxidant actions and likely has systemic effects.” Further, “considering the actions of fulvic acid in preventing tau self-aggregation into pathological filaments, this compound appears to be of interest for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.”

I think it’s safe to say shilajit definitely fits the bill of a rasayana.

Because of fulvic acid’s ability to increase the bioavailability of nutrients consumed with it, it makes perfect sense that it would possess the quality of yogavahi, the quality attributed to shilajit that increases the potency of medicines consumed with it. Amazingly the ancient yogis and Ayurvedic practitioners recognized this ability long before fulvic acids were discovered.

How does shilajit hold up as an “energizer”? Turns out that one of the substances within shilajit, dibenzo-a-pyrones (DBP) boosts energy production at the cellular level. Fulvic acids whisk away DBP right into your mitochondria, those hard working little power plants in your cells, increasing the availability of electrons to be used for energy. Further, fulvic acids themselves speed and facilitate the flow of electrons into your mitochondria. The result? More ATP, the “currency of life” your mitochondria use to fuel your every action. (sources)

BONUS BIO-HACK – The combination of Shilajit with CoQ-10 resulted in a 144% ATP production with the muscle cells of mice, and a full 56% increase in ATP (energy) within the brain.. Yowza. A two month supply of highly absorbable CoQ-10 + Shilajit is available from Amazon.

And libido? Researchers at the J. B. Roy State Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in India gave shilajit to infertile men. After 3 months at 200 mg a day, total sperm count increased by a whopping 61.4% and testosterone rose 23.5%. While this was with infertile men and not healthy specimens, I’d say it was a pretty effective treatment.

Shilajit is rich in a variety of other healing compounds, including “eldagic acid, some fatty acids, resins, latex, gums, albumins, triterpenes, sterols, aromatic carboxylic acids, 3,4-benzocoumarins, amino acids, polyphenols, and phenolic lipids”. To the layman, a cocktail of healing and energy-promoting substances. It’s also chockfull of trace minerals, all in ionic form and bound to fulvic acids, which means they’ll actually be absorbed, unlike some common mineral supplements.

Finally, shilajit has been found to have/be a, “antiulcerogenic properties; antioxidant properties; cognitive and memory enhancer; antidiabetic properties; anxiolytic [stress reducing]; antiallergic properties and immunomodulator; anti-inflammatory; analgesic [pain relieving]; antifungal properties; ability to interact positively with other drugs; protective properties in high altitudes; neuroprotective agent against cognitive disorders”.

How’s that sound to you? Pretty extensive list of benefits going on there, and all from one ancient and natural substance.

As with so many other things in life, you get what you pay for. Good deals can be found, but there are a ton of poor quality and even fake shilajits out there. The highest quality I’ve found so far is Lotus Blooming Herbs’ Shilajit – it’s $60 for just ten grams, but you only need a pea sized amount dissolved in water 1-3 times a day. Super Man Herbs carries a very nice shilajit as well, in both powder and pill forms, and I’ve also used Dragon Herbs’ Shilajit, which is reasonably priced and comes in pill form.

Overcoming Spring Allergies

Spring has come, and with it nice weather, lifted spirits, aaanndd… Allergies. Nothing like constant sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes to ruin this lovely season for you. Luckily there are some natural remedies so that you don’t have to suffer or use over-the-counter or prescription pills or shots.

The Digestive System, Inflammation and Allergies

Most people wouldn’t think to address the digestive system in order to fix a runny nose, but the truth is it’s the first thing you want to do. If you haven’t checked out my post on digestive health, do so now.

Why focus on the digestive system? Allergies are the immune system responding to irritants via inflammation, and your digestive tract is home to about 80% of your immune system. The digestive tract is also the site of the majority of inflammation Americans experience, due to gut irritants such as gluten, artificial colors and sweeteners, and foods such as soy and dairy.

The fix? Increasing fiber, dark leafy green veggies and doing a few fasts. The fiber helps to sweep out most of the undigested foodstuffs in the digestive tract that hang around and cause inflammation. Dark leafy greens are high in magnesium, which helps to relax the bowels, improving elimination. Fasting is the most powerful healing modality I know of, and is the quickest way to improve the digestive tract, especially when fresh vegetable juices are utilized. A fast helps to expel waste and gives the digestive tract a much need rest, as most people haven’t taken a break from eating since the day they were born. Read my post on digestive health for info on how to easily complete your first few fasts.

Consider supplementing with Omega 3s as well, as they’re highly anti-inflammatory and help to balance out our inordinate consumption of Omega 6 fatty acids, which increase inflammation.

Raw, Local Honey for Allergies

Raw local honey is another great option for allergies, especially after you’ve improved your digestive health. Raw local honey has small amounts of local pollen – these little bits of pollen get digested and interact with the immune system within the gut. The immune system then is given the chance to produce the necessary antibodies for the pollen, and when the pollen is encountered in the mucous membranes in the nose, antibodies will be released to manage the pollen.

You can also go straight to the source and buy local bee pollen as well – the bees go from flower to flower and pick up pollen from each one. This pollen is then collected into little pellets that can be consumed – not only do they improve your allergies, but they are one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, being extremely high in easy-to-absorb protein, almost all of the B-Vitamins, and are chock full of enzymes and minerals. Bee pollen is a favorite amongst athletes for the energy boost it provides, and is also nature’s richest source of rutin, which has the unique ability of softening blood vessels, helping to protect against atherosclerosis.

Just go to your local co-op, farmers market or apiary and buy yourself some local, raw honey or bee pollen, and consume a few teaspoons per day. Give your body about a month to see the full effects of this remedy.

Reishi Mushroom

Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma Lucidum) is an ancient and revered medicinal fungus that grows wild in many parts of the world. It is the number one healing substance in all of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it is affectionately known as the “Mushroom of Immortality”.

Reishi Mushroom

Reishi has numerous benefits – it’s anticancer, has powerful antioxidants, is liver-, heart-, lung-, brain- and kidney-protective, has immunoregulatory effects, is a powerful anti-inflammatory and even helps diabetes.

One study found that reishi exhibited powerful neutralizing effects on the allergies of guinea pigs – “These results suggest that GL [Ganoderma Lucidum] may be a useful therapeutic drug for treating patients with allergic rhinitis.” Allergic rhinitis is the technical term for common allergies.

Another found that the triterpenes in reishi mushroom are powerful natural anti-histamines, comparable to Claritin or Benadryl, common over the counter antihistamines.

When buying a reishi mushroom extract to combat allergies, it’s important to get one that has been extracted with alcohol, or that contains reishi spores – the triterpenes that are responsible for reishi’s antihistamine effects are only able to be extracted from the fibrous mushroom using alcohol, or can be obtained from reishi spores that have had their cell walls cracked to increase bioavailability.

Dragon Herbs has many nice reishi products – this is an excellent tincture made from wild reishi, which is naturally higher in healing phytochemicals than reishi grown in hothouses, where the majority of reishi supplements come from. This Jing Herbs product includes reishi spores and would make an excellent choice as well. While I personally buy almost exclusively from these two companies, I have no financial investment in them – I just recommend them most because frankly, they’re up to my high standards for quality.

Give these natural remedies a try! It’s a lot easier to just buy some local honey and a nice reishi extract than to always be reaching for more Claritin.

A Few Effective Hacks

I’ve mentioned in passing before that people use “bio-hacks” to stay ahead of the curve (or in my case, just stay on the curve). A bio-hack is anything that improves health and performance in a quick and easy, and often unconventional way. The term is adopted from the cyber community – just as a computer programer hacks into a computer program, we too can “hack” into our own biology. These practices range everywhere from using certain supplements, to brain training, either through games, devices or meditation, or even hooking yourself up to expensive technological devices to improve your cognitive performance.

Zapping your brain with a Transcranial Low Level Laser Therapy device..?

I must admit, some of these bio-hacks are a bit far out there, even for me. Between LLLT devices, which are said to improve the mitochondria in your brain by zapping them with infrared light, to tCDS, or transcranial direct stimulation devices, which literally apply electrical currents to your brain to strengthen neuronal connections, I currently neither have the funds nor the guts to try some of these, despite how effective the research makes them out to be. However, there are quite a few bio-hacks I do personally use, and while the cream of the crop are going to be saved for my one-on-one clients, I’m more than happy to share a few here with you.

Hack your focus with L-Theanine

L-Theanine is a rare amino-acid like compound found only in a few plants, most notably in green tea. Ever wonder why a cup of quality green tea has that wonderful calming and focusing effect? Yup, that’s L-Theanine at work.

L-Theanine reduces feelings of stress, boosts cognitive function, improves mood and even boosts brain levels of BDNF, a compound that helps protect and grow new brain cells. Further, researchers have yet to be able to determine a toxic dose (but please be reasonable).

L-Theanine has been proven to increase the brain’s alpha waves, which correlates to a state of relaxed alertness. This study states –

“L-theanine significantly increases activity in the alpha frequency band which indicates that it relaxes the mind without inducing drowsiness.” See? Told you so.

Further, L-Theanine and caffeine are a match made in heaven. Need to get some studying done? Need that brain focusing in peak condition, but also need to stay focused? Pairing L-Theanine with caffeine is the way to go – caffeine gives you the mental boost you need to plow through work, while L-Theanine negates the negative effects of caffeine, and increases your focus to keep you from constantly checking your Facebook and email. Most people recommend a 2:1 Theanine/Caffeine ratio, but I do better at a 1:1 ratio. Play around and see what works for you.

Start with just one of these pills per cup of coffee or whenever you’d like some relaxation, and play around until you find your sweet spot. You can also just drink green tea, with gyokuro and white tea being highest in L-Theanine.

Boost motivation and accelerate fat burning with Gynostemma and Green Tea

We all know what green tea is, and how it’s loaded with antioxidants, and you now know it’s got that lovely L-Theanine in it as well. But most people haven’t heard of Gynostemma Pentaphyllum, or jiaogulan in Chinese.

Gynostemma is a delicious adaptogenic tea hailing from southern China. Researchers stumbled upon it when they noticed a village that had an unusual amount of octogenarians who remained quite active and involved in the community. Upon further questioning the researchers discovered that almost everyone in the village regularly drinks a tea made from a plant they called “Miracle Grass”, or what we call Gynostemma.

Jiaogulan

Turns out Gynostemma is one hell of a plant. It has over 80 different saponins, the molecules that give it it’s adaptogenic properties, beating the previous record holder, ginseng, four times over. It’s immune-regulating, boosts energy, improves cellular function and delays fatigue.

But what I really like about it is that it improves your sensitivity to dopamine. Dopamine is that wonderful little neurotransmitter that everyone loves, released after a nice cup of coffee, during sex and when eating tasty food, the one involved in motivation and feelings of reward and pleasure. It’s important that you have ample amounts of dopamine and that your dopamine receptors are sensitive, or else you’ll be going through life unmotivated and without feeling much pleasure, a state known as anhedonia.

This is key in my eyes – if you want to be motivated enough to accomplish your goals, you need to have your dopaminergic system running in tip top shape. There’s a lot more to this topic than simply drinking gynostemma tea, so be on the lookout for upcoming posts or possibly even an ebook. I recommend Dragon Herbs’ Spring Dragon tea, or their Gynostemma capsules.

Gynostemma also improves insulin sensitivity, making it a great addition not only to diabetics but people in general, as improving insulin sensitivity also improves weight loss parameters. Green tea is also a fantastic choice for people looking to lose weight. Green tea is high in an antioxidant called EGCG. EGCG has a three-pronged effect on weight loss. First, it increases the rate at which stored body fat is released to be burned as energy. EGCG also sensitizes your muscles’ cells to insulin, while decreases your fat cell’s sensitivity to insulin. This means that the food you eat after a cup of green tea is more likely to be burned for energy in your muscles than stored away as fat. Finally, EGCG is actually able to destroy fat cells altogether. See, when a person loses weight, they don’t actually lose fat cells – those cells remain, they just release their stored fatty acids. If a person gains that weight back, those fat cells simply fill back up. EGCG is able to actually destroy those fat cells, something that is very rare in a natural compound.

If you want to maximize all these benefits, just combine gynostemma and green tea together and drink a few cups a day. You can also use a high quality matcha green tea, which contains significantly more EGCG than regular green teas.

Shade-grown, stone-ground, Theanine and EGCG rich Matcha

Hack your circadian rhythms with Melatonin and Full Spectrum Lights

Having a proper circadian rhythm is paramount to feeling and looking your best. Nothing is more rejuvenating than a full night’s rest, and it’s easy to see how much performance is affected when you either go to bed late or have to get up early. Nothing is as surefire to improve mood and energy levels as consistently as being well rested, so making sure you have this aspect of your life down is critical.

“Maintaining synchronized circadian rhythms is important to health and well-being,” says Dieter Kunz, director of the Sleep Research and Clinical Chronobiology Research Group at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin. “A growing body of evidence suggests that a desynchronization of circadian rhythms may play a role in various tumoral diseases, diabetes, obesity, and depression.”

Eeesh.

Naturally, there are ways to hack your circadian rhythm to get more bang for your buck. Start by avoiding blue light 2-3 hours before bedtime. Blue light is emitted from phones, tablets, laptops, computers and tvs, and has been found to suppress the release of melatonin within the brain. Melatonin is the circadian rhythm entraining hormone in the body, and is the main hormone involved in you falling asleep. As the meta-study linked above states “The blue wavelength suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green.”

While some bio-hackers like to wear red-tinted glasses to completely block out blue light in the evenings, I simply make sure to avoid phone, tv and computer light exposure as much as possible after sunset – granted, sometimes this is a futile effort. You can also download a free program on your computer and smart phone called f.lux, which will automatically tint your screen more and more red as the sun sets, naturally blocking out the blue light emitted from your devices.

A few nights a week I like to hit the hay early. Not only does this make me feel like a million bucks the next day and improve everything from my metabolism to optimizing my hormone levels, it helps to keep my circadian rhythm in balance. A few times a month, when I’m going to bed early, I’ll take 1 to 1.5 milligrams of melatonin, to “entrain” my circadian rhythm to falling asleep at that hour, usually around 9 or 10. When I take melatonin early at night, I’m basically telling my body, “Now is when you should naturally be falling asleep. This is when you should start releasing melatonin.” Melatonin is also great for jet lag or adjusting to a new timezone – just take it the first few nights to entrain your circadian rhythm to the new timezone.

Quick note – I do not recommend taking melatonin every night, or using big doses. This is a hormone after all, and it’s not to be taken lightly. Just how bodybuilders produce very little testosterone after using steroids, using too much melatonin for too long can shut down your body’s natural production of the hormone. Please keep this in mind.

In the mornings when I wake up, especially in the winter time, I’ll throw on my Verilux HappyLight to signal to my body that the night has ended and it’s time to start producing all the hormones I need to naturally wake up. Photorecptors in our eyes send signals to our hypothalamus that help to wake us up in the presence of bright, full spectrum light, whether from the sun or from a full spectrum bright light. Let’s allow Wikipedia to get real nerdy for us –

“They [Intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells] play a major role in synchronizing circadian rhythms to the 24-hour light/dark cycle, providing primarily length-of-day and length-of night information. They send light information via the retinohypothalamic tract directly to the circadian pacemaker of the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. The physiological properties of these ganglion cells match known properties of the daily light entrainment (synchronization) mechanism regulating circadian rhythms.”

Long story short, a nice dose of strong, full-spectrum light in the mornings sends all the right signals to your body to fill you with energy and wake you right up. It’s not critical to use a full-spectrum bright light, but if you’re the type that has a difficult time waking up in the mornings or experiences the winter-time blues, it’s a great investment. I’ve personally gotten great results from mine – more energy in the mornings and no winter-time moodiness.

Hack your hormones with Yoga

Be prepared for many posts to come in the following weeks and months on yoga, as I’m a huge fan and there is a lot to cover. One of the biggest benefits of yoga that is rarely touched upon is how yoga is the best way to naturally improve and regulate almost all the hormones your body produces. Proper hormone levels are vitally important to vibrant health, as hormones regulate your physiology and behavior. Throw even one hormone out of whack, and a chain event of disastrous consequences occurs.

All the twisting, bending and stretching of the postures in yoga have many beneficial effects, one of which is to squeeze and massage all of the endocrine glands within the body, the glands that produce and release your hormones. This squeezing and massaging pushes stale blood and toxins out of the glands, and when the twist or bend is released, fresh blood rushes in like water to a dry sponge. This revitalizes the glands and improves their functioning. Inverted postures, especially shirshashana, the headstand pose, improves the functioning of the pituitary, the “master gland” of the endocrine system, which has downstream effects on all your other endocrine glands and body systems.

As you can see, “bio-hacking” is actually a pretty easy and accessible concept, and we’ve barely just scratched the surface. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts on various bio-hacks, including how to use cold to burn more fat, how to use heat to build more muscle, make you smarter and recover faster from workouts, and multiple ways to improve cognition and even grow your brain. Contact me to find out more.