Beginning Cold Thermogenesis

Cold thermogenesis seems to be getting more popular as high level athletes (e.g. Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps) and biohackers (Dr. Jack Kruse, Dave Asprey) have added it to their tool sets. I decided a while back to begin researching it and am now jumping into the fray.

Benefits From Cold Thermogenesis:

• Burning white fat (kind that gives you cellulite and generally unattractive)
• Stimulating brown fat (good/needed kind)
• Converts some white fat to brown
• Lowered inflammation (keeping inflammation low is essential for many endeavors)
• Increased recovery from injury
• More efficient metabolism
• Can suppress appetite while increasing energy
• Resistance to cold and more efficient dealing with heat
• Improved thyroid function
• Increased leptin sensitivity
• Increased muscle strength
• Improved sleep

Okay, I'm interested.

Equipment needed:

• Thermometers (one for skin and one for water)
• Compression clothing (personally haven't gotten these yet)
• Healthy amount of caution

First Step:

Beginning with five minute shower at 55f and two minute face immersion at 50f daily for two weeks.

Working Less

How much of our lives do we sacrifice to pay bills and buy more stuff? For most of us, work means sacrificing our freedom to take orders from someone else, stress, boredom, monotony, and in many cases risks to our physical and psychological well-being.

Once we realize that it’s not a few bad products or a few egregious companies responsible for the social and ecological abuses in our world but rather the entire system we are working in, we begin to realize that, as workers, we are cogs in a machine of violence, death, exploitation, and destruction. Is the retail clerk who rings up a cut of veal any less responsible for the cruelty of factory farming than the farm worker? What about the ad designer who finds ways to make the product palatable? How about the accountant who does the grocery books and allows it to stay in business? Or the worker in the factory that manufacturers refrigerator cases? And, of course, the high level managers of the corporations bear the greatest responsibility of all for they make the decisions which causes the destruction and waste. You don’t have to own stock in a corporation or own a factory or chemical plant to be held to blame.

By accounting for the basic necessities of food, clothing, housing, furniture, and transportation without spending a dime, freegans are able to greatly reduce or altogether eliminate the need to constantly be employed. We can instead devote our time to caring for our families, volunteering in our communities, and joining activist groups to fight the practices of the corporations who would otherwise be bossing us around at work. For some, total unemployment isn’t an option it’s far harder to find free dental surgery than a free bookcase on the curb but by limiting our financial needs, even those of us who need to work can place conscious limits on how much we work, take control of our lives, and escape the constant pressure to make ends meet. But even if we must work, we need not cede total control to the bosses. The freegan spirit of cooperative empowerment can be extended into the workplace as part of worker-led unions like the Industrial Workers of the World.

Public Domain Freegan.info All Human, Animal, and Earth Right Reserved.

Reasons Why Being Better and Eating Wheat Doesn't Mix

Wheat. The big trend that I hear a lot of right now is gluten. Yes, gluten can be *extremely* bad for you physically and mentally and that's fairly easily quantified. That said, gluten is in wheat. Gluten free wheat should be better, and I'm not going to get into whole grain wheat right now but believe me that the science doesn't follow the idea that eating most of your diet from whole grains or any wheat will be good for you (unless you're starving to death). Also, wheat is a subclass of grains and I will not dive into all grains right now.

Let's run through some reasons wheat isn't making you better:

• Cancer cells fall in love with simple carbohydrates
• Stomach fat (lovingly referred to as the "American Gut")
• Inflammation
• Mental fog
• Mycotoxins
• Mold
• Gut damage
• Damage to the gall bladder and bile production
• Less than optimal bone health
• Less energy
• Lowered immune system

Possible long terms effects:

• Infertility
• Type 2 diabetes
• Multiple sclerosis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Lupus
• Vitiligo
• Narcolepsy
• Schizophrenia
• Autism
• Depression
• Huntington’s
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Hypothyroidism
• Porphyria

I've always loved cereal, there are quite extensive studies coming out that grains and sugary foods in particular can be as addictive, because it hits a lot of the same receptors, as cocaine. If that sounds crazy try mentioning to somebody that they go a week without it and see the kind of responses you'll typically get. One alternative to wheat I enjoy is rather than not having sandwiches get a head of good cabbage and use that to hold everything together. Some studies show that if fermented there may be specialized benefits. Yes french toast is delicious, sadly for most humans it's also slowly killing you.

Resources, studies and further reading:

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/12/15/new-china-study-links-wheat-with-weight-gai/

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/another-reason-wheat-destroys-your-performance/

http://www.naturalnews.com/034040_grains_weight_gain.html

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/podcast-25-wheat-belly-with-dr-william-davis-md/

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22237879

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16126993

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/wheat-gluten_b_1274872.html

Alpha Brain vs Multivitamin vs Palcebo

Recently started experimenting with Alpha Brain which is a nootropic. I have been taking a men's multivitamin for a while now (Opti-Men) which I enjoy because it also has trace amino acids and flavonoids along with the usual vitamins and minerals. There are a couple complaints I have with my multivitamin, such as folic acid in it which is what I consider an anti-nutrient, but it's quantifiably effective and about 10c per pill. Alpha Brain is about $1 a pill if not using any discounts so I'm going to run some tests before I make the dive into a $30-$90 a month commitment for a pill and even more importantly I want to see if it's effective at all, period.

 Game Plan:

Spreading the experiments out through several days to add validity. Obviously since the test group is one person (me) it won't have the weight of a double blind controlled scientific study, I am aware of that. Will take measures that are in my power to control my diet and environment during these next couple days.

Quantifying Resources:

Heart Rate

General Mood State

Brain Work Shop Dual N-Back

Brain and Body Observations

Alpha Brain and Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 64

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slight knee joint ache may affect focus in a small way.

Dual N-Back:
D3B 50%
D3B 66%

D3B 50%

Observations: Can sense more eagerness to communicate and ease of sentence formation which I will attribute to Alpha Brain. Feel energized which I attribute to the amino acids in the multivitamin. Fasted for breakfast to not skew the effects with many other chemicals.

Alpha Brain:

Average Heart Rate: 60

General Mood State: Good. Alert.

Dual N-Back:
D3B60%

D3B72%
D3B73%

Observations: There is an apparent increase on the mental side, even versus the Alpha Brain + multivitamin which would need to be ran through further experiments before I would actually say the multivitamin hurts mental function.

Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 53

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slightly hungry body has been in ketosis.

Dual N-Back:
D3B44%
D3B53%
D3B42%

Observations: Once again fasted. Believe the fact that I performed worse with the multivitamin than the placebo is less that the multivitamin actually makes me worse and more variation.

Placebo (aka nothing, maybe I'll take some vitamin C and tell my brain It's the best ha):

Average Heart Rate: 57

General Mood State: Not bad, but can tell I'm not as...alert and lucid, you could say.

Dual N-Back:
D3B50%
D3B55%
D3b46%

Observations: No extreme observations. Not overly tired or dull or anything. Feel slightly less driven.

Homemade Mayo Upgraded

I love mayonnaise. Thing is I dislike, borderline hate, soy, canola and vegetable oil. They won't make you better unless you're starving to death. I've heard on the forums and such people talking about making their own but never saw an actual recipe with amounts so here it is:

• 1 Avocado (1/2 if you don't enjoy avocado taste, used for thickening)
• 3 Whole Eggs (or with 2 of them just yolks depending on how thick you like it) Preferably cage-free and organic.
• 2 Tbsps Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 Tbsps MCT Oil

Blend it or whip it until its creamy and make small adjustments until it's the viscosity you enjoy.

MCT/Coconut Oil and Why it Can Make You Better

Can honestly say without feeling like I am over exaggerating that good quality MCT oil is quite possibly not just the healthiest oil but one of the healthiest foods on this planet. MCT oil is generally concentrated coconut oil, it can also be made from palm oil (seems good) and canola oil (avoid canola for many reasons). MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides also known as fatty acids. The majority of foods are either short or long chain.

Although you can find what seems like endless anecdotal evidence of benefits, especially on coconut oil, the scientific studies are spotty at best. I will list many of the possible and individual benefits then go over my own personal benefits:

• Weight loss
• Muslce/mass gain
• Belly fat "spare tire" reduced
• Increased energy
• Improved mood
• Improved brain function
• Alzheimer's prevention/cure
• Cancer prevention/cure
• Skin care
• Scar treatment
• Assisting in putting the body in ketosis (explain more on ketones late)
• Bone and dental health
• Diabetes prevention/cure
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Pneumonia cure
• Improved cholesterol levels

I know, right? That's a lot.

My personal results:

• Improved skin
• Bone and dental health
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Improved mood/energy
• Belly fat reduced
• Muscle/mass gain
• Improved brain function
• Quicker entry into ketosis

Those are the benefits I was able to quantify using things like a journal, brain exercises, physical exercises, fasting, and a Elimination diet to add validity to it being the coconut and MCT oil rather than something else I was ingesting. Also though it's flu season I have not been sick in about half a year although I work in public areas and travel semi frequently.

Dosage I was using is 2-4 tbsp daily. Using two with coffee then with dinner. Only side effect I've heard of from upping the dosage specifically on an empty stomach is GI issues such as diarrhea. I never had this issue, but I wasn't trying to cure cancer or Alzheimers. 

There's lots of ways to get MCTs. I'd recommend staying away from the cheap processed stuff and get either organic extra virgin coconut oil or good quality MCT oils derived coconut and (but not only) palm oil if you can afford it to get all the benefits.

Tooth Decay and Self Repair

This is a subject that's really close to my heart, about equally close to my brain also (because it's my teeth haa). My experience is that at one point I had ten cavities, knowing absolutely nothing (except that I didn't want mercury in my mouth) I went and got six composite fillings. I didn't have dental insurance at the time so after that I stopped and it happened to be the same time that I was experimenting with the paleo diet. End of this story is it may sound crazy (I don't believe this idea has become very "main stream") but I currently have no cavities, my enamel is quite strong compared to being very sensitive to things like cold, and not only that also some of my six fillings are coming out on their own with little remaining holes (dentists drill a large hole in your tooth before placing the filling)
Now let's go through my experiments and others so you can duplicate my results.

First thing I did was research, no matter how crazy it seemed, if it was inexpensive and I didn't think it would cause permanent damage I'd look into it. The things that I found the most effective are:

• Vitamin K (or even better K2)
• Vitamin D (I tend to not use or endorse pasteurized dairy even if it's tolerated, supplementation is best)
• Magnesium (favorite way for this is epsom salt baths, which has many benefits)
• Vitamin E (NOT from grains, I'll explain more in another post)
• Vitamin A (cod oil is great for this and also has D, EPA, DHA)
• Get as close to completely cutting grains and simply sugars as possible (if you can't live without them go back to eating as you please after the majority of cavities/decay is gone)
• Brush and swish mouth with a low grad (no higher than 3%) hydrogen peroxide (can also use fluoride if you wish to, I couldn't quantify any difference)
• Have as little processed (industrially processed that is) food and additives as possible
• As these vitamins are fat soluble make sure you're getting enough fat when taking these in supplement form (I recommend grass fed butter and grass fed beef or coconut oil. If that's not available wild caught low mercury sea food i.e. salmon or extra virgin olive oil)

That's the overview and I had a lot of success with it. Hesitate to say the doses of the supplements but to be frank to get these benefits you need supplements from good quality sources and I was taking a lot more than the "DV%". Check out Dave Aspreys article on supplements for a general idea on amounts of the above and adjust as necessary: Upgrade Your Energy Supply: Optimize Your Supplements

On my research journey I read a good article with more detail on dental practice and the theories of tooth decay: Natural Tooth Cure for Curing Cavities and Preventing Root Canals

Believe It's Best to Share Parts of My Path Before Trying to Give Advice to Others

Adolescents
It actually all started when I was about 10. I'll make this part short. The general picture of that time was tearing things apart to figure out how they worked (TVs, microwaves, various electronics, etc) and taking more or less of whatever medications/supplements I could get a hold of to observe the results. Not the best strategy and didn't take long for my watchers to decide to lock everything up.

Teen Years
As a teen I started adapting my theories, while extremely ineffectively. Used the money I had saved up (grew up what I would consider lower-middle class, but I had a small allowance) to buy a jar of soy protein (which I have found to be terrible, but we'll get into that later), a set of free weights, and a book on meditation and karate. Kept on this for a couple years while eating whatever the money holders kept around. Ramen noodles, white bread toast, margarine, hot dogs. I survived so I'm grateful to them for that.

College Years
After I slowed down a little and stopped eating out of vending machine while sleeping 4-5 hours a night I attempted to really try to get deep into being "healthy". Refer to this phase as "Main Stream" health. Whole grain bread and pasta, multi-vitamin, ham sandwiches, PB&J, beans, fruit juice, whey protein, cheap coffee, sometimes microwave dins. I actually got into pretty good shape from this. Started fairly thoroughly documenting my experiments and thought processes. Also, I got to where I could bench press max 200lb and curl 30lb dumbbells. The problem was the main reason I believe I felt good was I was used to feeling crappy from eating things that arguably aren't food (e.g. ramen, hot dogs, margarine). Over trained, torn meniscus, torn shoulder,  sinus infections.

Paleo and Forward
Ah, paleo. Where the real journey begins. I was vegetarian for a while into between these two also and my results were feeling good at first, then tired and (unwanted) weight loss. Paleo lifestyle: "Paleo is a simple dietary lifestyle that is based on foods being either in or out. In are the Paleolithic Era foods that we ate prior to agriculture and animal husbandry (meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruit, berries, mushrooms, etc.). Out are Neolithic Era foods that result from agriculture or animal husbandry (grains, dairy, beans/legumes, potatoes, sugar and fake foods)."1 I am currently on a modified version of this.

That's the overview. Along the way of attempting to basically level up in life non nutrition related I got a black belt in Shotokan Karate, 8th degree orange belt in Taekwondo, and became what I'd call advanced beginner at yoga, tai chi, and meditation.


1 - http://www.paleodiet.com/definition.htm

Legal Details and Such

So to be clear I'm not a M.D and I don't practice medicine. That said I have been tweaking my diet, body mods, biohacking, etc for about 9 years now. If you want to completely change your body talk to a doctor. I'd recommend a holistic one that doesn't look at you crazy that you want to be better and not simply not sick/diseased.
Will site all sources that aren't from my personal experience,  I am not a super genius and am not seeking praise as one.
Also, I'm not trying to sell anything or go too crazy with ads. This is simply a passion of mine. If you would like to spend money I'll recommend brands I've had good experience with.
If budget isn't your main concern Dave Asprey has very high quality supplements and tech at Upgraded-Self and the line of products at onnit.com.

Query: What's the Idea Behind Building a Better Human?

Okay, let me start this by saying I'm not trying to sell anybody anything. Large part of the reason I am starting this is the nauseating amount of spam/scams/snake oil/etc on the internet about self improvement.

I won't really limit myself to anything, as an overview of what my plans are I will cover my years (and years and years, since I was a tween) of experimenting with diet, supplements, lifehacks, biohacks, all in this quest that I feel most of us share to be better, happier, and truly enjoy life to the fullest. Draw the line around posting dense research papers and biotechnology (for now).
If you feel that this information is worth something to you and want to support my future experiments you can either click one of the ads (I get payed by clicks so if you don't want to buy whatever it is no worries) or with flattr.