Released an app for all you Android users out there. Still in the beta phase but you can get it at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wBuildingABetterHuman&hl=en
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label better human. Show all posts
Showing posts with label better human. Show all posts
Episode 2: 60 Second Paleo
Second episode of 60 Second Paleo!
In the process of enhancing the audio quality. Thank you for the feedback!
Transcript:
This is 60 Second Paleo, I'm Roman. Today I want to talk about multi vitamins. A lot of the multi vitamins you'll find at the everyday convenience store/grocery store, is quite possibly doing more harm than good. When looking for a multi vitamin you really want to look at the quality of the brand and you also want to know the optimal form of the vitamin or mineral you're trying to get. You'll also want to watch out for fillers. There's actually, for a reason that's beyond me, a lot of multi vitamins have gluten in them. So the three most optimal things to do would be: either well research you're multi vitamin and make sure everything's on point. Or do the same thing with you're diet which would need to be extremely on point. The third thing would be to buy the vitamins/minerals separately in the most optimal form. And that's your 60 seconds for today.
In the process of enhancing the audio quality. Thank you for the feedback!
Transcript:
This is 60 Second Paleo, I'm Roman. Today I want to talk about multi vitamins. A lot of the multi vitamins you'll find at the everyday convenience store/grocery store, is quite possibly doing more harm than good. When looking for a multi vitamin you really want to look at the quality of the brand and you also want to know the optimal form of the vitamin or mineral you're trying to get. You'll also want to watch out for fillers. There's actually, for a reason that's beyond me, a lot of multi vitamins have gluten in them. So the three most optimal things to do would be: either well research you're multi vitamin and make sure everything's on point. Or do the same thing with you're diet which would need to be extremely on point. The third thing would be to buy the vitamins/minerals separately in the most optimal form. And that's your 60 seconds for today.
My Five Month Hiatus
Haven't posted anything in five months, and there's a good reason for that! I've been off doing some, fairly intense if I do say so myself, training. Military training, technical training, mentoring with a holistic doctor. Learning about the different kinds of probiotics, which are slowly getting pushed into the "main stream", and searching how they're made/synthesized. Learning about the different ways soil health affects our health just as the oceans do. Getting hands on with some more philosophical things like The Zeitgeist Movement and The Venus Project, Was taking notes and testing my biohacking techniques along the way. Fired up to share what I've learned!
~Life's not just about what's Better
~Life's not just about what's Better
Hack Reading
Some people, myself included, have learned the skill of speed reading. I prefer to simply hack the whole process.
If it's on the internet in digital format and can be copied, put it into here: http://spreeder.com/app.php?intro=1
Sit comfortably, relax, don't attempt to read inside your head and simply let the words flash in front of you at a word per minute pace that makes the inner monologue impossible. After a small adjustment period you will become an accomplished digital speed reader.
For hard copy reading:
- Use a finger or even better pen to eliminate back-skipping and keep your eyes from fixating to long
- Begin three words in from the line rather than the beginning, use your whole line of vision
- Let yourself practice without overly concerning with comprehension at first, most people need a little time to adjust.
- Use basic variables (i.e time yourself, later test your comprehension) to insure you're making improvements
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:
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:
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.
General Mood State
Brain Work Shop Dual N-Back
Brain and Body Observations
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.
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 RateGeneral 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%
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%
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)