Twohandsondeck
Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2019
- Messages
- 809
Hello forum. Stoked about the "low-toxin" movement. Special thanks to @charlie_ and @Blossom for preserving the spirit of the forum beyond Ray Peat.
Index -
INTRO / BRIEF HISTORY / "BIG 5" MINERALS
DIET + SUPPLEMENTS
EXERCISE
DENTAL HYGIENE
SKIN HYGIENE
LESSONS LEARNED
OBSERVATIONS
_______________
INTRO / BRIEF HISTORY / "BIG 5" MINERALS
By my own perception, I feel as though my current state of health is the best that it's ever been and continues to progress. This is largely thanks to Garrett Smith's suggestions in his "love your liver" program which has turned into more than just a breath of fresh air amidst the chaotic realm of holistic health. I have been following his dietary & supplemental guidelines for the last 6-8 weeks, of which I now consider to be more precious than diamonds.
Health "progress" includes a common list: decreased food sensitivities, improved skin complexion, ability to digest bigger meals with less of an energetic dip, more stable body temperature regulation in all climates, better sleep quality, easier strength progression, fewer tongue abnormalities (coating, cracks, scallops, etc), well-formed and more frequent bowel movements, less joint pain (including knee and sacroiliac), less tooth and gum pain, fewer blood vessels in the sclera of the eye, less light sensitivity, fewer mood swings, fewer 'stress'/adrenaline responses, more gratitude for all things... so on and so forth.
Like many other health seekers, I burned myself on low-carb dieting (for about 1.5 years), foolish enema concoctions, supplement stacks, fasting variations, excessive sauna use, excessive exercise, and several other nuanced protocols that aren't worth recollecting here.
To assert one of Garret Smith's ideas, just about every dietary or lifestyle amendment I made for myself would either immediately hurt me further or provide some relief as it temporarily stopped bile production while incoming toxicity was being stored instead of excreted. Unless a recent change resulted in substantial bowel purging (indicating a removal of 'toxic' bile), my health would invariably degrade further.
Before jumping on board with Smith's guidelines, grape fasting and milk fasting were the only two strict dietary measures which offered me miraculous (and perhaps essential) intestinal improvement.
Though these events took place a few years ago now, I hold a belief that the fruit fasting - combined with various herbs - was how I initially expelled some bigger parasites and then the milk fasting which I did several months later was what regulated a SIBO infection such that some obstructive candida living in the upper intestine were removed and the flora of the lower intestine was simultaneously restored to some semblance of normalcy. I never did any testing or took any pictures regarding this... I can just say that I had a few unique bowel movements that gave immediate and indescribable relief which occurred in short order after each of these dietary restrictions.
Of note, I self-diagnosed myself with zinc deficiency after about 3 weeks of each fruit and milk fasting at their respective times. A bit of supplemental zinc course-corrected some extreme lethargy that I was facing when consuming either milk or fruit.
In present day - based on my experience with Smith's guidelines - I am inclined to believe that I not only made myself zinc deficient, but additionally potassium, magnesium, selenium, and molybdenum deficient as he regularly cites research for. I'm under the impression that each of those 4 nutrients have been the largest missing puzzle pieces in the order that I listed them.
Smith's assertion that topical magnesium is better utilized by "95% of people" also seems to be true for myself and indeed has a direct impact on potassium supplementation. According to Smith, if topical magnesium gives a sensation of anxiety, this indicates a lack of potassium. Trying to perceive this simple reaction to topical magnesium application has guided my potassium supplementation. Within the first week I supplemented the "big 5" minerals with increasing generosity only to feel better and better each day.
_______________
DIET + SUPPLEMENTS
The food list I've stuck with recently has been:
Oats
Beans
Bread
Apple (1-2/day most days)
Banana (1-2/day most days)
Cucumber (1/day most days)
Strawberry (average of 1 pound/day for 3 days/week)
Lean ground beef
Bison
Chicken breast (about once every 4 days)
*Meats are usually 1 pound/day for 5-6 days/week
Maple syrup [call the manganese police] (usually 1-3 teaspoons with coffee and sometimes an extra 3 tablespoons added to oats or bread)
Olive oil (usually about 1 tbsp with red meat to bring up the MUFA:saturated fat ratio) *seems to offer a better health benefit when added -after- cooking food
Coffee (3-4 cups in the morning put through a paper filter from 2-3 tablespoons of grounds)
Heavy whipping cream (1-2 tablespoons added to coffee)
>>> I'm really only using 3 RECIPES:
[Breakfast] 1) a) make coffee with traditional paper filter coffee-maker... b) add heavy whipping cream and maple syrup to coffee as desired... c) dip bread in coffee
[Lunch or Dinner] 2) a) cook meat to about 80% done in a pan with some water added... b) strain fat from pan... c) add beans, desired fruits, and/or bread... d) cook on 'low' for another 10 minutes... e) pull off heat and add potassium chloride, sodium chloride, olive oil, and/or hydrolyzed collagen as desired.
[Lunch or Dinner] 3) a) bring 4 cups of water to a boil... b) add 2 cups of oats... c) reduce to simmer, wait 5 minutes... d) pull off heat, add desired fruit, beans, and/or bread... e) let sit for several minutes to cool... f) add potassium chloride, sodium chloride, hydrolyzed collagen, olive oil, and/or maple syrup as desired.
SUPPLEMENTS:
Activated charcoal (1/4-1/2 teaspoon taken 2-3x daily - 10 mins before coffee in the morning, before bed in the evening, and occasionally in the middle of the day, especially to combat odd symptoms such as body odor or nausea)
Sunfiber [partially hydrolyzed guar gum; PHGG] (3-14 grams/day)
Potassium chloride (1-1.5 teaspoons/day)
Magnesium chloride [topical] (15-30 'pumps'/day)
Salt (varies, usually just sprinkles and pinches)
Selenium [from yeast or as l-selenomethionine] (100-300mcg/day)
Molybdenum [as glycinate] (150-500mcg/day)
Zinc [as picolinate] (30mg/every 2-3 days)
Collagen peptides (2-4 tablespoons added to cooked meat or oats on most days)
_______________
EXERCISE
Not myself nor anyone in my lineage (whom I'm aware of) has been blessed with 'God-given' strength. A bunch of toothpicks, the lot of us. Hardgainers, pittas, bird-chests, and the like.
I have great admiration and interest for athletes of all types. I have given a sizeable effort towards the realm of physical development, but due to no shortage of fasting, caffeine, and liver-damaging behavior, I have stayed underweight just about every day of my life. Even today I'm still about 140 lbs, standing at 5'7.
However, perhaps my favorite revelation about applying the "love your liver" guidelines is that it feels as though my potential for physical improvement directly correlates with the amount of fiber I take in on a daily basis. I can't say I've really "kicked my own ****" (as Garrett likes to say) yet with excessive fiber. I've gone as high as 80 grams/day with the only real problem being the feeling of satiety that comes from eating so much of it. Minor kickbacks are easily dealt with by taking 1/4 teaspoon of activated charcoal, drinking water, and going for a walk.
Beyond my capacity for progressive overload from one workout to the next, the fiber consumption seems to be the most critical part of assisting the diet to work. I'm sure someone could get a lot of benefit out of repleting their magnesium and potassium stores... and even more yet by repleting their zinc, selenium, and molybdenum stores... but the benefit of all of those things is either compounded or hamstrung by the rate limiting factor which is the amount of fiber being consumed from one day to the next. Fiber is like the glue that moderates the progress of the LYL program. To use another analogy, it's like the oil of the vehicle. Appropriately enough, it's the fiber which is used to escort the impure oil (bile) out of the body.
***Here are some fitness techniques that have helped me in a 'functional' way - to put back pain away in a more permanent manner, 'loosen up,' in general, and get more blood in my head.
The 4 exercise practices I'd like to share are:
1) Unilateral (focusing on 1 limb at a time) exercises
> Taken as a suggestion from Neal Hallinan, doing a single-limb version of any exercise will allow for 2 things:
a) more freedom to train the spine in a state of flexion (think about crunching your abs together) with less chance of injury and
b) more emphasis on strengthening the core which will ultimately go a long way towards alleviating back pain
>> Using the common double-limb versions of many exercises (for instance, all barbell exercises) will force the spine to stay in a state of extension (think of arching your shoulders and cocking your head back towards the ceiling). This is all fine and good, however as soon as the spine falls into substantial fatigue, it will contract downwards (spinal flexion) into a fetal position. With enough fatigue, this is what causes spinal discs to slip and back injury ensues. Double-limb exercises like the barbell squat, bench, deadlift, and military press will always have their place... I'm just here to say that since I've made the single-limb versions of these exercises about 70-80% of my strength training, it's the best/most functional I've ever felt. Damn near zero back pain ever these days.
***As a word of warning, if you're intending to train both styles in the same session, always start with double-limb (spinal extension) exercises first. Twice I made the mistake of properly exhausting myself on single-limb rows before transitioning into double-limb rows and it resulted in a disc strain both times. Had a nice week to think about my actions after each incident.
2) Shadow boxing
> Another suggestion by Neal Hallinan. I think that an improvised dance routine or an Ido Portal collage might carry similar benefit, however the major difference here is the intention of striking with a limb. When executing a strike with a hand or a foot, it requires a focused effort that tenses the entire body, chiefly the core. As looney as it sounds... trying to hit imaginary objects with a concerted effort will yield a by-product of a more relaxed body afterwards. I credit throwing imaginary punches to literally changing the gait of my walk within a few days' time. It has added more hip swivel to my walking cadence.
>> To say again more concisely: the contraction of the core exercising maximal force through the limbs will lead to a mobilization of the hips that then translates to greater motor awareness of the entire body. This might include a newfound sensation of how the weight of the body is distributed over the surface area of the bottom of the foot.
3) Handstands or headstands
> I usually try to do one 'set' of being upside down to failure each day.
>> I recall Atom Bergstrom stating that the increased blood flow to the brain by way of headstands is a way of improving brain health. For obvious reasons, it may help preventing neurological disease and clear iris lesions found in the upper eye of a person, if they exist.
>>> As a (vague) personal belief, I think there's something significant to be noted about people who do not have a large rush of blood go to the head when they find themselves upside down. Said another way, there are people who make themselves comfortable with being upside down, such as gymnasts, dancers, or Crossfit athletes. When the upside-down position is applied with a bit of effort on a daily basis, the blood-pooling effect which pressurizes the head will soon subside. Depending on the ease of how the blood moves in and out of the head, it stands to reason that this principle would have some application at all times... not just when someone is upside down. As an added point with respect to vanity: this might also be an explanation for the physical beauty exhibited by professional dancers, gymnast, and Crossfit athletes.
*The more diverse the movement patterns are with a sport, the less swollen and more symmetrical the entire physique shows. To prove the point, consider that powerlifters and bodybuilders with their short ranges of motion carry the most bloat while fighters and dancers carry the least bloat.
+ An inversion table is a comfortable way to progress this uh... skill, I guess. For the shameless, there are also gravity boots which can be fastened to a hanging bar.
4) Omnidirectional running / barefoot field sprints
> Pretty straightforward. If you're able, I'd suggest going out in a field with your bare feet to execute running drills in every direction for a workout session. Side-steps and backwards running are great for giving the knees a different impact than the usual sagittal plane we're constantly living in. Besides that, a barefoot forward sprint is (arguably) the most primal exercise we're capable of!
_______________
DENTAL HYGIENE
Until the age of 25, I had my share of dental work done. Having no root canals, bridges, or metal fillings, the only problem (besides a cracked tooth on a black walnut) I've been left with in the present day are holes in my teeth where plastic fillings previously fell out of.
I'm currently 31 years old and the last two times I visited a dental hygienist, I was around the age of 28. Both gals did a doubly fine job of not only scaling the plaque off my teeth but also quoting me for an additional $20,000 USD of dental work.
It might yet bite me in the arse, but I believe that cavities exist as a defense mechanism just like every other service my body offers me. Call it a belief in God or a vested interest in mother nature, but I'm under the impression that when my biology is trending in the correct direction, the health of my mouth will remain in a pleasant stasis - if not repair itself in some fashion.
To frame this inside Smith's toxic bile theory here, my oral health has only regressed when my bile flow was being stagnated by something such as: high intake of sulfurous vegetables, green vegetable juice, eggs, dairy, liver, sweet potato, carrots, beets, etc. Not too long ago I was consuming a foolish amount of a sports beverage with a sizeable dose of vitamin A on top of pounds of gummy bears with food colorings (carotenes). Resultingly, I had a handful of waves of diarrhea which appeared as the fascinating color of bile yellow.
During this time of bile expenditure, my cavitations worsened and my gums were more sensitive than usual (surprise, surprise).
At that time all I really knew for sure was that if I cleaned my teeth thoroughly that 1) the redness of the blemishes on my face would be reduced and 2) my sleep quality would be 20-30% better.
As for the redness, it probably has something to do with a localized inflammation that the blood is dealing with.
As for the sleep, it helped me to relax my my jaw before dozing off. If I felt as though my teeth were unclean in any way, it felt impossible to relax completely.
So then, without belaboring this section any longer, this is my entire dental toolkit:
1) Standard brush with a fluoride-free toothpaste.
> Electric brushes are cool, but unnecessary in light of a twinge of elbow grease.
>> Activated charcoal, baking soda, and green clay are all suitable for tooth polishing, but I often find them to be too soon abrasive when used for multiple days in a row.
2) Standard string floss.
> Pull around the corners of the teeth, too.
3) Professional-grade, handheld dental scaler.
> This is serves two purposes: to a) scrape tough plaque around the gumline and b) offer a means of (gently) removing food debris that gets stuck in the holes of afflicted teeth. Emphasis on "gently" when using it in similar patterns every day for the removal of foodstuffs.
4) Water flosser that shoots a pressurized stream of water.
> These are primarily designed for cleaning gum pockets. On top of this use, they do a great job of clearing out any remaining food debris which was previously 'broken up' by the gentle movement of the dental scaler within tooth holes/gaps/nooks, etc.
>> I find that using distilled water in the water flosser is ideal. Using water that is warmer or close to room temperature will reduce potential pain on teeth which are sensitive to cold exposure.
>>> Adding a small portion of a fluoride-free mouthwash and a drop of essential oil (such as rosemary, tea tree, peppermint, etc) increases effectiveness.
>>>> Adding hydrogen peroxide will provide a mild, temporary whitening effect to the teeth. In my experience, when using hydrogen peroxide for several days in a row, the integrity of my enamel begins to weaken. Weakened integrity is always promptly restored within 3 days of ceasing hydrogen peroxide use.
5) Fluoride-free mouthwash.
> At the very least, this is the lazy-man's version of the water flosser. Add a drop of essential oil, do some swishing, and you might jostle a few more pieces of food on your final spit.
>> Some fluoride-free mouthwashes contain xylitol. Some contain aloe vera. Many have both. There are several herbs which can be used for the prevention of plaque and gingivitis... a quick PubMed search will reveal this to anyone who is curious.
+ As a proper addendum I'd like to say that although I still often follow these 5 steps on a daily basis, given my stellar sensation of dental health recently, I sometimes only spend 5 minutes on my teeth in the evening instead of the 30 I was spending on them not too long ago. Hallelujah.
_______________
SKIN HYGIENE
Being someone who has preoccupied themselves with a skin condition for a decade, you might think I'd have a wide list of suggestions... but as I contemplate the matter, I really only have a short list of 'useful' items.
The critical point of the topic is that the skin is chiefly reliant upon the diet, a small amount of sun exposure, and some water intake throughout the day. If a person is following the "love your liver" guidelines, I'm confident that this will improve the quality of their skin in steady fashion.
In short, the dietary and supplemental measures of the LYL program has given my skin a new sensation of hydration whereby it's not easily irritated. Smith surmises that bile acids which sit on the skin are what aggravate skin conditions, and so thus they should be washed off with soap or charcoal. The only time this happens is when a "bile dump" is taking place.
Previously, the dryness of my skin would make using soap and water twice a day rather uncomfortable... and so I turned to alternative methods which are thought to better preserve the oil of the skin while removing the problematic portions.
The only two alternatives which come to mind that I always had a positive experience with are:
1) green clay mixed with apple cider vinegar in a 1:1 ratio and
2) raw egg, especially when used as a shampoo
3) Lotion + activated charcoal
> Smith's suggestion of 1 teaspoon lotion to 1/2 teaspoon charcoal is certainly useful... but I find that the effort it takes to scrub away the charcoal from the sensitive area it was applied to almost defeats the therapeutic effect on account of the physical damage which takes place as I have to rub the same spot 20 times to get that last fleck of charcoal.
4) Petrolatum moisturizers
>> As an honorable mention, I occasionally use the product, "Aquaphor" which is a common petrolatum-based moisturizer. It just feels nice every once in a while and is worthy of more experimentation, but for all I know it's probably an estrogen bomb.
5) Shower filter & head
> For a less chlorinated shower experience, I'd further suggest getting a charcoal shower filter and shower head.
6) Foot pumice
> I recall reading a mercury chelation document which instructed a patient to titrate chlorella and cilantro upwards in unison over the course of 2 weeks leading up to a large kidney chelation event. On the day of the chelation, there was an instruction to thoroughly scrub the patient's feet with a foot pumice so that the dead skin of the feet didn't prevent mercury from being excreted.
Whether this was true or not, the thought stuck with me and so I bought a foot pumice. I use it in the shower once every couple of weeks. It is especially useful for breaking up any rough sensations that surround the heel of the foot.
7) Dry brush + Sauna
> On a similar note, I also have a dry brush which sees occasional use while I sit in the sauna. In the last several months, there have been a few times in which I used conventional sunblock for multiple days that resulted in a sensation of general fatigue and acute congestion under the skin, especially around the head. Twice this was also accompanied by a swelling in my right-side tonsil. A full-body dry brush routine in the order of Perry Nickelston's Big 6 lymph routine worked a miracle in both instances to alleviate my cloudy malaise in short order.
_______________
LESSONS LEARNED
-Molybdenum is critical for both xanthine and purine breakdown.
> For many years my red meat tolerance has been very low, but I'm now able to digest it comfortably.
>> Red meat digestion used to feel as though it would digest super slowly while causing a bunch of red, acne-like bumps to appear on my upper body for about 72 hours each time I ate it.
>>> The breakout effect would be exacerbated with any kind of caffeine consumption on the same say.
>>>> After learning the two aforementioned roles of molybdenum, I have intentionally raised my caffeine, red meat, and molybdenum intake to yield a (seemingly) conclusive result that both my red meat and caffeine tolerances were dramatically lowered by years of caffeine intake through the degradation of xanthine oxidase activity. Repletion feels great.
-Taking too much activated charcoal and stimulating too many bile dumps can result in actual soreness/pain around the liver. If this is the case, soluble fiber, starch, and sugar should be eaten as the next priority as soon as possible. Bear in mind the paper-and-log theory of digestion: digestion is a burning fire, carbohydrates are paper which stoke the flame and protein sources are logs which should be thrown on a hot fire. Putting too many logs on a weak fire will result in constipation/stagnation/lowering the flame of the fire.
-Looking at the sun with eyes closed upon first walking outside each day always feels helpful.
-D o n o t take straight nicotinic acid on an empty stomach unless you want to deal with burning nausea for 10-15 minutes.
-After applying topical magnesium chloride (magnesium oil), it's a good practice to wash the hands with soap and water so that the magnesium chloride doesn't create a slimy spread on everything else you touch.
-I drink Sunfiber through a straw so that it doesn't touch my teeth. I think that it is prone to stick to the teeth, especially the problematic crevices. When I'm feeling unwise, I'll apply the same straw-tactic to energy drink consumption.
-Foot placement and driving/screwing the feet into the ground is just as essential as squeezing/turning the weight in the hand when performing any exercise.
-Eggs applied topically to burns, including sunburn, help to immediately alleviate pain and expedite the healing process.
-Whenever I have a feeling of depression that seems to be a result of too much physical exertion (overexercising while also getting too much sunlight and burning too many calories), 1-4 cups of apple juice has been especially helpful. [Rare occurrence]
-On a similar note to the previous point... if my energy is very low and I specifically have a feeling of bags under my eyes... and no foods, charcoal, or anything else is helping to reverse this issue, the remedy has been to sit in a sauna for 12-20 minutes. It could well be that the skin occasionally gets overwhelmed with crap it's trying to get rid of and a few minutes of heavy sweating will clear things up. This congested and fatigued feeling I'm describing has likely been the result of using conventional sunblock products. The fatigue symptoms usually set in around 2-3 days after their use.
-Sleepyti.me is a sleep calculator I use when I'm trying to avoid waking up drowsy when I know I'll be getting less sleep than I normally get. [For use when changing sleep schedule]
-The rule of opposing muscle contractions:
Imagine that you're contracting the opposite muscle from the one you're training for a better 'mind-muscle connection.'
For example: when doing a bicep curl, focus on flexing the tricep throughout the entire movement.
Or when performing a row, concentrate on contracting the chest during the rowing movement.
Something, something, people with a big bench always have a big back~
_______________
OBSERVATIONS
-Cooked bread consumed in a liquid tends to digest better than uncooked and dry versions.
-Splitting up supplement doses to be taken frequently throughout the day, i.e. every 3 hours, seems to increase their effectiveness.
-Keeping fruit in the diet will help to make the formation of bowel movements more uniform.
-Sauna use will temporarily shrink pores, leading to an appearance of a tighter complexion.
-I believe Sunfiber greatly and quickly (within 5 days) improved my GI tolerance to soluble fiber. Eating a cup of oats and 2 cans of beans daily became no problem shortly after introducing this prebiotic fiber.
-In the presence of high protein and high fiber, all manner of 'cravings' are just about gone. Recently, I got a craving for cabbage and every now and then for a fruit, but that's honestly it. Having a pound of meat and 1-2 cans of beans each day has this wonderful side effect of making me feel satiated pretty much all the time. What's borderline confusing to me is that despite feeling so consistently satiated, I still look forward to every meal moreso than I ever have in the past. All foods have become more enjoyable in light of employing the LYL guidelines.
-Toe symptoms of gout have steadily reduced.
-General discomfort from clothing waistbands being too tight when going from sitting to standing has gone away. Might have something to do with this vitamin A/isotretinoin and sacroiliac pain correlation.
_______________
[Blemish improvements from the last 3 months]
_______________
Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Index -
INTRO / BRIEF HISTORY / "BIG 5" MINERALS
DIET + SUPPLEMENTS
EXERCISE
DENTAL HYGIENE
SKIN HYGIENE
LESSONS LEARNED
OBSERVATIONS
_______________
INTRO / BRIEF HISTORY / "BIG 5" MINERALS
By my own perception, I feel as though my current state of health is the best that it's ever been and continues to progress. This is largely thanks to Garrett Smith's suggestions in his "love your liver" program which has turned into more than just a breath of fresh air amidst the chaotic realm of holistic health. I have been following his dietary & supplemental guidelines for the last 6-8 weeks, of which I now consider to be more precious than diamonds.
Health "progress" includes a common list: decreased food sensitivities, improved skin complexion, ability to digest bigger meals with less of an energetic dip, more stable body temperature regulation in all climates, better sleep quality, easier strength progression, fewer tongue abnormalities (coating, cracks, scallops, etc), well-formed and more frequent bowel movements, less joint pain (including knee and sacroiliac), less tooth and gum pain, fewer blood vessels in the sclera of the eye, less light sensitivity, fewer mood swings, fewer 'stress'/adrenaline responses, more gratitude for all things... so on and so forth.
Like many other health seekers, I burned myself on low-carb dieting (for about 1.5 years), foolish enema concoctions, supplement stacks, fasting variations, excessive sauna use, excessive exercise, and several other nuanced protocols that aren't worth recollecting here.
To assert one of Garret Smith's ideas, just about every dietary or lifestyle amendment I made for myself would either immediately hurt me further or provide some relief as it temporarily stopped bile production while incoming toxicity was being stored instead of excreted. Unless a recent change resulted in substantial bowel purging (indicating a removal of 'toxic' bile), my health would invariably degrade further.
Before jumping on board with Smith's guidelines, grape fasting and milk fasting were the only two strict dietary measures which offered me miraculous (and perhaps essential) intestinal improvement.
Though these events took place a few years ago now, I hold a belief that the fruit fasting - combined with various herbs - was how I initially expelled some bigger parasites and then the milk fasting which I did several months later was what regulated a SIBO infection such that some obstructive candida living in the upper intestine were removed and the flora of the lower intestine was simultaneously restored to some semblance of normalcy. I never did any testing or took any pictures regarding this... I can just say that I had a few unique bowel movements that gave immediate and indescribable relief which occurred in short order after each of these dietary restrictions.
Of note, I self-diagnosed myself with zinc deficiency after about 3 weeks of each fruit and milk fasting at their respective times. A bit of supplemental zinc course-corrected some extreme lethargy that I was facing when consuming either milk or fruit.
In present day - based on my experience with Smith's guidelines - I am inclined to believe that I not only made myself zinc deficient, but additionally potassium, magnesium, selenium, and molybdenum deficient as he regularly cites research for. I'm under the impression that each of those 4 nutrients have been the largest missing puzzle pieces in the order that I listed them.
Smith's assertion that topical magnesium is better utilized by "95% of people" also seems to be true for myself and indeed has a direct impact on potassium supplementation. According to Smith, if topical magnesium gives a sensation of anxiety, this indicates a lack of potassium. Trying to perceive this simple reaction to topical magnesium application has guided my potassium supplementation. Within the first week I supplemented the "big 5" minerals with increasing generosity only to feel better and better each day.
_______________
DIET + SUPPLEMENTS
The food list I've stuck with recently has been:
Oats
Beans
Bread
Apple (1-2/day most days)
Banana (1-2/day most days)
Cucumber (1/day most days)
Strawberry (average of 1 pound/day for 3 days/week)
Lean ground beef
Bison
Chicken breast (about once every 4 days)
*Meats are usually 1 pound/day for 5-6 days/week
Maple syrup [call the manganese police] (usually 1-3 teaspoons with coffee and sometimes an extra 3 tablespoons added to oats or bread)
Olive oil (usually about 1 tbsp with red meat to bring up the MUFA:saturated fat ratio) *seems to offer a better health benefit when added -after- cooking food
Coffee (3-4 cups in the morning put through a paper filter from 2-3 tablespoons of grounds)
Heavy whipping cream (1-2 tablespoons added to coffee)
>>> I'm really only using 3 RECIPES:
[Breakfast] 1) a) make coffee with traditional paper filter coffee-maker... b) add heavy whipping cream and maple syrup to coffee as desired... c) dip bread in coffee
[Lunch or Dinner] 2) a) cook meat to about 80% done in a pan with some water added... b) strain fat from pan... c) add beans, desired fruits, and/or bread... d) cook on 'low' for another 10 minutes... e) pull off heat and add potassium chloride, sodium chloride, olive oil, and/or hydrolyzed collagen as desired.
[Lunch or Dinner] 3) a) bring 4 cups of water to a boil... b) add 2 cups of oats... c) reduce to simmer, wait 5 minutes... d) pull off heat, add desired fruit, beans, and/or bread... e) let sit for several minutes to cool... f) add potassium chloride, sodium chloride, hydrolyzed collagen, olive oil, and/or maple syrup as desired.
SUPPLEMENTS:
Activated charcoal (1/4-1/2 teaspoon taken 2-3x daily - 10 mins before coffee in the morning, before bed in the evening, and occasionally in the middle of the day, especially to combat odd symptoms such as body odor or nausea)
Sunfiber [partially hydrolyzed guar gum; PHGG] (3-14 grams/day)
Potassium chloride (1-1.5 teaspoons/day)
Magnesium chloride [topical] (15-30 'pumps'/day)
Salt (varies, usually just sprinkles and pinches)
Selenium [from yeast or as l-selenomethionine] (100-300mcg/day)
Molybdenum [as glycinate] (150-500mcg/day)
Zinc [as picolinate] (30mg/every 2-3 days)
Collagen peptides (2-4 tablespoons added to cooked meat or oats on most days)
_______________
EXERCISE
Not myself nor anyone in my lineage (whom I'm aware of) has been blessed with 'God-given' strength. A bunch of toothpicks, the lot of us. Hardgainers, pittas, bird-chests, and the like.
I have great admiration and interest for athletes of all types. I have given a sizeable effort towards the realm of physical development, but due to no shortage of fasting, caffeine, and liver-damaging behavior, I have stayed underweight just about every day of my life. Even today I'm still about 140 lbs, standing at 5'7.
However, perhaps my favorite revelation about applying the "love your liver" guidelines is that it feels as though my potential for physical improvement directly correlates with the amount of fiber I take in on a daily basis. I can't say I've really "kicked my own ****" (as Garrett likes to say) yet with excessive fiber. I've gone as high as 80 grams/day with the only real problem being the feeling of satiety that comes from eating so much of it. Minor kickbacks are easily dealt with by taking 1/4 teaspoon of activated charcoal, drinking water, and going for a walk.
Beyond my capacity for progressive overload from one workout to the next, the fiber consumption seems to be the most critical part of assisting the diet to work. I'm sure someone could get a lot of benefit out of repleting their magnesium and potassium stores... and even more yet by repleting their zinc, selenium, and molybdenum stores... but the benefit of all of those things is either compounded or hamstrung by the rate limiting factor which is the amount of fiber being consumed from one day to the next. Fiber is like the glue that moderates the progress of the LYL program. To use another analogy, it's like the oil of the vehicle. Appropriately enough, it's the fiber which is used to escort the impure oil (bile) out of the body.
***Here are some fitness techniques that have helped me in a 'functional' way - to put back pain away in a more permanent manner, 'loosen up,' in general, and get more blood in my head.
The 4 exercise practices I'd like to share are:
1) Unilateral (focusing on 1 limb at a time) exercises
> Taken as a suggestion from Neal Hallinan, doing a single-limb version of any exercise will allow for 2 things:
a) more freedom to train the spine in a state of flexion (think about crunching your abs together) with less chance of injury and
b) more emphasis on strengthening the core which will ultimately go a long way towards alleviating back pain
>> Using the common double-limb versions of many exercises (for instance, all barbell exercises) will force the spine to stay in a state of extension (think of arching your shoulders and cocking your head back towards the ceiling). This is all fine and good, however as soon as the spine falls into substantial fatigue, it will contract downwards (spinal flexion) into a fetal position. With enough fatigue, this is what causes spinal discs to slip and back injury ensues. Double-limb exercises like the barbell squat, bench, deadlift, and military press will always have their place... I'm just here to say that since I've made the single-limb versions of these exercises about 70-80% of my strength training, it's the best/most functional I've ever felt. Damn near zero back pain ever these days.
***As a word of warning, if you're intending to train both styles in the same session, always start with double-limb (spinal extension) exercises first. Twice I made the mistake of properly exhausting myself on single-limb rows before transitioning into double-limb rows and it resulted in a disc strain both times. Had a nice week to think about my actions after each incident.
2) Shadow boxing
> Another suggestion by Neal Hallinan. I think that an improvised dance routine or an Ido Portal collage might carry similar benefit, however the major difference here is the intention of striking with a limb. When executing a strike with a hand or a foot, it requires a focused effort that tenses the entire body, chiefly the core. As looney as it sounds... trying to hit imaginary objects with a concerted effort will yield a by-product of a more relaxed body afterwards. I credit throwing imaginary punches to literally changing the gait of my walk within a few days' time. It has added more hip swivel to my walking cadence.
>> To say again more concisely: the contraction of the core exercising maximal force through the limbs will lead to a mobilization of the hips that then translates to greater motor awareness of the entire body. This might include a newfound sensation of how the weight of the body is distributed over the surface area of the bottom of the foot.
3) Handstands or headstands
> I usually try to do one 'set' of being upside down to failure each day.
>> I recall Atom Bergstrom stating that the increased blood flow to the brain by way of headstands is a way of improving brain health. For obvious reasons, it may help preventing neurological disease and clear iris lesions found in the upper eye of a person, if they exist.
>>> As a (vague) personal belief, I think there's something significant to be noted about people who do not have a large rush of blood go to the head when they find themselves upside down. Said another way, there are people who make themselves comfortable with being upside down, such as gymnasts, dancers, or Crossfit athletes. When the upside-down position is applied with a bit of effort on a daily basis, the blood-pooling effect which pressurizes the head will soon subside. Depending on the ease of how the blood moves in and out of the head, it stands to reason that this principle would have some application at all times... not just when someone is upside down. As an added point with respect to vanity: this might also be an explanation for the physical beauty exhibited by professional dancers, gymnast, and Crossfit athletes.
*The more diverse the movement patterns are with a sport, the less swollen and more symmetrical the entire physique shows. To prove the point, consider that powerlifters and bodybuilders with their short ranges of motion carry the most bloat while fighters and dancers carry the least bloat.
+ An inversion table is a comfortable way to progress this uh... skill, I guess. For the shameless, there are also gravity boots which can be fastened to a hanging bar.
4) Omnidirectional running / barefoot field sprints
> Pretty straightforward. If you're able, I'd suggest going out in a field with your bare feet to execute running drills in every direction for a workout session. Side-steps and backwards running are great for giving the knees a different impact than the usual sagittal plane we're constantly living in. Besides that, a barefoot forward sprint is (arguably) the most primal exercise we're capable of!
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DENTAL HYGIENE
Until the age of 25, I had my share of dental work done. Having no root canals, bridges, or metal fillings, the only problem (besides a cracked tooth on a black walnut) I've been left with in the present day are holes in my teeth where plastic fillings previously fell out of.
I'm currently 31 years old and the last two times I visited a dental hygienist, I was around the age of 28. Both gals did a doubly fine job of not only scaling the plaque off my teeth but also quoting me for an additional $20,000 USD of dental work.
It might yet bite me in the arse, but I believe that cavities exist as a defense mechanism just like every other service my body offers me. Call it a belief in God or a vested interest in mother nature, but I'm under the impression that when my biology is trending in the correct direction, the health of my mouth will remain in a pleasant stasis - if not repair itself in some fashion.
To frame this inside Smith's toxic bile theory here, my oral health has only regressed when my bile flow was being stagnated by something such as: high intake of sulfurous vegetables, green vegetable juice, eggs, dairy, liver, sweet potato, carrots, beets, etc. Not too long ago I was consuming a foolish amount of a sports beverage with a sizeable dose of vitamin A on top of pounds of gummy bears with food colorings (carotenes). Resultingly, I had a handful of waves of diarrhea which appeared as the fascinating color of bile yellow.
During this time of bile expenditure, my cavitations worsened and my gums were more sensitive than usual (surprise, surprise).
At that time all I really knew for sure was that if I cleaned my teeth thoroughly that 1) the redness of the blemishes on my face would be reduced and 2) my sleep quality would be 20-30% better.
As for the redness, it probably has something to do with a localized inflammation that the blood is dealing with.
As for the sleep, it helped me to relax my my jaw before dozing off. If I felt as though my teeth were unclean in any way, it felt impossible to relax completely.
So then, without belaboring this section any longer, this is my entire dental toolkit:
1) Standard brush with a fluoride-free toothpaste.
> Electric brushes are cool, but unnecessary in light of a twinge of elbow grease.
>> Activated charcoal, baking soda, and green clay are all suitable for tooth polishing, but I often find them to be too soon abrasive when used for multiple days in a row.
2) Standard string floss.
> Pull around the corners of the teeth, too.
3) Professional-grade, handheld dental scaler.
> This is serves two purposes: to a) scrape tough plaque around the gumline and b) offer a means of (gently) removing food debris that gets stuck in the holes of afflicted teeth. Emphasis on "gently" when using it in similar patterns every day for the removal of foodstuffs.
4) Water flosser that shoots a pressurized stream of water.
> These are primarily designed for cleaning gum pockets. On top of this use, they do a great job of clearing out any remaining food debris which was previously 'broken up' by the gentle movement of the dental scaler within tooth holes/gaps/nooks, etc.
>> I find that using distilled water in the water flosser is ideal. Using water that is warmer or close to room temperature will reduce potential pain on teeth which are sensitive to cold exposure.
>>> Adding a small portion of a fluoride-free mouthwash and a drop of essential oil (such as rosemary, tea tree, peppermint, etc) increases effectiveness.
>>>> Adding hydrogen peroxide will provide a mild, temporary whitening effect to the teeth. In my experience, when using hydrogen peroxide for several days in a row, the integrity of my enamel begins to weaken. Weakened integrity is always promptly restored within 3 days of ceasing hydrogen peroxide use.
5) Fluoride-free mouthwash.
> At the very least, this is the lazy-man's version of the water flosser. Add a drop of essential oil, do some swishing, and you might jostle a few more pieces of food on your final spit.
>> Some fluoride-free mouthwashes contain xylitol. Some contain aloe vera. Many have both. There are several herbs which can be used for the prevention of plaque and gingivitis... a quick PubMed search will reveal this to anyone who is curious.
+ As a proper addendum I'd like to say that although I still often follow these 5 steps on a daily basis, given my stellar sensation of dental health recently, I sometimes only spend 5 minutes on my teeth in the evening instead of the 30 I was spending on them not too long ago. Hallelujah.
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SKIN HYGIENE
Being someone who has preoccupied themselves with a skin condition for a decade, you might think I'd have a wide list of suggestions... but as I contemplate the matter, I really only have a short list of 'useful' items.
The critical point of the topic is that the skin is chiefly reliant upon the diet, a small amount of sun exposure, and some water intake throughout the day. If a person is following the "love your liver" guidelines, I'm confident that this will improve the quality of their skin in steady fashion.
In short, the dietary and supplemental measures of the LYL program has given my skin a new sensation of hydration whereby it's not easily irritated. Smith surmises that bile acids which sit on the skin are what aggravate skin conditions, and so thus they should be washed off with soap or charcoal. The only time this happens is when a "bile dump" is taking place.
Previously, the dryness of my skin would make using soap and water twice a day rather uncomfortable... and so I turned to alternative methods which are thought to better preserve the oil of the skin while removing the problematic portions.
The only two alternatives which come to mind that I always had a positive experience with are:
1) green clay mixed with apple cider vinegar in a 1:1 ratio and
2) raw egg, especially when used as a shampoo
3) Lotion + activated charcoal
> Smith's suggestion of 1 teaspoon lotion to 1/2 teaspoon charcoal is certainly useful... but I find that the effort it takes to scrub away the charcoal from the sensitive area it was applied to almost defeats the therapeutic effect on account of the physical damage which takes place as I have to rub the same spot 20 times to get that last fleck of charcoal.
4) Petrolatum moisturizers
>> As an honorable mention, I occasionally use the product, "Aquaphor" which is a common petrolatum-based moisturizer. It just feels nice every once in a while and is worthy of more experimentation, but for all I know it's probably an estrogen bomb.
5) Shower filter & head
> For a less chlorinated shower experience, I'd further suggest getting a charcoal shower filter and shower head.
6) Foot pumice
> I recall reading a mercury chelation document which instructed a patient to titrate chlorella and cilantro upwards in unison over the course of 2 weeks leading up to a large kidney chelation event. On the day of the chelation, there was an instruction to thoroughly scrub the patient's feet with a foot pumice so that the dead skin of the feet didn't prevent mercury from being excreted.
Whether this was true or not, the thought stuck with me and so I bought a foot pumice. I use it in the shower once every couple of weeks. It is especially useful for breaking up any rough sensations that surround the heel of the foot.
7) Dry brush + Sauna
> On a similar note, I also have a dry brush which sees occasional use while I sit in the sauna. In the last several months, there have been a few times in which I used conventional sunblock for multiple days that resulted in a sensation of general fatigue and acute congestion under the skin, especially around the head. Twice this was also accompanied by a swelling in my right-side tonsil. A full-body dry brush routine in the order of Perry Nickelston's Big 6 lymph routine worked a miracle in both instances to alleviate my cloudy malaise in short order.
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LESSONS LEARNED
-Molybdenum is critical for both xanthine and purine breakdown.
> For many years my red meat tolerance has been very low, but I'm now able to digest it comfortably.
>> Red meat digestion used to feel as though it would digest super slowly while causing a bunch of red, acne-like bumps to appear on my upper body for about 72 hours each time I ate it.
>>> The breakout effect would be exacerbated with any kind of caffeine consumption on the same say.
>>>> After learning the two aforementioned roles of molybdenum, I have intentionally raised my caffeine, red meat, and molybdenum intake to yield a (seemingly) conclusive result that both my red meat and caffeine tolerances were dramatically lowered by years of caffeine intake through the degradation of xanthine oxidase activity. Repletion feels great.
-Taking too much activated charcoal and stimulating too many bile dumps can result in actual soreness/pain around the liver. If this is the case, soluble fiber, starch, and sugar should be eaten as the next priority as soon as possible. Bear in mind the paper-and-log theory of digestion: digestion is a burning fire, carbohydrates are paper which stoke the flame and protein sources are logs which should be thrown on a hot fire. Putting too many logs on a weak fire will result in constipation/stagnation/lowering the flame of the fire.
-Looking at the sun with eyes closed upon first walking outside each day always feels helpful.
-D o n o t take straight nicotinic acid on an empty stomach unless you want to deal with burning nausea for 10-15 minutes.
-After applying topical magnesium chloride (magnesium oil), it's a good practice to wash the hands with soap and water so that the magnesium chloride doesn't create a slimy spread on everything else you touch.
-I drink Sunfiber through a straw so that it doesn't touch my teeth. I think that it is prone to stick to the teeth, especially the problematic crevices. When I'm feeling unwise, I'll apply the same straw-tactic to energy drink consumption.
-Foot placement and driving/screwing the feet into the ground is just as essential as squeezing/turning the weight in the hand when performing any exercise.
-Eggs applied topically to burns, including sunburn, help to immediately alleviate pain and expedite the healing process.
-Whenever I have a feeling of depression that seems to be a result of too much physical exertion (overexercising while also getting too much sunlight and burning too many calories), 1-4 cups of apple juice has been especially helpful. [Rare occurrence]
-On a similar note to the previous point... if my energy is very low and I specifically have a feeling of bags under my eyes... and no foods, charcoal, or anything else is helping to reverse this issue, the remedy has been to sit in a sauna for 12-20 minutes. It could well be that the skin occasionally gets overwhelmed with crap it's trying to get rid of and a few minutes of heavy sweating will clear things up. This congested and fatigued feeling I'm describing has likely been the result of using conventional sunblock products. The fatigue symptoms usually set in around 2-3 days after their use.
-Sleepyti.me is a sleep calculator I use when I'm trying to avoid waking up drowsy when I know I'll be getting less sleep than I normally get. [For use when changing sleep schedule]
-The rule of opposing muscle contractions:
Imagine that you're contracting the opposite muscle from the one you're training for a better 'mind-muscle connection.'
For example: when doing a bicep curl, focus on flexing the tricep throughout the entire movement.
Or when performing a row, concentrate on contracting the chest during the rowing movement.
Something, something, people with a big bench always have a big back~
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OBSERVATIONS
-Cooked bread consumed in a liquid tends to digest better than uncooked and dry versions.
-Splitting up supplement doses to be taken frequently throughout the day, i.e. every 3 hours, seems to increase their effectiveness.
-Keeping fruit in the diet will help to make the formation of bowel movements more uniform.
-Sauna use will temporarily shrink pores, leading to an appearance of a tighter complexion.
-I believe Sunfiber greatly and quickly (within 5 days) improved my GI tolerance to soluble fiber. Eating a cup of oats and 2 cans of beans daily became no problem shortly after introducing this prebiotic fiber.
-In the presence of high protein and high fiber, all manner of 'cravings' are just about gone. Recently, I got a craving for cabbage and every now and then for a fruit, but that's honestly it. Having a pound of meat and 1-2 cans of beans each day has this wonderful side effect of making me feel satiated pretty much all the time. What's borderline confusing to me is that despite feeling so consistently satiated, I still look forward to every meal moreso than I ever have in the past. All foods have become more enjoyable in light of employing the LYL guidelines.
-Toe symptoms of gout have steadily reduced.
-General discomfort from clothing waistbands being too tight when going from sitting to standing has gone away. Might have something to do with this vitamin A/isotretinoin and sacroiliac pain correlation.
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[Blemish improvements from the last 3 months]
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Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV)
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
