Health & Longevity Thread

[Sasquatch]

Starting this as a way for us to share health information, etc...

Exercise, diet, supplements, etc...

Billy's old AF thread triggered muh health concerns. If nobody wants in on this then no problem if this is deleted. Likewise, if people want this stickied then no prob.


do you take medication? here's a site that can show you what your medication may be depleting from your body
http://www.mytavin.com/



herbs/aminos/supplements:

rhodiola rosea

(gaia herbs name brand) appears to have the potential to increase lifespan by a fairly incredible amount.
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/article ... phila.html
https://www.lifeextension.com/Newslette ... an/Page-01

i can also attest that it is excellent at stopping nicotine withdrawels.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 1312002115

google more too. i've taken a few different brands and GAIA Herbs is far and away the best. so, this stuff is amazing. it is an adaptogen so it helps regulate your body. if you are tired, it will give you natural energy that isn't jittery like coffee; it just makes you un-tired if that makes sense. if you are stressed and worked up, it can calm you down. overall, it is more on the stimulating side. i have high-level adhd and take vyvanse for it, which is a type of dextro-amphetamine. rhodiola feels very similar to a small dose of vyvanse so much that i sometimes consider just taking it as it can alleviate most of my symptoms. i can't say enough good things about it. best in the a.m.

https://examine.com/supplements/rhodiola-rosea/



ashwagandha

another adaptogen. i've only tried the GAIA brand (b/c it was so good with rhodiola) but it is excellent. this can give you a subtle energy boost but it works more on gaba and serotonin so it is a bit more calming than rhodiola. this is excellent stuff and works well in the afternoons and evenings or at any time you are stressed out. again, can't say enough good things about this. an adaptogen like rhodiola, ashwagandha can help "normalize" you. this is great for depression.

https://examine.com/supplements/ashwagandha/



ALCAR (acetyl-l-carnitine)

stimulating. this is an acetylated form of the amino acid L-carnitine, which makes it more absorbable. this works by increasing acetylcholine, a neutotransmitter that helps with learning, memory. low levels of carnitine is strongly associated with depression. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/ ... itine.html

ALCAR causes rapid anti-depressant effects. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607061/




this is enough for now. back to work....

[ajaxlepinski]

Lower Back Pain

I had serious and crippling lower back pain.
It was from weakened muscles due to sitting 8 hours a day at work and sitting another 1 1/2 hours while driving to work and another 1 1/2 hours driving home from work.
Sitting 11 hours a day really fucked me up, to the point where my knees were buckling from the back pain.
When I read that, your back and stomach muscles are used to support your spine, I realized that I desperately needed to exercise.
I started easy by doing reps of bending over and standing straight up... this didn't seem to do much.
What really helped was jogging. I started off slow... running 1/2 block, waking 1 block, running 1/2, walking 1 block, etc.
Eventually, I got up to 3/4 of a mile nonstop.
While jogging, I could feel the particular muscles that were weak and I could tell that jogging was helping.

I also replaced my old mattress with an ultra-firm-futon and a 2" memory foam topper - that helped as well.

I'm lucky to have had the type of back problems that exercise was able to help.... many people have disc issues that exercise can make worse.

[Ostinato Rubato]

I have some pretty lame right lower extremity issues. All the muscles in my right leg are tense and sore from years of driving. My right ankle and the bottom of my foot too. From the hip to toe.

It gets better the more often I get into the gym. Pounding my leg into a punching bag with roundhouse kicks seems to knock clear whatever cobweb bullshit is happening in there. Getting old sucks.

At least I'm still really really ridiculously good looking.

[Chris Z]

Why would I want to live longer? I would rather just go to sleep tonight and not wake up.

[long standing member]

Subscribed!

[ajaxlepinski]

Why would I want to live longer? I would rather just go to sleep tonight and not wake up.

I need to send you one of my CD's... it will cheer you up. PM me your address and one will be in the mail on Saturday.

[Sasquatch]

3 exercise programs to check out:

1) for resistance training, Body By Science by Doug McGuff. Only takes about 10 minutes and is done once per week. Amazing results.

2) my favorite workout program is DDP yoga.

3) great FREE fitness site: https://darebee.com


If you have back issues, get an inversion table. I have a disc in my lower back and another in my neck and it is a life-saver. Teeter (name brand) inversion tables are nice but iron man tables are also excellent for much less money. I currently have an iron man. To get traction for my neck I pull my head away from my body with my hands as I’m hanging upside down. Works great.

[Sasquatch]

Why would I want to live longer? I would rather just go to sleep tonight and not wake up.

hey man, I know where you are coming from. I’ve been in that boat. Along with adhd, I am also bipolar. Worst episode was 2 years ago and when I switched from a very manic state to depression my brain was so screwed that not only was I having parkonson’s Symptoms but I couldn’t tell if I was in a dream and couldn’t wake up, if I was awake or if I had died and was experiencing some sort of after life. It was a physical and mental nightmare and I just wanted it to stop but it wouldn’t and it took everything I had, each and every day, to keep myself from making it end. It Took 14 months for me to get “stabilized” but just yesterday afternoon I flipped out and wanted to throw all my guitars into the river near my house.

what you need to know is that there is much more to your existence, and the universe for that matter, than what we are able to sense and experience in our current state of existence. I know you are going through rough times right now but you need to know that.

[draelyc]

Marking this thread for reference. I gotta make some life changes soon. Hoping for both inspiration and guidance.

[Chris Z]

Why would I want to live longer? I would rather just go to sleep tonight and not wake up.

hey man, I know where you are coming from. I’ve been in that boat. Along with adhd, I am also bipolar. Worst episode was 2 years ago and when I switched from a very manic state to depression my brain was so screwed that not only was I having parkonson’s Symptoms but I couldn’t tell if I was in a dream and couldn’t wake up, if I was awake or if I had died and was experiencing some sort of after life. It was a physical and mental nightmare and I just wanted it to stop but it wouldn’t and it took everything I had, each and every day, to keep myself from making it end. It Took 14 months for me to get “stabilized” but just yesterday afternoon I flipped out and wanted to throw all my guitars into the river near my house.

what you need to know is that there is much more to your existence, and the universe for that matter, than what we are able to sense and experience in our current state of existence. I know you are going through rough times right now but you need to know that.

With all due respect, the world I grew up in and fell in love with is gone. It continually gets worse every year and I would be a fool to think it will get better.

[GuitarBilly]

For the last couple of years, I've been a lot more health conscious than I used to be. I quit smoking 2 years ago, lost 100+ lbs, quit drinking last year and completely changed my lifestyle.
I am not too concerned about longevity because you never know - you can get hit by a bus any day lol - but my main concern is quality of life for as long as I am here. Unhealthy habits really take a toll on you, especially after a certain age. It's like maxing out a credit card, pretty fun to do until you get the bill in the mail

These days, I exercise 4x a week, eat wholesome foods for the most part, spend a lot of time outdoors and it's been great. I don't take medications but I do take supplements (multi-vitamin) which I think it helps but honestly I am not sure. The main benefits really came from a lifestyle change. Kimmi is 100% with me on this and she's starting to see results too, which is really awesome. To me it wasn't so much about "dieting" but more about focusing on a different lifestyle/reward system that is more enjoyable once you get the hang of it.

[BroSlinger]

I'm fat and I drink too much alcohol. I've used every supplement known to man. Some are great. Some do nothing. Some give me bad side effects. My health has been up and down due to nagging right knee problem. Salmonella a few years back. Day care disease constantly. I even experienced gout once after a weekend of picking weeds + beef jerkey + beer. etc.. I'm going to just list some supplements, and talk about the good and bad.

RE: immune system support: I was getting sick all the time for a while. I would get every stomach flu floating around daycare. I've gotten hand foot and mouth disease twice. I got bacterial bronchitis. I had nearly given up hope staying not sick. I looked into trying to alkalyze my body. I was eating too much processed meat. Too much cheese. etc. I found a list of herbs and foods that alkalyze the body. Just google this. I'm not going to list everything. FWIW, I'm taking parsley, fennel, Olive Leaf, echinacea augustafolia, rose hips, and probably some other stuff. (FWIW, echinacea Purpura does nothing for me.)

RE Gout. Got it in my right toe. Hurt like hell. Took celery seed and tart cherry, and it went away really fast. I think the celery seed is the secret. I've never gotten it again, thank goodness.

If you get bronchitis and it won't go away for 3+ weeks, go to the doctor. Every internet guru is like, "DERRR, it's probably a virus. Antibiotics don't work." Well, see if the doctor thinks it's bacterial. A Z pack got rid of mine in one day. No natural cure will solve this. I was huffing silver and essential oil for nearly a month.

After I had salmonella, I got leaky gut syndrome. I had an itchy rash all over my body for like a year. I had to take zyrtec every day, which fucked up my system more. The way I got rid of this was Now Glutamine + Jarrow EPS Probiotics. It wasn't a fast cure, but it worked. Boy was I relieved when this went away.

So, for trying to help my mood and cure anxiety, I've tried a number of things.
ashwagandha - made me feel really weird. I will not touch this stuff again.
GABA - made me super happy at first, then I actually had bad withdrawal almost right away. I will not touch this stuff ever again.
St. John's wort - not sure if it did anything. stopped taking it.
Omega 3's - I actually can tell a difference if I stop taking this. I drink the Carlson cod liver oil. Good stuff.
CBD oil - I am a believer, BUT...pay attention to your dosage. I was taking too much, and started to feel numb all over. I think it gave me neck and shoulder pain too. That said, if you take the right amount, you will curb the anxiety better than any of these other herbal supplements. I noticed my falsetto voice came back too after taking CBD for a few weeks. IMO, my Mom died of extreme anxiety. It wrecked her health, and she never figured out how to get past it. I don't want to die of anxiety. I am just like her. I'm really glad I found CBD Oil.
-------

I want to talk about "vitamins" for a sec.
I'm starting to think I don't like anything with a letter on it.

I megadosed vitamin D for a long time, and I think it made me absorb too much calcium. An ankle X ray showed I had calcium on my joints that could have been the cause of my knee problems. We get plenty of vitamin D if we go outside.

I was taking Vitamin K/K2 for a while, and I think it was thickening my blood too much. I started feeling more normal as soon as I stopped taking it.

I have had an on/off relationship with vitamin B1/3/6/12/etc for MANY years. I'm convinced B12 gives me crippling anxiety. I always go into imminent doom mode when I take it. I'm also convinced I don't feel well when I take niacin/B3/Nicotinomide/etc..

Vitamin C. I'm undecided. I know we need some, but megadosing gives me diarrhea, and I think it loses its effectiveness the more I take.

Vitamin A. I'm undecided. It's fat soluble, and I know it can be very toxic. I just stay away from it.
------

Minerals. These are interesting. I got ridiculously bad heat stroke during a football game in high school, so I take electrolytes seriously.

Potassium - Crucial. I take it every day.
Magnesium - Crucial. I take it every day.
Calcium - I've been avoiding it trying to help my knee. I think I get plenty in my food.
Zinc - I take it when I'm getting sick, but I make sure it's a zinc/copper combo, because it's bad to take one without the other. Jarrow and Now both make decent combos.
Selenium - I tend to avoid it. I guess this can be pretty toxic. It's a trace element. We get plenty from our food, and natural salts.

antioxidants/anti-inflammatory - I'm not truly convinced any of these do anything, but I continue to take a few for the heck of it.
Turmeric - tastes good.
Resveratrol - Supposedly this is the good stuff in wine. Tastes alright.
alpha lipoic acid - not sure if this does anything. stopped taking it.

more later

[Devin]

I had an itchy rash all over my body for like a year. I had to take zyrtec every day, which fucked up my system more. The way I got rid of this was Now Glutamine + Jarrow EPS Probiotics. It wasn't a fast cure, but it worked. Boy was I relieved when this went away.

Dude, I recently developed some pretty brutal jock itch for the first time in my life and I'm still rubbing antifungal cream on my inner thighs trying to get rid of the shit. It literally wakes me up in the middle of the night - fucking sucks.

I've also started getting weird random red rashes that itch and then disappear within 5 minutes on totally random parts of my body. Not sure if the two are related or not but it's annoying as fuck

[ajaxlepinski]

I gotta try CBD oil... I am wrapped way too tight, full of stress and, by the minute, I wander between shriveling up and exploding.
I have high hopes for CBD oil (pun not intended especially since, no high)

Gene... how much do you take?

[BroSlinger]

I gotta try CBD oil... I am wrapped way too tight, full of stress and, by the minute, I wander between shriveling up and exploding.
I have high hopes for CBD oil (pun not intended especially since, no high)

Gene... how much do you take?

First off, find out the difference between isolate and full spectrum. I HIGHly recommend the full spectrum. Isolate is necessary if you have weed testing at work though.

Yeah, so, every brand is going to have a different concentration. If you go to a CBD specialty store, they will give you a card that looks like a prescription dosage. They will spell out how many drops equal x number of milligrams, etc. The bottle has a medicine dropper lid.

Ideally, I take
4-5 drops
1. right when I get to work
2. right before lunch
3. mid afternoon
4. right before I leave to go home from work.

If I'm dosing correctly, the only side effect I get is slight drowsiness every now and then, but it sure beats crippling anxiety. When CBD first came out, I thought it was a sham because it didn't have THC. I have come around fully. I am a true believer. Floyd Landis, the disgraced cyclist, actually turned me onto it. He was addicted to opioids and alcohol. CBD (and weed) turned his life around. I can see why.

[BroSlinger]

BTW, when I started taking CBD, my sense of smell and taste improved. Really bizarre, but awesome.

[GuitarBilly]

Yeah I need to try CBD oil too. I get my CDB from the pot vaporizer I hit before bed every night. It helps me a lot. I had terrible insomnia and sleep paralysis and pot just cleared both right up. I like vaping pot but I am not sure how legal it is in PA, where I will be moving to soon.. so at that point, I may have to switch to the oil, if I can't get some kind of medical card for pot..

[ajaxlepinski]

I gotta try CBD oil... I am wrapped way too tight, full of stress and, by the minute, I wander between shriveling up and exploding.
I have high hopes for CBD oil (pun not intended especially since, no high)

Gene... how much do you take?

First off, find out the difference between isolate and full spectrum. I HIGHly recommend the full spectrum. Isolate is necessary if you have weed testing at work though.

Yeah, so, every brand is going to have a different concentration. If you go to a CBD specialty store, they will give you a card that looks like a prescription dosage. They will spell out how many drops equal x number of milligrams, etc. The bottle has a medicine dropper lid.

Ideally, I take
4-5 drops
1. right when I get to work
2. right before lunch
3. mid afternoon
4. right before I leave to go home from work.

If I'm dosing correctly, the only side effect I get is slight drowsiness every now and then, but it sure beats crippling anxiety. When CBD first came out, I thought it was a sham because it didn't have THC. I have come around fully. I am a true believer. Floyd Landis, the disgraced cyclist, actually turned me onto it. He was addicted to opioids and alcohol. CBD (and weed) turned his life around. I can see why.

Thanks for the info - I just printed your post. I really appreciate it.

[ajaxlepinski]

Zits & Painful Cysts

A while back, a work colleague told me that Americans have very little to no zinc but, plenty of natural Vitamin A in our diets.
While Vitamin A is used to repair your skin, you must have some zinc in your system or, you body will not absorb Vitamin A.
Many people get pimples and painful cysts because, their bodies are not absorbing enough A.
My buddy recommended taking zinc and I am a believer.
I started off by taking 50 mg once a day for two weeks. After that, I break the pills in half and only take half, once or twice a week.
If I stop taking zinc for about 6 months, the tumorous zits return.
Over the years, I recommended this to a few other people and they also had good results.

Fucking Scurvy!!!
Funny that Scurvy still exists in 2018!
Except now, they just call it Vitamin C deficiency.
I used to never drink orange juice, eat citrus fruits, take Vitamin C and I never drank Screwdrivers.
One evening, when I was first living on my own, I brushed my teeth and my gums started to bleed!
There was no internet, back in 1987 so, I went to the library to research it.... fucking Scurvy!
After about a week of taking Vitamin C, my gums were back to normal.

[Chris Z]

For those with gout, have your Dr prescribe Allupurinol. It really works. You will piss every two hours, but its worth it.

I'm glad everyone is excited for CBD oil, I'm going to try it. Coca-Cola has said they will be looking into making Coke infused with CBD oil in the future.

[itchyfingers]

Getting old sucks, man. You guys have had it way worse than me though, after reading these posts! Mojo bros.

I've been the oldest male in my family since I was 32. Everyone on my paternal side died of cancer, everyone on my maternal side died of heart attacks, heart failure, or cancer. I know longevity just isn't in the cards for me. I think it depressed me when that realization hit, and I turned to food to cope. I ballooned up to 290 lbs before doing something about it.

These days I ride 80-200 miles a week on my bike. I think you need to break a sweat every day to keep the cardiovascular system healthy.

I eat relatively clean, try to limit processed foods, but I eat a lot of "good" calories and allow myself a cheat meal every now and then, but those make me feel like shit now. Anyway, I need the energy for my cycling. I've been hovering at 205 lbs for about a year, but my body composition is steadily changing. I'm a sweet tooth guy, but I've substituted greek yogurt in place of ice cream and graham crackers for cookies.

Seems to be working. I feel better than I did in my 20s, and look better too! I'll probably still die in my 50s, but I'll have fun til then, and hopefully leave a good looking corpse. :zombie:

I'm headed out on a ride now, stay healthy GABbros!

[TurboPablo]

I had an itchy rash all over my body for like a year. I had to take zyrtec every day, which fucked up my system more. The way I got rid of this was Now Glutamine + Jarrow EPS Probiotics. It wasn't a fast cure, but it worked. Boy was I relieved when this went away.

Dude, I recently developed some pretty brutal jock itch for the first time in my life and I'm still rubbing antifungal cream on my inner thighs trying to get rid of the shit. It literally wakes me up in the middle of the night - fucking sucks.

I've also started getting weird random red rashes that itch and then disappear within 5 minutes on totally random parts of my body. Not sure if the two are related or not but it's annoying as fuck

Cut distiiled water with aplle cider vinegar. At least 50/50 vinegar to water. Better yet, 66/33.

Put it in a squirt or spray bottle. Rinse with it a couple of times a day. I've murdered fungal infections with it.

[BroSlinger]

Itchy, I have no excuse (lots of excuses in my head) not to ride more.

When do you ride? Do you have kids? Are you married? What are your job hours? What are your sleeping hours?

I'm still trying to figure out how to ride more without:
1. bailing on the wife and kids.
2. making it look like I don't work
3. giving up 2 hours of sleep every day.

[Telephant]

I just started skating these massive three wheel inline skates to get back in shape. I don't care how gay it is. Shit is fun af!

[primeholy]

I have ulcerative colitis and diverticulosis. Haven’t had a bad flare up in a while. I lift twice a week and run 2-4 times a week. I’m still fat and need to get my hernia fixed