sci-fi author, beatmaker

Category: Health/Body-hacking Page 2 of 20

Superfood Series: Mushrooms (the food that is neither plant nor animal)

Back in the 80’s, mushrooms got a bad rap. Anti-candida diets (to reverse yeast infections/yeast overgrowth caused by consuming too much sugar and not enough fiber) were a major fad. Mushrooms ended up on some “forbidden foods” lists because, like candida, mushrooms are fungi.

But the restriction made no sense. Yeasts are fungi, but mushrooms aren’t yeast, and, unlike candida, mushrooms have no relation to yeast infections or yeast overgrowth. But the restriction still lingers, and is presumably the reason Tom Brady and other celebs don’t eat mushrooms (Brady’s chef groups mushrooms in with nightshades, but mushrooms aren’t nightshades; they’re not even plants).

Obviously there are some mushrooms you want to avoid. A friend of mine nearly died because she went mushroom hunting with a self-proclaimed expert, and subsequently consumed the poisonous bounty. Dying of liver failure is not how I want to go out. I’ll buy mushrooms at a store, and eat mushrooms at a restaurant that purchases wild mushrooms from reputable foragers. But you won’t catch me trying to distinguish edible from poisonous mushrooms on my own.

Button, portobello, cremini, shiitake, porcini, reishi, oyster, morel, truffle, chanterelle, beech, enokitake, Lion’s Mane, maitake/Hen of the Woods; there are dozens if not hundreds of edible mushrooms varieties. But there are similar health benefits offered by nearly all of them:

In addition to the health benefits, mushrooms are delicious. It’s hard to go wrong adding mushrooms to soups, or sauteing with butter, olive oil, and herbs.

I hope I’ve given you enough reasons to eat the food that is neither plant nor animal. Good health to you!

Rejecting the Covid Vaccine is a Poor-Odds Bet

Even among the well educated, people are avoiding or delaying the Covid vaccine.

Some of the reasons for vaccine avoidance, like the fear of getting microchipped, are ridiculous.

Other reasons, such as fear of side effects, are more rational.

But no matter how you slice the pie, avoiding the vaccine is a terrible decision, statistically. This is true even though most people who avoid the vaccine will not die or get seriously ill from Covid.

If someone offered you a small reward, say $10, for taking a risk with a low likelihood of occurring, but potentially dire consequences, you would be wise to turn down that bet. You wouldn’t play Russian roulette for $10, even if the revolver chambered a hundred bullets and ninety-nine were empty.

Betting your health, reputation, or your entire net worth is an all-in bet. Even if the potential rewards are amazing, all-in bets are always a bad idea.

When you take on risk, the winning strategy is always to take on the least risk possible for the greatest possible reward. Rejecting the Covid vaccine is the opposite kind of bet: low reward but potentially high risk. It’s the same kind of bet you take if you don’t wear a seat belt in a car, or don’t wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle.

The reward for rejecting the Covid vaccine is avoiding 1-2 days of normal side effects (I had them, they’re unpleasant), and also avoiding the extremely small chance (~1 in 250,000 at the most) of serious side effects. The risk is that you’ll become seriously ill or die of Covid. If you’re young and healthy, perhaps this is only a 1 in 1,000 chance, but it could be as high as 1 in 50 if you’re older and/or have underlying health conditions.

If you want to take risks with your health, take small risks that have potentially great rewards. Take multiple walks every day. There are risks associated with taking walks, even if you’re careful how you go about it. But the risks are generally low, and the rewards (better mood, better cardiovascular health, reduced risk of diabetes) are huge.

Life is full of risk, much of it unavoidable. But when we consciously choose to take on more risk, we should make sure the upside is worth it.

Gastritis Healing Protocol (with hindsight)

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a long time. But when I read that Gordon Ryan is retiring from competition due to stomach problems, it reminded me that I have a responsibility to share what I’ve learned. Stomach problems, even when not life-threatening, can be debilitating, painful, and drag on for years. If I can help even one person recover from gastritis more quickly, it’s worth sharing this post.

Superfood Series: Cranberries (weight-loss, blood sugar, and other benefits)

I’ve been meaning to write a superfood post for a long time, getting into the details of which foods I try to include in my diet most days to improve health and prevent disease. Something similar to Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen.

But it’s just too much information for one post. So I’m going to do one at a time, starting with cranberries.

Clean-Up Days vs. Build-Up Days (in physiology and life)

Over the past few years I’ve been trying to put on some additional muscle. Overall my progress has been slow. This is due to genetics, my inconsistent training, my distaste for eating large quantities of protein, and my age (though gaining muscle wasn’t much easier in my twenties).

There’s another factor though: supplementation. Many of the anti-aging and disease-preventing supplements I take boost AMPK and inhibit mTor. MTor is required for muscle growth, so inhibiting it on a daily basis isn’t helping me gain muscle tissue.

So going forward, I’m going to try to line everything up for more effective results, as follows:

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