Jason Actualization

Much: 1. Let food be thy medicine by procuring such from the perimeter of the grocery store (whole, minimally processed voids devoid of added sugars and seed oils). 2. Prioritize sleep by rendering your room a proper sanctuary, and setting an alarm to go to bed, as opposed to wake up. 3. Meditate daily to liberate mental bandwidth that would otherwise be monopolized due to succumbing to analysis paralysis. 4. Pull the giant stick out of your ass: stop living on the momentum of other people's perception of you, i.e., stop taking yourself so seriously, lighten up and enjoy the company of others. 5. Start lifting weights to optimize your endocrinology. 6. Methodically analyze your micronutrient intake and supplement with key vitamins and minerals to optimize your physiology (i.e., vitamin C, D3, E, K2 (MK-4), creatine monohydrate, magnesium bisglycinate, and EPA/DHA). 7. Drink 1 cup of 100% pomegranate juice daily to augment your antioxidant status. 8. Surrender the notion that saturated fat is deleterious, and rather, embrace the consumption of such while concurrently neglecting PUFAs. 9. Invest in a stainless steel water bottle and stainless steel water distiller that distills into a glass container. 10. Invest in an Instant Pot and use it to prepare meals with the pressure cook setting on the lowest possible pressure. 11. Monitor the CO2 level in rooms you reside in for extended periods of time, i.e., your bedroom, and crack a window if the level exceeds 1,000 PPM. 12. Invest in 100% cotton clothing, particularly for your underwear. 13. Seal your lips with 3M micropore tape at night to necessitate nasal breathing while sleeping. 14. Have an at-home sleep study conducted that utilizes an effort belt that rests against the chest, a pulse oximeter that attaches to the index finger, and a nasal cannula that's inserted inside the nostrils (you spend 1/3 of your life asleep, and the quality of such most greatly impacts the remaining 2/3). 15. Spend time outside, getting enough sunlight for your skin tone (the darker your complexion, the more exposure necessary) since Vitamin D3, while a staple supplement for many, is not a sun substitute akin to how coffee/caffeine is not a sleep substitute. 16. If you're a man, have your ferritin level assessed and ensure you are in the bottom 50th percentile (donate whole blood to reduce your level). 17. Go for 10+ minute walks after meals to aid digestion. 18. Don't directly touch receipt paper (use gloves if necessary). 19. Invest in cotton towels, pillow cases, bed sheets, etc. 20. Use an alcohol spray or gel to minimize odor-producing bacteria, as opposed to masking body odor with endocrine disrupting chemical-riddled deodorants and colognes/perfumes/fragrances (this will make your attractive pheromones more identifiable via olfaction). ***If you find this list overwhelming, just breathe: the best has yet to come and there will be serenity on the other side of the struggle you currently see. If you are seeking direction, start with step 1 by letting food be thy medicine and fix your physiology, then following the remaining steps will be infinitely easier). The world has yet to benefit from the best of you, but that's the direction you're ultimately destined for, so let's all go there together.

Avoid non-stick pans at all cost, stainless steel is the way to go.

Thanks man. That's true, and frankly, precisely what I deem to be the most fascinating facet of human nutrition, i.e., not only is it arguably the most impactful aspect of what drives the human experience, in tandem with sleep, but it's the most divided in our collective understanding of it. Step 1 for me has and will always be valuing WHAT is true, as opposed to WHO is right. At some point, we have to all just bond over the fact that we genuinely want the best experience of life for ourselves and others, and how we facilitate that may differ between individuals, and be at peace with that.

My position is that vegetables are particularly overrated, and with that, fiber. That said, I do believe that some folks, due to differences in their gut microbiome, largely dictated by that of their mothers', would be behooved by a diet richer in fiber than mine. That said, I would also assert that a lot of folks would fare far better on a lower fiber diet. I never experience indigestion, gas, bloating, etc., and have ghost poops once daily, every day. Ultimately, everyone should experiment to elucidate what works best for them, and for me, it just happens to be a near-zero fiber diet.

I'm not convinced by the in vitro data showing that. Just culturing cells in something is not the same as someone actually eating it, and from the research I've seen, coconut oil raises testosterone and DHT. I personally use it to further exaggerate/augment my saturated to polyunsaturated fat intake, which is the best kept anti-aging secret and systemic antioxidant.

I have just marked my Google calendar to revisit this conversation in 10 years, with the hope that such data will have surfaced prior to that point in time. I truly appreciate your intellect and the depth and breadth that you've brought to this discussion. It would seem, after observing and appreciating the same puzzle pieces as yourself, I have arranged them such that I see a different picture than you do, albeit, one that is extremely self-consistent, at least to me. I appreciate the difference in conclusions that have been arrived at here, and I hope that the divided opinions on this ordeal will, over time, merge into one unifying understanding that we can all hang our hats on. If, at any point in time, during the remainder of my human life here, I am overwhelmed with evidence to the contrary of the aforementioned, utter convictions, I will revisit this post and personally apologize for my ignorance.

Apolipoproteins do cause plaque formation, I agree: but only if 1. they are oxidized and 2. they reside in the endothelium. Yes, which is unfortunate because it is precisely oxidized lipoproteins (not merely LDL) in the endothelium that induce atherosclerosis, which is effectively the body's immune system chronically self attacking. That being said, what ox-LDL (measured in the blood) does shed light on is the susceptibility of one's lipoproteins to oxidation. ApoB is a marker for how many lipoproteins you have in general, and LDL is just one of many others (i.e., VLDL, IDL, etc.) and the reason this tracks well with heart disease, is that the more lipoproteins you have, the more oxidized lipoproteins that can appear in artery walls since any one of them can oxidize and become atherogenic. All else being equal, having lower ApoB is of course better because there are less opportunities for oxidation, but in its' native state, none of our lipoproteins are atherogenic, irrespective of how much is in circulation. Ultimately, having higher levels of circulating lipoproteins does not cause heart disease, but does track with it for the aforementioned reasons. All that being said, the solution is not to optimize for the mitigation of circulating lipoproteins, but rather, for rendering them impervious to oxidation, which is why fruit and vegetable intake tracks favorably with heart disease outcomes (i.e., these augment ones' antioxidant status). Matthew Budoff and his research team have an interesting paper in the pipeline comparing LMHRs to a cohort of "normal LDL" individuals. This is a 1 year-long study that used CT angiography which could detect plaque formation with extremely high resolution and precision, detecting as little as 1mm growth in 15 different locations. But yes, I agree, much longer term studies are needed. Yes, LMHRs have higher levels of HDL which escort oxidized lipoproteins out of the endothelium and thus are cardioprotective. But also, folks with this phenotype tend to be very health conscious (i.e., much of the keto community) and do not engage in activities that increase susceptibility of their lipoproteins to oxidation, such as cigarette smoking and seed oil consumption.

Yes, nutrition is extremely underrated, especially regarding its' utility in reversing and preventing chronic disease. It is, bar none, the strongest lever in affecting the quality of one's human experience. Everything else pales in comparison with the exception of deep, restorative sleep, which proper nutrition effectively enhances.

Exactly. Even if it were 50%, the issue is that LDL in and of itself is not actually atherogenic until it becomes oxidized, and measuring circulating LDL cholesterol sheds zero light on this matter. The single greatest cognitive error of the 21st century is the lipid heart hypothesis and the "health advice" that such gave rise to, rendering erroneous assertions with dire consequences that could only be measured on a Richter scale. I would liken this misunderstanding to that of the time period in which cigarette smoking was not only condoned, but shamelessly celebrated in office by doctors themselves. In short, the lipid heart hypothesis gave rise for the optimization of the wrong metric, namely the mitigation of LDL cholesterol, when, in fact, what we need to optimize for is rendering said cholesterol impervious to oxidation. As it turns out, this is actually accomplished by a hybrid of ideologies that are effectively at odds with one another, i.e., the so-called "vegans" and "carnivores." Ultimately, omnivore eating is optimal, and conferring your cholesterol with protection from oxidation is accomplished via embracing the predominant fatty acid profile of the carnivores, i.e., saturated and monounsaturated, with minimal PUFA, while concurrently consuming the antioxidant rich foods found in a vegan diet. Refraining from the consumption of industrial oils and the cigarette smoking, as well as avoiding exposure to toxic exhaust fumes, are a few of the major action steps that will also prevent your cholesterol from becoming oxidized, and, by extension, atherogenic. For folks curious, this is why the so-called "lean mass hyper responders" with sky high LDL cholesterols (far north of 200, 300, even as high as 500) are showing, via CT angiogram, no statistically significant increase in plaque formation with respect to matched controls with "normal" LDL cholesterol. This is not to say that higher LDL cholesterol is better, and in fact, all else equal, it is surely not, because with more cholesterol in circulation there are more opportunities for oxidation. What it does mean, however, is that in the absence of oxidation, native LDL is entirely benign, and what we need to optimize for is a reduction in Ox-LDL (the best metric currently available, although still imperfect as a surrogate marker) a more expensive test that virtually nobody has done.

Personally I use beef liver as nature's B vitamin. Specifically, I cut a 1 lb portion into 64 reasonably evenly divided cuts, freeze them, and pop one of them (~0.25 oz) with each meal. Not only is this an incredibly rich source of B vitamins, but arguably the most underrated mineral in the nutritional sphere, namely copper.

Exactly, you wouldn't. I swish and spit with hydrogen peroxide after brushing my teeth for the whitening effect, but I would, under no circumstances, swallow it. Oxidation of endogenous cholesterol is literally the mechanism for which plaque develops, and one would be wise to err on the side of augmenting ones' antioxidant status, not via enhancing oxidative activity inside the body.

Ginkgo biloba?

They do seem to get by. I've trained with Shawn Baker in his home garage, and the man is a phenom. The higher protein intakes allow for more glycogen storage via gluconeogenesis, it's simply far more efficient to get the job done with starch (basmati rice is my personal go to). I believe these individuals could do even better on a higher carbohydrate diet, it would certainly increase their free and total testosterone, and anaerobic work capacity. The Achilles heel of the carnivore diet is the lack of antioxidant intake, which renders them more vulnerable to atherosclerosis. Ideally, you what the dietary fat ratios of the carnivore diet, but then you also want to augment your antioxidant intake to retain squeaky clean blood vessels (antioxidants will confer your cholesterol with protection from oxidation).

I will echo this. In general, the minimal carb intake I would recommend for grown men is 150g per day, titrated upwards based on how active they are. I feel amazing with 300g of carbs in my diet, about 180g of protein and 80g of fat. Ketosis is a starvation state that, while useful, is not physiologically optimal.

Carbohydrates have been improperly demonized, not dissimilar to saturated fat. The devil is in the details, i.e., not all carbohydrates, just like not all fats, are deleterious to human health. My recommendation is to limit combined fructose and galactose to 50 grams per day, and to consume at least 1 gram of dietary fat per kilogram of body weight for optimal endocrine function. I consume 300 grams of carbohydrates per day as they help replete my muscle glycogen and fuel my high volume weight training sessions. My macronutrient intake is approximately 170P 300C and 80F: the key to this is that I have minimized my fructose/galactose intake to below 50 grams, and my PUFA intake to about 5 grams.

I rotate between chest/back, legs, and arms, and have recently implemented HIIT on a stationary bike on "off" days. The #1 thing, if I could go back in time 10 years to when I began lifting, that I would communicate to my younger self, is the importance of training volume. Essentially, the idea of muscle confusion and exposing your muscles to novel stimuli, is misleading, whereas what actually matters is how many sets, taken to or close to (within 1-2 reps of) failure. If you arrive at a point that you are no longer making the intended/desired progress, your total weekly training volume for a particular muscle group must simply increase. For example, one set of bench press is enough to elicit a growth stimulus for a complete beginner, whereas someone who has been benching for 10 years, may need in excess of 10 sets to elicit a growth stimulus (of course there is nothing wrong with doing far less to simply maintain). Ultimately, high volume training is the master key to hypertrophy.

Meat is indeed androgenic but particularly misunderstood in and how it affects/impacts human health. I've eaten over 1 ton of red meat throughout my 20s, and benefitted from a health transformation that brings me to tears to contemplate. I, for example, used to have an esophagus that was so inflamed I would struggle just to swallow food. I'll attach a before and after picture from age 20 on the left, to age 30 on the right. My testosterone level is right around 1,000 ng/dL, and I'd be happy to share any other labs or health metrics you may be interested in. I had a DEXA scan done on my 30th birthday just a few days ago, which came back at 12.4% body fat with a FFMI of 24.2 (for reference, the 90th and 95th percentiles are 20 and 21, respectively). I am not in any way special, I simply implemented information that was handed to me at a time I needed it most (heartbroken and desperate for change). The carnivore content is good in that it helps recontextualize cholesterol, but the issue is that they do so by seemingly celebrating sky high cholesterol as if that is not at all a cause for concern, which is only partially true. For optimal hormone output, overall health, and resistance to cardiovascular disease, omnivore will always be optimal (having carbohydrates to stay out of ketosis will improve your free testosterone to cortisol ratio). The key to cholesterol is to reduce the amount of absolute oxidized cholesterol in circulation, which requires a potent source of antioxidants, which carnivore diets are devoid of. I will attach a PDF write up I've made to help guys optimize their endocrine system (let me know if it's inaccessible). Ten Tips To Max Your T Levels.pdf

Yes, Sabth is the OP, I just wasn't sure the temperament of her post since I'm unfamiliar with her.

OP is not being sarcastic I take it?

Americans consume 4-5 tablespoons worth of highly oxidizable, industrial seed oils due to their processed food consumption, per day. It would be practically impossible to consume the amount of linoleic acid contained therein by consuming whole, minimally processed food. This linoleic acid incorporates into the cell membranes throughout our body and facilitates oxidative stress, giving rise to cardiovascular disease and dementia not the least of which.

I recall you saying that money is tight, but once able, please let me know when you'd like to compare comprehensive bloodwork and other health and fitness metrics such as FFMI, grip strength, RHR, OGTT, and blood pressure.

Did you get DHT and estradiol measured concurrently? What time of day did you have your blood drawn, and is that the same as you have historically?

Absolutely, I recommend folks use a non-nano zinc and beef tallow-based sunscreen on their face each day. The other high leverage maneuver is to eliminate seed/vegetable oils from ones diet as the linoleic acid they contain will incorporate into the cells of one's skin and make it more prone to oxidative stress and UV damage.

Unfortunately this is a colossal cognitive error. Saturated fat is actually divinely healthy and it is the ancestrally inconsistently high amounts of polyunsaturated fats, predominately facilitated via industrial seed oil consumption, that is perpetuating the diseases of modern civilization, heart disease not least of which. To get ripped and maximize your muscular potential, eat 0.82 grams per lb of bodyweight per day, in at least two divided doses, of animal protein (red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) while engaging in a properly formulated resistance training program. Saturated fat based on % of calories is irrelevant. For fat intake, the most relevant marker is the % relative to total fat intake. For example, for me, I consume 55% of my fats as saturated, 38% monounsaturated, and 7% polyunsaturated. What is your current height and weight? Being in a calorie surplus is not necessary depending on your current body fat percentage. Recomping is entirely possible, and I would submit optimal, depending on the current state of your physique.

Gotcha. What is your current height and weight if you don't mind sharing? I am 5'9, 175 lbs for reference. I was 150 lbs when I began weight training. I found that engaging in resistance training greatly augmented my appetite. Red meat and eggs are divinely healthy, and meal prep can be quite useful. Do you digest dairy effectively (that is another superfood) such as whole milk, cheese and Greek yogurt?