First post - welcome and overview

Welcome to my health blog!

This first post will include:

1) a quick overview of my vision and motivation for this blog and website

2) a brief summary what I believe are the core tenets of health, wellness and longevity, to get you started. I will expand upon these topics in future posts.

Motivation for this website:

Recently, the related areas of 'biohacking', holistic/naturopathic medicine, and 'anti-aging' have exploded, and as a result of my health history - see 'Gavin's Story' - I have been immersed in this space since 2007. We have learned a great deal about aging and disease processes – and conversely, the keys to good health – and this information is widely available like never before. Indeed, there are now many excellent resources for those wishing to take a deep dive into these topics, including the sites, blogs, podcasts and books that I link to under 'Other Resources.'

However, digesting this wealth of information can require a major investment of time and energy, and it can be difficult to know where to start. Furthermore, the prominent individuals in this space often intentionally ‘push the envelope’ – trying cutting-edge, experimental, and/or highly involved procedures that may not be feasible or desirable for most people. Thus, my goal with this blog and website is to act as a 'filter,' distilling the large amounts of health-related information that I have consumed, and still consume, down to a set of simpler, more digestible, and more actionable, tips for being healthier, happier, and more productive.

Over the past couple of years, I have increasingly found myself sharing such information with friends and family and have been thrilled to see it paying off, helping people to be healthier, happier, and more productive. This blog and site represent the next step in that progression. I hope you find them helpful!

What to expect:

I plan to keep the blog and site simple, to minimize the demands on your time and mine. I will publish a new blog post, on a particular health topic or tip, once every 2-4 weeks. I will keep these as short and to the point as possible, and will try to include a link or two for further reading. Most of the posts will be substantially shorter than this first one. For those wishing to begin enacting new healthy habits now, I have put together lists of the various products, supplements, and foods that I use and find helpful under the 'Gavin Recommends' tab of the website. Each of these pages (e.g., sleep, fat loss) also provides a brief set of general suggestions related to the topic. Please note, when you purchase something via these links, I receive a small % commission (4% for Amazon, 5% for iHerb; you too get a 5% discount if you buy from iHerb). Whatever I earn I will donate to charity.

It is worth noting that a lot - but certainly not all - of my recommendations involve taking dietary supplements (such as vitamin D, fish oil, turmeric, and others you may not yet be familiar with). For some of you, that is nothing new; for others, the notion of taking capsules of herbs or nutraceuticals to supplement your diet may seem strange or artificial. You obviously have to make up your own mind about this, but it is my opinion that dietary supplementation has become fundamental to healthy living and aging in modern society. Not only have we learned a wealth of information regarding the compounds that best enable us to live well and age gracefully, but we also face increasing challenges from various physical and psychological triggers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and disease that may necessitate additional 'assistance' beyond what a healthy diet can provide (though as I discuss below, diet is certainly a critical foundation).

It is also worth noting that the evidence underlying these recommendations comes from a variety of sources. First, I have tried everything I discuss and have thus experienced effects and results first-hand. In many cases, I personally know others (friends, family, colleagues) who have done the same. Second, much of this information comes from podcasts, websites, and books that I have 'consumed', which have been produced by doctors and health practitioners who have worked with many thousands of patients and have observed what works and what does not. Third, where possible, I draw upon scientific research in the form of clinical trials. This is the most controlled form of evidence, but unfortunately when it comes to many naturopathic-type remedies such as herbs and dietary changes, there is often very little funding available for such research, because there is no opportunity for patents. I am a scientist myself and am drawn to this form of evidence first. However, scientific research and testing is limited to a small subset of aspects of health and wellness, and to limit oneself to only that which has been through rigorous scientific testing is to cut oneself off to large swaths of potentially helpful remedies. For more info on how I arrive at these recommendations, you can go here.

Overview of healthy living:

Ok, so let's dive into some actual information! Thank you for reading this far.

Three pillars of healthy living are:

1) Diet

2) Exercise

3) Sleep

And, as I touched on above, informed dietary supplementation can both support these three and potentially represent a fourth pillar of its own.

Future posts will dive into greater depth on each of these, but for now, here is a brief summary of some key principles.

Diet:

As with everything health-related, there is still some debate over what the ‘best’ diet is, and the fact is that it almost surely varies from individual to individual. That said, there is strong consensus amongst the health communities on the importance of diet as a foundation to good health, and on the following points.

First, high sugar intake is unhealthy. It can spike blood sugar, leading to inflammation, oxidative stress (i.e., cell damage), and fat gain. Small-to-moderate sugar from healthy sources (e.g., whole fruit, berries, raw honey) is generally fine, especially for those who are active; but if you eat lots of sweet foods, or particularly if you drink soda or other sugared beverages (including fruit juices), you should try to cut back.

Second, deep fried foods are considered highly unhealthy, causing high levels of inflammation and oxidative stress. This includes basically anything cooked by dipping it into boiling oil.

Third, you should try to eat primarily organic foods. It is no big surprise that consuming pesticides – chemicals designed to kill – is not good for your health.

Fourth, a healthy diet includes a meaningful amount of fat. Although the best balance of ‘macros’ (carbs, protein, and fat) likely varies person-to-person, the idea that we should avoid fat as much as possible is almost surely wrong (and even the FDA is starting to acknowledge this). Healthy fats include previously demonized saturated fats present in foods such as avocados, nuts, coconuts, dark chocolate, and butter, as well as olive oil and omega-3s. Many vegetable oils, such as canola or peanut oil, by contrast, may be inflammatory.

Exercise:

Exercise is perhaps the single best thing you can do to stay young and healthy. Research points to two forms of exercise as particularly beneficial: resistance training, and high intensity interval cardio training. (Low-level movement throughout the day and mobility/flexibility work are also beneficial.)

Resistance training (e.g., weight lifting) is not just for those looking to build large muscles, it appears to be beneficial to everyone (and will likely NOT lead to massive muscle gain unless you do a LOT of lifting, in addition to other things).

Also, the evidence is mounting that brief and intense bouts of cardio exercise ("HIIT" training) are particularly beneficial, and more effective than longer periods of ‘steady-state’ cardio. Indeed, exercising for literally just a few minutes (e.g., 30 seconds on at high intensity, 30 seconds off, for five minutes), a couple of times a week, appears to provide great health benefits.

I'll delve more into what a good exercise program looks like in a future post, but briefly, it is important to highlight that it does not necessarily require a major time commitment. 30 minutes of resistance training 1-2 times per week, along with 10-15 minutes of HIIT training 1-2 times per week, is a very good fitness regimen.

Sleep:

Many people in modern society suffer from sleep issues – difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or just not getting enough sleep. Evidence is accumulating rapidly for the critical importance of sufficient, high quality, sleep to good health. I provide an overview of what a healthy sleep regimen looks like on the ‘Gavin Recommends -> Sleep’ page. Briefly, it includes: avoiding work or other stressful situations for at least two hours before bed, avoiding bright light and/or using blue light blocking glasses for at least one hour before bed, avoiding caffeine after 2 or 3 pm (depends on the individual), keeping your room dark and fairly cold (it’s ok for you to use a warm blanket), trying to go to bed at a regular time, engaging in regular exercise, and considering the use of supplemental melatonin.

Supplementation:

Again, I believe that dietary supplementation is a key part of healthy living in the 21st century. The page ‘Gavin Recommends ->General Health’ offers an overview of some of the supplements that may be the most widely beneficial to everyone.

To your good health!

Gavin