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In this article, I’ll go into all of the things I’m currently doing to improve my health. Whether it be skincare, supplements or what I’m eating and drinking.
Things can change often for me, depending on my research and how I’m feeling. If I feel that something is working for me, I’ll continue doing it, but if not I’ll try to experiment with new things and change things up a bit.
Skin: I wash with Neutrogena gentle exfoliating face wash and then apply Skinceuticals CE + Ferulic Acid to my face (3 drops).
I apply a product called ‘Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50’ from Skinceuticals.
At night I will use cleansing wipes and apply aloe vera gel from Aubrey Organics.
Lips: Blistex Lip Brilliance SPF15 or Burt’s Bees Lip Balm (Pomegranate).
Hair: Every few months I will switch between L’Oreal – Elvive Nutri-Gloss and Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Shampoo. I use Pantene Pro-V Clarifying Shampoo once a month.
Morning supplements: Vitamin D3 1000IU, Vitamin B Complex (every other day); B12 on the days I don’t take B Complex. Zinc (15 mg), Magnesium (300mg), and Allicin Max (Allimax in the US) – 2 capsules with breakfast. I also take a supplement called pycnogenol.
Breakfast
Wholemeal bread with extra virgin olive oil and two capsules of Allicin.
Oatmeal, blueberries 80g, almonds, 2 brazil nuts, 2 squares of Lindt dark chocolate 70%.
Lunch: banana, apple, kale or a spinach smoothie
Dinner a: carrots, corn, green beans, peas (700 grams). Extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp), ketchup (low sugar/salt); 1 cup of soy milk with green and blacks hot chocolate.
Dinner b: broccoli, Cauliflower, carrots, peas (700 grams). Extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp), ketchup (low sugar/salt); 1 cup of soy milk with green and blacks hot chocolate.
Desert: Any fruit.
Evening supplements: Allicin Max – capsules (I increase the amount I take if there are any bugs going around). I also take l-theanine at 200 mg.
Drinks:
– Pukka 3 Mint Tea: Peppermint Leaf (34%), Spearmint Leaf (34%), Fieldmint Leaf (32%) – 4 tea bags per day.
– Licorice Tea
– Sencha Green Tea (I add ginger) – 5 cups a day minimum (2 tea bags per cup).
– Twinings Camomile And spearmint tea – 2 cups in the evening.
My thoughts on diet and supplements
I try to keep my diet fairly consistent without much change as this makes it much easier. I enjoy everything that I eat, so it doesn’t bother me if I eat mostly the same every day. Occasionally I will go out for a meal with my friends, but this is just a few times a year.
A recently published study showed that various supplements have no effect on longevity, so I have since discontinued taking many of them as there could be a risk of them interfering with the life-extending effect of CR, or just being simply a waste of money! Another study showed that people taking large doses of multiple supplements had no effect on health.
One supplement in particular that I have kept on taking is the Allicin Max.
As long as I am taking this supplement, I haven’t come down with any colds, flu, or stomach bugs that have been going around. If I feel that I’m more at risk of catching something, I will sometimes increase the number of capsules I take during the day. This seems to be the most effective supplement that I’ve found to prevent infections, so I highly recommend it.
My thoughts on blood tests
I had some blood tests done a few weeks ago and had a few surprising results. I barely slept the night before the test, so I’m guessing this might have caused my neutrophil count to be higher than it normally is.
I found a few studies that suggested even one night of sleep deprivation causes an elevation in white blood count; specifically neutrophils. However, my C reactive protein was undetectable, indicating no inflammation or infection.
My lipid profile was still good, but not where I want it to be. I suspect the reason for this is because in 2012 I got depressed after a serious breakup and went off CR a little by including bad foods in my diet and not getting much exercise. Since early on this year I’ve been back on a more strict CR diet and have been very focused. Overall though, the blood results were still excellent.
I feel like I am back to myself now and so much happier than before. I’ve focused on my diet, exercise, relationships with family and friends, and the things I really want to do with my life.
1. Spindler SR, Mote PL, Flegal JM, Teter B. Influence on longevity of blueberry, cinnamon, green and black tea, pomegranate, sesame, curcumin, morin, pycnogenol, quercetin, and taxifolin fed iso-calorically to long-lived, F1 hybrid mice. PMID: 23432089
2. Soare A, Weiss EP, Holloszy JO, Fontana L.
Multiple dietary supplements do not affect metabolic and cardiovascular health. Aging (Albany NY). 2013 Sep 4. PMID: 24036417
Article reviewed and updated: February 2019.
Would you mind disclosing how your libido is? Testosterone levels? Creativity? Strength? You know… the things worth living for….
I apologize for the snark, but from what I’ve seen CRON diets seem to cause a decent drop in T and libido, which would bring down quality of life.
Hi! thanks for the comment.
Hmm well you can’t project onto others by saying x y z is what makes life worth living. That’s about you, not other people. Okay, to your question…
I had my testosterone level checked recently and it was 516 ng/dl (17.9). CR can definitely cause a drop in testosterone levels, but this won’t happen with everyone. I don’t know my baseline before CR either, sorry.
A few friends on long term CR didn’t see any drop; this is more concerning in my opinion because the hormonal shift that we see in animals has not taken place. And it’s not yet known how much of an effect sex hormones have on lifespan; testosterone is thought to be one reason why men live shorter lives than women. On the other side of the coin, there are many men on CR that noticed a significant drop in libido, but they don’t see this as a negative thing because it also brings lots of positive things because they aren’t always thinking or motivated by sex.
Something I’ve experienced is far less aggression, feeling more peaceful, and happy. I also had the disappearance of a couple things like severe allergies and IBS. This is part of my increased QoL.
My creativity is good! I still have aspirations, and many interests and things in life that make life worth living. I am certainly not feeling unmotivated.
I started CR as a skinny teenager, I can’t really comment on strength. It’s always been about the same I guess.
My libido is certainly less than when I was a 15 year old teenager, but it didn’t disappear on CR. It just made me seek out more quality and meaningful relationships. Big positive from my own perspective. Maybe not yours. 😉 But we all want different things.
I really do not want higher testosterone levels either…
Cheers!
Do you think it’s possible the Allicin Max could be causing your increase in neutrophils. Maybe it just was your lake of sleep because last time i had a blood test i had a bit elevated neutrophil count and i think it was because i only got 4 hours sleep the night before.
I think it was most likely to do with not sleeping the night before than the allicin. I haven’t found any information on allicin increasing neutrophil count either. A more specific marker to CR is lymphocyte count.
Sleep restriction increases white blood cells, mainly neutrophil count, in young healthy men: A pilot study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2663438/
“A significant increase in white blood cells (WBC) (5.79 ± 1.05 vs. 6.89 ± 1.31 103 cell/μl, p = 0.03), and neutrophils (3.17 ± 0.69 vs 4.24 ± 0.97 103 cell/μl, p = 0.01) was observed after the third night of sleep restriction. Other blood parameters were not affected. No significant variation was observed in the control group.”
Neutrophil counts: an immune sensor of sleep debt?
“After 1 night of 2-hr sleep, neutrophil and MPO levels are significantly increased over baseline but not after one night of 5-hr sleep. After 3 nights of 4hr-sleep, neutrophil counts are significantly higher but not after 3 and 5 nights of 5hr-sleep although a tendency to increase is observed.”
Effects of Sleep and Circadian Rhythm on Human Circulating
Immune Cells’
“A substantial increase in neutrophils during
prolonged sleep deprivation was likewise observed in an earlier
study (13)”
http://www.kfg.uni-luebeck.de/Intern/data/Library/PDF/Born%20etal,%201997,%20J%20Immunology.pdf