Ask HN: Any health tips?
What works for you and what don't. Lets hear it.
I don't know about you guys but vitamin b complex really helps in my ability to focus and mental acuity.
I don't know about you guys but vitamin b complex really helps in my ability to focus and mental acuity.
68 comments
[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 144 ms ] threadVary exercise, and particularly do aerobic exercise, walking, biking, running, swimming, skipping rope... The best is to do some exercise every day.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplem...
Eat as little as you can get away with allowing you to control your weight (up or down!), and do everything you can to reduce your stress levels.
I can think of worse things to do, so I don't think seeking competent medical advice should be the very last resort. Some prescribed medicines, including the medicines prescribed for ADD, can have dangerous side effects. But taken under medical supervision, they can also be helpful for many patients and result in healthier, more satisfying living.
If you use amphetamines regularly, make sure to take additional Magnesium. It is required for your muscles to relax and is depleted by amphetamine use. It can help prevent muscle tension\heart palpitations.
Greens+ extra energy eliminates the need for mid afternoon naps, and as a side benefit you may not need to drink coffee anymore! Piracetam/Aniracetam has personally proven effective for focus, memory and mental acuity. ZMA can increase the quality of sleep as well as assist muscle growth and testosterone production. Exercise improves mood and many other health factors. We recommend trying this workout: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/timothyf.htm Tim Ferris also has a diet designed for losing weight: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-...
SEX. Lots of it. reduce your stress and practice good fitness emotionally and physically. I read something interesting this morning that stress can cause increases in abdominal fat, which is the worst type of fat in terms of it's long term health detriment. http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm
Have a healthy attitude, stay positive, and remember KEEP FIT AND HAVE FUN!!!
Seriously: "What works for you and what doesn't"? Science.
Physically, I treat the body as a machine that runs on macronutrients (fiber, protein,carbs) and micronutrients. I looked up daily requirements of each macro and I make sure I get them. Micronutrients come from a vitamin. A cornerstone of my diet is the protein smoothie - orange juice, brown rice protein, probiotic yogurt. Muscles are made of protein and they grow by stressing them until they breakdown then letting them regrow bigger. So, I do cardio every day and weights alternating upper/lower 5/7 days.
Emotionally, the key for me is minimizing lying and living according to my principles. I also make sure to take time to take pleasure and relaxation. This does wonders for my motivation. I also try not to express or fixate on negative emotions, rather to take them as a signal that change is required and then let them go by as unnecessary wastes of energy.
Intellectually, I am merciless with myself. I use lists and lots, really a lot, totally excessive numbers of tests to make sure that I'm not seeing what I want to see.
That's about my philosophy of living a healthy life.
-Cook with coconut oil or olive oil
-If you don't like eating your veggies, try them with more garlic. Or add spinach in with whatever you're cooking, it gets a good flavor once heated and even works with pasta.
-Vitamin D supplement is extremely important if you are moderately nocturnal, you also can't absorb any calcium without it (look into this late-night coders)
I stopped eating fast food about 3 years ago, and I have felt healthier ever since - I didn't change any other significant part of my diet/living situation - and I've only gotten sick once or twice, my migraines have decreased despite the added stress of college, plus I've become a better cook.
Multivitamin + 6000 IU Vitamin D + Calcium
Omega-3
Whey protein(at approximately the bodybuilder-style "one gram per pound bodyweight" level)
For meals I mostly eat in a low-carb/paleo fashion - because I find the fatty foods easier to digest, overall. Protein, fat, fiber, are what I look for(and quality fats too, a lot of the cheap vegetable oils seem shady and give me bad reactions). Adding the whey protein really helped because it nullified a lot of the cravings that would make me break the meal plan. Discovery: if you eat like a bodybuilder, even without training you're going to start looking sort of like one.
The other supplements are general health measures to help my mood, alertness and immune system. My GF, who has not yet bought into clean eating, recently got the same bug as I did at about the same time. I barely realized it was there and was over it in three days. She was taken down for about a week with some vicious "can't-do-a-thing" days in the middle. I've only been with her a short while, so I hope I can encourage her.
I also sit a lot less in front of my computer since i've read http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/10_19/b41... (thanks HN for this) .
My understanding is it tails off after a few weeks, but thank you for the advice. I think it has something to do with fluid loss in the early stages or something like that.
I try to exercise at least 3 times a week, I do some cardio and then exercise with weights. After a month or so, your food intake will likely change and you'll start to realize what you need in terms of nutrition. Your body will also become stronger and you will sleep much better and the exercise itself is great for stress relief.
As far as supplements, I don't like them. Even the case of taking multi-vitamins is getting mixed reviews from physicians.(I take a vitamin D supplement on Dr's orders)
I've taken between 1000mg and 3000mg per night, adjusting based on my body's response. At first the flush happened within an hour of taking the pills, then it either stopped or it was happening while I slept. I ramped up the dosage as the flush effect weakened and I stayed at 3000mg for a while, but now that's too much. It seems like my body only needs 2000mg now for the full effect, but I don't flush until about six hours after I take the pills. Based on my blood test results, I may ramp up again to get the flush faster or back off to reduce it.
The flush itself lasts about an hour. It's not comfortable, but it's not bad either. You get hot, red, and kind of itchy. I understand that it's part of the healthy effect of the niacin: expanding your blood vessels and washing out toxins through your skin (which causes the itching).
If you want to try this, you need to get the prescription stuff. The OTC niacin is definitely not the same, at least not here in the US where vitamins are unregulated food products that generally don't contain what they claim to contain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niacin
As an aside, I agree with you re: getting prescription niacin. If you do go with the over-the-counter stuff, make sure it is not "no-flush". The evidence is not consistent with the notion that no-flush niacin has any lipid-modifying effect.
From what I've read, it's tough to overdose on niacin, especially the sustained-release forms. There are also apparently no deaths or long-term harmful results from overdoses either. However, they warn against using niaspan if you've already got liver or kidney problems or if you're taking statins too. I also read a warning that ER doctors can misinterpret the symptoms of a niacin overdose as an allergic reaction and give a treatment which does a lot more harm than the niacin would on its own.
I don't have any handy references about statins, but I've read that the side-effects are both more common and more dangerous; so much so that it's questionable whether or not they should be allowed on the market at all. They're also less effective than niaspan, I believe. The anecdotal evidence I have is that my mom was taking a statin for a while. It improved her cholesterol, but she also developed the bad heel pains that supposedly indicate a dangerous side-effect from the statin is occuring. When she stopped the statin, her heel pain went away. Since then her cholesterol hasn't been bad (though it did get somewhat worse after stopping the statin) but if it gets bad again I'm going to insist she try the niaspan instead.
For what it's worth, I don't work for the company that makes Niaspan. I'm just a very satisfied customer.
Statins are among the safest drugs ever used - so much so that most medical people talk about trying to give them to more, not fewer, people. Like niacin, statins can lead to insulin resistance. Statins don't appear to increase cancer risk, which was in question for awhile. There is some literature supporting the notion that reduced LDL may lead to increased cancer, but this is not dependent on the mechanism of cancer, and this conclusion is not yet supported by enough data to make it a concern for anyone. Heart disease is what will kill most Americans, so this is still the primary concern.
Only eat wholemeal wheat.
Eat plenty of greens - broccoli, kale, savoy cabbage (high iron stuff)
Eat an apple on your way to the office.
Coffee only before mid-day
Don't do anything in your bedroom except sleep and sex.