10 replies to this topic

[npcomplete]

Hi folks. I am finally getting around to posting, although I registered two years ago.

I started health supplements circa 1973 in grad school, and have gone through (and survived) the usual phase of "take everything", including prescription noots like Hydergine, Piracetam (now OTC), and Vasopressin. Many years ago people would have a doctor prescribe Piracetam in the USA (as a CYA measure), then have it imported and hope it gets past customs (even though it was legal for personal use). They mailed it in multiple birthday and Christmas cards with the drugs taped to the cards to fool customs.

These days I am much more conservative, and only take a few things like Vit. D, Vit. K2-MK4/MK7, Curcumin, Fish Oil, Astaxanthin, Magnesium, Pomegranate Extract, Biosil, and a few (very few) others. I have a very healthy diet (Italian wife, Mediterranean diet - no pasta, limit the carbs) with lots of berries, green and white tea, etc.

The moniker "npcomplete" relates to my interests and career in physics, mathematics, and computational complexity.

[niner]

Welcome to Longecity, np!  Good to have an experienced person on board.  I like your regimen; it's not vastly different than what I'm doing.

[npcomplete]

Thanks niner, I really love the way people challenge each other wrt supplements and lifestyle on this site, along with links to supporting literature.

I take a few other things like probiotics, and cycle other things, but the main reasons I cut back were health benefit/risk profiles, concerns about "overdoing it" and reductive stress, etc. I am getting to an age (early sixties) where "things like cancer happen".

If I add anything I will mainly focus on cancer prevention. My biggest risk is that I have a very minor case of Barrett's Esophagus (GI doc says it is very minor, easy for him to say), and want to address the risk, so I will be scanning a lot of the cancer prevention threads.

I used to take the "mitochondrial energy optimizer" from LEF that had carnosine, along with supplemental pyridoxamine and other things to help manage glycation. I also took lots of other LEF supplements, including the LEF multi, but didn't like the LEF "hype machine" approach of adding everything to a supplement in massive quantities (no longer a big fan of the shotgun approach, thanks to Longecity). I may add a few anti-glycation things back after I learn more. This site should be required reading for those taking supplements.

After reading for two years before posting, I feel like I already know a lot of the people here!

Edited by npcomplete, 07 April 2012 - 10:09 PM.

[Mind]

Thanks for introducing yourself npcomplete! Cancer prevention is my main goal as well. I find myself eating a lot of food with curry powder and my staple vegetable is broccoli. Everything else (chronic diseases) is so easily controlled with diet and exercise. As far as many other supposed cancer prevention substances (natural or otherwise) be sure to check the studies for sample size and research history. A lot (90%) of small "breakthrough" studies cannot be reproduced.

[Ben]

Welcome.  Were you taking piracetam way back in the 70's?

[npcomplete]

Ben, on 09 April 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

Welcome.  Were you taking piracetam way back in the 70's?

I certainly didn't start *everything* in 1973. At that point I was mainly doing the supplements you could find in health food stores, and a lot of tennis (where the women were on campus) plus weights. I am going to guess that I started noots in the mid to late 80's, probably a few years after Pearson and Shaw's first book.

This, of course, is not the right place to post details about a regimen... but for the current regimen think "moderate/conservative" overall compared to a lot of people's regimens on the forum. I also take IP6 and apolactoferrin, and monitor ferritin levels (no problems). I have always been a big fan of testing.

I had the luxury when I started of being either in the Palo Alto CA area or the Seattle WA area, so there were lots of health stores, and I was under the care of MD's that were/are extremely well known for nutrition and alt-health. I initially started supplements for general health and workouts, then started expanding to tackle hay fever, trying all the usual things. The only thing that really helped was allergy shots. Along the way I followed all the latest fads... hardly the best method of design for a regimen, although I did consult with the MD's.

I would love to see a "control version of myself"... I think my path would be favorable compared to "control me" without supplements, but you just never know, do ya?

[npcomplete]

Mind, on 08 April 2012 - 02:21 PM, said:

Thanks for introducing yourself npcomplete! Cancer prevention is my main goal as well. I find myself eating a lot of food with curry powder and my staple vegetable is broccoli. Everything else (chronic diseases) is so easily controlled with diet and exercise. As far as many other supposed cancer prevention substances (natural or otherwise) be sure to check the studies for sample size and research history. A lot (90%) of small "breakthrough" studies cannot be reproduced.

To drive home the point about diet and exercise: Years ago I broke my foot - which causes Type 2 Diabetes (joking). I was about 50 when officially diagnosed with type 2 by a standard GP on annual checkup. I then lost about 90 pounds the old fashioned way: diet plus exercise. The type 2 symptoms went away (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, HbA1c, and fasting glucose), although I still take metformin 500 mg bid. (MD wants me to quit)

I will try In a few months to post a regimen in the regimens section. I just wanted to add this comment to the intro to encourage those that might be dealing with type 2 diabetes. In my case diet and exercise dramatically turned things around... just one data point though.

[brunotto]

npcomplete, on 07 April 2012 - 01:18 AM, said:

no pasta

Pasta (specially with tomato but also without) has very low insulin & glucose index... and Insuline is really what we want to limit (carbs are actually the most clean fuel)
Not having trouble with gluten IMHO is a quite healty food... it has quite equal glucose & insuline score so it doesnt cause hypoglicemia nor hyperglicemia.

Causing high Insuline diabetes and cancer...

The Insulin Index is a measure used to quantify the typical insulin response to various foods. The index is similar to the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, but rather than relying on blood glucose levels, the Insulin Index is based upon blood insulin levels. This measure can be more useful than either the Glycemic Index or the Glycemic Load because certain foods (e.g., lean meats and proteins) cause an insulin response despite there being no carbohydrates present, and some foods cause a disproportionate insulin response relative to their carbohydrate load.
Holt et al. have noted that the glucose and insulin scores of most foods are highly correlated,^[1] but high-protein foods and bakery products that are rich in fat and refined carbohydrates "elicit insulin responses that were disproportionately higher than their glycemic responses." They also conclude that insulin indices may be useful for dietary management and avoidance of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Insulin_index

Someone says it decreases HDL (dr. Davis) but have not yet seen evidence... are there any ?!

Edited by brunotto, 27 April 2012 - 02:23 PM.

[npcomplete]

brunotto, on 27 April 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

npcomplete, on 07 April 2012 - 01:18 AM, said:

no pasta

Pasta (specially with tomato but also without) has very low insulin & glucose index... and Insuline is really what we want to limit (carbs are actually the most clean fuel)
Not having trouble with gluten IMHO is a quite healty food... it has quite equal glucose & insuline score so it doesnt cause hypoglicemia nor hyperglicemia.

Causing high Insuline diabetes and cancer...

The Insulin Index is a measure used to quantify the typical insulin response to various foods. The index is similar to the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load, but rather than relying on blood glucose levels, the Insulin Index is based upon blood insulin levels. This measure can be more useful than either the Glycemic Index or the Glycemic Load because certain foods (e.g., lean meats and proteins) cause an insulin response despite there being no carbohydrates present, and some foods cause a disproportionate insulin response relative to their carbohydrate load.
Holt et al. have noted that the glucose and insulin scores of most foods are highly correlated,^[1] but high-protein foods and bakery products that are rich in fat and refined carbohydrates "elicit insulin responses that were disproportionately higher than their glycemic responses." They also conclude that insulin indices may be useful for dietary management and avoidance of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Insulin_index

Someone says it decreases HDL (dr. Davis) but have not yet seen evidence... are there any ?!

Having dinners with a huge Italian family and not eating pasta is a real challenge. Mangia, mangia! Biscotti is about the only wheat I consume... and if you ever had my wife's biscotti you would understand why I occasionally cheat. While I said I am on a Mediterranean diet, it is actually somewhere between Paleo and Mediterranean.

On this site you may have an uphill battle when promoting a high carb diet, and the wheat issue is still hotly debated. One of the problems with wheat that Dr. Davis talks about is the small particle LDL profile. My overall "classic" cholesterol profile is quite normal, however when I look at the small particle LDL via NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) it shows elevated small particle LDL. (As I said before, I am a big fan of testing). Reducing the carbs and wheat intake made a dramatic turn around in small particle LDL.

I would suggest doing a search on google of this site for wheat. In google, type the following in the the search box:

"Site:longecity.org wheat"

Of course you could also use the advanced search at Longecity, but I prefer going through google.

I have been tested for celiac's antibodies with nothing showing. I do seem to have an allergy to wheat though, with really weird symptoms. My hands used to "freeze up" at night while asleep (no other symptoms). I would wake up and the hands seemed extremely rigid, making it painful to move the hand joints. I tried an elimination diet, and after eliminating wheat all symptoms went away, and would return once I started eating lots of wheat again (Biscotti doesn't count).

I do occasionally have corn or rice pasta. My wife always jokes about "being a quart low" on pasta. So pasta works well with her, and causes reactions with me, including pain and elevated small particle LDL.

[brunotto]

Well I'm Italian too ... actually Italians -eating huge amounts of pasta- are one of the most long lived population on the planet.
Eating a lot of proteins and fats leads to kidney problems... but I'll consider the gluten free pasta.

The thing good with pasta (specially spaghetti) is the low glicemic index... if you put tomato on it it lowers even further.

http://it.wikipedia....ttativa_di_vita

[albedo]

Welcome npcomplete. Interesting thread as I am also Italian, physicist in education and recently (8 years) developed a keen interest in nutrition, life sciences, health and longevity. Good to see you writing on this board. I find there is huge expertize in longecity, trying to keep following also the LEF Forum.