Natural Alternatives to Ibuprofen

Posted on November 25, 2018 by

Ibuprofen has had some bad press recently, and rightly so!

Ibuprofen is linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, it damages the stomach lining which can cause a range of problems from allergies to stomach ulcers and it’s also well known to be detrimental to kidney function & health.

There are a range of, effective, alternatives to ibuprofen, some are listed below:

Supplements for Short Term Inflammation

Turmeric

Turmeric is pretty amazing stuff. It has a range of health benefits related to the gut but it’s also a potent anti-inflammatory.

Taken with black pepper, the bioavailability of curcumin (one of turmeric’s ‘active-components’) is increased greatly, increasing the anti-inflammatory effects.

Curcumin itself, has been isolated and studied extensively. Studies suggest that it’s effective for the treatment inflammation, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline and there’s some research to suggest it may help to prevent some forms of cancer.

Meriva Curcumin is a form of curcumin attached to a lipid. This form of curcumin has been shown to be absorbed at a much higher rate in the gut (study here).

Take 3g per day of turmeric with black pepper for inflammation.

Take 1g of curcumin per day for inflammation and/or depression.

Tart Cherry Juice

Tart cherry juice is also a potent anti-inflammatory. It’s quite nice too. It’s been shown to reduce symptoms of arthritis and it’s also been shown to enhance recovery – study here.

It can also prevent gout and kidney stones. It can even improve the quality of sleep.

CBD Oil

CBD oil is a pretty potent anti-inflammatory, it tends to be very expensive though and the quality varies massively. If it comes from the black market it’s highly unlikely to be organic, or have a favourable THC/CBD ratio.

CBD Oil Infographic

Lifestyle Changes for Chronic Inflammation

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting, that is eating between set hours of the day, has been shown to reduce inflammation.

This is probably related to reducing blood sugar spikes and the tendency to be in an energy deficit when only eating in between certain hours.

Intermittent fasting 12-8: This involves eating between the hours of 12pm and 8pm only, every day.

Intermittent fasting 5-2: This involves eating normally for 5 days per week and then eating about 10% of your normally calorie intake on the other 2 days.

The ketogenic diet also has potent anti-inflammatory benefits. This is mainly due to the production of ketone bodies.

Grounding

People laugh, a lot, when I mention grounding. Look at this study (even just the pictures!) before judging.

Grounding involves going barefoot on the grass or earth. You can also use a grounding mat to sleep on.

Saunas

Using a sauna several times per week is also associated with lower levels of inflammation.

“… C-reactive protein is a leading blood marker of systemic inflammation…there was a significant inverse association between the frequency of sauna bathing and the level of C-reactive protein.”

Reference/Study

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Bonanza Peanut Butter

Posted on November 14, 2018 by

20181114_140252.jpg

 

Bonanza is a new UK company producing top class peanut butter products.

Their range includes a high protein peanut butter and a tasty product which is a mix of peanut butter with almond butter – it basically tastes like almond butter but is a lot cheaper (as almonds are ridiculously expensive, it’s cheaper to mix with peanuts).

With no palm oil and no plastic used in the packaging, it’s an ethical product too.

Peanut butter is great when you’re training hard and trying to hit your required daily calories and protein.

It’s also packed full of micronutrients including magnesium and potassium, vitamins e and vitamin b6.

 

Peanut butter is very good for you – if you avoid the brands with sugar, e-numbers and added vegetable oils! 

 

 

 

Peanut butter is also pretty versatile, You can for example, make high protein cookies from them:

Ingredients

  • 200g peanut butter
  • 50g of Stevia or Sugar
  • 1 large egg (beaten)
  • Pinch of salt

 

  • Beat the egg and then mix all the ingredients together.
  • Shape into cookies
  • Place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 10 minutes

high protein cookies

 

 

 

Interestingly, peanuts are also high in resveratrol. The phytochemical often associated with red grapes & red wine, it can help to prevent cancer & reduce oxidative stress – which is often high in elite athletes.

See a study-abstract about resveratrol in peanuts here.

Final interesting peanut butter fact…it’s saving millions of lives in Africa.

 

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Best Carl Jung Quotes

Posted on November 11, 2018 by

Carl Jung was an early advocate of analytical psychology and like Freud is well known for his work relating to theories of personality & the human subconscious.

Whilst Freud’s work, was still rooted in 19th century theories regarding suppressed desires, Jung generally believed that a deeper analysis was required of the subconscious mind (particularly dreams) in order to garner a full understanding of how personality & behaviour was manifested.

It was this analytical approach, that brought revolutionary innovation into so many scientific fields, particularly contemporary physics and psychology.

For Jung, the ultimate goal of each individual is to reach a state of self-awareness and then self-realisation, hopefully moving on to a pursuit of self-improvement.

 

jung psychology quote

jung quote 2

What you criticise in others, represents your own insecurities.

 

 

carl jung quote

This quote reminds me of the Stoic outlook of controlling your emotions independent of external events. If you lose a fight, you can choose to react positively, learn and move on, or you can dwell on it and/or make shit excuses that won’t help.

Similar to CBT in that it’s not what happens to you, it’s your thoughts about the event that frame your emotions and response.

 

carl jung quote 1

Again, this quote reminded me of Stoic philosophy.

The Greek Gods were, according to some, not tangible Gods as such, but forms of energy. In worshipping the goddess of Misery, Anxiety, Grief, and Depression – Oizys, the ancient Greeks were essentially examining their own emotions, and making sense of them.

Pushing away, or ignoring these emotions, would mean that we could not learn from them. Perhaps the concept of worshipping a goddess, would allow someone to look at themselves with the filter of their own ego.

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Joe Rogan & Dr Rhonda Patrick – Summary

Posted on October 21, 2018 by

 

 

Some notes I made whilst listening to this podcast:

Broccoli Sprouts & Sulforaphane

Sulforaphone helps heal the gut lining, helps support the immune system and can even help fight cancer:

SFN (Sulforaphone) is one of the most frequently studied plant-derived isothiocyanate organosulfur compounds. It has been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological effects including antioxidant (Fahey and Talalay, 1999[]), antimicrobial (Johansson et al., 2008[]), anticancer (Amjad et al., 2015[]), anti-inflammatory (Greaney et al., 2016[]), anti-aging (Sikdar et al., 2016[]), neuroprotective (Tarozzi et al., 2013[]), and antidiabetic (Lee et al., 2012[]).

Source

You can supplement Sulforaphane or get it by growing brocoli sprout seeds. It’s also found in kale.
I’m sure in one of her earlier podcasts, Dr Rhonda said that you can just eat the seeds but the data was clear in terms of how much of ‘the benefits’ you get compared to growing the broccoli sprouts.

Freezing your broccoli sprouts increases the amount of sulforaphane that is bioavailable.

 

The Carnivore Diet

Is probably helping people feel better because it is reducing hunger and the overall intake of calories.

People on the carnivore diet need to make sure they get enough folate, vitamin C and vitamin E.

Calorie restriction has been showed to be of great benefit for those with auto-immune conditions.

She has concerns over the carnivore diet, the effect it has on gut flora and its relationship with colon cancer.

 

Dr Rhonda Patrick & Fish Oil

Fish oil can help retain dopamine in the brain (in the prefrontal cortex).

It can also be therapeutic after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) (study here).

The phospholipid form of fish oil is the best for clearing amyloid plaque from the brain. These plaques are what cause Alzheimer’s disease.

Good sleep is also crucial for those at risk of Alzheimer’s.

 

Dr Rhonda Patrick & Ketones

Dr Rhonda says that she finds exogenous ketones reduce levels of anxiety.

She does find that her energy crashes a few hours after taking them however. This is because she is on a carbohydrate (‘normal’) diet, and ketones reduce your blood sugar. So once they’re out of your system, you have no ketones and low blood sugar.

 

The Benefits of Saunas

A single session in a sauna can help ease the symptoms of depression.

In the first study of 16 individuals with major depression, a single hyperthermia treatment reduced their depression scores almost by 50% five days later.

…To address this question, we conducted a second, larger study in which we randomly treated half the participants with active hyperthermia and the other half with a “sham” treatment that mimicked every aspect of the hyperthermia treatment except the high heat. As we describe in a recently published article, the results echoed those found in the first study – a single session of hyperthermia produced a rapid and powerful antidepressant effect. And remarkably, none of this effect was seen in depressed patients who received the sham treatment. Moreover, the benefits of a single hyperthermia treatment persisted for six weeks, something that we weren’t expecting.

Source

Amazing

Saunas increase levels of beta-endorphins in the body, which makes you feel good, or even euphoric.

Saunas also reduce pain and increase anabolic hormones such as HGH and IGF-1

They can also reduce the risk of degenerative brain conditions (study here)

personal note – cold showers and cryotherapy are also good for mental health. It would appear that the Stoic approach voluntary suffering has some merit.

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Keto-Pro Exogenous Ketones Review (Great for Focus & Energy)

Posted on October 16, 2018 by

I was pretty cynical about exogenous ketones when they first came out.

I’m not a big fan of pyramid schemes (they’ve killed the integrity of the nutrition industry) and a lot of the exogenous ketone supplements used these schemes as their way to gain share in the market. So it was all a bit spammy and full of no-knowledge, crap salesmen/women.

There’s mounting research however, that supplementing with exogenous ketones can have a range of mental and physical benefits.

People often use them to prevent the ‘Keto Flu’ when starting a low carb diet, whilst others use along with a conventional diet, to reduce inflammation and enhance cognition.

Exogenous ketones are also used as an appetite suppressant by those looking to lose weight (study here on the effectiveness).

Dr Rhonda Patrick & Exogenous Ketones

Dr Rhonda Patrick also said recently that she supplements with exogenous ketones for anxiety, or at least temporary relief before doing talks & podcasts:

The ketone supplements have a number of benefits including:

  • Enhanced focus
  • Reduced anxiety (study)
  • Reduced blood sugar (usually a good thing)
  • Reduced inflammation
  • Increased energy levels

You can get a bit of a crash in energy a few hours after consuming ketones, if you’re on a normal carbohydrate diet for the rest of the time.

This is because ketones will tend to lower your blood sugar levels, which you won’t notice, until the ketones are depleted.

Exogenous Ketones UK

I’ve tried the Perfect Keto and Keto-Pro exogenous ketones.

I prefer the Keto-Pro ketones as they have the highest concentration of Beta Hydroxybuyrate. They are unflavoured, unlike Perfect Keto.

Perfect Keto also contain MCT oil, which my guts don’t tolerate too well.

 

Targeted Ketosis for MMA

I’ve personally found targeted ketosis, a good happy medium for MMA training. Exogenous ketones can be used after training to get straight back into ketosis.

For the ideal protocol regarding targeted ketosis & high-intensity training – see my post here.

 

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Intrinsic Goals vs Extrinsic Goals – How they can hinder success & happiness

Posted on October 14, 2018 by

Goals have been associated with sports psychology and general high-achievers for several decades.

They’re also inherently tied to personal development and Positive psychology.

The type of goal you set is in many ways, as important as the outcome.

Coaches and athletes tend to set outcome/extrinsic goals.

However, according to Hardy, Jones and Gould (1993) elite athletes must have high levels of intrinsic motivation in order to sustain effort through dips in form and confidence (reference).

Extrinsic Goals

Extrinsic Goals are outcome orientated. You have less control over intrinsic Goals, so they can actually increase levels of anxiety, and even depression and learned helplessness in the longer term.

 

Examples of extrinsic goals

“I will have a 10-0 fight record by 2020”

“I want to earn $100,000 per year within the next 3 years”

“I want to be a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt by December 2019”

These goals are ultimately dependent on other people and other factors.

If you seek out or are matched up with the best opponents for example, it can be difficult to ensure an unbeaten MMA record.

Extrinsic goals can be motivating and can be very objective.

In that sense, they have the advantage that they are easily set out into SMART goals.

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-Based

SMARTER goals are also Evaluated and Revised when necessary and rewarded when achieved.

A classic SMARTER goal would be:

“I want to bench press 100kg, by December 2020.”

This is very objective and measurable. Whereas something like “I want to do my best” is not measurable, in an objective sense anyway.

Extrinsic goals do promote greater achievement, and provide additional motivation.

They can therefore be helpful for developing a person’s career or progress in sport. But they are not known for making people happier and may actually reduce wellbeing.

Take a look at the abstract from this study for example:

“Aspirations for intrinsic (e.g., self-acceptance, affiliation, community feeling) versus extrinsic (e.g., financial success, appearance, social recognition) goals were examined in German and U.S. college students. The structure of students’ goal-systems in terms of goal content was remarkably similar in the two cultures, as evidenced by examination of the ordering of goals. Also, as in past work in the U.S., German college students who were especially focused on intrinsic goals had high well-being, whereas the reverse was true for a focus on extrinsic goals. Some differences between the cultures in terms of specific goals are also discussed.”

 

Another study on US college grads concluded:

Life goals, or aspirations, organize and direct behavior over extended periods of time. The current study, guided by self-determination theory, examined the consequences of pursuing and attaining aspirations over a 1-year period in a post-college sample. Results indicated that placing importance on either intrinsic or extrinsic aspirations related positively to attainment of those goals. Yet, whereas attainment of intrinsic aspirations related positively to psychological health, attainment of extrinsic aspirations did not; indeed, attainment of extrinsic aspirations related positively to indicators of ill-being. Also as predicted, the association between change in attainment of intrinsic aspirations and change in psychological health was mediated by change in the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Discussion focuses on the idea that not all goal attainment is beneficial; rather, attainment of aspirations with different contents relates differentially to psychological health.

 

In an age of terrible levels of happiness and mental health, this stuff is important!

 

Intrinsic Goals

Aristotle promoted living by virtues.

“Act as a virtuous person would act in your situation.”

Ensure you act by a specific set of standards on a daily basis regardless of external factors and events.

Intrinsic goal setting also aligns well Stoic philosophy.

Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. You can also control your emotions, attitude and response to external events but you cannot control what happens to you in general.

stoic quote

Examples of intrinsic Goals include;

  • Turning up to training 3 times a week for the next 6 months
  • Turning up to training 10 minutes early each & pro-actively warming up & stretching
  • Giving 100% in training each week this month
  • Eating organic fruits & vegetables each day
  • Avoiding any processed foods
  • Making an effort to be positive
  • Writing down 2 things you’re grateful for everyday
  • Helping my teammate train for his next fight

Intrinsic goals can also help develop a Growth Mindset, as opposed to a Fixed Mindset.

Athletes and people with a Growth Mindset, believe that effort, work-ethic and attitude for example, can lead to success.

People with a Fixed Mindset believe that success is dependent on fixed attributes such as natural ability.

People with fixed mindsets tend to say things such as “I’m no good at Maths” or “I’m not good at computers”, or even “My Jiu Jitsu is poor because I’m not tall enough”.

People with growth mindsets take ownership and are more likely to attribute success and failure to controllable factors. Instead of blaming his or her height for being poor a Jiu Jitsu for example, someone with a growth mindset might say:

“My Jiu Jitsu isn’t as good as my boxing at the moment, because I haven’t drilled techniques from guard that much and I have yet to build specific fitness for grappling”.

 

One related theory –  “self-determination theory,  suggests that three factors are important for happiness and wellbeing

• Autonomy: feeling in control of behaviour and goals

• Competence: gaining mastery of tasks or skills

• Relatedness: feeling a sense of belonging or attachment to others

 

Intrinsic goals give full autonomy, and also motivate people to achieve competence in given pursuits.

Extrinsic goals can also generate a type of blinkered, self absorbed mindset, which leads to over-competitiveness in training that can reduce relatedness (in my opinion).

 

For the best results in your sport, combine each extrinsic goal with several intrinsic goals.

Post written on my mobile whilst observing my child at soft play – apologies for any typos (not that I’m attributing them to my environment, they would be my own fault!)

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We Are All One (Why Nobody Really Dies)

Posted on October 11, 2018 by

We are all one

 

It was World Mental Health Day yesterday. I’m not a huge fan of ‘awareness’ days, I think they bring problems but not solutions.

I think depression is a problem that has a number of causes…

  • Lack of exercise
  • Poor Diet & Gut inflammation
  • Lack of sunlight
  • Too much sitting/Poor posture
  • Social Media
  • Marketing
  • Shite TV
  • Entitlement
  • Lack of ‘suffering‘/being too sheltered
  • Unrealistic Expectations
  • Learned helplessness & lack of ownership

Quite a complicated issue!

Marketing, social media and expectations relate mostly to the hippy notion of ‘we are all one’ though…

Marketing – To Sell Something, Make People Feel Insecure & Inadequate

If shopping malls were only frequented by Buddhist Monks, they wouldn’t sell anything.

People who are content, still have ‘needs’ such as food, water and shelter, but they don’t have ‘wants’ such as flash cars, clothes etc.

The key to marketing is to make people think they need certain products, that they actually only want.

Want to be happy? You need x, y and z

Want to be successful? You need a, b and c.

Best of all, people are gullible enough to pass on their insecurities to others.

If you don’t wear the right clothes, for example, they’ll always be someone to mock you for it. Unaware they’re just projecting their insecurities (and marketing messages) onto you.

There’s pressure to wear the right clothes, drive the right car, have the right job, wife/husband, kids, house etc.

The big consequences of all these marketing messages, is we become insecure and therefore self-absorbed.

We think of what we lack, what we want, and we become self-absorbed and feel separate from others.

In my eyes, it’s this separation from others that is an illusion and also a problem

Reality TV & Social Media

These 21st-century inventions don’t help because they make use compare ourselves with others constantly, and we also judge others constantly.

One 30 second scroll down your Facebook newsfeed, allows you to compare your life with dozens of other people. Usually with an unfavourable outcome.

 

We watch, seemingly stupid people on TV shows like TOWIE, owning Range Rovers and having loads of other expensive material goods and we feel entitled to the same.

Again, the more we judge, the more we feel entitled – because we feel like we are better than others.

unequal pay

The Monkey On the Left Feels Entitled to the Same Reward as the one on the Right

 

We also compare our looks, wealth and again, become self-absorbed as a consequence.

 

It’s All an Illusion

 

Thoughts of the self, create most of our suffering

We are happiest when we lose the concept of ‘self’.

When we are busy playing a sport and focused on the ball, or when we are watching an edge-of-the-seat TV programme, for example. They both take away our pre-occupation with ourself.

The irony is, is that there is no self.

 

 

Look at it from a scientific point of view.

  • All the atoms and molecules in our bodies are billions of years old (mainly from exploding stars)
  • Your body is matter & energy – neither of which can be destroyed
  • We continually exchange energy with our surroundings – food, heat etc.
  • All the atoms in our body continually exchange with the environment

The more separate we feel and insulated we become from one another, the more mentally ill we appear to be.

We either become a narcissist or highly self-conscious and insecure. Either way, it’s constant thoughts of the self that bother us.

It’s all bollocks, we’re all one energy, one parallel consciousness

 

In death, the collection of atoms of which you are composed (a universe within the universe) are repurposed. Those atoms and that energy, which originated during the Big Bang, will always be around. Therefore, your “light,” that is, the essence of your energy — not to be confused with your actual consciousness — will continue to echo throughout space until the end of time.

 

What is the self?

Does it really exist?

I don’t think so

aln watts

 

death

source

 

 

For some less vague and whoo-whoo advice on depression, I’ve written a few in-depth posts about it – which you can read here and here

 

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Conor McGregor Diet (Practical Guide to Breakthrough Training Plateaus)

Posted on October 7, 2018 by

Conor is apparently, a fan of the Sirt Food Diet.

This diet is high in sirtuin activators, which help prevent diseases related to age and stress (study here).

The diet is best know however, for allowing both dark chocolate and red wine.

The diet appears to require a foundation of the following foods:

  • Green Tea
  • Apples
  • Oranges
  • Grapefruit
  • Lemons
  • Turmeric (an orange indian spice)
  • Kale & Spinach
  • Other Green leafy vegetables
  • Berries
  • Capers (small flower buds of the Capparis shrub)
  • Red wine
  • Dark chocolate (that is at least 85 per cent cocoa)

 

 

More information can be found in the video below:

 

 

 

Conor has also said that he doesn’t eat a huge amount of carbs, presumably relying on a high amount of protein & healthy fats to meet his energy demands.

 

what does conor eat

Source

Possible Conor McGregor Meal Plan

7am

Sirtfood Green Juice

  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 30g rocket
  • 10g parsley
  • ½ green apple
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3g of Matcha Green Tea
  • 75g of kale

Add hemp seeds for extra protein

 

7.30am

Poached eggs & Salmon

 

9am – Training

 

11am – (post training)

Whey Protein with 5g Creatine

2 Ripe bananas, 1 apple

 

12.30pm

Walnut Porridge

2 pieces of 85% dark chocolate

 

3pm

Kale, Spinach, Egg Salad with sweet potato fries

 

5pm

  • Organic Beef Burgers
  • Sweet Potato Fries
  • Green Salad (kale, spinach, rocket)

 

7pm – training

 

9pm

Sirt food Diet Smoothie with Hemp Seeds

 

Conor’s Diet would also need to be high in protein, so that he can recovery and adapt to his training sessions.

High protein (healthy) foods include:

  • Organic Meat
  • Hemp seeds
  • Quinoa
  • Nuts
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Organic Dairy

There would also be a need for a lot of calories, due to all the exercise he does whilst training.

High calories, unprocessed foods include:

  • Coconut Milk (pure, usually in tins not the cartons)
  • oats
  • buckwheat
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Nuts
  • Nut butters
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Conor McGregor Workout (Gain the Competitive Edge)

Posted on October 7, 2018 by

 

Love him, or hate him, Conor McGregor is a great fighter and his a physique to match his athletic-ability. Not everyone wants to be an MMA fighter however, it’s lots of hard work, dedication and pain, and your body will not thank you for all the injuries you’ll inevitably accumulate.  You may wish to look like a fighter though…

ConorLegs

 

Workout at Your Own Risk – Consult Your Doctor before undertaking a new regime

 

Workout to Look Like Conor McGregor

  • Strong Deltoids (Shoulder Muscles)

Before looking to ‘shape & tone’ your shoulder muscles, you’ll first need to increase the amount of lean muscle on your shoulders.

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

shoulder press gif

Image Source

 

Isometric Exercises

 

Rear Delt-Flys

This one is also good for your posture

or do these modified-rows to hit your rear-shoulder muscles

 

  • V Shaped Upper Body

To obtain the classic bodybuilder V shape, a strict diet is always going to be a key element.

Exercises that build your deltoids (above) and lats (latissimus dorsi) will also be crucial.

latissmus dorsi

Lats AKA Latissmus Dorsi Muscle in the Back – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latissimus_dorsi_muscle

 

Wide Grip Pull Ups

Also great for core strength

 

  • Tear Drop Quads

 

Front Squats

 

 

 

Conor Workout Plan

Day 1

Warm up on foam roller + 5 minutes skipping

Wide Grip Pull Ups – 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Eccentric Chin ups – 2 sets of 8 reps

1 Arm Row – 2 sets of 10 reps

Rear Delt Flys – 1 set of 12 reps

 

Day 2

Warm up

Seated Shoulder Press 3 x 8-12 reps

Military Press 2 x 10 reps

Isometric Bridge Exercise:

 

Day 3

Warm Up

Front Squats 3 x 10 reps

Box Jumps 3 x 6 reps

Ball Hamstring Curls

Day 4

Warm Up

Bench Press 3 x 8-12 reps

Clap Press ups 3 x 8 reps

 

Workout Move Like Conor McGregor

 

  • Core & Balance

Single leg deadlifts

Single Leg Squats

 

Lots of stretching:

 

  • & More Balance Exercises

 

 

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Exercises for Both Strength & Flexibility

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

If you compete and train in a martial art, then both strength & flexibility are valuable physical assets that you will no doubt want to build & develop.

Create a more functional workout and kill 2 birds with 1 proverbial stone with these exercises.

Remember to warm up and build up your strength & flexibility gradually. You can definitely injure yourself doing some of these exercises:

Bridges

 

Great for shoulder strength and hip mobility.

Can place stress on the lower back.

 

Weighted Downward Dog

Hindu Press Ups

Sumo Squats

sumsquat

Overhead Squats

overheadsquat

Overhead Lunges

overheadLunge

 

Image Sources

Gifycat

Pinterest
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