What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. - Socrates
The Guide linked is considered the best guide for health and fitness. If you want to know about mindset, diet, exercise, and everything else, then read the guide.
Do not skip parts, read the whole thing. If you are still unsure, then read it again
The rest of this section will cover things that the guide missed or didn't include.
Another link, in case you missed itBisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer used in the manufacturing of most polycarbonate plastics. It is known to leak from plastic food and drink containers spilling into foods and drinks and it may have highly negative impacts on human health as it "is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects," particularly sexual reproductive malformities and diseases since it can "function as a xenoestrogen by binding strongly to estrogen-related receptor ? (ERR-?)."
"In general, plastics that are marked with recycle codes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are very unlikely to contain BPA. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with recycle codes 3 or 7 may be made with BPA."
Pthalates
Anti-androgen mimicking Shorter time of pregnancy Earlier puberty among girls
Bisphenol-A
Estrogen mimicking Unusual organ growth Obesity
Plasticizers for plastics are additives, such as phtalates, that give hard plastics like polyvinylchlorid (PVC) the desired flexibility and durability. Phtalate-based plasticizers are used in situations where good resistance to water and oils is required (> 20 different compounds) Bisphenol-A is a difunctional building block of several important plastics and plastic additives. With an annual production of 2–3 million mertic tonnes, it is an important monomer in the production of polycarbonate (PC)
Some studies to look up on Phtalates:
Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal Phtalate exposure - Swan et al. Prenatal phtalate exposure and reduced masculine play in boys - Swan et al. Effects on perinatal exposure to PCBs and Dioxins on play behaviour in Dutch children at school age - Vreugdenhil et al.
Some studies to look up on Bisphenol-A:
Association of urinary Bisphenol-A concentration with medical disorders and laboratory abnormalities in adults - Lang et al.
Multivitamins/minerals must only show chemically that their label is accurate - that is, through high performance liquid chromatography they verify the presence of the ingredients on the label. This does not take into account bioavailability and it probably is the case that you are not receiving the good effects you paid for simply because you were unaware that the company opted to be cheap in the ingredients and assembly of the pill.
The FIRST ingredient you need to look at is the vitamin B12. The reason this is the most important is because 1) it's the most expensive component in the multi and 2) it needs to be in high enough doses to be effective. B12 powers your nerves and liver function and you need a lot more than the government recommended amount (6mcg).
The cheap, inexpensive form of B12 is called cyanocobalamin. This is an inert form of B12 meaning that the cobalamin molecule has been stabilized with a cyanide molecule. This is bad because when your body has to metabolize it, it breaks it down, strips away the front end molecule (which is cyanide) and then you have to detoxify that cyanide.
So why is this bad? Because first you have to detoxify the cyanide and then it robs energy from your cells just to make it useful which is difficult if you are tired, stressed etc. Not ideal when cutting.
What you want to look for is a co-enzyme form of B12. Methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. The methylcobalamin is exactly what your liver uses as methylation reactions which power a lot of your natural biochemistry. Adenosylcobalamin is used to assemble proteins in your body and is a key marker of aging. If you don't have enough adenosylcobalamin your body can't make proteins and ages much faster.
So why is this better? Well if you have a form of a vitamin that is exactly what your body uses then it goes right into your metabolism and does its job.
So what if it's a blend of methyl and cyano etc? Well, this is simply the company being deceptive. Methylcobalamin costs literally 10 times the amount as cyanocobalamin so the company wants to use as much as the cheap stuff as possible but still have the word methylcobalamin on their label so you think it's good quality.
Food based nutrients (greens supplements).
Lets look at chlorella first. What does it do? It absorbs toxins, metals and lead etc. Perfect if you eat a lot of tuna because it will help absorb/break down the mercury in the tuna. Quality all depends on where it's sourced. Does it come from the centre of a lake or does it come from irrigation channels dug around the lake? Is it grown hydroponically? This is important because you don't want your chlorella to be laced with mercury and other crap when that's the reason you're taking it in the first place.
Minerals.
Lettuce be reality, all minerals are natural so that's not something to be worried about. What you want to look for is how the mineral is structured. So when a plant absorbs minerals and builds them into its structure we get organic minerals which are biologically bound in a way which is more compatible to how we, as humans, have evolved. Iron is a perfect example of this. If you're getting iron through your water for instance, that's going to be a highly reactive compound, potentially toxic and destructive to health. However, if you get iron from something like spinach, it's been structured with proteins and is in a form that your body knows what to do with it. So you want a form connected to proteins or a form biologically bound to something your body uses in its metabolism.
Magnesium.
Magnesium is in short supply in our food and is a critical mineral to your health for your heart, muscles etc.
Magnesium oxide is the cheap form of magnesium. The oxide itself is oxygen generating compound so when your body has to use it, it strips the oxide from the magnesium before it can use it and now you have oxides in your system. So how do you get rid of oxides? You use antioxidants (vitamin c, vitamin e, beta carotene etc). Why on earth would you want to waste your antioxidants on something you just took for your health? Makes no sense at all. Inert forms of magnesium such as magnesium gluconate, which is a sugar containing molecule of magnesium, is about 10% magnesium and 90% glucose. Not at all what your body needs.
So what are the higher quality forms of magnesium? Magnesium bis-glycinate which is magnesium double bonded to the amino acid glycine. This is the most expensive form of magnesium you can buy. So what does it do? Well, it's absorbed as a food, it doesn't even need to bind to mineral receptors. This is good because if your body isn't working quite right or you have competition for mineral absorption it doesn't matter. Next, because it's bonded to glycine it goes to your liver to help detoxification and to your nervous system to help it relax. So the magnesium goes straight in with it. This is critically important in people who are fatigued because cells all over your body have to pump magnesium inside themselves. However, the pump needs magnesium to work in the first place so if you're deficient in magnesium and your pump doesn't work you can take magnesium oxide until you're blue in the face and none of it will make it to your cells because you can't get it there. So the best way to make magnesium is to chelate it with things that go into cells. We also have magnesium malate (malic acid). Malic acid is the best compound on earth for muscle fatigue. Perfect for athletes. It will delay the onset of lactic acid so great for cutting and doing cardio.
What to look out for.
Amino acid chelate. This sounds great and it does absorb better but what is it? Well usually it's hydrolysed soy protein and you still don't know what form of magnesium was bound to that soy protein. Some companies use calcium formate which is a chemical used to accelerate concrete hardening. Not good.
Forms of multivitamins.
Capsules vs tablets? Capsules break down easier and it's easier to absorb the nutrients in them. Vege caps are the best hands down because the vegetable fibre they are made of comes from a nice vegetarian source. Gelatin is fine too but there have been a few scares that they may contain mad cow disease (gelatin comes from beef). Overall though, not something to worry about. Tablets generally use a glue like substance to hold it all together. Usually this is dicalcium phosphate which sounds nice but it's essentially just a glue. Then you have to coat the tablet and companies generally use a coloured coating which is intended to mask the smell. After that you need to glaze the tablet and companies use what's called pharmaceutical glaze (shellac) which comes from a bug. Tablets also tend to just run right through people due to the fact they are basically like a tiny piece of cement all glued together.
Best forms of Vitamins: -Vitamin A:Full spectrum mixed carotene sources,retinyl palmitate -Vitamin C: Ascorbic acid,Rose hips, Magnesium ascorbate -Vitamin D:Cholecalciferol -Vitamin E: mixed sources of Tocerpherols and Tocotrienols -vitamin K: Menatetrenone -B1: Benfotiamine -B2: Riboflavin 5' Phosphate -Vitamin B3(niacin): inositol Hexanicotinate -B5: Pantethine -Vitamin B6:Pyrodoxil-5-phosphate -Vitamin B12: methylcobalin -Folic Acid: 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate
Good list above but I beg to differ on the vitamin b6. Pyridoxine hydrochloride is fine as well.
And to add some more to the list: - Magnesium: magnesium aspartate - Calcium: calcium hydroxyapatite "MCHC" - Iron: ferrous fumarate, iron picolinate - Selenium: L-selenomethionine - Zinc: zinc picolinate
Have you ever wondered why you feel horrible waking up even though you had slept for over eight hours? This is because the length of sleep matters little compared to when you awaken in your sleeping cycle. When you sleep your brain-waves change in timed stages. There are 4 stages of sleep:
Light Sleep - This is the type of sleeping that occurs in calculus class. Alpha and theta waves abound. Stage 2 Sleep - For about 20 minutes the brain produces wave bursts or sleep spindles. Body temperature drops. Slow-Wave or Deep Sleep - Long delta brain-waves occur during this sleep. Waking up now will be unpleasant. REM Sleep - Muscle atonia or paralysis occurs, blood pressure rises, optical muscles twitch, vivid dreaming takes place.
An entire sleep cycle lasts for about 90-110 minutes depending on the person, and it typically goes through the stages like so: 1 - 2 - 3 - 2 - REM. Waking up at the end of a cycle or immediately after REM sleep will fill you with energy and optimism. So it's best to sleep in multiples of around 90. If you're going to bed at 12 for example then set your alarm clock for 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30. In the links below in this section there are some bed time calculators that will do this for you automatically.
Circadian rhythms are physiological responses to the times of day. As you near sleep for example the pineal gland will secrete an excess of melatonin. These rhythms can be controlled and pushed backwards and forwards by sleeping and waking at the same times repeatedly. Having a regular bedtime and waketime is a good idea. You don't necessarily have to go to bed at 10 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m. but having a consistency to your sleeping pattern is important. http://stereopsis.com/flux is a cool program that adjusts your computer screen brightness and color to reflect the sun and moon or the time of day.
Bed time calculator
What I think is a great way to get in all of your daily nutrients is to blend vegetables and fruits in a high-powered blender. I advise against juicing as it discards the cellulose and some potential phytochemicals. By blending you receive exactly what we are meant to accept.
I personally like the Vitamix blender. If you're going to spring for one you should definitely go for a quality and long-lasting blender. It's a worthwhile investment in my opinion.
Here are some of my favorite extra nutritious "super" foods. I tried just listing those foods that members here might not be familiar with...
Hemp Seed - Possesses all essential amino acids and all essential omega fatty acids. High in protein, vitamins, and fiber. Rapini - High in protein and fiber. Possesses all amino acids. Possesses almost every vitamin and mineral. Quinoa - High in protein and carbohydrate. Possesses all amino acids. Rich in vitamins/minerals. Edamame - Great source of protein and fiber. Micronutrient dense.
It's best to get all nutrients from whole foods themselves but if you still want to supplement with a multivitamin then you should be aware of the following information.
Some water may be contaminated with toxins and heavy metals such as xenoestrogens, estrogen, BPA, and other contaminants. It's probably a good idea to filter the water that you drink. The best filtration method that will remove most of the aforementioned contaminants is reverse osmosis filtration.
Other methods are carbon filtration and nanofiltration.
There are two main aspects of yoga. The most important are the yoga poses which are called 'asanas'. There are around 90 of them and each has a specific physical and mental benefit. The next aspect of yoga is the practice of controlled breathing which is dubbed the full yogic breath.