Keeping It Simple
On the fourth anniversary of the release of How to be Fit, Trim, and Possibly Immortal, I felt like taking a look at how life has changed. But it hasn’t changed that much; it just became a lot more complicated. If you’re reading this on Substack, my earlier posts can be found at www.fittrimimmortal.com/blog.
When I began writing the book, it was to be a collection of exercise and nutrition tips for endurance athletes, until I realized that much of it was good for everyone. After typing ideas and building chapters for about six years, I realized that I needed to publish what I had and begin work on a second book, because some of the “revolutionary” ideas that I had worked with and pioneered were starting to show up in other people’s books. During publication (released 3/16/20, the day the world stopped) I decided that rather than write a second book and have all of the information contained therein be obsolete or mainstream by the time it got out there, I would simply start a blog in order to float leading edge ideas while they were still leading edge.
With the explosion of scientific knowledge, it now seems there is a new “latest thing” in fitness and aging on a daily basis, and of course much of it is just hype and marketing. As exciting as that might seem, it brought us to the point where I had to publish Out Over Our Skis because I spend as much time warning about the new ideas that are dangerous and ill-conceived as I do writing about things that are valid and useful. I’ve gotten feedback from a few folks who wonder how anyone can keep up with all the right things to eat, the right supplements to take and the right lifestyle decisions needed to live our optimum life, free from illness and living as long as possible. And I get it, it’s pretty much all I do most days is research this stuff. So is there a way to uncomplicate it all? And of course there’s the whole issue of the cost of some of the new products. So let’s go with simplicity today.
In business, there is the 80/20 rule. It states that 80% of the work will be accomplished by 20% of the workforce. What it means, between the lines, is that 80% of the “team” is lazy and letting the others carry the load. I suspect you’ve noticed this at one time or another, that some of the people around you aren’t really doing their part. My personal experience at the management level has it closer to 97/3. This explains why so many people never achieve anything remarkable. For today, I’m sharing a corollary: 20% of the “health hacks,” vitamins, exercise, and good habits will get you upwards of 80% of the results you’re looking for. And again, I’d be inclined to say it’s 90/10 or, when extrapolated to cost, maybe even 97/3. Yes, you can be healthy on a budget!
Reading and listening to the many experts and gurus in the natural health space, two things become readily apparent: 1- “natural” health can be really expensive. Since moving to what is essentially a retirement community in the Arizona desert, I hear it more and more, that the things like organic olive oil at $55 a bottle and organic, grass-fed meats and pastured eggs are both expensive and not readily available, and tallying up supplements and health-related devices can eat up an unhealthy slice of your pension. 2- it is unbelievably complicated. And most of this is due to what modern society has become: We don’t raise our own livestock anymore; we don’t grow our own food; and we are surrounded by a gazillion chemicals that didn’t exist 200 years ago. It’s hard to know what was sprayed on your asparagus, spinach and apples if you didn’t plant it and pick them.
By expensive, I’m not even talking about a few hundred dollars a month for supplements. You can buy yourself an infrared sauna for a few thousand, an infrared panel for $600 or so, a cold plunge, a Faraday tent for your bed, filters for your home’s electrical lines, a special device that cuts the power to your bedroom at night, katsu blood-restriction straps at around $1000, various IR devices to shine light up your nose or into the squamosal suture of the skull. There are grounding mats for your desk and your bed. You can also buy yourself a hyperbaric chamber, and a resonating device that vibrates your bones to change your brainwave patterns. And there’s more, including blood and genetic testing and Tony Robbins new full-body MRI. And of course there’s buying everything organic and tearing up your carpeting if there’s mold or formaldehyde in the padding.
By complicated, it’s about which of these things you “need” (including supplements) and what you can afford. It’s also about getting to know the interrelationships among supplements so that you don’t “OD” on D3 without K2 and end up with a magnesium deficiency or take too much zinc and get a copper deficiency. It’s also about researching your “organic” sources to make sure the end product is truly organic. For example, your source for pastured chicken and eggs might be feeding bugs to the chickens (their natural diet) but the bugs may have toxins in them. Your “organic” honey isn’t organic if the bees are pollinating orchards that have been sprayed, or even wandered into areas that have been sprayed. If your friend or neighbor is a beekeeper, their bees are likely patrolling a 3- to 5- mile radius, and in most parts of the US, that exposes them to RoundUp.
Rather than drive yourself crazy and broke, unless you’re just wallowing in both money and time, we need to consider “good enough,” a set of best practices. Because if you’re a fanatic on eating only organic, grass-fed, wild-caught, and the purest olive oil, you can never dine out, never eat pizza, ribs, or even apple and pecan pie over the holidays. And you won’t get invited to any parties if you’re always asking if the canapés are organic and “did you use pure olive oil on this salad?”
So here’s the list of the 20% that can be accomplished without breaking the bank:
First and foremost buy an Oura Ring. They’re still available for only $300, plus a $72 annual membership and mine provides me with real-time data on my sleep, recovery, and general wellness. It has saved me more than I paid for it by helping me drop a number of supplements that I didn’t need, and helps me every day, by reminding me that I was up too late writing and need to get to bed early tonight. You can track your metrics and it will warn you that a cold is coming on or that you’re vulnerable, even before you feel it. It can also tell you if you’re pushing yourself too hard on your training days, something I could have used thirty years ago.
Next, eliminate all artificial sweeteners (including sugar) and man-made shortenings and cooking oils. If it didn’t exist during the Civil War, it’s someone’s science project and has way too much linoleic acid, which degrades mitochondria. I addressed this in one of my first blog posts: Toxic Food. On the list of toxic foods, oats, wheat, and coffee are some of the most sprayed crops. Since I recommend against eating anything first thing in the morning, let’s give oatmeal the heave-ho and look for organic coffee.
Third thing is a simple multivitamin. You can load up on all the individuals and pay a lot of money for very little benefit. The exception is to take significant doses (5-10,000 units) of vitamin D during the months when you’re not getting natural sunlight, and of course complementing it with K2. Some folks may benefit from other individual vitamins and herbs, but the ROI for the last 20% drops off fast, and some of it only applies to folks with special epigentic issues.
Next up, since you’re probably not eating organ meat, get yourself a nice supplement made from desiccated organs; they’re not expensive. We used to eat the entire animal, and we’ve lost a lot of nutrients by the fact that we currently discard as much as we eat.
Assuming you feel good, and your Oura Ring doesn’t give you any alarming feedback, the next things to do are all free.
Going to the gym and pumping iron is a good thing, but not necessary. And if you live in a big city, membership might run over $200 a month. In most communities these days, you can find a free Tai Chi program that will be just about as beneficial for your heart and far more so for your joints and maintaining youthful movement. If you’re not planning on competing athletically, walking, especially hiking hills, is as good as running or cycling, and it’s an outdoor activity, where the air is far better than inside a gym. I’ve also found free dance classes (both line dancing and ballroom). But if you do have a gym membership, take advantage of the sauna for 20 minutes on each visit.
Laugh Your Way to Health. Something I wrote a little over two years ago. Having a positive disposition does, without question, improve your health and the quality of your life.
Breathing: Various breath practices, from Wim Hof and Buteyko to Pranayama are all beneficial. Wim Hof and Buteyko will increase your hemoglobin in the same manner as altitude training. Wim Hof breathing consists of 20-30 deep breathes, both in and out, concluding with a complete exhale and holding until you simply cannot hold any longer. It can also include pushups or squats performed during the breath hold. Buteyko is a bit simpler, consisting of simply pausing after you exhale, to allow carbon dioxide to build up. Little things like exhaling and walking ten steps before inhaling or exhaling and doing 5-10 deep squats before breathing again. It’s similar to Wim Hof, but a bit less fanatical.
Pranayama breathing is the place to start. Learn to breathe a) through your nose, and b) deep into your abdomen. Start with one hand on your sternum, with the first knuckle of your pinkie finger just below the tip of the breastbone and the other hand centered over your navel. Now, as you breathe, focus on not moving your upper hand, while taking a deep breath to push your lower hand out.
One last bit of free advice, try not to get too wrapped up in things, including politics, that you a) can’t change and which b) probably are not as bad as they seem if you look at them every day. Trust me on that, because I do follow the news and some nights it prevents me from sleeping. When it comes to elections, do your homework, make your choice, then get on with your life.