Grab a (Bulletproof) coffee and settle in, because this blog post is a long one :).

I'm a massive believer in anything happening to you externally is due to some sort of function happening internally. Whether that's getting yolked af at the gym, smashing your goals on your business, always being energetic. Or going in the complete opposite direction. Not having enough energy to get out of bed, hating on life because you’re not where you want to be (but still not doing the things needed to get there), skipping workouts, or just blatantly procrastinating, searching for the energy to do the things you need.

With the society we live in today, dopamine release is accessible through a swipe on your phone, causing addiction to social media - which can be massively energy draining! - and easy access to the worst possible foods for our bodies and the convenience they bring. Since fruit and veg farming is in mass production all year round, our soil is shed of key nutrients. On top of this, toxins are introduced that are then transferred into our foods, leaving all foods super nutrient deficient. 

It is literally impossible to get everything our bodies need to live/work/play on our most optimal level.

Everyone has heard the myth that we only use a small percentage of our brain. This is entirely not true. Even when we sleep, all parts of our brain are active and - for something that makes up 2% of our weight, but uses 20% of our energy - there is no way that selfish bastard isn't in full effect 100% of the time (this blog is too long to include the science behind it, but believe me or research it - we use 100% of our brains all the time). 

I truly believe that one of the major reasons that we are not reaching our max potential is that we are not feeding both our brains (gut and brain) the nutrients they need. In a time where not only the bad stuff is super accessible, but the good stuff is as well, we should be performing at our peaks 98% of the time. Ever see someone and go 'man - or woman... or prefer not to have a sex ;P - I wish I had that person's energy! I'd get so much done!'

Well. Not to brag, but the amount of people who say that to me is ridiculous. My response is always: Are you training? Are you eating enough? And are you supplementing with XYZ?

Now you sexy mofos are interested to get on peak performance levels, let me explain a little bit more why brain fog exists, why we feel like our energy is being ripped from us the moment we wake up and why we can never 'find the time' to do the things we know will make us happy.

But before we start, I want to counter the most common limiting belief.

"It's easy for you to say, but I'm super busy - I don't have time."

That, my sexy friend, is the biggest bullshit excuse of all time.

Elon Musk is 1. saving the human race through three businesses, not to mention the other businesses he runs to fix not so important issues; 2. taking on countries (and winning) in the space race; 3. taking on one of the biggest industries in the world - automobiles (again, and winning); 4 taking on another huge industry - medical (and about to be winning), connecting humans to technology; and 5. has triplets and twins. I'm just saying his feats because imagine if he said "I don't have enough time".

I can almost guarantee that you are nowhere near as busy as Elon, and if you are - well, you should be doing these things even more to attack your day with more energy, more focus and just be even more of a badass.

Sorry for the rant lol (← wrote lol because "I don't have time" to type Laughing Out Loud... ;P just being cheeky). Back on track now.

We feel suboptimal thanks to a little (big) thing known as inflammation.

Inflammation isn't just "my muscle's sore, it must be inflamed", which is what a lot of people write it off as. No no no - inflammation is the cause of all illness, disease, aging; pretty much anything bad you can think of is some sort of inflammation. It's literally what cancer is. A scary but good-to-know fact: Men have a 40% chance of getting some sort of cancer in their lifetime and 21% chance of dying from cancer, women 38% and 18% chance of dying from cancer. Let's put that in a more relatable statistic: 1 in 2 men will get cancer of something at some point in their life, women 1 in 3. 

Cancer is about to get so common that when someone beats it, it's going to be a "meh" type of feat, just like living to 100 now is. How scary is that?

Our diets have a huge effect on inflammation as bad foods are so convenient and delicious (believe me - although I'm into biohacking, I still slip). The amount of information out there on what's good for us is conflicting. Research is now proving the old government RDI (recommended daily intakes) wrong, and - in the same way we have our own personal fingertip patterns - each and every one of us has our own personal gut bacteria.

Something healthy for me can cause inflammation for you.

So without getting your gut bacteria tested, how tf does the government know what you should and shouldn't be eating?

If you ever go to a nutritionist or dietitian and they don't perform tests to see what the bacteria is doing in your gut (producing inflammation-causing chemicals or drawing all the good nutrients from our foods and sending them where they need to go) then go get a second opinion because there is no way they can know what's happening externally if they are not testing you internally.

A great test for this is VIOME. They take a sample of your stool - which obviously comes straight from your gut - pull it apart, and map out your gut biome. Based on this, they give you a list of all the foods you need to avoid, your personal super foods, the foods you can enjoy and the foods you need to minimise, as well as what supplements you should start taking. 

That solves the "what foods you can and can't eat": there is no average what's good and bad for you - it's all personal.

Except kale and cabbage. They absorb all heavy metals from the soil and tha'ts super bad for your insides.

Kale is not a superfood. It's harmful af.

Toxins can also cause free radicals, which are little cellular bastards who provoke aging and illness in everything they come in contact with. They are unstable molecules that - in street terms - beat the shit out of your cells, causing aging and illness.

Wanna stay younger for longer? You'll have to start supplementing, reducing stress and eating healthier to help keep these cheeky buggers under control.

Free radicals are natural by-products of certain chemical processes, such as metabolism. They play an important role in oxiding (turning) our foods into chemical energy. They have also been found to have an important role in regeneration by oxidising a gene called PTEN, which inhibits regeneration. Basically, free radicals turn off the PTEN gene, and in return, stimulate regeneration. They become bad when they stick around because their outer membrane is incomplete as it lacks a paired electron, giving it a thirst for a matching electron, which it tries to steal from adjacent cells, causing cellular damage.

Any bad toxins you ingest, inhale or produce - this includes eating deep fried foods, smoking, alcohol, stress, pretty much everything bad for you - helps create these free radicals and stops them finding their right molecular buddy and instead gang up, like my generation likes to call them - like 'Lads'.

They put their little Nike TN's on and wreak havoc on your cells.

And you guessed it, eat bad food... and BOOM! Free radical molecules start forming.

To sum it up: our body produces energy, free radicals become a byproduct of that energy and need to be neutralised or destroyed. This is where some supps step in to escort the harmful lads out of your system.

I spend so much on my health because I want to live a long time and stay as young as I possibly can for as long as I can.

There are other factors than supplementing that we need to take into account, but this blog is about the supps I take and why I take them. It's also one of the most important/easy things you can do today!

So here's a list of what you should be taking and why you should be taking it to get back to your natural energy levels. In another blog I'll add nootropics (supps that improve cognitive function) and other aspects of optimizing your life through becoming your personal elitist. 

What we've been waiting for... I'm going to give the basic reasons on why you should all be taking these vitamins daily. 

Glutathione	500mg Daily, 6/7 days The master of all anti-oxidants! This is a must in everyone's supplement regime. Glutathione helps prevent and neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress caused by everyday life. These free radicals damage our body's cells causing us to age and perform sub-optimally. Humans create glutathione naturally, but not enough to keep up with our current lifestyles. Production of glutathione also decreases with age - when we need it most! I take this daily for 6 days and take the 7th day off so my body doesn't start to rely on external supplementation and stop producing this naturally. You can take this whenever you want throughout the day and take more if you're going to have a night of drinking. Also find a source that uses Liposomal delivery version (tablet) as it has been shown that just ingesting Glutathione without this particular delivery system doesn't get absorbed into your body orally, meaning you would have to use needle injections.
Vitamins A, D & K	A - 900mg, D3 - 125mcg, K1 - 1000mcg, K2 MK-4 - 1500mcg, K2 MK-7 300mcg Daily Vitamin A helps with your vision, your immune system, helps your heart, kidneys, lungs and other organs function properly, promotes cell reproduction (which is super important if you want to live for a long time, but that's an entire other blog), and maintenance of skin tissues. Vitamin D3 is super important for helping your body absorb calcium for stronger bones, teeth, muscles, and better nerve function. If calcium is not being absorbed properly it will form plaque in your arteries, causing blood clots which leads to high blood pressure and heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases. Vitamin K1 and K2 helps Vitamin D to absorb calcium. It also helps with bone metabolism (the procedure where your bones make new cells and kill off the old ones). This is super important for teeth health which plays a huge part in your CNS (Central Nervous System) - so keep them healthy! Last of all, Vitamin K is super important for wound healing as it allows your blood to clot properly. I take this every day.
Glucosamine Sulfate	1500mg Daily We produce this naturally, but supplementing more won't harm you (within reason! Remember, everything - including water! - is bad for you if you take way too much). When we get older our joints start to ache and become stiff. Glucosamine helps in keeping our joints healthy.
Methyl B12 combined with Methyl Folate	B12 - 5000mcg, Folate - 800mcg Daily This is super important for repairing your DNA and regenerating brain cells. If your skin breaks out, you may need to lower your dose of B12 as it can cause this (mine doesn't).
Vitamin C	500mg Daily 6/7 days Another great antioxidant and helps our immune system, especially for preventing colds and flus. Vitamin C also helps the body create collagen, which keeps our skin elastic and helps in healing wounds. Vitamin C protects cells and keeps them healthy, as well as aids in bone and blood vessel health.
Magnesium	500mg Daily Super important for so many bodily functions - muscle maintenance, muscle movement (contracting and relaxing), nervous system regulation, anti-inflammatory properties and so much more. Just take it.
Fish Oil or Krill Oil	Krill Oil EPA 885mg DHA 480mg Daily I'm almost certain everyone knows the benefits of taking fish oil daily. If not, here's the basics: brain health, keeping your brain functioning at optimal levels, muscle growth, better sleep, anti-inflammatory benefits and a butt-load more.
Polyphenols	AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE (Polyphenomenal is a great supp) Daily Polyphenols are found in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, coffee, dark chocolate and wine. Since producing energy causes free radicals, we need ways to reduce them. This is precisely what polyphenols do; they render those f***kers harmless and help with cellular protection. In other words, polyphenols help absolutely everything.
Activated Charcoal	1000mg Daily First of all, do not take this within 2 hours of your other supplements or any medications as it binds to everything - the good and the bad. It's best to take this whenever you are thinking of going out to a bad restaurant, drinking, or over-indulging on your 'cheat' meals. 1.5mg of activated charcoal has the same surface area as a footbal field. Pretty much, charcoal is one of the best detoxing supps you can use to get rid of all the bad toxins. It also helps with jet-lag.
Curcumin	500mg Daily Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and is another great antioxidant. Any strong antioxidant should be a part of your daily regime.
Eye Armour: Basically a stack of Vitamin A as beta-carotene, Lutein, Zeaxanthin Isomers, Axtaxanthin & Bilberry Fruit Extract	Vitamin A - 300mcg, Lutein - 20mg, Zeaxanthin Isomers - 4mg, Astaxanthin - 4mg, Bilberry Fruit Extract - 80mg Daily Eye health has started deteriorating a lot earlier now days - 75% of adults use some sort of vision correction and this has a lot to do with the foods we eat causing inflammation and the amount of over stimulus our eyes get from technology (especially the blue light our eyes are absorbing from screens and phones!). If you want your eyes to be performing at their best forever, then combine this with bluelight glasses whenever you are in front of a screen.

 

Just a side note: I am not a physician/doctor, I have just done a lot of research into the best foods and supplements for me, because I always want to be performing at my best and healthiest.

I buy all of the vitamins and supps I can from Bulletproof as they do extensive research on all their products and do not use unwanted fillers. They also put in huge doses compared to the RDI% (Recommended Daily Intake) as it's what's needed to be on your next level.

I am not affiliated through them, I just believe in Dave Asprey's mission to live longer, healthier and happier and make it my mission as well.