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Vitamin B Vitality Boost and the Supplemental Shotgun Method

September 7, 2012

Posted by Koanic under Health

31 Comments

Yesterday I bought some melatonin, and the lady handed me a free bottle of Vitamin B. I popped a pill that afternoon, and within an hour or two experienced a major lift in energy and mood that lasted through the entire evening.

As you may know, I have some gnarly health problems thanks to Accutane. I’ve noticed energy lifts like this a few before, usually when a major dietary deficiency was corrected. Here’s the list:

1. After rabbit starvation – eating just lean meat for weeks – I ate a fatty pork chop. Incredible euphoric rush followed. Lesson – cut either fat or carbs, but not both.

2. UDCA – corrected bile blood stream deficiency caused by intrahepatic cholestasis. Great drug and harmless. Everyone should try it. Take at least a gram.

3. After eating only rice and lean chicken for a while, had some scallops. Major euphoric rush as vitamin and mineral deficiencies were corrected.

4. Cigarettes – intensified everything, mental focus and mood.

5. Tongkat Ali – huge testosterone boost, everything stronger.

6. Cordyceps Sinensis – huge energy boost, libido and mood secondary.

7. Sunlight exposure, meal scheduling, Circadian syncing, sleep hygiene. Everything better. Stop eating when the sun goes down.

8. Exercise / lifting. I’ll throw it on here, but the truth is if you’re not itching to do it, something else has gone wrong.

Short list, eh? The remarkable thing is that these huge boosts were so easily available, yet I had no idea. It’s so easy to test, so why not try it?

All of these delivered not only an immediate euphoric benefit, but also long lasting quality of life improvement. That’s the holy grail of happiness – an effect that actually lasts.

I’m sure there are other effects out there waiting undiscovered. Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy sample packs of a wide variety of pills? You’d only need one of each. If there was no immediate noticeable effect, you could try a different one the next day. Call it the supplemental shotgun method.

* Diet

All the things we eat that we shouldn’t, and don’t that we should, create a maelstrom of deficiencies and health hazards. Ya’ll know the paleo diet basics, so I’ll run through it quickly.

Live foods – Kefir, Kombucha, brine pickled non irradiated foods, Kimchi, Natto, etc.

Sea foods – Shellfish pack a huge punch. Ocean fish are good too. Check out the Shoreline Dweller hypothesis. You’ll get a lot of rare minerals there.

Organ meat – Get it grass fed and it’s way less nasty. Liver, hearts, etc.

Bones and skin – fire up your stock pot and make bone broth.

You need either organs or scallops or tons of veggies, otherwise you’ll run into micronutrient deficiency without supplementation. Even then, you may still get it, given the poverty of modern food sources.

You can get your vitamin levels tested, but honestly who cares what charts say? The important thing is quality of life improvement, and that can only be experimentally determined.

And no, you can’t necessarily just pop a multivitamin. Those things create all kinds of absorption issues.

Here’s a good book that covers supplementation and the body in general – The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss.

* Vitamin B – A Thal deficiency?

I know now that Vitamin B deficiency runs in my (Thal) my family. I’m curious to see if others here respond to B supplementation.

So I have a diagnosis. I have two copies (homozygous) of the mutation C677T. This explains all of my symptoms EVER… My body cannot get rid of toxins properly which mean immunizations are dangerous. This inability explains all of my baffling sensitivities from skin to gut. Hopefully, it can explain both of yours. My doctor is starting me on sub lingual B12 and Homocystex. There is a special diet involved in the treatment, too. No gluten (surprise!), dairy, or processed foods (toxins). This explains why the diets and vitamin supplementation have been so helpful. What’s been missing is the methylfolate

Check out this website and specifically this page: http://mthfr.net/mthfr-c677t-mutation-basic-protocol/2012/02/24/

* Misc other supplements

All men should be on Testosterone Replacement Therapy, apparently.

krill oil – the best and easiest way to get your Omega 3′s.

Before anybody asks, no none of these are affiliate links. So go try it.

Nick

I too suffer from low energy levels (pernicious anemia runs in my Thal family), but I’ve never had much luck with Vitamin B. Going to the gym daily (or damn near it) seems to help somewhat, but I’m always exhausted by the time the afternoon rolls around, anyway.

I take a daily multivitamin, a b-complex, vitamin c, and quite a bit of fish oil (and have for a while now), but I still feel pretty lethargic a lot of time.

Sleep also doesn’t seem to matter that much. Whether I sleep 5 hours a night, 7-8 hours a night, or 12 hours, I’m still tired (though it does seem like anything over 8 makes me even groggier).

Roughly a year ago, I experienced little bolts of energy coursing through my veins. I’m not sure what I was doing differently, other than the fact that I was on some sort of sex binge (sex always seems to be feast or famine for me–either I’m getting laid like gangbusters or no girl will even look at me). I’d be walking around campus and I’d just get this sudden, lightning-fast BOOM where I felt like I could rip someone’s head off or conquer the world. Not sure if that had anything to do with testosterone…

Speaking of testosterone, I’ve read Victor’s articles and I like what he says, and I agree that a lot of it is probably true…but I’m a little skeptical about TRT. For one, I don’t like the idea of being on something FOREVER, and for two, I’m not convinced that you can just juice yourself up with synthetic testosterone with no repercussions. I’d like to hear your thoughts on these issues.

Koanic

Nick, something is wrong. Get your blood tested as many ways as is feasible. The 4 Hour Body describes some tests. You should be looking for vitamin deficiencies at the minimum. Try a B-12 shot and start reading on chronic fatigue forums.

Or, you may just be eating something dumb, like wheat. Are you paleo diet conscious?

Those little energy flashes sound like testosterone to me. It’s normal to have surges; what’s abnormal is your chronic fatigue reduces them to flashes.

You don’t need to worry about testosterone now. You need to raise your general energy. It’s some flaw in the body’s primary processes.

Stuff like Ritalin would probably help you get work done, but it doesn’t address the real problem and leaves you at risk for burnout. Ditto for other stimulants.

Nick

I’m paleo-diet conscious and follow (loosely) the diet. I still cook with vegetable oil sometimes, and sometimes I eat sandwiches with wheat bread, but as a general rule it’s meat and vegetables (probably 80-90% of my meals).

I’ve used Adderall, which makes my productivity soar, but that shit will fry your brain (which I assume is what you meant by “burnout”). Amazingly, even though I have been dealing with these issues for years, I’m still a high achiever. I just started my first year of law school on a full tuition scholarship…

I used to think it was depression that made me tired, but I’ve mostly conquered the blues by working out regularly. I’m 10 days into NoFap, which I’ve read can boost energy, but I haven’t experienced any results yet.

One thing I will say is that I seem to wake up often in the night. But I don’t just wake up; I jolt awake. And there’s always accompanying feelings of “holy fuck I’m late for class!” or bad dreams, etc. Not sure if that’s some sort of anxiety issue or sleep apnea or what, exactly.

Here’s a taste: I went to bed at 11:30 last night, woke up at 6:30 this morning. Went to the gym for a bit, had breakfast, and went to class. It’s now 10:30 and I feel like a fucking zombie. Any recommendations would be awesome.

Koanic

I’ve been in worse situations. The trouble is the unknown cause. I know you’re mostly dead, so get a private Twitter account and update your energy status once daily, plus any shifts in routine. That should be easy self tracking for you.

Start eliminating foods that are suspicious. Gluten can take time to cycle out. Simultaneously, start adding foods that are salutary. If you’re not eating any seafood, try to get your hands on some scallops.

Try using melatonin, eye mask and earplugs at night, lots of Vit D3 in the morning, and no eating after sundown. Get sun in your retinas during the day.

Start buying random supplements just to try them once. Get your blood tested.

You’re looking for a big jump, mostly. The only effects that might take longer are eliminating bad foods, but those will show in 3 days, full effects in a week.

Also, when did the fatigue start? Any other symptoms? Combined with the depression, it really sounds like a nutrient deficiency or food intolerance.

Nick

College is where the real difference began, if I remember correctly. I left home and went to college in the city, and I remember wanting to sleep constantly (this is when I was 18-19). By the time I was a senior in college (age 21-22), I would sleep 7-8 hours a night and literally HAVE to take a nap by the afternoon or else I felt like I was going to die. Some days I’d even take two naps. Unfortunately, the naps never really seemed to boost my energy. Most of my family ridiculed me for being lazy, but I think that even IF laziness is the cause of 95% of it (doubtful), there’s still some other x factor at play.

I drink a lot of milk (sometimes nearly a gallon per day), and I’m going to try to eliminate it from my diet and see if things change. I usually binge drink one night a week as well–gonna try to cut back on that, too. I have a bottle of melatonin. I used it for a while and it gave me really fucked up dreams, but I may try it again.

As for other symptoms, none that I can tell. Like I said, I used to suffer from depression (never officially diagnosed) and some pretty violent mood swings, but both of those issues seem to be under control now.

Koanic

If the changes had onset at puberty, it could’ve been a lot of things. But since it started at college, it’s probably a question of an environmental or dietary change.

Whatever you changed, focus on that.

That’s assuming you’re alright when you go home again? Pay attention to performance changes in different environments.

I agree it’s not laziness, but something biochemical.

Nick

Not all right when I go home again. I was home all summer and slept all day and was still a worthless mess when I finally dragged myself out of bed (admittedly, THAT could’ve been related to depression).

And I’m not 100% that it started in college; that’s just the first time I really remember having to take naps, etc. The only difference is that the coursework is a lot harder than was HS, so maybe sleeping is some sort of stress defense.

Gonna head to the health foods store and pick up some liver tabs and some Tongkat Ali. Am I tired because I have low T, or do I have low T because I’m tired? Hah.

Koanic

Smash, I can’t remember Tongkat Ali dosages, but you cycle it over about 30 days and increase dosage at end of cycle. See Serge Kreutz for proper usage.

Nick, is it possible a college lifestyle change persisted back to home life? Any prescription meds coincide with symptom onset?

I doubt generic liver tabs or nootrophics will be the answer, but they may help somewhat. If it’s not intolerance or deficiency, you’ve sustained some kind of damage.
bronka

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181743/http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/viewforum.php?f=3
might be useful

my son has this-also Asperger’s- started @16yrs with sleep hours reversal
Also seemed to be liver/gallbladder related via some GABA effect

bronka

link fail. should be: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181743/

and

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/viewforum.php?f=3

Smash the ZOG

Hey Nick, sorry to hear this. Check out my post above re: testosterone. Plus, there are much better drugs for productivity boosting than Ritalin &c. I highly recommend Piracetam or another Racetam (Piracetam is the cheapest per unit volume and probably per effective dose as well, although the other racetams have both greater volumetric potency and shorter half-lives, which could be desirable if you don’t want the stuff in your system at bedtime. Strictly speaking, it isn’t wakefulness-promoting, though) along with a source of choline (choline bitartrate powder isn’t the most effective, although it’s better than nothing. I’m going to research other forms of the stuff. Raw egg yolks, preferably somewhat free range, are excellent sources, and liver’s pretty good, too). I’ll post links to bulk powders if you’re interested. Piracetam has no established toxicity (!), nor does it show any signs of being addictive in any way; it simply increases oxygenation of the brain and especially increases verbal IQ. If you do take the stuff, for whatever reason you need to jump-start your consumption with 2.4 to 4g of the stuff over the first day (or two), and then you can lower the dosage considerably, perhaps to 1.5g per day.

Nick

Thanks for the comment, Smash. I have taken Piracetam and Choline Citrate (not sure how that stacks up against bitartrate) with SOME noticeable benefits. It seemed to help my focus a little bit, and even improve my mood some. Post some links to what you recommend or email me at troyernick at gmail dot com.

Smash the ZOG

Hey Nick! Sorry this is so late. I’m with you on Piracetam – it’s no miracle drug, but does seem to slightly increase focus and assist low-level brain functioning (and can temporarily alleviate brain fog due to tiredness, although you’ll get repaid in spades as it were later). I even feel a little more in-control on it, so I guess it does indirectly improve mood as well. I’m going to try a different Racetam, Pramiracetam (supposedly “8-15x” more ‘powerful’ than Piracetam – why this is preferable to extra doses of Piracetam I’m not sure, but my best guess is that Piracetam’s response curve is such (“inverse-u-shaped”) that side effects will dominate the desired effects much beyond the standard dose, whereas Pramiracetam may have a linear response for longer when you compare predicted Racetam-essence strength) soon, I think, and see if it gives me magic powers of concentration or insight. I’ll probably take it with Piracetam, as supposedly they synergize. BTW, did you “front-load” your first 1 or 2 days’ doses of Piracetam? If not, I’ll explain the necessity of this.

Vis-a-viz choline, I just learned that the basic chelates of choline are only mediocre. “Alpha-GPC” seems to be a much more bioavailable form (and is both cheaper and supposedly more effective than its closest competitor, CDP-choline). Egg yolks or livers if you’ve got access to clean, mycotoxin-free ones, should also do the trick better than the powders.

Another nootropic I’ve heard good things about is Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl. An extractive of mitochondria, it is clinically proven to reduce reaction times to stimuli and probably has neuroprotective qualities. It’s cheap, too. Try 1.5g/day.

Beyond that, caffeine (either from “Bulletproof Upgraded Coffee”, the only kind of coffee I know of that is virtually mold-toxin-free, or anhydrous pills) in slow doses of ~30mg/hr through the morning is probably good for you as well. Caffeine does synergize somewhat with the Racetams and seems to have neuroprotective effects (coffee also contains a myriad of antioxidants, including “cafeinins” that protect the brain), but make sure to cycle it to avoid dependence. In particular, don’t take “too much” or you risk frying your adrenals (BTW, a good adrenal boost is ~1/4++ tsp salt dissolved in water first thing in the morning).

As for milk, drop that *#&@$ like the ZOG drops bombs on innocent children, unless it’s at least ~100% grass-fed and full-fat (raw would be preferred, and then only if your gut can tolerate it). Supermarket crap is loaded with mold toxins from moldy animal feed, and probably has undesired hormones (“natural” mold toxins that mimic estrogen, or recombinant, doesn’t really make much of a difference) and hard-to-digest, denatured proteins from stupid mandatory pasteurization. Plus, some blood and pus due to poor living conditions of feedlot cattle (in this case, pasteurization probably has its merits!)

The only thing I can think of that hasn’t been addressed (it just occurred to me, thinking of the glutathione-raising powers of raw grass-fed milk) is that you could have suffered an adverse reaction to an environmental toxin (especially mold toxin). I probably experienced minor episodes of this as a kid. Basically, your body could have overreacted to a toxic mold build up (as in a mild form of Sick-Building Syndrome) and attacked parts of your body with cytokeines. You’ll eventually recover (as long as the attacks weren’t too serious, as they occasionally can be, hence serious lawsuits – plus, of course, the J–s love them some lawyerin’), and some glutathione and megadose of Vitamin C (work up a bit slowly so you don’t get the runs) are just the things to protect yourself with against an attack.

Re: glutathione, there are various salts of it readily available, but they’re practically useless as your body easily digests it into its component amino acids. Organ meats from healthy animals do have some, but the best sources are raw egg whites (don’t even stir them violently, glutathione is so fragile ~ and make sure to eat the yolks for their specific nutrients too!) and raw GF milk.

I wish I could get at your underlying conditions, though. As a college student myself, I appreciate how difficult it could be for one to achieve top health if one didn’t get the sort of dispensations (getting off of mandatory SAD-mealplan, for instance; not having a roommate, &c.) that I managed.

Hope this helps! -C.

M

I agree that milk is not good. I have dropped it myself. High quality coffees are great. However the boiling water and filters help with any contaminates that make it to the grind.Poaching eggs are the best way to get fresh eggs without breaking them down too much.
I try to come up with solutions that can work on a day to day basis and that are affordable.
Anyone try the egg whites in a carton added to shakes?

B

If you are still eating any wheat or grain then you are still poisoning yourself. You have to cut all grains out for a long time and suffer through the low carb flu while the body readjusts. Also, get rid of vegetable oils and start using fats.

Koanic

It’s not true that you have to go low carb. For most people, things like rice and potatoes are fine. Eating starches is very paleolithic. In fact the preferential food groups are fats, protein and starches, and all had significant environmental availability.

E-town

“are you paleo diet conscious” the paleo diet is a crock of shit for crossfaggots and crosslusts.

i like how you constantly talk about biology and have no understanding of it.

Smash the ZOG

Good advice! Fun fact: while a lot of multivitamins (don’t know about the average B vitamin formulation, admittedly) include “Folic Acid” (“Vitamin B9″), this vitamer is a toxic form of “FolINic acid” AKA folate (look for something like L-methylfolate).

How much Tongkat Ali do you take a day, Koanic? (And at what potency is the extract you use? 100:1?)

Smash the ZOG

Also, re: testosterone, it’s rumored (specifically, claimed by Tim Ferris) that eating a ton of cholesterol (maybe 800mg from 4 raw egg yolks) right before bed and getting a modicum of selenium (0.1mg, ~140% of USDA’s RDA) right before bed massively facilitates testosterone production. I couldn’t find any actual science to confirm this, although it makes sense, given that Se and cholesterol are both required for T production. Maybe this will help someone. The brain-boosting choline of raw egg yolks sure can’t hurt.

Nick

I read the book but forgot this little nugget. Gonna have to give it a try.

O-town

starchild

I-town

accutane

B

Interesting thing about immunity problems. I am definitely part Thal (maybe even TT by your definitio n) and I have an adaptive immune disorder (basically I do not make IgG etc). Related problems (such as lupus and Fibro) seem to run in the family.

Koanic

I believe a lot of these problems come down to the fact that Thals are not farmers but herders, and thus less adapted to the modern diet.

cleve_blakemore

In my experience there are very few physical problems in ‘Thals that do not respond to removing processed food and sugar from your diet and replacing it with easy protein, vegetables and B supplementation. Another thing is that years of eating rat poison carbohydrate diets will screw your ‘Thal metabolism up so badly you will have trouble producing serotonin for well-being and sleep.
Studies have shown just two months of drinking aspartame can ruin your ability to produce serotonin cyclically for years afterwards.
Try adding more of any 3 ingredients of the serotonin triangle to your diet :
Niacin, B-6, or Tryptophan. Tryptophan was a wonder supplement for about 60 years and the cheapest but right before they released Zoloft and Prozac they decided to eliminate the cheap competition and they poisoned a single batch in Maine. It put one woman in the hospital and they then banned Tryptophan on four Western continents in the same week with legislation they had waiting in the wings claiming it was a “date rape” drug or some such crap. Melonheads gonna be melonheadin’.
Here in Australia you can get it if you have a Prescription (!) but I don’t know how to get hold of it in your country. If you can get some you will see a remarkable difference in 24 hours taking it.
Second best is Niacin megadoses but they are trying real hard to replace it with toxic B-3 Nicotinic Acid which doesn’t work in most countries. Make sure you get authentic Niacin, not “B-3″ labeled stuff.
Finally B-6 can help a lot. Try touching your forefinger to middle of your palm above wrist, if it gives sharp pain you are likely very B-6 deficient.
All three help make critical serotonin which is essentially the most important chemical your brain produces to keep your own nerve electricity from frying your brain. See if you can increase your supply.
In nature, the ‘Thal is supposed to eat meat (and dairy probably) and produce serotonin, simple. In modern life it can be a lot more complicated for a lot of different reasons.

Songkok

Serotonin is a stress hormone produced by gut irritation that interferes with learning and brain metabolism in all vertebrates. It’s high in depression, learned helplessness, many mental diseases and autism spectrum disorders, regardless of real or imagined protohuman admixture.

A tryptophan-free diet significantly improves memory in mice after just 3 months.

If you have high serotonin, you should be having some resistant fiber daily (raw carrot or boiled bamboo shoot) and trying to increase your level of carbon dioxide (which directly antagonizes CO2). A high calcium intake definitely helps. Gelatin is wonderful for countering the effects of excessive tryptophan.

There are a lot of substances out there that antagonize serotonin but big surprise a lot of them are illegal. You might have even heard about a few of them.

Songkok

Oh yeah and niacin is legit too.

cleve_blakemore

… and without serotonin you will go mad in about one hour and suffer permanent nervous system damage.

Most people’s problem is little or none, not too much.

nutrition and the jews

I completely disagree so let’s compare cites.

(BTW this is “Songkok” above.)

M

I have the cure and it is not on this page once. ===” Coffee”=== Plus younger guys need more sleep over 8 hours. Look up the studies they have done on teens and sleep. College kids are still teens in many ways. Cheers.
M

The b vitamins are water soluble so you need them daily. They could be the most important supplement.

Koanic Soul

Vitamin B Vitality Boost and the Supplemental Shotgun Method

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