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Green Tea Fasting
Green tea fasting burns body fat, heals the gut, balances the microbiome, and lowers bodily inflammation. Fasting is the best way to activate autophagy and undergo a cellular deep cleaning, and drinking green tea during a fast ramps up autophagic processes even more. Learn about green tea fasting with this complete guide.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated July 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Fasting and drinking green tea pair together exceptionally well. Fasting (aka not eating food) activates the protective healing state of autophagy throughout the body, increasing cellular breakdown of old and dying cell while simultaneously repairing cellular structures and creating the conditions for the growth of new healthy cells. Activating autophagy is a key step in healing from many illness and diseases.
Meanwhile green tea decreases appetite while increasing fat metabolism. Simultaneously green tea fasting burns body fat, heals the gut, resets the microbiome, and lowers inflammation throughout the body. Drinking green tea while fasting is a very effective way to synergize the health effects of both for maximum healing and restorative potential.
In this article I discuss the health benefits of fasting and green tea independently, the science of how each works, how they can be combined together for maximum effect, and my experience in performing a 48 hour green tea fast.
Together the digestive system and microbiome are the foundation of health from which everything else is dependent on.
The Holistic Gut Health Guide contains all the information you need to identify and understand the gastrointestinal and microbiome problems you may have while also providing you the most effective natural methods you can use to heal your gut. No gut health problems are unsolvable, give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
Some of the information in the Holistic Gut Health Guide isn’t common knowledge but when implemented it is highly effective in healing the gut and shifting the microbiome towards symbiosis. Give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
What is Fasting?
Fasting is abstinence from food and drinks. Most fasting is done wet, whereas dry fasting is done without even drinking water. In the absence of nutrients from food, fasting triggers a large metabolic shift, dramatically increasing fatty acid oxidation from body fat as muscle and liver glycogen becomes depleted, and after 48 to 72 hours ketones are produced to keep the brain running happily. In this catabolic zero-calorie state, fasting activates protective cellular mechanisms which safeguard lean body mass while preferentially burning visceral body fat (1). By mildly stressing the body via nutrient deprivation, fasting slows the process of aging, can heal chronic disease, and heals the digestive system (2) all because of the increased level of autophagy (3).
Autophagy is the cellular process in which unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components are removed and possibly recycled. Autophagy is always happening throughout the body, but during a fast it ramps up dramatically in scale and scope, akin to a deep spring cleaning. The protective cellular mechanisms of autophagy is one of the main reasons fasting has such powerful therapeutic effects on human metabolism, the immune system, disease, and healthspan.
Fasting can be done for various lengths of time and to different degrees of restriction. Fasting is most commonly practiced intermittently, on alternate days, or over longer durations. It is really important with fasting that adequate water is consumed everyday; 1 gallon a day being recommended. A lot of water that our body uses comes from the food we eat, so with the removal of food, if water intake is kept the same, then dehydration will occur.
While fasting only drink pure spring water or water that is filtered of all contaminates like chlorine and fluoride. Again the goal with fasting is to be extremely discretionary with the chemicals entering into the body, as every chemical has an impact on metabolism and will be used or filtered in some way.
Health Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea is a liquid beverage created from the leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, a small evergreen tree native to East Asia. Tea leaves can be processed differently to create green, black, yellow, white, oolong, and fermented teas. Green tea is made from tea leaves that haven’t undergone heavy oxidation like with black tea, and because of this the caffeine levels are lower in green tea and the polyphenol count is higher.
Freshly collected green tea leaves
Polyphenols are plant compounds that have many health benefits, and there are thousands of different types of polyphenols. In tea the dominant polyphenols are catechins, the most abundant being epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Other beneficial flavonoids such as quercetin are also present in green tea leaves. Green tea antioxidants like EGCG are anti-inflammatory and activate metabolism.
Green Tea Health Benefits:
Green tea can reduce belly fat (4)
Green tea can lower blood pressure (5)
Green tea can help with acne (6)
Green tea is good for skin (7)
Green tea can normalize blood glucose (8)
Acutely experiencing these health benefits from tea drinking is dose dependent, requiring quite a few cups to notice. Over time with consistent green tea consumption as part of a healthy diet, these health effects will holistically manifest.
Besides consistent usage, there are other strategies that can be employed to enjoy the health benefits of green tea more potently. First, using a high quality tea is paramount. Most green tea you buy at the store is heavily oxidized and contaminated with pesticides (11) which negates many of the health benefits you’d drink the tea for. Second, drinking green tea on an empty stomach or while fasting will ensure the green tea EGCG and other catechins won’t be buffered out and can strongly exert their anti-inflammatory effects on the digestive system, liver, kidneys, and throughout the body.
For green tea fasting you’ll want to use a high quality tea free of oxidation and contamination. When fasting and precisely limiting what enters into the body, using a fresh high quality green tea is all the more important. The fresher and more potent the green tea, the stronger the appetite suppression and fat burning effects experienced.
Green Tea Amplifies Fasting
Green tea works synergistically with fasting because it helps reduce appetite, increase fat oxidation, and increases energy expenditure (12). The caffeine, L-theanine, and catechins such as EGCG found in green tea blend to create a unique effect. The caffeine and catechins stimulate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response), which reduces appetite while increasing thermogenesis in the body. Green tea catechins lower ghrelin (13), a hunger hormone while increasing energy expenditure by up to 4% over a 24 hour period (14). Fat oxidation is also measurably increased by pairing caffeine and green tea catechins together (15). Fasting places the body into a catabolic state of autophagy and fat burning, and green tea amplifies this effect while also making the fast easier to adhere to by reducing appetite and hunger.
Fasting is a parasympathic activity which relaxes the body, whereas green tea activates the sympathetic nervous system which is stimulatory. This apparent mismatch is brought into harmony by L-theanine, an amino acid naturally found in green tea. L-theanine noticeably reduces stress and anxiety (16) and increases relaxation via stronger alpha brain wave activity (17, 18). It is for these reasons that green tea fasting is such a powerful therapeutic technique. The L-theanine is also what makes green tea a great meditation and sleep aid.
Green Tea for Gut Health
One of the main reasons to perform a green tea fast is to improve your gut health. Fasting heals the tissues of the gut and resets the immune system located there, and green tea boosts these effects thanks to its high concentrations of polyphenols. Polyphenols strengthen tight junctions (19), diversify the microbiome (20), and function as a digestive aid (21). Green tea polyphenols are responsible for these benefits, and through these cellular effects green tea can reduce bloating, constipation, IBS, leaky gut, and other gut maladies. Drinking a peppermint green tea blend is especially effective in helping to restore normal gut function during or outside of a fast.
Fasting can be used to reset the digestive system and microbiome, and green tea will amplify the effects of this by supporting healthy gut flora like Lactobacillus spp and Bifidobacterium spp while having antimicrobial effects on microorganisms considered harmful (22). A well diversified and balanced microbiome reduces bloating, calms the digestive system, and ensures good motility (aka regular bowel movements), factors which translate to real world benefits such as better energy and more stable emotional well being.
I have a lot of experience with fasting for digestive health and detoxing, and I wanted to see if adding green tea to a longer fast would synergistically aid the fasting process by:
Smoothing out the energy swings of fasting
Act as an appetite suppressant
Exerting anti-inflammatory gut healing and detoxifying effects
At the end of the article I share my experience performing a 2 day green tea fast, but before that let’s learn about the different types of fasting and how to choose a good green tea.
Types of Fasting
Many different fasting protocols exists, each having their own unique benefits. Shorter fasts are easier to complete than longer fast, and because they are shorter in duration their effect on health will be less than that of a longer fast. We’ll start with the easiest type of fast to complete, the 16 hour intermittent fast.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a 16:8 protocol where on some schedule, typically everyday, fasting is done for 16 hours followed by an 8 hour window where eating is permitted. Intermittent fasting is a good protocol for improving body composition (23) as it can make sticking with a lower calorie diet easier while simultaneously improving nutrient partitioning. If resistance training, eating in a caloric surplus while intermittently fasting will improve build muscle, keep fat accumulation low, and optimize hormones.
Green tea intermittent fasting is one way to boost the metabolism while simultaneously helping to heal the digestive system. If starting an intermittent fast at 6 pm, the addition of green tea in the morning around 8 am further boosts fat oxidation and keeps appetite low until lunch time.
24 Hour Fasting
A 24 hour fast is eight hours longer than an intermittent fast, and in my experience is best scheduled from dinner to dinner. With the last meal before the fast at 6 PM, by 6 AM the next day the fast is already halfway completed. All the benefits of IF are observed with a 24 hour fast, with the added benefit that the digestive system has more time to heal before the next meal. When food is constantly being consumed, the gut is under stress to digest. Digesting food 24/7 and keeping the immune system on high alert for pathogenic organisms constantly allows for no time to rest and repair the digestive system. A twenty four hour fast is long enough for the digestive system to heal and partially regenerate up to 20% with new epithelial cells.
A 24 hour fast is a short enough time period that anyone can easily survive it with few if any complications, but 24 hours is a long enough period of time without nutrients for microorganisms. When the microbiome needs a quick reset and balance, fasting for 24 hours is an easy way to do so, and drinking green tea throughout makes it even easier.
A 24 hour fast is also a great experiment to perform if wondering how food cravings and physiological hunger differ in their psychological effects. A microbiome used to feeding on quick digesting junk food will release neurotransmitters causing food cravings once it begins to experience starvation. Except for rare situations, the human body easily carries enough bodyfat to stay energized for 24 hours without food, and therefore physiological hunger shouldn’t be experienced during that time window, so a 24 hour fast is a good way to learn how to identify and curb food cravings.
48 Hour Fasting
A 48 hour fast is two 24 hour fasts done back to back. A 48 hour fast isn’t much harder than a 24 hour fast and the reward is worth the extra effort. After about 36 to 48 hours liver glycogen becomes completed depleted and ketosis begins. Ketosis is a metabolic state that occurs in response to low glucose availability, such as during fasting or with a very low carbohydrate diet. During ketosis, ketones are produced from fat and used as an energy source for the brain. A 48 hour fast takes you right to the edge of ketosis and will better adapt the metabolism to the use of both dietary fat and body fat for energy which is highly desirable.
Without any food, from the 24 to 48 hour mark the microbiome will experience a significant die off. Pathogenic and commensal microbes which don’t work synergistically with their human host are most affected, whereas symbiotic microorganisms survive in greater numbers during this period of nutrient depletion. Upon re-feeding with healthy food, the microbiome with bounce back quickly, now containing a greater diversity and percentage of symbiotic microorganisms. 48 hours is also a longer time for the gut to be undisturbed with digestion, and more cellular healing can take place, up to 40%.
72 Hours or Longer Fasting
Longer periods of fasting like a 72 hour fast, seven day fast, and multi-week fasts all have their own unique benefits. A 72 hour fast will take you 1+ days into ketosis and body fat will begin to be used as the primary fuel source of the body.
It’s here that I must mention what may happen once body fat becomes a primary fuel source. One reason many people accumulate excess body fat is because they are ingesting too many environmental toxins from the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. The body already being overly stressed from other lifestyle factors decides to delay the processing of these toxins by sequestering them in body fat. Though the toxins accumulated in body fat will slowly cause chronic health problems, their immediate effects aren’t experienced. When body fat begins to be burned due to fasting, if toxins have accumulated in this body fat due to lifestyle and environmental factors, then flu-like symptoms might be experienced as the toxins are processed and expelled from the body.
Because of this, depending on your state of health, fasting for longer than 48 hours can cause you to begin experiencing the effects of eliminating accumulated toxins from your body, leaving you temporarily feeling sick. While feeling sick is never fun, this is fundamentally a good thing because when locked in body fat these toxins can cause chronic health issues over time, and when processed during fasting, autophagy helps to mitigate the acute damage toxins cause during release and expulsion. If toxins have accumulated in the body, there is no easy way around the problem, fasting being the safest way possible to eliminate them from the body. If experiencing any odd flu-like symptoms during a longer fast, heat therapy like sauna usage will help to protect the body from the toxins being expelled from the body and hasten their exit.
A seven day fast will burn a lot of body fat, and if done safely, longer fasts are an excellent way to rapidly experience body recomposition and reduce the health risks from being overweight or obese. With a seven day fast, major organs of the body like the liver will be deep into autophagy cleaning up cellular damage, and the size of these organs will actually reduce. Upon refeeding, cellular proliferation in these tissues skyrockets from the replenishment of growth factors. A 72 hour fast will also trigger stem cell regeneration of an old damaged immune system (24), which has wide implications for the treatment of immune system disorders. With long fasts it is important to be especially mindful of how you feel and implement the necessary recovery practices as needed.
After having gone though a large detoxification process, it is very important to break a fast with high quality food free of chemical contaminants like dangerous pesticides.
How to Break a Fast
The length of the fast determines how mindful you should be of your first meal after the fast. I recommend breaking a fast with a small salad (zero dressing) with a side of lightly roasted squash like zucchini These vegetables will be easy on the stomach and feeds the microbiome in a helpful way. With a 24 hour dinner to dinner fast, after this meal you can have breakfast like normal the next day, or perhaps a small snack of pumpkin seeds or walnuts later in the night.
For a 48 hour fast, break the fast with the same salad and zucchini meal, and after 1-2 hours either have another light meal, having a healthy breakfast the next morning. A 72 hour fast can be broken the same as a 48 hour fast, and fasts longer than 3 days will require 1-3 days of mindful eating to ease the gut back into digestion. After the first refeed meal, drink 24-32 oz of water to flush the digestive system with liquid again and to prevent any possible dehydration post-fast.
As touched on, food quality is paramount, especially after a fast. Use every green tea fast as a catalyst to increase the overall quality of your diet. To reduce your exposure to chemicals and low nutrient quality foods, shop for the following:
Non-gmo and organic. Ideally biodynamically grown
Whole and unprocessed
Grass-fed, pasture raised (for meat and eggs)
Not packaged in plastic
These recommendations hold true for the green tea you’ll use during a green tea fast. Since most store bought green tea is of low quality, you want to nourish your body during a fast with only the best green tea.
Choosing the right Green Tea
The biggest recommendations I can give regarding green tea usage are as follows:
Be mindful of total caffeine intake. While green tea doesn’t contain as much caffeine as coffee (40-60 mg vs 100mg per cup), after a few cups of tea it does begin to add up. Caffeine is a stimulant and exerts changes on adenosine receptors in the brain and is best used responsibly. To learn more about caffeine read my Caffeine Usage and Tolerance Reset Guide.
Pesticide exposure. Tea is a very popular beverage, and most tea is grown the same way much of the world’s food supply is, with mass amounts of chemical pesticides. While green tea polyphenols help heal the gut and diversify the microbiome, pesticides like glyphosate do the opposite, degrading the barriers of the gut and killing the microbiome indiscriminately. It is important for this reason to only use high-quality tea grown without pesticides, which has the added benefit of supporting growers who use regenerative organic farming practices.
Oxidation. Depending on how tea is processed, distributed, and stored, the level of oxidation it has experienced can vary dramatically. Minced tea leaves in breathable tea bags which were exposed to variable temperatures and light end up at the store heavily oxidized. These tea products are also typically the most contaminated with pesticides too as the overall food quality standards followed are poor. Once green tea polyphenols become oxidized, they exert little to zero beneficial effects on the body.
Those usage recommendations narrow the selection of desirable green teas by a lot unfortunately. Most tea products available at a grocery store are of low quality.
Luckily there exist many different tea suppliers online who sell regenerative organic green tea free of pesticide exposure. My favorite supplier is Mountain Rose Herbs. Simply bring water to 170 F (75) and steep the green tea leaves for 5-8 minutes and enjoy a cup of perfection.
When time is short or hot water isn’t available then I recommend the use of cold-brew extracted tea crystals. Pique Tea sells green tea crystals in small convenient packets which easily dissolve into hot or cold water. Pique tea sources from regenerative organic green tea farmers throughout Asia to make their tea crystals.
Pique tea packets make sticking with a fast easier because if low energy, nausea, or a food craving hits, at home or on the go, it is very simple to mix a packet into a cup water and enjoy a flavorful zero-calorie beverage, mitigating the issue due to the unique health benefits of green tea.
Matcha Green Fasting Tea Review: 10/10
The matcha green tea has excellent flavor and can be enjoyed as soon as it is stirred in. The polyphenols in the matcha tea are very high, which is great for healing the digestive system, but big gulps can be slightly nauseating for some, so sip slowly.
Ingredients:
Proprietary green tea blend
Ceremonial grade matcha
Organic peppermint
Details:
Caffeine: 48 - 72 mg
Antioxidants: 294 - 441 mg
L-theanine: 27 - 40 mg
Ginger Green Fasting Tea Review: 10/10
The ginger green tea has a unique pleasant flavor thanks to the ginger and other ingredients. The ginger will soothe an upset stomach. The caffeine and L-theanine found in green tea makes it slightly energizing in a calm focused way.
Ingredients:
Proprietary green tea blend
Ginger, orange peel, lemon peel, licorice root, peppermint
Details:
Caffeine: 33 - 39 mg
Antioxidants: 218 - 327 mg
L-theanine: 15 - 23 mg
Use the coupon code WILDFREEORGANIC for 5% off at Pique Tea.
How to Brew tea
For hot tea, bring water to 170 F and either pour over tea leaves for steeping or stir in tea crystals. An easy way to know your water is at 170 F is when small bubbles begin to form at the bottom of the kettle. At 180 F steam begins to form. Using water hotter than 170 F (75 C) is more likely to make the green tea bitter in flavor. Steep for 5-8 minutes.
My Green Tea Fasting Experience
Doing a green tea fast was surprisingly easy. The first 48 hour fast I did as a vegetarian left me a little light headed at times. At the time I wasn’t eating enough fats from sources like avocado, dairy, and olive oil, and my protein intake was lower.
At the time of this 48 hour green tea fast, I was vegetarian already for 4 months. This time with the addition of green tea to the fast I didn’t run into any of the low blood sugar level problems from before. I made sure the last meal I had before the green tea fast contained plenty of fat and fiber, which certainly was a contributing factor to how easy this two day fast was. The last meal was nutrient dense and digested nicely for a long time. The addition of drinking green tea everyday also boosted my morning and afternoon energy levels by increasing usage of body fat for energy.
When fasting for longer there is sometimes a strong desire to eat food at the end of the first day. With this green tea fast I did I noticed this desire was eliminated. The addition of green tea helped to quell my appetite while increasing fat oxidation. It is my experience that when green tea fasting you are less likely to break a fast due to food cravings than if you had been fasting without green tea consumption.
Green Tea Fasting Journal
I started my fast at 7:30 pm after dinner. The meal you have before a fast is important in determining how your fast will play out, so it is very important to eat a healthy meal of unprocessed foods with plenty of satiating fiber and fat. My dinner was a grain bowl consisting of a bed of brown rice, black beans, quinoa, and tempeh, with roasted butternut squash, avocado, chia seeds, and a Lebanese garlic spread on top. In addition to the grain bowl I also had a small salad of homegrown kale and swiss chard drizzled with honey.
A grain and vegetable bowl is a good last meal to eat before starting a fast
Throughout the 48 hour fast my body was digesting the meal above from start to finish, and with no new food coming in, the digestive system and microbiome is encouraged to extract as much out of the meal as possible. If you were to eat a highly processed meal with acellular carbs before a fast (like spaghetti or bread), the fast will be much more difficult as the food will be completely digested much faster. Processed foods digest much faster and will cause greater swings in energy, which can lead to food cravings and unhealthy eating behaviors.
14 hours into my green tea fast (9:30 am) in the morning of the next day, I experienced a bit of stomach growling but no hunger. I brewed a hot cut of matcha that quieted my stomach down and boosted my energy.
20 hours into my fast (3:30 pm) I had yet to experience any energy swings. I had a cup of the ginger green fasting tea at 2:30 pm and everything remained calm and focused.
25 hours into the fast (8:30 pm) I was getting ready for bed and did some meditation beforehand. It was very easy to slip into a calm deep meditative state, and I attribute this to the green tea fasting.
34.5 hours into the green tea fast (6:00 am) I woke up. L-theanine in green tea has been found to improve sleep quality, and I certainly noticed this as I slept better than normal and woke up refreshed. Once up on day two everything felt good even after not eating for over 34 hours.
37 hours into my fast (8:30 am) I had a cup of passion fruit green tea which was delightful and kept my energy levels stable.
45 hours into my fast (4:30 pm) I went for a 3 mile walk which was of no difficulty. A couple hours earlier my energy had started to dip slightly, which I attribute to transitioning away from glucose metabolism to ketosis. By the end of my walk my normal energy levels had resumed, and while I didn’t have a ketosis test on hand to confirm I was in ketosis, having fasted many times I was confident that I was beginning to transition into ketosis.
48 hours after starting the green tea fast I consumed my refeed meal which was a small salad, butternut squash, and some mushroom pho with rice noodles. Once food hit my palate I became really hungry and after the meal pictured below I also had a few tablespoons of cashew, almond, and walnut nut butter. This fast was the easiest and most successful fast I have done to date, and I attribute this to the addition of high quality green tea.
Here is the meal I broke the 48 hour green tea fast with. Mushroom pho, a mixed green salad, and butternut squash
9.5 hours after breaking the green tea fast I woke up with a slight headache, went back to sleep, and when I woke up again later the headache was still lingering. I attribute the headache to two things. First, I did not drink enough water on day 2, and after breaking my fast with a too salty bowl of mushroom pho (which is what made it sooo good), the salt dehydrated me further. I should have consumed on day two before and after the refeed meal. Second, transitioning from carbs to ketosis to carb-based metabolism all in 12 hours might have caused some energy metabolism difficulties for my brain. If I could go back I would have eliminated the carbohydrate-rich mushroom pho from the refeed meal and saved it for breakfast the next day.
A couple of days after the fast everything was normal but digestion and sleep were much improved. I also had less cravings for heavily processed acellular carbs like gluten-free breads and noodles. Now I’m pretty content munching on nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for snacks rather than day dreaming of less healthy options.
Final Recommendations
Based on my experience with both fasting and green tea fasting, I prefer green tea fasting hands down. Drinking green tea throughout the fast made it much easier and improved my digestion and balanced my microbiome to a greater degree than fasting alone would have.
Fasting to activate autophagy and to heal the digestive system are two of the most powerful ways the body can be radically healed and transformed from a state of disease and suffering to one of radiant health. Healing the gut can take time, but with the right fasting protocol like the FoodFast Method, the process can be increased tremendously. Add in supplements like green tea, elderberry, and piperine (from black pepper) and gut health can be improved even faster.
If suffering from chronic inflammation, a weak immune system, constant digestive upset, skin conditions, brain fog, or are overweight or obese, green tea fasting is the fastest way I know of to radically transform health and heal from these maladies. After having done a 38 hour green tea fast, I can confirm it was an easy enjoyable process that improved my digestion, increased my fat metabolism, and even improved my sleep.
IMPORTANT - Please only attempt a fast if you are ready, physically and mentally, to go through a period of no food consumption. If this will be dangerous to you, please do not attempt this. All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
If you read all the way here then it’s clear to me that you’re ready to do what it takes to finally restore your digestive system and gut microbiome back to healthy and optimal function.
I wrote the Holistic Gut Health Guide to help you accomplish exactly this! It contains all the information that you need to understand the gastrointestinal system, gut-brain axis, and microbiome in-depth, and the Holistic Gut Health Guide also educates you on the natural methods you can holistically use together like fasting and herbalism to transform your health from the inside out.
I’m so excited to be able to help you along your gut health and overall wellness journey with the Holistic Gut Health Guide! Please contact me with any questions you have and wishing you the best.
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Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
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Cannabis for Raising Consciousness
Cannabis is a mild psychedelic plant that has been used for thousands of years for spiritual reasons. Responsible and holistic cannabis usage can open the door to spiritual exploration and elevate your state of mind. Dry vaporization or ingestion of biodynamically grown cannabis flower, paired with meditation or other spiritual practices, can raise your awareness and help you to discover truth.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated August 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
The cannabis herb (also known as hemp, weed, marijuana, ganja) has been used across the world for spiritual elevation for thousands of years. Just as evidence exists for tool usage and hunting to have increased brain size, there is ample evidence to suggest that psychedelic herbs and mushrooms used over the course of evolution of the Homo genus helped to increase our ancestors consciousness. It is very likely cannabis co-evolved with Homo sapiens, helping to transform our brains into the neural powerhouses they are today.
Elevating consciousness and spiritual evolution go hand in hand, as spiritual growth paves the way for truth to be discovered, and absolute truth is what allows for higher states of consciousness to be achieved. Cannabis is a mild psychedelic that can be used to elevate consciousness and bring awareness to states of reality, ideas, and truths that otherwise are obscured by the constant distractions and wants of modern society.
Note - The human brain still developing up to the age of +/- 25. I would highly caution against using any consciousness altering substances like cannabis until then. Regular cannabis usage at any age alters brain recruitment and gray matter density in ways that have yet to be understood. Cannabis should be used responsibly.
Meditation can also be used to achieve these higher states of consciousness, no psychedelics required. The advantage of responsible cannabis usage to achieve higher states of consciousness is that it can take you there quickly and then softly float you back down, creating a reference point for your meditation practice in the process.
“What you don’t know exists won’t prompt you to discover it. ”
Personally, without cannabis I am unsure I would have ever begun my spiritual journey towards self-realization. Conscious cannabis usage opened up the door to spirituality and I’m glad I walked through. As I have grown spiritually, I have used cannabis less but more mindfully.
Use Cannabis with Intention
Elevating consciousness means raising awareness, increasing focus, and having intentions. Cannabis used “just to get high” and to escape from reality is not how you use cannabis for raising consciousness. The quality of the cannabis you use, how you use it, and the intentions you set are all very important when using cannabis for spiritual development. The goal is elevating consciousness is to better perceive truth, and using cannabis in a way that clouds and dulls the mind works against that ambition. If cannabis is being used for reaching higher states of consciousness, it must be done so cleanly and at the minimum effective dose. It is recommended for these reasons that only biodynamic cannabis is used, either through dry vaporization of flower or ingestion. Smoking or usage of any distillates is not recommended.
When using cannabis for a spiritual activity like meditation, yoga, intimacy, or a walk/hike through nature, set your intentions before consumption. Ask yourself what you would like the cannabis aid to help you accomplish or realize. Be emotionally calm and in a relaxed state of mind. Have your mantras or meditation practice prepared. Then, after consumption, use your breath and state of mind to manifest that which you seek. Raising consciousness is a journey that requires patience, so if expectation aren’t met, more cannabis isn’t the answer, nor will it help you achieve your aspirations faster. If it has been a while since you have last consumed, it will take just a little bit of cannabis to adequately activate the endocannabinoid system and raise your consciousness.
How to Use Cannabis for Elevating Consciousness
Cannabis has been used for spiritual purposes for thousands of years, and before the advent of modern technology, this was either through smoking of the cannabis plant or ingestion. Now with vaporizer technology, cannabis flower can be heated precisely anywhere below the minimum combustion temperature of 230°C (445°F). Compounds found in cannabis that vaporize into a gas at various temperatures below combustion include water, terpenes, and cannabinoids like THC and CBD. Smoking cannabis can release 100+ dangerous compounds whereas vaporization only vaporizes water, terpenes, and cannabinoids out of the plant material. Combustion temperatures also destroy the cannabinoids and much more plant material is required for the same effect. Waste not, want not! It is for these reasons that I do not recommend smoking cannabis.
Healthy Rips manufactures excellent vaporizers which maintain a plastic-free air path. The Fury Edge is portable, has excellent battery life, and produces great vapor and flavor.
Vaporizing cannabis will be the fastest in effect because the cannabinoids are absorbed quickly by bloodstream via lungs, and creates more of a head high. For a longer duration but flatter effect that effects the body and mind equally, cannabis can also be consumed. Cannabinoids will still need to be heated in order to activate into their bioavailable forms (THCa to THC, CBDa to CBD), and this is most often accomplished by creating a cannabis infused oil over light heat. Cannabis that is ingested takes a minimum of 1 hour to first be felt, so be very patient and cautious when consuming cannabis this way. 2.5 or 5 mg is a good starting dose which can be increased by the same amount if the effects aren’t felt after an hour.
A protocol I like to follow which puts me into a great clear head space while increasing my connection to my body is to consume cannabis just at the minimum dose, and then an hour later to vaporize an equivalent amount to create a full body and mind experience. Using cannabis at a 1:1 ratio of THC:CBD is recommended. Unless you’re large in size, 5-10 mg of cannabinoids should be enough to enter into that state of clear higher consciousness. If you need to take more than that and you’re a regular cannabis user, consider taking a break, resetting your tolerance and reevaluate your relationship with cannabis in the process. Every cannabis tolerance break I have taken has been a growth experience and has helped me.
Cannabis Quality Matters
The way cannabis is grown will impact how it affects you upon use. Cannabis grown outside with rich soil and lovingly cared for will be much different in its effects than cannabis grown indoors with synthetic chemicals under artificial lights. Cannabis grown holistically is much different than cannabis grown for maximum THC extraction.
The cannabis plant houses hundreds of unique phytochemicals like cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, amino acids, esters, and many more. When cannabis is grown biodynamically, these chemicals all synthesize and balance in the right ratios for maximum entourage effect. The “whole is greater than the sum” entourage effect is disrupted when the plant is grown under artificial conditions. Cannabis is a plant that requires an ecosystem like any other, and when cannabis is grown monoculture with limited nutrients and only under certain wavelengths of light, the plant won’t develop properly. Biodynamic growing methods ensure cannabis is grown to it’s highest holistic potential.
Cannabis Grown with Love: Biodynamic
Outdoors
Full spectrum sunlight
Natural seasonal day/night cycle
Rich nourishing soil composted naturally from the land’s organics
Spring water, rain
Grown polyculture
Natural pest control methods are used
Grown with enrichment in mind and in practice
Cannabis Grown for Greed: Conventional
Indoors
Narrow-spectrum high frequency lights
Artificial light and dark cycles which are changed to induce vegetative or flowering growth
Inert soil that nutrient cocktails are added to regularly to sustain growth
Tap water
Grown monoculture
Pesticides are used
Grown with extraction in mind and in practice
The energy of the cannabis you use will be the energy that you experience. Cannabis grown under stressful conditions for maximum extraction is not cannabis that you want to consume at all, let alone as an aid to spiritual development. Likewise, when cannabinoids like THC are singularly extracted from cannabis and used, the entourage effect won’t happen at all. Cannabis used this way is solely an intoxicant, and creates a negative experience.
The Responsible Spiritual Usage of Cannabis
If you live in a locality where cannabis is legal and you are interested in discovering yourself and exploring your spirituality, then cannabis might be a plant medicine worth experimenting with responsibly. Everyone is as different on the inside as they are on the outside, and your experience using cannabis for spiritual development and to reach higher states of consciousness is uniquely your own. Cannabis plant medicine might be a great spiritual tool to use, or it might have zero effect. The quality of the cannabis and how it is delivered to the body matter greatly, so until you’ve ingested or vaporized biodynamically grown cannabis, reserve your judgement.
Cannabis usage is not spiritual development, it is merely a tool which can be used. Breathing, meditation, and practicing mindfulness are the main tools at the disposal for the spiritual seeker, use them regularly, and maybe occasionally use cannabis to reach new heights.
Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
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Dangers of Pesticides
Herbicides are chemicals used to kill or affect plant growth, and they were first created in the 1940's for use in war. Now in the 21st century herbicides are the most commonly used pesticide, and residues from herbicides like glyphosate and chlorpropham can be found in most foods. 90% of Americans have pesticides or byproducts in their body, and this can cause serious and deadly health effects.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
The human body, the foods we eat, the air we breathe, and the planet we live on are made up of millions of chemicals. Water, with the chemical formula of H2O, is the main chemical that our bodies are comprised of, being necessary for thousands of essential chemical reactions, and without water you die. Still, water intoxication is possible though. With any chemical, the dose determines the poison, as does the length of exposure to it. For some chemicals like water, multiple gallons of water consumed very quickly is required to reach a median lethal dose (LD50), while some chemicals can be fatal at even less than a gram. Other chemicals like pesticides might not kill you directly, but will affect your health in more insidious ways, and 90% of Americans have been found to have pesticides and byproducts in their bodies (1).
Pesticide usage in agriculture is widespread, being used on 90% of agricultural lands in the US. Herbicides are a type of pesticide.
Exposure to chemicals overtime is very important to consider for this reason. A small dose of a chemical like a residual herbicide might acutely cause no apparent harm, but over time and with consistent exposure to many different herbicides, chronic health conditions can arise which severely impact overall health and wellness and ultimately lead to fatal outcomes. Reducing exposure to chemicals that harm human health over long periods of time as much as possible is a very important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Herbicides are so widespread in their use that limiting exposure to them can be difficult and requires lifestyle modifications. Therefore consciously voting with your dollar and purchasing foods and products that aren’t contaminated with pesticides is important. Once food and product changes have been made, monitoring your chemical exposure doesn’t require any conscious thought more than an periodic check-in.
One class of chemicals that is out of sight and out of mind for most are pesticides. Pesticides are chemicals used to control pests and weeds, and include all of the following: herbicide, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, rodenticides, and insect/animal repellents. Herbicides like glyphosate and chlorpropham are the most commonly used pesticide in the United States, and they trace their origins back to the military industrial complex of World War 1 and 2.
Increased Usage of Herbicides
Herbicides were first synthesized in the early 1940’s, and originally researched for use during WW2 as a warfare agent. The primary intention of herbicidal warfare was to destroy the plant-based ecosystem of an area. Fiction turned to reality with Vietnam when herbicidal warfare was carried out to thin the thick jungles of Vietnam, and thousands perhaps millions have suffered the effects of this massive herbicidal warfare campaign. Herbicidal warfare has been forbidden since 1978, yet the chemical and agricultural industry increasingly wages herbicidal warfare on the civilian populations of the world through the broad usage of herbicides on agricultural crops. Millions of acres are now heavily contaminated with herbicides that take up to decades to break down.
90% of agricultural cropland is treated with chemicals each year, and an estimated 300 million acres are treated with pesticides each year (also about 90 percent). In the U.S., cropland receives on average about 3 pounds of active ingredient per acre, equating to nearly a billion pounds of pesticides used in total per year. Divide that by the U.S. population and that equals pounds of pesticide active ingredient used for every woman, man, and child (see image 2). Pesticides are commonly used on urban lands too, and at a higher rate of usage (2).
The data above compiled by the Center for Integrated Pest Management only goes up to the year 2000. Since 2000, world pesticide usage has gone up, with some countries decreasing their pesticide usage while others have increased their pesticide usage (3). Pesticide usage in the United States is at the highest its ever been from 2010 onwards.
Mechanisms of Action as Weed Killers
There are many plants labeled as weeds and sprayed with herbicides that are in fact helpful native plants that create beneficial habitat and food for many different insects, birds, and animals. The term weed is incorrectly used very broadly and to the detriment of holistic ecological understanding.
There are many different mechanisms of action that herbicides take to kill plant life. There is significant overlap and interdependence in biology, and it is through the same or similar mechanisms as below that herbicides cause health issues in humans and negatively affect the human microbiome.
ALS Inhibitors: Acetolactate synthase is the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids leucine, valine, and isoleucine. ALS inhibiting herbicides starve plants of these amino acids, inhibiting DNA synthesis and causing death. The ALS pathway does not exist in animals, but many organisms in animal microbiomes utilize the ALS pathway.
EPSPS Inhibitors: Enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase enzyme (EPSPS) is used in the synthesis of the amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine via the shikimate pathway. Glyphosate (Roundup) is a systemic EPSPS inhibitor.
Photosystem I and II Inhibitors: Photosystem inhibitors affect electron flow, ultimately causing oxidation reactions in different cellular structures which can kill a plant.
Synthetic Auxins: Synthetic auxins mimic plant hormones in various ways. Growth of plants can be controlled via their hormone systems, with synthetic auxins exerting their effects by docking on the membrane of cells.
HPPD Inhibitors: 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitors affect the breakdown of the amino acid tyrosine, the breakdown products of which are used to make carotenoids. Carotenoids protect chlorophyll from damage by sunlight, and without protection plants that have inhibited carotenoid production turn white as chlorophyll die and then the plant dies.
The general way herbicides function is through affecting biochemical processes involving amino acids, oxidative systems, and hormonal systems of plants. These are very important foundational biologic systems that when disrupted kill plants and other organisms like bacteria. To introduce into your own biochemistry any of these chemicals can affect your health and the health of your microbiome over long periods of time.
Glyphosate (aka Roundup)
Glyphosate is used as a herbicide because it is very effective at killing plants. Glyphosate is an herbicide which disrupts the shikimate pathway, a metabolic pathway used by bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, some protozoans, and plants. The shikimate pathway consists of seven-steps, and is used by these organisms, but not animals, for the synthesis of folates and certain amino acids. Animals instead must obtain these essential amino acids through their diet, and it is for this reason that agrochemical companies say that glyphosate exposure is okay for humans.
Glycine-Glyphosate Substitution
The interactions of glyphosate in the human body are more complex than claimed by the agrochemical industry. Glyphosate is composed of the amino acid glycine, an important amino acid that is commonly deficient in humans (4), and a phosphonomethyl group that replaces one of the hydrogen atoms. Glycine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can produce it, but its synthesis requires other nutrients, and depending on the biochemical situation, the body might decide to not synthesize glycine. Glycine then could be pulled from connective tissues, where it is the dominant amino acid, and then utilized throughout the body (but to the detriment of joint health), and/or glyphosate could be substituted in. This swap can happen because glyphosate is similar to glycine, and the process is known as glycine-glyphosate substitution (5). Most of the health effects of glycine-glyphosate substitution are still unresearched.
A common glyphosate side effect is poor gut health. Since glyphosate targets the shikimate pathway, it acts as an antibacterial to the microbiome, and this can lead to problems like food allergies and intolerances, IBS, IBD, leaky gut, and malabsorption of food. Glycine can be synthesized internally, but it is easier to acquire via diet by eating the connective tissues of animals or by eating glycine rich foods like pulses (lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc). Glyphosate through its mechanisms disrupts the health of the digestive system, weakening digestive tight junctions, in the process reducing the ability to absorb glycine from dietary sources. Through this insidious effect the body begins to start glycine-glyphosate substitution, and the process gradually worsens while other bodily system that have incorporated glyphosate into their protein structures instead of glycine become newly stressed.
Glycine-glyphosate substitution is bad news because glycine is a very important amino acid throughout the body. Glycine has been shown to improve sleep (6, 7), is an integral component of connective tissues, helps heal injuries (8), and has anti-inflammatory effects (9). Some common glyphosate side effects include poor sleep, digestive problems, brain fog, skin issues, joint problems, thyroid issues, and fatigue.
Glyphosate can be a contributing factor to gluten intolerance. I personally have had gluten intolerance, and it took me many years to heal my gut to perfect health. Take it from me, determining whether gluten or glyphosate is the problem is difficult, so when making dietary modifications it is best to remove both.
The foods which are the most contaminated with glyphosate are GMO products. GMO crops like wheat, soybeans, and corn have been genetically modified to better resist the effects of herbicides like glyphosate. Now with better herbicide resistant GMO crops, the agricultural industry can spray glyphosate and other herbicides in much greater quantities, contaminating the food supply in even greater amounts. When tested non-gmo crops were found to have glyphosate residues at 0.07 mg/kg to 0.09 mg/kg. For a GMO crop, the range was found to be between 3.3 and 5.7 mg/kg (10). This is approximately a 100x difference. Look for the Non-GMO Project verified label on foods, and for your health and the health of the Earth don’t buy GMO foods. Buying only GMO can be difficult, especially if you live in a food dessert.
Finding glyphosate free flour or glyphosate free oats, two commonly contaminated foods, is difficult, though it is becoming easier as more organic and non-gmo products are brought to market. Non-GMO and gluten-free bread products are readily available now in most grocery stores, and these will be much less contaminated, or even free, of glyphosate residues. Finding oatmeal, buckwheat, cereals, and beers without glyphosate is possible when shopping for Non-GMO gluten-free products, of which there are many…and they are very tasty! For the best chance of buying foods without glyphosate, purchase organic, non-gmo, gluten-free products.
If you are unable to buy foods free of glyphosate contamination, focus your diet on whole unprocessed foods and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Glyphosate residues can be washed off on some fruits and vegetables using a dilated mixture of baking soda and water, which is an effective surface pesticide rinse (11). Growing your own fruits and vegetables is the best way to ensure you’re no exposing yourself to the dangerous herbicide glyphosate among many other pesticides.
Chlorpropham and Propham
Propham and chlorpropham are synthetic herbicides and plant growth inhibitors most commonly known for their ability to stop potatoes from sprouting. Chlorpropham applications are also used on spinach, blueberries, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, onions, soybeans, and much more. Chlorpropham’s mode of action is by altering microtubule structure and function in plants resulting in the inhibition of cell division (12). Once potatoes are harvested and ready for storage, chlorpropham dust or propham dust is applied to potatoes via a method known as hot fogging. The potato growing industry will store potatoes for up to 9 months, and during this time chlorpropham will be hot-fogged many times to keep sprout suppression under bay.
During storage, mean concentrations of chlorpropham in tubers decreases with time, with 25% gone in a month and 40% gone in two months. Chlorpropham primarily resides in the peel of potatoes, washing potatoes will remove approximately 40% of the chlorpropham while peeling the potatoes will remove 95% of the herbicide. If the potatoes are boiled or fried, chlorpropham residues can be found in the water and oil used (13).
A naturally grown potato will sprout after some time, like shown here, as it’s still alive and able to perform cellular division.
Through chlorpropham’s growth inhibition characteristics, it has been shown that mice, rats, and beagle dogs feed chlorpropham for short periods of time become anemic, undergo weight fluctuations, and have altered thyroid function, with the hematopoietic system being the main toxicological target found with chlorpropham exposure (14). The hematopoietic system is the bodily system involved in the creation of the cells of blood, with the blood cell genesis sites being bone marrow and the lymph nodes.
Chlorpropham has low mammalian toxicity, but it can bioaccumulate and begin to affect major systems of the body.
The EPA assessed the dietary risk posed by chlorpropham (15), and based on a reference dose not believed to cause adverse effects if consumed daily over 70 years, they found chlorpropham to be safe. 42% of the U.S. population is exposed to that much chlorpropham daily, and while the short chlorpropham studies lasting no greater than 24 months showed very troubling health concerns for the animals involved, 70 years of chronic exposure has been signed off by the EPA as OKAY. The fact that chlorpropham is used in great enough concentrations to cause a physiological effect in potatoes, inhibiting their natural life cycle and stopping sprouting, is reason to believe that chlorpropham is used at great enough concentrations to cause long term health effects in humans with regular ingestion.
Through these mechanisms and how often exposure occurs, chlorpropham and propham can be classified as endocrine disruptors. Just as these herbicides affect cellular growth and reproduction (mitosis), low doses over time can threaten thyroid, lymph node, and hematopoietic health. Thyroid conditions affect ~20% of the U.S. population (16), and this percentage is increasing. There are a lot of diseases of the hematopoietic system (17), and some of them could be caused or affected by chronic herbicide exposure.
How to Avoid Herbicides
There are four steps that can be taken to limit your exposure to herbicides. Each step will reduce your exposure, and if all three steps are followed then your herbicide exposure risk will be close to zero.
Wash Fruits and Vegetables: Washing and/or soaking fruits and vegetables with a 1% baking soda and water mixture can remove pesticide residues. Some pesticides that only coat the outside of produce will break down or bind to the baking soda and be rinsed away, whereas this method is less effective with pesticides that penetrate deep into fruits and vegetables. To create the pesticide rinse, mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda into a gallon of water.
Buy Non-GMO Food: With the advent of gene editing technology, genetically modified organisms have been created and are now abundantly in the food supply. Through selective breeding has influenced plant and animal genetics for thousands of years, direct genetic modification can insert genetic code from a other organisms such as a worm into the DNA of a plant. The long term health effects of consuming genetically modified organisms is unknown, and the larger concern comes from how GMO crops are managed compared to non-GMO crops.
Buy Organic Products: The organic certification is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (18), and while it is a step in the right direction, it has many loopholes. It only takes 36 months to transition from regular production to being organic certified by the USDA. Since hazardous chemicals can contaminate soil and water for years, there is still risk of herbicide contamination with organic products. Additionally, animal manures from conventional feedlot and confinement systems are allowed in organic production, and so is manure from animals that have been fed genetically engineered feeds (aka highly herbicide contaminated feeds).
With that said, organic farms use techniques such as composting, soil building, chemical free pest management, crop rotation, and many other holistic agricultural techniques. The variability within the organic standard is wide ranging. There can be an organic farm which uses no chemicals or contaminated materials, and there are organic farms which skirt the edge of the regulations. It’s the same product same quality fallacy. As an informed purchaser it’s your responsibility to research the companies you purchase food and products from, and to only support those who practice ecologically safe and sustainable farming practices.Shop at Local Farmers Markets: Sourcing your food from local farmers markets, or growing it yourself, is the final and best way you can distance yourself from herbicides and other chemicals. If you grow your own food, you can complete control from start to finish, and there is no reason to use chemicals when environmentally friendly methods of soil building, weed management, and pest management exist and are easy to apply at a small scale.
If you don’t have space for a garden, or during the seasons where growing without a greenhouse is difficult, shopping at a local farmers market is an excellent solution to the problem of where to acquire high quality contamination free fruits, vegetables, and animal products. When shopping at a farmers market, you can speak with the grower and find out how they grow their food. Additionally, produce at farmers markets is typically less expensive than found in a grocery store, and every dollar spent goes directly to a member of the local community.
Engage with the community, save money, and buy interesting and unique foods at your local farmers market.
There are also micronutrients which can internally help protect you from pesticides. Boron protects against the oxidative stress from pesticides (19), as do powerful antioxidants like anthocyanins found in elderberries.
Your Health is Your Responsibility
Agroindustrial chemical companies will argue that herbicides and other pesticides are not harmful to human or animal health at the limits required by law, and while a lot of research has been done, it has not been conducted across the right time scales or with the right combinations of pesticides. Chemical producers have betrayed the trust of the public many times through faulty science, redacted data, chemical pollution, cover-ups, lobbying, and millions have died from the chemicals produced by these large multinational corporations formed during WW1 and WW2.
Your health is your responsibility, and when there are food alternatives not contaminated by hundreds of pesticides and herbicides which are easily accessible at a local farmers market, the right choice is easy to make. The risk of eating conventional produced grains, meat, and produce is simply too great, and the only short term reward from purchasing food from the agroindustrial complex is a few dollars saved. The long term effects could be chronic health conditions that untreated could lead to death.
Find a farmers market near you, support your local community farmers, and thrive.
References:
Chiu, Y., ., Williams, P. L., Mínguez-Alarcón, L., Gillman, M., Sun, Q., Ospina, M., Calafat, A. M., Hauser, R., & Chavarro, J. E. (2018). Comparison of questionnaire-based estimation of pesticide residue intake from fruits and vegetables with urinary concentrations of pesticide biomarkers. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 28(1), 31-39.
Arnold L. Aspelin. Pesticide Usage in the United States: Trends During the 20th Century. CIPM Technical Bulletin 105
Max Roser (2019) - "Pesticides". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/pesticides' [Online Resource]
Adeva-Andany, M., Souto-Adeva, G., Ameneiros-Rodríguez, E., Fernández-Fernández, C., Donapetry-García, C., & Domínguez-Montero, A. (2018). Insulin resistance and glycine metabolism in humans. Amino Acids, 50(1), 11-27.
Brewster, D. (1991). Metabolism of glyphosate in sprague-dawley rats: Tissue distribution, identification, and quantitation of glyphosate-derived materials following a single oral dose*1. Fundamental and Applied Toxicology, 17(1), 43-51.
Yamadera, W., Inagawa, K., Chiba, S., Bannai, M., Takahashi, M., & Nakayama, K. (2007). Glycine ingestion improves subjective sleep quality in human volunteers, correlating with polysomnographic changes: Effects of glycine on polysomnography. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 5(2), 126-131.
Bannai, M., & Kawai, N. (n.d.). New therapeutic strategy for amino acid medicine: Glycine improves the quality of sleep. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 118(2), 145-148.
Zhang, Z., Zhao, M., Wang, J., Ding, Y., Dai, X., & Li, Y. (2011). Oral administration of skin gelatin isolated from chum salmon (oncorhynchus keta) enhances wound healing in diabetic rats. Marine Drugs, 9(5), 696-711.
Zhong, Z., Wheeler, M. D., Li, X., Froh, M., Schemmer, P., Yin, M., Bunzendaul, H., Bradford, B., & Lemasters, J. J. (2003). L-glycine: A novel antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and cytoprotective agent. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 6(2), 229-240.
Glyphosate-tested. (n.d.). Healthy Traditions.
Yang, T., Doherty, J., Zhao, B., Kinchla, A. J., Clark, J. M., & He, L. (2017). Effectiveness of commercial and homemade washing agents in removing pesticide residues on and in apples. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 65(44), 9744-9752.
Paul, V., Ezekiel, R., & Pandey, R. (2016). Sprout suppression on potato: Need to look beyond cipc for more effective and safer alternatives. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 53(1), 1-18.
Lentza-Rizos, C., & Balokas, A. (2001). Residue levels of chlorpropham in individual tubers and composite samples of postharvest-treated potatoes. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49(2), 710-714.
J. van Engelen. Pesticide residues in food 2000 : CHLORPROPHAM. Centre for Substances and Risk Assessment, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands.
Chlorpropham. EPA R.E.D Facts. October 1996
The Endocrine Society. Endocrine Facts and Figures: Thyroid. First Edition. 2015.
Michael T. Busch, Amy L. Dunn. Diseases of the Hematopoietic System. Musculoskeletal Key. July 2016.
Agricultural Marketing Service. Organic Certification and Accreditation. USDA
Coban FK, Ince S, Kucukkurt I, Demirel HH, Hazman O. Boron attenuates malathion-induced oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase inhibition in rats. Drug and Chemical Toxicology. 2015;38(4):391-399.
Abstinence for Emotional Maturity
Abstinence is the practice of refraining from something, typically pleasurable. Common pleasures to abstain from include food, sex, drugs, technology, and more. Abstinence and true moderation from outside pleasures aids in self realization. With consistency and time, discipline, willpower, and abstinence become second nature, and only then can you fulfill your true life purpose.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Existence has a dual nature. Happiness and pleasure can quickly turn into suffering and pain, and vice versa. Yin and Yang. Like a pendulum, the further it swings into either side, the further it will swing to the other side. Many people live for the happy and pleasing moments, and do their best to ignore the hard times, but these volatile swings in existence can be greatly subdued by practicing abstinence.
Abstinence is the practice of restraining yourself from indulging in wanted or enjoyable bodily pleasures. Most commonly this refers to abstinence from alcohol, sex, masturbation, drugs, food, technology…any activity that can release neurotransmitters like dopamine and naturally produced opioids. Abstinence is self enforced and requires discipline, and that’s the reason it is so difficult for so many people to practice abstinence.
Find balance within the duality of Yin and Yang in order to transcend beyond it to the next stage of consciousness
Practicing abstinence to the extreme can also be unhealthy, but in our current consumer driven society focused on pleasure, money, and fame, abstinence is a powerful tool that can be used to build emotional stability while freeing oneself from the volatile swings of pleasure and suffering that define many peoples lives.
Abstinence Requires Discipline
The first thought many people have when abstinence is mentioned is that it is a lifetime decision. There is this all or nothing mindset which is common, rock-stars and celebrities often taking the all and everything approach (often to fatal consequences) and many religious groups and organizations preach complete abstinence from sex or alcohol, you name it.
Discipline is not an everlasting resource, and for the regular individual who doesn’t suffer from mental illness or have addictive tendencies, then taking a lifetime vow of abstinence for most things is not needed and can be counter productive. Certain drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines are poison no matter the dose, and should be avoided completely. Other recreational drugs like caffeine, alcohol, and cannabis have reported health benefits with limited use, and with moderation can integrate with a healthy lifestyle. Moderation is a ambiguous term though, and often this is abused.
“Many activities done in excess are often rationalized under the umbrella of moderation”
Abstinence for different periods of time is the best way to truly discover your definition of moderation for a pleasurable substance or activity. Using cannabis as an example, for some individuals, cannabis usage every weekend might be totally fine and not impact their life in any negative way. For others, they might find that if they use cannabis more than once in a blue moon the psychoactive effects of THC negatively affects their mood and increases their anxiety. The same can be said for alcohol, masturbation, and even caffeine.
Self diagnosis of how a chemical, food, or activity makes you feel and how it affects your health is impossible to achieve when it is currently being used in excess of moderation. Only with a period of complete abstinence where the pleasurable variable is removed does it become clear the impact that variable had, and what might be a better moderation limit to follow.
How to Practice Abstinence
For an emotionally unstable individual, a lifetime vow of abstinence from what is afflicting them might temporarily see positive results, but if that vow is broken, then a binge session is likely to ensue. The psychology of this is very important. No one knows the future, and for the best chance of lasting success, it is better to be fully educated on the subject and understand all the consequences while still living in the moment, being fully aware. Come to acceptance with the pleasure seeker inside of you, and learn how to coexist with both aspects of your personality in a way that is optimally healthy. The pleasure seeker that craves alcohol, sex, nicotine, or unhealthy foods can be appeased in other ways. Time spent in nature, exercise, meditation, and other wellness activities produce dopamine as well and will nourish your soul in a healthy way.
Practicing abstinence goes hand in hand with practicing mindfulness. Abstinence requires discipline, and it also improves discipline and strengthens your willpower. If your maturity is low, a very long period of abstinence might be out of the books just yet, but this can be trained and improved just like anything in life.
A Day of Abstinence
24 hours is a short amount of time, but depending on what you’re newly abstaining from, it can seem like forever. A good example of 24 hour abstinence would be a 24 hour fast. Fasting is a state of not eating food where you only drink water, and if you’ve never skipped a day of eating, you might be surprised at the initial difficulty of it. Without a period of abstinence from food, it can be difficult to learn to control food cravings. A food craving is when you’re starving for one type of food, lets say Italian, but you’re not really hungry for something else, such as Mexican. Normal hunger alerts you to eat what you need, calorie, macronutrient, or micronutrient wise.
After a 24 hour fast, usually from dinner to dinner, you’ll be amazed by how you feel, how fasting improved your digestion, and how the absence of food caused many swings in energy and emotion. The energy swings which might or might not occur depend on your individual metabolism and how efficiently you can burn fat. With practice these dampen and disappear. The emotional swings have a connection to your microbiome, which in the absence of food might have released neurotransmitters causing cravings. The microbiome is a collection of 100 trillion microorganisms which live outside your body in the digestive system, outnumbering your cells 10 to 1. Gaining control over the microbiome is one of the fundamental steps needed towards gaining control over your health and wellness, and a period of food abstinence for 24 hours can help tremendously with this.
A Week of Abstinence
Many organizations recommend not drinking more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week, as amounts greater than that begin to tip over into the definition of alcoholism. 14 drinks over a week is two per day, and this is already a state of excess alcoholic drinking. Over time, having 1-2 alcoholic drinks everyday will change your brain structure and have lasting effects. The depressing effects of alcohol are from ethanol, and ethanol once consumed requires immediate processing and filtration by the body. The many enzymes required to metabolize ethanol into energy, water, and carbon dioxide are primarily stored in the liver, and because of this alcohol usage stresses the liver.
Drugs are used to achieve unique states of consciousness. Meditation is a better method of achieving this.
Many prescription drugs and common over the counter drugs like NSAIDS are hard on the liver, and daily alcohol usage paired with daily pill usage can stress the liver into a state of disease. 14 alcoholic drinks a week might be considered moderation by some groups, but depending on your health circumstances, it can be in gross excess.
A week of abstaining from alcohol is easy to achieve even with limited discipline and willpower and over the course of seven days a lot of physical, mental, and emotional observations can be made as to the positive and negative effects of regular alcohol consumption. You might find that an alcoholic beverage now and then helps you to relax and enter into a “rest and digest” parasympathetic state easier, but frequent alcohol usage impairs your digestion, sours your daily mood, and lets emotions of frustration and anger surface.
A Month of Abstinence
Porn addiction is a serious problem affecting millions of people worldwide, and it goes hand in hand with excessive masturbation. Viewing porn and the bodily pleasures of sex and masturbation release large amounts of dopamine and endogenous (naturally produced) opioids in the brain. When done infrequently, the effects of this chemical cascade on the brain is transient, and lasting changes to the structure of the brain are unlikely. When porn, sex, and masturbation are done frequently, brain structure can change through neuroplasticity, neurotransmitter receptors can become desensitized, and lasting behavioral changes can occur.
Abstaining from porn, sex, and masturbation for a month can reset these systems to a large degree, and thirty days of careful mental, physical, and emotional observations can dramatically increase your understanding of yourself and how the hedonistic pleasures impact all aspects of your life.
A Year of Abstinence
365 days is a very long period of time, but in the context of average lifespan, it is still a small percentage. What you eat is fundamental to who you are, as Socrates said “You are what you eat”, and a year of abstinence from certain foods can transform the rest of your life.
Common foods which can be abstained from for a year to gain deeper understanding on how they affect all aspects of your life include meat, sugar, heavily processed foods, desserts, soda and sugary drinks, bread, and more. Abstaining from meat reduces your impact on the planet and reduces your death toll. You might discover how by replacing meat with fruits and vegetables improves your digestion, stabilizes your energy levels, and increases your inner happiness. Cutting out all processed foods and added sugars for a year could transform your physique through fat loss, improve your cardiovascular health, stabilize your emotions, and so much more.
While food isn’t as acutely strong as drugs or sex, food is something needed to survive, and because it is consumed everyday multiple times, it’s effects positive or negative, can manifest very strongly over time. Choosing the foods you eat consciously and carefully is very important as it relates to your overall health and wellness.
A Lifetime of Abstinence
A lifetime of abstinence might seem like a tall order, but with certain things it is a must. Dangerous drugs like heroin, cocaine, and meth should never be consumed. These drugs are very powerful in their effect, and if you haven’t used them before, then there is no draw to use them again. Usage opens Pandora’s Box. The more addictive the chemical, the greatly the lifetime risk of using it once again once used before. Nicotine from cigarettes is also highly addictive, providing a very fast head rush, and as a one-off isn’t likely to be addictive, but after just a few regular uses the reward seeking part of the brain grows addicted to nicotine. The long term mental and physical health effects from these drugs and more are well documented and have ruined the lives of millions of users and have greatly affected their friends and family.
Building Emotional Maturity
Periods of abstinence, whether short or long, can teach valuable lessons that can impact all areas of life. Emotional maturity is another way to phrase self-realization, and when all aspects and dimensions of the mind, body, and soul are in alignment, an incredible level of emotional strength and resiliency is created.
Having the emotional maturity to stay in the present moment and live with your current situation, and not seek to escape it, is the true path towards achieving lasting and effortless happiness. Happiness comes from within. Discipline, willpower, and abstinence might require a lot of mental effort when first being practiced, but like any skill, it becomes second nature with consistency and time. Once human experience is no longer distracted by pleasure seeking, your true life purpose can begin to be fulfilled.
Rewire the Brain with Meditation
Meditation, the act of focusing inwardly and finding calm, is a powerful wellness practice that has dramatically improved the life and well-being of the millions who practice it. Deep meditation is able to create strong continuous gamma wavelengths in the brain, a rare phenomenon which has powerful effects in changing the activation and structure of the brain via neural plasticity.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Meditation is a mental and sensory practice that improves awareness, focus, and mindfulness. During meditation a technique is applied (and there are many) which trains focus, in the process resetting neural activity and with consistent practice rewires the brain so it’s easier to have a balanced, emotionally calm, and mentally clear state of mind.
Meditation has been practiced for time untold, and its popularity has steadily grown as we’ve learned more about its benefits scientifically. Just like exercising regularly and eating a nutritious diet for best health, meditation is a foundational wellness practice that should be a part of everyone’s lifestyle.
There are many ways to train the brain, and meditation is the safest way to rewire neural structures of the brain, optimize neurotransmitter ratios, and train parasympathetic (rest and digest) pathways. Having a regular meditation practice, even if it’s as short as five minutes a day, will improve all aspects of life, from stress management to exercise to sleep quality.
Meditation has been scientifically shown to change how the brain functions with as little as 7 hours of combined practice. Mediation increase neuroplasticity and the beneficial changes to brain structure and activation patterns caused by meditation are semi-permanent.
The Science of Meditation
When entering into a deep meditative state unencumbered of thoughts and distractions, one might reflect later that the mind felt much less active, but science have shown otherwise. A reduction in distraction and thoughts doesn’t mean a reduction in brain activity, instead brainwave patterns have changed.
What has been shown in the lab is that monks who have meditated for tens of thousands of hours have fundamentally different brain activity than someone who hasn’t put in the work. When connected to an EEG, master meditators demonstrate elevated gamma brainwaves, and when they enter into focused meditation, their gamma wavelengths increase further in amplitude (strength) by 600-800% in seconds (1).
Gamma brainwaves are normally only observed for a split second during periods of immense realization, such as at the end of solving a complex problem, or they can be observed during realistic states of imagination. For example, if imaging all aspects and senses associated with biting into an apple, small gamma waves will be briefly created as a result of this visualization exercise. Gamma brainwaves are very high frequency and the physics of higher frequency brainwaves connects different groups of neurons and regions of the brain together, enabling them to fire simultaneously for maximum cognitive output.
Extremely practiced yogis can sustain these gamma wave patterns in the brain indefinitely, but it takes time to reach such an elevated level on consciousness. Basic desirable changes in brain activity and neuroplasticity are observed even after a short period of meditation. Neuroplasticity is when the brain reorganizes its neural network in response to new experience and information. There are different mechanisms that influence neuroplasticity, such as the growth of new connections to the creation of new neurons. The human brain is not a static organ, it has ability to adapt and change (2). Neuroplasticity is more commonly observed in children, teenagers, and young adults whose brains are still developing, but neuroplasticity can be increased at any age if the right conditions are in place, such as with a meditation practice, learning a new language, or the acquisition of a complex skill.
The prefrontal cortex, hippocampal, and right anterior insula regions of the brain associated with attention, enteroception, and sensory processing are thicker in those who meditate regularly (3, 4). In as short as 7 hours of meditation, brain plasticity occurs and changes in brain activity can be observed. 7 hours of meditation over the course of a month is 15 minutes of meditation everyday, and a 15 minute time commitment which results in increased happiness and reduced stress is an attractive proposition an easy habit to create by anyone.
Wellness Benefits of Meditation
Using meditation as a self-care wellness tool is still a relatively uncommon practice in the United States. Approximately 5-10 million adults practice meditation consistently in the US, and common reasons meditation was part of their wellness practice was for preventative wellness, stress management, and for greater emotion well-being (5).
Besides the immediate calming effects that can felt during and lingering after meditation, meditation has also shown to reduce burnout, improve emotional wellness, and reduce stress over longer periods of time. Meditation has even been shown to lengthen telomeres in young individuals (6). Telomeres are the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that keep them from fraying, and there is a clear trend between lifespan and telomere length (7).
As shown with telomeres, yoga and meditative practices have a measurable effect at the molecular level via gene expression (8), and it is through these mechanisms and certainly more still undiscovered that mindfulness practices reduce risk from inflammation-based diseases (9). Meditation is a powerful intervention tool that reduces anxiety levels. Anxiety often results from suppressed negative emotions, and mindfulness practices improve expressing and releasing negative emotions in a healthy manner. Because of its nullifying effects on stress and anxiety, meditation is an amazing wellness practice for mental health.
One inflammatory disease with strong ties to anxiety is heart disease, and preliminary evidence suggest that meditation can reduce risk and improve health outcomes for those with heart disease (10). Meditation and mindfulness practices go beyond just reducing stress, anxiety, and bodily inflammation, they also increase positive mental traits such as trust, cooperation, and empathy. Meditating widens perspective and increase empathy (11). Meditation increases cooperation and harmony among people, supporting a sort of collective mind (12).
Better understand outward reality by reflecting inwards
The positive effects of meditation are powerful and far reaching. From increased emotional maturity to better physical health, meditation can transform your health and wellness and help you be the best version of yourself with regular practice.
Methods of Meditation
There is an intrinsic difference between sitting in place and having a storm of thoughts cloud your mind, and sitting in peace with a calm mind clear of disturbance. Meditation is simply the practice of bringing awareness to one specific thing. How you approach your meditation practice is important. It should be done with intent and purpose. Find a regular time everyday to meditate, such as during a morning routine. Or perhaps a longer meditation is done weekly, the key is to create a meditation practice that is long lasting and not given up after only a few tries. Below are four different styles of meditation used by beginners and masters alike.
Breathing Meditation
Breathing meditation is probably the simplest form for meditation, and all it involves is paying attention to your breath. Breathing meditation can be done anywhere and for any length of time. Bringing conscious awareness to your breath for even just thirty seconds is highly calming, and for longer periods of time breathing meditation is an easy path into deeper states of consciousness.
Sensory Awareness Meditation
Sensory awareness meditation is the practice of tuning into one or a combination of the five senses.. Typically meditation is with eyes closed, so the senses tuned into are hearing, touch, smell, and potentially taste. Sensory meditation is similar to breathing meditation in that is very easy to do anywhere.
First, close the eyes and focus on any sound present. Simply observe and enlarge your sensory envelop, taking in sounds further away or sounds more quiet that you might have first missed. Any thoughts that arise simply let them pass and without reaction. Keeping a heightened sense of hearing, now pay attention to the body and your contact with the ground. Feel your hands and feel, the temperature of the air, can you feel sunlight or wind? Engage the olfactory system, noticing any smells or tastes. This is all done very naturally and smoothly, without effort over the course of 5+ minutes. If you can hold your awareness over all your senses simultaneously, congratulations, you’ve reached a higher state of consciousness!
Open Monitoring Meditation
With open monitoring meditation, you clear the mind and tune your awareness to what happens afterwards, passively monitoring the content of experience from moment-to-moment. Open monitoring meditation is very powerful because it can be used as a diagnostic tool to recognize the unique nature of your cognitive and emotional patterns. You might be surprised by the thoughts that manifest tempting you to react or dismiss them. With open monitoring meditation suspend all judgement, treat yourself with unconditional love, remain unattached, and filter out all non-harmonious energy and thoughts simply through awareness.
Focused Attention Meditation
When meditating, you can also focus your attention on a chosen object in a sustained fashion. Focused attention meditation is very powerful because it can be used in many different ways. It can be used to improve your emotional well-being very quickly, for example you could focus on the mantra “I am happy, I am healthy, I am whole” and with time those neural connections are grooved, the subconscious mind is filled with positive thoughts, and health plus happiness manifests.
If attention is given to areas such as empathy, compassion, or joy, those areas of the brain are activated and new neural grooves are formed, improving your ability to experience all of these things. Focused attention meditation is a powerful method for manifestation.
Develop third eye gaze
When meditating, best practice is to focus on the spot between your eyebrows known as the “third eye”. This is the location of anja chakra, and behind that location rests the pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland located near the center of the brain, and it produces melatonin and other chemicals such as DMT*.
To train focus on the third eye, you can imagine a small flame flickering in that space, and any thoughts, emotions, ideas, and feelings you experience can be fed and consumed by the flame. Don’t interact with distractions, maintain mental tranquility and focus exclusively on the flame in the void. You can also imagine this as a ball of light (sometimes known as a tinge), a jewel, something simple to hold in your minds eye for as long as wanted.
*By age 17, the pineal gland in 40% of Americans is calcified (13), impairing gland function and melatonin production (14). Melatonin production is one of the master regulators of the circadian rhythm. The pineal gland is responsible for many of the observed beneficial effects of meditation.
Binaural Beats Aid in Meditation
A useful meditation tool are binaural beats. Binaural beats are a type of auditory stimulation that expose each ear to a different frequency of sound. After propagating through the structures of the ears these two slightly out of phase sounds are digitalized into electromagnetic waves that combine into a lower frequency brainwave. The frequency of the brainwave that is entrained by binaural beats is the difference between the two frequencies played. For example the right ear is exposed to a 110 Hz sound wave and the left ear a 100 Hz sound wave. The brainwaves that are amplified in the brain after 5+ minutes of listening will be 10 Hz in frequency (110 - 100).
For more information read through my Binaural Beats Complete Guide where there are also free resources available. A starting recommendation would be to meditate using a 7.83 Hz Schumann Resonance binaural beat using the video below.
Begin a Meditation Practice
Meditation is a powerful wellness and therapeutic technique that can transform your life in more ways than one. A meditation practice of 15 minutes everyday quickly adds up to noticeable improvements in mood and verifiable changes to the brain. Reduce stress and anxiety while simultaneously improving outlook on life with a regular meditation practice.
To slip into a meditative state easier, drinking a cup of green tea can help. Green tea contains an amino acid known as L-theanine which increases alpha brainwave activity, alpha brainwaves being observed when in a calm focused state of mind. Cannabis can also be used to enter into deep states of meditation, as can psilocybin found in magic mushrooms. Another way to make meditation easier is to practice after hard physical exercise or yoga as the body is tired and the mind will be more complacent and less distracted.
I hope you give meditation a shot, after thirty days of daily meditation practice you’ll be amazed by how you feel and the clarity of mind your regularly experience.
References:
Lutz A, Brefczynski-lewis J, Johnstone T, Davidson RJ. Regulation of the neural circuitry of emotion by compassion meditation: effects of meditative expertise. PLoS ONE. 2008;3(3):e1897.
Davidson RJ, Lutz A. Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation. IEEE Signal Process Mag. 2008;25(1):176-174.
Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, et al. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005;16(17):1893-7.
Luders E, Toga AW, Lepore N, Gaser C. The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. Neuroimage. 2009;45(3):672-8.
Burke, A., Lam, C.N., Stussman, B. et al. Prevalence and patterns of use of mantra, mindfulness and spiritual meditation among adults in the United States. BMC Complement Altern Med 17, 316 (2017).
Thimmapuram J, Pargament R, Sibliss K, Grim R, Risques R, Toorens E. Effect of heartfulness meditation on burnout, emotional wellness, and telomere length in health care professionals. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2017;7(1):21-27.
Heidinger BJ, Blount JD, Boner W, Griffiths K, Metcalfe NB, Monaghan P. Telomere length in early life predicts lifespan. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(5):1743-8.
Saatcioglu F. Regulation of gene expression by yoga, meditation and related practices: a review of recent studies. Asian J Psychiatr. 2013;6(1):74-7.
Buric I, Farias M, Jong J, Mee C, Brazil IA. What Is the Molecular Signature of Mind-Body Interventions? A Systematic Review of Gene Expression Changes Induced by Meditation and Related Practices. Front Immunol. 2017;8:670.
Tacón, Anna M. PhD; McComb, Jacalyn PhD; Caldera, Yvonne PhD; Randolph, Patrick PhD Mindfulness Meditation, Anxiety Reduction, and Heart Disease: A Pilot Study, Family & Community Health: January 2003 - Volume 26 - Issue 1 - p 25-33
Erratum: Borderud SP, Li Y, Burkhalter JE, Sheffer CE and Ostroff JS. Electronic cigarette use among patients with cancer: Characteristics of electronic cigarette users and their smoking cessation outcomes. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/ cncr.28811. Cancer. 2015;121(5):800.
Giovanni Di Bartolomeo, Stefano Papa and Saverio Bellomo. Yoga beyond wellness: Meditation, trust and cooperation. Department of Communication, Working Paper No 95, 2012.
Zimmerman RA, Bilaniuk LT. Age-related incidence of pineal calcification detected by computed tomography. Radiology. 1982;142(3):659-62.
Tan DX, Xu B, Zhou X, Reiter RJ. Pineal Calcification, Melatonin Production, Aging, Associated Health Consequences and Rejuvenation of the Pineal Gland. Molecules. 2018;23(2)
Health Benefits Of Elderberry
Elderberry is known for it's ability to help fight viral infections, though it has numerous other health benefits too. Elderberries are very high in flavonoids known as anthocyanins, and anthocyanins help heal the digestive system, improve blood glucose parameters, better partition nutrients to muscle away from fat, and of course help fight viral infections. Learn more about elderberry!
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated September 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Elderberries are known for their many health effects, most notably for their ability to fight the cold and flu, and they have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Elderberries are harvested from Sambucus, a flowering plant found throughout the world in temperate and subtropical regions that can form large shrubs or small trees. Uncooked elderberries and all other parts of the plant are poisonous, but when the berries are cooked the cyanides are nullified. Elderberries contain notable amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and iron.
Elderberries have many health effects because of their rich concentration of anthocyanins (1). Elderberry syrups, powders, and extracts have powerful effects on the gut, help reduce the length and severity of colds and the flu, and might have muscle building and fat burning effects by improving nutrient partitioning.
Elderberry for Cold, Flu, and Covid Viruses
The common cold is causes by the rhinovirus, the flu is caused by the influenza virus, and SARS-CoV-2 is caused by a coronavirus. Common symptoms of all these virus include fatigue, aches and pains, temperature increases, upper respiratory issues, and digestive issues such as diarrhea and vomiting. The common cold is the least severe of the three, with influenza and coronaviruses being worse, potentially life threatening.
Whereas pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites will attack human tissues, viruses attack the immune system directly, which is what makes them so troubling. When the body is stressed, the immune system becomes stressed, and now weakened, the chance of getting a viral infection goes up dramatically.
“All disease begins in the gut”
If you get infected, typically through the digestive system or the lungs, the immune system now ramps up production of antibodies and cells to protect itself from a fast replicating pathogen. Other pathogenic microorganisms which before were being held in check add to the stress by exploiting the hosts weakness. It can become a downward spiral if left unchecked.
One way to fight back against this unfortunate turn of events is by using elderberry! Elderberry reduces cold duration by 50% and the severity of symptoms by 50% or more (2), and elderberry was found to substantially reduce upper respiratory symptoms when sick (3). Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro (4), and compare favorably to the known anti-influenza prescription medications like Tamiflu (5). Elderberry can also be taken as a preventative to support and strengthen the immune system due its unique natural pharmacology.
Viral infections are often treated with over the counter drugs, antibiotics, and antiviral medications which can have bad side effects and long term health consequences. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, mainstream scientific researchers are starting to better understand the relationship between diet and nutrition, inflammation and oxidative stress, and the immune system (6). What makes elderberry such a powerful natural medicine is because it’s rich in flavonoid phytochemicals, specifically anthocyanins, which exert potent anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body which strengthen the immune system via interactions with the gut. To understand more lets learn about anthocyanins and the digestive system.
Elderberry is Rich in Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are favonoid polyphenol phytonutrients (plant pigments) that can range in color from red, blue, purple, or black.
Elderberry is very high in anthocyanins due to its dark purple to black color, and 66% of the phenolic components of elderberry juice are anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are biologically desirable because they have strong antioxidant effects. Foods rich in anthocyanins include elderberries, blueberries, raspberries, purple cauliflower, black “forbidden” rice, black beans, among many other foods that have red, purple, and black coloration.
Elderberry has an anthocyanin profile that differs from other berries, which includes cyanidin-3-glycoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubioside, and cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside. The high concentration of cyanidin-3-glycoside (C3G) is unique, as cyanidin-3-glycoside is a relatively rare anthocyanin, and C3G has unique and desirable physiological effects on the body.
Upon consumption, anthocyanins have a tough time reaching the blood stream because they are rapidly metabolized by the digestive system. Like turmeric and curcumin, the beneficially health effects of elderberry are primarily felt by the bodily tissues that metabolize them. Once ingested, some of the anthocyanins are metabolized by the epithelial cells of the digestive system, and for the anthocyanins that make it through to the bloodstream, elderberry anthocyanins are incorporated by endothelial cells, the cells which make up the inner lining of blood vessels. As anthocyanins are transported, more and more will be absorbed until some finally reach muscle or brain tissues.
Like curcuminoids, anthocyanins that are micro-emulsified into lipid-micellar structures are able to penetrate deeper in the body and can exert their effects on a wider range of bodily tissues.
In the graph below the bioavailability of elderberry anthocyanins cyanidin-3-glycoside (C3G) and cyanidin-3-sambubioside can be seen over 24 hours.
Plasma anthocyanin concentrations after consumption of 720 mg elderberry anthocyanins. Sample size of four elderly women. The point at 24 hr represents all three lines
For C3G, a peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 42.5 +/- 4.5 nmol/L is reached at the 1 hour mark. The half life is ~100 minutes, and most anthocyanins from elderberry are excreted after 4 hours.
Overall, anthocyanins appear to be absorbed in their unchanged glycosylated forms in humans (7).
Elderberry Improves Digestive Function
Because elderberry contains a lot of flavonoids like cyanidin-3-glycoside and is rapidly absorbed by the the gut, elderberry has potent health effects for the gut. The gastrointestinal tract is the physical barrier that stops the diffusion of foreign materials from the lumen from entering into the circulatory system. The lumen is the soup of microorganisms and digestive fluids always slowly moving through your gut. With a properly functioning gut, only fully digested macronutrients like carbs, fats, and protein, along with small chemicals like micronutrients and phytonutrients, can pass through the intercellular tight junction shield and into the blood stream via guided mechanisms.
Cross-section view of epithelial cells of the digestive system. The tight junctions are where the membranes of the cells press up against one another. Notice the villi up top and how the lumen can filter through them.
Impairment of epithelial tight junctions is associated with various diseases caused by inflammation and immune system stress. This stress is created when partially digested foods and potentially pathogenic microbes enter into the blood stream, requiring cleanup by the immune system but now over a much larger area as compared to just the lining of the digestive system.
Dietary flavonoids, which is what elderberry is rich with, reduce oxidative stress and help to heal the epithelial tight junctions of the digestive system (8). Anthocyanins have been directly shown to improve intestinal barrier function and regulate the gut microbiome in mammals (9). When tight junctions are repaired, the barrier between microbiome, nutrients, and body tissues is reestablished, and normal function can resume. The immune system is still very active with the gut under healthy circumstances, but when the digestive system is compromised, the immune system needs to ramp up and better protect the circulatory system, a much larger and more diffuse area that covers the entire body. As a metaphor, no longer is the fighting solely at the trenches, but it is spread out through the countryside, and civilian casualties begin to occur.
Overtime, this increase in the duties of the immune system is chronically stressful and can lead to disease. To reduce the stress to the immune system and to all the other tissues of the body, the digestive system needs to be strong and intact, forming an impenetrable barrier between the microbiome and the rest of the body.
If you have gut problems like IBS, IBD, chron’s disease, celiac disease, or you just know your digestive system functions poorly, considering using fasting to reset your digestive system. Fasting has very powerful healing effects on the gut and throughout the body, though it is not to be done lightly. Short 24-hour fasts are easier and can also be used to understand and curb food cravings, an important distinction to understand which will improve your food choices and health. Overall elderberries are excellent overall for gut health.
Elderberry for Improved Nutrient Partitioning
Elderberry anthocyanins that make it into the bloodstream are then absorbed to some degree by endothelial cells, which like with the gut, increases protection against oxidative stress (10). In the bloodstream, anthocyanin-rich elderberry extracts enhance glucose and oleic acid uptake into human skeletal muscle cells (11), and anthocyanins, more specifically cyanidin-3-glycoside, increase fat burning and decrease fat storage through altering gene expression (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Over time these effects of anthocyanins improve blood glucose markers, saturate muscle tissue better with glycogen, and can heal dysfunctional fat cells.
Overall, once anthocyanins are in the bloodstream they can be considered nutrient partitioners. They aren’t nutrients themselves, but they direct carbs and fats preferentially to muscle and skeletal tissue rather than adipose or visceral fat tissue.
The dosages required for anthocyanins to exert strong nutrient partitioning effects are quite high, and this is still an area that requires more human research.
Elderberry Sources
There are a ton of elderberry products out there, and below are my favorites which I have used and recommend.
Elderberry Juice
Elderberry Juice from Biotta is available in a lot of different grocery stores and has a great flavor. This product is pasteurized and the heat sensitive nutrients will have been destroyed.
Elderberry Lozenges
Therazinc Elderberry Lozenges by Quantum Health. These lozenges can be found nearly anywhere and at the first thought that I might be getting sick I reach for one of these. The combo of zinc and elderberry is great for fighting infections, and caught early can reduce the length and severity of the infection.
Elderberry Powder
Lost Empire Herbs has a 64:1 Full-Spectrum Extract Elderberry Powder, and their extract contains 13-18% anthocyanins. This is the most potent elderberry option of the list, and if you really want to experiment with how high-dosage elderberry makes you feel, this is the elderberry supplement I recommend.
Elderberry Tea
Dried Elderberries like those sold from Mountain Rose Herbs can be steeped in a tea using water anywhere from 170 - 212 F (75-100 C). Water temperature on the lower end of that range will degrade less anthocyanins and for better extraction more time is required. Steep dried elderberries for 10 minutes at 75 C for best effect.
Elderberries from Nature
Should you choose to prepare elderberry juice or syrup yourself, rather than to purchase a supplement, remember that the berries must be properly dried or cooked, since raw elderberries can cause nausea or in large amounts cyanide toxicity. Only ever use the berries — the rest of the plant is poisonous and should not be consumed in any form.
Elderberry Dosing
If using the Therazinc Elderberry Lozenges, the following dosing protocol can be used:
1 lozenge daily for general health and immune preventative effects. The lozenge can replace a daily zinc pill like from a zinc balance supplement.
3 lozenges daily while experiencing a viral infection, take one lozenge morning, afternoon, and night. This will provide throughout the course of the day 21 mg zinc and 108 mg elderberry powder. The bigger impact here will be from the zinc, not the elderberry.
If using the more potent Lost Empire Herbs 64:1 elderberry powder, the following dosing protocol can be used:
350 mg (1/8 tsp) powder daily for general health and immune preventative effects.
1 gram daily for viral infections. One serving (1/8 tsp, 350 mg) taken morning, afternoon, and night will keep the anthocyanin levels elevated throughout the body.
4 grams daily for glucose improving nutrient partitioning effects, spaced out as 1 gram every four hours (8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, 8 pm).
If using elderberry tea using the following dosings:
General Wellness - 1 Tbsp steeped in 8 oz of 75 C water for 10 minutes
Viral Infection - 1 Tbsp steeped in 8 oz of 75 C water for 10 minutes morning, noon, and night.
For daily preventative strengthening to the immune system elderberry and dandelion is a powerful combination, combine them into a herbal tea and enjoy their many synergistic health benefits.
Reduce your Chance of Getting Sick with Elderberry
Elderberry can reduce your chance of getting sick, and if you do get sick, elderberry can also be used to shorten the duration and reduce the severity of the viral infection. As a natural remedy, elderberry won’t damage your liver like regular cold and flu medications.
Elderberry will always help but it’ll never completely heal you
Elderberry is just a supplement, it can never truly heal you. To heal at a deep level other considerations beyond a “magic” powder are required. Are you…?
Eating a healthy diet
Drinking plenty of water
Minimizing exposure to sick people
Sleeping every night
Mindful of stress
Exercising (weights, calisthenics, yoga, running)
Washing your hands when dirty
Aware and considerate of your emotions?
Keep some elderberry lozenges in the cabinet and drink elderberry tea as often or needed as desired. Elderberry is a great preventative herb, fantastic for health if used regurarly.
References:
Ulbricht C, Basch E, Cheung L, et al. An evidence-based systematic review of elderberry and elderflower (Sambucus nigra) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. J Diet Suppl. 2014;11(1):80-120.
Tiralongo E, Wee SS, Lea RA. Elderberry Supplementation Reduces Cold Duration and Symptoms in Air-Travellers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 2016;8(4):182.
Hawkins J, Baker C, Cherry L, Dunne E. Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) supplementation effectively treats upper respiratory symptoms: A meta-analysis of randomized, controlled clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2019;42:361-365.
Roschek B, Fink RC, Mcmichael MD, Li D, Alberte RS. Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. Phytochemistry. 2009;70(10):1255-61.
Zakay-rones Z, Thom E, Wollan T, Wadstein J. Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. J Int Med Res. 2004;32(2):132-40.
Iddir M, Brito A, Dingeo G, et al. Strengthening the Immune System and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress through Diet and Nutrition: Considerations during the COVID-19 Crisis. Nutrients. 2020;12(6)
Milbury PE, Cao G, Prior RL, Blumberg J. Bioavailablility of elderberry anthocyanins. Mech Ageing Dev. 2002;123(8):997-1006.
Suzuki T, Hara H. Role of flavonoids in intestinal tight junction regulation. J Nutr Biochem. 2011;22(5):401-8.
Li J, Wu T, Li N, Wang X, Chen G, Lyu X. Bilberry anthocyanin extract promotes intestinal barrier function and inhibits digestive enzyme activity by regulating the gut microbiota in aging rats. Food Funct. 2019;10(1):333-343.
Youdim KA, Martin A, Joseph JA. Incorporation of the elderberry anthocyanins by endothelial cells increases protection against oxidative stress. Free Radic Biol Med. 2000;29(1):51-60.
Ho GT, Kase ET, Wangensteen H, Barsett H. Phenolic Elderberry Extracts, Anthocyanins, Procyanidins, and Metabolites Influence Glucose and Fatty Acid Uptake in Human Skeletal Muscle Cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2017;65(13):2677-2685.
Sasaki R, Nishimura N, Hoshino H, et al. Cyanidin 3-glucoside ameliorates hyperglycemia and insulin sensitivity due to downregulation of retinol binding protein 4 expression in diabetic mice. Biochem Pharmacol. 2007;74(11):1619-27.
Guo H, Ling W, Wang Q, Liu C, Hu Y, Xia M. Cyanidin 3-glucoside protects 3T3-L1 adipocytes against H2O2- or TNF-alpha-induced insulin resistance by inhibiting c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation. Biochem Pharmacol. 2008;75(6):1393-401.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Aoki H, et al. Anthocyanin enhances adipocytokine secretion and adipocyte-specific gene expression in isolated rat adipocytes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004;316(1):149-57.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Kojo H, Yoshikawa T, Osawa T. Gene expression profile of isolated rat adipocytes treated with anthocyanins. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2005;1733(2-3):137-47.
Tsuda T, Ueno Y, Yoshikawa T, Kojo H, Osawa T. Microarray profiling of gene expression in human adipocytes in response to anthocyanins. Biochem Pharmacol. 2006;71(8):1184-97.
Tsuda T, Horio F, Uchida K, Aoki H, Osawa T. Dietary cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside-rich purple corn color prevents obesity and ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice. J Nutr. 2003;133(7):2125-30.
Grace MH, Ribnicky DM, Kuhn P, et al. Hypoglycemic activity of a novel anthocyanin-rich formulation from lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton. Phytomedicine. 2009;16(5):406-15.
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Other Articles on Herbalism, Nutrition, and Natural Supplements
Calisthenics and Core Workouts
It is important to have a fitness routine for everyday use that can be performed consistently irregardless of location. Push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and walking form the base of any calisthenics routine, and core exercises strengthen the midsection. No equipment is necessary to stay fit and healthy at all ages!
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Compound barbell and dumbell exercises are a great way to build muscle and strength, but their carryover to real life movement only goes so far. It’s important to learn how to generate force against objects, and it is also important to learn how to generate force against your body. To truly gain masterful control of your body, then you need to learn calisthenics.
Calisthenics can be performed anywhere!
WFO Workout Routines
Part 5 - Calisthenics & Core Workouts ✅
Calisthenics is a exercise modality that exclusively uses body-weight exercises and movements to build muscle, increase strength, and improve fitness. The most commonly know calisthenics exercises are push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and running, which form the basis of this calisthenics and core workout. This is part 5 of the Wild Free Organic workout series, the fifth and final month!
Calisthenics is for all Ages
We finish this five month workout series with calisthenics and core exercises to solidify the foundation of health and physical fitness that has been built. A strong core will benefit you for life in all physical endeavors, from recreational activities to sports, and body-weight exercises if done regularly will develop mastery of body movement. Calisthenics and core exercises can be scaled up and down in intensity for all different body types and ages of people, and that’s what makes them so powerful and universally appealing. Wellness icons like Jack Lalanne, the “Godfather of Fitness” knew this, and he practiced what he preached, performing impossible-seeming feats of strength and endurance his entire life. Calisthenics formed the base of Jack Lalanne’s daily fitness routine, and he shared everything he learned in his book Live Young Forever.
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
While the gym is a great place to build strength, muscle, and confidence, it is not always possible to have access to a gym or workout equipment. Life changes and your fitness routine might need to change with it.
Gymnast performing an L-sit on rings. This exercises works the stabilizers of the entire body, the core, demonstrates lower body flexibility, and shows good spinal posture.
Calisthenics is also a great exercise modality that holistically stresses the body. Not only is muscle tissue stressed to grow and strengthen, but the connective tissues (tendons, ligaments, fascia) of the joints and body are developed too. Muscle and strength development that outpaces the slow strengthening of connective tissues will eventually result in injury, and unnecessary setbacks like this are detrimental in all aspects. Strength in compound exercises like squats and deadlifts is often held back by a weak midsection that is unable to efficiently translate force through the body, and developing a strong core will benefit not only aesthetics but overall strength development and expression.
While calisthenics and core work are often viewed as detracting time and focus away from more important exercises and muscles to be built, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Consistent calisthenics and core work will enable the full development and expression of strength, both with the body and barbell, while also protecting the body from injury and improving aesthetics. It is for these reasons that body-weight exercises like pull-ups and hanging leg raises have been programmed throughout this workout series, and now these principles will be expanded upon.
Basic Calisthenics Movements
Upper Body
Push-ups
Pull-ups
Chin-ups
Dips
Inverted rows
Hangs
Full Body
Turkish get-ups
Burpees
Mountain climbers
Lower Body
Squats
Lunges
Calf raises
Hip bridges/thrusts
Deadlifts
Kickbacks
Core
Crunches
Planks
Leg raises/lifts
Oblique twists
Supermans
Advanced Calisthenics Exercises
Upper Body
Muscle-ups
Front lever
Back lever
Handstands
Handstand push-ups
Iron Cross
Planche push-ups
Superman push-ups
One-arm push-ups
Rope climbs
Full Body
Full body isometrics
Lower Body
Pistol squats
Shrimp squats
Cossack squats
Single leg deadlifts
Tricking
Core
Full bridge (arch)
Windshield wipers
Levers (front and back)
Human flag
Planche
Hollow hold
Developing the Core
The core of the body is composed of more muscles than just the six-pack (rectus abdominus). While the abs are important, there are many other muscles and connective tissues of the core.
Main muscles of the core:
Rectus Abdominus
Transverse Abdominus
Obliques
Serratus Anterior
Erector Spinae
Multifidus
For well-rounded core development and strengthening, time and energy should be devoted to all the muscles above.
The muscles of the midsection wrap around the entire body in layers, front to back, and developing all these muscles will create deep core strength that go beyond 6-pack abs.
The rectus abdominus is activated with spinal flexion and extension (crunches and extensions), and the transverse abdominals sit underneath the abs, being activated when you suck in your stomach towards the spine. The obliques sit on either side of the abs and are activated with twisting motions of the midsection. For the bodybuilders, well developed obliques will help frame the abdominals to create an impressive looking six pack.
The serratus muscles are more situated in the torso, sitting above the obliques and connecting the scapula to the rib cage, but it is these connection points which makes the serratus muscles important. The scapula are very important parts of upper body, and serratus muscles connect the scapula to the midsection.
The erector spinae and multifidus muscles are the muscles of the lower back, and they function to keep the spine strong, well aligned, and stable. Over-developed abdominals but weak erector spinae muscles are common, and this unbalanced development can cause poor recruitment patterns and lead to injury. Erector spinae muscles are very well developed with deadlifts
Core Workouts
Core Workout (A)
3x30 Oblique twists
3x25 Reverse crunches
2x60s Side planks
3x12 Bird dogs
5x12s Stomach vacuums
2x20 Shoulder taps
Core Workout (B)
3x30 Bicycle crunches
3x30s Hollow holds
2x60s Side planks
3x12 Supermans
5x12s Stomach vacuums
2x30s RKC plank
Core workouts are best done 3-7x a week, the muscles of the midsection should be activated often and all at once from front to side to back. If little rest is taken in-between sets and exercises, overall activation of the core is increased and the workouts can be done quicker. The two workouts above should take only twenty minutes or less once endurance is built.
Calisthenics Workouts
Calisthenics Workout (A)
2x30 Calf raises
5x30 Squats
3x10 Single leg deadlifts
3x25 Reverse crunches
4x12 Pull-ups
4x20 Push-ups
3x12 Bird dogs
2x5 Turkish get-ups
Calisthenics Workout (B)
2x30 Calf raises
5x20 Wide squats
3x30 Hip thrusts
3x30s Hollow holds
4x12 Chin-ups
4x10 Dips
3x30s Supermans
2x30 Mountain climbers
These full-body calisthenics workouts use basic body-weight exercises and are well-rounded in their activation of the body. They are also great workouts to integrate with a running program. Advanced trainees might find these workouts simple, but they can be intensified by slowing down exercise tempo and increasing muscle activation.
Balance is first activated and then the body is warmed up with lower body exercises. Working upwards the front core is activated, then the torso, and then the core muscles of the spine. The workout is finished with full-body exercises like turkish get-ups or mountain climbers.
Month 5 Workout Routine
Week 1
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Squats
4x8 Incline Press
5x10 Barbell Rows
3x20 Lateral Raises
3x20 Bicep Curls
Tuesday - Calisthenics (A)
2x30 Calf raises
5x30 Squats
3x10 Single leg deadlifts
3x25 Reverse crunches
4x12 Pull-ups
4x20 Push-ups
3x12 Bird dogs
2x5 Turkish get-ups
Wednesday - Arms
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Pronators
3x30 Reverse Wrist Curls
4x10 Chin-ups
4x12 Incline Triceps Extension
3x12 Preacher Curls
3x15 Triceps Kickbacks
Thursday - Calisthenics (B)
2x30 Calf raises
5x20 Wide Squats
3x30 Hip thrusts
3x30s Hollow holds
4x12 Chin-ups
4x10 Dips
3x30s Supermans
2x30 Mountain climbers
Friday - Core (A)
3x30 Oblique twists
3x25 Reverse crunches
2x60s Side planks
3x12 Bird dogs
5x12s Stomach vacuums
2x20 Shoulder taps
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
Week 2
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Deadlifts
4x8 DB Press
5x10 Leg Press
3x20 Rear Delt Flies
3x20 Tricep Pushdowns
Wednesday - Calisthenics (A)
2x30 Calf raises
5x30 Squats
3x10 Single leg deadlifts
3x25 Reverse crunches
4x12 Pull-ups
4x20 Push-ups
3x12 Bird dogs
2x5 Turkish get-ups
Wednesday - Arms
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Supinators
3x30 Wrist Curls
4x10 Close-Grip Dips
4x12 Hammer Curls
4x12 Triceps Pushdowns (supinated)
3x15 Reverse Curls
Thursday - Calisthenics (B)
2x30 Calf raises
5x20 Wide squats
3x30 Hip thrusts
3x30s Hollow holds
4x12 Chin-ups
4x10 Dips
3x30s Supermans
2x30 Mountain climbers
Friday - Core (B)
3x30 Bicycle crunches
3x30s Hollow holds
2x60s Side planks
3x12 Supermans
5x12s Stomach vacuums
2x30s RKC plank
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
With this final month, we return to 3 full body workouts per week, with one being gym based and the other two are calisthenics based. Arm workouts are scheduled once a week to continue sufficiently stimulating the arms. A final core workout on Friday activates the entire core while also reducing the workload to promote overall recovery. Month 5 is a deload month compared to months 2-4, with the muscles, connective tissues, and central nervous system given a break from the typical stress patterns of barbell and dumbbell exercises. Meanwhile control and activation of the body is improved with the calisthenics exercises and connective tissues are strengthened in different ways.
On weeks 2 and 4 increase the weight of the gym exercises by 5%. If you feel healthy and confident, about a week after the end of this five month routine, test your 1 rep max for squats, deadlifts, incline press, and barbell rows. In the week preceding testing of the 1RM’s, get a solid eight hours of sleep per night and reduce volume and reduce weight, focusing on activation.
During month five, if you really want to fortify your joints and strengthen them in preparation for another loading phase in the gym, follow our joint and connective tissue protocol.
New Beginnings
Over the past 5 months, you’ve learned the basics of weight-lifting, periodization, recovery, and nutrition. The foundation for a holistic lifestyle has been established, as has the foundation for how to approach physical fitness with a long term and patient mindset.
From here, the routine can be repeated in the same order, or the different workouts presented in the routine can be flexibly scheduled week to week instinctively. A new workout routine, like 5/3/1 can also be started! Maybe your fitness journey takes you to running or yoga, there are many ways to physically strengthen and develop the body, and none are inherently better or worse than the other.
Whatever your next destination, don’t forget the lifestyle and fitness principles learned over the past five months and continue your productive morning routine. Keep stress low, recovery high, and progress slow and steady. That’s the recipe for success in the gym and with life!
If you followed the routine from start to finish, please share your results by commenting below or contact us directly.
Final Preparations and 5k Race Day
When preparing for any athletic event it pays to be prepared. In preparation for a 5k running race, follow these tips and feel great come race day. Preparation also helps on the day of the race, from proper nutrition to backup toilet paper, learn race day tips from a pro.
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You made the leap to register for a 5k and successfully completed your training plan - congratulations! You’ve won more than half the battle.
Wild Free Organic Running Series:
Final Preparations and 5K Race Day ✅
From running novice to experienced racer, you’ll learn running, strength training, and race tip from these articles written by Triathlete Sarah Alexander and Physician Carten Denne. For absolute beginners, start with the Beginners Running Guide and follow through the other articles as you prepare for your first 5k race!
The Week of the Race
Now that race week has arrived, the days leading up to your first 5k race can bring many new questions—what kind of activity should I do to prepare for the effort? What should I eat? What should I plan to wear? Race week is all about balance. The key is doing just enough to keep your body moving, but not so much that you create fatigue or soreness.
Follow these tried-and-true tips as you plan out the week of your race, and you’ll be ready to put your best foot forward come race day!
Take a chill pill
Whether you’re trying to beat a certain time or just cross the finish line, it’s natural to experience pre-race jitters. It’s important to remember that 5K races are hugely positive and supportive community events. You will get to spend a morning challenging yourself alongside like-minded individuals, with many more on the sidelines cheering you on. If you fear you’ll finish last (we’ve all thought it!), remember that a wide range of people with varying levels of fitness race, and many people just go to walk them from start to finish.
Stay active… but not too active
Over the course of race week, your “training” is really about keeping your muscles active but still “storing up” rest so your legs are ready on race day. Remember, you’ve done the work and you’re not going to get any fitter or faster in the week before your 5K, so don’t try to “cram for the final.”
Include a couple short runs (for example, a 20min run on Monday or Tuesday, and 2x 9min jog/1min walk on Wednesday or Thursday). If you want, you can include some small pick-ups (short, snappy segments that get your legs moving faster and prepare you for the faster tempo of the race) to keep your legs fresh. But make sure that you don’t do a long or intense workout that leaves you feeling tired or sore the next day. Two days out from the race, take a day-off for total rest.
While people are split on whether or not to run the day before—it tends to be a matter of personal preference—we recommend a 10-15 minute run at a very easy pace. Consider pairing this with packet pick-up so you get out on the course. While we realize life doesn’t stop because it’s race weekend, do try to relax and stay off your feet the rest of the day so you are fresh and ready to go come race morning. Leave the lawn work, shopping, and sightseeing for after the race!
Know the course
While it’s great to get on the course in the weeks leading up to the race, if you haven’t been able to do that, no stress! Do try to run or walk/run the race course for one of your sessions on race week so you can create some landmarks and get familiar with where you’ll need to push and where you can “cruise.” Alternately, you can drive or bike the course! Whatever way you do it, getting out on the course ahead of the big day will help you know what terrain to expect.
If you’re traveling to the race and don’t have time to scope it out beforehand, you can study the course map online just so you have a sense of what to expect on race day.
Eat what (and how much) you’re familiar with.
The week before a race is not the time to try new cuisines and fueling strategies. Some people hear about runners eating lots of carbs before a big race and they think it applies before any running race. However, you really only need extra carbs if you’re running a longer distance, like a half or full marathon.
Avoid greasy, creamy, or fatty foods that could lead to gastrointestinal issues. Otherwise, during the week leading up to race day, it is best to stick to whatever has worked best for you during your regular weekday runs. And rather than gorging on pasta the night before the race, which could upset your stomach, focus on eating well-balanced meals throughout the day, as you normally would.
Same goes for gear
Just as race week isn’t the time to try new food or drinks, the same goes for shoes, clothing or other gear that you haven’t used on several workouts. Stick with the routine that you have established over your weeks of preparation. Nothing kills pre-race motivation like sore soles, chafing, or the start of a blister!
Get your Z’s two nights before
While it’s best to shoot for 8 hours of sleep the night before the race, pre-race jitters tend to strike for many, making this hard to achieve. This is normal and won’t hurt your race, so while you should be prepared for this and get to bed early, no need to stress if you do have trouble drifting off to dream land.
That said, prepare yourself by prioritizing sleep the “night before the night before” the race. Getting quality sleep two nights before the race and then taking it easy the day before the race will have you ready to rock on race morning.
Day Before the Race
Performance favors the prepared
If possible, pick up your race bib, timing chip (if the race is using them), and swag bag the day before the race. This way, you won't have to worry about rushing around and waiting in line to get it the morning of the race. Plus, you're more likely to get your desired race T-shirt size!
Build on your early bib pick-up by laying out everything you will need the day before the race so you’re not scrambling in the morning and ensure you have everything you need. This includes pinning your big number to the shirt you plan to wear in the race.
Remember, the “nothing new” rule applies to what you wear on race day, as well! Use clothes and shoes that you’ve run in before with no issues of chafing or blistering. Check the weather so you don’t wear more clothing than you need. A good rule of thumb is to dress as if the weather is 15 degrees warmer than it is—that is how much you’ll warm up during your race! If it’s cool before the race, you can always wear a warmer layer while you’re waiting for the race to start and pack an extra set of fresh clothes for after the race. Many races offer a gear check where you can store your bag with extra clothes for before and after the race, or you can toss it to a friend/family member who has come to cheer you on!
Pro packing tip: in addition to your clothes and a bottle of water, include a pack of tissues or some extra toilet paper in your race bag. Nothing worse than getting to the front of the porta-potty line on race morning and finding all the toilet paper has already been used up!
Race Day
If you’re running your first 5k race, you may be filled with questions about what you’ve gotten yourself into. What do you wear? What and when should you eat? What will the check-in process be like? Have you made a huge tiny mistake? Will this actually be fun?
And you’re not alone! These are common concerns for new runners. This post provides five pro race-day tips to put your best foot forward when starting gun goes off:
Fill The Tank
You don't want to stuff yourself on race morning, but you also don't want to race on an empty stomach. Plan to eat a light meal about 2 hours before the race; this will allow time for digestion so you’re not sidelined by cramping or side stitches.
Different meals work for different runners, and it’s best to stick to the breakfast you’ve practiced in training. But as a general rule of thumb, opt for something that’s high in carbohydrates and low in fat, fiber, and protein. Here are a few tried-and-true pre-race meals: toasted bagel with peanut butter and banana; energy bar with a cup of fruit; or oatmeal with berries and nuts. My personal go-to is oatmeal with chia seeds, banana, and peanut butter—I eat this before every morning workout and on race days. If you like to prep your breakfast the night before, consider overnight oats.
Be sure to include hydration the morning of your race, whether it’s water or a light sports drink with electrolytes. That said, there’s no need to go crazy, and definitely don’t force down fluids within 30 minutes of the starting gun—only sip on something if it’s very hot out or your mouth is dry. Ideally, you’ve been staying hydrated in the days leading up to the race, so you only need to top off your fluids if your race is in the morning or drink regularly throughout the day if it’s in the evening.
Hype Yourself Up
Pump yourself up by watching a video that inspires you before you walk out the door; and listening to a powerful, motivating playlist before you walk to the starting line. Spotify has some great running playlists you can check out for some inspiration.
Arrive Early and Warm Up
There is a lot to be done on race morning, from parking, to packet pick-up (if you didn’t do it the day before), to porta-potty lines, to race warm up. Arrive at the race site 60-90 minutes prior to the start so you have plenty time to do all this without being rushed. Consider taking the time to understand where you can park and where to go for the starting line ahead of time to cut down on race-morning stress.
About 25 minutes before the race start, it’s time to get warmed up. Fifteen to twenty minutes will do the trick: start with a 10-minute easy jog, then slowly build your pace for 5 minutes. After that, consider including three 30-second pick ups at race pace. If you need leg swings or dynamic stretches to finish the process of loosening up your body, go for it!
Start Slow and then Pick up your Pace
The starting line can be crowded and nerve-wracking with so many people and different paces. Unless you happen to be an insanely fast runner, starting in the middle to back of the pack is usually best. You will start with those around your pace and you will have many more ahead of you to chase down.
Most racers give their best effort in the first mile and then run out of gas with two more miles left to go! Instead, start conservatively and build your effort to negative split your race. In other words, aim to complete the second half of the race faster than the first half. Start conservatively and build your effort throughout the run. Then kick it into high gear to finish strong. This approach will actually help you run a faster race.
Breathe and Stay Positive
On race day, it’s natural to be nervous. Let go of any comparisons and focus inwards. You’ve done the training to complete your race, and you will achieve that goal. At the starting line, take a few deep breaths and assure yourself that you have what it takes to finish your race, regardless of the time it takes.
When things get tough in the race (and rest assured that they do get tough for everyone, regardless of experience or running ability), it's common for the little voice in your head to start telling you all the reasons why you will fail or why you should slow down. Prepare a positive mantra before the race, like "I can do it" or "Fast feet to the finish line." This will distract you from the pain and keep you focused. Practice these affirmations during hard moments in your training sessions so they become automatic by race day.
Follow these pro tips, and you will set yourself up to execute a great race! Afterwards, keep walking for at least 10 minutes to fend off stiffness and slowly bring your heart rate back to its resting state, and do some post-race recovery stretches to stretch out your legs, hips, and back. A useful stretch to do is to site into a wide squat, elbow on your knees, breathing deeply and relaxing into the squat. Do this squat for 30-120 seconds, loosen up and relax!
After stretching grab a snack, get warm, and because most races happen in the morning, you will still have a whole day ahead of you! Consider making a morning of it by planning a celebratory brunch with friends and family, and capitalize on those post-race endorphins to set new goals for your next finish line!
Wild Free Organic recommends Vivobarefoot footwear - modern footwear made with natural human physiology, minimalism, and eco-conscious in mind. Vivobarefoot has zero-drop, wide toe-box shoes that can be used from the office to the gym to the tundra, and everything in-between.
Sarah Alexander
Since graduating from Chicago Booth with her MBA in 2015, Sarah has competed for the U.S.A. as a professional triathlete. In the process, she has become an expert in fitness and nutrition. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals and is motivated by the perpetual challenge of defying boundaries to discover her best in athletic and professional pursuits alike.
To learn more about Sarah Alexander visit her website or follow her on Instagram @sarah_alxndr.
The Emotion of Awe
There are many different emotions that can be experienced, happiness, sadness, anger, but an emotion often overlooked is the feeling of awe. Experiencing awe, most often through spending time in nature, has wide-ranging and comprehensive physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness benefits. Experiencing a greater reality creates a sense of awe and elevates your level of consciousness.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
There are many emotions that one can experience, happiness, joy, sadness, anger, fear, but one emotion people don’t often think about is awe. Being in a state of awe is an emotion, and it has been shown to have serious health benefits to spend time being overwhelmed in awe. The connection between awe and the improvement in well-being is easy to experience too.
Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Africa
When something vastly larger than the self and not immediately understood becomes the center of attention, then a sense of awe is created. Human cultural activities such as music, art, or collective ceremonies can create a sense of awe. Nature can also create a sense of awe. For time immemorial, natural wonders like Yosemite, Victoria Falls, and Mt. Everest have struck people with awe and these wonders have created entire cultures based around them.
Changing your perception to be conscious of nature, therefore being aware of something much greater in scale than the self, has been shown to improve well-being, life satisfaction, mood, reduce hypertension, reduce anxiety, reduce depression and so much more. We’ll get into as many of the benefits as possible below.
Experiencing Awe
Experiencing awe is truly a remarkable phenomenon. First, consciousness is required. To simplify, there are two states of mind. One state of mind is behavior driven; without awareness and control you follow preprogrammed actions. The other state of mind is conscious; you are aware of all your senses and then freely choose your direction of action. Without elevating consciousness, you cannot experience a sense of awe, as you’ll be stuck in a state of behavior-driven actions.
Modern indoor day-to-day life reduces consciousness and creates behavior patterns. Constant advertising, propaganda, and emotional triggers bombard you, forcing you in a state of anxiety, fear, and stress. The environment you spend the most of your time in determines in large part your level of consciousness. To fix the problem and to elevate your consciousness, change your environment and put yourself into a reality that is much bigger than your current existence.
Astronauts are the most familiar with this effect. Dubbed the overview effect, when astronauts first glimpse the planet Earth floating in space, they become overawed by the fragility and unity of life on our blue planet. A sense of understanding the "big picture" overwhelms their consciousness.
Experience a sense of awe right. Learn of the overview effect, and how astronauts experience a profound change in their level of consciousness when seeing the planet from an outside perspective.
If you watched the video, you can reflect back that your sense of time expanded, you felt humbled, and during all this, your stresses and responsibilities which pull at your thoughts constantly were placed on hold as you reveled in the presence of magnificence. Experiencing the emotion of awe has profound and wide-reaching health benefits, and it’s free to do and only requires a conscious effort to experience.
Spend time in nature and you’ll begin to realize the truth that we are all continually interconnected with the earth and other lifeforms via two-way electromagnetic, chemical, and mechanical interactions (1). Electromagnetic grounding is a great example of this. Everything we experience via our five senses is created from external stimuli, and it is our senses and experiences that form the basis for our identity. Hold your breath for 3 minutes and very quickly you’ll realize that without the life-giving oxygen provided by the tree, you’ll die (2). Likewise, without the carbon dioxide that we produce, the tree cannot live.
Every organism and object on this planet is continually interacting with each other. By shifting the narrative of well-being away from the individual and instead expanding it to include the larger realm of the world, a more dynamic wellness relationship between self and world can be developed.
How can you be well if the environment you eat your food from is sprayed with toxins? How can you be healthy if the air we breathe is poisoned with gases, smog, and particulates? This concepts might appear obvious, but when in a state of reduced consciousness, they no longer become priority issues, and therefore nothing is changed.
Wellness Benefits of Awe
Experiencing a sense of awe will increase mindfulness of your surroundings, and this redirection of attention and energy from outward to inward can cause significant improvements in emotional well-being (3).
Spending more time in nature, naturally being at a higher level of consciousness and in a state of awe, has the following wellness improvements:
Improved:
Mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being
Breathing
Confidence
Cardiovascular health
Personal growth
Nutrition
Awareness
Fitness
Reduced:
Depression
Anxiety
Stress
Fear
Loneliness
Pain
Distress
Hypertension
Blood pressure
Rewild Yourself
Here is your challenge, whether you are healthy or not, spend the next thirty days spending time in nature, 15 minutes minimum each day. The health and emotional benefits of 30 day rewilding programs have been studied, and the results are striking (9). Activities that you can do to accomplish this goal include going for a nature walk, gardening, embarking upon a hike, meditating by a vista, practicing yoga at a nearby park, or looking up at the stars. Even changing your indoor environment by being near a window to include outdoor vistas can improve your connection to nature and calm your mind.
When loosing touch with reality and your environment, pay attention to your senses. Notice the vibrant colors of the trees. Smell the fresh air, hear the sounds of the forest creatures. Feel the crunch of the leaves underfoot.
Seasonable variability can affect your results, but no matter the time of year, you should experience the profound wellness changes discussed above. If you want to connect with a community at the same time you embark upon your rewilding journey, connect with nature-focused community groups near you. Use platforms like Meetup to connect with others and the outdoors.
The best way to ensure you are privy to the consciousness expanding and wellness benefits of experiencing awe daily is to incorporate sending time in nature as part of your morning routine.
References:
Stevens P. Embedment in the environment: a new paradigm for well-being?. Perspect Public Health. 2010;130(6):265-9.
Sadhguru. Breath Bond. Sadhguru
Sturm VE, Datta S, Roy ARK, et al. Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults. Emotion. 2020;
Shanahan DF, Astell-burt T, Barber EA, et al. Nature-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing: The Purpose, the People and the Outcomes. Sports (Basel). 2019;7(6)
White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Sci Rep 9, 7730 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3
Yuen HK, Jenkins GR. Factors associated with changes in subjective well-being immediately after urban park visit. Int J Environ Health Res. 2020;30(2):134-145.
Barton J, Pretty J. What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health? A multi-study analysis. Environ Sci Technol. 2010;44(10):3947-55.
Hunter MR, Gillespie BW, Chen SY. Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers. Front Psychol. 2019;10:722.
Richardson M, Cormack A, Mcrobert L, Underhill R. 30 Days Wild: Development and Evaluation of a Large-Scale Nature Engagement Campaign to Improve Well-Being. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(2):e0149777.
Repair and Regrow Joint Cartilage
Cartilage and connective tissues once damaged can be hard to heal and can cause chronic pain. Luckily, it is possible to heal connective tissues and cartilage of the joints and spine using physical therapy techniques, heat therapy, and natural supplementation. Reclaim your mobility and free yourself from pain by repairing and regrowing your cartilage and connective tissues!
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated June 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Cartilage is a unique human tissue with it’s own cellular physiology same as muscle, bone, brain, and organ tissues. Cartilage is the smooth but very strong protective tissue that caps the ends of bones, protecting bones from erosion as they move back each other during normal movement. When cartilage becomes damaged or eroded over time, the result can be terrible pain and a reduction in mobility. The human body caps bones with cartilage because cartilage is mostly friction-less and can regrow, whereas bone is rough and cannot regrow under normal circumstances. Once bone plates fuse in late adolescence, new bone growth stops.
Contrary to popular belief, which is that once cartilage or connective tissues are damaged then they are unable to heal, human physiological development itself provides the first clue that cartilage can be repaired and regrown. The reason for mistaken beliefs on the ability of cartilage to heal is because cartilage and connective tissues take a long time to heal and only do so under specific circumstances.
With consistency and patience, it is possible to reverse cartilage damage and heal connective tissues by modifying diet, using simple physical therapy techniques, and with intelligent supplementation.
To properly care for cartilage, it is important that equal attention is given to this unique tissue as would be given to muscle, skin, or heart tissue. Yet what we commonly see are people who work out for bigger muscles, or who devote tons of time on their skin care routines, or cardio fanatics who overdo it, but when it comes to the joints of the body, people throw up their hands and say fixing joint problems can’t be done, it’s impossible.
This is simple not true. Healing joints isn’t impossible, it’s just slow. Due to the cellular biology of cartilage, how it is created, and the chemistry of nutrient transport, it takes time to heal cartilage tissues. The methods described below are the fastest and most focused you can follow to repair your joints, but patience will be required.
Science of Cartilage Tissue
Cartilage is a smooth resilient elastic tissue found throughout the body. Where bones meet at joints, cartilage forms the protective cap which allows for smooth friction-less movement. Healthy cartilage is heavily hydrated (clue #2).
Chondrocytes in hyaline cartilage matrix. | CC3.0 - Emmanuelm at en.wikipedia
Cartilage is made up of cells called chondrocytes which are embedded in a cartilage matrix. This cartilage matrix is primarily made of type-II collagen and chondroitin sulfate.
It is the job of chondrocytes to produce a large amount of the collagenous extracellular matrix and ground substance of which they are embedded in. Ground substance is the gel-like material that contains the rest of the materials found in the cartilage matrix except the fibrous materials, providing lubrication for the collagen fibers that chondrocytes produce.
There are three types of cartilage: elastic cartilage, hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage. Hyaline and fibrous cartilage are the types of cartilage found in joints, with elastic cartilage being what make up ear flaps and similar tissues.
The three types of cartilage, they differ in the ratio of chondrocytes to collagenous matrix | CC4.0 - Shiloh117981894 at en.wikipedia
The smooth, friction-less, and tough characteristics of cartilage are an expression of the unique proteins and molecules that make up cartilage. The main building blocks of cartilage are water, collagen, and chondroitin sulfate. For any cartilage repair and regrowth protocol, it is factors that required targeted therapy.
Just as important as cartilage is connective tissue. Connective tissue is found throughout the body, and it is an important component of overall joint structure. Very similar to chondrocytes, a fibroblast is a type of cell that synthesizes extracellular matrix and collagen. Fibroblasts create the structural framework that holds everything in the body together (1). Collectively this organ is known as fascia, and through the functions of fibroblasts, fascia exerts a huge influence throughout the body. Fascia is what holds all the organs and muscles and soft tissues of the body together and in place while still allowing for a degree of movement. Fascia is very important for posture, strength, and must be considered when healing any wound.
The same nutrients and physical therapy techniques that are effective in triggering cartilage repair and synthesis by chondrocytes are effective at stimulating fibroblasts to repair and regrow connective tissues.
Connective Tissues Require Certain Nutrients
In order to support the maintenance and creation of healthy cartilage tissues, a proper diet high in the right building blocks (fats and amino acids) is needed. You are what you eat, so the easiest way to eat a cartilage supporting diet is to eat cartilage. During digestion, animal cartilage is broken down and absorbed as amino acids, dipeptides, and tripeptides. The body transports these simple proteins to connective tissues where they can be resynthesized into the compounds required grow and repair. If following a vegan diet, then consuming the same amino acids found in collagen and at the same ratios will be similarly effective as eating cartilage. Since cartilage and connective tissues are highly hydrated tissues, drinking enough pure water every day is very important for these tissues to be healthy and function properly.
Collagen peptides are characterized by their high levels of specific amino acids glycine, hydroxyproline, proline, and alanine (2). Glycine is the main amino acid of collagen, making up nearly every third component in the collagen peptide chain. Glycine is a conditional amino acid, meaning that the body is able to produce it, but depending on diet and other factors, it might or might not be produced in sufficient quantities. The standard recommendation for glycine is to consume 10-15 grams per day. Under normal circumstances the body will get about 2 grams from a typical diet, and synthesize another 2 grams from the amino acids serine and threonine (3). That leaves 6+ grams of glycine everyday that the body would like to have for connective tissue and cartilage maintenance, but won’t synthesize at the expense of other metabolic processes and needs.
Glycine helps stabilize blood sugar levels, and conversely, with insulin resistance, glycine metabolism is impaired (4), producing a series of negative downstream effects. Cartilage and connective tissues won’t receive the nutrients they need, and other serious issues like arterial calcification and elevated cardiovascular risk are associated with glycine deficiency.
Having pain, degraded function, and reduced strength in joints is a sign that the body is stressed for glycine and not receiving adequate amounts in the diet, instead slowing breaking down connective tissues to receive the amino acids it needs for more important metabolic processes. In this way connective tissues and cartilage act as a storehouse of key amino acids, slow to fill up and faster to pull from.
To Repair Cartilage Go Plant-Based for Extra Glycine
Incorporating into your diet glycine rich foods consistently is the first and most important way you can positively benefit your joint health and reduce joint pain. This can be done by consuming animal products high in collagen, or better yet by incorporating plant-based foods high in glycine.
For the typical plant-based diet, most of the protein comes from pulses such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas, which contain three to four times as much glycine as methionine (another amino acid). Glycine deficiency is not typically a concern with plant-based diets. Methionine is an amino acid found in high percentages in muscle meat, and methionine consumption in excess depletes glycine. Considering most meat products now are muscle based and contain very little connective tissues or skin, an animal protein rich diet will provide little glycine to begin with and overtime will deplete the bodies stores of glycine due to excess methionine consumption.
I have personal experience with this. When I first started a vegetarian diet, coming off of eating a lot of meat, a couple weeks in I started to have joint pain in my knees, an exceedingly rare event for me. I had hydrolyzed collagen on hand, so rather than waste it, I took 20 grams and for the next week or so all knee pain vanished. I increased glycine concentrations in my body and the first signs of joint concern vanished. As I learned to incorporate more beans, lentils, and chickpeas into my diet, I no longer required the occasional collagen infusion to reduce joint point, instead my body was being provided ample glycine on a daily basis and at a balanced ratio with methionine.
If you’re an omnivore, incorperate collagen-rich animal products into you diet as well as plant-based sources of glycine. If you follow a carnivore diet, eat more collagen-rich animal products than you think you need, and if you’re vegetarian or vegan consistently eat plant-based sources rich in glycine. The following foods are notably rich in glycine:
Pulses
lentils, beans, chickpeas, peas
Nuts/Seeds
pumpkin, sunflower, almond
Vegetables
spinach, cabbage, asparagus, watercress, seaweed, spirulina
Fruits
bananas, appricots, oranges, avocado
Animal Products
bone broth
poultry skin
seafood
connective tissues
egg whites
Dairy
cheese, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese
Methods to Repair and Regrow Cartilage and Connective Tissue
Before any application of a systematic cartilage regrowth protocol, being mindful of your diet and making the changes necessary to provide yourself with enough glycine is the important first step that needs to be taken. Once diet is in check, then other variables which help with the repair and growth of connective tissues can be undertaken successfully. First up are a few known biological processes which improve cartilage repair.
Pressure Stimulates Cartilage Growth
Applying pressure has been shown to repair & regrow cartilage is pressure. Starting with simple truths, pressure is useful for healing wounds, from the basics of holding pressure on a wound to stop bleeding to pressures usefulness for healing longer term injuries such as muscle, bone, and joint damage. Pressure changes stimulate the circulatory system, bring oxygen-rich blood and fresh nutrients to the area. In addition to improving blood flow, pressure itself can stimulate changes in physiology, for example with pressure proteins can change their structure to more advanced forms.
Ace bandage wrap on the left, voodoo floss wrap on the right. Both can be used to safely apply temporary or longer lasting pressure to parts of the body.
For muscle tissue, pressure changes (contractions, pumps, etc) will carry nutrients to areas in need of repair and stimulatory growth, but in cartilage no blood vessels are carried into the tissue. Blood flow is limited in reaching cartilage due to the nature of cartilage.
Nutrients are still delivered from nearby blood vessels directly to the chondrocytes and fibroblasts of cartilage and connective tissues, only it happens through osmosis. Osmotic transfer is regulated through differences in concentrations of molecules across boundaries, and by applying pressure to a joint, the osmotic transfer of glycine, chondroitin sulfate, and other building blocks to chondrocytes and fibroblasts is sped up.
The easiest way pressure can be applied to joints or areas of pain is with elastic wraps like ace bandages or voodoo floss bands. For deeper tissues, hard objects can be used to direct pressure to specific areas and break up scar tissue. When scar tissue is broken up, an inflammation response starts, triggered by the fibroblasts, and cellular cleanup begins. If pressure through a wrap is applied to the area after scar tissue is broken up, then healing nutrients will reach the area sooner and the healing process will be more effective.
Functional Range Conditioning Improves Cartilage Health
Many of the same principles for muscle growth and strengthening can also be applied to joints. Productive stress applied to joints and connective tissues, through targeted methods like functional range conditioning (FRC) can stimulate the repair, growth, and strengthening of cartilage tissues. The proper application of strength training will also improve joint strength and function, and will tighten and strengthen the fascia. Yin yoga and hatha yoga are also especially good at improving joint health.
Any of these modalities done properly increases mobility, improves joint strength, and improves body control. By using performing joint healing movements consistently, there will be a reduction of pain and lower chance of injury, plus better body movement and control overall. FRC, strength training, and yoga are best learned from an experienced professional.
Heat Therapy Reduces Inflammation in Joints
Heat therapy has wide ranging health benefits such as improved healing and increased longevity. Heat therapy works on the cellular level by activating heat shock proteins and releasing growth hormone. Heat shock proteins elimate free radicals and heal damaged proteins, meanwhile growth hormone stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration.
You can do whole body heat therapy by using a sauna, steam room, or hot bath, and this will create a systemic full-body healing effect. Or you can apply heat therapy via a heat wrap to the specific joint or body part that requires attention. pairing pressure, heat therapy, and simple joint movements together is a very effective in breaking up scar tissue, cleaning up the resulting damage, and bringing in fresh blood and nutrients, returning joint function to normal.
Joint/Muscle Flossing Stimulates Cartilage Growth
Back to the beneficial application of pressure for healing connective tissues, voodoo floss bands are particularly effective in my experience. Voodoo floss bands are made of latex and can be wrapped around a body part or joint in order to improve performance, increase range of motion, or promote healing. Joint flossing effectively combines pressure and the FRC ideology, and is the single best thing outside of making changes to your diet that you can do to improve joint health. Watch the video below for more information and how to voodoo floss a knee.
Note - I prefer to skip wrapping the kneecap in order to let the knee glide more smoothly during movements. To see how to floss other joints do a search on YouTube.
Supplements For Cartilage and Connective Tissues
There are some well known dietary supplements and herbs which can with help heal cartilage and connective tissues.
Curcumin for Cartilage Pain and Inflammation
Turmeric is a bright orange root used in cooking well known for its potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Curcumin, a type of curcuminoid, is the main phytochemical responsible for the health effects of turmeric. There are many different ways turmeric/curcumin supplements are formulated, and some formulations are more bioavailable than others.
Dosing - 1000 mg of curcumin with 10 mg of piperine every morning.
Effects - Reduced pain and inflammation.
Supplement Recommendation - Curcumin with Piperine by Nootropics Depot.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Cartilage Lubrication
Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat used throughout the body for a variety of important bodily processes, namely for the cardiovascular system and brain. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects and work synergistically with curcumin. Omega-3 fatty acids come in three forms, ALA, DHA, or EPA. ALA is the plant version which requires conversion into DHA or EPA in the body, so it is best to supplement with DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids.
Dosing - 2-3 grams of DHA/EPA combo every morning. It is better to have a greater DHA/EPA ratio.
Effects - Reduced pain and inflammation
Supplement Recommendation - 70% DHA Omega-3 Fish Oil by Nootropics Depot.
Dietary Recommendation - Sardines are a super rich source of omega-3’s high in EPA and DHA. Walnuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds are good sources of ALA omega-3 fatty acids.
Sulforaphane for Joint Inflammation
Sulforaphane is a sulfur-rich naturally occurring compound found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale know for it’s potent anti-inflammatory health effects. A diet high in raw or lightly cooked cruciferous vegetables is best, and sulforaphane supplements are also available.
Dosing - 50-100 mg sulforaphane every night
Effects - Reduced pain and inflammation
Supplement Recommendation - BroccoMax by Jarrow Formulas
Glucosamine Sulfate for Joint Repair
Glucosamine sulfate is a chemical created naturally by the body for use in joint and connective tissues, and if levels in the body are deficient, supplementation may help. Glucosamine sulfate used in supplements is derived from shellfish shells. By supplementing with glucosamine sulfate you’ll ensure your body has enough available to repair cartilage and connective tissues.
Dosing - 1.5 grams every night
Effects - Reduced pain, improved function
Supplement Recommendation - Glucosamine Sulfate by Doctor’s Best
Hydrolyzed Collagen for Cartilage Building Blocks
Hydrolyzed collagen is derived from collagen-rich animal sources, and collagen is the main protein that makes up cartilage and connective tissues. Glycine is the dominant amino acid of collagen protein, and glycine has insulin, cardiovascular, cognitive, and sleep quality effects. By supplementing with collagen you’ll ensure your body has enough amino acids needed to repair cartilage and connective tissues.
Dosing - 20-40 grams every night
Effects - Reduced pain, improved function, better sleep.
Supplement Recommendation (animal) - Collagen Hydrolysate by Great Lakes Gelatin
Supplement Recommendation (plant) - Collagen Building Protein Peptides by Sunwarrior
Boswellia Serrata for Powerful Joint Repair
Boswellia serrata is a gum resin extracted from a tree, with the main active compounds being boswellic acids. Boswellia serrata can suppress pain and immobility from osteoarthritis in as little as a weeks time. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that breaks down cartilage and connective tissues of joints, causing pain, stiffness, and loss of function.
Dosing - 1 gram three times a day, for a total of 3 grams every day
Effects, Increase in mobility, reduced pain, reduced stiffness/immobility
Supplement Recommendation - Boswellia Phytosome by Thorne Research
Boron for Bone and Connective Tissue Health
Boron is the fifth element of the periodic table, and trace amounts can be found in the Earth’s crust. Even though boron is a trace element, it is critical for plant and animal biology. Boron greatly improves wound healing by interacting with the fibroblasts of connective tissues. Boron has direct actions on specific enzymes found in fibroblasts, and making sure you are not boron deficient, as is common, is another way to make sure there are no weak links in the healing process.
Dosing - 10 mg per day
Effects - Improved healing time, stronger connective tissues
Supplement Recommendation - Pinch of borax by 20 Mule Team
Bonus - BPC-157
BPC-157 is a 15 amino-acid long protein peptide, with BPC short for body protection compound. BPC is found in stomach gastric fluids, and when injected into a problem area, reduces oxidative stress and speeds up wound and tissue healing. BPC-157 has also been shown to heal epithelial tight junctions in the gut. I haven’t used BPC-157 myself, but it’s effects are so powerful I included it as a jumping off point for your own research. BPC-157 is not used in this cartilage and connective tissue healing protocol.
Joint and Connective Tissue Healing Protocol
Using the methods, tools, and supplements above, and with a good diet already in place, a cartilage and connective tissue repair and regrowth protocol can be designed. This protocol will increase collagen protein synthesis using joint flossing, pressure and heat therapy, functional range conditioning, and intelligent supplementation. It’s also very important to better understand posture and how tension runs through the body in order to make a joint and connective tissue regeneration protocol most effective, and so future mistakes aren’t made that require this process to be done more than once. To read my article on the topic click the button below.
The protocol is a week long, and can be repeated as many times as needed until improvement or complete restoration of function. Weight training is recommended once joint health and pain have abated so lean tissue, bones, and connective tissues can strengthen. The general principles of the program are:
Daily stimulation of the collagen protein synthesis pathway for affected joints via joint/muscle flossing
Walking 1x a week for general movement and cardiovascular health. Walk more on your own too!
FRC 2x a week for targeted applications of overload (for strength and resiliency increases) and movement (for range of motion improvements)
Yin Yoga 1x a week for restorative movement, deep passive stretches, relaxation, fascial stretching, deep breathing, and overall tension release
Morning Supplements: 2-3 grams omega-3 fatty acids, 500-1000 mg turmeric/curcumin combination, 10 mg boron.
Evening Supplements: 50-100 mg sulforaphane, 1.5 grams glucosamine sulfate, 20 grams collagen.
Monday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
Pressure with ace bandage and self myofascial release
Evening supplements
Friday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
Pressure with ace bandage and self myofascial release
Evening supplements
Tuesday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
Heat therapy
Evening supplements
Saturday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
FRC exercises
Evening supplements
Wednesday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
FRC practitioner visit
Evening supplements
Sunday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
Heat therapy
Evening supplements
Thursday
Morning supplements
Joint flossing
30-60 minute walk
Evening supplements
All these techniques can be used more often than scheduled in the program, but I reduced their frequency in order to make the routine more realistically possible. If you are really determined to fix whatever joint problems you are experiencing, go all out and devote a lot of time towards these practices. Remember though, healing joints and connective tissues takes a long time due to the biology of it, so doing what you can consistently is best long term strategy to make progress.
The importance of diet can’t be understated. Other than acute injuries, it might have been diet that made these joint and connective tissue problems arise. Having a joint friendly diet is at least half the battle.
References:
Bordoni B, Zanier E. Understanding fibroblasts in order to comprehend the osteopathic treatment of the fascia. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2015;2015:1-7.
Gauza-Włodarczyk M, Kubisz L, Włodarczyk D. Amino acid composition in determination of collagen origin and assessment of physical factors effects. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2017;104:987-991.
KEGG PATHWAY: Glycine, serine and threonine metabolism - Reference pathway.
Adeva-Andany M, Souto-Adeva G, Ameneiros-Rodríguez E, Fernández-Fernández C, Donapetry-García C, Domínguez-Montero A. Insulin resistance and glycine metabolism in humans. Amino Acids. 2018;50(1):11-27.
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Other Articles on Recovery
Arm Workouts
Build bulging biceps and horseshoe triceps with dedicated arm workouts. Learn how to best activate the different parts of the triceps, biceps, and forearms, and what exercises can best be used for this. See how arm workouts fit into the larger scheme of weight training and why they are important to develop a balanced symmetrical physique.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Full body workouts, push & pull splits, and leg workouts are where the majority of trainees should be spending their time. These workouts stimulate the greatest amount of musculature at once and have the greatest metabolic effect. Without a direct arm day though, arms will be insufficiently trained, and their reduced development over time will set back progress and negatively limited movement patterns as exercise weight increases. To ensure symmetrical strength, size, and aesthetic development of the forearms, biceps, and triceps, we include an arm day into the WFO workout routine in month four and beyond.
WFO Workout Routines
Part 4 - Arm Workouts ✅
Arms can be challenging to train for their own unique reasons. Muscles and joints of the arms are used in almost every exercise to varying degrees, and due to the mechanics of exercises like the bench press and squat, often joint pain flares up in the shoulder or elbow. This can limit direct arm training, worsening the imbalance.
It can also be challenging to be motivated to do direct arm training after heavy compounds which are highly stimulating and very tiring.
We’ll strategize around those concerns with a scheduled arm day which keeps everything healthy and balanced. An arm day isn’t an excuse to shun harder training to build some guns, it’s an opportunity to balance physique development while also being an opportunity for the legs and torso of the body to rest and recover in-between hard training sessions. How workouts are scheduled, and their relative frequency to each other, determines whether training a certain way or body part is an opportunity or is a setback.
And training schedule and frequency depends on your goals:
Want a large thick tricep horseshoe? Train triceps heavy 1x a week and light 1x a week.
Desiring bulging biceps capable of rope climbs? Train biceps 2-3x a week.
Entering into an arm wrestling competition with Popeye? Train forearms to a pump twice a week.
To properly train the arms and forearms with a dedicated arm day, we need to understand the physiology of the arms, the functions of the different muscles, and how you can best activate the biceps, triceps, and forearms.
Upper Arm - Biceps, Triceps, Brachialis, Brachioradialis
Biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles make up about 40% of the upper arm, and triceps the remaining 60%. Unless you are gifted with godly triceps already, it is important to prioritize the development of the triceps slightly over the biceps, as the triceps make up a bigger percentage of the upper arm. A good benchmark is to train triceps with 20% more volume than biceps.
Muscular anatomy of the arm
Triceps are a group of three muscles composed of distinct “heads”. These are the long head, medial head, and lateral head. The triceps are responsible for pushing away from the body (i.e. like in a push-up), and the unique activation of the three different tricep muscular heads depends on your anatomy and force angle you’re pushing away from your body.
The long head of the tricep is best activated in-between shoulder elevation of 0-45 and an elbow angle of 80-135. Lateral and medial heads are best activated at shoulder elevations of 90-180, and elbow angles of 60-110.
For reference (1), in the picture to the left my shoulder elevation is zero and my elbow angle is zero. Arm being directly overhead would be a shoulder elevation of 180 degrees, and forearm touching upper arm being would be a elbow angle of of 135 degrees.
Working all three heads is important for the development of symmetrical triceps that are strong at all force vectors. It is common to have an overdeveloped lateral head and underdeveloped long head. The reason why depends on daily posture habits such as shoulder rotation. Internal rotation (rotate palms in) inactivates the long head, while external rotation of the shoulder (rotate palms out) activates the long head.
The medial head of the triceps is very small and has similar shoulder and elbow activation angles as the lateral head. The medial head is activated well with tricep push-ups.
Biceps are composed of you guessed it, two distinct heads, those being the short and long heads. The short head is located on the inside of the arm closest to the body and the long head on the outside of the arm. The brachialis is located near the elbow underneath the biceps, and growing it will result in a stronger fuller bicep with a higher peak. The brachioradialis crosses the elbow joint and is an upper arm and forearm muscle.
Forearm - Wrists Flexors & Extensors, Wrist Pronators & Supinators
The forearm is composed of a variety of small wiry muscles. The wrist is a very mobile joint because our hands require extreme dexterity and endurance, and to train the forearms adequately you need to use a variety of movement patterns and rep ranges.
The forearms are made up of flexors, extensors, pronators, and supinators. When you bring your hand closer to the inside of your forearm, you active the wrist flexors. When you do the opposite movement, extending your hand out, you activate the wrist extensors. Pronation and supination is all about wrist rotation. Pronated hands means the back of your hands face upwards, and supinated means the palms of your hands are visible facing upwards. The wrist pronators and supinators as you would guess are the muscles which allow the wrist to rotate from palms down to palms up. Bar exercises can be taken with either a pronated or supinated grip, each stimulate the arms differently, from forearm muscle up through the shoulder joint, because grip determines whether your shoulder is internally or externally rotated. Training those twisting movement patterns themselves, and not just the static grip positions, makes for comprehensive forearm training.
Arm and Forearm Movements
Triceps Long Head
Close-grip Dip
Cable Push-Down
Reverse Close-Grip Flat Press
Tricep Kickbacks
Triceps Lateral Head
Overhead Triceps Extension
Incline Triceps Extension
Skull Crusher
Close-Grip Flat Press
JM Press
Triceps Medial Head
Close-Grip Push-Up
Incline Triceps Extension
Forearm Extensors
Reverse Curl
Reverse Wrist Curl
Radial Deviation
Forearm Rotators
Pronations
Supinations
Biceps Inner & Outer Head
Close-grip Chin-Up
Zotterman Curl
Preacher Curl
Close-grip Curl
Wide-grip Curl
Drag Curl
Hammer Curl
Brachialis
Preacher Curl
Concentration Curl
Brachioradialis
Hammer Curl
Reverse Curl
Zotterman Curl
Forearm Flexors
Wrist Curl
Wrist Roller
Grippers
Grip Exercises
Note - Various implements can be used for the above exercises, such as the barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, cables, machines, and more.
Arm workouts are the best way to build stronger and more impressive arms. Arms that are balanced with the rest of the upper body will keep exercise movement patterns healthy and stop any strength plateaus from starting.
Arm Workouts
Arm Workout (A)
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Pronators
3x30 Reverse Wrist Curls
4x5-10 Chin-ups
4x12 Incline Triceps Extension
3x12 Preacher Curls
3x15 Triceps Kickbacks
Bicep Emphasis
Arm Workout (B)
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Supinators
3x30 Wrist Curls
4x5-10 Close-Grip Dips
4x12 DB Curls
4x12 Triceps Pushdowns (supinated)
3x15 Reverse Curls
Tricep Emphasis
During these two workouts, we start by activating the forearms and then move up the arms. By starting with the forearms, we ensure that they aren’t forgotten or ignored at the end of the workout, and the blood flowing to the forearms warm up the upper arms. Doing forearm exercises first will improve mind muscle connection to the upper arms through the principle of irradiation. The grip will also be more taxed during regular biceps and triceps exercises, further stimulating the forearms throughout the entire workout.
Forearm exercises don’t take long; the first three exercises can be expected to take 15 minutes total. After the forearms are activated, a compound arm exercise is programmed to get blood flowing to the upper arm, build strength, and start the mind muscle connection. It takes time to build a strong mind muscle connection, anywhere from 4-7 sets. Once a muscle is fully activated, it is important to spend another 4-7 sets fully activated to ensure an optimal muscle stimulus is created.
Month 4 Workout Routine
For Month 4 of the WFO workout routine we shake up the exercise selections in order to stimulate new adaptations and to keep the routine from becoming too boring. Discipline matters, but if you’re not enjoying the routine, then you’re not likely to stick with it.
Week 1
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Incline Press
4x8 Front Squats
5x10 Barbell Rows
3x20 Cable Woodchops
Tuesday - Arms
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Pronators
3x30 Reverse Wrist Curls
4x10 Chin-ups
4x12 Incline Triceps Extension
3x12 Preacher Curls
3x15 Triceps Kickbacks
Wednesday - Legs
5x10 Ab Wheel Rollouts
3x20 Seated Calf Raises
5x5 Squats
4x8 Hip Thrusts
5x10 Glute Ham Raise
Thursday - Pull
5x5 Barbell Rows
4x8 Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull Downs
5x10 Seated Cable Rows
3x15 Facepulls
3x10 DB Curls
Friday - Push
3x20 Dumbbell Front Raises
5x10 Incline Press
3x10 Kettlebell Press
3x15 Lateral Raises
3x10 Overhead Tricep Extensions
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
Week 2
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Deadlifts
4x8 DB Press
5x10 Leg Press
3x30 Reverse Crunches
Tuesday - Arms
3x20 Radial Deviations
3x20 Supinators
3x30 Wrist Curls
4x10 Close-Grip Dips
4x12 Hammer Curls
4x12 Triceps Pushdowns (supinated)
3x15 Reverse Curls
Wednesday - Legs
5x10 Ab Wheel Rollouts
3x20 Standing Calf Raises
5x5 Squats
4x8 Front Squats
5x10 Cossack Squats
Thursday - Pull
5x5 Barbell Rows
4x8 Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull Downs
5x10 Seated Cable Rows
3x15 Facepulls
3x10 DB Curls
Friday - Push
3x20 Rear Delt Flies
5x10 Arnold Press
3x10 Flat DB Press
3x15 Lateral Raises
3x20 Skullcrushers
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
The schedule for month 4 is week 1, week 2, week 1, week 2. Same as month 3, increase weights by 5% on weeks 2 and 4. At this point the weights are starting to enter into the moderate range, it’ll be harder to focus solely on form and the mind muscle connection. Some amount of attention will need to be given to simply executing the reps and getting through the set. This is good, we’re coming closer to a peak, a deload is approaching where attention will shift away from heavy compound movements and instead towards core strength, body movement, stretching, and calisthenics.
Part 5 incorporates the strength gains made from parts 1-4 into functional movement patterns, grace of movement, and aesthetics. Additionally, part 5 with its emphasis on core strength and calisthenics prepare the body for the next loading phase by strengthening the connective tissues, fortifying the joints, and building a rock-solid six pack. Core strength is often the limiting factor as it relates to compound lifts like squats and deadlifts, so focusing on core strength for a time will ultimately improve strength with the barbell.
If you really want to increase the size of your arms, then take the thirty day arm challenge while running a cistanche and cholesterol protocol. Cistanche and cholesterol combined will boost your natural testosterone and build muscle while the thirty day arm challenge will add 1/4-1/2” to your arms.
References:
Kholinne E, Zulkarnain RF, Sun YC, Lim S, Chun JM, Jeon IH. The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2018;52(3):201-205.
Establish a Morning Routine
Establishing a consistent routine is one of the cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle. Every morning is an opportunity to take control of your schedule and live a wellness-centered lifestyle. Follow these recommendations and start your own morning wellness routine.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Establishing a consistent routine is one of the cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle. Usually everyday routines are guided through meal timings (breakfast, lunch, dinner) or a work schedule. Often the activities people schedule their days around are stressful in nature. You don’t want to schedule a stress-first, relaxation-second schedule!
How you start the day determines in large part your physical, mental, and emotional status throughout the rest of the day. For this reason, morning routines are very important. Having a consistent morning routine provides a sense of normalcy, even during times of change such as travel, undue stress, and unique life situations. Consider a morning routine a wellness gyroscope that brings balance to your day to day life.
Establish the Circadian Rhythm
The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour biological clock we all posses, and this rhythm controls your daily schedule for sleep and wakefulness.
One of the main reasons a consistent morning routine is recommended is it helps to establish a consistent circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is intimately tied to the various systems of the body, such as the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and a wandering circadian rhythm is easily disrupted further by stress and other variables. It’s been shown that the success of major surgeries is greatly influenced by the circadian rhythm. Those operated on during the day fair poorly compared to those operated on at night, during the bodies natural healing state.
The steps below help to establish a anti-fragile circadian rhythm, but there are a few steps that can be taken even before then:
Have a Consistent Bed Time
When you go to sleep, and for how long you sleep, has a huge impact on the quality of your life the following day. To help facilitate the process of establishing a rock-solid circadian rhythm, and therefore an awesome morning routine, go to bed at the same time every night. This bedtime should be respectful of the powerful influence the sun has on your circadian rhythm, and I wouldn’t recommend a bedtime any later than 10 pm. Unless you have a late-shift or night-shift job, there is really no excuse for going to sleep at a reasonable hour and treating yourself with self-love. If you stay up occasionally past 10 pm, that’s OKAY, but don’t make a habit of it.
Don’t Set an Alarm
If you have the luxury, don’t set an alarm to wake you up each morning. Face your bed East and open your blinds so when the sun rises in the morning you catch as much light as you can. The circadian rhythm is tied to the sun/moon cycle, and rising with the light is the most natural and peaceful way to wake-up.
Forget the Phone
The light we expose ourselves to each day is incredibly important. After sunset, naturally there is meant to be very little light, and the best thing you can do for your morning is to dim or turn off the artificial lights with the movements of the sun. Electronics give off primarily blue light, and blue light is particularly energizing. During the day blue light is expected and healthy, but in the morning and night, blue light can have a strong impact on the circadian rhythm, even shifting it by several hours. Blue light impacts melatonin (a hormone important in sleep) production, and the downstream effects of shifted melatonin or delayed production can completely upset the hormonal system as a whole. If you’ve ever had racing thoughts at night that prevented you from falling asleep, or made you sleep poorly, you should deeply examine your light exposure, both from electronics and the environment.
Picking up a phone first thing in the morning might help the brain to click on in that moment, but the overall effect of that habit can be devastating to normal sleep and wakefulness patterns. The solution is simple, keep the phone charging at night in a different room.
Build your Fire
After a long nights rest, coaxing the metabolic engine to create energy is priority number 1. Movement and breath work are the prescription.
Upon waking, drink 16 - 32 oz of filtered water and prepare for some light exercise.
Stomach Vacuums (Uddiyana Bandha) are easiest to perform in the morning
This exercise could be a simple 15 minute flow routine, 30 minutes of yoga, or a full weight-training workout. Maybe you prefer to go for a walk, that’s fine too!
I prefer starting with a short flow routine followed by calisthenics and core exercises because the movements can adapt to how I feel. Whether you want to do more calisthenics, yoga, or stretching, flow training can incorporate all of those fitness modalities and are easy to modify instinctively.
Movements and exercise that establish deep consistent breathing are best, as oxygen is the fuel your body requires for all energy processes.
Breath work and movement finished, solidify your new baseline of energy with 5 - 10 minutes of meditation. Sit cross legged, breath in and out slowly, and clear your mind. To help clear your mind, you can think the words “In” and “Out” for when breathing in or out. You can also hum “aum” or focus your senses outwards. Can you feel the wind, the sun, the Earth? Listen to the sounds around you. Smell the air? Raise your level of awareness by practicing mindfulness and let any thoughts that start to materialize bounce off of your inner mental calm.
Avoid Stimulants
The first mistake many make here is to turn to a stimulant like caffeine first thing upon waking. Would you rather your energy for the day depend on an external stimulant, or your own movement and breath work for the day? Remember the goal of the morning routine is to create a calm mental and emotional state for each day, and it’s known that stimulants disturb this aspect of health and the natural circadian rhythm.
Coffee and green tea taste great, so savor them as a treat occasionally, not as a crutch.
Feed Your Body
Whether you decide to fuel up or fast after the movement and breath work, it’s important that this decision of how to feed your body is done with your best interests in mind. Be conscious and make your own decisions.
For Fasting:
If you prefer 16:8 intermittent fasting, or you’re performing a longer duration fast for your digestive system, it is important to drink plenty of water. Since you are not consuming any food, which contains water, you’ll need to drink more water. And this means only water!
Stimulants like green tea and coffee as described are best avoided, and zero-calorie beverages wreck havoc on the digestive system, particularly the gut lining. Starting your day with a zero-calorie beverage will cause inflammation in the gut and eventually systemically.
For Fueling:
Find a nutritious breakfast that you can eat consistently everyday. I recommend eating the same breakfast everyday for the following reasons:
Everyday your body will receive the same supply of fats, carbs, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
It will add consistency to your digestion, and establish a rhythm that your microbiome can come to expect
Post-breakfast, your energy levels will be consistent and known. This stability allows you to start your day right.
No more guesswork in the kitchen.
Preparing the same breakfast everyday becomes a science, letting your mind focus on other ambitions of the day.
Find a meal that works for your dietary preferences, is easy to prepare, delicious, and well rounded nutritionally. This means developing a breakfast that includes fat, protein, starch, and fiber.
My Daily Breakfast
I look forward to my breakfast everyday even though it never changes! There is enough diversity in flavors and textures that I don’t tire of it. My breakfast is as follows:
1. Organic hashbrowns with ketchup
2. Three eggs scrambled with EVOO & sprig parsley
3. Organic strawberry, banana, lemon, and fresh squeezed OJ smoothie
4. Gluten-free everything bagel with organic cream-cheese and everything seasoning.
Set your Intentions, Repeat your Affirmations
After a bout of movement, breath work, and a meal (or not), take 5-10 minutes to set your goals for the day and establish your affirmations. This can be done in so many ways, find what resonates with you!
You can set your goals and establish your affirmations through journaling. Keeping a log of your affirmations and aspirations is a fantastic way to develop a record of your daily goals, and looking back through past journal entries can help pierce the veil of what it is you truly desire.
Listening to your horoscope is another way to set affirmations for the day, or at least a way to bring consciousness to various topics that you might not have considered otherwise. For this I recommend Horoscope Today from Parcast. Each horoscope is only 2-3 minutes in length, but during this time my attention is drawn to my relationships with others, my career ambitions, and the larger worldly energy patterns to be mindful of.
Pitfalls to Avoid - Reminder
When establishing a productive morning routine, there are a variety of old habits which might need to be cast aside as you undergo your evolution. Remember to avoid:
Stimulants such as coffee
Electronics 2 hours before bed, after waking up
Morning junk food disguised as breakfast
Inadequate water consumption
Anything that disturbs your peace
Reclaim the morning as your time to clear your mind, stabilize your emotions, and set your focus. Remember it’s your life, not someone elses, be it your boss, friends, or the news. Before the world wakes up, the morning hours are yours and yours alone!
Putting it into Practice
Now that everything has been discussed, here is an action plan you can start with and then adapt to fit your unique needs.
Daily Morning Wellness Routine
Wake up naturally, and limit your exposure to blue light.
Drink 16 - 32 oz filtered water.
Begin your breath-focused movement, yoga, workout routine (15-90 minutes), or walk. See below for two movement routines you can use to get started.
Cool down with 5-15 minutes meditation, stabilize your energy levels, and calm your mind.
Fuel or fast, be conscious of what you put into your body. If choosing to eat, consume a well-rounded breakfast with a focus on organic foods, protein, healthy fats, and fiber.
Set your intentions for the day and repeat your affirmations. For outside input to consider, listen or read your horoscope.
Morning Movement Routine
Strength Focused
Complete this circuit three times
Push-ups - 25 reps
Form an arrow position with your arms, keep your core stable, and chest to floor.
RKC Plank - 30 secs
Squeeze your glutes, contract your core, and brace inwards.
Body-weight Squats - 25 reps
Open your hips and go deep with a stable back.
Glute Bridge - 25 reps
Squeeze the glutes at the top of the rep.
Mountain Climbers - 25 reps
Stay tight and stabilize against rotation.
Mobility Focused
Focus on the quality of the movement
Sun Salutation Warm-up - 5 rounds
Thoracic Rotation Stretch - 5 reps each side
90/90 Hip Stretch - Hold 20-30 seconds
Hamstring Stretch - Hold for 20-30 seconds
Ankle Plantar Flexion Stretch - 30 seconds
Lizard with Rotation - 5 reps each side
Punter Kicks - 8 reps each side
Chest Stretch - Hold 20-30 seconds
Lat Stretch - Hold 20-30 seconds
Shoulder CARS - 5 reps each side
Windmills - 10 reps each side
Note - The beauty of a morning exercise routine is it helps maintain the physical status of the body. If you exercise exclusively during the afternoon or evenings, your fitness progress is dependent solely on those workouts. Miss a few workouts or more and progress will slip away. A morning exercise prescription, while not necessarily super intense, provides enough stimulus to maintain progress you’ve made during your more intense training sessions.
If you don’t occasionally skip your normal exercise routine, then you’ll make progress faster with the addition of the morning routine and have diversified your fitness skill set.
A Holistic Approach to Mental Illness
More than a billion people worldwide suffer from mental illness, and most receive zero treatment. The emotions and feeling of depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders can be debilitating, but with a holistic action plan, mental illness can be healed naturally and without the use of toxic drugs. Spending time in nature, healing your gut, and the power of sulforaphane accomplishes this.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Worldwide one billion or more people suffer from various mental illnesses. These mental disorders are mental or behavioral patterns that cause impairment or significant distress of personal functioning. Even though these disorders all exist within the mind, mental illness can severely impact interaction with the world and even prove deadly.
Depression and other mental illnesses are nothing to scoff at, and due to their nature they require immediately treatment.
Depending on the situation, natural solutions are often the best alternative.
Mental illnesses can range from mild to deadly, and they can form a pattern of progression.
Some common mental illnesses are:
Depression*
Anxiety
Autism
Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Eating and Sleep Disorders
Dementia
Alzhiemers
Migraines
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Schizophrenia
*Nearly one-half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Combating Mental Illness
To combat mental disorders, thousands have dedicated their lives to learn, diagnose, and treat the above illnesses and more. Current recommended treatments include psychiatry, brain stimulation training, and medication. Psychiatry, the rewiring of the brain via dialogue with a specialist is expensive, as is brain stimulation (a field still in its infancy). As a result, many people with mental illness are steered towards medications like SSRIs as the primary means to deal with their mental illness.
The approach for how to deal with mental illness by the medical system has done a lot of good, helping and healing many people of serious mental conditions, but their recommendations and research are outdated. The pharmaceutical industry has turned mental illness into a money maker, and if more costly human to human methods like psychiatry aren’t covered by insurance, then doctors prescribe drugs.
Meanwhile from the medical community, very little attention is given to simple preventative measures and healing techniques well-known to improve mental wellness. To begin understanding how mental illness can be treated holistically, we need to understand the conditions that give rise to mental illness, starting from the outside inwards.
Brain-Gut Inflammation
Extensive research has shown that brain inflammation is connected to virtually all types of mental illness. Mood disorders such as depression (1) and anxiety (2), as well as more serious conditions like autism (3), dementia (4), alzheimer’s disease (5), and schizophrenia (6) have all been linked to inflammation of the brain or various parts of the body. Inflammation is not the ultimate root cause of these mental health issues, but understanding how to combat inflammation can provide relief and allow more holistic wellness measures heal the underlying trauma.
As discussed in our article on the importance of drinking water, everything that you are is built from what you’ve ate, drank, and breathed in over the course of your life. These are your starting conditions from which all else is determined, and as such your diet is supremely important in determining your level of health. You are what you eat, and an inflammatory state of the body or mind ultimately goes back to the quality of the food you eat, the water you drink, and the air you breathe.
After eating or drinking, your body needs to digest the food and actually assimilate it into the body. Your entire digestive system is actually outside your body. It might be contained inside your flesh and blood, but the entire digestive system is lined with cells and mucus whose primary purpose is to keep foreign invaders out and good nutrients coming in. Inside your digestive system lives your microbiome, a colony of 100 trillion microorganisms that outnumber your human cells ten to one. Just like your health, you can have a healthy or diseases microbiome. When the microbiome is highly pathogenic, the immune system has to work on overtime keeping the body free or opportunistic pathogenic bacteria. A stressed immune system causes inflammation as an acute protective measure, and inflammation can also be created in the gut when undigested foods leak through compromised tight-junctions of the intestines and into the blood stream. These food particles also require cleanup by the immune system.
The gut is the main center for the immune system, and when the digestive system is unhealthy and diseased, the effects are felt throughout the body, most notably as chronic inflammation. This is for healing mental illnesses because if the gut is the main source of inflammation in the body, then healing the gut will have a strong impact on reducing conditions like depression, insomnia, and autism. This connection is further strengthened by the knowledge of the gut-brain connection. The microbiome is able to create and secrete neurotransmitters which directly affect behavior and brain function.
I have written about the gut extensively in my other articles, read these for a more complete understanding of how the digestive system and how it affects your health and wellness.
Heal Tight Junctions of the Gut
Control Food Cravings
Break a Sugar Addiction
The most effective method to heal the digestive is with fasting because it deprives the microbiome of food, selecting for symbiotic microbes while providing the gut a chance to heal and strengthen.
To begin the healing process for mental disorders, a close examination of the health of the gut is needed.
Spend Time in Nature
The emotions common to depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses are those of fear, sadness, anger, hate, hopelessness, and despair. If you don’t change your environment to see the bigger picture, it is easy to get twisted around by these emotions and the whole situations can feel insurmountable. It is for this reason that spending time in nature can be such a boon for you or a loved one’s mental health.
Being in nature opens up the senses and overwhelms you with emotions of awe, happiness, inspiration, serenity, and calmness. Surrounded by the wonder of nature, it becomes easier to see the bigger picture of life and to feel the healing energy of the Earth.
If you’re physically able, going for a hike is a way to experience nature while also providing concrete goals which when achieved provides a sense of satisfaction. Away from the noise and distractions of human society, with the elements around you, it’s difficult to be consumed by your worries and troubling thoughts. If physically unable, even just exposing yourself to green space and color can improve your mood and outlook on life. Spending time with Mother Earth is a helpful compliment to a mental illness treatment plan. Nature improves mindfulness, quiets the mind, and offers the opportunity to connect to the core of yourself.
Often just coming into contact with deeply buried emotional trauma and recognizing while letting it pass is enough to heal from it.
Emotional Trauma
The trigger for a lot of mental illness to begin or grow is emotional trauma. This emotional trauma can happen suddenly, like with the passing of a beloved friend or family member, or it can be buried deep from past traumatic experiences.
It is by unpacking and discussing emotional trauma in a safe supportive space that makes psychiatry so effective in treating mental illness. If having psychiatry with a trained professional is too cost prohibitive, there are many ways to replicate the effect.
Share and unpack your emotional burdens with a friend or family member after establish a safe space free of judgement or criticism.
Create a safe supportive environment on your own and write your thoughts, emotions, and feelings into a journal. Don’t hold back. At the end you can either keep the written words to reflect upon, or finish the ceremony by symbolically releasing yourself from the trauma by lighting the pages on fire.
If you attend school or if your work has a program, speak to a counselor and make a consistent schedule of it. It takes time to deconstruct emotions, it won’t happen all at once.
Speak to a counselor using an online-only service like betterhelp.
Join a spiritual community for emotional support and guidance.
Discussing your emotions and feelings with others or God can release your emotional trauma which might sit at the core of your mental illness. Taken with steps to improve health and connect with nature, mental health can be healed holistically.
Sulforaphane instead of Medication
While there are many positive stories of drugs like Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) helping people regain control of their life, there are also many horror stories from the side-effects of mental illness drugs. Sometimes the side effects like liver damage, weight gain, and insomnia are worse than the starting condition. Knowing the connection between inflammation and mental illness, a natural anti-inflammatory can be used to combat the effects of depression, anxiety, autism, and other disorders. Sulforaphane is one such anti-inflammatory chemical.
Sulforaphane is a sulfur-rich naturally occurring compound found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale which has many known health benefits (7). Sulforaphane is a defense chemical produced when it is crunched and chewed up, and its chemistry useful to plants is also useful for human health. Sulforaphane is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, and once there it can exert its effects on glutamate (a neurotransmitter) and glutathione (an antioxidant) chemistry via gene activation. It’s for this reason that sulforaphane is able to have profoundly healing effects on various mental disorders. Sulforaphane also has potent anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body.
Sulforaphane supplementation has been shown to help with humans for schizophrenia (8) and autism (9), and initial mouse models show sulforaphane has powerful beneficial effects on depression (10), anxiety (11), and alzheimer’s disease (12). Sulforaphane appears to be especially important for healthy brain development in juvenile and adolescents (13).
For depression, no human studies have been completed yet, but initial results with mice are very promising (14). Expect human studies testing sulforaphane against depression to release their results in 2021 (15).
For normal dosages of 50-100 mg, sulforaphane has no known side-effects, and anecdotally it has been reported to have similar efficacy as SSRIs in treating depression and it .
Sources of Sulforaphane
The holistic wellness mental illness treatment plan is below, but first it is important to learn more about sulforaphane and how it works. Consuming sulforaphane naturally in the diet is superior to taking a supplement, and increasing sulforaphane intake through good dietary habits is a lasting strategy for success.
Cabbage and broccoli sprouts are the best sources of sulforaphane.
Sulforaphane is created when glucoraphanin comes into contact with myrosinase, a family of enzymes that play a role in the defense response of plants, hence why sulforaphane is only activated when vegetables are chewed or chopped. Cooking degrades and destroys sulforaphane production, so raw and chopped vegetables have the highest levels of sulforaphane. Green cabbage is one of the best known sources of Sulforaphane at 0.5 mg per gram, and it appears red cruciferous vegetables contain much less sulforaphane than common sources like broccoli sprouts.
Broccoli is a very common vegetable with high levels of sulforaphane, and the state of broccoli and it’s level of cooking determine its sulforaphane content. Cooking at temperatures above 70 °C can greatly reduce the amount of sulforaphane, so here we’ll look at the amount of sulforaphane found in various forms of raw broccoli.
Note - Cooking broccoli will destroy the myrosinase needed to convert glucoraphanin into sulforaphane, but adding mustard seeds conveniently reintroduces myrosinase back into the reaction. Brown mustard seed added to cooked broccoli increases the bioavailibility of sulforaphane by 4x (18).
The best way to get any nutrient overall is through a whole unprocessed diet with ample vegetables. All macronutrients, micronutrients, and other chemicals such as phytonutrients all work together in balance as found naturally in food to promote optimal health. This is true for Sulforaphane.
A couple cups of chopped cabbage will provide about 100 mg of sulforaphane (19). Broccoli and brussel sprouts are further behind at 20 and 10 mg of sulforaphane respectively per cup chopped.
Sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts!
Broccoli sprouts and seeds are very dense sources of sulforaphane. This is because sulforaphane is a protective compound and is more highly concentrated in younger versions of plant growth. Along the same lines, Sulforaphane content is actually increased when cruciferous vegetables are subjected to heat and pressure stress. A healthy microbiome is also able to convert glucoraphanin into sulforaphane (20), the extent depending on the makeup of your gut.
When broccoli sprouts are heated to between 60-70°C, sulforaphane is increased by about 3.5x (21). Heat too high and the enzyme myrosinase is destroyed, stopping the reaction which creates sulforaphane from occurring. To easily heat broccoli sprouts to 70°C add a cup of boiling water to half a cup of room-temperature water. The resulting water will be about 75°C, and when added to the glass jar containing the sprouts, the final temperature will settle around 70°C.
Holistic Wellness Mental Depression Action Plan
If you or a loved one is suffering from mental illness of any sort, it is important you begin addressing the issue as soon as possible and don’t let it fester and grow. Being mindful of the emotions wrapped up with mental illness, a holistic wellness plan is one of the safest ways you can begin to treat mental conditions like depression, autism, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and more.
Eat a diet rich in sulforaphane to tamp down on inflammation of the mind, body, and gut. Eating 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, mostly raw, will help heal the gut, ensure ample micronutrients are consumed, and will reduce chronic inflammation. Starting off, eating 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables can seem like an impossible task, so at the minimum eat 1 cup of light sauteed cabbage everyday and take 50 mg of sulforaphane via a supplement like BroccoMax by Jarrow Formulas. Each pill contains 30 mg of sulforaphane, so take two daily, one in the morning and one at night for lasting all day anti-inflammatory effects. If you eat the cabbage and take the sulforaphane pills everyday you’ll get 110 mg of sulforaphane daily, which should dramatically improve the symptoms of mental illness.
Heal your digestive system and regain control over a diseased microbiome. The simplest method to reset your microbiome is with fasting, and in-between fasting you will want to heal epithelial tight junctions in order to reduce the inflammation from the microbiome die-off reactions. To heal tight junctions you’ll need zinc either from zinc rich foods like oysters or from a Zinc Balance supplement like the one from Jarrow. Flavenoids also heal the gut so drink a cup of green tea or eat some fermented soy every now and then.
Spend time in nature experiencing the emotions of awe, inspiration, and serenity. Use nature as a playground for experimentation where you can set goals and achieve them. Go for a hike or make a commitment to meditate for a certain length of time. Start a garden and care for some plants, which only need sunlight, water, food, and love to grow, which is all you need too! By spending time with Mother Earth you will become more mindful and you’ll experience the powerful healing effects of grounding.
Go for a walk and get your body moving. Walking is one of the easiest things you can do, being bipedal we evolved to be good at it, and if you can get yourself out the door then I can guarentee you’ll feel better at the end of the walk. Walking goes hand in hand with point #3 above.
Unpack your trauma with the help of professionals or loved ones. Better yet face these emotional traumas in the healing presence of nature. Look inward, touch the deep parts of your being, recognize the emotions, and let them pass like a wave in a non-reactive manner. The past is the past, you have to let yourself become liberated. You can do anything you want to do, it all depends on what your innate desires are, and what you wish to manifest.
Liberate Yourself from Mental Illness
Mental illness is like a deep hole that you’ve been dropped in, and the light at the top seems so far away. It can feel hopeless and impossible to climb out of mental illness, but anything is possible. Mental illness starts in the mind, and it can be conquered in the mind. Mindset is everything, and the action plan above will help cultivate a new healthy lifestyle while also shifting your mindset to be default positive and happy.
A healthy diet full of whole unprocessed foods and vegetables is one of the best preventative health measures, and sulforaphane supplementation will give you a leg up. If you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, insomnia, or other mental disorders, make the strongest effort possible to exercise and eat right. Get eight hours of sleep every night. Enlist the help of friends and family to achieve your goals. The simplest changes have the biggest wellness impacts!
And if you’re ever having troubling or suicidal thoughts please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. 1-800-273-8255
Updated November 2020
References:
Felger JC. Role of Inflammation in Depression and Treatment Implications. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2019;250:255-286.
Luliia Onofriichuk, Et al. Thyroid inflammation linked to anxiety disorders. European Society of Endocrinology.
Gevezova M, Sarafian V, Anderson G, Maes M. Inflammation and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2020;
Walker KA, Windham BG, Power MC, et al. The association of mid-to late-life systemic inflammation with white matter structure in older adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Neurobiol Aging. 2018;68:26-33.
Hur, J., Frost, G.R., Wu, X. et al. The innate immunity protein IFITM3 modulates γ-secretase in Alzheimer’s disease. Nature (2020).
Kirkpatrick B, Miller BJ. Inflammation and schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2013;39(6):1174-9.
Kim JK, Park SU. Current potential health benefits of sulforaphane. EXCLI J. 2016;15:571-577.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Broccoli sprout compound may restore brain chemistry imbalance linked to schizophrenia." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 May 2019.
Singh K, Connors SL, Macklin EA, et al. Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2014;111(43):15550-5.
Zhang JC, Yao W, Dong C, et al. Prophylactic effects of sulforaphane on depression-like behavior and dendritic changes in mice after inflammation. J Nutr Biochem. 2017;39:134-144.
Ferreira-chamorro P, Redondo A, Riego G, Leánez S, Pol O. Sulforaphane Inhibited the Nociceptive Responses, Anxiety- and Depressive-Like Behaviors Associated With Neuropathic Pain and Improved the Anti-allodynic Effects of Morphine in Mice. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:1332.
Hou TT, Yang HY, Wang W, Wu QQ, Tian YR, Jia JP. Sulforaphane Inhibits the Generation of Amyloid-β Oligomer and Promotes Spatial Learning and Memory in Alzheimer's Disease (PS1V97L) Transgenic Mice. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;62(4):1803-1813.
Shirai Y, Fujita Y, Hashimoto R, et al. Dietary Intake of Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprout Extracts during Juvenile and Adolescence Can Prevent Phencyclidine-Induced Cognitive Deficits at Adulthood. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(6):e0127244.
Wu S, Gao Q, Zhao P, et al. Sulforaphane produces antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like effects in adult mice. Behav Brain Res. 2016;301:55-62.
Renrong Wu. A 12-weeks Study to Evaluate Sulforaphane in the Treatment of Depression. Central South University. Clinicaltrials.gov
Jaime Lopez-Cervantes, Et al. Biochemical composition of broccoli seeds and sprouts at different stages of seedling development. International Journey of Food Science & Technology. Volume 48, Issue 11. 10 June 2013.
H. Liang, Et al. Determination of sulforaphane in broccoli and cabbage by high-performance liquid chromatography. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Volume 19, Issue 5. August 2006, pages 473-476.
Okunade O, Niranjan K, Ghawi SK, Kuhnle G, Methven L. Supplementation of the Diet by Exogenous Myrosinase via Mustard Seeds to Increase the Bioavailability of Sulforaphane in Healthy Human Subjects after the Consumption of Cooked Broccoli. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(18):e1700980.
Mohamed Farag, Et al. Sulforaphane composition, cytotoxic and antioxidant activity of crucifer vegetables. Journal of Advanced Research, Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 65-70.
Sivapalan T, Melchini A, Saha S, et al. Bioavailability of Glucoraphanin and Sulforaphane from High-Glucoraphanin Broccoli. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(18):e1700911.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick. How To Increase Sulforaphane in Broccoli Sprouts by ~3.5-fold. Found My Fitness.
Leg Workouts
Increase your squat and deadlift and build leg mass with dedicated leg workouts. Discover the amazing health benefits of heat therapy and how it improves recovery. Learn the basic methodology, movements, and exercise sequencing of leg workouts. Turn your vision into reality with the Wild Free Organic workout series, continuing with part 3.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
The majority of your training in the gym should be centered around full body workouts, followed by push and pull workouts (as covered in parts 1 and 2). To optimally train the body, the limbs (legs and arms) need direct attention and training. The legs especially are very important for overall health and wellness.
WFO Workout Routines
Part 3 - Leg Workouts ✅
To build on parts 1 and 2, we add leg workouts into the routine and adjust the rest of the routine to compensate for the increased leg volume and intensity. If you want a stronger squat, deadlift, and hip thrust, have a dedicated leg day 2x a week. If you want bigger quadriceps, front squat frequently.
Below we’ll cover the main movements used to train the legs, add a new recovery method, provide the leg workouts to be used moving forward, and will show how to flexibly incorporate leg days into a training schedule
Importance of Leg Training and Calves
The legs can be split into three main sections, the calves, thighs, and glutes. Both the calves and thighs have different muscles front and back, and the glutes are situated behind the hips. The legs are unique in that they contain a huge amount of muscle mass compared to other parts of the body. Upper leg muscles encircle the femur, the largest and strongest bone of the body, but there are no organs in the legs like with the torso. Because the legs comprise such a large percentage of the total body mass of the body, they are very important to develop for overall health and wellness.
Strong well-developed legs are critical for many of the movement patterns we rarely reflect on like walking and standing. Legs that have more muscle will have a greater metabolic impact on the body, burning more calories and helping to stabilize blood sugar and hormone levels. Nimble legs and the inner ears determine your balance, and there is excellent data showing how easily you can get off the ground using only your legs predicts lower all-cause mortality (death from any reason). For these reasons and more it is incredibly important to be mindful of your legs and to train them frequently and intelligently.
Balancing the development of the legs is also very important. Exercises like the barbell squat activate all of the musculature of the legs, but the calves are only minimally activated. Hip hinging exercises like the deadlift are similar. The reason the calves develop sub-optimally is because the calves are best strengthened when the foot and ankle are the primary joint loaded with force during a movement, like a calf raise. With weight-training routines it is common for calves and forearms to be neglected at the expense of the upper arms, upper legs, midsection, and torso. But as we know with the connection between balance and risk of injury, equal attention needs to be given to all the muscles of the legs, no matter their relative size or aesthetic features.
Because time at the gym is limited, it’s a tough pill to swallow to train calves heavy at the expense of exercises like squats, and many people end up ignoring their calves completely as a result. To solve this, train calves at the beginning of every leg workout and use them to warm up all the muscles of the lower body. For blood to reach the calves much of it will travel past and through the upper leg, activating everything along the way. With pre-activated calf muscles, risk of injury during heavy lower body compounds like squats and deadlifts decreases, and those exercises then serve to activate and stress the calves to a greater degree.
Muscles of the Legs
Calves
Gastrocnemius
Soleus
Tibialis Anterior
Quadriceps
Rectus Femoris
Vastus Lateralis
Vastus Intermedius
Vastus Medialis
Hamstrings
Biceps Femoris, Long Head
Biceps Femoris, Short Head
Semitendinosus
Semimembranosus
Glutes
Gluteus Maximus
Gluteus Medius
Gluteus Minimus
Main movements for the Legs
Gastrocnemius
Standing Calf Raise
Soleus
Seated Calf Raise
Tibialis Anterior
Reverse Calf Raise
Quadriceps
Squat (front, back)
One Legged Squat (pistol, shrimp)
Cossack Squat
Sissy Squat
Lunge (forward, side, reverse)
Step-Up
Leg Press
Hamstrings
Deadlift
Single Leg Deadlifts
Stiff Legged Deadlift
Glute-Ham Raise
Leg Curl
Good Morning
Squat
Glutes
Hip Thrust
Hip Bridge
Squat
Deadlift
Lunge (wide)
Leg Press
Note - Various implements can be used for the above exercises, such as the barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, cables, machines, and more.
Unique Considerations for Legs
In general, leg workouts using the movements above will train the smaller stabilizer muscles of the legs (i.e hip abductors, tiny thigh muscles) which were not covered in this article. Training the body, but especially the legs, in both the sagittal and frontal planes of motion is very important in developing a strong, healthy, and limber lower body. Moving forward and back would be sagittal, and side to side frontal.
Legs are interesting in the fact that the primary joints of the legs are very robust compared to the joints of the torso thanks to bipedalism. This allows the legs to be trained daily if desired for extended periods of time, as long as volume and intensity are intelligently managed.
If rapid lower body strength or hypertrophy development is the goal, then high frequency leg training is useful to experiment with. The legs are also special in that they hold a large amount of muscle compactly. There are no organs housed and protected in the legs. Once well developed, with movement as simple as walking, the legs are metabolically activated and can burn a tremendous amount of calories with less effort than for the torso. Even at rest the muscle mass of the legs has a large influence on ones Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). As such, strong healthy legs are a key factor in overall body composition, and increasing muscle mass in the legs can be very useful for fat loss.
For the months of full body workouts and push/pull workouts, we learned and put into practice a lot of wellness habits that exist outside the gym. Sleep, diet, water, and gut health were on the agenda. For this month, heat therapy and post workout nutrition are the new lifestyle add-ons to keep recovery high and nutritional demands met.
Heat Therapy and Post-Workout Nutrition
Heat therapy, like using the sauna or taking a very hot bath, is one of the most powerful recovery tools you have available to you. Heat therapy activates heat shock proteins which heal cellular damage, increases metabolic rate and has cardiovascular benefits, and dramatically boosts growth hormone levels for a short while afterwards. All these effects and more aid greatly in your ability to recover from a hard training session, and if done 1-3x per week for 15-30 minutes each time, the same rate of progressive overload growth that this program has created can be maintained. Heat therapy is a stressor itself, so make sure the rest of your lifestyle is as low-stress as possible, that’s why laying the foundation in months 1 and 2 was so important. Leg training is one of the most stressful types of training out there, and if you’re not careful it is really easy to become injured.
8 oz coconut milk, 30 grams protein, 6 raw egg yolks, 3 g creatine, and cinnamon to taste.
To aid in the recovery from the increasing demands of this workout routine, post workout nutrition becomes more important. More protein will be needed by the body, as well as cellular and hormonal building blocks like cholesterol.
Drink this muscle building shake after every leg and full body workout to ensure you’re getting the macro and micronutrients your body needs to build muscle and synthesize steroidal hormones.
Leg Workouts
Below are the leg workouts to be used for month three and beyond of the WFO workout routine.
Leg Workout (A)
3x20 Seated Calf Raises
5x5 Squats
4x8 Hip Thrusts
5x10 Glute Ham Raise
Leg Workout (B)
3x20 Standing Calf Raises
5x5 Deadlifts
4x8 Front Squats
5x10 Cossack Squats
525 lb Deadlift by Stefan Burns
While the exercises for each workout above are best suited for the rep ranges given (5x5, 4x8, 5x10), cycling the rep ranges in-between exercises will stimulate new adaptations with the same three exercises per workout. Exercises can be adapted or changed too, there is nothing wrong with that.
Be very thoughtful when changing exercises though, and don’t change exercises often, because it’s easy to begin altering all the variables for fun rather than stick to the plan that will ensure progress and the achievement of goals set. The gym is a place to train your discipline. Forget what you want to do or what’s fun, do what you need to do, and find a way to enjoy that process.
Leg Workout C below is designed for a more athletic focus, and Leg Workout D for more aesthetic driven goals:
Leg Workout (C)
3x20 Reverse Calf Raises
Hip Thrusts 5x5
Lunges 4x8
Cossack Squats 5x10
Prowler Sprints 5x30 yards
Athletic Focus
Leg Workout (D)
3x20 Reverse Calf Raises
3x30 Standing Calf Raises
5x5 Front Squats
4x12 Glute Ham Raise
5x15 Lunges (wide)
Aesthetic Focus
Combined with full body and push & pull workouts, you can start to see how adaptable these routines are. For legs, the rep and set schemes are always given lower rep range strength priority on the dedicated leg day (for example the 5x5 compound movement), with the full body workouts using the other reps ranges more typical for hypertrophy. Because of this, the full body and push + pull workouts need to be slightly altered from months 1 and 2. This isn’t a problem because the overall strategy employed here is program flexibility. After part six, you’ll have the know-how and experience to be able to dynamically build your workout routine every week from the different types of workouts presented, while still following a clear path towards progressive overload.
The two weeks of programming below are to be repeated twice over the course of part 3, which like the other parts is a month in duration. As with part 2, weights for the first week of this month will be the same as the last week of month 2. Increase weights by 5% for week 2, and by another 5% for week 4. This is the cadence that will be established, 5% increases every two weeks. When stress is low and recovery is high, this is very manageable for a long time, especially when the starting weights were in the 40-50% 1 rep max range.
Month 3 Workout Routine
Week 1
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Hip Thrusts
4x8 Pull-Ups
5x10 Pec Deck
3x15 Hanging Leg Raises
Tuesday - Pull
One-Arm Lat Pulldowns 3x20
Barbell Rows 4x6
Chin-Ups 3x10
Facepulls 3x15
DB Curls 3x10
Wednesday - Legs
5x10 Ab Wheel Rollouts
3x20 Seated Calf Raises
5x5 Squats
4x8 Hip Thrusts
5x10 Glute Ham Raise
Thursday - Push
5x5 Incline Press
4x8 Dumbbell Incline Press
5x10 Pec Deck
3x12 Skullcrushers
Friday - Full Body
5x5 Deadlifts
4x8 DB Press
5x10 Leg Press
3x30 Reverse Crunches
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
Week 2
Monday - Full Body
5x5 Squats
4x8 Pull-Ups
5x10 Pec Deck
3x15 Hanging Leg Raises
Tuesday - Push
Dumbbell Front Raises 3x20
Bench Press 4x6
Kettlebell Press 3x10
Lateral Raises 3x15
Tricep Cable Extensions 3x10
Wednesday - Legs
5x10 Ab Wheel Rollouts
3x20 Standing Calf Raises
5x5 Deadlifts
4x8 Front Squats
5x10 Cossack Squats
Thursday - Pull
5x5 Barbell Rows
4x8 Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull Downs
5x10 One-Arm Seated Cable Rows
3x12 Hammer Curls
Friday - Full Body
5x5 Incline Press
4x8 Lunges
5x10 Pull-Ups
3x20 Cable Woodchops
Saturday & Sunday - Rest
Follow Progressive Overload
With the routines used for month 3 of the WFO workout plan, legs are trained 3x a week, upper body 4x a week, and core 3x a week. The rest day on Wednesday was eliminated, in effect only increasing leg frequency, volume, and intensity compared to part 2. Training legs twice a week, as was done in part 2, is effective, but training legs 3x a week is where the real magic happens. Recovery practices are extra important now though. Heat therapy is introduced in part 3 because leg training is very stressful and metabolically demanding; heat therapy simply wasn’t needed until now, and the extra endogenous growth hormone production will benefit recovery and overall growth.
For part 4 we discuss arm & forearm training, how much arm size you can realistically add in a month with an arm focused routine, and how experience with this training philosophy lays the foundation for intuitive training.
Health Benefits of Panax Ginseng
Asian ginseng is one of the most popular herbal supplements in the world. Panax ginseng has been used for millennia in Eastern traditions as a medicinal herb for its health-giving properties. It’s proven to be safe, and modern scientific research has now proven many of it’s widely known health benefits such as reduced risk of cancer and a strengthened immune system.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated November 2021. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
You’ve probably heard of ginseng before, either American, Asian, or Chinese ginseng. Asian ginseng, also known as panax ginseng is one of the most popular herbal supplements in the world, and for good reason. This medicinal herb has been used for millennia in Eastern traditions for its health-giving properties. It’s proven to be safe, and modern scientific research has proven many of it’s already known health benefits such as reduced risk of cancer and a strengthened immune system. Read on to learn how you can incorporate panax ginseng into your wellness routine in order to improve your health!
What is Ginseng?
Raw ginseng root
To establish the health benefits of ginseng, it’s important to understand the plant genus.
Ginseng is a root plant found in temperate climates across the globe. There are three sub-types: Korean ginseng (P. Ginseng), Chinese ginseng (P. Notoginseng) and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius). All three types of ginseng are used medicinally. Korean ginseng is also known as panax ginseng, and this type of ginseng is the focus of this article.
Panax ginseng is the most thoroughly studied of the three types of ginseng, and therefore the safest in terms of dosing recommendations. American ginseng is relatively well-studied, and Chinese ginseng is far less common in both the environment and the medical literature. All three species of ginseng appear to have potent health benefits if taken appropriately, from reducing cancer risk to improving subjective well-being.
Ginseng reduces Inflammation and lowers risk of Cancer
Panax ginseng is a powerful antioxidant (1), especially after extraction and concentration of ginsenosides (the active ingredient). To accomplish this, the root is processed and the active components are extracted using ethanol. The other health effects, namely lower inflammation and reduced risk of cancer, appear to work downstream of it’s ability to increase all three main antioxidant enzymes (OD, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase). Antioxidants are important for human health because they reduce inflammation.
The process of oxidation (redox), where a chemical loses electrons, releases free radicals (hydrogen ions). Free radicals are highly reactive and can lead to chain reactions that may damage the cells of organisms. This is the root cause of chronic inflammation.
The study cited above used dermatitis patients as the trial group. Dermatitis is an inflammatory skin condition. Antioxidant products like ginseng have the potential to reduce symptoms for a wide range of inflammatory conditions, and also for conditions with inflammation as a secondary side effect.
Inflammation is also a main driver of cancer (2), and panax ginseng has been studied to notably reduce colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic (3), and overall cancer risk (4).
Ginseng strengthens the Immune System and lowers Blood Glucose
One of the best ways to test the immune-boosting qualities of a research compound is to test it on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and ginseng has been studied under these conditions and was shown to alleviate adverse affects from chemotherapy (5). Chemotherapy significantly inhibits immune function because it destroys many cells that are necessary for proper immune function. The study, which administered ginseng to cancer patients that received chemo treatment, found that the group taking ginseng had notably improved immune function once the treatment was completed.
Stop viruses with ginseng
Immune-boosting products like ginseng and elderberry aren’t only good for those with cancer, and it’s believed those beneficial effects from the ginseng can still be useful for preventative health. Year round or even just seasonally during the winter, or for those who get sick with the common cold or flu more frequently than normal, ginseng is a supplement to take for a trial run. These products are also typically known and recommended to people in fields of work that expose them to increased pathogens, like schoolteachers, doctors, or those in public service.
Ginseng has powerful immune regulating effects, and it also has the ability to beneficially assist the circulatory system. As you can see the postive effects of panax ginseng are wide ranging. By boosting the circulatory system, ginseng is able to lower blood glucose levels (6), for most a very good thing) an increase blood flow (7).
Ginseng improves Mood, promotes Calm, and enhances Sleep.
It’s been known for over one thousand years in Traditional Chinese Medicine that panax ginseng can improve mood in humans with mood disorders, but modern medicine is just now catching on to studying these more subjective health markers. Ginseng can be especially effective for those with depressive disorders since the product is a minor stimulant and a tonic. And even though ginseng is a mild stimulate, it helps bring about a sense of calmness (8).
Knowing panax ginseng helps with depression is worthwhile because it’s better to use natural medicine to solve health problems at their onset. This is important because mental health drugs tend to be some of the most addictive and laden with side effects. You never want to reduce your health to improve one other.
Panax ginseng not only improved general mental health, but also aided social functioning in those struggling with socializing. These issues are uniquely connected for each individual. Elderly Koreans with Alzheimers reduced their rate of cognitive decline with ginseng (9), and ginseng helps improve sleep quality (10), which everyone knows is vital to proper brain health and function.
Keep Ginseng in your Cupboard
When you’re more likely to get sick, periods of high stress, traveling, and to help improve your mood and well-being, ginseng is helpful to have on hand. Especially with a cold or flu, the sooner you can begin supplementing with panax ginseng, elderberry, and zinc the more symptoms will be damped and duration of the sickness will be reduced.
Ginseng can be taken daily safely for up to a few months. As a holistic health supplement, panax ginseng can be taken to improve health while factors like diet, exercise, sleep, and sun exposure are improved. Keep taking the below recommend dosages of ginseng until you feel better. For daily preventative health 200 mg once a day up to 3000 mg spread out for acute uses are safe. Store all supplements somewhere cool and dry and the ginseng supplement should stay good for a long time.
My Recommended Ginseng Supplement
There are two factors I consider when choosing a supplement brand: whether the company tests their products and whether the product is based on research. Illuminate Labs does both. They’re a supplement manufacturer that shares all of their test results on their website which is unheard of. They also share all of the medical research papers that went into their product formulation. The Illuminate Labs ginseng extract supplement is my favorite panax ginseng supplement it’s great knowing that what I use is safe and tested.
References
Hong CE, Lyu SY. Anti-inflammatory and Anti-oxidative Effects of Korean Red Ginseng Extract in Human Keratinocytes. Immune Netw. 2011;11(1):42-9.
Coussens LM, Werb Z. Inflammation and cancer. Nature. 2002;420(6917):860-7.
Yun TK, Choi SY. Preventive effect of ginseng intake against various human cancers: a case-control study on 1987 pairs. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1995;4(4):401-8.
Yun TK, Zheng S, Choi SY, et al. Non-organ-specific preventive effect of long-term administration of Korean red ginseng extract on incidence of human cancers. J Med Food. 2010;13(3):489-94.
Cheng Lin. Ginseng alleviation of adverse effects from radiotherapy or chemother apy in liver cancer patients. Shanghai Cancer Hospital, Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai 200032. 1989-02
Luo JZ, Luo L. Ginseng on hyperglycemia: effects and mechanisms. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009;6(4):423-7.
Jovanovski E, Jenkins A, Dias AG, et al. Effects of Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mayer) and its isolated ginsenosides and polysaccharides on arterial stiffness in healthy individuals. Am J Hypertens. 2010;23(5):469-72.
Reay JL, Scholey AB, Kennedy DO. Panax ginseng (G115) improves aspects of working memory performance and subjective ratings of calmness in healthy young adults. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2010;25(6):462-71.
Heo JH, Lee ST, Chu K, et al. An open-label trial of Korean red ginseng as an adjuvant treatment for cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Neurol. 2008;15(8):865-8.
Kitaoka K, Uchida K, Okamoto N, et al. Fermented ginseng improves the first-night effect in humans. Sleep. 2009;32(3):413-21.
Herbs that can significantly increase testosterone levels exist and are quite effective at helping remedy the symptoms of low testosterone such as low energy and strength, poor libido and fertility, depression and anxiety, reduced confidence and drive, and low muscle mass. Cistanche, tongkat ali, and ashwagandha are proven testosterone boosters that importantly, are also safe for use. Learn more!