Tag Archives: Preventative Care

Post #31 – What supplements to take for Optimal Health?

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Functional Medicine, Nutrition, Optimal Health, Optimal Nutrition, Supplements

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On June 8, 2014, I wrote a blog post #15, “Is taking multivitamin and supplements helpful, harmless or harmful?” There I described my thinking on this subject and what I was taking at that time as supplements. Back then I was taking supplement in 29 pills. These days, it is up to 42 pills! So, to anyone watching, it must feel a little more than crazy.

Over the holidays, when family and friends saw me take all those supplement pills, I kept getting these questions:

“What are all these pills you are taking?”

Do you need all these supplements?

Is it even safe to take all these on a daily basis?

Finally, I pulled out my bag of supplements and gave them the full tour. I particularly wanted to hear my niece’s opinion, who is a cardiologist, to understand if I was doing anything wrong.

So, I thought this was a good topic to revisit.

Here is what I am taking these days and why, and a little background how I got there. The following chart summarizes the supplements, their brand names and generally what there are for.

No. Vendor Name Description # Pills per Day
1.

 

 Xtendlife Total Balance Men’s Premium Daily multivitamins, minerals. It also have many other items generally considered beneficial 7
2. Xtendlife Omega 3/ QH Ultra Fish Oil, Omega 6, Omega 9, Ubiqunol 4
3. Nature’s Bounty Flaxseed Oil 1200 mg each Flaxseed Oil 2
4. Nature’s Bounty D3-2000 2000 mg each Vitamin D3 2
5. LifeExtension Glucosamine / Chondroitin Glucosamine Sulfate and Chondroitin Sulfate – for joint health 2
6. NOW Calcium Citrate

250 mg calcium each

 Along with Vitamin D, Manganese, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium required for absorption – for bone health 2
7. Nature’s Plus Red Rice Yeast

600 mg each

 To manage cholesterol 2
8. Xtendlife Male Rejuvinator For prostate health 6
9. Life Extension Super Miaforte For Low T 4
10. RAW Probiotics Ultimate Care-100 Billion Garden of Life 34 different strains of bacteria 1
11. VitaminShoppe B-Complex 50 All B Vitamins – recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
12. Life Extension Optimized Folate

L-Methylfolate 1000 mg

 Metabolically active form of folic acid -– recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
13. MethylCobamin Vitamin B-12 1mg Recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
14. SOLGRID Chelated Molybdenum Recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
15. VitaminShoppe Alpha Lipoic Acid 100 mg Recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
16. KAL Magnesium 400mg each Recommended by Genova Diagnostics 1
17. VitaminShoppe CoQ-10

200 mg

 Additional amount for allergies and liver support 1
18. VitaminShoppe NAC N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine 600mg For hay fever/ rag weed allergies and liver support 2
19. VitaminShoppe Milk Thistle extract 300mg For hay fever/ rag weed allergies and liver support 1

Here is the story of how I got to my current 42 pills a day regime.

I started with the daily multivitamin.

That is the most basic. I know that many people, including some of the physicians I have had, believe that it is best to get the basic vitamins and minerals “in a natural way”. I guess that means from what we eat or drink. But doing the research on this topic I have decided that there isn’t much “natural” about our lifestyle.

Eating foods that include pizzas, fried ice creams, drinking caramel macchiatos, going through eating and dieting binges, living in temperature controlled houses and offices, using gadgets and gizmos for everything, rushing to doctors for prescription for every symptom, I am not sure what it really means to get nutrients that body needs in a “natural way”. And, with all the technology that we use to grow our food these days, even fruits and vegetable can hardly be called “natural”.

Any doctor will tell you, yes if you are deficit in any of the basic vitamins and minerals, you can develop health issues. The way I look at it, why would I want to chance having deficit of any of these essential items? So, as far as I am concerned, daily dose of all essential vitamins and minerals is a must.

My search for the best multivitamin in the marketplace led me to Xtendlife. And, as you can see in this table below, their super-duper multivitamin product is Total Balance Men’s Premium – which includes lots of other well-known herbs and molecules in additional to the essential vitamins and minerals. So, that is what I have been taking. In the table, each underscored item is a hyperlink to the detail about that item on Xtendlife’s website. In many cases, hyperlink shows the literature they have used to determine the daily optimal dose, which in some cases you will notice is much more than 100% for USDA recommended daily allowance (RDA).

Supplement Facts (Total Balance Men’s Premium multivitamin) Serving size: 7 Tablets Servings per container: 15
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value*
Calories 25
     Calories from fat 5
Vitamin A 5000 IU 100%
(from Natural mixed carotenoids)
Vitamin C 285 mg 480%
(from 180 mg of Calcium ascorbate, 200 mg of Potassium ascorbate and 40 mg of  Ascorbyl palmitate)
Vitamin D3 500 IU 130%
(as Cholecalciferol)
Vitamin E 100 IU 330%
(as D-Alpha tocopheryl succinate from vegetable and soy bean oils 1 mg = 1.21 IU)
Vitamin K2 180 mcg 230%
(as Menaquinone)
Thiamin 10 mg 670%
(from 14 mg of Thiamin hydrochloride)
Riboflavin 10 mg 590%
(from 21 mg of Riboflavin-5-phosphate)
Niacin 27 mg 140%
(from 15 mg of Nicotinic acid, 15 mg of Niacinamide and 0.97 mg Chromium nicotinate)
Vitamin B6  8mg 400%
(from 12 mg of Pyridoxal-5-phosphate)
Folic Acid 300 mcg 80%
Vitamin B12  25 mcg 420%
(as Cobamamide)
Biotin 400 mcg 130%
Pantothenic acid 41 mg 410%
(from 48 mg Calcium pantothenate)
Calcium 50 mg 6%
(from 90 mg of Dicalcium phosphate, 180 mg of Calcium ascorbate, 60 mg of Calcium magnesium inositol hexaphosphate and 48 mg of Calcium pantothenate)
Phosphorus 28 mg 4%
(from 90 mg of Dicalcium phosphate, 60 mg of Calcium magnesium inositol hexaphosphate, 21 mg of  Riboflavin- 5-phosphate and 12 mg of Pyridoxal- 5-phosphate)
Iodine 150 mcg 100%
(from 197 mcg Potassium iodide)
Magnesium 67 mg 20%
(from 200 mg of Magnesium citrate, 102 mg of Magnesium stearate and 60 mg of Calcium magnesium inositol hexaphosphate)
Zinc 19 mg 130%
(from 33 mg of Zinc acetate dihydrate and 31 mg of Zinc citrate)
Selenium 100 mcg 140%
(from 250 mcg of L-selenomethionine)
Copper 0.2 mg 10%
(from 1.43 mg of Copper gluconate)
Manganese 2 mg 100%
(from 8 mg of Manganese citrate)
Chromium 106 mcg 90%
(from 970 mcg of Chromium nicotinate)
Molybdenum 64 mcg 90%
(from 163 mcg of Sodium molybdate)
Potassium 74 mg 2%
(from 200 mg of Potassium ascorbate, 100 mg of Tripotassium citrate and 0.197 mg of Potassium iodide)
RNA 150 mg **
(Ribonucleic acid, from yeast)
Green tea extract 100 mg **
(from Camellia sinensis, leaf)
(providing 80 mg of catechins)
Milk thistle extract  100 mg **
(from Silybum marianum, seed)
(providing 80 mg of silymarins)
Soy lecithin 100 mg **
(a source of Phosphatidyl choline)
Betain HCL 99 mg **
MSM 99 mg **
(Methylsulfonyl methane)
Choline bitartrate 93 mg **
DMG HCL 90 mg **
N-acetyl glucosamine  79 mg **
(from Crustacean shells)
Hesperidin 78 mg **
(from Citrus aurantium (Bitter orange) fruit)
N-acetyl L-cysteine 74 mg **
Horsetail extract 60 mg **
(from Equisetum arvense, stem & leaf)
Inositol 59 mg **
(from 50 mg of Inositol and 60 mg of Calcium magnesium inositol hexaphosphate)
SAMe 51 mg **
(from 98 mg S-adenosylmethionine tosylate)
Alpha lipoic acid 50 mg **
Bacopa extract 50 mg **
(from Bacopa monnieri, leaf)
(providing 15 mg of bacosides)
Black cumin extract  50 mg **
(from Nigella sativa, seed)
(equivalent to 190 mg of Black cumin seeds)
Ginger extract 50 mg **
(from Zingiber officinale, root)
(providing 2.5mg of gingerols)
Ginkgo extract 50 mg **
(from Ginkgo Biloba,leaf)
(providing 12.5 mg of ginkgo flavonoglycosides and 3 mg of terpene lactones)
Guggul gum extract 50 mg **
(from Commiphora mukul, gum exudate)
(providing 1.25 mg of guggulsterones)
PABA 50 mg **
(p-Aminobenzoic acid)
Pine bark extract  50 mg **
(from Pinus massoniana, bark)
Turmeric extract 50 mg **
(from Curcuma longa, root)
(providing 47.5 mg of curcuminoids)
5-Hydroxytryptophan  49 mg **
(from Griffonia simplicifolia, seed)
Myricetin 49 mg **
(from 70 mg of Myrica cerifera (Bayberry), leaf)
Grape seed extract  30 mg **
(from Vitis vinifera, species)
(providing at least 450 mg/g phenolics)
Mineral sea salts 30 mg **
(providing trace elements including strontium, tungsten and rubidium)
Piperine 28 mg **
(from 30 mg of Piper nigrum extract (Black pepper), fruit extract)
Trans-resveratrol 25 mg **
(from 50 mg of Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), root)
Isoflavones 20 mg **
(from 50 mg of Soybean extract)
Coenzyme Q-10  19 mg **
Luteolin 18 mg **
(from Arachis hypogaea (Peanut), shell)
Alfalfa extract  10 mg **
(from Medicago sativa, aerial parts)
(equivalent to 110 mg of fresh alfalfa)
Phosphatidyl L-serine  9 mg **
(from 50 mg of Soybean lecithin)
Policosanol 8 mg **
(from 17 mg of Sugar cane extract)
Red clover extract  7 mg **
(from Trifolium pratense, aerial parts)
(providing 2.5 mg of isoflavones)
ATP 5 mg **
(Adenosine triphosphate, from Yeast)
Tocotrienol/tocopherol complex 2 mg **
(from 10 mg of Tocomin® (from Palm tree oil))
Vinpocetine 2 mg **
(from Criocerus longiflorus, whole plant)
Boron 720 mcg **
(from 12 mg of Boron citrate)
Amino Acid Blend
L-lysine HCL 164.00 mg **
L-carnosine 148.50 mg **
L-tyrosine 100.00 mg **
L-arginine HCL 90.00 mg **
L-methionine 89.55 mg **
L-ornithine HCL 50.00 mg **
L-proline 50.00 mg **
L-cysteine 49.75 mg **
L-glutamine 49.75 mg **
L-pyroglutamic acid 49.75 mg **
Taurine 49.25 mg **
(Reduced) L-glutathione 49.00 mg **
Male Health Support Blend
Phytosterols 190 mg **
(from 200 mg Soybean extract)
Saw palmetto extract  160 mg **
(from Serenoa repens fruit)
(providing 40 mg of fatty acids)
Nettle extract 100 mg **
(from Urticae dioica root)
Chrysin 99 mg **
(from Oroxylum indicum bark)
Zinc acetate dihydrate 33 mg **
Lycopene 99 mcg **
(from 15 mg of Tomato extract)
Enzyme Blend
Bromelain 50 mg **
(from Pineapple stem)
Nattozimes® 50 mg **
(Protease from fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae & Aspergillus melleus)
Amylase 30 mg **
(from fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae)
Lipase 20 mg **
(from fermentation of Aspergillus niger)
Immunity Stimulating Blend
Aloe vera  50 mg **
(from Aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder)
(equivalent to 10,000 mg of Aloe leaf juice)
Olive leaf extract  50 mg **
(from Olea europaea, leaf)
(providing 7.5 mg of oleuropein)
Beta glucan 35 mg **
(from yeast)
Tea polysaccharides 12 mg **
(from 50 mg of Camellia sinensis leaf)
Eye Health Blend
Bilberry extract 40 mg **
(from Vaccinum myrtillus fruit)
(providing 10 mg of proanthocyanins and anthocyanins)
Rutin  9 mg **
(from Saphorae japonica bud)
Lutein  2.4 mg **
(from 50 mg of Aztec marigold flower)
Astaxanthin 800 mcg **
(from 40 mg of Haematococcus pluvialis)
Zeaxanthin 475 mcg **
(from 10 mg of Aztec marigold flower)

I had started taking Vitamin D-3, several years ago, when my routine blood work showed deficiency. Statistics show that over 70% of people living in Northern hemisphere are deficient in Vitamin D-3. There are over 500 different genes that Vitamin D can switch on and off. And, every single cell in our body has a receptor for Vitamin D. Looks like a must supplement to me! Two pills a day of Nature’s bounty 2000mg per day is the dose I have chosen.

Next must for me after the multivitamins and Vitamin D is Omega 3. I have been taking both based on Fish Oil and Flax Seed Oil. Again, I found Xtendlife Omega 3 as the best product in the market. I have chosen to take to their super-duper product, Ultra QH, which in additional to Omega 3, contains Omega 6, Omega 9 and Ubiqunol. For flax seed oil, I selected Nature’s Bounty product. There are different recommendations on minimum vs. optimal. I have settled on four pills of Ultra QH and 2 pills of flax seed oil.

To these I added Glucosamine Sulfate and Chondroitin Sulfate for joint health. Most primary physicians are recommending these for over-50 patients for joint health. Add to that Calcium Citrate for bone health (again physicians recommend these routinely for over-50 patients, especially women).

When I told my physician that I wanted to get off Lipitor and demonstrated to him that with exercise and nutrition I had gotten to within striking range of the target of 100 for LDL, he recommended Red Rice Yeast as “natural statin”. In the last two tests, my LDL has been 90 and 88. So, I am keeping on with Red Rice yeast.

My primary physician had recommended Saw Palmetto for prostate health. I found a good formulation, at VitaminShoppe of Saw Palmetto & Pygeum Complex. That worked well for me. Then I found even a better formulation, Male Rejuvinator at Xtendlife.

Early last year, I did a full hormone panel of tests and found that my Testosterone was quite low. In my search for supplements to rebuild Testosterone, I came across a formulation called Super Miaforte from Life Extension. I have been taking Super Miaforte for about nine months now. Follow up test results for Testosterone have been very encouraging so far.

So, in the middle of last year, I made an appointment with University of Maryland Medical Center, School of Integrative Medicine clinic. There I met with Dr. Lauren Richter, a functional medicine specialist. I told her my objective of purposely living to 120, discussed my lifestyle, showed her all the supplements I was taking and posed to her this question: So, what supplement should I take for an optimal health?

Instead of looking at me cross-eyed, she said that she (and functional medicine specialists) has a very specific approach to figuring out the optimal nutrition in-take. She recommended that I go through blood/urine test called NutrEval FMV by Genova Diagnostics. The tests involve looking at a large number of metabolic biomarkers, and then as a result, deducing very specific recommendations about supplements for optimal health.

Test results pointed out high need for me for the entire B-complex (Thimain -B1, Riboflavin -B2, Niacin-B3, Pyridxine-B6, Biotin-B7, Folic Acid -B9, and Cobalamin-B12), Magnesium and need for me to add Vitamin C, alpha-Lipoic Acid, Molybdenum and Zinc and Probiotics to what I was already taking. Results contained very specific quantities for these. Dr. Richter reviewed what I was already taking and told to me to continue taking those.

Finally, when I discussed with Dr. Richter, my past history of hay fever/allergies, which had re-emerged for a couple of weeks at the beginning of this past fall, she recommended I take Milk Thistle, up the quantity of CoQ10 and add N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) 600mg –all in support of the liver.

So, at that point, I added these recommended supplements to my regime.

I have been doing this full regime faithfully now for about five months. I definitely have had more energy than before. I have not really experienced any side effects so far.

So, there you have it – full story of my supplement regime.

What do you think?

What is your practice/experience/research on supplements?

I would love to hear.

Post #13 – Ever heard of Functional Medicine?

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Aging, Functional Medicine, Living to 120, Reversing Chronic Diseases, Vigor, Vitality

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In my previous blog posts, I have talked about curing my allergies, fixing migraines, and curing a whole host of other issues without pharmacological medicines. Yes, actually curing these issues and not just managing or controlling the symptoms.

For the longest amount of time, I found it difficult to talk about to these things with my physicians or even lay people. I must admit it all sounded so much like woo doo even to me as I would talk about it. A common refrain from doctors was, “We only practice evidence based medicine.” I did not know what to believe or not believe, except that from my personal experience (evidence of n=1), I could prove that these things work.

All that changed, when last year Kimberly and I attended the Health and Wellness Conference 2013 at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine at the Center of Integrative Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. There we heard talks about yoga, Qi Gong, nutrition, meditation, detoxing, and many other so called “alternative” therapies in the setting of Evidence Based Medicine.

Key note speaker was Mark Hyman, MD. He has a private practice Ultra Wellness Center in Massachusetts. He wrote a book, The Blood Sugar Solution, which received endorsement from President Bill Clinton. He talked about the diagnosis and cure of Diabesity, a term he has coined as combination of diabetes and obesity. And, he talked about diabesity in the context of what he called Functional Medicine.

Since then I have studied up quite a bit on Functional Medicine and I do believe that many of my conversations in my blog posts fit in that framework. More I dig into this topic the more entranced I am getting with this topic. I feel that functional medicine is the key to the kingdom, when it comes to wellness, vitality and living the optimal health span and life span.

Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. is considered “father” of this field. Mark Hyman calls him his mentor. Among Bland’s other accomplishments, he has founded Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute and The Institute for Functional Medicine. Recently, he has written a book, “The Disease Delusion, Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life.”

Institute for functional medicine describes functional medicine as follows:

“Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.”

So, the basic idea of functional medicine is to take a systems approach to disease and wellness rather than either chasing symptoms or taking germ theory approach that generally focuses on single point of correction. In his book, Jeffrey Bland talks of seven different systems for our bodies:

  1. Assimilation and Elimination
  2. Detoxification
  3. Defense
  4. Cellular Communication
  5. Cellular Transport
  6. Energy
  7. Structure

So the objective in functional medicine is to investigate symptoms to pinpoint one or more of these seven systems that are not working properly and then to change diet, exercise and lifestyle to fix the system imbalance and thereby the diseases and the symptoms.

The end result is often pretty low tech, and may seem underwhelming. That is, implement changes in diet, exercise and lifestyle to redirect expression of certain genes to cure a disease.

However, approach to getting there can be fairly high-tech in identifying the true root cause, identifying the systems that are out of balance and gene expressions that may be responsible for the underlying imbalance. And, as you see from the stories, results can be very profound and almost magical.

If you know someone, who is being treated for certain symptoms of chronic diseases by meds. e.g., high blood pressure, obesity, brain fog, constant fatigue, high cholesterol, inflammation, muscle aches, etc..  The meds being used often lead to side effects that need to be treated by other meds, which in turn are causing other side effects etc.. Such a person is the perfect candidates for functional medicine.

Have you heard of functional medicine?

Do you have any experience with functional medicine?

I have been looking for good certified functional medicine practitioners in our area that we could consult and also recommend to our friends and family. We have access to some lists, but no personal experience yet. Do you know of such a practitioner?

I would love to learn if you know someone.

Post #12 – My SECOND Year of Experience with Bikram Yoga

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Bikram Yoga, Living to 120, Vigor, Vitality, Yoga

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Here is my SECOND year of experience with Bikram Yoga that I wrote down in February 2014. This makes a nice sequel to my last week’s blog post, where I shared the first year of experience.

Today is Presidents Day 2014, two years after I started the Bikram Yoga. It seems like a good time to reflect on my progress with Bikram Yoga.

Experimenting for Regaining Control of Breath

At the beginning of my second year, I started experimenting and also talked to various teachers about my desire to keep control of my breath and conserve energy to perfect my poses. Most of the teachers discouraged skipping an asana, emphasizing that that asana are designed with certain flow in mind. Best suggestion, I thought, came from Rosa. She advised to do the first sets as easy as I needed to and then give my all in the second sets.

I started this technique with almost skipping the first sets. Then slowly I started to do the firsts sets lightly to build endurance and maintain form. I would then give my all in the second set, reminding myself that I could always skip the first set of the following asana if I needed to regain control of my breath. I felt better and better with this method.

Reintroducing Strength Training

One downside I found for doing Bikram only was that after a year I started to feel that my strength was waning. I did not feel as confident in simple things like lifting my laptop brief case, which is about 30lbs. In April 2013, Kimberly and I restarted working out with our trainer Saleem for one day every week. Initially, I would do three times Bikram and one time Saleem every week. For the last few months, I have settled into twice Bikram and one time Saleem. With Saleem’s workouts, my strength is definitely back. With Birkram twice a week, I am able to maintain the flexibility and balance.

Visit to the Egoscue Clinic – Crooked Body Fixers

Another thing I was quite encouraged by was improvements in my knee pain through Bikram. So, I decided to see if I could really get them to be 100% cured. For that I decided to visit with the local Egoscue Clinic. Kristen Thor, the therapist there, showed me that my knees were misaligned in that they were pronated, i.e., faced outwards. Although, knees were my major concern why I went to her, she also showed me that the reason my right shoulders kept getting stiff whenever I worked out with heavy weights is that my upper body was misaligned in that my right shoulder was rotated forward. That, she said, was also the reason why my right wrist would hurt when I would put weight on it, for example, when I did pushups. She was clearly able to demonstrate these issues.

As she worked through those issues, I also told her about my awkwardness with the Awkward Pose (Utkat Aasna) or even weighted squats. For that she showed me that my upper back lacked flexibility and did not have the proper curvature. This made it difficult for me to balance when I did the Awkward Pose or the squats. For years, Saleem and my sons have been telling me to stick my butt out while squatting, which was hard to do, according to Kristen, if my upper back did not provide me the counter balance when I was sticking my butt out.

Finally, I talked to her about how it felt difficult and my back used to get really tired when I was doing the Standing Head to Knee Pose (Dandyamana Janusheer Aasna). For that, she told me that my hips were not open and flexible enough.

So, over a period of about seven months, I worked with her. I started to feel improvements with my posture in general, my Saleem workouts, and the Bikram poses. Knees got even better. Finally, she gave me routines to do before doing my Saleem and Bikram sessions. Pre-Saleem exercises are to warm up my shoulders before the workout. Pre-Bikram e-cises are to open my hips and upper body before the class.

My knees pain is mostly gone. I can comfortably do weighted lunges, weighted squats, and single leg jump ropes. I have not really felt any significant pain in months. Although, based on memories, I still often hesitate before I do knee straining exercises, as I have been conscious of the knees for years now.

The Joe Dillon Difference

Oh yeah another thing. During our May 2013 Vistage meeting, I met our Vistage speaker Joe Dillon. He was a 69 year old in-your-face kind of guy, who has coached Olympic swimmers and thousands of other people. He got me thinking that it was possible to change my body composition, with the right nutrition. You mean I could dramatically reduce my body fat percent by simply changing what I eat? With the information I got from him and his book and videos, I dramatically changed my eating habits. With Joe Dillon’s protein shakes and Full Strength protein shakes, I added about my body weight equivalent in grams of proteins every day to my intake. I eliminated most raw sugar and flour based products from my meals and started to do a better job for sugar management. I also added to my diet fish oil (Omega-3 Ultra from X-tendlife.com), Flax Seed Oil and a better quality of daily vitamins and supplements (from Premium Daily vitamins from X-tendlife.com).

Since June 2013, when I started the program my weight has decreased only by about four to six pounds, but body fat percent has decreased from 25% to 18%. That means I have added about 7 lbs of muscles and lost about 12 lbs of fat. And, my belly fat is down by 3 inches! I like the trend.

Wow, I Can Touch My Head to My Knee and Hold!

With all these factors and as my endurance built up at Bikram, I started to do the first set more and more deeply. And, I made significant progress on some harder poses. While all of the poses can be done better and at a deeper level, by now, I can reach closer to the final expression of most poses. In the Standing Head to Knee pose, I can now touch head to knee as the final expression for the three counts, though not very gracefully. My knees get a little wobbly. I can almost do Toe Stands with hands in prayer position, but not always for the complete time. My awkward poses are fairly deep and decent, and am able to rise much more slowly in the third part. I can see my complete foot over my head in the Standing Bow. I am able to touch my head against knees in the rabbit pose. My Triangle pose is nice and deep and stable.

And, at times, if the room is not too hot, or my body is feeling up to it, I even attempt the first sets with all I got.

No More Lipitor

Oh yeah. I did two blood works to test my Cholesterol over the last seven months, WITHOUT taking Lipitor. In August, my LDL was 135, so I added Red Rice Yeast to my supplements and in January it was 124. My primary care physician said that with these types of results I can safely stay off Lipitor. Yeah! That is another big goal accomplished. Check.

So, today on Presidents Day, February 17, 2014, on my second anniversary of Bikram Yoga, where to from here:

  1. All the poses can of course be done better. I would like to keep working on improving the poses and my teachers to keep critiquing me for the finer points of my postures. Twice a week seems like good maintenance discipline. At some point, I may want to do another 30-day challenge to see if I can get another step improvement. At this time, I am doing too much other stuff to do any more than twice a week.
  2. I have already raised my goal for body composition – Six Pack at Sixty! For that I would need to get to 12% body fat percent by my birthday. I have another six months until my 60th birthday. I may need to add another couple of days’ worth of workout a week, even just aerobics or walks with weights to create the needed caloric deficit, to get to the body fat target. And, I have to make sure I am providing my body enough protein to build the needed lean mass.   Saleem has also recommended for me to do some Abs and Core workout during the week on my own.
  3. I would like to get an X-ray done of my knees to see if there is any cartilage that is worn out and not yet rebuilt. Then I could more precisely focus on getting that to 100%.
  4. Continue to do Egoscue a couple of times a week in addition to the pre-Saleem and pre-Bikram sessions. Also, work in at least one set of Egoscue Tower e-cises a week for alignment. Getting Tower in has been the hardest part for last couple of months.
  5. Ringing in my ear has not abated. I only feel it when I focus on it. I need a solution for that. Don’t have any solution yet, other than getting a hearing aid, which the Audiologist said, sometimes fixes it.

Post #11 – My first year of experience with Bikram Yoga

12 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Bikram Yoga, Reversing Chronic Diseases, Uncategorized, Vigor, Vitality, Yoga

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There are few topics on which if you get me started, it is usually very hard for me to stop.  You may even be sorry, you asked me a question.

I have already shared a couple of these in my blog posts – reversing allergies and fixing headache without meds. Here is another of my favorite subject these days – Bikram Yoga.  I have been practicing Bikram Yoga now for over two years.

Here is my first year of experience with Bikram Yoga that I wrote down in February 2013.

If this invokes any thoughts or questions, I would love to hear about it.

Our Thursday Night Date

“How about we go check out this place that does Bikram Yoga in Columbia and then we will go out to dinner somewhere there?” I asked Kimberly suggesting this as an activity for our Thursday night date.

“Ok,” She said very agreeably.

On the way there, I told her that for several weeks I had been feeling stiffness in my shoulders and at times in my neck also.  I had heard that Bikram Yoga is done in a hot room. I was thinking that may be over the upcoming long weekend for President’s day, it would help limber up my shoulders and neck.

When we got there, the woman at the front desk, Rachel, introduced herself as a Bikram Yoga teacher and gave us a tour of the facility.  She told us that we should come in with a yoga mat and three different towels, one for the mat, one for shower and a hand towel. I made up my mind right there and then, and asked Kimberly for her support and company in doing the yoga over the long weekend.

So, How Was the Class?

The next day, Kimberly said that she was not feeling very well, but went with me anyways for moral support. So, I got to experience the first class by myself, while she sat out in the lobby with a book.

As I returned from the class, she looked up from her book and asked, “So, how was the class?”

I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind, “There is a lot of growth opportunity here.”

You see, I had been working out quite regularly, for over 10 year with my trainer, Saleem Udqa.  I started with him as I was approaching 50. In fact, both Kimberly and I and even our sons Daniel and Justin have been working out under his guidance at our home.  Saleem advocates a very holistic type of regime, strength training, free weights, cardio conditioning, reaction training, TRAX, lot of conditioning, balance, stretching for flexibility and a lot of skills for everyday life. So, I thought I was in a pretty good shape. But it was not easy being in the heated yoga room and doing the poses for full 90 minutes.  I had to stop several times, either being out of breath or just too hot and feeling dizzy.  I was not even close to getting into many postures. I definitely felt very challenged.  So, I told Kimberly I was going to do the yoga every day for one week, taking full advantage of the one week subscription that I had purchased.

On the second or third day, I decided to pick up the two books by Bikram: Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class and Bikram Yoga – The Guru Behind Hot Yoga.  The first one is about the postures and the other about his life story and has details about concepts yoga.  As I read those two books I was even more intrigued about the Bikram Yoga routine. In the books, Bikram Chaudhary lays out the rationale for his routine. He described how the routine works out every part of the body, both inside and out.  And, he described the principle of extension and contraction, to flush out all organs in the body with oxygen rich blood flow and how that is a key to healing.  In his books, he also challenges readers to do the routine every day for 60 days and promises that after 60 days, they will be able to do 80% of the postures 80% right.

So, I announced to Kimberly that I was going to put our workout with Saleem on a hold and to do Bikram Yoga every day for 60 days.

Why am I Having Such a Hard Time Simply Bending Backwards?

It took about a week to get used to the heat and a few more days before I started to get through the whole routine without having to take breaks.  After a couple of weeks, I could tell what posture was coming next and see in my mind the whole routine.  About then I also started having breakthroughs in different postures.

Well into the third week, I still could not even bend backwards for the Camel pose without getting dizzy.  Finally, I asked yoga teacher Kat, “Why am I having such a hard time simply bending backwards? It does not seem the Camel pose by itself is such big a deal.”  She told me that that experience was very common and I simply needed to push through it. And, lo and behold, that day I “pushed through it” and was able to bend backwards without getting dizzy.

For the Firm Fixed pose, in the beginning I had excruciating pain in my knees. I could not even fully sit between my feet with my butt on the ground. When knees got better, ankles hurt. When ankles got better, quads were too tight and hurt. Each day my body got more and more limber until few days later, I was able to push through and do the full pose.

Learning the Nuances

Starting with the fourth week, Kimberly joined in. By that time, having accompanied me so many times, she had become, according to one teacher, “the most well-known non-yoga student in the studio”. So, now I had someone to talk to in detail about different postures.  I had read through the technical details of poses in Bikram’s book.  We started comparing where we were with respect to the final expression of the poses.  I would also talk to other guys in the locker room to get hints and tips. I noticed that because of me showing up every day I was progressing quite fast and was soon beyond where a lot of guys were who had been doing Bikram Yoga for much longer but not as regularly.

We would also discuss what we would hear from different teachers in their dialogue. Kimberly and I would always talk about and share any nuance we would learn. Heidi would always emphasize breathing. So, we learned how to breathe properly from her. Kat started us off on the fully relaxation during the last Shava asana. So, I started developing a routine to fully take advantage of Shava asana at the end. I started setting my mat right next to the teachers, so it would be easier for them to see me doing things wrong and correct me. I would always take time to thank them for correcting me, so they would feel even more comfortable correcting me. When Bikram Chaudhary was in the area, we went to hear his talk to pick up any further motivation and nuances.

In those beginning months, my yoga practice also seemed very susceptible to who was teaching the class. I would come home, discouraged, wiped out, elated, encouraged or feeling that room was all over the place based on who was teaching. That was in spite of the fact that I found I could always learn something new from every teacher. I even requested a couple of teachers if they could enunciate verbs a little louder. As the time passed, I learned to focus more and more on myself and it became easier to hear and stay in sync with the teachers.

60-day Obsession

It turned out to be not that easy to do yoga every single day.  I was quite busy at the office and was also traveling quite a bit. Once I had a dinner meeting in Crystal City. So, I found a studio in Falls Church for an afternoon class before the meeting. While traveling to Peachtree City, I found a studio in Decatur, GA outside Emory University.  I found a hotel room near the studio, did a session from 7:30 to 9pm and then another session starting at 5:30am the next morning.

One day I flew myself back from Fayetteville, NC, did an afternoon conference call, ate a piece of cold Mediterranean pizza while on the call and then ran off to do yoga. With the very first set of postures, as I bent down for Head to Feet pose, I felt like I was going to throw up.  After completing the yoga session with great difficulty, I did a forced throw up to purge my stomach. I came home and got sick anyways. I realized that I had been pushing myself way too hard and had probably compromised my immune system – before I even talk about eating pizza right before yoga. I still had one week to go before my 60 days were up.  It took me 5 days to heal, after which I did do the last week to complete my 60 day personal challenge.

The Rewards, Proselytizing and Bikram Yoga Lifestyle

After 60 days, it did seem that I was doing about 80% of the postures about 80% right. Right after completing 60 days, I went in for my blood work for cholesterol.  That came out really well. LDL was lowest it had been for a while. HDL was highest it had been for a while. My weight was in ideal range, between 162 and 164 lbs. My knee pain had mostly abated.  I had started prancing on my toes down the stairs. My sinuses had become very clear.  I had lost an inch of my height over the last few years; I got most of that back.  My meditation felt deeper and quieter.   I noticed that Kimberly’s skin was much more moist and softer than before. She has had very dry skin in the past. She noticed that her varicose veins were disappearing.

After that initial period, Kimberly and I decided that we will just do Bikram as the main form of our physical exercise and discontinue Saleem.  I decided that may be this was the way to take my health to the next level and achieve my goal that I set a couple of years ago, “Better health at 60 than at 50.” So, we settled into our routine of yoga 3 times a week.

6 months later, in August, I went in for a complete physical. Everything was still great.

When Boys came home during the summer, we introduced them both to Bikram Yoga.  Both seemed to enjoy it and benefited from it. Excited about our new find, we also introduced Bikram friends and family. We personally introduced about half-a-dozen people to Bikram. Out of all those folks, two have taken this up as a regular part of their life.

We took almost 3-week break from Yoga in October when we did Pancha Karma program at the Ayurveda Institute in Albuquerque, NM. During the PK program, while on Kitchuri, i.e., Rice and Lentils, diet, body was too weak to handle the full Bikram routine.  In fact, we learned a very gentle form of Yoga at the Institute, they called Ayuer Yoga.

At the beginning of 2013, I decided to do another 30 day challenge and may be even turn that into 60 day challenge, if I was feeling good.  After 11 days, I got sick.  I think, again, I had been pushing myself hard, both at work and otherwise.  So, I backed off for a few days.  Another time, my lower back was hurting a little.  But against my better judgment, I chose to push through all the postures, including sit ups, which teachers always remind us to skip if there are any issues with the back.  That night my whole back froze.  It took me four five days to limber it up to get back to normal.

One Year Later

So, on President’s day 2013, a year later, as I write this, where am I?

  1. Bikram Yoga continues to offer significant potential for growth, in conditioning, balance, flexibility and general health.
  2. I can do most of the postures quite well. All of these postures can always be done better. Progress happens every time, but mostly in inches and centimeters
  3. For certain postures, I have yet to achieve anywhere close to full final expression, notably, for Standing Head to Knee and Toe Stand poses.
  4. I always feel like pushing myself, but lately I have been more conscious of keeping control of my breath.  It seems appropriate to back off, if I am losing control of my breath. So, I skip one or both sets of a pose to regain control of my breath and then jump back in.
  5. Based on above observations, I am thinking of an experiment: just to do only every other pose, so I will have enough energy available to perfect the postures, while maintaining control of my breath.  In one session, I will do poses 1, 3, 5… and then next time 2, 4, 6 etc. Once perfected I would start doing all 26 postures together again.
  6. Although I have much more flexibility and balance than I had a year ago, I don’t feel quite as strong as I used to feel. I have been wondering about experimenting with strength training to supplement yoga.

About 2 to 3 months into Bikram Yoga, I started experiencing ringing in my ears.  I don’t know if that was a coincidence.  I got the ears checked without any definitive diagnostic or cure. Ayuervedic Institute folks thought it was correlated with high Vata. I would like to heal this.

Post #9 – When it comes to health, vitality, and aging what is really possible?

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Aging, Reversing Chronic Diseases, Vigor, Vitality

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We have all heard the story. Until Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier, most folks believed that it was not possible to run at that speed. Few years after Bannister demonstrated that it was possible to run a 4 minute mile, even high schoolers were attempting that record. It became not just possible but an achievable goal.

I believe the same is also true in health, vitality and aging. It was not really that long when the first successful open heart surgery was demonstrated. Now, over half a million bypass surgeries are performed every year in the U.S. alone.

So, it is with this expectation of possible becoming achievable and eventually pervasive, I find it very inspiring to learn what is really possible when it comes to health, vitality and aging., without the intervention of “modern medicine”. Is possible to bypass the bypass surgery?

Through my personal and others experiences and documented studies, I have been collecting examples of what is possible in prevention of diseases or restoration of health and even more importantly how.

Here are some exciting possibilities I have discovered, so far:

  1. Allergies can be reversed

Evidence – My personal experience (see my blog post from last week)

How – By changing what we eat, detoxifying colon, liver, and kidneys and taking supplements to rebuild liver, e.g., CoQ10, Milk Thistle.

  1. Cartilage in Joints such as knees (often diagnosed as Arthritis) can be rebuilt

Evidence – My personal experience

How – By realigning joints if necessary, Bikram Yoga, nutritional supplements Glucosamine/Chondroitin, strength training and realigning joint to eliminate the root cause of wear and tear (see item 10 below). 

  1. Early symptoms of prostate enlargement can be reversed

Evidence – My personal experience

How – By taking supplement such as Saw Palmetto Complex

  1. Losing Inches of height as one ages is reversible

Evidence – My personal experience

How – By doing Bikram Yoga              

  1. Coronary Heart Disease can be prevented and reversed

Evidence – “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.

How – By changing what we eat and drink

  1. Many types of cancers can be prevented and (in mice) turned on and off by changing diet

Evidence – “China Study”, by T. Collin Campbell, PhD

How – By changing what we eat

  1. Live to 93 years old and still be performing heart surgeries

Live to be over 100 and be disease free, fully functioning, independent, supporting family and community

Evidence – “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived The Longest”, By Dan Buettner

How – By living certain lifestyle that includes what we eat, how much we eat, who we associate with, having a purpose, staying active, taking time off and managing our perspective.

  1. Reverse diabetes

Evidence – “Blood Sugar Solution”, by Dr. Mark Hyman

How – Changing what we eat and drink, taking appropriate supplements and engaging in physical activity

  1. Make a phenomenal transformation in matter of months, even at 60

Evidence – “The Life Plan: How Any Man Can Achieve Lasting Health, Great Sex, and a Stronger, Leaner Body”, by Jeffry S. Life M.D. Ph.D.              

“Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength”, by Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orso

“The Joe Dillon Difference”, by Joe Dillon

How – Creating a health plan and sticking to it rigorously

  1. Make dramatic difference in back, neck, joint pains through body realignment

Evidence –   Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain Paperback by Pete Egoscue; Egoscue Treatment Clinics; Personal Experience

How – Learning and practicing the appropriate eCises

Are such possibilities not exciting?

Have you run into some exciting possibilities in the area of health, vitality and aging?

Do you have some personal experience of making something considered impossible possible in the area of health, vitality and aging?

I would love to hear your stories and add those to this list to further explore and make them achievable.

Post #1 – Questions I have been pondering lately..

13 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in Living to 120

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May be it is because I am turning 60 this year or may be it is something else… These are the questions I have been pondering lately:
• What is the object of this game of life?
• How do people die?
• How do people lose vitality?
• What would it take to have a life-span and a health-span of 120?
• How do I want to live the next 60 years of my life?
• How do I contribute at a level that is worthy of my life?
• How do I make a major contribution to preventative healthcare – the area that gets my juices flowing?

In finding answers to these questions, I have been reading whatever I can lay my hands on and talking to whoever would talk to me on this topic.

One of my recent thoughts has been to may be to find other kindred spirits – people who are searching for answers to these or similar questions – and may have even already found some answers!

Also, I am going to use this blog to reflect upon what I come across. Through these reflections I would like to share what I have learned and learn from others.

So, I would love to hear your comments:

Are you in pursuit of a goal to live to 120?

Do you wonder what it might take to purposely live a life of vigor to the age of 120?