HitPoint Health Weekly 7/9: Iodine, Melatonin, My Daily Workout and More

Good morning! I hope that this finds you well and that you had a great weekend. This week I'm going to discuss some supplements that I've heard of people taking in way higher dosages than typically recommended, or even at dosages higher than what is considered safe! I also reveal my typical workout routine, especially when I am on the go or at work. Enjoy!

Stuff I Did This Week

The Talos Principle

This is a game that has stuck with me. I have initially played this game on the PS3 when it first released, and since I have heard that there will be a second one relatively soon, I decided to go ahead and buy the original on Steam (on sale for like $5).

The Talos Principle is essentially a philosophical puzzle game. The puzzles in this, as well as the setting are really fun and unique and make me feel like an idiot when I have to give up and look at online tutorials. With bonus stars littered across the land and hidden easter eggs, and even engaging philosphical debate with a computer throughout the game and choices to make with different endings, I think that this game has a little something for everyone.

It touches on a lot of questions such as what is life, what is the purpose of life, what differentiates an AI from a human, and other questions down that line. If that sparks your interest at all I highly recommend it. And the DLC Road to Gehenna is also about $2 right now.

Stuff I Recommend

Iodine

Iodine is something that I'm sure you've all heard of, probably through iodized salt. Have you ever thought about why salt had to be iodized? It has to do with the depletion of minerals in the soil due to conventional American farming. Or the new version of conventional, rather. Iodine is an essential mineral for humans to the point that the government decided it was necessary to add it to things to prevent the onset of disease across the nation.

But is iodized salt enough? Are there other ways to get the iodine that we need in our diets? The answer to these depends on the individual and what resources you have at your disposal. Ideally, you'd have a healthy soil growing your own fruits and vegetables and derive your iodine that way. There are also other naturally growing ways to get it, such as supplementation with Shilajit, a moss that grows in the Himalays. It takes like dirt, and essentially is dirt, but that stuff is good for you.

But recently, I heard on a podcast with Ben Greenfield, about a doctor who claims to have benefitted from supplementing with high doses of iodine, up to 50 mg a day! He also has had no noticable negative side effects, as one of the biggest warnings about overconsumption of iodine is the potential damage to the thyroid. But doctor Leland Stillman claims that we are so deficient in iodine that we could benefit from these large dosages.

Personally, I wouldn't do anything too crazy with my supplementation due to the possible side effects claimed by the WHO, but I am going to add it to my supplement regimen once again, likely with Lugol's drops added to my water, just a drop or two, as too much iodine can be dangerous and even lead to death. I am not brave enough to experiment with high dosages, personally. At least not without sufficient evidence, as iodine can effect thyroid hormones.

Melatonin

However, speaking of high dosages, high dose melatonin is another thing that has been discussed recently. I have been hearing more and more about the usage of melatonin as a supplement to help with inflammation, pain, and other ailments. I've also heard that it can be a good way to help detox heavy metals like aluminum.

Now, even though higher doses of melatonin are safer than iodine, it is something that should be approached with caution. 1 to 10 mg of melatonin is generally recommended and considered safe, however, I have heard reports of people consistently taking around 300 mg of melatonin a night and feeling great benefits! Considering the usual advice is to take about 1 mg an hour or two before bed, this seems pretty intense, but it is something that I may consider trying for a short period to see how I feel.

I have heard that the taking of exogenous melatonin can dimish the production of endogenous melatonin, but I can't seem to find any studies confirming this as fact, mostly just speculation, but that is probably due to the difficult nature of testing this. In addition to all of this information, another thing that may prevent people from trying higher dosages of melatonin like this is that, whenever it is used by hollistic health practitioners, typically it is used with autoimmune or cancer patients for its powerful short term benefits. And to administer such a high does it is either given intervenously or via suppository. Neither of those are things that I would want to do on a daily basis.

One last thing to consider is that most of the body's melatonin that is used as an inflammatory reduction agent rather than a sleep aid is produced in the day time, and in the gut, rather than the brain. So, consider trying to increase this endogenously instead. This can be done by getting morning sunlight into the eyes (the classic Andrew Huberman), having a good and clean diet, getting good quality sleep, and even by taking probiotics.

HitPoint Hacks

My On the Go Workout Routine

If you follow me on social media, you'll likely have seen my X3 bar setup that I have on my lunches at work. Usually, it's just the straightforward bar, band, and plate outside under a tree. If you've been curious about what my daily workout looks like while I am at work, then look no further!

I have always been fond of a push/pull split. In simple terms for the unfamiliar, this routine consists of alternating days, one for pushing movements, like a shoulder press, bench press, and also squats due to not having a separate leg day. And the next day, I'll do pulling exercises such as a row, and for legs, hinging motion such as a deadlift.

I typically workout 5-6 days a week with the weekends or just Sunday being my rest day. My push days consist of these exercises in this order:

Chest Press

Chest Flies

Tricep Extensions

Shoulder Press

Split Squats (each leg)

And for my Pull Days:

Deadlifts

Bentover Rows

Bicep Curls

Calf Raises

And that's everything in order! Using the bands, and the principles of variable resistance training, I shoot for one set in the range of 15-40 reps each exercise, with the most important thing being the constant tension on the muscle; never let the bands have too much slack. It's about the blood flow and the tension to properly exhaust the muscle here. For example, with the chest press, I shoot for 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down, with no time locked out. In standard weightlifting terminology, this means 2.0.2.0 speed, or 2 up 0 at the top, 2 down and 0 at the bottom.

Keep in mind that this routine done in this way is specific to variable resistance training which is done with bands, and that, if I were to use free weights or machines or cables, that I would have to change it up a bit. I tend to keep the basic exercises the same, but I would instead do Doug McGuff's Super Slow Training instead, which is a one set to failure similar to the routine above, but rather than 2 second timing, it would be to do a few reps as slow and controlled as possible, feeling the mind-muscle connection the entire time. This is a very good strategy whenever you are short on time, or if you don't have access to a quality variable resistance training system, such as the X3. I am a huge advocate for this style of training, as I have seen significant progress in physique and strength since starting this routine earlier this year. It is also safe and injury is unlikely to occur.

And that will do it for this week's newsletter!

I will be back on my weekly Sunday morning schedule once again after last week's break. I appreciate your time, and I am glad that you are here, and continue to support me.

As always, I am here if you need me, and I will be back next week to discuss some more supplements, compounds, sleep, and exercise, as well as some of the games that I've been playing. I just started Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7) so you can look forward to that next week as well.

To your HitPoints!