Instagram Q&A 1/13/2025

Q: How would you adress being skinny fat or slightly overweight but not obese?

A: Gut health interventions. Increase akkeromansia (I misspell this one everytime so forgive me lol) by using spores and select fibers like apple peel (also check patreon fiber article). Spores have been shown to dramatically improve visceral and abdominal subQ fat accumulation, and I think there could be a great case made for mega-dosing some of the spores, particularly the ones most commonly associated with protein and carb

utilization (I know you're a member, so also refer back to the article on the strain for farts. Has also been shown to improve body composition). Adequate sunlight exposure for leptin as well. imbalance in energy regulation and general disturbances in lipid metabolism are common with leptin resistance. Consider adding resistant starches in to improve BG. Also consider thyroid health. Would also make stress management a top priority. The Just Calm psychobiotics is a top fav of mine for this

Q: Any particular supplement stacks you recommend for injuries?

A: It depends on the injury. As a general 'catch all', BPC-157, specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators, and StemRegen (to mobilize stem cells. This one is particularly beneficial for people over 50, since they usually have less stem cells in circulation). In that order of importance. These are all fairly expensive. So if you wanted to pick one with the most broad reaching benefits, BPC (doesn't matter if it's the slow or fast release) would be the one l'd recommend. You can find it in the bio along with StemREgen right underneath. This is the only form of oral BPC I recommend. I also highly suggest checking out the comprehensive 'injury guide' I have on patreon. This is a painstaking list of over 50 + Different compounds you can use for injuries, all filtered by type (tendon, bone, muscle etc. it also has some theoretical dosing recommendations.

Q: Should evening sun be avoided to not supress melatonin

A: No. In fact, I recommend taking an evening, shirtless walk for people with sleep issues.

This is very effective, but it has to be coupled with lights out' (total darkness during sleep) and ambient red light for indoor lighting leading up to sleep. Sub-cellular or 'tissue' levels of melatonin have been also shown to dramatically improve sleep quality. Not just circulating/pineal melatonin. Exposure to near infrared and red light is what creates sub-cellular melatonin, which is also a powerful antioxidant. You get the most infrared and red light during the first and last 2 hours of the day. You can also use a red light panel on your skin for this (particularly on the back of the brain stem) 4-5 hours before sleep. But sunlight will be more effective though because you'll get IR all the way into the 1000 mm range. 1082 is actually one of the deepest penetrating wavelengths. I don't know of any red light panels with it.

Q: What's up w controversy on probiotics. Some say some say they're useless

A: Most people that say they're useless are right.

Mainly because they don't understand the difference between traditional store bought probiotics and spores. Spores can survive harsh environments like the stomach acid (They've even been shown to be able to survive in space believe it or not) where as most probiotics are killed by the stomach acid. You also have to realize that most probiotic formulations are just a random combination of strains. The spores (particularly the strains in the JT) have actually been tested TOGETHER (meaning they don't compete with each other) and have a synergistic effect. They're also different from other probiotics in that they exert an almost 'adaptogenic' like function in the gut.

Meaning that instead of supplementing with strains you 'think' you might need, the spores promote general homestatis by increasing the diversity of OTHER necessary keystone specifies (like bifido) will lowering pathogen load in a balance fashion. This is important because no one has the same microbiome. Few probiotics have been shown to do this. Spores are also the kind of bacteria we naturally come in contact with in 'natural' environments. They're very familiar to the body

Q: Thoughts on red light + mitochondrial boosters for CFS?

A: I mean yes… there’s always a time and place. When you’re sick, order of operations becomes extremely important though. Truthfully, 000 is also highly subjective though and a case can be made for self-experimentation, especially if you notice objective benefits. Something to consider though — a delicate balance exists between metabolic enhancement and the body’s capacity to handle that enhancement without triggering stress responses. This is generally true for everyone, but sick individuals especially will notice a more pronounced response (be it positive or negative). This is especially true with things like mitochondrial enhancement. Even too much red light could theoretically 'overload' the ETC. for example, If red light exposure significantly increases electron flow into the ETC while other parts cannot effectively process those electrons or produce ATP, you might get an accumulation of ROS, which can damage mitochondria. This is why foundational nutrients (particularly things like magnesium, B's and other nutrients for ETC function) are so big. But paradoxically, we also need exposure to red and near to create structures water to facilitate nutrient utalization. Sometimes it's less about order of operations and more about dosing as well

Q: Other top supplements you'd recommend aside from probiotic

A: Magnesium (mine), B-vitamins (mine), Shilajit (from mitolife under the mitolife tab in the bio. It's called 'panacea'; some have a hard time finding it), vitamin K (mitolife), zinc carnosine (also from mitolife). Probably in that order of importance. Magnesium and B-vitamins are the most ‘broadly applicable’ and ‘foundational nutrients’ in the vitamin and mineral department. They're required for numerous enzymatic processes in the body, and virtually all major organs require them to function properly. They're also water soluble, meaning they need to be replaced daily and are easily excreted via sweat. Stress also rapidly depletes them. Most people are sub clinically deficient. The reason for shilajit and zinc are the same - important trace minerals. Shilajit in particular supplies all of the trace minerals, in addition to some great antioxidants like fulvic and humic acid, which raise the charge on the cell wall to help pull nutrients in and excrete waste. For fat solubes, most arent consuming enough bio-avalible K. While magnesium usually steals the show, calcium is also very important and most are not getting enough and or too much phosphorus. Id recommend getting this via dairy though. If you want to supplement pearl powder is best.

Q: You think sat fat and heart disease could be mainly from endotoxin release? Or am I off

A: We know for a fact that chronic inflammation and the presence of LPS (endotoxin) can damage the endothelial lining of blood vessels. That damage is a key factor in the pathogenesis and development of atherosclerosis plaque accumulation in the arteries which is a primary contributor to heart disease. Endotoxin can hitch a ride' on saturated fat, which allows it to enter into systemic circulation. So yes. There are multiple mechanisms through which over consuming SF contributes to heart disease.

However, we also know that the health of the microbiome dramatically alters postprandial endotoximia. Even in the presence of high fat meals. What I think this ultimately tells us is twofold 1. We probably don't need to go to great lengths to entirely eliminate saturated fat from our diet, especially if we are metabolically healthy. 2. However, the link between higher saturated fat consumption and heart disease IS real. Meaning those with poor metabolic and gut health would STILL be better off reducing consumption. And there virtually no reason you should be making SF the primary fat you consume. Eating sticks of butter, ain’t it and variation in the diet is also key.

Q: Any thoughts on probiotic for sinus issues? Can they help?

A: Yes they're largely implicated in sinus health. Gut-nose axis (you have an 'axis' from the gut to all major organs, by the way). This is why people that have been on multiple rounds of antibiotics, steroids etc tend to have a higher likelihood of opportunistic infections and reoccurent sinus issues. If you check out the lung health guide on patreon, you will find a few probiotic formulations specifically for lung and upper respiratory health. The microbiological landscape of ALL of your mucosal surface has an implication for health and disease. They're all bi-directional systems as well. Meaning the microbiome in places like the nose and mouth will impact the gut (this is really why so many patreon subscribers noticed some huge improvements in their health following the oral health protocol) and the gut will also impact the mouth, nose, lungs etc. spores, particularly some of the bacillus coagulans strains, are really effective at preventing and even reversing early tooth decay. A lot of this is mediated through various immune signaling cascades, but you can also have direct translocation of bacteria and their products from the gut into systemic circulation, and then from the mouth down into the gut. This is why gum disease (and the bacteria that cause it) is now implicated in colon cancer

Q: One supplement youd pick if you had to choose just one ?

A: Probably the Just Thrive (spore-based) probiotic. You can find these in the bio under the Just Thrive/ probiotic tab. The reason I say that is because I've seen too many people waste money on supplements they're not able to absorb, simply because their microbiome is a wreck. I've worked with at least 20 clients or so (that I can remember) who were taking 800 mg of magnesium, extremely high doses of the vitamins, and still had extremely low RBC levels when tested we micro nutrients. In some published papers, we’ve also seen markers of inflammation like CRP drop from 10 (sometimes higher) down to .5 in less than a few days. Even if you don’t have a full-blown opportunistic, overgrowth of candida or SIBO you can still have low diversity, which means you don’t produce enough enzymes, bile, etc. needed to extract, micro nutrients from your fats, proteins, and carbs the spores will improve all functions of digestion, including motility, postprandial endotoxemia, bile acid, production, enzyme, secretion, etc. Spores (they HAVE to be spores; other probiotics are hit or miss) touch on all aspects of digestion. If you can’t afford a lot of supplements, I’d probably tell you to take the JT even before you bought any of my supplements

Q: Is there ever a time to take to take melatonin?

A: There can be. I particularly like higher doses for jetlag. Which I wrote a full patreon article on with some other supplements to consider, as well as a timing Strategy for melatonin use if you are going to use it for JL, timing is really important). If you're just looking for general sleep improvements, I'd consider something like L-serine to help you produce more of your own endogenous melatonin. Or better, simply replace all of your regular lights with ambient red at night. You'll produce plenty