Instagram Q&A 6/2/2024

Q: Lactoferrin for high iron/ferritin and general immune support? I've been taking 250 mg daily

A: Lactoferrin can be useful for that yes. Currcumin, Quercitin, and green tea are also good iron chelators. For that reason, those also might be something to avoid for anyone reading this who's anemic and consistently finding that they feel worse taking things that are supposed to be 'good' for them. @drtylerpanzner discussed this today on the podcast we just recorded.

Q: What pemf device would you recommend? Would it help with pelvic floor issues/ tightness?

A: It could. I've used it for pelvic floor issues and it's worked. So it's possible. Just depends on what the nature of the issue is. I'd go on DrPawluk.com and pick a device from there that suits your preferences and budget. All of the products on there are vetted and top notch. The degree to which it 'works' for you is just going to depend on how serious your issue is and how intense of a device you get. You can't expect an 7k device (I have the Hugo for example) to be as good as a $500 device like the Sota for a soft tissue injury. That doesn't mean it can't work. It just might take longer.

Q: Heart issues caused by muscle tightness? I remember you mentioning this with the neck

A: Yea I mean the connection isn't clear so if you want an RCT on that you're not going to find it. But I def think it's possible that soft tissue restrictions on the diaphragm and upper extremeties could change the length-tension relationship of things like the pericardial ligaments. Anything that influences the chest wall and diaphragm will have some influence on the position of the heart and pericardium in the mediastinum. soft tissue inflammation and swelling in the neck can cause compression of the vagus nerve as well. And there's a pretty clear link between Inflammatory conditions like cervical radiculitis and arrhythmias.

Q: Antioxidants for longevity?

A: In certain contexts. Some cells don't have aquaporin channels (transport mechanisms to get them into the cell) for certain exogenous antioxidants. That's why we don't see a lot of benefit to things like Vitamin C for longevity. You need to focus on things that boost your natural antioxidant defenses like glutathione, superoxide dismutase and melatonin levels though. That's going to be the biggest band for your buck. Molecular hydrogen also doesn't need transport proteins to get into cells (its small enough to just diffuse right across the membrane) so that's another one that I think could hold a lot of promise for 'longevity'. Would definitely recommend watching the podcast episode I did with Tyler Lebanon on hydrogen.

Q: Fatigued when performing jumping related stuff, energy on anything else but jumping, any clue on why?

A: Hard to say. I know a lot of people who actually use some short plyo's and explosive work before they study or take a test to increase focus. But it's possible that you could be really deleted in some neurotransmitters like acetylcholine. Could try adding in some choline rich foods. You could also try supplementing with a low dose of alpha-GCP (which is a choline source). If your performance immediately shoots through the roof (along with focus and mental clairry) you may be deficient. Or you may have some mutations in choline parhways. Could try messing around with huperzine and CDP choline and seeing how you feel as well. Maybe some precursors like phosphatidylcholine. Definitely need to be on a good B-complex (turns out I make a really good one) along with those choline sources.

Q: Any benefit in purposely slowing down concentric portion of lift?

A: Yes. I do occasionally program them as well. I will say this though — it's probably one of the most useless training modalities. With a few narrow, specific windows of application. So if you're going to use a slow concentric you really need to have a specific reason. And it's not something you want to allocate a lot of training volume towards. You can use them to more favorably alter the strength profile of a certain lift and or to kill momentum. Like you could initate with a slow concentric (then accelerate later in the rom) at the bottom of a lateral raise for example. Just so that you're not using momentum to blast through the top. There's also some rehab and early motor learning applications.

Q: Muscles spasm/vibrate for a long time after training usually around bedtime. Any cause/fix?

A: A lot of people with long COVID are getting lots of spasms and strange 'internal' vibrations almost similar to low grade, early onset Parkinson's like symptoms. I think everyone that's had the V or CVD should do a spike protein protocol. I have two of those up for subscribers. But basically a combination of systemic enzymes and certain flavonoids. Can't say if that's what it is for certain obviously though. Benign fasiculations can also be magnesium/ potassium/general mineral defiencies as well. I'd say probably a very large majority of ideopathic fasiculations/twitching are usually a result of that combined with hard training and or general fatigue. Used to get them in my gluteus a lot after lower sessions. RBC mag was also low then.

Q: Scar tissue restricting end range flexion 5.5 months post acl+meniscus surgery. Advice?

A:

There's a decent body of evidence for using shockwave therapy for scar tissue since it has some mechanisms of action on remodeling fibroblasts. As mentioned previously you could also use something like a good systemic enzyme (mitolife) supplement with natto and serrapetase.

I've also seen rodent models showing that apigenin can be particularly useful for inhibiting fibrous scar formation after myocardial and spinal cord injuries.

Possibly some peptides like thymosin-beta-4 and KPV. But it's it's difficult to say how much of an impact some of these supplements/peptides (with the exception of the systemic enzymes) would have since a lot of them were studied in the post operative period.

Q: Thoughts on too much exercise variability?

A:

I mean yea. It's definitely a thing. I think the issue isn't that people are doing 'weird' exercises so much as it is people not sticking with something long enough to really see any benefit from it.

Really the entire point of using a template or flexible training structure (that affords you more room for exercise variation) is that now you can progress more movements in your training that address a specific goal or limitation that you have. Otherwise it's just glorified 'muscle confusion'. That's why a lot of the accessories in the base programming and my remote coaching don't really change that much. You just have a wider selection of things to focus on. You can always tell when someone doesn't really have a clear direction with their training and or using 'variability' as an excuse to compensate for a basic lack of knowledge pertaining to exercise selection and anatomy. The 'you can do it so you should' or 'if it can be loaded it should be trained' idea is honestly a cancerous half-truth and I think it prevents people from actually attaing the goals they set out to achieve. Because now instead of people being OCD about picking the perfect movement to train their lats, they are OCD about not "covering enough bases’. Which is really the same

Q: Negative emotions causing muscle tension?

A:

100%. I mean from an autonomic, sympathetic nervous system standpoint that's well established. I think the 'you're stressed so you tense up' connection is fairly obvious. I actually came up with my own theory called 'defensive posturing' (which I'll copy paste some of my old ideas from here) a few years ago to explain some other potential mechanisms for how stress might influence tissue structurally as well.

Myofibroblasts (which are basically intermediary cells displaying some characteristics inherent to both smooth muscle and connective tissue cells in fascia) can't be contracted through the neural synapse (with conscious control) but rather adapt in response to their chemical micro-environment. At least that's what's been shown in-vitro. fascia may contain upwards of 10x more proprietoceptors than muscle tissue. The ANS along with the emotional motor apparati (specific regions in the brain like the hypothalamus and limbic system) join to help unconsciously regulate things like our breathing along with the postures and subconscious movement behaviors we assume in response to emotional stimuli Because the fascia is a sensory dense organ, it's reasonable to assume that any sort of acute or chronic anticipatory 'pre-tensing' or 'pre-stressing' of tissue in response to specific arousal stimuli fear, anger ect)

Q: How to overcome a persistent and systemic candida infection

A: I'd really need to work with you one on one to determine that. There's too many potential factors — you didn't kill enough of it off or stay on protocol long enough (some people need 5-6 months); even if you did, maybe you didn't repopulate the gut after or increase stomach acid; immune suppression from mold, poor lifestyle and lots of chronic stress; you started eating lots of processed food and alchol again after the protocol ended ect ect. A good majority of my one on one clients are working on Candida and fungus protocols. Haven't had a single replace yet.

Q: Thoughts on armra colostrum

A: It's a high quality colostrum. But if I was going to spend $100 on something like that, l'd just opt for a product like Elite IgG (bovine serum immunoglobulins) that actually isolates all of the active constituents in colostrum (IgG, IgM, IgA, proline rich polypeptides) into a more concentrated product. Most colostrum's don't even have a 1/4 of the IgG that something like a good BSM product would have. Those also aren't dairy sourced so they're a better option for people with sensitivities that are already taking colostrum for gut health. Hyper immune egg is also really good and these are products that you can safely mega-dose. Amazing especially if you're doing a fungal protocol. Helps prevent bacteria and fungus from translocating from gut and going systemically

Q: What are concerns with rats getting cancer after peptide use from the studies?

A: I have zero idea what you're talking about. That's never been demonstrated. In fact, a lot of rodent models have demonstrated quite the opposite. There's preliminary data showing BPC may be able to treat melanoma. Tons of human clinical trials (mostly in Russia) on thymic peptides and bio-regulators showing positive results on cancer. There's also human trials on TA1 (which is basically just a peptide form of immunotherapy) and experimental evidence for peptides like KPV in colon and gastrointestinal cancers. Epitalon and pineal derived peprides are also very promising for cancer prevention via circadian regulating mechanisms.