Low Toxin Logs Everything that has helped my health in the last 6 months - diet, exercise, hygiene, remedies - pics, many links

[Twohandsondeck]

That is a great update. I liked the videos about the psoas and back stretching.

Thank you.

Yeah, whenever I consider my hips + pelvis to be the jaw of my body, it helps a lot of stuff to make sense.

For instance how the kidneys are related to the ears, the intestines to the brain, the adrenals to the eyes, tailbone to the brain stem, etc.

How's the skin doing so far? Any improvements or setbacks?

It's the best it's been, honestly.

Overdoing coffee, cream, or fruit can cause my chest blemish to flare up for a couple days and the few deodorant products I've tried will cause a minor underarm irritation.

The blemishes on my face have become pretty steady. They stay pink most of the time, often the same color as my nose. If I eat eggs, my cheek blemish will flare up for a few hours. Almonds also produce a similar outcome.

Overall, my skin is the softest it's ever been and I've used remarkably little sunblock to prevent burning despite long duration, high-UV index sun exposure. This is undoubtedly a credit to the low vitamin A practices I adopted since the beginning of this year.

 

[dervmai]

Thank you.

Yeah, whenever I consider my hips + pelvis to be the jaw of my body, it helps a lot of stuff to make sense.

For instance how the kidneys are related to the ears, the intestines to the brain, the adrenals to the eyes, tailbone to the brain stem, etc.

It's the best it's been, honestly.

Overdoing coffee, cream, or fruit can cause my chest blemish to flare up for a couple days and the few deodorant products I've tried will cause a minor underarm irritation.

The blemishes on my face have become pretty steady. They stay pink most of the time, often the same color as my nose. If I eat eggs, my cheek blemish will flare up for a few hours. Almonds also produce a similar outcome.

Overall, my skin is the softest it's ever been and I've used remarkably little sunblock to prevent burning despite long duration, high-UV index sun exposure. This is undoubtedly a credit to the low vitamin A practices I adopted since the beginning of this year.

Glad to hear :)

 

[Twohandsondeck]

Updates through December 31, 2024

---

Dear forum,

I am writing out of abundance. Today is the best I've felt in my physical flesh in the last ten years. Glad tidings of good things by my account.

I took all of these pictures on the same day (12/30/24) -


In the last 60 days, my weight has fluctuated from 136lb to 144lb.
To say again for reference, I am 5 foot 7 inches tall.
In those pictures, I am 142lb.
I am 32 years old.

Skin inflammation of the lip, cheek, and chest is still present, however it is much quicker to heal nowadays as long as I don't trigger it with excessive bile dumping and inadequate fiber intake. A flare of skin inflammation also coincides with dandruff.
Pasteurized dairy fat (milk, butter, cream), fructose, insufficient protein intake, and insufficient calorie intake are the primary triggers of skin breakout.
Binders and fiber are the quickest answer to quelling inflammation and getting a healing process going.
Helpful fibers and binders (consumed by themselves when nothing else is in the stomach) are:
- Beans
- Sprouted grain bread ['Ezekiel bread']
- Nuts
- Activated charcoal
- Bananas

My physical strength is not peaked (as I'm quite lean), but my overall sense of health, resiliency, and fitness is in the best state I can remember it being in. My posture, ease of breath, and effort of tongue continue to improve in status day by day.

If someone asked me what I think the reason for this is at the time of my writing here, I would tell them:
- eating enough calories to prevent feelings of an empty stomach as often as possible
- eating fruit around the time of daily exercise
- looking at the sun for a few moments each day
- pulling vigorously on the hair while showering to detangle it and decongest the scalp, which eases tension across the entire body
- rolling on the spine each day
- focusing on 'grabbing the ground' with the toes as often as possible
- being mindful to try to keep the tongue in a set position within the mouth at any given time
- when in doubt, if the lips aren't dry, drink water. If the lips are dry, seek food/calories

DIET [from 10/30 to 12/11]

From 10/30 to 12/11, most of my calories were coming from restaurant meals. The dietary list I recorded for this time period was -

Eggs
Sausage
Ham
Pancakes
Coffee with heavy cream
Restaurant sandwiches with bread, meat, and vegetables
Canned beans, sometimes sweetened with sugar and tomato
Baked potato with butter and meat (if available)
Pre-cooked, packaged chicken breast
Fried chicken tenders with wheat noodles and cheese
Bananas (average 2 per day)
Macadamia nuts (average 4 ounces per day)
Brazil nuts (average 2 ounces per day)
Apples (average 1 every other day)

Additional notes:
During this time I was trying to adapt to a colder climate (40F high/25F low daily average).
I was sweating for an average of 10 minutes a day in a steam sauna almost every day during these days.
Between the mineral loss from sweating and a lack of animal fat + protein, my fingernails became brittle and my tolerance to cold was quite low on most days.
Adding in fried chicken once a week, sausage, and eggs all helped improve my body temperature considerably.
When I overdid the fried chicken, sausage, and eggs, it led to mild constipation and oily stools. Beans and nuts readily counterbalance this dilemma of excessive fat intake.

DIET [from 12/11-12/30]

Instead of 8-12 restaurant meals per week, they are now about 4-6 meals per week.

Aside from the restaurant meals, my regular food list from the grocery store is -

Sprouted wheat & barley (Ezekiel bread; unleavened bread; no yeast)
Bananas (average 3 per day)
Oranges (average 1 every other day)
Macadamia nuts
Raw eggs (average 1.5 a day)
Black beans
Pinto beans
Black-eyed peas (ultra high in the mineral molybdenum, another post on this shared here)
Black espresso drinks (*I cut way back on coffee consumption and am no longer drinking drip coffee... the stimulating effect has become overwhelming for the time being)

Additional notes:
I learned to not combine fruit with bread. It stifles digestion. I would guess that the fruit sugar is fermenting on top of the complex carbohydrate content of the bread.
I learned that if I force feed myself too much bread, my fingernails may become sensitive; mineral leaching or prevention of utilization in some capacity. If I do not force myself to eat an abundance of bread at once, this will not be a problem. Regardless, I have cycled the bread in and out, eating it every other day instead of everyday.

SUPPLEMENTS

Topical magnesium (average once every 14 days)

Additional notes:
I have learned that topical magnesium carries a great therapeutic potential, however it is highly reliant on the current status of potassium, protein, fat, and overall calorie intake of the diet.
When there isn't an adequate pool of resources for magnesium to work with, it can contribute to brittleness of both hair and nails. I now use it on a 'craving' basis, so-to-speak, which is becoming increasingly rare.

FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

Activated charcoal (average once every 21 days)

Additional notes:
If I have consumed a moderate amount of fruit, beans, and/or nuts and I still feel congested despite drinking adequate water, I will take some activated charcoal in the evening.
I have only used activated charcoal for an adsorption effect a few times in the last 60 days.
I have used it a few additional times as a part of a mouthwash.

EXERCISE

As far as weightlifting goes, I have averaged about 30 minutes a day of it in the last 60 days.
Some days only have about 20 minutes of weightlifting and others are 70 minutes.
At a bare minimum, I will work up to one top set of 5-8 repetitions on any given exercise.
Most of the sets I do are in a 10-25 repetition range and I go to failure about 75% of the time.
My average rest time between sets is 2-3 minutes (good for fitness and some cardio, not great for improving power).

As my current focus, I have been diligent to roll around on the ground for improved bodily mobilization for at least 15 minutes every day after weightlifting or hiking.

These daily physical practices have included:
- rolling the spine
- grounding the toes
- moving lymph out of the knees
- decongesting the pelvic floor
- decongesting the hip socket
- decongesting the illiotibial (IT) band
- extending/spreading the fingers and toes away from the body in unison
- easy jumping for toe awareness
- various stretches + calisthenic movements

Here are some more movements that I've found to be useful with some explanation attached -

CRABROLLS


Crabrolls, stiffbacks, trust falls... I don't think there's an official name for this silly looking exercise, but I've found great benefit to do them daily, even on a hard floor.
Contrary to what they look like, they are DECOMPRESSIVE of the spine.

Here's the idea -
1) sit with heels on the ground
2) firmly grab the top of the shin, just below the kneecap
3) loosen the legs and tighten the grip
4) squeezing the legs hard, draw them in into the body as if bracing to do a heavy rowing movement
5) straighten the spine by 'putting your shoulder blades in your back pocket'
6) fall backwards and maintain this stiffness all the way through the movement until the rocking stops
7) repeat as desired

Like any good physical therapy, these will help to improve overall bodily movement.
When done on a hard floor, they give an awareness of each individual vertebrae and make it apparent if any of them are 'bulging.'
If you're going to try it, I'd suggest first trying them out on soft earth or a yoga mat.
Ultimately, I have high hopes that this movement is a spinal rejuvenator. It has given me great benefit.
On a hard floor, I usually don't do more than five of these per day.
+ I am aiming to allow the back of my skull hit the ground which each repetition.

---

Due to a 10 picture limit for each forum post, this update will continue into more posts to follow >

 

[Twohandsondeck]

WEIGHTED HILL SPRINTS

They're just a great exercise. Here's a story from when I took those photos:

"Hey we're with the _____ county natural areas rangers. We got a couple calls about some strange behavior on the trail over there..."
"Haha ah yeah, I was out walking with a bag, here, let me show you. *walking towards trunk* I'm Taylor, by the way."
"Jesse."
"Nice to meet you, Jesse. *opens trunk* Very silly here. I was walking with this bag for weight out on the trail, I'm sure it looked very odd. I just had random crap in here... maple syrup, some oats, apples, tee shirts, see? This was about an hour ago."
"Right."
"Yeah, I was running up and down the hills with it like so (gestures arms forward and back)"
"Ok, that's all good with me. The reason why we got the call is because some people were concerned that you may have been trying to steal a prairie dog."
[lol]
"Yeah, you may know about the Peanut story? I think that's got people on edge..."
Then he did his job and asked me to stay on the marked trails. Nice guy.
But the idea of an article headline, 'Florida man attempts to steal prairie dog with bright red travel bag in broad daylight' had me laughing.

BACK BENDS


Back bends are a unique anterior (front) of the body stretch.
Like all useful exercises, they help the hips and lower back to better communicate with each other.
After pressing off the floor (this requires some wrist mobility), I usually think about bringing my heels and fingertips together. The engagement of the lats helps relax the hips as the weight distribution shifts from the legs to the back.

PLATZ STRETCH / HIP OPENER


This is a 'Tom Platz classic' stretch.
There's no secret to getting in this position. It just takes a little courage, a lean back, and perhaps a grimace to get there.
This is an excellent hip opener which course-corrects the anterior (front) chain of the body that is shortened/tight in most of us from excessive sitting.
For most people, they should be able to get in this position with a big rib flare (meaning the bottom of the ribs will sway up and away from the body as the pelvis tilts forward).
From that position, a person can contract their hips as if they're trying to do a hip thrust in contract-relax cycles.
For example, contract for 5 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, repeat.
The orange line is how my spine looks & feels.
The green line is how my femur looks & feels.
The magenta arrows show how the hips will move as the entire body is contracted or relaxed in this position.
The release of tension after stretching like this is primarily felt in the hips & lower back, but it's also excellent for the knees & ankles.

TRAIL RUNNING FOR ANKLE STABILITY


Not much to explain with this one either. Runnin' on rocks does the body good.

 

[Twohandsondeck]

SQUEEZING A MUSCLE FOR PROPRIOCEPTION

Proprioception is the ability to feel a muscle contraction while it's being exercised.
It's commonly called the 'mind-muscle connection.'
I've found it useful to keep a hand on a muscle to ensure that it's being contracted throughout an entire movement.
The videos attached show examples of squeezing the bicep throughout a cable pull variation and squeezing both the quadricep and hamstring during a bodyweight lunge to keep them both tense throughout the entire range of the movement, regardless of how long or short that range appears to be.
The concept is simple enough: Squeeze the daylights out of a muscle and make sure it stays tense throughout the entire movement for heightened bodily awareness.

STOMPING/MARCHING FOR BETTER BONE HEALTH


Striking force is helpful to create bone density.
Wolff's law states that a bone will remodel itself with respect to the force that is regularly placed on it.
An easy example of this is with the teeth. Chewing puts pressure on the jaw and cheekbones. Those bones are then modified based on the force applied to them. When teeth are missing, the shape of the bones of the face will change over time due to bone resorption.
In my example here of marching/stomping, the idea is to keep a straight line of force from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet with every step/stomp.
This means that the eyes should be on the horizon, the hips are kept level, and the heel of the foot is being driven forcefully, straight down with every step.

The benefits of this exercise are exactly as a person might assume - greater overall stability and better posture.

Red line -
Pressing the tongue into the roof of the mouth will put the eyes at equilibrium.
Yellow line -
'Cannonball bracing' [making the core tight as if ready to be hit by a cannonball] will put the hips at equilibrium.
Green line -
The feet will absorb impact depending on the shape of the ground.

*Breathing through the diaphragm (diaphragmatic breathing) is ideal.

Regardless of the shape of the terrain, the focus is to keep the body in the same straight, disciplined form with every step.
When done correctly, the reverberation of the impact will be felt all the way up the body, especially in the glutes, hips, and lower back.

---

DENTAL HYGIENE

* I would like to apologize for some of the suggestions I've previously made in this section as the year has gone on. I hope nobody has hurt themselves too badly as I have been learning the hard way about how to better deal with dental hygiene in my own adventure.

My chief dilemma of this section has been learning how to best cleanse a tooth which has suffered damage in the center of the tooth after it had a filling fall out and a nut crack it open further.

After a certain amount of grief over a single tooth, I have asked myself the following questions and answered them as follows,

Q: 'What foods should I avoid to prevent tooth soreness and decay?'
A: Any candy product, most products with syrup added, white rice, any carbonated beverage

Q: 'What can I do to prevent bad breath that originates from a lackluster tooth?'
A: My current oral care routine:

1) Gently chew on a toothbrush/brush as softly as needed, use brushpicks, and use string floss to break up any bigger debris on the teeth.
2) Follow this with a vigorous mouthwash of water.
+ Soap, salt, cinnamon and wheat grass powders may be added to the mouthwash for additional antiseptic value.
After debris has been broken up with step #1, the mouthwash should now be able to clean up hard-to-reach areas with some forceful, yet tactical, swishing.
3) Apply green clay to sensitive and/or wounded areas of the mouth to help facilitate healing.
+ Regularly rinse the mouth with water throughout the day, especially after meals. Add cinnamon powder or green powder to the rinsing solution for added effectiveness.

---

SKIN HYGIENE

GREEN CLAY OVER THE EYES, EARS, BELLY BUTTON


Green clay (mixed with water) can be applied virtually anywhere on the body without causing irritation.

Recently, I have found a therapeutic benefit by applying it to -
a) the eyelids and all around the ocular socket
b) around the entire ear, including inside the canal
c) inside the belly button

There's a possibility that the clay is picking up some heavy metals being excreted by the body in any of those areas (especially the eyes).
A secondary benefit of green clay is that it works very well as a massage paste. I think it spreads out the surface tension of the fingers as they press into the skin.

MIXING CASTOR OIL INTO A SHAMPOO

I have gone as high as a 1:1 ratio of shampoo:castor oil with this.

It's an odd suggestion considering how soap and oil are antithetical to each other, but I have had a positive experience when using it on my hair. It adds volume and noticeably reduces feelings of floppiness or brittleness in the hair.
It also changes how harshly I am able to pull my fingers through my hair as I detangle it in the shower. This is a self-perceived positive.

The downside to this is that can lead to a feeling of congestion in the hair if too much castor oil is used and/or the hair is not treated with an isolated shampoo washing after rinsing out the initial castor oil + shampoo mixture.

I have read multiple reports over the years about how castor oil is reported to help remove so-called liver spots/age spots, but I have not used it long enough to report an effectiveness one way or the other. That will be assessed at a future time.

---

LESSONS LEARNED

- Eating a can of beans is a great way to ensure adequate stool volume the following day. Nuts also help this cause. I figure it's because of the insoluble fiber content of each.

- Hiking/jogging on earthy terrain in the morning or midday causes me to walk faster for the rest of the day.

- Spending time catching sunlight in the morning and midday will improve body heat retention through the coming evening.

- Exposing the eyes to sunlight in varying capacities during the day will decrease blue light sensitivity from fluorescent lights, electronic devices, etc.

- Triggers of skin inflammation - pasteurized pineapple juice, pasteurized butter, pasteurized milk, eggnog, cheap coffee, unrefrigerated coffee creamers.

---

OBSERVATIONS

- 1500mg of vitamin C as ascorbic acid caused the blood vessels of my forearms to pop out and a sensation of dryness around the lips to coincide.

- Cleanliness of the teeth is correlated with scalp tension. > The cleaner my teeth are, the less congested my entire head feels.

- Urine is cloudy, heavy, and acidic after eating meals containing 3 different sources of protein together - meat, eggs, and beans.

- Massaging green clay over the eyes is brightening to the countenance of the eyes.

---

SPECULATIONS / MISCELLANEOUS

- Molybdenum from food eaten today might help metabolize sulfur from food eaten tomorrow.

- Bread prevents mineral uptake. Fruit excites the removal of metals, meaning that minerals are consumed during that process. Therefore, having bread and fruit together is not advised.

- Eating meat, eggs, and beans together may be heavy on the kidneys yet beneficial for the liver.

- Green clay over the eyes may assist heavy metal detox which is shedding off of the fat of the brain as it is being deposited through the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

- The health of the kidneys and the bite of the jaw (missing teeth = missing strength) both correlate with physical strength.

- The pinkie toe connects to the center of the chin. The big toe connects to the crease of the jawbone on its respective side.

- Chlorophyll found in plants might play a role in allowing our eyes to better absorb sunlight. The technique of photosynthesis in plants operates as a battery does, being charged with sunlight and then using that charge to create tissue. Our nervous system uses electricity (a form of light) to bring us a sensory awareness. My unfounded belief is thus that our nervous system is a battery which can be charged by sunlight.

Here's a relevant quote:
"Chlorophyll is a complex molecule made up of a porphyrin ring, a magnesium ion, and an attached hydrocarbon tail. The porphyrin ring is responsible for absorbing light energy and the magnesium ion acts as an electron acceptor.
Chlorophyll a absorbs light most efficiently in the red and blue regions of the spectrum, with peak absorption at around 430 and 662 nanometers, respectively.
Chlorophyll b is another form of chlorophyll found in plants, algae, and some bacteria.
Its chemical structure is similar to that of chlorophyll a, but it has a slightly different porphyrin ring.
This difference results in chlorophyll b absorbing light in the blue-green region of the spectrum, with peak absorption at around 453 nanometers.
Chlorophyll b also has a role in photosynthesis, but its main function is to protect chlorophyll a from excess light."
Ref. Enhancing Health Benefits through Chlorophylls and Chlorophyll-Rich Agro-Food: A Comprehensive Review

The eyes take up the greatest working capacity of the nervous system, so it makes sense that they are the organ most sensitive to sunlight, hence why the common recommendation is that you'll burn your retinas out if you stare at the sun too long.

That is probably true, but that doesn't make it a reason to not look at the sun EVER, like for 1 second or even 0.1 of a second.

I speak with confidence when I say that temporarily looking at the sun with the eyes closed will improve sunlight sensitivity with respect to the angle of the head.

The head and eyes tend to angle downward in bright sunlight, but looking upon the sun with the eyes closed for a brief moment will dramatically alter this sensitivity.

Anyhow... Since the mainstream opinion has always been that you'll go blind looking at the sun, I figure that greatly increases the likelihood that the opposite is true. So in the last month I've been making a point to
1) flick my eyesight directly into the sun for a few moments each day (closer to sunset) and
2) periodically close my eyes while looking directly at the sun for dozens of seconds at a time.

When I say, 'flick my eyesight,' I truly mean that. This is what that looked like @ 3:30PM on 12/30 -

---

Deuteronomy 8:5 (KJV)
[5] Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.