Creatine is one of the most studied and used supplements there are, both for lean muscle gain, energy, endurance and recovery, but also for reaction time, cognitive health and focus, affecting the brain, nervous system, heart and much more.

It’s used by athletes for more explosive power: sprinting, heavy lifting and intense exercise.

It allows for greater endurance in training, more reps per set before fatigue sets in, faster recovery between sets or sprints and can help lengthen workouts and exercise time.

It also helps with lean muscle creation, reduced muscle damage and even helps maintain lean muscle during calorie restriction or fasting — without breaking the fast.

And it adds fullness and denseness to our muscles.

But it does more than this. Just as it supports muscle, it also supports the neurons that make up our brain and nervous system, supporting focus, cognition and mental fatigue, and many people take it solely for this.

Due to this it helps with reaction time, memory and exhaustion.

It also helps with aging, helping prevent muscle loss as we get older, supporting bone density and improving overall cellular energy levels, as energy failure is central to nerve degeneration.

And for vegans and vegetarians it’s a must as creatine comes almost exclusively from meats, not plant sources. 

So if we’re not eating meats we have to rely solely on creatine being created inside our body, which happens at lower levels due to lower amounts of amino acids received from plant foods.

This can lead to lower energy levels, less muscle mass, mental fatigue and stress.

As creatine is vegan, vegans and vegetarians supplementing with it can experience some of the most noticeable benefits both in energy and muscle, as well as focus and stress levels.

So that’s what it does and what it affects.

But what is it, how does it work and, most importantly, how can you use it to help you?

Did you know collagen powders don’t give us as much collagen as we think?

They don’t. Not nearly as much.

And they don’t give us any of the other proteins needed for softer, firmer, more youthful skin.

In fact, collagen often gets credit for qualities that other proteins bring.

If we want more elastic skin that allows skin to stretch out and then come back without creating wrinkles, that’s elastin, not collagen.

If we want softer, smoother skin (not to mention thicker, fuller hair and stronger nails) we need keratin.

But we don’t get these from collagen powders.

This is because, as with any protein (and collagen is just a type of protein), our body doesn’t use the collagen we consume in the form it comes in — it uses the amino acids that it’s made of.

And if they aren’t the right amino acids or the right amounts? It can’t use them.

So let’s dive in and see what’s happening here.

Let’s look at not only what does and doesn’t produce collagen (and how much), but let’s also look at the other proteins that provide qualities which are often associated with collagen, but which, in actual fact, are not from collagen.

What produces those? (Hint: it’s not collagen powder.)

And finally, let’s see what actually gets us the softest, healthiest and most youthful skin.

Ready? Here we go.

There’s a lot of talk right now regarding processed foods and seed oils.

Are they bad for us, good for us, don’t make a difference?

Which is it?

In this article we’re going to dive into seed oils.

But before we do, let’s make sure we’re looking at this properly.

We only ever really get into trouble knowing if something is “good” or “bad” if we’re speaking in generalities.

Because the statement “seed oils are bad” isn’t true. But the statement “seed oils are good” is also untrue.

Some seed oils, cooked at very high heat, can be very harmful to us, causing accelerated aging, poor skin, inflammatory responses in the body, low energy and much more.

But others are not only beneficial, they’re absolutely essential.

So if we want to know the truth, we need to ask:

Which seed oil are we talking about?

What does that seed oil do in the body?

Are we talking about imbalances where in one amount it’s bad but another it’s good?

How was the seed oil used: was it raw, lightly cooked or cooked at high temperatures, thus changing it into something else entirely that our body can’t use?

There are some seed oils that help with fat loss, some that prevent fat loss, some that are needed for our cells to work properly and some that destroy our cells.

So instead of speaking in a generality of “are they bad or good,” let’s break this all down and see if we can't get some real answers.

In today’s world, from the viewpoint of our bodies, they’re under constant attack.

Harmful toxins come in through our air, food and water, and even our clothing and personal care items. And these are at levels over 50 times that of just a few decades ago.

And they are affecting us quite significantly.

On top of that, our processed foods not only contain harmful chemicals, but have key vitamins and nutrients processed out of them. The exact nutrients our bodies need to fight or neutralize the harmful chemicals coming in.

As just one example, if you were to buy beef, you should be able to expect that it has one ingredient: beef. Nothing else. Why would it?

However, unless you’re buying completely naturally raised, certified organic, 100% grass-fed and finished beef, what you’re actually getting generally includes Antibiotics, tranquilizers, pesticides, animal drugs, artificial flavors, industrial wastes, and growth-promoting hormones.

Just to name a few.

Not quite one ingredient.

But what do you think these chemicals do in our body? How do they affect us?

Because that’s just one food source. We have the same things happening in vegetables and fruits today, and almost all of our processed, packaged or boxed foods.

We get literally thousands of chemicals in through our water sources, drinks, and even our skin care products and our clothes.

What does this do to our body?

Well, look at the amount of physical conditions occurring in society today. These either didn’t exist or were in most cases quite rare just four or five decades ago.

Look at stress levels, hormonal imbalances, and common allergies today.

And look at how fast aging is occurring in our younger generations, with members of Gen Z appearing to age faster than Millenials, and Millennials aging faster than Gen X and Boomers.

This is a real thing.

So let’s dive in and see exactly how these chemicals affect us and what we can do about it.

When we look at the fact of aging, or getting older, we often measure it in two ways:

The number of years we’ve been on this earth, chronologically.

And the amount of decay that’s set in: fatigue, lower energy, poor fitness levels, poor sleep, loss of muscle, worsening vision and hearing, digestive problems, memory loss, etc.

But, while we’ve come to see the second as the inevitable result of the first, it’s actually not. It’s the result of getting biologically older, accelerated aging before our time.

We don’t realize this because our view is obviously based on what we’ve seen for decades now. And what we’ve seen is not good.

But this isn’t a natural situation. It’s a created situation.

Today, 90 percent of the money spent on health care in the US, almost $4.1 trillion, is spent on preventable chronic disease.

And a 2018 study found that 88 percent of Americans are in poor metabolic health—meaning they are on the road to the above diseases.

That’s not 88% of the elderly, that’s 88% of the population of the US.

This is despite the US spending nearly double the amount on healthcare and medicine as any other country.

But in the Blue Zones of the world, where they don’t have access to either our medicine or our toxins and very poor foods, they live quite healthily to 100 or more.

This is accelerated aging. And we don't need it.

So sit tight, because we’re about to get sciencey.

Did you know that factors such as diet, exercise, toxins, sleep, stress and more can affect how able our DNA are to make new, healthy cells?

This is a huge factor in aging.

If our DNA can't make new cells properly, but instead makes "faulty" cells, then, as our body is nothing but cells, over time our body begins to slowly degrade.

We see it in our skin, our strength, our energy levels and our overall health.

This is half of what we call "aging."

But it doesn't have to be this way. This is a created situation.

And we can reverse it.

If we want to actually increase longevity, increase lifespan and increase overall health and ability during the entirety of that lifespan, then we need to define what we’re talking about. 

Even more, we need to compare the current “norm” we’ve become accustomed to… to what not only can exist, but does exist in other places today.

A person should be able to live past 100 years old, with high energy levels, strength and mental ability, doing what they want without the need of twenty different drugs to keep them going, and then pass away peacefully.

And not only should that be the case, but in places outside of our “modern world” — called Blue Zones — it is the case. Quite routinely.

Let's dive in.

Everyone wants soft, healthy, firm skin. Especially as we get older.

This is so much the case that about $17 Billion is spent on skin care products yearly.

But much of these products, while providing results in the short term, actually cause worsening conditions over time, increasing the "need" to use them.

This is due, in many cases, to some very toxic ingredients used in many of them.

These include hormone disruptors, formaldehyde, chemicals also used as plastic softeners, carcinogens, allergens, solvents and even neurotoxins.

So, while these products may contain ingredients that seem to help on an immediate basis, over time many of them are causing the issues they claim to address.

Let’s see what's actually happening here and what we can do about it.

Did you know that the official measurement of what is considered to be normal testosterone levels has been lowered? 

It has. And this was done because the majority of men no longer fall into the earlier acceptable ranges. 

Their testosterone levels are too low. 

Why is this? What's happening? And why would they choose to lower the acceptable levels instead of addressing why they are lowering?

In this article we talk about what testosterone does in the body, largely from the view of its anti-aging effects, how lowering testosterone levels, not just in the elderly, speeds up our biological aging, and what is causing this.

If you’re over 40 years old, you’ve probably noticed that weight loss can become harder.

When we’re younger, in our teens, 20’s and 30’s, we can often (not always) get away with a lot. We can eat more carbs without gaining weight, and keep up our energy and strength levels.

But after 40, things change. And this is a factor in aging. A factor related to changes in our hormones as we age.

Cholesterol is very firmly associated with lifespan. Just not in the way most people think.

In fact, according to newer research, levels of cholesterol in the ranges of 210-240 are associated with longer lifespans.

And lower levels of cholesterol lead to lower levels of energy, overall health and hormonal deficiencies among testosterone, estrogen and others.

In this article we cover how cholesterol actually operates in the body, what it actually has to do with high blood pressure and how it’s not quite the villain it’s been made out to be, but a vital part of our body’s proper functioning.

Most people, when they hit 50, and definitely when they hit 60 or 70, start to lose muscle mass and strength. And most of them think this is just a matter of aging.

But, while aging is definitely a factor here, there is much more going on that is speeding up this process.

I’m 74 years old and I still run in Ironman Triathlons.

I’m strong, I’m lean, and I have more energy than many people half my age. And I’m not alone in this.

So, obviously, age isn’t quite the factor most people think.

But there are key differences between those of us who still keep our muscle and strength, and those of us who don’t. And they’re not genetic.

They’re points that anyone can apply to themselves to start increasing strength and muscle mass again, no matter how old they are.