There are certain things that accelerate aging, destroying our cells, far beyond anything else.

You’ve probably heard of them, but never gotten a real explanation for what they are or how they work.

They’re called free radicals.

These are incomplete molecules in our body, caused naturally or through toxins, harmful bacteria, radiation, and ingredients in many processed foods.

But while they do occur naturally on a lower level, when they’re too high, they cause destruction throughout our body.

They can affect our skin, creating dry or sagging skin over time, or lead to disruptions in our skin.

They affect our hormones and hormonal balance.

They lower our energy levels while raising immune activity.

They affect our cardiovascular system, injuring our blood vessels.

They can break down proteins in our cells, harm our DNA, and even cause mutations.

And they raise stress levels throughout our nervous system, making it harder to relax, recover from workouts or activity, or get good, deep sleep.

In short, they’re not good. And as they’re at an all time high with today’s environmental pollutants and chemicals in our foods, we need to take active steps to neutralize them to prevent damage in the body.

So let’s dive in.

As of today, about 42% of Americans are considered clinically obese. This is a large rise from the 1970’s when only about 10% were.

To combat this, recently, many have turned to the medication, Ozempic. This is a medication originally approved for the treatment of diabetes, but which has shown results in lowering appetite and blood sugar levels, and so allowing for loss of body fat.

However, it works by bypassing the body’s natural systems and in some cases lowering the body’s ability to naturally perform these actions as the body gets used to receiving it.

And, for some, it can come with severe side effects to one degree or another: increased risk of heart attack, bowel obstruction, gallstones, thyroid cancer, vision loss, muscle loss and weak or brittle bones especially for those in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, and severe stomach paralysis.

Not to mention the possible permanent lowering of digestive ability once off of Ozempic, along the return of the body fat lost, if the situation that originally brought about the obesity has not been addressed.

So understanding this medication, how it works inside our body, what it can and can’t do, its long term side-effects, and what to do if you intend to take it or already are is quite important.

In this article we want to give you a window into the life of an elite athlete and find out how they train on a daily basis, and how they ready themself for an international tournament.

Because, whether you’re training to elite level yourself, or just trying to stay fit and healthy, what they know and do could work wonders for you.

We want to know how they prepare, both physically and mentally, and even strategically.

What is their training cadence, diet, workout regimen, and mind set?

What is their recovery protocol and sleep routine, and what other tricks do they have?

In short — we want to know what it takes to become the best?

And to find out, we asked one of the best.

Meet Mitchell Saron, a Filipino American, right-handed saber fencer who is, quite literally, one of the best on the planet.

Let’s dive in.

Anyone who works out, runs, bikes or does any type of intense exercise, knows about DOMS — Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

This is the soreness you feel not right after a workout or exercise, but 24-48 hours later.

At one point it was thought this was caused by lactic acid build up, but this isn’t the case.

(Lactic acid is an acid that starts to build up just before we reach our VO2 Max and can’t go any further in our exercise or workout.) But lactic acid actually helps you. Your body can metabolize it (burn it and use it as fuel).

So what really causes DOMS? And how can we prevent it or lessen it?

Let’s see.

When working out, training, or just going about our daily lives, optimal blood flow is very important.

It's necessary for the fullest recovery after exercise, high energy levels, performance, muscle building, and fat loss. Not to mention, overall health.

Poor blood flow even affects our mood.

It's how the nutrients, water, and oxygen needed for energy creation and cellular repair flow to our cells.

And how the toxins flow out.

If our blood flow is lower, our cells do not get these nutrients or oxygen fast enough and our energy levels go down during high intensity workouts, or in daily life.

This lowers endurance, slows recovery, muscle building, and fat loss significantly, and can leave us feeling exhausted, low energy, and even depressed.

Achieving healthy blood flow then is important for maximum results and maximum overall health.

Electrolytes are necessary for hydration, energy, recovery, and mental clarity.

They power our nervous system, regulate our water levels, allow our cells to function, and are key to protein synthesis, recovery, and even brain function.

And they're vital for fat loss.

Lack of electrolytes can cause dizziness, cramps, headaches, exhaustion, mental confusion, and even affect our heartbeat.

But they are exact minerals and they're needed by the body in exact ratios.

Too much of one and not enough of another can actually exacerbate the problems they're supposed to address.

In fact, the wrong ratio can even cause dehydration and bloating, not to mention weight gain and slower recoveries.

We’ve all seen energy drinks advertised on social media, by influencers, and even by athletes.

And the number of people drinking these on an almost daily basis has been growing for years, affecting their sleep, mood, nervous system, heart health, weight and overall health and energy levels.

Even some elite athletes have begun drinking them, causing trouble down the road.

These energy drinks have high amounts of caffeine, and higher amounts of straight sugar, often under the guise of several different ingredients so you don’t see quite how much is in there.

 So let’s look at what they’re actually doing in the body, how they give that first energy high, then crash, and their effects down the line.

Did you know low levels of thyroid can bring on not only low energy and weight gain, but also contribute to depression and brain fog?

This can make thinking, problem-solving, and just coping with the everyday stresses of life much harder.

With the rise in hormone-blocking toxins in our environment, processed foods and processed sugars, and the low amount of protein most of us consume, low thyroid is affecting more and more people, especially among women and the elderly.

But there’s one more thing affecting this — low magnesium. Magnesium is necessary for thyroid to be produced inside the body. Yet it’s being processed out of our foods more and more every year, until more than half the people in the US are now magnesium deficient.

In this article we dive into what thyroid is, how low thyroid occurs, how it affects our mood, energy levels, mental alertness, and our ability to think and cope with the problems of everyday life and what we can do to raise it.

We know about amino acids, hormones, and how different foods affect our ability to build lean muscle, burn fat and stay healthy. 

But if we want to achieve maximum levels of energy, recovery, health and performance, and build the most lean muscle, then we need to go down to the cellular level. 

After all, our bodies are just one big mass of some 100 trillion cells all bonded together. 

How well we're doing is an exact reflection of how well our cells are doing.

Getting good sleep is one of the most important things we can do, not just for muscle building and fat loss but for our mood, energy levels, and overall health.

Sleep is when our body is able to recover and repair cells, a lack of it even affects our aging process, speeding it up internally, as well as visibly causing wrinkles and sagging skin. 

During the first few hours of deep sleep is when many hormones, including growth hormone and IGF (major fat-burning hormone) are released.

Getting enough sleep also helps to keep cortisol levels lower and balance estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and thyroid.

So if we want a lean, toned or muscled body, then we need deep sleep every night for full recovery, muscle building, natural fat loss and hormonal balance.

Yet a third of Americans get poor sleep, and those with the worst sleep generally have poor health.

So what causes this and what can we do to not only get better, deeper, more refreshing sleep, but also to reverse the effects of poor sleep?

Let’s dive in and see.

Many people think of bodybuilding as just trying to build the biggest muscles we can. And that’s not quite true.

Bodybuilding is about building one’s ideal physique. And, while that includes achieving bigger muscles, it also means achieving balance, symmetry and aesthetics.

But there are those who do try for building the biggest muscles they can, which there is nothing wrong with.

Unfortunately, many of them employ substances which, while helping to achieve their goals faster, and in some cases achieve more than they could naturally, also result in serious health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, something which is becoming more and more prevalent amongst bodybuilders today.

In this article we’re going to cover the use of steroids and insulin injections, why they're used, how they work, and how these significantly increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes down the road.

Cortisol is one of the most important hormones in our body. It’s been called the “stress” hormone because it’s released during moments of stress.

But it’s also the hormone that wakes us up in the morning, that starts the healing process in our body after any injury or workout, and that provides us with energy and mental focus when we’re “running low.”

But unfortunately, when cortisol levels go too high, it becomes something else.

It can cause muscle loss and prevent muscle gain, cause fat storage and prevent fat loss even when we’re exercising, cause low energy levels, cause us to feel stressed, cause poor sleep, and even slow or prevent healing and recovery.

If you have trouble with any of the above, it’s likely that higher than normal cortisol levels play a part.

But that’s when it’s too high. And, unfortunately, for many people in society today, it already is too high.

So let’s dive in and see what cortisol is, how it works and how we can balance our levels.