health authors

#14 Getting Back on Track after the Festive Season

Getting back on track ASAP after the festive season is a jolly good idea for health and longevity. Fortunately, while you’re still feeling utterly stuffed, it may not be so hard to do. 

Have you recently been derailed by mince pies? – or Prosecco, or pavlova, or whatever your seasonal poison may be? I know I have. It doesn’t take long to go off the rails. Fortunately, there’s nothing to stop us getting right back on track – and in the case of Roy and me, that means back on to the Low Carb, No Crap TM eating plan that helped him lose 35kg… and keep it off.

The pics below, taken a year apart, are presented as evidence. (It’s a shame I couldn’t afford a new dress.)

Slim, svelte Roy, Christmas 2020 …
… and again in Christmas 2021

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The Big Fat Surprise

#11 How Much Fat Do We Need to Eat?

How much fat we need depends on other things – how many carbs we can tolerate, for example, and what sort of fat we choose. Saturated fats from sustainably pastured animals is a pretty good start.

Note: The droolworthy featured image (above) is from the cover of The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz

How much fat

I’ve always liked this old 16th-century English rhyme, mainly because it sounded just like my parents – my tall, skinny, carrot-crunching father and my plump, butter-loving mother. Luckily, though I inherited her penchant for pork crackling, fatty lamb chops and anything sautéed in butter, I also inherited a tendency to Dad’s lanky frame – as long as I curb my cursed sweet tooth!

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#10 A Good Night’s Sleep – Dreams and nightmares

A good night’s sleep includes plenty of dream sleep and – if possible – avoiding nightmares. Why do we dream? Dreaming helps keep us sane!

(Featured photo: In case you’re wondering, the Corpse Bride above is granddaughter Mia, Halloween 2021.)

In the wee small hours, Roy’s hairy arm reached out to prod me awake. According to him – though it’s hard to imagine from such a sweet thing as I am – his wife was snoring like a dervish.

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#9 – Christmas Wish List for a biohacker

Here’s my Christmas wish list! All I want for Christmas* is a countertop water flosser, a new cover for my MacBook Air, an ozone generator with oxygen tank, the new Gen. 3 Oūra ring sleep tracker, a couple of mood-enhancing wearables like Hapbee and Apollo Neuro, an infrared sauna and a continuous glucose monitor.

  • purely in my biohacking capacity, that is…

“What do you want for Christmas?”, 11-year-old Mia asked me a few days ago. Only in retrospect did I realise my granddaughter was probably hoping I’d ask the same question in return – but she’d given me the idea for this blog post, and not being much of a multi-tasker, my mind wandered and I dropped the ball.

My husband didn’t ask what I wanted, so I told him anyway: an ozone generator plus an oxygen tank. Not only might this be the weirdest ever Santa request, it didn’t help my case that I thought it was the kind of tank that scuba divers use.

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Blood donation at Edgewater Donor Centre

#8 Blood donation benefits – rejuvenation and longevity

Blood donation benefits go way, way beyond saving the lives of others. Wondering why I’m donating blood? If you guessed it was for selfish motives, you’d be right. Though I do like the idea of helping my fellow citizens – and it’s estimated that each 470ml donation can save up to three lives – I mainly do it because it’s good for my own health and longevity.

By donating blood I’m burning calories, reducing my risk of cancer and protecting myself from liver disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other signs of heart disease – plus, the fact of helping others has been shown to increase our happiness and improve our mood.

Selfie of me donating blood, increasingly happy and in a better mood

Donating Down Under

Last week, I finally succeeded in donating blood here in Australia. I’d registered as a donor around three years earlier, but was deemed unsafe because of having visited South Africa, a malarial region, within the previous six months. (Odd thing, that: they happily took and used my blood in Durban!)

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#7 Creatine – for muscle, bone strength, memory and more

What is creatine? Who should take creatine? Why to take it: to improve muscle strength, bone mass, brain health, memory, eyesight and hearing, and to prevent sarcopaenia and frailty. Keep track of muscle and promote anti-frailty with the InBody 570 body composition scanner.

What is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid found mainly in muscle and brain tissue. Our livers, kidneys and pancreas naturally produce 1-2g of the stuff each day, mostly from eating fish and meat.  In the form we’re likely to buy it, it’s a derivative of three amino acids: L-arginine, glycine and L-methionine. It’s also the most highly researched supplement out there – and you can be sure that it’s not just effective, but extremely safe.

Verne with creatine
Before or after? Maybe somewhere in-between…

According to Healthline.com, creatine grows muscle by causing numerous changes within muscle cells that signal the body to produce new muscle proteins and increase muscle mass. It also helps to maintain existing muscle mass by limiting protein breakdown – another win. And remember, its effect on muscle mass is just one of many benefits.

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What is a biohacker? Verne rebounding on a trampoline

#4 What is a biohacker, and why am I one?

What is a biohacker, and why do I call myself one? For me, why I’m a biohacker is to optimise health and wellness, longevity and health-span. In other words, living long and strong! Like to give it a try?

Especially important is health-span – meaning the length of time I’m living a useful, happy and productive life. What’s the point of lingering on to 120 if you can’t dress yourself, scramble your own eggs or recognise your great-grandchildren?

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