Angion Method

My readers should know there’s a small revolution going on that will impact all areas of health and performance. Around May of this year, Janus Bifrons (not his real name) burst into the scene of male performance enhancement with a new theory and technique he calls, “The Angion Method”. He is sharing his ideas, research and unique methods with everyone for free.

As with all great discoveries like agriculture and the internet, this new technique (which will have huge health benefits for most conditions) is being driven by something very surprising. As most of you may know, the main driver of agriculture was not to grow food to feed our hungry bodies, but to create alcohol by fermenting these crops. And the driver of the internet was not collaboration and communication, but the hunger for Porn.

So, the Angion method, which we we will look at a very high level, is being driven right now by the ability of this method to enlarge the phallus of men in terms of girth and length. And it obliterates erectile dysfunction. In fact, many men are reporting they are becoming super stars in the bedroom after only a few days or weeks of the practice.

In a nutshell, Janus is reminding anyone who took a high school biology class, that the circulatory system is a closed loop system. Basically, if you push blood in one direction, blood will flush in to fill the void.

By pushing blood along a vein toward the heart, the corresponding arteries will flush new oxygenated blood into the area. Men are doing this technique on the phallus increasing blood flow and restoring health to the three main arteries there.

This technique can be applied anywhere in the body you want to increase blood flow and growth factors by studying the veins and artery maps. Always press the vein towards the heart in the natural path of blood flow.

Glycocalyx

I wrote about the glycocalyx here recently. He also talks about how blood rushing through the system encourages the health of the glycocalyx and production of nitric oxide.

As with many things, you’re hearing about this here first!
Check out his youtube channel and promote this site for breaking health news and discoveries.

Arthritis Hip Replacement Part 1

Are you considering a total hip replacement?

If you just got back from a doctor’s appointment and the doc said you need one, you need to read this. I’ll give you the basic info you need.
First, relax. Worst case scenario is you need to have the procedure. It is considered the most successful surgery in terms of complications and restoration of quality of life. If this is the worst case scenario, then it’s not that bad.
Assessment:
First, don’t be afraid to ask your doc questions to clarify your condition. This post is going to assume osteoarthritis or degenerative “wear and tear” arthritis. You could have other types of arthritis caused by your immune system or other conditions that are pretty complicated.

Don’t be surprised if you’re confused and your doc confuses you more. Seems after 50 years of doing hip replacements, docs still don’t have direct answers for anything. Don’t expect a lot of answers you’ll have to do a lot of research on your own.

If your doc seems tired of answering questions, is short or obnoxious with you, get another doc. Seriously, don’t take any crap, this is your body and the doc has a responsibility to explain everything to you in detail. It doesn’t matter if you’re the 3000th patient he/she has explained this too. You’re number 1 in your own matter!

You need to know if any cartilage is left. If no cartilage is left, meaning “bone on bone” then you don’t have a lot of options that are viable. If you’re thinking about stem cells or PRP for the hip, I hate to break it to you, but you may be disappointed. You will not find lots of people on the internet posting success stories because there aren’t many. If you have thousands of dollars to try to avoid an operation and spending money is nothing to you, try it, but I doubt it will be successful, despite all the glowing advertisements. The reason is that cartilage needs a scaffold to grow. With bone on bone, there is nothing for the cartilage to grow on. It’s not going to work.

If you do have cartilage left, you can try lasers, stem cells, prp, diet, supplements, exercise etc. However, if you do your research, it doesn’t look good to help your condition.

Again, if you are diagnosed with “bone on bone”, save your money. If you have cartilage left, you can try these alternatives.

When you are evaluating, these “cures” you really need to understand what the situation is behind the claims. If you are really debilitated–meaning you can’t put your socks on, hurts when you walk and are severely impacted, then don’t expect supplements and alternative therapies to work. Even standard medically accepted alternatives like antiinflammatory meds, steroid shots, physical therapy don’t really work.
I often wonder how bad the arthritis was for people who claim miraculous claims from supplements, drugs and alternative therapies.

In my next post, I’ll break down your options including some new and innovative procedures like the Superpath.

Microcirculation

Microcirculation is getting a lot of hot press now. There is a new innovative medical device available that is affordable, painless and easy to self-administer. This device, called D’Oxyva can boost microcirculation in just 5 minutes!

Microcirculation is being studied to help arthritis, fibromyalgia, erectile dysfunction, complications from diabetes, depression, and many many other conditions.

Did you know that even cellulite is directly correlated with lack of adequate microcirculation?

Check out this device now!

Repair Your Arteries and Veins

Glycocalyx.
There’s a new word you’ll be hearing about.

Glycocalyx is the “non-stick” inner lining of every blood vessel. As we get older, or eat a lot of sugars, this inner lining gets damaged by inflammation. As a result, the arteries become inflexible and easily damaged.

Scientists have found a supplement that can restore the Glycocolyx to it’s healthy state.
It’s called Aterosil and it’s made from seaweed. This seaweed has a biochemistry that is very similar to the Glycocalyx and your body uses it to repair it’s own linings. This is how you can repair your arteries and veins.

People are claiming fantastic results from taking the supplement, one pill twice a day. They are claiming clearer thinking, better circulation, more energy..even greater performance in the bedroom.

You can learn more about this from the arterosil website. They are offering a free DVD and other literature at:

Hydrogen Sulfide is better than viagra

Everyone knows by now that increasing the production of nitric oxide in the body results in a healthier cardiovascular system. One of the benefits of a healthy cardiovascular system for men is powerful erections on demand. For women, it’s a youthful sexual response and stronger orgasms.
Conventional wisdom indicates that nitric oxide is the main way to improve blood flow in the body. Nitric oxide can be enhanced by eating more vegetables that provide nitrates (like spinach and beets) or eating foods high in arginine or citrulline.
Scientists have found a new way to improve erections and that is by increasing the production of hydrogen sulfide. In fact Hydrogen Sulfide is better than viagra because you create it naturally in your muscles.
Here is a link to one study here.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is a well known toxic gas, has recently been recognized as a biological messenger, which plays an important role in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Relatively high levels of H2S have been discovered in mammalian tissues. It is mainly synthesized by two enzymes including cystathionine β-synthase and cystathionine γ-lysase, which utilize L-cysteine as substrate to produce H2S. H2S has been demonstrated to exhibit potent vasodilator activity both in vitro and in vivo by relaxing vascular smooth muscle. Recently, H2S has been discovered in penile tissue with smooth muscle relaxant effects. Furthermore, other effects of H2S may play a role in the physiology of erection. Understanding of H2S in the physiology of erection might provide alternative erectile dysfunction (ED) strategies for those patients with poor or no response to type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE5i). This review intends to present the H2S pathway in penile tissue and the potential role of H2S in the physiology of erections.
In the article, Hydrogen Sulfide is created mainly by CSE acting on the amino acid Cysteine. What increases CSE? Exercise!

Exercise could be a therapeutic approach for cardiovascular dysfunction induced by estrogen deficiency. Our previous study has shown that estrogen maintains cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) expression and inhibits oxidative stress in the myocardium of female rats. In the present study, we investigated whether exercise improves CSE expression and oxidative stress status and ameliorates isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac damage in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The results showed that treadmill training restored the ovariectomy-induced reduction of CSE and estrogen receptor (ER)α and decrease of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and increase of malondialdehyde (MDA). The level of CSE was positively correlated to T-AOC and ERα while inversely correlated to MDA. OVX rats showed increases in the serum levels of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the percentage of TUNEL staining in myocardium upon ISO insult compared to sham rats. Exercise training significantly reduced the serum levels of LDH and CK and the percentage of TUNEL staining in myocardium upon ISO insult in OVX rats. In cultured cardiomyocytes, ISO treatment decreased cell viability and increased LDH release, while overexpression of CSE increased cell viability and decreased LDH release in the cells upon ISO insult. The results suggest that exercise training improves the oxidative stress status and ameliorates the cardiac damage induced by oxidative stress in OVX rats. The improvement of oxidative stress status by exercise might be at least partially due to upregulation of CSE/H2S signaling.

You can read about it here.
Can you increase your power in the bedroom by eating more cysteine and exercising more?

Curcumin boosts testosterone

Curcumin boosts testosterone levels!!

I’ve written about the viagra effects of curcumin here.

In this post, it was shown in scientific studies that curcumin can boost nitric oxide levels better than viagra.

In 2014, Scientists learned that curcumin boosts testosterone levels too!

In a study written about at Ergo-log.com, it was noted that curcumin can boost testosterone levels by 257 percent.

In the curcumin group the testosterone concentration in the blood was 257 percent higher than in the control group

Apparently, curcumin, which comes from the common Indian spice Turmeric, boosts the levels of antioxidants in the testes and helps them function better.

The human equivalent in the rat study is about 1 to 1.5 grams of curcumin, according to the writers at ergo-log.com.

That’s really easy to get via supplementation.

You can also start adding the raw spice to your smoothies.

Anti-inflammatories make arthritis worse

Anti-inflammatories are prescribed to address arthritis pain and stiffness. Unfortunately there is not much known about what causes arthritis or how to cure it. There does seem to be a “wear and tear” component and auto-immune component.

Everyone knows that long term anti-inflammatories like aspirin, ibuprofen, advil and prescription drugs have bad side effects. Taking these substances long term inhibit important chemicals called prostaglandins that are involved in maintaining your stomach lining and health of your blood vessels among other things. Sometimes people who take these drugs get stomach ulcers or even heart attacks.

However, it gets even worse. Anti-inflammatories make arthritis worse! Anti-inflammatories inhibit cartilage from regenerating.

If you have wear and tear arthritis and you are taking anti-inflammatories for pain, you will never heal.

Check out this study here on how bad NSAIDs are for your joints.
In human studies, NSAIDs have been shown to accelerate the radiographic progression of OA of the knee and hip. For those using NSAIDs compared to the patients who do not use them, joint replacements occur earlier and more quickly and frequently. The author notes that massive NSAID use in osteoarthritic patients since their introduction over the past forty years is one of the main causes of the rapid rise in the need for hip and knee replacements, both now and in the future.
While it is admirable for the various consensus and rheumatology organizations to educate doctors and the lay public about the necessity to limit NSAID use in OA, the author recommends that the following warning label be on each NSAID bottle:
The use of this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication has been shown in scientific studies to accelerate the articular cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis. Use of this product poses a significant risk in accelerating osteoarthritis joint breakdown. Anyone using this product for the pain of osteoarthritis should be under a doctor’s care and the use of this product should be with the very lowest dosage and for the shortest duration of time.
If NSAID use continues, then most likely the exponential rise in degenerative arthritis and subsequent musculoskeletal surgeries, including knee and hip replacements as well as spine surgeries, will continue to rise as well.
– See more at: http://www.journalofprolotherapy.com/index.php/the-acceleration-of-articular-cartilage-degeneration-in-osteoarthritis-by-nonsteroidal-anti-inflammatory-drugs/#sthash.96kPMmzJ.dpuf

Toothaches and Erections?

What do toothaches and erections have in common?

There’s an herb called the ‘toothache plant’ or Spilanthes camellia that historically was used to numb the mouth, hence the name ‘toothache plant’.

However, this plant extract has been studied extensively for it’s blood pressure lowering, nitric oxide producing, testosterone boosting and erection strengthening powers!

One study showed it increased the hardness of a rat erection by 200%!

It’s amazing we haven’t heard more about this. PDE5 inhibitor drugs increase erections by inhibiting the PDE5 enzyme but do nothing for testosterone or libido. Toothache plant increases erections and testosterone!

You can read some more here.

Spilanthes-closeup-large

Gut Bacteria and Weight Loss

There’s a lot of great information pouring in regarding gut bacteria and weight loss. It is said we have 100 Trillion bacteria living in and on our bodies. That’s 10x the amount of our body cells!! So, we really are only 10% human.
Here at tonicquest, we’ve learned some interesting things so far about these bugs in our gut. Here’s a list that we will report on as we learn more. Start to research how the bacteria in your gut are creating the youthful tonics you need for everlasting health, youth and beauty:

Gut bacteria are broken into to main types: Fat people have one and skinny people generally have the other.

In lab experiments, if you transplant the fat bacteria into skinny mice, they get fat. If you put the skinny bacteria in fat mice, they get skinny.

The fat bacteria love sugar and carbs.

In order to continue to thrive, the fat bacteria will make you crave carbs and fat. Isn’t that crazy? However, it makes sense. If you have 10x more bacteria on and in your body than human cells, the bacteria are controlling you!!

The bacteria are controlling how you think, how you feel, what you crave and what you do!!

They do this because they want to survive and they want you to do what they want to ensure their health and the health and longevity of their species and offspring.

That’s crazy!!!!!!!!! But true, according to the latest research.

Fat bacteria create more calories out of the fiber and fats in your diet. Read that again, the bacteria in your gut are creating more calories from the food you eat than the skinny bacteria. The reason is that these bacteria are fermenting the fiber in your intestines. The fat bacteria do a more thorough job of these and are releasing more calories in your system!

These fat bacteria also create an inflammation cascade causing all kinds of aches and pains and diseases.

If you are obese or know someone who is obese, it’s not your fault or their fault! The bacteria they have inside them is a huge huge huge reason for the extra fat and fluids in their abdomens and body.

Fortunately, there is a way to influence which bacteria you have inside you.

L Reuteri For Great Hair and Skin

Tonicquest has reported on how mice eating yogurt had increased testosterone levels and great shiny hair. You can read about it here.

The early reports that came out simply mentioned probiotics in yogurt as if any yogurt could have this effect. However, it’s become clear that not all yogurts are created equal. If you read the fine print, you’ll see that most yogurts list the probiotics in them. Unfortunately, the specific strain that was used in the studies, L Reuteri, is really hard to find!! I can’t find one single commercially available yogurt that has this strain. Stonyfield yogurt used to have it, buy they stopped using it for some time now.

I did find L Reuteri in Lifeway Kefir. You can get it here:

Frustratingly, the Lifeway Kefir does not mention what strain is included. The strain you want is ATCC 6475 Lactobacillus reuteri. It’s a challenge to find it anywhere. Until then, you can try to get L Reuteri in supplement form.
You can try this one:

Read this study here.:

Radiant skin and hair are universally recognized as indications of good health. However, this ‘glow of health’ display remains poorly understood. We found that feeding of probiotic bacteria to aged mice induced integumentary changes mimicking peak health and reproductive fitness characteristic of much younger animals. Eating probiotic yogurt triggered epithelial follicular anagen-phase shift with sebocytogenesis resulting in thick lustrous fur due to a bacteria-triggered interleukin-10-dependent mechanism. Aged male animals eating probiotics exhibited increased subcuticular folliculogenesis, when compared with matched controls, yielding luxuriant fur only in probiotic-fed subjects. Female animals displayed probiotic-induced hyperacidity coinciding with shinier hair, a feature that also aligns with fertility in human females. Together these data provide insights into mammalian evolution and novel strategies for integumentary health.

Beat Winter Blues with Curcumin

Feeling down? You can beat winter blues with curcumin. There are many studies like this that show curcumin or turmeric are effective anti-depressants.

Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid derived from the spice turmeric, influences several biological mechanisms associated with major depression, namely those associated with monoaminergic activity, immune-inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress pathways, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and neuroprogression. We hypothesised that curcumin would be effective for the treatment of depressive symptoms in individuals with major depressive disorder.

Seems like every bad thing is caused by inflammation. A great anti-inflammatory like curcumin is a good thing to add to your diet and your personal regimen.

You can get a great supplement for this here:

Or if you want a powerful pure powder try this:

How Tai Chi Can Cure Erectile Dysfunction And Increase Libido

The sexual prowess of internal martial art masters is legendary. I was told by one of my teachers that his teacher (in his 80s) was still enjoying regular relations.

I often wondered what could be the explanation for this? According to traditional chinese medicine (TCM), correct tai chi practice exercises the “kidney/liver” system. In TCM, kidney/liver does not mean only the physical organs. The kidney/liver system refers to a whole complex of spiritual, emotional, physical and other factors. The kidneys are related to life force and strong kidneys means strong libido, strength and creativity to be successful in the world.

However, I stumbled upon some research that offers a more tangible explanation for why tai chi could have these miraculous effects. Keep in mind that good and correct tai chi instruction is really hard to find. The millions of old people practicing in the park are largely doing it incorrectly!! Hard to believe but true. The real stuff has been watered down and popularized for the masses.
Most of the old people practicing in the park are doing it wrong and not getting benefits over fresh air, sunlight and walking. This is why tai chi practice does not appeal to young people and most non-chinese people.

If word got out about the side effects of correct tai chi practice, then everybody would do it and older people would be become vibrant and youthful.

Anyway, this study and many many others are saying that simple pelvic floor exercises can restore proper functioning to men provided they aren’t too far gone already (severe heart disease or heavy drinkers).

When tai chi is practiced correctly, it’s like an intense pelvic floor exercise. When the body is positioned correctly and relaxed the legs form a “bow” which results in the pelvic floor lifting and supporting the body. As one moves through the form, the pelvic area and legs get a thorough work out. It takes about 10 minutes to do the entire long form. Practiced up to 10 times per day, it’s 100 minutes of kegels and pelvic floor exercise each day!

ChenFake

If you are a tai chi student and do not feel this or your practice feels weak, seek out some new instruction. Traditional chen family style with a good lineage is a great place to start.
Tai Chi Symbol

Cancer Caused By Randomness?

Is cancer caused by randomness?

The most important factor that causes cancer could just be bad luck.

It’s making the news now that random mutations in genes that accumulate and overcome the body’s ability to heal itself probably have more to do with getting cancer than anything else.

Tonicquest’s first article on this blog was about randomness. You can read it here.

You can read about how scientists discovered the role of randomness in cancer here.


Roughly two-thirds of cancers in adults can be attributed to random mutations in genes capable of driving cancer growth, said two scientists who ran statistics on cancer cases.

DNA_Overview2

Check out this great book on randomness that I read twice and recommend to everyone I know:

Curcumin Better Than Viagra

Believe it or not, curcumin (the most famous chemical and anti-inflammatory derived from turmeric root used in asian cooking) could be more effective than sildenafil. Check out this pub med study Efficacy of a novel water-soluble curcumin derivative versus sildenafil citrate in mediating erectile function.

In conclusion, NCD (Novel Curcumin Derivative) could enhance erectile function with more efficacy and more prolonged duration of action.

Here’s another study that says it can be effective for up to a week vs a few hours for Viagra.
You can read it here.

Results. In group 2, there was a significant progressive maintained elevation of HO activity and cGMP tissue levels
starting from the first hour in subgroups 3 and 4, whereas, the rise in HO activity and cGMP started from second
hour regarding the other rat subgroups. Sildenafil effect decreased after 3 hours. In group 3, there was a significant
maintained elevation of HO activity and cGMP tissue levels extended to 1 week as compared to controls for all rat
subgroups that received both forms of curcumin. In group 4, long-acting curcumin derivative exhibited more
significant potentiation of intracavernosal pressure as compared to control and to the pure curcumin.
Conclusion. Water-soluble long-acting curcumin derivative could mediate erectile function via upregulating cavernous
tissue cGMP.

I’ve been looking for a water soluble curcumin supplement. They are hard to find, but this looks like an early one:

Ibuprofen Extends Life Span?

There’s evidence that ibuprofen could extend lifespan and health for humans up to 15%!
You can read about it here.
According to the article at Sciencedaily,

Regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of multiple species, according to research published in the journal Public Library of Science, Genetics.
“We first used baker’s yeast, which is an established aging model, and noticed that the yeast treated with ibuprofen lived longer,” said Dr. Michael Polymenis, an AgriLife Research biochemist in College Station. “Then we tried the same process with worms and flies and saw the same extended lifespan. Plus, these organisms not only lived longer, but also appeared healthy.”
He said the treatment, given at doses comparable to the recommended human dose, added about 15 percent more to the species lives. In humans, that would be equivalent to another dozen or so years of healthy living.

No real theories yet on why this could be, but it’s very interesting. Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories could cause stomach ulcers and other side effects due to interfering with prostaglandins. There is also evidence it is correlated (not necessarily causing) erectile dysfunction somewhere down the line after extended use.

We’ll have to keep watching new developments on this one!

Beat Inflammation with Four Great Supplements

Yesterday I wrote about alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and Propionyl l-carnitine (PLC) for beating nerve pain, especially sciatic nerve pain associated with a herniated lumbar disc.
Today I want to talk about 4 other great supplements to eliminate pain and inflammation with links to buy the ones I use.
#1
Curcumin with Ginger. Formulated with BCM-95, this highly absorbable curcumin supplement is fast and effective for relieving muscle, joint and nerve pain. I find it to be very effective and there are great reviews on amazon. This is the one I buy:

#2 Highly potent boswelia extract:
I stumbled across a frankincense supplement and found it to be an effective pain reliever. I researched the herb and was fascinated by it’s effect and my positive experiences with it. It’s a very effective TNF Alpha inhibitor. TNF alpha inhibition not only quenches inflammation and pain, it enhances men’s erections! I found a great version of the herb from Life Extension that is extremely effective:

#3 Cats Claw
From the Peruvian rainforest, this 10:1 extract is potent and effective. This is the one I use:

#4 Bioperine
Bioperine is an extract of black pepper. You can read about it on this blog, but the short story is that it helps you absorb nutrients more. I take this bioperine with my supplements to increase absorption. This is the one I use:

Try these and let us know how you’re doing!

How To Deal With Nerve Pain

I will write a few posts on how I addressed sciatic nerve pain after a microdiscectomy procedure on my L5 S1 lumbar disk. I was severely debilitated early this year with a serious disc herniation. After physical therapy and steroid injections in my spine, I had to undergo the surgical procedure. The procedure got me walking again, but I had a long recovery to regain strength,health and to make the sciatic pain completely disappear. Soon after surgery, you are often put on powerful anti-inflammatory medication. However, eventually the prescriptions will run out and you’ll be on your own to deal when the pain returns after a long day or over doing physical activity.
Fortunately, I found some great supplements that removed any lingering pains immediately.
The first combo of supplements I want to talk about is alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and propionyl L- Carnitine (PLC).
After taking 600 mg of ALA and about 2 grams of PLC, the lingering pains were dulled almost immediately. I was able to step up my exercising with renewed confidence and have been doing well since.
There were some other supplements that I cycle on and off with PLC/ALA, however, PLC/ALA was the first combo that I tried that had a measurable and immediate effect.
You can get ALA and it’s stronger (more expensive) version RLA at this link:

PLC is really hard to find. I found a chinese factory on Alibaba that was able to ship me a kilo of the supplement at a very reasonable price. Contact me for details if you are interested in contacting them.

Why you need Amazon Prime

Amazon signs up 10 Million new Prime Memberships over the 2014 Holiday season.
I’m a big fan of Prime. Free two day shipping for all your supplement needs is great and pays for itself quickly. I love getting all my tonicquest items shipped to my door in two days (including Sunday!!). If you’re in NYC, amazon just announced hourly shipping. I am in awe of the innovations and envelope pushing that is characteristic of Amazon.
Things I’ve learned with Prime are as follows:
In the pros column is fast and convenient shipping, free movies and music, free kindle books and new innovations everyday.
In the cons column is that the shipping is not exactly “free”. If you look carefully, you do pay a little extra for prime items. If you’re willing to wait you can save a few dollars here and there. Amazon does have to run a business, so small items usually are not eligible for Prime due to the overhead of shipping costs. Sometimes these smaller items are available as “add on items” where they become eligible if your order meets a certain threshold like $25 or $30 USD.
You can sign up for a trial here and in turn help support this blog:

or gift it to someone with this link:

Taurine – It’s not just for old rats

Here’s an interesting study you can read here.

Taurine enhances the sexual response and mating ability in aged male rats.
Abstract

It has been demonstrated that taurine is abundant in male reproductive organs, and can be biosynthesized by testis, but the taurine concentration will reduce with aging. The levels of serum LH, T, NOS, and NO were found to be obviously increased by taurine supplementation in aged rats in our previous study. In addition, aging will result in a significant decline in sexual response and function, which may be attributed to the androgen deficiency. Furthermore, NO has been proposed as a crucial mediator of penile erection. That makes us hypothesize that there is potential relationship between taurine decline and erection dysfunction in aged males. So the primary aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of taurine on male sexuality in rats. Taurine was offered in water to male aged (20 months old) rats for 110 days. The effects of taurine on the sexual response, mating ability, levels of serum reproductive hormones, and penile NOS and NO levels were investigated. The results showed that taurine can significantly reduce the EL and ML; obviously increase the ERF, MF, IF, and EJF; stimulate the secretion of GnRH, LH, and T; and elevate penis NOS and NO level in aged rats. The results indicated that taurine can enhance the sexual response and mating ability in aged male rats by increasing the level of testosterone and NO, but the exact mechanism of which needs to be further investigated.

Increased testosterone and nitric oxide from Taurine supplementation? That’s amazing!

Taurine can be found in the popular “Red Bull” drinks. I think about 1 gram’s worth per serving.

Taurine is also quite inexpensive. Here’s a good bulk source for it:

Is Rogaine Aging Your Face?

Many people are applying Rogaine (Minoxidil) in various strengths to their scalps and eyebrows to increase hair growth. Minoxidil has been talked about since at least the early 80s when tests on monkeys showed it could grow hair. No one really understood why it worked. There are many theories ranging from increased blood flow to some “unknown” growth factor. Recently, studies are focusing in on prostaglandins, specfically PGD2 and PGE2. It seems that balding scalps have very high levels of PGD2 and when scientists studied this, they learned that PGD2 causes hair to go into resting stage and PGE2 signals hair to grow. They have been able to confirm that people who aren’t afflicted with baldness have higher concentrations of PGE2 in their scalps.
To cut to the chase, it appears that one of the mechanisms for Rogaine’s effectiveness is that it can increase PGE2 levels in the scalp! So this could be one of the main reasons why it works.
Unfortunately, many people apply rogaine before sleeping and it can get on pillows and bed sheets. This means it’s getting inadvertently rubbed in around the eyes.
What happens when PGE2 levels increase around the eyes? This:
220px-Raccoon_climbing_in_tree_

If you read this article here, it talks about PGE2 contributing significantly to aging of the skin around the eyes and dark circles.
Dark circles, bags and loss of fat tissue are well known side effects of glaucoma medications that mimic prostaglandins used on the eye. One such medicine became a hair growth medication, Latisse.
So if you are not looking as fresh as you once did and you’re a Rogaine user, check out your eyes. Are they baggy with very dark circles? Have they sunk in? It’s not your imagination! Google “rogaine dark circles under eyes” and you’ll see many people suffer from this. Most of the time the sunken dark eyes reverse back to normal after stopping rogaine, but sometimes (after prolonged use) they won’t bounce back and you may have to think about surgery or other corrective measures.