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!

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.

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.

Stud Science Part 1 – Eat Like An Alpha Male

In this stud science part 1 – Eat like an alpha male, we address a combination of foods that can turn even a weak “sand in face” beta theta gamma male into a real stud. Sound crazy? Not if you pay attention to science and carefully select the foods you eat. Eating the right combination of foods can make women swarm around you and turn you into a bona fide stud. Here’s how:

First, scientists have discovered that a common food in your refrigerator right now has the capability to make you seem more attractive to the opposite sex. Yes, that’s right! Celery contains chemicals that not only boost your testosterone levels making you more of an alpha male, but also helps you release the right pheromones that make you appear studly.

According to a recent fox news report: celery, which naturally contains a male steroid hormone called androstenene. While widely regarded as “rabbit food,” eating celery supposedly causes your sweat glands to release the pheromone androstenol, which is often used in sprays and colognes as an aphrodisiac to attract women.
You can find the whole report here.

Now, looking like a stud to the ladies will do you no good if you can’t follow through. This is where Celery does double duty. In this blog, we talked about dietary nitrates and nitric oxide. Celery is very high in nitrates. The bacteria in your digestive track converts these nitrate salts into nitric oxide improving the strength of your erections.

To help things along, you should add brown rice to your diet. Recently it was discovered that brown rice increases the production of nitric oxide in the body. I can’t find a scientific study to back up that claim, but what I did find was a japanese study that showed brown rice reducted angiotensin II levels. You can find it here.
New research by Satoru Eguchi, Associate Professor of Physiology, suggests that a component in a layer of tissue surrounding grains of brown rice may work against angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is an endocrine protein and a known culprit in the development of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis
Reducing levels of angiotensin II helps men with erectile dysfunction. Read about it here

Parsley is another interesting addition to the diet to make you more studly. As men get older, their testicles make less testosterone due to inflammation caused by the COX-2 inflammation cascade. Anti-inflammatories could help, but they also block the good chemicals like prostaglandins and could mess up other things over time. Read this from ergo-log.com here.
It explains how a chemical in parsely (and in celery) called apigenin will block inflammation at a lower level and allow your testes to work and make testosterone.

So there you have it in part 1. Eat the foods above everyday and you could be well on your way to studly alpha male dominance over your less informed peers.
You read about it here on tonicquest.com!!

I Love Nutribullet The Best Way To Eat Superfoods

I absolutely love my nutribullet. For those living in isolation who have never heard of it, you can learn about it here . Nutribullet is the best way to eat superfoods. Sometimes I’ll throw my vitamin capsules in there. Pure vitamin C is a good one for this.

It’s basically a blender running at 600 Watts. A new version just came out at 900 Watts which I will get when my current one needs replacing. I use it everyday to make smoothies. I’m not really sure why it’s better than a basic $20 blender, maybe it’s the shape of the container. The marketing hype says it’s “cyclonic action” that blends the contents better than a blender, but I’m not entirely sure about that claim. Nevertheless, it works great, easy to clean and a super way to drink your vegetables with skin, seeds and fiber (unlike traditional juicers). I finder juicers ridiculously hard to clean and feel you lose all the beneficial fiber.

The nutribullet is the best way to add superfoods like cacao beans, gelatinized maca, goji berry and others to your diet. You can’t do this with a juicer. Load up the plastic container with some vegetables and your choice of superfood with some water, almond or coconut milk and you’re good to go.

I love to add fresh ginger and turmeric. You can get these at your local asian supermarket. I am thankful everyday that I live near several Patel Brothers Supermarkets where you can get many hard to find items like fresh turmeric root and other herbs. You can learn more about Patel Brothers here .

Let’s talk about cacao (chocolate beans). It’s an awesome superfood that you can add to your nutribullet for an extra anti-oxidant and nutritional punch. A great place to get a pound of the stuff is here:

These little crunchy nibs disappear in your smoothie. You can also snack on them (two travel bags are included in the purchase) or add them to salads, nut mixes and yogurt. Cacao increases nitric oxide levels in your body for blood flow and immune system benefits. The good things cacao does to your body are too numerous to mention here, but I bet if you are reading this blog you already know how good for you it is. All i’m saying is put it in your smoothie as a really easy way to add it to your daily regimen.

Sometimes I’ll make a basic smoothie with frozen strawberry, whey protein powder and the cacao nibs. It’s amazingly good!
Enjoy.

Pistachio Nuts Testosterone And Erectile Dysfunction

A study showed that a 3 week “pistachio nut” diet improved erectile function in men and at the same time improved cholesterol and hdl/ldl levels. However, interestingly enough, testosterone levels were lowered.
You can read the study here.

We have shown that 3-week pistachio diet applied to patients with ED resulted in a significant improvement in erectile function parameters (PCDU parameters and IIEF scores) with additional improvement in serum lipid parameters without any side effects. Further studies are needed with increased number of patients and longer follow-up evaluating the relationship between pistachio nuts and ED pathogenesis.

In the study, participants ate about 100 grams of pistachio nuts at lunch for three weeks.
pistachio nuts
Here’s another study that showed pistachio nuts improved endothelial function in humans, you can read by clicking here.

In this trial, we demonstrated that a pistachio diet improved blood glucose level, endothelial function, and some indices of inflammation and oxidative status in healthy young men. These findings are in accordance with the idea that nuts, in particular pistachio nuts, have favorable effects beyond lipid lowering that deserve to be evaluated with prospective follow-up studies.

So man up and eat some nuts everyday!!

Walking Better Than Running

Walking vs Running?
Check out this article from Time–it says that walking is similar to running with regards to health benefits such as reduction of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. However, when you read the article, walking is almost TWICE as good as running. Not JUST as good as:
Here’s what the researchers found:

Running significantly reduced the risk for being diagnosed with hypertension by 4.2% while walking reduced the risk by 7.2%
Running reduced the chances of having high cholesterol by 4.3% and walking by 7%
Running lowered risk of diabetes by 12.1% while walking dropped the risk by 12.3%
Running reduced coronary heart disease risk by 4.5% compared to 9.3% for walking.


You can read the whole article here.
The way I read this, walking is almost 2x as good as running for hypertension, almost 2x as good as running for high cholesterol, just as good as running for diabetes, and again 2x as good as running for heart disease.
So forgot running. I feel that too much running increases inflammation in the body and breaks it down.
Go enjoy your walk!

Make Your Own Chinese Spring Wine Tonic

The chinese are well known for making tonics for drinking and for applying to injuries. Anyone who has practiced chinese martial arts is familiar with ‘dit da jow’ or ‘hit medicine’. Dit da jow is usually a secret combination of herbs soaked in alcohol for several months to years and applied to injuries to speed up healing.

Taken internally, the tonics are often called ‘Spring Wine’. You can make your own chinese tonic spring wine with just a little bit of money and lots of time! I believe these home brews are much more powerful than anything you can buy in a bottle or pill at an herb shop.

I love to drink Shou Wu Chih and decided to make my own a few months ago. I bought a bottle in a chinatown herb shop and asked the owner to make up a batch of the raw herbs so I can soak them in rice wine and enjoy a fresh powerful home made batch. I had to buy 4 bottles of the highest percentage alcohol (38%) rice wine at the liquor store around the corner. When I got home, I added a bit of Rou Cong Gong, baji tian, du zhong and American Ginseng to add some kick to it. I tried a bit the other day to see how it was progressing and it was powerful! First of all, I slept like a baby after drinking a few shots. It was so strong, I had to mix some raw honey in there to make it palatable. Also, I have to say that this stuff increases nitric oxide production in the body. After a few days on this, my thinking was clearer, I easily felt 10 years younger. It makes you feel strong and powerful. So now I have a gallon of this stuff to work through! I didn’t measure my testosterone levels, but if I had to go by physical indicators, this stuff boosts testosterone levels!!

So, not stopping there, I found a great recipe for another batch here. This site has a jpg you can print out with the formula. It costs $15 in the united states to make up this batch (plus the alcohol). The owner remarked that this was a great formula and was really impressed that came in the store with it. However, I wanted to kick it up a few more notches. I added deer anter glue, korean ginseng, shou wu (fo ti) and goji berries. The blogger, happyhomemaker88 also had the same idea to add goji berries but complained they soaked up a bit of the wine.

The herbalist was impressed with my knowledge of chinese herbs and confirmed those were good additions. I wanted to do even more but was told “enough”..it was strong enough! Now I have to let this stuff soak a few months. I’ll try an early taste in 2-3 months and give a good 6 months.

Wonderful Pomegranate Near Panacea

Who knew that Pomegranates could cure what ails you?

Check out the research studies posted here.

Seems like pomegranate extract or juice can help with:

  • Reduction of arterial plaque
  • Improve exercise recovery
  • Improve erectile dysfunction
  • Fight Cancer, especially prostate cancer

Pomegranates boost nitric oxide.

How often do you find something that tastes good and is good for you?

Easy Low Calorie Irish Moss Recipe

Many irish moss recipes call for condensed milk and sugar which often means many calories! Instead of condensed milk, try a low calorie substitute such as almond milk or coconut milk. So Delicious makes a wonderful coconut milk you can use:

Cook a handful of dried irish moss and ground up flax seed in a slow cooker for a couple of hours. Add vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. When the irish moss is dissolved, add in the coconut milk or almond milk to cool it down quick.
Enjoy!

Aloe Vera For Anti-Aging

Everyone knows that resveratrol has been shown to delay aging and has remarkable effects. However, I stumbled upon something very interesting. Did you know that aloe vera, the plant that you can grow in your home for almost nothing, has similar effects?
What?
How come nobody is interested in exploring this study further? Click to see the study on Pubmed. Or here’s the abstract:

“Longevity extension in Drosophila melanogaster by feeding diet supplemented with chemicals throughout adulthood can cause harmful side effects. We tested the effect of larval diet supplementation with five different concentrations of resveratrol and one concentration of Aloe vera extract on the adult longevity of short-lived D melanogaster populations. Resveratrol and A vera extract supplementation of larval diet extended adult longevity in both the male and female flies without reducing fecundity but by efficient reactive oxygen species scavenging through increased antioxidant enzymes activity and better neuroprotection as indicated by increased locomotor activity in adult males.”

Fountain of Youth Aloe Vera Plant
I remember years ago bringing an aloe vera plant home. We planted it outside and within a few years we had a farm of them. Too bad I wasn’t aware of it’s anti-aging free radical scavenging effects back then.
Many people know that you can put aloe vera on your skin to speed up healing of burns and cuts, but many people don’t know you can and should drink the stuff! Don’t grind up the skin, filet it and mix up the inner gel in a blender with some fresh squeezed orange juice. Or if you’re brave, drink it straight up!
I found this cool guy on the ‘net who loves his aloe and it works for him. Check him out!
Here’s a youtube clip showing a good way to prepare a refreshing and healthy drink.
I heard it helps you lose weight too!

Easy way to boost testosterone

Want an easy way to boost testosterone levels? You don’t need to take any pills or injections. Simply add resistance training to your regular routine.
Check out this this study.
Here’s the abstract:

RESULTS:

The intra-groups comparison for testosterone and hGH revealed a significant increase in 80%-6RM and 80%-12RM. Cortisol levels was significantly higher in 80%-12RM and T:C ratio in 80% 6 RM when compared Pre and Post values. Inter-groups comparison showed higher hGH and cortisol levels and lower T:C ratio for 80% 12 RM. There was no statistically significant different between 80%-6RM and 80%-12RM for testosterone.
CONCLUSION:

The present study confirms that the volume of resistance training can be an important factor in the modulation of acute hormonal responses.

There are many studies like this that show an immediate surge in testosterone levels after weight training. Many people recommend squats as the best one to do. The muscles impacted by a squat can total up to 2/3 of your total muscle mass. Start low and build up gradually. There is no rush and you don’t want to hurt yourself. By starting low and building up gradually, your tendons and joints will be able to support you when you start hitting the heavy weights.
Get started today!

Try some nutmeg with your eggs and stout

I wrote about guinness stout and raw eggs in a previous post. Try it with fresh cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top. Reading about nutmeg can be quite interesting. It reportedly contains small amounts of a hallucinogen called Myristicin. However, don’t get excited because nutmeg can make a person quite sick. However, in small amounts, it tastes and smells great.

Nutmeg is used by people who like to enhance dreaming as it is one of the reported side effects of this unique spice.

Onions Triple Testosterone Levels?

I heard onions could triple testosterone levels and found this article at the ergo log.
Tonight I tried to juice an onion. If you’re thinking of trying onion juice be prepared for an experience. I juiced some beets and carrots then threw in the onion. It took about 10 minutes for my eyes to stop tearing. The juice didn’t taste too bad because the beets are delicious and sweet. However, the after taste of the onion juice is a little hard to take. I’m not sure I can do this with any regularity.

Topical Onion juice has reportedly helped hair growth, so there must be a nitric oxide effect from the juice.

Let me know if anyone one of you try it.

Chia Seeds — Tiny but powerful

Chia seeds are very cool. These tiny seeds pack a wallop of Omega 3 fatty acids, fiber and antioxidants.
I get mine from VitaminShoppe.
Chia Seeds
A great way to eat these is to mix a tablespoon in a liquid. The seeds quickly form a gel. There’s a tonic from mexico that calls for these seeds in water with some lemon and honey. Strain the seeds if you wish for a refreshing tonic.
Another smart way to eat these is to mix the seeds with almond or coconut milk. Let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for an awesome low calorie pudding. If it doesn’t gel enough, add more seed.
I’m forming a theory that foods that create gels like Irish Moss (Sea Moss), Sea Cucumber, Agar and now Chia Seeds are good for the joints and are an overall jing tonic. Of course, I have no scientific evidence for this observation, but it’s something interesting to note.
Try it and see what you think.

TDP Lamps for healing

A couple years ago, I purchased a Teding Diancibo Pu (TDP) Lamp for personal use. I was intrigued by it when an acupuncturist I visited used one to heat up my lower abdomen and the needles in my dantian area. He said it would help “increase chi”. Acupuncturists have been using various forms of heat for thousands of years to make the therapy more effective. These new heat lamps (purportedly invented in the 80s) are yet another way to introduce focused heat into the body. The literature on the net indicates that this heat lamp using a special ceramic plate that has minerals on it. It looks like this:
TDP Heating Lamp Picture
I currently am using it to help heal a sacro-iliac injury. 20 minutes into the heating session, it feels pretty good. I’m doubling up with a chinese patent medicine called “Touku Wan” which has a plethora of herbs for pain and healing. A quick scan shows such notables as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Licorice and Notopterigyii Root. The formula, however, is different than what I’m used to in the past. I’m not sure why the ingredients change so much.

I also purchased some fresh notoginseng root. I’ll write more about notoginseng in the future. Many people have never heard of this fantastic healing herb.

Ginseng Royal Jelly for Super Power

This tonic was a nice surprise. It’s a staple in most asian grocery stores and I never thought much of it. I started reading up on the amazing benefits of Royal Jelly–the food that makes a Queen Bee a Queen Bee (more details to come in a later post).
After drinking a few vials, I felt a sudden increase in energy and strength. This is good stuff–and without side effects. You can take it right before bed, it doesn’t make you jittery or nervous.
Try it before working out!
Ginseng and Royal Jelly
Check out this interesting study showing that royal jelly can increase testosterone and sperm production (in rabbits)

Biggest Loser Weight Loss Exercise DVDs!

Always looking to expand my exercise options, I came across the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout DVDs. I’ve seen them a million times at Vitamin Shoppe and Target for example, but never thought to try them. Then one day, out of boredom, I decided to buy two. Wow! Was I in for a surprise! These workouts kick butt. Not only are the workouts hard, Bob and Jillian use humor and dogged persistence to get you sweating and burning calories. Use this to up your nitric oxide production. Get it done early in the day so you won’t have to worry about getting your exercise done later.

Biggest Loser Weight Loss Exercise DVD

DVD for Biggest Loser Weight Loss Exercise