This is part of a series of 5 posts, should you need to navigate them:
1.) My Endeavor For Health: The Backstory (You’re reading this one)
2.) What I Found Out About My Genetics
3.) Supplementing Bioavailable Forms Of Vitamins, Electrolytes & Minerals
4.) My Experimentation With Diets
5.) Maintaining My Physical & Mental Health
The fascination started in high school when I was in 10th grade.
I was obsessed with optimizing my brainpower and overall cognition.
Back then, I did not know much about health.
I was always stressed out, depressed and / or anxious about something.
I didn’t even know it wasn’t normal to feel this way.
I also struggled with brain fog and frequent slumps of energy throughout the day.
I wondered, how could a young kid like me be so drained?
I started experimenting by utilizing nootropics (Cognition boosting supplements) to get an edge over my normal self and others.
Things like Racetams and Adrafinil were great for energy and mood. However, Modafinil was the best and worked quite effectively.
45 minutes after ingesting 150mg of Modafinil, it was unlike anything i’ve felt before.
My mind was crisp and clearheaded, quick and witty, lively and proficient.
When I took Modafinil, it vastly improved the fluidity of my speech and writing. Though, this was short lived.
The nootropics that did work built up too much tolerance in the times of use.
Oh and the Modafinil? I somehow ended up building a permanent tolerance to it and it no longer works for me.
For my stress and anxiety I would typically dose 100mg of L-Theanine coupled synergistically with caffeine at a 2:1 ratio.
Unfortunately, all this was not addressing the root cause. (Which we will address in later articles)
I thought I was doing myself good by supplementing these substances.
While they did work, it was merely a bandaid effect; only covering up the true issues at hand.
I remember writing essays. It was hell.
Without fail, I would experience writers block and literally not be able to think of anything to write for 30 minutes.
I know some might say:
“That’s normal! Everyone experiences writers block!”
I didn’t want to accept that. No matter how many times I was told that; I didn’t believe it.
Why would I be lacking creativity at such a young age and not be able to conjure up thoughts to write down on a piece of paper?
I’ll tell you why. It was from all the brain fog.
You see, I always knew something wasn’t right. I just didn’t know what.
Late at night I would stay up for hours on end.
I would research things on my phone like:
- “Does L-Theanine cause X?”
- “Does supplementing Coluracetam help Y?”
- “What vitamin deficiency causes brain fog?”
Some might call it being a hypochondriac. I think it’s a made up word.
Reason being, is that you can TELL something is wrong but you just can’t pinpoint what.
I always knew something wasn’t right and that made me determined to figure out what it was.
I did end up figuring it out and I am no longer a ‘hypochondriac’ but instead, a sensible person when it comes to my wellness.
Moving on, it was at night that I discovered an advertisement from 23andMe.
Basically, they test your saliva and send you back your genetic data.
I did some more digging and found a few forums discussing uploading your genetic data to see what you were at risk for health-wise and slowed / accelerated enzymatic activity in your unique body.
Now that I got that out of the way, I will catch you in the next article and share with you what I found by testing my genes and how I went about it all.
Until Next Time,
Frun
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