The Best Supplements for Overall Health, Brain, Sleep, and Muscles

On today’s episode of the Anti-Aging Hacks podcast, I speak with an expert supplement formulator, Shawn Wells, and we discuss:

1. The best supplements for overall health

2. Best supplements for Brain health

3. Best supplements for Sleep

4. Best supplements for building Muscle

5. Plus we discuss Shawn’s top Anti-Aging Hacks

This is part 1 of a 2 part interview with Shawn Wells. Here is a link to part 2, where we talk about how our foods are being engineered, how our environment has changed so much, and mental resilience (which is important for a long life).

Shawn Wells, MPH, LDN, RD, CISSN, FISSN is an expert in the fields of performance nutrition, longevity, fitness and supplementation. He earned his master’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he studied nutritional biochemistry with a minor in exercise science. Shawn is a Registered Dietitian with a decade of experience as a Chief Clinical Dietitian in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. He is also a Certified Sports Nutritionist and has worked with celebrity clients and professional athletes.

On the road to being dubbed “The World’s Greatest Formulator”, Biohacktivitst, and Keto Authority, Shawn faced and overcame significant obstacles with his own health—weight issues, depression, autoimmune conditions (Epstein-Barr, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), two cervical discs replacements, and a pituitary adenoma, which is a type of brain tumor. They say everything happens for a reason, and in Shawn’s case, his health problems led him down a winding path that required him to find science-based solutions, and they sparked his personal passion for biohacking.

Here are the highlights from our discussion.

Shawn’s Background 1:22

– Ketogenic Diet for 20 years

– Struggled with weight, got bullied

– Had depression and considered suicide many times

– His doctor got him excited to follow his passion

– Got fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Are we Deficient in Certain Nutrients 13:00

– We are getting up when it is dark and sleeping when there is light outside

– We are exposed Blue light at night

– We are eating late at night

– We are not getting sunlight D3

– We are not eating the whole animal, just muscle

– We are not getting enough creatine

– We are not getting the organic minerals

– We are over farming and causing soil depletion

– Glycation and inflammation are causing a lot of stress to our bodies

Which Supplements Shawn recommends for Overall Health 15:30

– D3- 2000 – 10,000

– Creatine: protects against aging, protects the bones, brain, eyes, muscles. Take 2-5g/day

– Fish oil: High DHA, anti-inflammatory, helps brain development

– Organic capsules: Do not buy 1 a day multivitamin, those do not work

– Probiotic: We don’t have enough data, maybe in spore form would work best

– Berberine: Great for anti-aging…very good for diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance

– Inflammation: CBD and bio-available Curcumin such as Muriva or Curcuvin

– Oxidation: Resveratol, EGCG from green tea, Pterostilbene from Blueberries, Polyphenols in Cocoa, Resveratrols in red wine

– Mitochondrial Supplements: CoQ10, PQQ, NMN, NR, Niagen 

– Polyphenols: great for anti-inflammation, improve vasodilation and glycemic response

– If you eat more polyphenols, you will be healthier.

– Cinnamon: great for blood sugar, dislipidemia, inflammation, vasodilation

– Glycation with brain: Alzheimers is Type 3 Diabetes

– PCOS is Diabetes of the ovaries

– Bulimia and Anorexia are tied to blood sugar/metabolic dysfunction

– Blood sugar affects everything and prebiotic

– Improving your general health overall is one of the best anti-aging hacks you can do

Tips for Brain Health 21:10

– Be careful of Methylation and Glycation

– Alzheimers, ketones – MCT, ketogenic diet, autophagy, BDNF – green coffee berry

– Neuro-inflammation causes brain fog

– CBD, Curcumin, Fish oil, Creatine, and Ketones help with brain injury and give you longevity

– Things that increase BDNF will promote neuro-plasticity

– As you age, learn new skills and take on new tasks

– Take a different way to work, put pants/sneakers/belt on the opposite way, learn new language, try new foods, new cultures, get outside of comfort zone

– Stay productive, have a why to your life

– Microdosing LSD also promotes a new wiring

Sleep Supplements 27:30

– Melatonin drops as we age. Blue light blocks melatonin. 300microgram – 10mg

– Magnesium – co-factor in so many chemical reactions

– Theanine – great compound in amino acids

– Green tea has caffeine and theanine – calms you and gives you focus, energy and celebral vasodilation

– Theanine, Kava take away anxiety

– Adaptogens such Rhodeola during day. Ashwagandha at night – improves testosterone, IGF-1, power output, libido, sleep quality

– Neuro nutrients: Choline – Methycobalamine, alpha GPC

– Phosphotidalserene for brain health and reduce cortisol

Sleep Hygeine 30:45

– Plan out your day the night before.

– Limit exposure to blue light: blue light blocking glasses, night modes on devices

– Stop eating when sun goes down

– Hot shower in evening and cold shower in morning

– Infrared sauna in evening

– Sweat and turn on heat shock proteins

– Don’t work out in evening, morning is better

– Wear a mask, block night light

– Black dots to cover LED’s

– Reduce noises, washing machines, and noises from pets

– Body cooling during night with Chilipad or Ooler (Listen to Chilipad podcast here)

– Ambien gives u crash and hypnotic sleep – not quality sleep and not deep sleep. Crap sleep

Muscles 36:50

– Leucine sensitivity important as we age, and this drops

– Takes more leucine to get into optimal leucine state

– Sarcopenic obesity can add more fat while losing muscle

– The fix is to have high polyphenol diet, antioxidants, ketones can lower sensitivity to leucine, keto diet spares lean body mass, BHB could be anabolic as well

– MCT’s, ketones, bernerine, ketones high and glucose lower

– Anabolic agents, anti-catabolic: Hicca, HMB, additional Leucine, BCAA’s

– If vegan, quality of protein and level of protein is low, so add some of the compounds above to optimize protein intake

– Timing of supplements: inside workout window is fine.

Top 2-3 anti-aging hacks 41:54:

– Change voice in head: Do deep work, authenticity and choose passion

– Voice should be positive, build an uplifting encouraging voice

– We stay distracted with TV and music instead of doing the hard work

– Shawn’s beauty was in his weaknesses, depression, suicidal thoughts

– Important to find passion and apply yourself in places you are lit up

Quality Relationships

– Oldest study in Harvard study for anti-aging and longevity: quality of relationships

– Take time to interact with people

– In Sardinia, they take 2 hours to eat and sit down and slow down

– Stressed out and not sharing innermost thoughts are not great

Morning Routine

– Tim Ferris found that most successful people don’t fear failure, but dare to learn from their mistakes

– Great minds are experimenters

– Morning routine very controlled positive way…

– Wake up to some slow chimes, deep breathing, relaxed state, gratitude journals

– Get something big done first in the beginning of the day then feel super accomplished

Do Anti-Oxidants in Supplement Form Work 49:00

– Anti-oxidants from food and supplements should be similar such as EGCG or Resveratrol

– Turpines and cannabonoids have better bio-availability

– Plants may be the better sources because of synergy

– Supplements are fine to take

Shawn’s Contact Info:

@zonehalo on instagram

Website: https://shawnwells.com

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