Michael569

I'm not sure it works like that but maybe it does. As far as I know, the only condition that causes depletion of dopamine is Parkinson's disease which is caused by the destruction of a region called Substantia Nigra (dopamine headquarters) caused by chronic inflammation. ALternatively deficiency in amino acids responsible for dopamine production such as phenylalanine and tyrosine could potentially cause a degree of that as well. Its not that dopamine gets depleted. The molecules is always being reuptake and pulled back (although some people with COMT mutation may genetically have a lower function to do this). It's more about that you just hardwire the brain to receive a dopamine response from something that exceeds normal life. So the usual stimuli just don't do it anymore because the reward mechanism has built up excessive expectations for the stimuli. Such as drug response or eating a lot of hyper-palatable food or binging on porn and then having issues with non-staged sex. Also personally what I think is happening as well (no evidence for this thou) is that the brain just downregulates the receptor sensitivity to dopamine so that it protects itself from possible damage of overindulgence. And then when you actually need that focus later on you don't get it anymore. But this may just be assumption. I'd say that was also just willpower depletion, energy depletion and just overall exhaustion. repetitive ejaculation can be quite depleting process to the whole body

when we say "brain damage" this usually implies things like inflammation, neuron death and lesion formation. Something you'd see in people with Alzheimer's. I don't think this is what she means. It's more about that some parts of the brain can get rewired and even reformed. It's like when somebody has been suffering from depression for 30 years, the size of their amygdala is 3 times the size of a person without depresion which just exacerbates the fear response to things others wouldn't normally react to. Environmental exposure to different stressors and stimuli constantly forces the brain to undergo so-called macro-adaptations. Different brain areas can grow or shrink or have slight changes in functionality or sensitivity. Another example is a state called "adrenal fatigue" which actually doesn't exist (or at least not to a degree naturopaths like to think) but what adrenal fatigue is that brain is becoming less sensitive to adrenal hormones and so all that cortisol is just flowing around with nowhere to dock. It is a real-time adaptation to prevent damage to the hypothalamus. So what is probably happening here is the brain is becoming adapted to receive rewards from what it sees in porn and this can damage your real-life perception of sex. Of what a woman's body looks like, what a man's body looks like, average penis size, average sexual performance and what the sex should be about really. Porn just takes away that entire route that leads to sex, the foreplay, being in relationship, cuddling, massage, fooling around and all of that and turns it into "a fuck" And so then when men who have been exposed to porn since the age of 10 get to experience real sex, they can't even get it up because they see an image of Peter North screwing some fake barbie doll for 45 minutes and in their head they are like "but I can't do that" "my dick isn't big enough" "why ae her boobs so small" "why doesn't she scream like the girl in porn does". Of course you can rewire this and quitting or at least minimising porn is a good way to achieve that I don't know if I'd consider that evidence of motivation Yes hardcore drugs can fry those circuits but it is because drugs actually cause real damage to the brain through intra-inflammation and oxidative damage. This is a completely different mechanism. It has been shown hardcore drug users had brain lesions across different areas of the brain, loosened blood brain barrier, messed up gut and all of that will contribute to real-time brain destruction

As simple as it sounds, this might be it. Water always follows sodium. Not saying add, a lot of salt to the diet but might be worth googling sodium-rich vegetables and adding them in.

ALA is easy to obtain. Just type Alpha Lipoic Acid in Amazon or any supplemental company and you'll get lots of results. Most of them sell up to 600mg/cap so not sure if that is sufficient for the protocol you're looking to try. I've used it few times with guys and it was always well tolerated.

Magnesium citrate (100mg twice or 3 times a day) combined with PLP. Take her to start taking it 2 weeks before her period. This was the most helpful thing for the few women, I've worked with. If they don't help, you could try a ginger extract. Also making sure her diet is rich enough in Omega 3s and not too high in Omega 6s or SFA pre-period times. Add some more phytoestrogens in her diet as well as brassica vegetables for improved sex hormones detoxification (tofu, flax, tempeh, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts etc) Make sure her diet is rich in fibre and low in animal foods (especially those high in pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid like eggs and dairy) towards the end of the luteal phase (just before day 1). More warming foods (oatmeal, stews, curries, soups) and less cold foods (smoothies, cold salads) may help. Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric to each meal for some extra anti-inflammatory benefit. But sometimes even none of the above will help. In that case, you could try experimenting with Agnus Castus or Black Cohosh extract (but not if she is on hormonal OCP) And if none of that still helps, taking some effective painkillers as the last resort for 2 or 3 days is ok. If she does take painkillers, tell her not to add any more turmerics or gingers or anything that could interact with them. Otherwise she'll get the effects of turmeric but the side effects of the pain killer.

Caution advised with sungazing, solar retinopathy can be a cause of blindness. I don't think any minor benefit (if any) is worth the risk of glaucoma or progressive loss of eyesight. Would be good to at least put some disclaimer. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23355595/ - "A young woman presented with a 2-day history of bilateral central scotoma and metamorphopsia following an episode of direct sun-gazing lasting 1-2 min"!!!! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9805443/ - Twenty-six eyes of twenty patients (0.14% incidence) were determined to have macular lesions consistent with solar retinopathy. Visual acuity was 20/25 or better in 100% of the patients and 85% were 20/20. Patients were predominantly men (75%) of middle age (average age, 43 years; SD, 11 years) with a history relevant for solar retinopathy (80%)--consisting of sungazing, 60%; looking at welding light without eye protection, 15%; substance abuse, 15%; and psychiatric condition, 5%. Forty percent had solar lesions in both eyes. Amsler grid testing revealed a defect in only 20%, and macular threshold visual-field testing was normal in all the eyes tested. Let's say someone takes this advice to heart and go stare at the sun at noon and in 3 months notice their eyesight is deteriorating, what would be your argument? The body is too toxic and acidic so it could not tolerate it?

Is it a one-off or regular occurence?

Agreed. There is a degree of showmanship and pressure from his viewers and subscribers as well. People have a fetish for pushing others into things they would not do themselves which is why bodybuilding competitions are so fascinating despite it being completely unappealing to look like that. Same for steroids and loading oneself with chemicals and drugs.

To a degree yes. But so is there air we breathe and water we drink pretty much anywhere in the world now. It's all about avoiding the major contaminants that are not necessary for survival. Plants are, animals mostly aren't. in animals, it is the fat tissue because some of the things like POPs attach to lipids and stay there pretty much forever. But also the way cattle and birds are being raised & fed, there is a lot of exposure, cross-contamination through each other's faeces, often grazing on fertilised lands etc. Ofcourse this is less of a problem if cattle is pasture-raised in a clean environment, somewhere close to the coast. Additionally, you've got the fact that compared to wild animals who have minimum fat, cattle grown on-farm are fattened to the point of bovine obesity. SO the steak you'd eat is filled with saturated fats and highly pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid. Oh and then high levels of bovine sex hormones post-birth are a concern as well. With fish, it comes down to global water pollution, volcanic activity throwing ever more heavy metals in the ocean, microplastics and toxins from human origin, leakage of oil, acidic rainfall and all the garbage we dump in oceans. I used to believe some fish is healthy but nowadays I am not so sure anymore. It's getting worse Sugar isn't polluted per se but it is proinflammatory which is the biggest issue with it. Alcohol is a systemic toxin and hepatotoxin and when you detox the last thing you wanna do is to have competitive detoxification between alcohol and the actual toxins that are coming out. With salt again, it is the high amounts ae proinflammatory, this depletes glutathione which is essential when you detox. It also forces kidneys to work extra hard which again is not something you want f you cleanse.

@charlie cho ?

It is certainly better for people who experience caffeine-induced symptoms. But decaf coffee is like sex without orgasm (although many people do practice that as well). The problem is the decaf coffee are often made through chemical treatment so something like gentle green tea would probably be better.

@Olivia24 I don't want to hijack OP's topic so happy to chat about this through DM. Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like

I'd start with identifying what causes it in the first place. Some of the potential culprits are: high salt, high consumption of saturated fats, tomatoes & other nightshades, citrus fruits, sugar, coffee, milk and chocolate. Then other potential suspects are: helicobacter pylori infection, excessive portion sizes, stress, chronic gastritis, hiatus hernia, smoking, alcohol, some medical drugs (e.g. painkillers, antibiotics, PPIs, antacids rebound etc), being overweight , overexercising. Do you have any more info you could share? Is there any pattern? Do you know when did it start? What makes it worse? It's also important not to use the number on the scale as end-all-be-all. Anthropometric parameters are valuable in predicting the risk of chronic disease but they are not always necessarily the most reliable way to measure health status. For example, something like waist-hip ratio combined with BMI and body fat measurement is much better than just weighting oneself. This is because genetically people have different constitutions, bone density, fat deposition. SOme people also have naturally very thin bodies while others are more stocky. This cannot be changed with any amount of weight loss. This is especially profound in women where there can be many different body shapes, especially in the pelvic area. Sure exercising at home is an option. You could try something like TRX and hang it on a doorframe or in a park. Maddie Lymburner has a Maddiefit channel where she does guide workout videos for women, those are quite helpful. Maybe check that one out. Other than that a bench and 2 dumbels (adjustable), skipping rope, 1 or 2 rubber bands would be all you need really to build a decent home gym.

This is the lower end of the perfect range. 18.3 is healthy, minimises your risk of chronic health complications. Your weight is very decent to your height. You could consider doing some weight lifting, that's the healthiest way to gain weight to make some muscle. DOn't worry you won't look like Kristen Nun, more like you'll tone your tights and abdominals and round up the bum. Which girl wouldn't want that This process will also strengthen your bones and joints to prevent osteoporosis postmenopausal and support healthy sex-hormone balance and brain. The best way to start is to buy a gym membership and hiring a trainer (most gyms have them) for 2-3 sessions to give you a plan and show you the exercises so that you don't hurt yourself and train safely. Weightlifting can be very enjoyable and there is no need to go heavy or use powders and supplements. Stay with food, good sleep, recovery and give it few months. Results will come and you'll feel amazing. No need for any superfoods. Beans & lentils are the cheapest foods on the planet when you consider nutritional value per dollar. Healthy diet is anything but expensive. Stay away from those prestige shops selling you acai berries, superfood powders and all that crap, you don't need it. Natural whole food is the cheapest there is. If you can support local produce to maximise cost savings and nutritional value. You need to eat in excess if you want your cells to be in anabolic phase (growth). Food deprivation will lead to catabolism (weight loss & muscle loss). No need not count calories, make sure to eat regularly and if you feel fatigued and hungry a lot, eat some more especially protein-rich foods. Also don't avoid carbohydrates, they will be essential for energy if you want to exercise. Exercising with energy deprivation will lead to loss of muscle and strength. Hope that helps

On its own that's not a detox protocol but it will reduce how much stuff is coming in for sure A structured detox/cleanse protocol takes some time and should last at least 4 weeks, ideally 12

Thanks for sharing, this helped put things into perspective. What I really see is a desperate man just trying to fix his shit using any means necessary. However, it seems he is kinda resistant to seeking guided professional help of somebody like naturopathic doctor who could probably fix him up in 6 months and rather self prescribes a lot of bs supplements he sees on the internet. (even tic toc bloody hell!!!!, never take health advice on tic toc). Going down the TRT and steroid road won't fix the root cause since it seems his HPO hormones are messed up. But the journey of a healing is always difficult, mysterious and includes a lot of bumps and obstacles. Maybe that's what he has to do for now.

@Twega That's true but LO is nowhere near as effective. I assume OP is either struggling with MDD or bipolar or something like that and the non-medical lithium just isn't effective enough unfortunately. But maybe it could be a way towards withdrawal, maybe. The risk is symptoms flaring up tho so this is why these things need to be managed very cautiously

Absolutely! the last thing you want to do is get off cold turkey. Reduction needs to be approach very cautiously and you need to keep an eye for rapid worsening of symptoms. You could also potentially ask the doctor about something like St John's Wort. The evidence in depressive disorders is actually pretty good even when compared to something like fluoxetine or amitryptiline. But SJW must not be mixed with anything else, that's the tricky bit. Again, the doctor needs to be involved 100% of the time. Good luck!

YES! Detoxification is the exact opposite of stripping the body of food and juice cleansing, proper nourishment is essential otherwise the liver struggles and toxins actually end up being reopened and turned into free radicals. Great post @Twega ! @vindicated erudite It's a very very complex topic however it appears the most effective way we have at the moment to pull heavy metals out, is indeed the chelation protocol that has been discussed here many times. At least once toxicity of mercury, lead or other metals has been confirmed on the test. However for general cleanse and removal of any built-up of things like persistent organic pollutants, pesticide residue, hydrocarbons etc, chelation is not needed and regular protocol at strengthening the main elimination organs is a good way forward during which the most polluted foods (e.g. most animal products) need to be eliminated for a short time as well as alcohol, sugar and salt.

The ideal balance is somewhere between 7.5 - 8.5 . At least statistically speaking. It's better to get a little bit more than chronically not getting enough. It is a bit tricky because the body compensates to a large degree. If you get little sleep, your stress hormones go through the roof the next day which can give a false assumption that the body is energised but in reality, the body is stressed and running on adrenaline & cortisol. It can be done for a short time if you're young and healthy but long term sleep deprivation can cause burnout & exhaustion of the coping mechanisms (e.g. adrenal deficiency & mitochondrial dysfunction) in mid 30s early 40s and then people end up with something like chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. I'd probably focus on getting at least 7, more on days when you were exceptionally active. It's probably not worth the long term risk

interesting, seems the issues with shitty sport supplements is much worse than I thought so point taken on that

How much roughly (cups or jugs) do you drink daily? Is your urine colour darker or lighter?

You can always shower your bum

Well most filtration jugs are based on principle of activated carbon that attract particles with opposite charge. Id say this works the same way but not sure about the cost compared to something like britta jug. These fancy things tend to be overpriced for no reason.

sweet potatoes are good but this doesn't seem right. Have you had any basic blood tests? Maybe something like long-term blood sugar balance and some gut testing.