Gil Carvalho's Sources

“Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium in our intestine and is important for bone health, muscles, nerve function, and our immune system.”

“Most people need about 600 international units per day, while those over 70 need 800 and infants under one need 400.”

“Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to reduce the risk of progressing to full-blown diabetes in high-risk pre-diabetics.”

“They recommend empiric supplementation, just giving the supplement to anyone under 18 without measuring blood levels first.”

“Anyone over 75 years old is recommended to supplement with vitamin D to reduce mortality and the risk of bone fractures.”

“Some trial data suggests that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of dying of cancer.”

“Excess vitamin D is toxic and can lead to hypercalcemia, causing nausea, muscle weakness, kidney stones, and even kidney failure.”

“The tolerable upper intake value for vitamin D is 4,000 international units a day for adults.”

“Consistently taking very high doses like 10,000 international units a day might be worse for bone density and increase fracture risk.”

“I got some vitamin D drops a while back and it's like a year's worth for one person.”

“Personally, I would just go with a supplement that contains D3 because it seems to have a bit higher biological activity.”

“Whether you have it with or without some fat doesn't seem to be a big factor in absorption based on the evidence.”

“One trial found a little better bioavailability for vitamin D gummies compared to tablets.”

“Calcifediol is a more potent form of vitamin D that is better absorbed and bypasses the liver activation step, but it requires a prescription.”

“The evidence points to taking a lower dose daily rather than a large dose sporadically, which may even increase fracture risk.”

“It's not recommended anymore to screen for vitamin D levels in most people because it doesn't guide the decision for supplementation.”

“People with darker skin or obesity tend to have lower vitamin D levels, but they don't necessarily see extra benefit from supplementation.”

“Low vitamin D is often an innocent bystander rather than the cause of conditions like heart disease or depression, and trials show pills often don't help these.”

“Vitamin D supplementation in randomized trials reduces relapse and episodes for inflammatory bowel disease.”

“In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, K2 probably helps increase bone density.”

“But I tried it and now I'm addicted to coffee enemas. Whatever's going on, I'm doing at least two of these a day.”

“There's no scientific evidence of benefit of coffee enemas. Scientists have actually looked and they basically found no benefit by those measures of either administration route oral or rectal.”

“They also measured the amount of caffeine in the blood after the enema and the level was much lower after the enema than after drinking coffee, which is expected because the absorption is not going to be nearly as efficient.”

“I like a finer almost espresso grind and I feel like that saturates the coffee solution more with caffeine.”

“There are reports of people who have complications of doing this. Colitis is one thing that's sometimes reported, which is an inflammation of the colon.”

“Also, pain, bloody stool, burns, perforation of the colon has also been reported and infections.”

“Actually, most of the evidence points to benefits of drinking coffee. In general, we see good health effects, lower risk of disease, lower risk of mortality with coffee intake.”

“People who have insomnia avoid drinking it, especially close to going to bed. People who have high blood pressure, sometimes that can affect it.”

“Some people are just very hyper sensitive and can get jittery.”

“There's no evidence that taking it through the back door provides any benefit. So, this is something that wouldn't be encouraged.”

“If they insist on doing coffee, I would suggest being very careful with the temperatures and maybe trying decaf in a last resort attempt to tailor this towards safety.”

“I'm staring at the sun with my eyes wide open. You can get a tiny bit from the sun hitting your skin, but if you want a lot of it, the only way to get it is through your open eyes.”

“Vitamin D is also produced in your skin. So, it's completely unnecessary to stare directly into the sun to get vitamin D.”

“Melatonin actually goes down with sunlight. In the morning, you're exposed to some sunlight and the melatonin comes down. At night, no sunlight, your melatonin goes up and you're sleepy.”

“It does help during the day if you're exposed to some sunlight for that normal circadian peak of melatonin at night, but you don't need to stare directly into the sun.”

“Wouldn't recommend this practice to anybody. There's plenty of damage and many cases where people have issues with their vision after direct sunlight exposure.”

“Vitamin C, if you don't get enough, you get scurvy.”

“Vitamin D, you can get rickets without vitamin D. It doesn't affect your growth like for example vitamin D does.”

“Vitamin B12, very specific symptoms. Nerve system dysfunction and others.”

“People who consume the most fiber have 15 to 30% lower mortality... less heart disease, less stroke, less type two diabetes, and less colorectal cancer.”

“The group getting fiber showed improved body weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides.”

“Fiber lowers cholesterol... fiber binds bile acids in our gut... cause them to be excreted... the liver has to get more cholesterol... by pulling it from the blood.”

“Now let's talk about fiber intolerance. People who can't handle fiber because if you eat foods that contain fiber and you feel worse... identify and hopefully fix the underlying condition.”

“Psyllium husk is a purified fiber... You can add it to a smoothie or a yogurt and you drink it up and it's an easy way to get some fiber in your diet.”

“Reintroducing very very gradually the problem foods... you introduce one or two beans and then a couple days later you up the dose a little bit and you ramp it in very slowly.”

“The best bet is to have a diverse diet, not just eating 30 apples a day and nothing else... you want to get diversity as well.”

“The guidelines in the US recommend 30 grams at least... trying to get 40 or 50 grams of fiber a day might actually be a little better than getting 30.”

“I ran my diet through Chronometer real quick and I think I got it between 50 and 100 grams... I just eat a variety of plant foods that are not processed.”

“First supplement I take is a vitamin D.”

“It's a mainly vitamin D2. It might be a little less potent, a little less active than vitamin D3. So, I personally wouldn't rely on vitamin D2 exclusively for my vitamin D needs.”

“I just take the supplement daily and I take it throughout the year. It's easy. Take it one pill a day. This is 1,000 international units.”

“Also, I don't take vitamin K2. I know it's a popular idea to take K2 with vitamin D... I just haven't seen evidence to back up myself taking it.”

“For bone health, there are some results suggesting a benefit of K2 supplementation... Post-menopausal women... sometimes in those populations, you see a lower risk of fractures.”

“The next supplement I take is iodine... I supplement also from HSN and it's 150 micrograms taken once daily which is the RDA.”

“Next thing I take is a B12. And this I just take once a week... it's been shown many times that it's perfectly effective and you get all you need.”

“There's some evidence suggesting kidney issues with cyanocobalamin. I don't think it's very strong evidence and for healthy individuals, I doubt it matters. But because I have a family history of kidney conditions... I try to buy methylcobalamin.”

“And then the last supplement I take is a longchain omega-3 pre-formed omega-3s, DHA, EPA... I just supplement with the pre-formed and play it safe.”

“...600 milligrams of DHA and 300 milligrams of EPA per daily dose, which is actually two pills. So that's what I take daily.”

“I don't take any of these popular longevity supplements, the NMN... I've looked at the evidence on those. I don't find it compelling at all that there's a longevity benefit.”

“Studies show caffeine lowers what we call resting metabolic rate, basically the amount of calories our body burns at rest just to maintain its basic physiological functions.”

“Caffeine may also reduce hunger and increase satiety, which increases the amount of calories we burn and lowers the amount of calories going in.”

“A meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials found that caffeine can help reduce body weight, BMI, and body fat.”

“It absolutely matters where we get our caffeine; black coffee is one thing, but energy drinks or drinks from fast food joints can be high in added sugars and calories.”

“Recommendations are usually to not go much higher than four cups of coffee a day, because excessive caffeine can cause symptoms like jitteriness, headaches, anxiety, and irritability.”

“Excessive caffeine can cause symptoms like jitteriness, headaches, anxiety, and irritability, especially in people who are caffeine sensitive.”

“Coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease, and even among patients who already have Parkinson's, coffee drinkers have a slower progression of the disease.”

“Caffeine acts as a chemical impostor for adenosine; it binds the same receptor but can't trigger it, occupying the spot and not letting adenosine bind to make us sleepy.”

“A dose of caffeine equivalent to about a cup of coffee improved the effect of common painkillers like ibuprofen.”

“In children, and in pregnant or breastfeeding people, it's advised to limit or eliminate caffeine.”

“For people who suffer from insomnia, drinking a lot of coffee is not going to be a great idea, especially close to your bedtime.”

“There was an omega-3 supplement with curcumin. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“The omega-3 supplement was provided with curcumin. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was a multivitamin with minerals. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was a separate vitamin C. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was a separate B12 as well. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was a CoQ10. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was magnesium. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There was Lion's mane. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“And finally a probiotic. All of these were chosen because there was some evidence that these nutrients may play a role in Alzheimer's.”

“There's a number of other trials looking at low carb diets and MCT oil and things like that that also show promising results.”

“I don't take probiotic supplements as a doctor and a scientist and if you take them daily, the latest science is telling us they're probably not doing much and they might even cause harm.”

“Number one, there's almost no regulation. The seller doesn't need to show that the product works or even that it contains what's advertised on the bottle.”

“For anyone going for a probiotic supplement, it's always better to go with a third-party certified brand. That way, you know what's on the bottle is what's in the pill.”

“A lot of these microorganisms are actually very sensitive to heat, to oxygen, and to the acid in your stomach.”

“In a fascinating study, scientists found that when they gave the participants a probiotic, a pill containing 11 species of microbes that they selected, it actually delayed their recovery [from antibiotics].”

“Probiotics can also cause some side effects. Gas, bloating, discomfort, although usually it's mild and temporary.”

“In people taking antibiotics, this specific strain of probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii, it's a type of yeast, and there's some evidence that that can help prevent C. diff infection.”

“If you're immunocompromised, for example, if you have cancer and you're going through treatment through chemotherapy, you want to be especially careful with probiotics. In some cases, they can actually cause infections.”

“What about probiotic foods? Kefir, yogurt, kombucha. I've told you that I eat them on a regular basis.”

“If you're healthy individual, you just heard the probiotics are good for your gut. Save your money. Spend it on some yogurt with probiotic cultures or some kefir or some kombucha.”

“If you have sleep issues or caffeine sensitivity, then instant coffee might actually be better for you because it typically has about 30% less caffeine than regular ground coffee.”

“Instant coffee contains almost no diterpenes, which can raise cholesterol. So it's actually pretty good for your cholesterol compared to unfiltered ground coffee.”

“You can get the same result of removing diterpenes by filtering ground coffee, which gets rid of them as well.”

“We consistently see a lower risk of heart disease and stroke in coffee drinkers, and this is also seen with instant coffee.”

“We see lower levels of liver cancer for both ground coffee and instant coffee, with about a 50% lower risk in consumers of either type compared to non-drinkers.”

“We see lower risk of all cause mortality, total deaths linked to both types, ground and instant coffee.”

“Chronic liver disease is linked to a lower risk for both types, with ground coffee having a stronger effect.”

“Alzheimer's is linked to a lower risk for both types, with a suggestion of a stronger effect for ground coffee.”

“Ideally favor pure instant coffee with no additives, as some brands are flavored and contain things like creamer and sugar.”

“If I'm in a rush, I would just do the instant coffee and I wouldn't sweat it. On days that I have more time, I would do the ground brewed coffee.”

“Magnesium has a powerful impact on glucose metabolism, as it is required for insulin to bind to cells and regulate their function. It also promotes glucose transport into cells and out of circulation.”

“A large meta-analysis showed that curcumin helps lower fasting blood sugar, HOMA-IR, hemoglobin A1C, and fasting insulin.”

“Normally curcumin is not very well absorbed, but you can boost it by including black pepper, as piperine powerfully promotes the absorption of curcumin by thousands of times.”

“Omega-3s have been shown to help reduce fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1C, insulin resistance, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol.”

“Short-chain fatty acids produced from soluble fiber reduce insulin resistance, boost insulin secretion, and improve glucose uptake into cells.”

“Psyllium husk is a powder that contains soluble fiber and you can drink it dissolved in water or in a smoothie.”

“A meta-analysis of 46 randomized control trials found that berberine helped reduce hemoglobin A1C when compared to a placebo, with an effect similar to metformin.”

“Some side effects have been reported, with GI distress being the most common, and it can interact with diabetes meds, potentially dropping glucose too low.”

“Vitamin D supplementation has also been shown in trials to help reduce hemoglobin A1C, especially in people who are vitamin D deficient.”

“When you crush garlic, it forms these sulfur compounds like allicin. Allicin is a molecule that helps dilate your blood vessels and reduce blood pressure.”

“Some trials use a specific supplement called aged garlic extract, AGE. It contains other sulfur compounds that also help lower blood pressure.”

“Bear in mind that the allicin in the garlic forms after you crush the garlic and then let it rest for about 10 minutes for those compounds to form.”

“If you're on prescription meds, blood thinners for example, check with your doctor before starting a garlic supplement, especially if you're going to go high dose.”

“Dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure by about four points. Cocoa is rich in polyphenols which help the production of nitric oxide to dilate blood vessels.”

“In general, the darker the chocolate, the better. Try to shoot for at least 70% cocoa.”

“Beetroot is a good source of nitrates, which can help dilate blood vessels. Beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about five points.”

“Beetroot is a good source of nitrates, which can help dilate blood vessels as well.”

“Caffeine can affect your blood pressure, particularly if you're not a regular coffee drinker. But with the habit of drinking coffee, the effect tends to go away.”