#118 - Failed Health Experiments

Going keto, cold showers, and 5 day fasts

I’ve tried every fad you can name.

Some of them have worked like a charm (Transcendental Meditation for one).

But others have failed miserably.

Here’s three of the more dramatic failures.

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Going Keto

Last November I cut out carbs.

Rice, potatoes, grains. All gone. Lots of fish and vegetables remained.

For the most part it was wonderful. More energy through the day, I felt lighter, my wellbeing rose.

There was just one problem. And quite a major one unfortunately.

I regularly woke up feeling rough. Almost hungover. The nausea would last through the day.

It went on for month & I tried all sorts…

A dust allergy perhaps? Bought an air purifier. Damp? Added a dehumidifier. Chemicals in water? Water filter. Caffine? Cut coffee

Nothing worked.

This all came to head in March when I attended a Vipassana.

10 days of 10 hours a day meditating and I felt terrible. Pounding headaches, constant nausea, not a straight forward experience.

Upon return I got a long overdue blood test and spoke to a GP.

Turns out my blood sugar was rock bottom.

With the doctors orders I was back on carbs. And the sickness cleared immediately. Probably should have clocked that one sooner.

There’s no doubt keto is great for some people but it was an issue for me.

These days I eat less carbs than I once did but some at least seem to agree with me. Rice & potatoes are back on the menu.

Cold Showers

An unsolved mystery to this day…

During lockdown I tried out cold showers. And honestly I loved it. I took time to ramp up but eventually they became the norm, I even stopped liking hot showers. Cold or nothing.

But then my body played up again.

I started getting a burning rash that lasted 72 hours. Initially my hands but soon the whole body. It would wake me up through the night. Extremely destabilising.

Once again I found myself mystified. Multiple consultations with an allergy clinic gave no answers. But high strength anti-histamine seemed to the trick. But soon that to wore off.

Western medicine failed me so I turned east. To Chinese medicine.

For the next 6 months I saw Dr. Dai, based in Camden. A real character.

One complication is he can barely speak a word of English. And I not a single word of cantonese. That left us communicating largely through gestures spattered with random words.

His working hypothesis, as far as I could tell, was the cold was the issue. Something about evil. Running outside and cold showers, two of my favourite habits, both got the ban.

Two years on, this one’s not completely solved. I still take the anti-histamines. But it is better. The keto certainly helped, ironically. So the working hypothesis is the gut rather than the evil cold.

But whatever the reason my cold showers have, alas, ceased. I hope to pick this one up again.

Preparing the medicine

5 Day Fasts

I touched briefly on this last week but worth a comment.

Month in lockdown alone in a flat in Islington led to many a quirky habit, not least a 5 day fast.

The idea is simple: nothing but water or herbal tea for 5 days. How hard can it be?

Hard, as it turns out.

5 days is a long time. And once food is gone you realise the colour it adds to each day.

My first attempt went fairly smoothly. It was long, and at times boring, but I got there. The refeeding was a joy.

The second attempt was not as successful. For whatever reason my body did not react well, and the refeeding was less successful. I was laid low for a good few days after.

I’ve paused these longer fasts. 36 hours will do me for now. But I’m glad I did it. And there’s no doubt some fairly profound things can happen. Perhaps I’ll be back. But not, I feel any time soon.

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My Week in Books📚

Che Guevara by Jon Lee Anderson (in progress)

The life of the 20th century’s most famous revolutionary. About 2/3rds through so full notes next week all being well.

Book recommendations welcome & encouraged. Just hit reply! 🙏

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Unplugged 🌳📵

• From the blog: How to beat burnout

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A Final Thought 💡

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

- Thomas A. Edison

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