that whole Thanksgiving thing is a myth Journalists in the 80s basically saw that turkey had tryptophan and invented a story that it explains food coma, and it just stuck Turkey is not even that high in tryptophan compared to stuff like whey protein, and tryptophan by itself does not just knock you out The real reason you pass out after big holiday meals is that you are overeating like crazy, stuffing sides, desserts, all of it, and your body shifts into rest and digest mode Sleep as mitochondrial recharge His whole thesis from 20+ years in nutrition is that mitochondrial function sits at the root of almost all health and disease Deep sleep is a time when your mitochondria basically turn the volume way down on energy production so they can repair, refuel, and rebuild your energy reserves In that lowered metabolic state, you refill ATP, so the next day you are not just barely scraping by You need to give your mitochondria rest because your mitochondria are what produce all the energy that you need for producing everything in your body. Chris Masterjohn Macular support, vitamin A, seed oils, and glutathione Lutein and zeaxanthin build up in the macula and protect against macular degeneration, and the best source is egg yolks from chickens fed marigolds, which jack up those pigments Beta carotene has to be cut in half by an enzyme to make real vitamin A, and that enzyme depends on zinc, iron, thyroid, and other factors Your genetics partly decide how good you are at this conversion, and some people basically suck at turning beta carotene into usable vitamin A Seed oils decrease the conversion, so if you take that with canola oil, youre going to get less vitamin A out of it than if you take it with eggs and butter. Chris Masterjohn Vitamin A activation itself also depends on mitochondrial function, which is kind of the theme: energy metabolism controls everything The best glutathione is the kind your own body makes from protein, and that should be the main strategy Supplement forms like fancy liposomal versions might give a small boost in absorption, but they cost way more and probably are not three times better in actual effect His default would be simple glutathione if someone feels they need it, rather than buying into aggressive marketing Sunlight, vitamin D, and dealing with winter Vitamin D pills are fine, but You dont want to say, Well, I dont need to go out in the sun, Im just going to take vitamin D. Then youre not going to get the benefits of the sun because the sun gives you other benefits. His rough pattern is at least 30 minutes of morning light (for circadian and mitochondrial signaling) and 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected afternoon sun to actually make vitamin D In places like Seattle where it is just gray and raining, his ideas are: use a lux meter app to see how much brighter outside is than indoors, get a light therapy lamp if lux is under about 10k, and if needed use a tanning bed for 2 or 3 minutes just to get some UV, not to get a tan Keep in mind that that some beds have more UVB which make more vitamin D, and if you are at a salon you basically have to tell them you want a mix of surface and deep tan because they do not speak in vitamin science Methylene blue, detours, and when it backfires Methylene blue is something that could do wonders for your mitochondria if you need it and could really hurt you if you dont. Chris Masterjohn At around 10 mg a day it also starts acting like an MAO inhibitor (antidepressant), so some people feel better simply because they just put themselves on a mood drug Mechanically, methylene blue grabs electrons in the mitochondrial chain and drops them somewhere else, like throwing up detour signs in a traffic system If a road is blocked, those detours help bypass the blockage and ATP production goes back up
(Cambridge, MA: Academic Press), 131
10.1039/c3fo60230c [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] Taiti C, Di Vito M, Di Mercurio M, Costantini L, Merendino N, Sanguinetti M, Garzoli S (2023) Detection of secondary metabolites, proximate composition and bioactivity of organic dried Spirulina ( Arthrospira platensis )
Mayer, P., Tolls, J., Hermens, J
