Hey Noah, quick question here. Is there a way to grow a full beard without the use of chemical enhancements? I'd like to grow one but there´s some hairless spots and I've heard horror stories with Minoxidil. I already have a pretty dialed diet and lifestyle in general. Thanks in advance
Hey Noah. My hairline has been receding slowly in the past few years. I still feel very good about my hair health and let myself go of that worry a while ago. But noticing it go back and not doing anything about it knowing there are natural and hollistic ways of treating it, doesn’t sit well with me. I’m looking into loxstar and start applying it in my receding areas? do you recommend? Already use shower filter and quality nminimal shampoos. Thank you for your content, you’re an amazing role model
Try Noah's Geekbot. Plug your information in and ask it for a protocol and what you're doing wrong. It was great at telling me what was wrong with my hair routine and what I needed to change, plus what to expect based on some questions it asked me.
Teeth grinding has more to do with maxillofacial development than it does your nervous system. If you have significant bruxism, it is worth getting a nightguard. I'm a grinder and have to use one just given the way my teeth developed, they don't sit correctly so they glide at night trying to "seat" themselves.
An elite immune system comes from having elite biology in general. The more that you optimize for abundance, recovery, and balance, the better your immune system will function.
This starts with:
• Spending more time outdoors
• Getting grounded
• Getting sunlight
These are foundational prerequisites.
Secondarily, immune function requires a lot of energy substrates and nutrients. Are you optimizing for micronutrient intake on a daily and weekly basis? Specifically:
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• B vitamins
Are you optimizing your methylation system by having ample amounts of B vitamins and potential methyl donors like creatine, which frees up SAMe? Do you have lingering infections or low-level inflammation that is taking up all of your inflammation resources? These are all things you need to look at.
Most importantly, identifying any lingering immune activation that is sapping you of that potential. A healthy organism will, by default, have a very strong immune system.
As for micronutrients, minerals are everything. Especially Zinc
How do you feel about using vegetable glycerin as a humectant in a skincare routine? Mine would look like this: gentle natural cleanser -> dry -> thermal water -> vegetable glycerin -> tallow balm. The glycerin I’m looking at is derived from palm oil (Now foods brand)
I’ve found that tallow balm on its own isn’t hydrating enough for my face - curious what you think. Thanks!
If ambient humidity is low, VG can have an inverse effect of pulling water out of your skin as opposed to into your skin, so depends where you are. Derive it from coconout or palm and you're good. If looking for other humectants, consider real aloe vera and squalene.
I personally am a huge fan of rose hip seed oil, applied while skin is still wet
1. If you were on a very constrained budget, and are optimising for cognitive and physical health, what would you put your money towards first? Supplements, foods, activities, etc.
2. What things do people often miss out on that you add to your diet (& lifestyle)? Specific supplements, foods, or even mindset or practical routines.
3. What advice you give is most overlooked/underrated?
4. I’m transitioning from carnivore, keto, fruit and meat diets, and having trouble incorporating certain veg and fruit (FODMAPs, histamines). Any tips?
5. Does dark chocolate fit in your diet? How much, what kind, or why not?
6. How do you work out the different amounts of nutritients & food types for shredmaxxing? Purely felt, or are you roughly aiming for certain ratios of carbs, fats, kcals and micronutrients?
I have been dealing with chronic back tension for about 2 years now. It has been debilitating physically as well as mentally. I have tried everything within my means to overcome this issue. Chiro, PT, Primal Movement, No movement acupuncture, massage, crazy hippie energy healers etc. All of these produce nice relief temporarily, but nothing last. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing structurally wrong with my back and I am dealing with a nervous system disregulation issue. My nervous system is stuck in fight or flight.
Recently in November, I did a 5 day water fast to see what would happen. To my surprise, this was extremely effective in releasing much of the tension. After the 5 days, I felt loose, nimble, and like a kid again. 80% of the back tension vanished. I can attribute this to the fast getting me into a deep parasympathetic dominant state and deep therapeutic ketosis. I removed all externals, which allowed space for my body to relax and heal.
I broke the fast strategically with egg yolks and lamb broth. I felt amazing for a few days, I felt like I had an IV drip of espresso, I was focused and chatty and light. On the 3-4 day I got 3 gallons of raw milk from a farm and started to introduce that, I love it and drank a ton of it as I feel my body was craving this nourishment. Well, I noticed I started of feel heavier and bloated which restricted my movement and the tension became worse.
I am now trying an only meat diet for awhile to see if I can recreate that space for down regulation to occur. I am not an advocate of these strict elimination diets like carnivore and I have similar views as you about diet, variety and abundance signals (also these carnivore diets make you look like you were thrown in a toaster oven lol), however, when dealing with chronic issues like back tension, I feel they can be powerful tools to aid in healing. I have been doing some research on Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, and his work with therapeutic ketosis treatment on neurological disorders. There have been great results with Epilepsy. Well, I was thinking a nervous system disorder is basically a neurological disorder, so my theory is if I can "eliminate" external inflammation via a strict diet and enter into a state of deep ketosis long enough, I should be able to heal some of this and retrain my nervous system to maintain proper regulation.
One of my fears is that I will end of like those dudes who do this diet and then when they stop become so sensitized that they can't eat a grape without some kind of flare or symptom. I also don't want to create orthorexic way of living post healing.
Anyway, this is a long one, so appreciate you if you manage to read all this, but would love your thoughts on this. Also, recently saw you post something on Agmatine sulfate, maybe I could integrate some of this as well during the elimination/healing phase?
Hey Jared. The good news is based on your symptoms, this is NOT structural. Your nervous system is the issue like you noted. You likely have some casein/lactose immune response or volume-induced digestive stress.
In this case, your exit strategy would be a strategic re-introduction protocol. Slowly add more foods to your repertoire to assess response until you have sensible dietary boundaries (that aren't overly restrictive)
For parasympathetic dominance rewiring, I would recommend experimenting with
- Agmatine like you mentioned (can help with pain modulation too)
- L-theanine (200mg)
- Taurine (1-2g)
- Magnesium Glycinate (400mg)
I would consider lithium orotate at 5mg microdose for neurological stabilization as you go through this. Look into the work of wilhelm reich as well and alexander lowen.
Consider somatic release exercises (consciously relaxing each muscle group from toes to head) and Red light therapy as adjunct therapies
Every few months I get wisdom flare ups where my guns get really sore and sometimes swell up slightly.
I've heard that removing your wisdom teeth can cause long term illness on x lol so not sure if there is any merit to it, but would love to get your opinion if you have any insight
Ideally, you don't want to remove something if you don't have to. The cat is unfortunately out of the bag with wisdom teeth. Our mastication stimuli simply isn't enough in developmental phases to have proper jaw/mouth development, leading to improperly grown wisdom teeth.
If I didn't have to get my wisdom teeth removed, I wouldn't have. But if they're grown in fully sideways and are causing pain, its worth considering as downsides aren't nearly as bad as chronic pain/infection risk
I've recently quit my job to fully dedicate to prepare an exam in 10 months which would give me a much better quality job. My day revolves around stuyding and workout. How to optimise my day to get the best out of this 10 months study-wise? The exam is about memorizing lots of articles and laws. That's what I have in mind:
- Wake up around sunrise and watch sun for 10-15 min.
- Study in office in front of white wall with no distractions.
- Study everyday in same place and same time of the day.
- Workout around noon.
- In the evening have high quality fats like cod liver, lamb/beef liver, eggs. Also around daytime have some non-UHT milk, coco oil. Approach similar to the shredmaxx protocol but adding some fat in each meal
- Try to sleep around 10pm. Maximum 11pm.
- Socializing on saturdays.
- What else to have in mind? SELANK and SEMAX peptide?
First and foremost, learn how to learn. Everybody absorbs information differently. So identify the way that you absorb information the best. Is it through conversation? Is it through writing notes? Is it reading or is it listening? Understand your unique learning archetype to improve your information retention.
Secondarily, experiment with different states of mind. How do you feel when you're in a more GABA-dominant state? With tools like magnesium, L-theanine, or even inositol? How do you feel when you're in a cholinergic state? With tools like alpha-GPC, ginkgo biloba, and CDB choline? How do you feel when you're in a dopaminergic state? With L-tyrosine? Maybe even mucuna pruriens in small doses? Find ways to lock in these specific brain states and then find a perfect balance between them. A lot of people do well learning on choline-dominant pathways.
Finally, find ways to induce novelty. Spending the same time in the same room every single day can create a certain level of redundancy that is not conducive to information retention. Can you go and learn somewhere else? Can you learn in a different way? Can you listen to different types of music while studying? All these things will increase your likelihood of maximum retention and subsequently success.
Do you have a specific protocol for healing your gut. I know a lot of the standard advice, have been into functional health for +13 years, but continue having the same problems (not solely gut based symptoms, skin, energy, etc.). Curious if you have a triage style approach.
Also curious about detoxing heavy metals, etc. Dealing with serious fatigue (amongst other things) and trying as much as I can, but guessing my gut is the place to start
Definitely start with the gut. It's hard to move any other needles if that isn't optimized.
I generally look at three primary focus areas:
1. Improving intestinal integrity
2. Reducing gut permeability
3. Improving microbiota
4. Optimizing for motility
With this being said, my preferred stack is some combination of immunoglobulins, colostrum, L-glutamine, zinc L-carnosine, and eventually prebiotic fibers like partially hydrogenated guar gum. Sodium butyrate often moves the window as well.
The thing with these is that you need to remain particularly consistent, as results compound after three months. If you are inducing anything that is a gut irritant like casein or maybe protein mold infested food and drinks or inflammatory agents like gluten, you are going to be seriously damaging your progress.
Hey Ryan! Bit of a random one, but ever since dialling in my matabolic rate, my body temperature seems to be much higher, and I find myself overheating in indoor areas like restaurants even wear light natural fibers. Wondering if you experience anything like this, and if there's any kind of supplementation or hack that can help with this? Weird one I know
This is a huge plus! most people would kill to have that level of body temperature. If you want something that lowers core body temperature, consider magnesium and glycine.
In reality, your body is hypercalibrating to more efficient mitochondria, cellular energy turnover, and enhanced uncoupling. As you continue, your body will reregulate and stop emitting so much heat. Keep electrolytes balanced, drink cool beverages, and chew mint gum for cooling tricking effect
Been dealing w chronic illness for several years now. Been through a lot of protocols which have helped some (CIRS protocol, thiamine, atlas vertebrae realignment, and others) but I still have a very particular lingering issue that I'm struggling to find any useful info on. I seem to have severe vagus nerve dysfunction. This is not something I have seen others struggle with so its hard to find who/what to go to for help. The reason I am certain it is a vagus nerve issue is due to my symptoms and the fact that I literally have slight pain/pinching right where my vagus nerve is, mainly in the mornings. The level of pain I feel in this area is correlated highly w my symptoms.
Are you able to provide me any guidance on what might be wrong and where I should go for further help? Thanks so much.
I'd first look Look at potential Structural compression or Persistent inflammation from infection or autoimmunity. There could be a number of reasons why your vagus nerve is dysfunctional.
Have you gotten an organic acid test? Chronic infection shouldn't be ruled out here. Not saying this is a mitochondrial problem but it will be hard to solve this problem without focusing on mitochondria.
I would look at a neuroregeneration stack focusing on NGF, myelin repair, and cell membranes
- Phosphaditylcholine
- ALCAR
- Potentially lions mane (although I'm not a fan in other use cases)
Hey Noah, quick question here. Is there a way to grow a full beard without the use of chemical enhancements? I'd like to grow one but there´s some hairless spots and I've heard horror stories with Minoxidil. I already have a pretty dialed diet and lifestyle in general. Thanks in advance
Hey Noah. My hairline has been receding slowly in the past few years. I still feel very good about my hair health and let myself go of that worry a while ago. But noticing it go back and not doing anything about it knowing there are natural and hollistic ways of treating it, doesn’t sit well with me. I’m looking into loxstar and start applying it in my receding areas? do you recommend? Already use shower filter and quality nminimal shampoos. Thank you for your content, you’re an amazing role model
Try Noah's Geekbot. Plug your information in and ask it for a protocol and what you're doing wrong. It was great at telling me what was wrong with my hair routine and what I needed to change, plus what to expect based on some questions it asked me.
Thank you so much for the advice brother. Just out of curiosity, what worked best for you?
Hey noah,
Any advice on how to help the nervous system retain new posture and breathing patterns without triggering guarding or collapse?
More specifically
How much rest vs stimulus is needed for neuro consolidation?
How do you reduce threat so posture changes become automatic instead of forced?
What signals tell you it’s time to pause vs continue corrective work?
Noah, you got any advice on teeth grinding? I’ve been supplementing with glycine before bed to calm the cns down, but it’s not working.
Teeth grinding has more to do with maxillofacial development than it does your nervous system. If you have significant bruxism, it is worth getting a nightguard. I'm a grinder and have to use one just given the way my teeth developed, they don't sit correctly so they glide at night trying to "seat" themselves.
Get mouthguard
@Noah Ryan so does that mean we’re both cursed to be bedtime mouth breathers
No sir, No mouth breathing here. Mewing during the day fixes this. If need be Mouth tape & Nasal strips
Hey Noah, what are the biggest needle movers for building an elite immune system?
An elite immune system comes from having elite biology in general. The more that you optimize for abundance, recovery, and balance, the better your immune system will function.
This starts with:
• Spending more time outdoors
• Getting grounded
• Getting sunlight
These are foundational prerequisites.
Secondarily, immune function requires a lot of energy substrates and nutrients. Are you optimizing for micronutrient intake on a daily and weekly basis? Specifically:
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• B vitamins
Are you optimizing your methylation system by having ample amounts of B vitamins and potential methyl donors like creatine, which frees up SAMe? Do you have lingering infections or low-level inflammation that is taking up all of your inflammation resources? These are all things you need to look at.
Most importantly, identifying any lingering immune activation that is sapping you of that potential. A healthy organism will, by default, have a very strong immune system.
As for micronutrients, minerals are everything. Especially Zinc
How do you feel about using vegetable glycerin as a humectant in a skincare routine? Mine would look like this: gentle natural cleanser -> dry -> thermal water -> vegetable glycerin -> tallow balm. The glycerin I’m looking at is derived from palm oil (Now foods brand)
I’ve found that tallow balm on its own isn’t hydrating enough for my face - curious what you think. Thanks!
If ambient humidity is low, VG can have an inverse effect of pulling water out of your skin as opposed to into your skin, so depends where you are. Derive it from coconout or palm and you're good. If looking for other humectants, consider real aloe vera and squalene.
I personally am a huge fan of rose hip seed oil, applied while skin is still wet
Reporting back - rose hip seed oil was the missing link
- Wash face
- Pat dry
- Thermal water spray (avene)
- Morning dew face mist (tallow twins)
- Rose hip seed oil [4 drops] (cliganic)
- Tallow balm (tallow twins)
Skin has never looked / felt better
YUGE thanks Noah
Adding a few here, whatever feels relevant:
1. If you were on a very constrained budget, and are optimising for cognitive and physical health, what would you put your money towards first? Supplements, foods, activities, etc.
2. What things do people often miss out on that you add to your diet (& lifestyle)? Specific supplements, foods, or even mindset or practical routines.
3. What advice you give is most overlooked/underrated?
4. I’m transitioning from carnivore, keto, fruit and meat diets, and having trouble incorporating certain veg and fruit (FODMAPs, histamines). Any tips?
5. Does dark chocolate fit in your diet? How much, what kind, or why not?
6. How do you work out the different amounts of nutritients & food types for shredmaxxing? Purely felt, or are you roughly aiming for certain ratios of carbs, fats, kcals and micronutrients?
7. What foods are not part of your diet?
Hi Noah,
I have been dealing with chronic back tension for about 2 years now. It has been debilitating physically as well as mentally. I have tried everything within my means to overcome this issue. Chiro, PT, Primal Movement, No movement acupuncture, massage, crazy hippie energy healers etc. All of these produce nice relief temporarily, but nothing last. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing structurally wrong with my back and I am dealing with a nervous system disregulation issue. My nervous system is stuck in fight or flight.
Recently in November, I did a 5 day water fast to see what would happen. To my surprise, this was extremely effective in releasing much of the tension. After the 5 days, I felt loose, nimble, and like a kid again. 80% of the back tension vanished. I can attribute this to the fast getting me into a deep parasympathetic dominant state and deep therapeutic ketosis. I removed all externals, which allowed space for my body to relax and heal.
I broke the fast strategically with egg yolks and lamb broth. I felt amazing for a few days, I felt like I had an IV drip of espresso, I was focused and chatty and light. On the 3-4 day I got 3 gallons of raw milk from a farm and started to introduce that, I love it and drank a ton of it as I feel my body was craving this nourishment. Well, I noticed I started of feel heavier and bloated which restricted my movement and the tension became worse.
I am now trying an only meat diet for awhile to see if I can recreate that space for down regulation to occur. I am not an advocate of these strict elimination diets like carnivore and I have similar views as you about diet, variety and abundance signals (also these carnivore diets make you look like you were thrown in a toaster oven lol), however, when dealing with chronic issues like back tension, I feel they can be powerful tools to aid in healing. I have been doing some research on Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, and his work with therapeutic ketosis treatment on neurological disorders. There have been great results with Epilepsy. Well, I was thinking a nervous system disorder is basically a neurological disorder, so my theory is if I can "eliminate" external inflammation via a strict diet and enter into a state of deep ketosis long enough, I should be able to heal some of this and retrain my nervous system to maintain proper regulation.
One of my fears is that I will end of like those dudes who do this diet and then when they stop become so sensitized that they can't eat a grape without some kind of flare or symptom. I also don't want to create orthorexic way of living post healing.
Anyway, this is a long one, so appreciate you if you manage to read all this, but would love your thoughts on this. Also, recently saw you post something on Agmatine sulfate, maybe I could integrate some of this as well during the elimination/healing phase?
Hey Jared. The good news is based on your symptoms, this is NOT structural. Your nervous system is the issue like you noted. You likely have some casein/lactose immune response or volume-induced digestive stress.
In this case, your exit strategy would be a strategic re-introduction protocol. Slowly add more foods to your repertoire to assess response until you have sensible dietary boundaries (that aren't overly restrictive)
For parasympathetic dominance rewiring, I would recommend experimenting with
- Agmatine like you mentioned (can help with pain modulation too)
- L-theanine (200mg)
- Taurine (1-2g)
- Magnesium Glycinate (400mg)
I would consider lithium orotate at 5mg microdose for neurological stabilization as you go through this. Look into the work of wilhelm reich as well and alexander lowen.
Consider somatic release exercises (consciously relaxing each muscle group from toes to head) and Red light therapy as adjunct therapies
Thanks man! Appreciate it. Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen seem like a good rabbit hole. I also find the more lean I am the better my back feels.
Every few months I get wisdom flare ups where my guns get really sore and sometimes swell up slightly.
I've heard that removing your wisdom teeth can cause long term illness on x lol so not sure if there is any merit to it, but would love to get your opinion if you have any insight
Ideally, you don't want to remove something if you don't have to. The cat is unfortunately out of the bag with wisdom teeth. Our mastication stimuli simply isn't enough in developmental phases to have proper jaw/mouth development, leading to improperly grown wisdom teeth.
If I didn't have to get my wisdom teeth removed, I wouldn't have. But if they're grown in fully sideways and are causing pain, its worth considering as downsides aren't nearly as bad as chronic pain/infection risk
Hi Noah,
I've recently quit my job to fully dedicate to prepare an exam in 10 months which would give me a much better quality job. My day revolves around stuyding and workout. How to optimise my day to get the best out of this 10 months study-wise? The exam is about memorizing lots of articles and laws. That's what I have in mind:
- Wake up around sunrise and watch sun for 10-15 min.
- Study in office in front of white wall with no distractions.
- Study everyday in same place and same time of the day.
- Workout around noon.
- In the evening have high quality fats like cod liver, lamb/beef liver, eggs. Also around daytime have some non-UHT milk, coco oil. Approach similar to the shredmaxx protocol but adding some fat in each meal
- Try to sleep around 10pm. Maximum 11pm.
- Socializing on saturdays.
- What else to have in mind? SELANK and SEMAX peptide?
Thank you for your great content.
Hey Joan,
First and foremost, learn how to learn. Everybody absorbs information differently. So identify the way that you absorb information the best. Is it through conversation? Is it through writing notes? Is it reading or is it listening? Understand your unique learning archetype to improve your information retention.
Secondarily, experiment with different states of mind. How do you feel when you're in a more GABA-dominant state? With tools like magnesium, L-theanine, or even inositol? How do you feel when you're in a cholinergic state? With tools like alpha-GPC, ginkgo biloba, and CDB choline? How do you feel when you're in a dopaminergic state? With L-tyrosine? Maybe even mucuna pruriens in small doses? Find ways to lock in these specific brain states and then find a perfect balance between them. A lot of people do well learning on choline-dominant pathways.
Finally, find ways to induce novelty. Spending the same time in the same room every single day can create a certain level of redundancy that is not conducive to information retention. Can you go and learn somewhere else? Can you learn in a different way? Can you listen to different types of music while studying? All these things will increase your likelihood of maximum retention and subsequently success.
What would you use Ivermectin for, in general or prophylactic?
Do you have a specific protocol for healing your gut. I know a lot of the standard advice, have been into functional health for +13 years, but continue having the same problems (not solely gut based symptoms, skin, energy, etc.). Curious if you have a triage style approach.
Also curious about detoxing heavy metals, etc. Dealing with serious fatigue (amongst other things) and trying as much as I can, but guessing my gut is the place to start
Definitely start with the gut. It's hard to move any other needles if that isn't optimized.
I generally look at three primary focus areas:
1. Improving intestinal integrity
2. Reducing gut permeability
3. Improving microbiota
4. Optimizing for motility
With this being said, my preferred stack is some combination of immunoglobulins, colostrum, L-glutamine, zinc L-carnosine, and eventually prebiotic fibers like partially hydrogenated guar gum. Sodium butyrate often moves the window as well.
The thing with these is that you need to remain particularly consistent, as results compound after three months. If you are inducing anything that is a gut irritant like casein or maybe protein mold infested food and drinks or inflammatory agents like gluten, you are going to be seriously damaging your progress.
Any tips or resources for dealing with long-covid?
How have your opinions changed — especially from your older posts? What would you update, what’s stayed the same?
Curious as I read older posts.
Hey Ryan! Bit of a random one, but ever since dialling in my matabolic rate, my body temperature seems to be much higher, and I find myself overheating in indoor areas like restaurants even wear light natural fibers. Wondering if you experience anything like this, and if there's any kind of supplementation or hack that can help with this? Weird one I know
This is a huge plus! most people would kill to have that level of body temperature. If you want something that lowers core body temperature, consider magnesium and glycine.
In reality, your body is hypercalibrating to more efficient mitochondria, cellular energy turnover, and enhanced uncoupling. As you continue, your body will reregulate and stop emitting so much heat. Keep electrolytes balanced, drink cool beverages, and chew mint gum for cooling tricking effect
Hi Noah,
Been dealing w chronic illness for several years now. Been through a lot of protocols which have helped some (CIRS protocol, thiamine, atlas vertebrae realignment, and others) but I still have a very particular lingering issue that I'm struggling to find any useful info on. I seem to have severe vagus nerve dysfunction. This is not something I have seen others struggle with so its hard to find who/what to go to for help. The reason I am certain it is a vagus nerve issue is due to my symptoms and the fact that I literally have slight pain/pinching right where my vagus nerve is, mainly in the mornings. The level of pain I feel in this area is correlated highly w my symptoms.
Are you able to provide me any guidance on what might be wrong and where I should go for further help? Thanks so much.
I'd first look Look at potential Structural compression or Persistent inflammation from infection or autoimmunity. There could be a number of reasons why your vagus nerve is dysfunctional.
Have you gotten an organic acid test? Chronic infection shouldn't be ruled out here. Not saying this is a mitochondrial problem but it will be hard to solve this problem without focusing on mitochondria.
I would look at a neuroregeneration stack focusing on NGF, myelin repair, and cell membranes
- Phosphaditylcholine
- ALCAR
- Potentially lions mane (although I'm not a fan in other use cases)
Check inflammatory markers, hr-CRP, Cytokine panel, EBV, CMV, HHV-6
If I were in your shoes I would consider craniosacral therapy as well.
A lot of paths to go down here. The solution will likely be some combination of the group.