j's log

[thebigpeatowski]

I haven't really tried aspirin yet, I don't know where to start with that one...plus my nose bleeds from antihistamines (it gets too dry inside). I need to wait until my intestines are settled down for a good long time before I try aspirin.

When I first tried niacinamide I used 500 mg. It was the only clean (no bad fillers etc.) supplement I could find at the time, but it made me feel horrid so I quit. I have since purchased some powder only in bulk, but been too chicken to try it with my intestinal inflammation.

 

[j.]

I've been interested for a while in the question of whether using aspirin reduces vitamin D production. Aspirin reduces sunburn, which is caused by UVB radiation. Does it reduce vitamin D production, which also happens to be activated by UVB radiation?

Today I sunbathed at noon, after taking aspirin. I often do that for a few minutes (without using aspirin), without getting sunburned, and tend to feel pretty good afterwards. Aspirin allowed me to stay longer, I didn't get burned, but I felt more of a mix of good and bad effects, not the usual good effects alone I feel when I don't use aspirin.

So at the moment, my guess is that if you aren't getting a sunburn, sun exposure without aspirin is better. (avoiding sunburn with aspirin is probably better than getting a sunburn without aspirin)

The same questions can be asked about niacinamide, which has some effects similar to aspirin.

 

[j.]

Aspirin allowed me to stay longer, I didn't get burned, but I felt more of a mix of good and bad effects, not the usual good effects alone I feel when I don't use aspirin.

The bad part of the mix of good and bad effects is similar to what I felt (bad) when I sunbathed 4 p.m. or later. I think what happens is either that staying longer due to the aspirin made me receive too much UVA (and maybe it also reduced some of the UVB effects more than the UVA effects, effectively simulating a lower UVB/UVA ratio), or there were some clouds that produced a lower UVB/UVA ratio.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I just got in from sunbathing, I never burn anymore no matter how long I am out. I think coconut oil helps that. Sunbathing makes me feel so good that I swear I must be solar powered. I don't supplement with D on days like this

 

[j.]

This study caught my attention: DHEA Protects Mice From Endotoxin Toxicity

Maybe the reason I didn't feel like eating the raw carrot after I started taking pregnenolone was that I had better DHEA levels, and was therefore less vulnerable to endotoxin, so I didn't feel it as much if the carrot no longer removed it.

I haven't restarted the carrot habit, but the arguments in favor of it are getting too strong. It isn't so hard to just take a carrot and eat it daily.

Also, endotoxin might make me reconsider the risks/rewards of careful use of vitamin B6, as haidut posted recently it protects the intestine from damage that can make us more vulnerable to endotoxin. Before that I think I'll look if vitamin D can strengthen the intestine.

 

[j.]

I'm thinking that getting vitamin D through sunshine would reduce vitamin E in the body, just because it increases fatty acids in the bloodstream, and vitamin E would be used as an antioxidant. Maybe that's somehow the way it increases vitamin A requirements, since vitamin E lets the body use vitamin A more efficiently. And sunshine also uses vitamin A by other mechanisms, such as increased steroidogenesis induced by red light. So it seems wise for these reasons to increase both E and A.

Given this, acute reactions to sunshine, such as getting acne a few days after exposure, might reveal a high degree of PUFA. With a high degree of PUFA, our vitamin E needs are increased, and if a few days of exposure creates problems, that shows that it's easy to deplete one's vitamin E.

 

[j.]

If you think about the fact that PUFA increases vitamin E requirements, you might note that fasting or not eating for a while increases vitamin A requirements, if your stored fats are PUFAs.

 

[j.]

Sometimes when I received sun exposure and 500 watts of incandescent lights in a day I supplemented up to even 200,000 IU of vitamin A to control dandruff and sometimes other skin symptoms. But with liberal use of mixed tocopherols and vitamin K2 (MK4), I was able to reduce that amount to 10,000 IU (!).

Clearly the previous insane dose wasn't right, what was missing was the capacity to store vitamin A in the liver, due to low vitamin E, due to its depletion from high PUFA consumption over the years. Vitamin K2 also mysteriously reduces vitamin A requirements, I believe.

And with the supplementation of these two vitamins there is increased metabolism, which theoretically should also increase nutrients requirements in general, including vitamin A requirements. Vitamin E has progesterone like effects, vitamin K2 increases testosterone, and these two together I think strongly reduce estrogen, which increases thyroid activity, and yet, I can get away with 5% of the vitamin A I used to use. I wonder what the long term effects of low PUFA diet with supplementation of vitamins E and K2 will be. Maybe it will erase the need for vitamin A supplementation.

 

[j.]

^ I suddenly started having skin issues one day more than 10 years ago. I think that was the point where PUFA stores reached the point that when they were released, the vitamin E level became too low to sustain hepatic vitamin A storage.

 

[j.]

Received happiness pills, I mean caffeine pills today.

 

[j.]

When I consume a soy product I feel it rips apart my brain.

 

[Kray]

^ I suddenly started having skin issues one day more than 10 years ago. I think that was the point where PUFA stores reached the point that when they were released, the vitamin E level became too low to sustain hepatic vitamin A storage.

J- just read this after our "3 MONTHS IN" discussion about vitamin E. If I'm having skin issues, maybe this is my problem too. Thanks for providing some good brands as sources. I will discard my E that has the soy added. Darn, there's a lot of trial and error (and $$) for not thinking ahead, but I may give the Thorne a try-- it looks pretty good. Without added soy, it will be interesting to see if it helps. Any suggestions on dosage for skin problems?

 

[j.]

I don't recommend any vitamin E product, all of them have some sort of trouble. But maybe you have better reactions. The next to try on my list, sometime in the future, is ProCaps Ultimate Gamma Vitamin E.

 

[Kray]

Hmmm. I'll look into that one. Silly question-- any foods on the approved list with sufficient amounts of E? I guess if you are pretty pufa-free it isn't ideally necessary to supplement?

Do you supplement K? I realize you may not need as much if you don't take extra E, but in terms of overall value, is K a good one to add?

 

[j.]

Liver has some vitamin E. The adrenal glands I think are the most concentrated animal form, but I don't know if it has other issue.

Other than that, I think the vegetable oils, but they also have high PUFA.

 

[Kray]

Thanks J, here's an add-on to my last query--

Do you supplement K? I realize you may not need as much if you don't take extra E, but in terms of overall value, is K a good one to add?

 

[j.]

I think a few drops, maybe 4 mg, is good to take if you're taking E. I think E and K might deplete each other.

 

[j.]

I think it's an awesome discovery that to treat osteoporosis, vitamin K2 should be used in extremely high unnatural doses (45 mg daily)

 

[charlie]

j, what should be taken with this to balance it? I am about to start high dosing K2.

 

[j.]

j, what should be taken with this to balance it? I am about to start high dosing K2.

Some people say calcium at the same time, I often don't take it with calcium and have no problems. I think vitamin E and K2 balance each other. I would take some vitamin E topically or orally, I think both are absorbed.

If after taking vitamin K2 your erections get out of control, please report.