Tony Stocco

Hacking Heartburn

I hacked heartburn. That’s a little dramatic, but it’s accurate because I got rid of my heartburn without any of the typical-doctor-recommended solutions (drugs). Plus, heartburn drugs just mask the symptoms and don’t do anything to fix the actual problem. And heartburn / acid reflux drugs can cause more harm than good.

I was not going to settle for daily heartburn and a daily heartburn drug. One of my life long goals is to never go on a prescription medication. So I searched for a more natural solution - to actually fix the problem.

My research lead me to this eye-opening essay on the causes and natural cures for acid reflux, heartburn and GERD. It was written by Chris Kresser - and all he asks for is your email address. I gladly signed up and immediately read the PDF.

I highly recommend reading the entire PDF because it’s jam packed with the actual causes of heartburn (and you don’t get heartburn because you’re getting older.)

Quick Heartburn Relief

Lemon juice! If you’re suffering from heartburn, try squeezing some fresh lemon juice into a glass of water. That worked for me to quickly reduce my symptoms. Lemon juice works, but doesn’t solve the problem.

Histamines = Heartburn?

In Kresser’s ebook, he talks about histamines as the cause for heartburn. Following his advice I stopped eating these histamine producing foods:

• coffee
• butter
• eggs
• bacon
• cinnamon

After avoiding all of those (delicious) foods for a couple weeks… I still had symptoms.

The next step was to try and reduce histamines even further. Here’s what I did next:

• Cooked almost all of my vegetables (except avocado). I don’t digest raw vegetables very well anyway, so this was easy to do… (and cooked arugula with coconut oil or butter is spectacular)
• Tried taking digestive enzymes before meals. It didn’t work.
• Tried Betaine HCL before each meal which helped reduce symptoms.
• Tried Quecertin before one meal per day - helped reduce symptoms, I think this was more effective than the Betaine HCL.
• Tried a histamine reducing probiotic, which didn’t help

Heartburn = Harder to kill than a cockroach

Finally, I stopped eating two servings of carbs (white rice) every day. Chris Kresser said carbs could be a cause for heartburn. I tried everything else, so I switched to eating white rice one day a week. (Note: I don’t eat any other starchy carbs).

As soon as I reduced the white rice, the heartburn symptoms began to weaken.

I only ate carbs one or two days a week for 3 weeks any my heartburn completely disappeared. Gonzo. Nada.

Starchy carbs are the on/off switch for my heartburn.

Now, a couple weeks later, I’ve added all those yummy foods (coffee!) back into my diet. Yay!

…but there’s more…

Carbs Cause Heartburn

Just to make sure carbs were the root cause of my heartburn, I started eating white rice every day. It only took a week to feel the symptoms again.

So, it seems for me that carbs are the trigger for heartburn. The more starchy carbs I eat (white rice, sweet potatoes), the more likely I am to get heartburn.

The good news is: I can cut carbs and turn heartburn off… without drugs.

Your Diet Is Broken

The point of this story is: If you feel like shit, it’s probably your diet - or a specific food that’s causing problems.

Change your diet before accepting ridiculous conclusions like:

• "You’re getting older, so heartburn"
• "Your body is changing, so heartburn"
• "Your father’s fifth cousin eats glue, so heartburn"

Main image by Shawn Campbell

The Best Exercise There Is, Hands Down

Another great post from Mark’s Daily Apple. Mark clearly describes why everyone should find exercises that excite you instead of punishing yourself doing something you hate…

The single best exercise there is, hands down, is the one you’ll do.

One reason is consistency: adherence begets success. You don’t get stronger or fitter or leaner because of a single workout. You get stronger or fitter or leaner because of the cumulative effect of many, many workouts done on a consistent basis.

The key is figuring out which exercise you’ll actually do.

When you’re summoning the willpower to grimace your way through a miserable workout routine, you’re not doing “voluntary exercise.”

When you dread your workout and feel physically ill at the prospect of going to the gym, you’re not doing voluntary exercise.

When you either love what you’re doing or feel a powerful calling to it – even if it’s physically grueling and not exactly “pleasurable” – you are doing voluntary exercise and the benefits will likely be greater than if the reverse were true.

Every time I go to the gym, I see miserable people. People who are doing exercises they absolutely hate. I wonder if they’re doing it just because that’s what someone said they should do…

If you want to see people suffering, check out the rows of treadmills at any gym. Misery. Instead of running “because that’s what everyone says you should do”, find an exercise you actually want to do. It’s so obvious that it’s overlooked.

Instead of running on a treadmill, maybe you should make a music video!

Treadmill photo by healthgauge

Coconut Oil Kills Candida Albicans

Everyone should watch this video. It’s Joe Rogan interviewing Dr. Rhonda Patrick. She has a PHD in biomedical science and is now doing a post-doctoral fellowship on nutrition and metabolism - Dang! Smart lady.

Here’s what I learned from her:

At 1 hour 8 minutes into the video, Dr. Patrick talks about how lauric acid, found in coconut oil, can kill candida albicans. This is earth shattering news for me… I have a yeast / mold / candida allergy thing and I’m always looking for natural ways to fight the allergy.

Boom.

Plus, she talks about how awesome and essential it is to supplement with vitamin D, vitamin K and fish oils.

The entire podcast is awesome and worth your time to listen.

And finally…

Also, Joe starts talking shit about Dave Asprey. I love Dave’s coffee. But after listening to this podcast, I’m going to start testing other brands. Hopefully, I can find a coffee locally so I don’t get bent on shipping and Dave’s inconsistent shipping schedule.

And knowing about the coconut oil / candida thing, I’ll probably stop using MCT and just use coconut in my coffee. It will help with my yeast allergy, will improve the taste of my coffee and it’s easier to find than MCT.

How To (NOT) Get Six Pack Abs

I laughed out loud when I found this.

#1: EVERYONE has a six pack. Everyone has ripped abs. The problem is they’re covered up by fat.

#2: Read #1 again

#3: If you understand #1, then you know that the only way to “get a six pack” is to remove the fat from your stomach. You do that by eating food that doesn’t cause fat gain, like sugar. Period.