I recently picked up a book called Transcend: Nine Steps To Living Well Forever, by Ray Kurzweil, on a whim. I'd heard of Kurzweil a few months ago while I was reading up on a 10-day detox I participated in, and decided the book looked interesting. I was totally right!
For a little background on Kurzweil (which I highly recommend before going further), go here: Raymond Kurzweil
Anyway, this particular book is centered around a basic theory of Kurzweil's, in that if you can just live well enough to live an extra couple decades, technology will have advanced far enough that your health and wellness can be protected and enhanced even farther, and so on, and so on. The program, "Transcend", stands for:
Talk to your doctor
Relaxation
Assesment
Nutrition
Supplements
Calorie Reduction and Weight Loss
Exercise
New Technologies
Detoxification
He is well regarded in the fields of futurism and transhumanism. The book goes into much much greater detail; sometimes his ideas (and those of his partner, Dr. Terry Grossman) are a little...progressive. He does feel strongly that someday in the not too distant future, parts and then all of our bloodstream will be replaced by microscopic nanorobots, with the capability of detecting/preventing/curing any and all problems that creep up on the you of the future. Reality? Who knows! However he does often back up his words with extensive citations of major studies, and although findings can always be slightly twisted to leverage personal claims, it's all still incredibly interesting and seems fairly rooted in science.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because I felt it was something I could easily do, that would be beneficial to my health, and regardless of my feelings on living for centuries (A leading futurist has speculated that our grandchildren will live to be at least 1000 years old), I think that the basics of the program are great! And! It all coincides with my exercise and diet plan that I'm currently attempting!
That being said, I most likely won't be talking to my doctor, like the first step suggests. (Which means that I won't be doing the assessment/testing of step 3). The relaxation step, for me, is huge. With the help of a different book that I also purchased on the same whim, this has strangely been the easiest and most altering step thus far. More on that in a different post though.
What I wanted to go into detail about at the moment is the Supplementation step. I've always been pretty keen on taking vitamins/minerals...herbs for certain things (echinacea, valerian root). I've sort of been a willy nilly vitamin taker though. This book was great because it laid out many common supplements and went into great detail. With that information, and my own research, I came up with a plan that I think will work for what I need. Two of my friends have also done this, and ended up with slightly different plans. If you have any interest at all in supplementation beyond a multivitamin, I'd encourage you to do some research as well. I've felt great over the past week since I started...I have no doubt a lot of it is psychological, since certain ones need to build up in the body first over a few weeks, but I'm ok with that!
The following table is a list of the supplements I'm currently taking daily, known functions/usages, and the dose I've decided on.
B12 | Water soluble vitamin vital to nerve formation, energy, formation of blood | 1 mg |
Ginkgo Biloba | Memory, concentration, improves circulation | 80 mg |
Lecithin (Phosphatidylcholine) | Synthesis of structural cell membranes, used to make cell signaling molecules, precursor for neurotransmitter involved in muscle control/memory | 1200mg |
Lysine | Carnitine production, calcium absorption, proper growth | 500 mg |
Vitamin D | Fat soluble vitamin for bone health, studies show involvement with heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer | 400 IU |
Vitamin E | Fat soluble vitamin that is an antioxidant, proven to help fight heart disease, eye degeneration, cognitive decline, and studies show hope in cancer prevention/treatment | 400 IU |
Calcium | Strong bones, muscle contraction, blood clotting | 1000mg |
Magnesium | Metabolism, cell repair, regulating body temperature | 400mg |
Zinc | Immune function, wound healing, treatment of common cold, delaying progress of age-related macular degeneration, metabolism | 15mg |
B3 (Niacin) | Heart health, specifically cholesterol and atherosclerosis, metabolism | 100 mg |
Boswellia | Derived from tree sap, boswellia is used as an anti-inflammatory, joint health, and for relief from several intestinal disorders | 307 mg |
Melatonin | Calming aid; body needs certain levels of melatonin to trigger sleep | 3mg |
I also occasionally use Valerian Root, which is an herb commonly used as a sleep aid. Some of these, like zinc, can build to toxic levels in the body, so you do, of course, have to be careful. I'm also taking a lower than usually suggested dosage of Gingko Biloba ( I think usually it's around 240 mg daily), because I read it can cause bleeding when taken with high levels of ibuprofen, which I'm taking temporarily. I'm very excited about all of it though, and will update again soon!
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