Hi everybody,

I see that many people have joined the list since I restarted it a few weeks
ago.  If you joined late and missed earlier postings, you can review them at
the following URL:
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/evolutionary-fitness.html  Past postings
are archived by month.  So far the list has been relatively quiet.  Hopefully,
with time, we'll see more active discussion.

I read Tom Tanner's earlier posts on amino acid supplementation ("GH booster
mix") to promote GH.  One thing that concerns me is the possbility of
glutamine and glutamate interconversion.  Some have reported following the
regimen for years without ill effect.  I'll give diet and exercise a solid try
before considering supplementation.

Tom, how do you restore melatonin at night?  Do you take melatonin supplements
before bedtime?  1 mg?

I started on the path of EvFit living about five or six weeks ago.  I'm in my
early thirties, ostensibly healthy, with a body weight of 147 lbs on a 5'10"
frame with 12% body fat.  I don't have any recent clinical blood labs to
share.

So far, changing the diet has been the easy part.  Despite my enjoyment of a
range of cuisines, I easily gave up eating out for a healthy diet of nuts,
fruits, vegetables, and meats.  I've been using the cancer research of Bruce
Ames and the antioxidant research of the USDA as a guide on choosing the plant
food to emphasize, e.g. strawberries, kale, etc., or to avoid, e.g. broccoli,
mushrooms and peanuts, etc.

http://socrates.berkeley.edu/mutagen/ames.summary.html

http://www.hnrc.tufts.edu/researchprograms/USDALabResProgDes/Webhome.html

I do need to control my intake of nuts.  They are so yummy, even without the
salt and roasting.

What's the best way to sequence the eating of the various foods?   From what
I've read on the list, to promote GH, you exercise before breakfast, eat
protein and/or fat for breakfast, avoid carbohydrates, and eat protein for
dinner, at least three hours before sleeping.  Would this be an accurate
summary?

What are good scientific references, books or papers or bibliographies, on GH
metabolism?

I'm also started a taking broader range of antioxidant and herbal supplements.
(This is an important topic that I would like to return to in a future post.)

Interesting reading:

[I believe this is the paper I read a while back.  Too much vitamin C promotes
oxidation.  From memory--vitamin C more than 500 mg/day causes the
incorporation into DNA of alternate forms of guanine.]
Podmore ID, Griffiths HR, Herbert KE, et al.
Vitamin C exhibits pro-oxidant properties [letter] [see comments]
Nature (England), Apr 9 1998, 392(6676) p559

[I have not read]
Poulsen HE, Weimann A, Salonen JT, et al.
Does vitamin C have a pro-oxidant effect? [letter; comment]
Nature (England), Sep 17 1998, 395(6699) p231-2

[I have not read]
Poulsen HE, Weimann A, Salonen JT, et al.
Does vitamin C have a pro-oxidant effect? [letter; comment]
Nature (England), Sep 17 1998, 395(6699) p231-2


I started to write about the exercise and weightlifting part but I'll withhold
it here since I'm still evolving and tweaking the program.

After 6 weeks, despite the radical change in diet and the introduction of
weight-training, my weight and fat % has not budged one bit!  Talk about a
stable attractor.

Of course, I need to be patient and there might be important internal changes
that aren't evident in the macro-measurements.  Unfortunately, we aren't yet
in the age where we can do blood labs at home.  Prompted by a random
conversation, I measured my blood pressure two days ago and found it to be
100/67!  Subsequent measurements have proved this to be stable.  My resting bp
for the longest time was 120/80.  Is this due to entirely to absence of sodium
from processed foods and restaurant cooking?

Ming