(Posted by Patrick Sullivan Jr.)
That's right, DukeNukem himself is a customer, dare I say a fan, of Jigsaw Health. Here's the story...
On December 18, I announced that our new Jigsaw Bars had finally arrived. In that post, I said that I would send out complimentary samples to volunteers that would be willing to post online reviews. The caveat was that reviews had to be authentic. I wasn't looking for paid shills. (Btw, the offer is still open. Email your mailing address to patrick at jigsawhealth dot com.)
Scott Miller was among several people that answered the call. After doing a little research, I realized that Scott Miller is the creator of DukeNukem -- one of the most popular video games of all time -- and a few dozen other games. But far from being a 350lb computer geek, Scott is WAY into health!
We got into a long email conversation and I asked him if I could turn that into an interview to post on the blog. Here's his story and a few health tips:
1) How and when did you become so passionate about your health? (Or was it desparation that led to a "conversion"?)
My big kick in the pants came when I was 40 and had a kidney stone.
At the time, I was around 30% body fat (currently 12%) and I knew that things were headed downhill. I had been in shape and active most of my life, and I dedicated myself to getting back in shape. Along the way I have read over 200 [health] books, dozens of magazine, web articles, and in the last few years have followed all the latest research on supplements.
I've also helped dramatically improve the health of my parents.
2) How did this help your parents?
Well, my father especially was going down the road of multiple prescriptions, as he had had a mild heart attack and also prostate cancer. Of course, his convention doctor had him on statins and other pharmaceutical solutions. However, he was able to get off all prescription meds soon after starting a supplement program. Now, he's almost 70, and in superb shape for his age, with no sign of being feeble. In fact, he has resumed mountain hiking, which he does several times per year on his own. Funnily--and typical--when his doctor agreed that my father's readings had improved to the point of not needing prescription, the doctor did not ask how this might have happened. Still, my father offered the list of supplements he had been taking, and the doctor replied to the effect, "That's nice, keep up whatever you're doing." But showed no interest in the supplements.
My mother at age 67 is also in superb shape, while most of her friends are clearly on the downhill slide. She's on a a supplement program that includes over 30 per day.
3) How did you treat your kidney stone?
I passed it! And it was the most pain I had ever experienced. After that scare--I thought it was something potentially far worse when the pain originally started--I decided that health needed to become a priority. I'm one of these people who dives into a subject head first and rarely comes up for air. A few years, 200 books (and numerous other sources) later, I had really become something of a lay-expert on the subject. And better, I had applied all my knowledge and gone from out-of-shape to being in shape comparable to that of an athletic 25-year-old.
I take some 80 supplements a day, all fully supported by research, available on public databases like PubMed.com. I also take several so-called "research chemicals," like algaebrium (generic ALT-711), that are not publically available (the FDA doesn't approve preventative anti-aging chemicals, even if a chemical exhibits profoundly beneficial effects--they will only approve chemicals that treat an established disease): http://morelife.org/researchems/ALT-711.html
And, of course, I adopted a diet free of trans-fat, corn syrup, artificial colors & additives (a.k.a. toxins), sodas, fried foods, fast food, and switched to a mostly organic, non-GMO diet.
An important part of my regimen is that I monitor over 120 biomarkers once or twice a year, which requires a substantial blood draw, urine and saliva sample. This allows my to see progress in my health and make to catch anything before it becomes a real concern. So far, all of my biomarkers indicate that my age is early 30's, versus my real age of 45.5.
4) What is your personal list of supplements?
It's too long to list, and honestly I'm modifying it almost monthly, making little or big changes as new research comes out. For example, resveratrol is the hot new supplement, and although I've been taking it for two years, based on the latest findings I'm bumping up my dosage from 50 milligrams daily to 400 milligrams. (The safe upper limit appears to be about 3 grams for the average person.)
However, here's a list of the areas my supplement program addresses, and these happen to coincide with the most of the key areas known to lead to aging:
o Inflammation control
o Glycation/glucose control
o Free-radical reduction (oxidative stress)
o Immune system boosting (includes gut flora)
o DNA protection & repair (especially mitochondria DNA)
o Providing the raw materials/co-factors for chemical/enzymatic reactions
o Lipid/fatty-acid balance
Secondary items include:
o Vascular health
o Cancer prevention
o Brain health (nootropics)
o Hormone balancing
o Calcification prevention
o Toxin reduction
5) Quite an extensive list! What is one health topic that you wish everyone could instantly download into their head, Matrix-style?
Well, people need to understand that conventional medicine and convention doctors are typically 10-15 years behind the curve, and often those are precious years in a person's health. Convention medicine is purposely slow to adopt new findings due to liability issues, and because doctors naturally resist change -- we all do, it's human nature. Additionally, the vast majority of doctors (in the USA) only use pharmaceutical medicine and have no training in natural solutions. The medical industry has become a puppet to the pharmaceutical industry and doctors are rewarded with kickbacks and honorariums when they prescribe the latest, most expensive drugs. In other words, doctors are rewarded for writing prescriptions, and so they do so gleefully, and at their patient's expense (both in terms of pocketbook, and health).
Health, I've come to realize, is far to important to leave to a doctor who is a pharmaceutical puppet. When you're health goes, you have nothing. That's why I've made it such a high priority.
Scott
UPDATE: Read Scott's review of Jigsaw Bars.
UPDATE: Scott has wicked drum kit! Way more impressive than my kit. But I'll bet I have more guitars than he has. (7!)
