High-Quality Multivitamins, Plant-Based Diets, Dying Suddenly, Football & Parkinson's, and Much More

Good afternoon Nikkola Newsletterers!

The key to lifelong strength lies in consistency. As my friend and VIGOR Training member, who has been diligently strength training for five years asked, “What is the long-term goal of lifting heavy things?” For those who exercise sporadically, the benefits are fleeting. But the rewards compound over time for those who commit to regular strength training.

As the saying goes, "Use it or lose it." Our bodies are wired to shed excess muscle mass when not stimulated. Research shows that without resistance exercise, adults can lose up to 3-5% of muscle mass per decade after age 30. But lifting weights can help counteract this natural decline.

The ultimate goal is to maintain (or even build) muscle and bone density year after year. Consistent strength training targets muscles from varied angles using different exercises. This helps develop whole-body strength and posture critical for mobility and injury prevention as we age. One study found that adults over 50 who strength trained just twice a week maintained their muscle mass, while non-exercisers lost 3.5 pounds of muscle over 12 years.

While motivation may waver, commitment compounds. Lifting weights consistently over time can help us stay strong, capable and independent long into our later years. So keep inspiring your body with new challenges, and you’ll reap rewards that last a lifetime.

Enjoy today’s carefully curated newsletter!

What makes a High-Quality Multivitamin “High-Quality?”: What makes a multivitamin a “high-quality multivitamin?” Why is there such a big difference in price between what your healthcare practitioner recommends, and what you find in retail stores? Why do you even need a multivitamin? Clients and VIGOR Training members have asked me these questions numerous times. I’ll provide the answers below. Keep reading…

Plant-Based Diets, Depression, and Anxiety: The effort to convert people to plant-based diets is nothing new, but the effort to move people from eating meat to going vegan continues to gain traction. There are some who wholeheartedly believe a plant-based diet is better for your health than one that includes animal proteins. But those leading the anti-meat agenda likely have goals in mind that aren’t really about your health. Keep reading…

Dying suddenly, shortly after vaccination. A review of 28 autopsy case reports found that 100% of the deaths involving myocarditis were causally linked to COVID-19 vaccination. On average, death occurred just 3 days after the last vaccine dose, indicating the vaccines can cause rapid and fatal heart damage. The findings confirm suspicions that vaccine-induced myocarditis is killing young, healthy people who die suddenly after vaccination. The extremely high rate of causality suggests the COVID vaccines may be the biggest medical mistake in history, outweighing any potential benefits.

Maybe it’s best to stick with flag or bar football, and avoid playing regular football. A study of 1875 former male athletes found that playing football, especially for more seasons, was associated with higher odds of having a Parkinson's diagnosis later in life. There was a dose-response relationship, with more seasons played and higher level of play correlating with greater odds of Parkinson's. Most participants were amateur players rather than professionals. The findings add to evidence linking repetitive head impacts from football to neurological conditions like Parkinson's and parkinsonism.

Hottest Earth ever? That’s what mainstream media and even scientific journals like Nature would have you believe, but the temps have only been recorded for the past 175 years. Yet, the same journals estimate Earth’s age at 4.5 billion years. So are these hot temps really the death of the world they’ve been made out to be? I have my doubts.

Essential Oils Make Increase Alpha Waves. According to a new systematic review of research completed between 1998-2001, essential oil inhalation stimulates alpha brain wave activity. Increased alpha wave activity has been associated with benefits like improved cognitive performance, creativity, and relaxation. Enhancing alpha waves may therefore help improve mental state and functioning. That smells pretty good to me!

Is gluten wrecking your brain and body? A new animal study found that adding gluten to either a high-fat or low-fat diet led to inflammation in the hypothalamus, a brain region that controls metabolism. Gluten also increased body weight and fat mass when added to the high-fat diet. These results support previous research showing gluten increases inflammation, contributes to obesity, and leads to other adverse health effects, even in those without gluten sensitivity. The gluten-induced hypothalamic inflammation could be a common cause of metabolic dysfunction. With the availability of gluten-free foods today, there’s no reason for people to eat it. There’s simply no benefit and plenty of risk.

High-intensity running intervals might cause muscle loss. Seven weeks of resistance training increased muscle size, while seven subsequent weeks of high-intensity interval training caused muscle size to decrease back towards baseline. Markers of muscle protein breakdown like ubiquitin proteasome activity and atrogenes were elevated after interval training. The loss of muscle mass from resistance training to intervals may be due to suppressed protein synthesis and increased proteolysis. The bottom line: If you want to keep the muscle you’ve got, you’ve got to keep strength training.

Biden's trans health secretary Dr Rachel Levine praises Alaska gender-affirming care clinic which wants word 'mother' replaced with phrase EGG PRODUCER. Joe Biden's transgender health secretary has praised an Alaska gender-affirming care clinic which wants the word 'mother' replaced with the phrase 'egg producer.' Dr Rachel Levine, 65, is the highest ranking openly transgender federal official in the country - and has long endorsed providing gender-affirming care to minors, arguing that the treatment is 'lifesaving.' Keep reading…