How Much Can The Body Take? Ben Greenfield Looks To Find Out

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn

de8214a8ae1811e2b4ef22000a1fbd4d_7As you may already know, the wildly popular Wildflower triathlon festival kicks off on May 3 – just a couple of weeks away.

And a special feature new to this year is Wildflower Squared (WF2) – the ultimate, slightly insane challenge of completing the long distance triathlon (1.2 m swim, 56 m bike, 13.1 m run ) followed by the Olympic distance triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) on Sunday, May 5.

From an exercise science standpoint, it’s well-known that stand-alone events such as a marathon or an Ironman triathlon can create a metabolic firestorm in the body that results in long term oxidative stress, inflammation, immune system deficits, and joint damage that persists for up to several weeks after a extreme endurance effort (check out studies like this and this to see just how much stress these events can create).

In other words, these type of sufferfests aren’t exactly healthy, but they sure as heck can be fun, challenging, and a great way to get extreme bragging rights.

But what about taking it to the next level and not just settling for one hard event, but doing back-to-back tough triathlons like WF2? Are you curious what happens to the human body when put through such a rigorous one-two-punch protocol?

Continue reading

Tim Ferriss: “Building the Perfect Human” – Episode 2

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn
Сell structure

credit: iStock @eranicle

Last week we brought you the first of four episodes from Tim Ferriss’ phenomenal Building the Perfect Human fireside chat. Part One focused on turning back the clock on aging, tracking the human body, and how medicine will evolve in the next 20 years.

This week’s episode continues the conversation. In classic fireside-style, our CEO Jim Kean, best-selling author Tim Ferriss, and Dr. Justin Mager go on wonderful tangents and side-stories but hold on to the central theme throughout: personalized peak performance.

Specifically, tune in this week to learn about: calorie restriction, antioxidant cycling, food allergies, using whole foods to heal, the master regulatory gene, mitochondria and microbiome, and performance enhancement for the future.

Continue reading

WellnessFX – New Low Price!

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn

images_3.1From day one, WellnessFX has been about options. When you sign up for one of our packages, you can read through bios of many different physicians, dietitians, and personal trainers to see which one most closely meets your needs. This year we released Performance and Thyroid packages for those who want to go deeper into their diagnostics. The whole point of tracking and measuring is capitalizing on the things important to you, and WellnessFX gets that.

So we set out to offer even more customizability. The diagnostics portion of WellnessFX is now available starting at the low price of $149! By unbundling the diagnostics and the consultations, we’re allowing our members greater flexibility in their options. The best part is that purchasing WellnessFX unbundled doesn’t limit you: there’s always the option to add on a consult later for a past blood test.

Continue reading

Guest Post: Should You Get Your Thyroid Tested?

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn
credit: iStock @hartphotography1

credit: iStock @hartphotography1

One of the growing epidemics in the U.S. is a disease called hypothyroidism. The thyroid is an organ that influences and inevitably controls every aspect of our being. In light of its critical role, it may come as a shock that as many as 50% of the more than 25 million people with thyroid problems remain undiagnosed.

The word “thyroid” comes from the ancient Greeks and appropriately means, “shield.” The thyroid gland not only shields the body from wearing down from stress and disease, but also serves as the major catalyst for stimulating energy, muscle growth, and a clear and sharp brain. A poorly functioning thyroid, for example, will interfere with exercise by either eliminating the possibility of building muscle or causing you to cancel your workouts altogether. As for keeping off the pounds, despite hours in the gym and low caloric intake, the body will be unable to lose weight. Even under otherwise ideal performance, the body will not be able to burn fat when the thyroid slows down. All in all, how the thyroid functions either makes or breaks performance in all areas of your life.

Continue reading

How Tim Ferriss Is Building the Perfect Human

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn

“Tim is Indiana Jones for the digital age.” 

Tim_Ferriss-Facebook-postWellnessFX is about experimentation. The body fully replenishes its red blood cell population every 3-6 months and the biomarkers we test can be easily tracked over time to measure progress. Our members become closely familiar their personal biology to inform crucial lifestyle decisions.

Best-selling author and quantified-selfer Tim Ferriss knows all about tracking and experimentation. In fact, he’s dedicated his life to it. It all started during college when he was striving to go All-American in wrestling and tried experimenting with diuretics to cut 20+ pounds in 24 hours for weigh-ins to qualify for a lower weight-class. He would then rehydrate back to normal weight in time for the match. Talk about extreme dedication!

It’s All In The Blood

For the last decade Tim has been tracking everything from complete lipid panels, insulin, and hemoglobin A1c, to IGF-1 and free testosterone. From gaining muscle by working each body part only 80 seconds a week to binge eating without gaining a pound, Tim takes full advantage of the knowledge he collects.

Tim and WellnessFX found each other a couple years ago. Tim’s results showed he was very low in myristic acid, a common (and important) saturated fatty acid. As new WellnessFX members can see for themselves this Thursday, March 28, Tim is dedicated to building the perfect human, so being deficient in anything just wouldn’t do! He started taking coconut oil every morning to balance out his levels. His morning-time fatigue and grogginess went out the window.

Continue reading

Perspective, Process, and Performance with Dr. Justin Mager

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter+1Share on LinkedIn

credit: @eyeplayskateboards

Your body as a living process didn’t start with you. It’s been continuing on for generations and generations and generations. Is it an individual process? Yes. Is it also part of a bigger one? Absolutely.

It may seem daunting, but understanding this process can put control over health back into the hands of the individual. Being aware of physiological biomarkers is essential. Biomarkers come in a variety of forms. Some are easy to pinpoint: fitness parameters, benchmarks, how you feel physically. Others you can’t see, like homocysteine levels, inflammation, and cholesterol.

Continue reading