Category: Homo (Sapien)

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Renovation Homo (Sapien): Food Sensitivity Results

When I hear or read the name Joseph, I think of my mother.  She is the only person that ever called me Joseph and it was usually when I was in trouble.  If I really screwed up, I got the full “Joseph Montague LaMuraglia, get your ass over here”.  I digress.  This time, reading my full given name got me excited.  The first results were in for my renovation homo (sapien) project and I was eager to see if my intuition was right about what my body is sensitive to (besides Sade songs, anything by Nicholas Sparks, puppy videos and that damn Google Super Bowl commercial!)

My intuition was all wrong.  I was convinced that the results would show a complicated relationship to apples,  melons, and seafood primarily because they give me gas, make me puke and just taste vile – in that order.  No, no, Everlywell’s blood test results showed something more cruel and ironic.

First off,  I am not highly reactive to any foods.  That is good news.  I am also not moderately reactive to any foods. Yay!  Mildy reactive, that’s another story.  My results show that there are 8 foods that cause a mild reaction and still may be “sneaky symptom-causers”.

What are the trouble makers?  Here is where I get sad but the more I think about it, it makes sense.  Let’s start with coffee. Yup, black gold.  Morning Joe.  Java.

On the scale above, it doesn’t seem the result is that bad but looking back at my last health quest, I gave up coffee for almost 6 months and I felt great.  I thought it was the caffeine I stayed away from but this hints that the coffee itself might have been contributing negatively to my health.

This one is ironic.  I have been avoiding dairy for the past few years and making my protein shakes with, you guessed it, almond milk! Not only that, I snack on roasted almonds.  This one won’t be as difficult to give up because, to be honest, I am not a huge fan of almond milk.   I may miss snacking almonds but there are plenty of substitutes like cashews and peanuts. Unless….

Nuts! Technically, nuts and legumes!  Cashews are the highest scoring of my results and as you can see above, they are on the edge of moderate reactivity.  I love them but I don’t eat them often so that will be easy to avoid.  Peanuts, on the other hand, are in everything and snack on them often.  Luckily my reactivity results are super low and almost in the normal range.  I will still avoid them as part of an elimination diet – more about that later- but I am thinking they are likely not that bad.

This one is the most perplexing to me.  I am not surprised because eating eggs alone makes me feel sick at times but how do I avoid egg whites?  Does eating baked goods made with eggs count?  How on earth does one avoid eggs altogether?  Luckily, Everlywell offers a one-on-one consultation with a dietitian to discuss these questions.  Mine is scheduled for next week.

Another ironic item is the results of coconut sensitivity.   In the past few weeks, I started to make bulletproof coffee with grass-fed butter and coconut oil to get me started in the morning.  I don’t think I am having any reaction to it but now that I am giving up coffee again, it will be easy to get rid of coconut oil.

The last two are easy.   I hate mustard and the only time I really consume ginger is in a ginger, carrot and apple juice that I make.  I will put that on hold for a while but with the low reactivity score, I am fairly certain it isn’t holding me back.

Next steps are to start an elimination diet.  I will likely hold off on this until I have my consultation.  Here is how Everlywell says to do it:

You temporarily cut foods you’re reactive to from your diet, usually for one month. (Keep a close eye on ingredient lists and watch for hidden sources during this time.)

Working one food at a time, you reintroduce the food for one day. (This step is the whole point of the elimination diet. Don’t skip it!)

You stop eating that food again for a 2-4 days while watching for symptoms. (Tip: Keep a food journal to make this easy.)

If you don’t notice any symptoms, you’re probably not sensitive to that food. (You can choose to go back to eating it as usual.)

If you do notice symptoms, try eliminating that food for a longer period of time (at least 6 months) before repeating steps 2 and 3. (Depending on your symptoms at this point, you can either reintroduce the food to your diet in small amounts or repeat the elimination for another 6+ months.)

I will do another post after my consultation.  I am also waiting on my gut biome results from Thryve and will post about that as well.

If you missed my post on how to do the food sensitivity test, click https://joelamuraglia.com/2020/02/07/renovation-homo-sapien-food-sensitivity-test/

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Renovation Homo (Sapien): Food Sensitivity Test

In my first post, I discussed that I ordered a food sensitivity test from EverlyWell.  Ironically, it arrived that same day and I followed the instructions and sent it on its way.  I was going to take photos and do an “unboxing” video but why recreate the wheel?  They have a beautifully produced video below.

Results will be sent 5 business days from the date they receive my sample.  I, of course, will be sharing here.  I won’t share how I got the sample for my gut biome test.  It isn’t as bad as you think but still not appropriate for video.

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Renovation: Houses and Homo (Sapien)

February 6, 2020

How to begin? It all started when I left my job about a year ago.  It wasn’t a light decision to make but I was burnt out and needed a break.  I was fortunate that my company provided a separation package and I had a master plan.

The blueprint included renovation and sale of the first home I ever purchased in metro Atlanta and then a gut renovation of a newly purchased home in Savannah.   Both of those projects were immensely satisfying and I completed them by August of 2019.  It was then time to turn to the next stage of the renovation: me.  I had visions of visiting family and friends, hitting the gym 5x a week and blowing past my previous lightest weight of 216 lbs. all the while feeling progressively better mentally, emotionally and physically.  How does that saying go, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”?  And awry barely describes how far off course I went.

Those that know me understand that I don’t sit still for very long.  I often keep myself busy with side projects at work and there is always a personal project – either a vehicle or a house – keeping me busy.  Once I left the corporate world, I filled my time with the home renos.  Both of those projects were in GA and my personal life is based in Boston.  I was traveling a lot to manage both.  So, when I finally settled down and stopped traversing the east coast, I was eager to start the next phase.  It wasn’t too be.

I gave myself time to get caught up on sleep and relax a bit.  Solid sleep was elusive and despite taking it easy for a few weeks, my energy levels seemed to continue their downward spiral.   I was moody, lethargic and quite frankly, very depressed.    I was dragging myself to the gym and going through the motions, but it was fruitless.  My mood deteriorated and my weight continued to increase.  My primary care physician was of no help.  He took tests and insinuated a lot of the issue was in my head.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the mind-body connection but no amount of will power/meditation/positive thinking was helping. It was time for a new approach.

First step: fire my doctor.  He was not listening to me and liked to lecture me on me being patient and that what I was feeling was normal for a “man of my age”.  Fuck that! I know my body and I knew something was off.  I have been on and off testosterone therapy for years and I knew my tank was low. I started therapy again and would feel semi-normal for a few days after a shot and then it went downhill quickly from there.  We are talking being on the verge of tears for no reason.  Inability to focus, no desire to do anything and overall malaise.  He didn’t care. I even checked my records to share the dosage of testosterone I had been on in the past.  He was prescribing half of what I was used to and would not listen to my requests to increase the dosage.  Doctors do NOT know everything. Find one that you trust and that LISTENS to you.

Second step:  find a new doctor.  Thankfully Boston has a plethora of doctors to choose from.  I made an appointment with the guy that literally wrote the book on testosterone therapy.  They ran tests and discussed all my options. When the results came in, my levels were 88 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL).  Normal is considered 250 – 1100 ng/DL.  No wonder all I wanted to do at the gym was crawl up in the corner and cry!  And old doc said it was in my head!  I was running on empty.  Actually, I equate this to driving a car or riding a bike with severely underinflated tires.  You will move but it will take a lot of energy to get anywhere.  It is time to reflate.

I got my new dosage today and for the first time in MONTHS, I feel like there is hope.  I have also just finished the book UNSTOPPABLE by Ben Angel.  I cannot remember the last time I related to a story so much.  Ben too was at wit’s end and his book takes the reader on a journey on how he was able to rise from the pits of depression and dismay by looking at his being as a system.  A system that includes body and mind.  I will be following his advice on biohacking my way to wellness and sharing it along the way.

I have already started the first step by discovering what my body was lacking to function.  In my case, it was a hormonal imbalance.  The second step involves testing for any food sensitivities to make sure my ‘clean eating’ isn’t detrimental to my process.  For example, Ben was supplementing with coconut oil to help with focus and energy.   His tests showed that he is sensitive to coconut oil.  Not allergic but sensitive.  It was enough that it was holding him back.  I ordered a food sensitivity test from EverlyWell and will see if anything I am eating is less than optimal.

I also ordered a gut biome test from thryve.  The idea is that probiotics are great but it makes more sense to understand what I am specifically lacking and supplementing with a custom blend rather than a one-size-fits all.  Makes sense right?

Parallel to this, I just started supplementing with Nootropics.  If that word sounds foreign to you, don’t worry.  I had never heard it before either.  See the definition below.  I am using Qualia Mind that Ben recommends in his book.  Two days in and it looks promising.

Nootropics (/noʊ.əˈtrɒpɪks/ noh-ə-TROP-iks) (colloquial: smart drugs and cognitive enhancers) are drugs, supplements, and other substances that may improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.

I will also begin back on my 30 days of clean eating that worked for me in the past.  I am hoping that once I get my hormones back to normal, I will have the energy to exercise properly at the gym to kickstart this new version of me.  Then, based on the results of the gut biome test I’ll supplement with a custom probiotic.  When the results of the food sensitivity test come back (2 – 3 weeks), adjustments will be made to my food intake.  It sounds like a LOT because it is.  But staying the course is not an option.

The ultimate goal is multifaceted:  I want to regain the fire in my belly so I have the energy to function at a higher level which includes exercise to lose weight and the drive to design the next stage of my life.

So, the homo (sapien) renovation begins.  If my experience remodeling homes is any indication, I will uncover some unexpected issues, it may take longer than anticipated but the end result should be worth all the effort.  Stay tuned for updates and let me know if you have any questions along the way.