Reclaiming the T: Diving into the World of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) with Shalin Shah

Omid Vojdani of Four Lights Wellness

Reclaiming the T: Diving into the World of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) with Shalin Shah 

By Omid Vojdani 

Health & Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

I’ve been in the health and wellness space for almost 18 years now (I know, I’m getting old), but I’ve been a male for much longer than that! I say that, because once I started approaching 35, I noticed things starting to slow down gradually. Gone were the days where I could crush a workout Friday morning and then head to Vegas for a sleepless weekend to simply crush Monday’s workout. Nowadays, I just plain don’t recover as easily as I used to, often feeling lethargic if I miss even a few hours of sleep. This change led me down a deep research rabbit hole looking for reasons beyond simple aging, and landed me squarely in the realm of hormones. 

Shalin Shah of Marius Pharmaceuticals

Well, after a few years of learning and understanding the biology of hormones and their roles in everything from metabolism to mood, I tried to do as much as I could to balance out my hormones on my own. And while all of the natural interventions (eating right, getting to bed on time, lifting weights, etc) helped me feel better, I still felt like I was delaying the slow decline into feeling old at 40. 

That’s when I met Shalin Shah, CEO of Marius Pharmaceuticals, and learned all about the next generations of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Shalin, whose company makes the TRT Kyzatrex, educated me about how testosterone has been successfully used therapeutically for nearly 100 years, including to help women through menopause! But progress with hormonal treatments was stifled in the 90’s when congress labeled it as a class three controlled substance. “It was sad,” Shalin explained, “because the FDA was against it, the AMA was against it, even the DEA was against it. It was all just political pressure because highschoolers were starting to use it to be like their pro athlete heroes.” 

Ok, let’s slow down, and explain testosterone a little bit. The most important thing to understand about testosterone is that it’s not just a male hormone, although males do have more of it than females. Testosterone is crucial for things like metabolism, bone health, muscle development, and is even neuroprotective (aka it can savage, recover, or even regenerate neurons). And both males and females need to have a balanced ratio of testosterone with all the other hormones for us to feel, well, good. 

Omid Sourcing his own Mountain Water 

And while testosterone levels naturally fluctuate with age, these days we face two big challenges. One, we just plain don’t challenge the body physically enough to stimulate the need to create and use testosterone. In other words, if you don’t use it, you lose it. The second problem being a LOT of hormone disruptors in our food and water, and even in the air we breathe that cause our body to not be able to utilize the hormone. 

Over the last nearly 100 years, we’ve seen testosterone used to treat lots of things, but the synthesized versions were quite harmful to the liver. Then people started injecting more bioavailable versions, but in doses that were so high (super physiological) that the body would end up saying “well, I don’t have to make that anymore,” and would start to shrink and even atrophy the body parts that make the hormone naturally. 

With this next generation oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the doses are low enough that the body’s natural testosterone factories don’t fully shut down.  As Shalin explained, “The factory is still running, but just at half capacity. Sure, they’ll lay off some of the staff, but none of the equipment goes into disrepair.” The benefit is that you can try out things to keep levels more balanced, and see how it works for you. If you (and your doctor) are not satisfied with the results, you can get off of it and try other things. 

Ok, back to why I’m so excited about this solution to hormone balancing. The problems with liver toxicity are not there at all with these new orals, as they have created a way to distribute the hormone via the immune system itself! Not only is the liver bypassed, but now the hormone can get to many more areas of the body, such as the brain itself. The fact that they can be a twice a day pill, rather than an injection is also much more inviting for people that need the help, but might be squeamish around needles. And finally, the dosing can be much more precise, increased or decreased based on your lifestyle and the results you’re looking for. 

Omid's Adventures in Biohacking

Because at the end of the day, the anabolic effects put to the side for a moment, all anyone truly wants is to feel like life is a little easier and less stressful.  Now, testosterone is still scheduled as a class 3 drug, so you still have to go to your doctor to get the prescription. But the good news is that while not covered by all insurance companies, TRT is an easy and affordable way to get your life back.

I want to be clear about this last point. I didn’t agree to write this article to specifically promote Kyzatrex! While I did a ton of research on it, and found that it’s the leader in the next generation oral TRT space, Shalin told me he and Marius’ number one priority is educating the public and descheduling testosterone. “When you think about it,” he said, “testosterone is the single most telling barometer of your overall health because it gives you an insight into your overall cardiovascular health. It gives you an insight into your overall insulin sensitivity. It gives insight into overall inflammation in the body. So why wouldn't that be a core test?"

Cheers to Shalin Shah again for spending the time with me, and cheers to you for reading! Whether or not you talk to your doctor about next generation orals, I’d love for you to talk to your friends about demystifying testosterone as not just another male libido thing. It’s time for us to realize everyone would benefit from getting their hormone levels checked and optimized. 

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 18 years of experience, focusing on integrative health and functional movement therapy to get people living their dream life. You can find more info at fourlightswellness.com

Searching for Less Stress in a Can with Zenify

Searching for Less Stress in a Can with Zenify

By Omid Vojdani, Edible Skinny

I’ve been fairly absent from the blog for a while. With trying to keep up a thriving therapy business during a pandemic, buying a home, starting a 3 year program to become a holistic healthcare practitioner, and as of 6 months ago becoming a father, life has definitely been a whirlwind. Time as well as simply brain bandwidth has become an incredibly important resource (as well as sleep with a 6 month old), and I had resided myself to putting aside product reviews for a time to catch up on life. 

Until I was told about Zenify. 

What is Zenify?

Zenify is a beverage that touts being able to keep you alert yet calm with zero caffeine and no drowsiness. They achieve this with all natural ingredients, including a helpful dose of a variety of B vitamins for energy. But the magic of Zenify comes from the combination of L-Theanine, GABA and Glycine, all three of which have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. The LA based company says the drinks have the antioxidant equivalent of 25 cups of green tea with zero of the caffeine. 

What’s even better is Zenify has a zero sugar option for people like me who want to keep blood sugar spikes to a minimum. They achieve this by switching out the 13g of Non-Gmo Crystalline Fructose with a combination of Erythritol, Stevia and Monk Fruit, all of which do not raise blood sugar levels. And while the original flavor is only 50 calories, the zero sugar option is only 10 calories, so I can have multiple in a day without feeling calorically guilty. 

MY EXPERIENCE

I want to start out by saying both the original and the zero taste excellent, but the taste is quite difficult to describe. Some people say it has a mild citrus taste, but I don’t feel like that’s an accurate description. Before I became a health and wellness guy, I had a bad habit of enjoying Red Bull energy drinks a little too much. I loved the effects, but hated the chemical taste. Zenify does have a slight ‘unnatural’ taste to it like those other energy drinks, BUT in a slightly sweeter, more pleasing way. It’s sort of like the difference between eating watermelon and a watermelon flavored something. It’s never going to be watermelon, but it can still be very enjoyable. 

The effects of the drink for me were honestly slightly mixed. My busy dads-life self was hoping for an antidote to stress, almost like ‘Zen In A Can.’ The reality was that these antioxidant beverages really only rounded the sharp corners of a stressful day. But honestly, that’s more than enough for me. We all know what it’s like to be so wound up that even just a small amount of tension release can be the difference between making it through the business meeting and burning the building down. 

Lastly, I did notice that the zero sugar was slightly better when it came to the wind down effects. Both have the same amounts of L-Theanine, GABA and Glycine, all which are supposed to promote Serotonin and Dopamine. But I ended up finding that the original with 13g of sugar was better as a post lunch drink, and the zero sugar was better with or after dinner. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can’t describe Zenify as the anti coffee, but I definitely can say Zenify fulfills its promise of being a drink that helps reduce stress. The taste for me is amazing, just sweet enough without being candy. The effects are just enough to take the edge off and wind down from a stressful day, and even make that slog after the 2pm slump more enjoyable. 

While you can find Zenify in some grocery retailers and amazon, zenifydrinks.com is the best place to go for all the information and occasional sales on the original and zero sugar. Also be sure to check them out on socials @zenifydrinks as well. They do partner with the Coexist Foundation, and post many helpful tips to increase a little bit of Zen in your life. 

So, if you’re feeling stressed at all in life, which is pretty much everyone during a pandemic especially, give Zenify a try, and see if you love it as much as I do! 

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 10 years of hands-on experience focusing on injury rehabilitation, postural alignment therapy, relationship counseling, and spiritual growth. You can find more info at succeedwithomid.com

The Next Superfood: Economical Caviar with Imperia Caviar

The Next Superfood: Economical Caviar with Imperia Caviar

By Omid Vojdani

Caviar as the next coconut water? A superfood for the wellness masses out there? I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it. What came to my mind first when I was told to write about caviar was tuxes, monocles and mansions, not the biggest health food trend coming to the wellness community since avocado toast.

That all changed when I had the pleasure of speaking with Sony Mordechai, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Santa Monica, CA based Imperia Caviar. Sony founded Imperia in 2018 with a vision of making caviar more than just an elite luxury delicacy. While Imperia will still have top tier caviar for those already appreciating caviar, Sony plans to dramatically shake up the caviar space in the next few years by creating a variety of brands that will cater to the wellness community.

Why? Well, that’s where my expertise comes in. Let’s put the price aside for just a little, but nutritionally, caviar has lots of vitamin B12, arginine, loads of omega 3’s, iron, calcium, vitamin d, and very bioavailable vitamin A. All of these nutrients packed into a low calorie, easy to consume package, and is keto and paleo friendly.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: price. Affordability has been the main barrier to entry for people to enjoy this apparent superfood. Historically, caviar has retailed for $4-6 per gram, making it an unrealistic addition to the diet, and making me envision caviar as an enjoyment reserved for royalty. With Imperia, the price per gram is getting close to the $1 per gram range, and still tastes amazing.

The analogy that comes to my mind is that there will always be a need for the Rolls Royce’s of the world, but also the Honda Civics. Both great cars, offering different benefits to different crowds, and a much different scale of production. Sony plans to bring the same scalability to caviar, and introduce ‘wellness’ brands of caviars to consumers worldwide over the next few years.

On the topic of scalability, Sony told me something that really made me happy. Too many times, I’ve looked into industries that have scaled by cutting corners and using synthetics and chemicals to bring costs down. Sony said that aside from the customer, the fish is the most important thing to take care of throughout the supply chain. “The happier the fish, the tastier the product.” He really does care about the sustainability of this, telling me that his company promises no antibiotics, and will try to keep as close to nature as possible for these fish.

Lastly, I should mention the taste of the product. I’ve only ever had caviar once before trying Imperia, but my wife has had it dozens of times. She and I both felt like the Imperia (in this case the Royal Ossetra) had all the same taste, mouthfeel, and freshness as the other brands we’ve tried, at a fraction of the price. We tried it straight out of the tin, but my personal favorite was with some persian lavash bread.

With Imperia, Sony has already proven that his production model is scalable which is already bringing costs down, without sacrificing taste and quality. Continuing to apply the scaling model to different brands, and it sounds like something matching an olive oil club, where the customer is shipped samples of different brands to try and then can subscribe to specific brands they love based on personal preference.

With all of the nutritional benefits to caviar, especially to those that are paleo or keto inclined, it seems like this could be a no brainer to add to a food rotation as a superfood, rather than reaching for another bottle of omega 3 supplements.

You can find out more about Imperia at https://imperiacaviar.com/, or find out more on their instagram @imperiacaviar.

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 10 years of hands on experience focusing on injury rehabilitation, postural alignment therapy, relationship counseling, and spiritual growth. You can find more info at succeedwithomid.com

Lab Tested for Purity: Specialty Curated Vino with Dry Farm Wines

Lab Tested for Purity: Specialty Curated Vino with Dry Farm Wines
By Omid Vojdani, Health & Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny 

Wine. Like most people, I hated it at first, unable to detect the subtle nuances in flavor. Notes of cherry and a hint of tobacco? More like alcohol forward rotten grape juice, right? But, with some exploration and experience, I started to be able to understand enough to know that I don't like fruity Cabs, but I do like a really dry Sauvignon Blanc (just like I like my beer).

But just like beer, there was always a problem: the inevitable sluggishness the next day. Someone once told me that drinking was akin to borrowing happiness from the next day; the more you drink, the more 'unhappy' you are the next morning. This was always a big problem for me, being a health nut. It always felt like I had to choose between health and one of my favorite vices.

Because the fact of the matter is if you want to be healthy, there's only two basic rules to follow: do less of the things that make you feel weak, and do more of the things that make you feel awesome.  The challenge is that those rules are in order. You can't take supplements and undo a bad diet and no exercise. And no amount of water and activated charcoal is going to undo the inevitable hangover caused by drinking cheap wine.

Like I mentioned, this was a problem for me. Here's where the Napa based Dry Farm Wines comes in. Dry Farm Wines is a specially curated list of wines from around the world that are shipped directly to your home on a subscription basis. Todd White, the CEO, lab tests wines from around the world to make sure every bottle of wine sent out is as close to 'healthy' wine as we can get.

What makes a wine healthy? I won't list all of the criteria Todd goes for (find the whole list on their website), but things like: low alcohol and sulfites, less than 1g of sugar per liter, mold toxin free, no added chemicals to the wine making process, and of course no irrigation (dry farms, get it?). Combine wine like that with drinking low to moderate amounts, and you can enjoy your vice like me and borrow a LOT less happiness from tomorrow. How much less? Well, I put it to the test and had two bottles in the same night, and the next morning felt completely fine. Like I said, though, drink responsibly.

Why does all that lab testing and criteria matter? Well, I did some digging myself after feeling the difference, and was shocked to find just how poorly wine is regulated on the shelves in the states. Just one example: wine makers are allowed legally to add hundreds of different chemicals and other additives to the wine making process. Most of these are used in the cheaper wines to make the process faster and easier to mass produce, but the reality is this: don't be so quick to explain away a headache to too much wine, or the sulfites. There's a good chance that one or more of these additives could be causing you health problems that we feel as a hangover.

OK, healthy wine, I get it. Obvious next question: how do they taste? So far, I can safely say there is just as much variation in the taste with Dry Farm Wines as what you'd get from commercial wines at your local store. For example, one of the bottles in the box I received was a Rosé that was just unbelievable. But, there was also a bottle of a Sauvigon Blanc that I didn't care for much (didn't stop me from drinking the whole thing, just a little too sweet for my taste buds). The third bottle was a Bordeaux that I thought was pretty good, but my wife absolutely loved. To each their own, but I'm confident you'll find something you like in each box.

Now, the last point I'll make about Dry Farm Wines. This ain't your Two Buck Chuck wine, but nor is it the $500 bottle you save for a special occasion. With the subscription, the bottles will range between $15-25 each, some being less expensive and some being more. For my wife and I, we take our health quite seriously, and for us it's worth being able to enjoy a vice knowing we're following rule 1 of health.

In closing, Dry Farm Wines is curated healthy wine, lab tested and shipped to you each month, all for around $20 per bottle. This might not be for every wine drinker out there, but if you're like me and want to turn a vice into a healthy beverage, check out www.dryfarmwines.com for more info. Now if only they could do the same thing with beer…

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 10 years of hands on experience focusing on injury rehabilitation, postural alignment therapy, relationship counseling, and spiritual growth. You can find more info at succeedwithomid.com

Tailored Travel Workouts with Aktiv Virtual

Tailored Travel Workouts with Aktiv Virtual 

By Omid Vojdani, Health and Wellness Editor Edible Skinny

As a personal trainer, one of my biggest pet peeves was seeing how many people would come to the gym just to do ‘cardio’ on the ellipticals or treadmill, rather than head out to the weight room. At first, I thought it was fear of injury, then I thought it was just a lack of confidence with what to do with the heavy weights. Now, I realize the reality of the situation is simple: people don’t want to have to think about exercise when they already have so many other things on their mind.

That’s where Aktiv Virtual comes in. Aktiv has partnered with over 5,000 hotels and even expanding into fitness facilities across America to take all of the guesswork out of working out. No more walking into the gym and just hitting the cardio machine for an hour. Aktiv brings a digital personal trainer to the gym space so you can get just the right workout tailored to how you’re feeling that day and your goals.

I had the chance to experience Aktiv Virtual recently at a super tech driven hotel in Menlo Park called the Park James. (I was able to sneak a peek into the rooms, and they’ve got tablets in there to order room service and everything.) Aktiv lets you choose from four different trainers to lead you through a custom workout, built around how much time you have, how you’re feeling that day, and even the type of workout you want (high intensity, or relaxation, etc).

All of the equipment I would need for a decent workout on a business trip was on the Aktiv rack, and the instructions were quite clear on what to do and when to get proper rest periods. Speaking with the CEO, Bryan Green, I was able to find out that some hotels are putting Aktiv Virtual inside some of the guests rooms. No more getting ready for the gym, going to workout, then coming back to the room and showering and changing again. With Aktiv in the room, you can just workout in whatever clothing you want.

Now, one word of caution to those of you dedicated to fitness like I am. Aktiv Virtual is not meant to replace a quality personal trainer, nor is it going to be able to take place of a good crossfit box/workout. In my experience, most of the clientele at gyms go straight for the treadmill/elliptical simply because they have no idea what to do otherwise, or simply lack the mental bandwidth on a business trip to put together a weight workout This is where Aktiv Virtual shines, filling in as a temporary trainer when people can’t afford that expertise, but want a better workout than a treadmill can provide.

As I said, Aktiv Virtual is set up in over 5,000 hotels across the country. But, what I was super excited about was these systems being present in fitness facilities as well. A gap exists between individualized personal trainer sessions and group classes; you want something custom, but don’t want to pay the high prices trainers charge. Aktiv comes in and provides custom workouts tailored to you and your mood that day, but you don’t have to pay anymore than you already are for your gym membership.

Long story short, Aktiv Virtual helps people that don’t want to think about their workout get a great workout without turning to the treadmill or elliptical. But, while it can provide an awesome weight bearing workout for most, people that already know the ins and outs of workout design might be slightly disappointed in the early stages of the product. That being said, I’m super excited about the potential of the system to provide MUCH more variety in the workouts, and even what could happen if they allowed users to save the workouts, make profiles to see their progress, or even sync with fitbits or other wearables.

If you’d like to learn more about Aktiv and all they’re doing to shake up the fitness space, check out https://aktivsolutions.com/. In the meantime, have a happy and healthy rest of your day, keep smiling, and enjoy your next workout!

Omid Vojdani is a health and wellness expert with over 10 years of hands on experience focusing on injury rehabilitation, postural alignment therapy, relationship counseling, and spiritual growth. You can find more info at succeedwithomid.com

BioHack Your Life with The 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel

BioHack Your Life with The 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel

By Omid Vojdani, Health and Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

A few years back, I had the experience of a lifetime when I visited the flagship Upgrade Labs, the brainchild of Bulletproof founder, Dave Asprey, and the world's first Biohacking Health and Fitness facility, in Santa Monica, CA.  Amanda McVey, the VP of Upgrade Labs, and her expert team there treated me to almost every ‘biohack’ they had at their disposal so I could have the full experience of being upgraded by the cutting edge tech they had. After almost 4 hours I left with a level of energy that I can only describe as feeling like superman, but also a paradigm shifting sense of what is possible in the realms of human performance and health.

Since that experience, I dove head first into the world of biohacking in an attempt to feel that level of bionic energy as my new normal. Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof, and a celebrity in the biohacking space, defines biohacking as “changing the environment outside of you and inside of you so you have full control of your biology, to allow you to upgrade your body, mind, and your life.” For example, most people know that when we get outside into nature and expose ourselves to healthy amounts of sunshine, we feel great and have replenished our vitamin D levels. Biohackers take that bit of knowledge and will use red light devices indoors to get all the same benefits (and then some) without having to leave the house. If I can get all the health benefits and save time and energy, I can use that savings for other things.

That is why I’m so excited about the 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience that is taking place from April 5th through the 7th at the iconic Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. Being in the health and wellness space myself, I knew a lot of the science of what I was going to go through at Labs years ago, but as they say, “words don’t change people, experiences do.” This is a chance for up to 1,200 people to experience the upper levels of human performance, and redefine what they want ‘normal health’ to mean.

This year, CEO Martin Tobias says, “We’ve totally overhauled this experience, making it more intimate and more interactive for attendees. People will walk away feeling better, looking better, and empowered and informed to live better.” Attendees will be treated to an Upgrade Labs approved menu of food prepared by the head chef and staff of the Beverly Hills Hilton, and if you choose to stay at the Hilton itself, in-room biohacks tailored towards combating the wear and tear of travel will be available. I’m looking forward to using the breath-EZ again; a little device that mists structured water that we breathe in to help restructure our cells from the inside out.

The speakers this year include, of course, Dave Asprey (the father of biohacking), as well as Arianna Huffington, Jim Kwik, Paralympian Amy Purdy, Dr Joseph Mercola, and many more. I’m most impressed with the wide variety of speaker topics this year, ranging from stem cells to the power of human connection to meditation and even spiritual awakening. I’m personally looking forward to Naveen Jain giving his talk about what he and his team are learning over at his gut microbiome company Viome. They’ve been collecting samples for years now, and I’d love to see the trends they’re discovering between our health and our gut bacteria.

I’m also looking forward to the tech playground this year more than others. Previously, there were almost too many venders and toys to play with, and I was left with the homework of trying to figure out which red light therapy company I wanted to go with. This year, the Upgrade Labs team has hand selected the best of the best in each category to be present aiming to create a much more streamlined experience for attendees to play with. Be sure to find the ‘cheat machine’ if you want to feel what a weightlifting workout SHOULD feel like.

My 4 hour upgrade experience left my life changed for the better; from making my workouts much more efficient, to improving my meditation game, to even redirecting my attention from what I thought was knee pain to instead focus on my lower back and kidneys. I can’t even imagine the changes that I’ll be able to make with 3 whole days of immersive biohacking and the new tools I’ll learn from speakers at the top of their industries. More importantly, I’m looking forward to shattering the upper limits of what my health can be.

If you’re interested in going to the event, purchase your tickets soon at  https://xp.upgradelabs.com/page/1375153/register, as space is limited and filling up fast. If you can’t make it, I highly recommend making a visit to either of the Upgrade Labs locations and treating yourself to the upgrade experience.

Omid Vojdani is the founder of Succeed With Omid, a program of complete personalized mind body health specializing in wellness, injury rehab, and relationship management. For more information check out succeedwithomid.com

HydroTab: Or How I Learned How to Free the Hydrogen Molecule from its H2O Shackles

HydroTab: Or How I Learned How to Free the Hydrogen Molecule from its H2O Shackles

By Omid Vojdani

Health and Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

Two weeks ago, I found myself at Bulletproof Labs in Santa Monica to be a guest at a launch party for HydroTab. HydroTab is a tablet that is added to plain water to ‘free’ the hydrogen molecule from its H20 shackles and, once consumed, helps the body detox at the molecular level inside the cell.

To understand this, we’ve got to talk a little bit of chemistry and microbiology. While oxygen is a vital part of life (yay breathing), it is also a catabolic nutrient (think rust on a boat). To keep things simple, when we burn oxygen for any kind of fuel in the body, we create free radicals, or oxidants inside the cell. This gave rise to the seemingly never ending ‘antioxidant’ products on the market.

Antioxidants are still an important thing to consume regularly to avoid garbage from staying inside of us. But, it’s important to understand that we NEED some free radicals in our body. Cells need some buildup of free radicals to create just enough stress to either get stronger, or be replaced by younger and more robust versions. Another way to think about this is working out: we expose our body to a certain level of stress (and lots of heavy breathing), and the free radicals produced are what trigger the strengthening of muscle and the breakdown of fat.

Even more simply, if you take in antioxidants right after a workout, you run the risk of blunting a lot of the effects of a workout. No one wants that, right?

So, back to HydroTab, and the hydrogen molecule. Hydrogen is a super small atom, and in the body acts like an antioxidant with one important difference: it’s selective on which free radicals it targets, specifically the hydroxyl radicals. These special radicals can hide in the most annoying places in the cell (the mitochondria and the nucleus), and can gunk up the inner workings. The problem is, hydrogen is such a small atom that it’s hard to consume enough of it to really make a difference, and that’s where HydroTab comes in.

HydroTab is the largest concentration of molecular hydrogen on the market (up to 10 ppm for you geeks out there), which means enough of it gets into us to really make a difference. My personal findings really were dramatic. After two weeks of daily consumption, I find that concentration is easier, my energy is much more stable through the day, and my sleep has even improved. Big claims, yes. But allow me to close this post with an analogy.

Imagine having a grocery list, and only $100. You put one item at a time into the cart until you reach the limit of $100, but you find that there are still a few items that you can’t afford. At this point we’ve got two options: one is to get more money, and the other is to wait for a sale. Well, this is kind of what happens inside the cell. If things cost too much inside the cell, we’ve got to be selective on what processes we carry out, often short changing one or more processes.

By clearing out the gunk inside of small structures in the cells, the hydrogen basically reduces the ‘cost’ to do things. In other words, everything is on sale, and our $100 can buy everything on our list. And that’s how I feel after two weeks – because things are easier from the inside out, I feel like I still have money in the bank and I have more energy leftover for more creative things like writing this article without struggle!

HydroTab is 30 tablets for $32.50, and only one tab a day dissolves in water in less than two minutes. For me, I’m definitely going to add this product to my daily list of ‘hacks.’ For more information, check out hydrotab.com, or if you’re a geek like me, feel free to check out the research at the molecularhydrogenfoundation.org.

Omid Vojdani is the founder of Succeed With Omid, a program of complete personalized mind body health specializing in wellness, injury rehab, and relationship management. For more information check out succeedwithomid.com

Hacking Your Health in 2018 with Bulletproof Labs

Hacking Your Health in 2018 with Bulletproof Labs

By Omid Vojdani

Health and Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

Hello, and happy health to you all! I was lucky enough to be invited to Bulletproof Labs in Santa Monica, a ‘fitness facility’ dedicated to optimizing physical and cognitive performance through science. After spending four hours there, trying almost everything they had to offer, I realized that calling Bulletproof Labs a fitness facility is like calling Picasso a painter; technically it’s accurate, but really only scratches the surface of the level of artistic precision they are able to deliver to the body.

That precision all starts with comprehensive testing and setting a baseline for where you are when you arrive. From body composition analysis (body fat, intra and extracellular water, and even the amount of skeletal muscle mass), to looking under the hood with a NASA developed gut micro biome test, they can really see what modalities will be the most beneficial to moving the needle when it comes to optimizing your health.

From there, the knowledgeable staff can help custom tailor a program that delivers measurable results. Every piece of exercise equipment there tracks your performance from workout to workout to help show the dramatic progress along the way. After all, progress equals happiness!

The physical training equipment they have there is unlike anything you will ever find in your local gym. One piece of equipment delivers the equivalent results of a three and a half hour high intensity workout in only 21 minutes, and by combining cold and compression, avoids all the muscle soreness. They also had one machine that trains the bones themselves to gain more density to allow for more skeletal muscles to develop, and it was only a 20 second workout!

Any athlete will tell you that while the workouts are important, recovery is really the key to superhuman performance. I was able to try out something they called the Breath EZ. Specially treated water is misted into your face and this EZ (exclusion zone for you science nuts) water triggers a dramatic process of cellular repair and detox in just 15 minutes.

My absolute favorite experience there was also one of the simplest. By combining electronic pulses with electromagnets, this therapy bed was able to target inflammation that was trapped deep within my body to deliver pain relief that rivaled 2 years of going to a chiropractor all in just 15 minutes.

This small list of modalities only scratches the surface of what they have to offer. But this is one of those examples of feeling is believing; even for me, a health nut and self proclaimed biohacker, I left still feeling like I didn’t even know I could feel so good!

To wrap up, in my opinion, Bulletproof Labs is at the forefront of a new wave of healthcare. Millions of people invest time and money every day going to doctor’s appointments and gyms across America to go from dying to surviving. It’s time to visit Bulletproof Labs to go from just surviving to thriving!

For a more complete look into what the facility has to offer, visit http://bulletprooflabs.com/

Omid Vojdani is the founder of Succeed With Omid, a program of complete personalized mind body health specializing in wellness, injury rehab, and relationship management. For more information check out succeedwithomid.com

2 Easy Neck Stretches for Less Stress with Succeed With Omid

If you haven't subscribed to Edible Skinny's Health and Wellness editor Omid Vojdani's of YouTube channel what are you waiting for? 

Omid, of Succeed With Omid, is a personal trainer, corrective specialist, and health coach in Los Angeles, gives great tips on how to hack your life to better wellness!  So head over to his channel and start to get health-edu--cated!!!

Hallmark Channel's Alison Sweeney’s Blueberry Salad Flatbread

Hallmark Channel's Alison Sweeney’s Blueberry Salad Flatbread

By Omid Vojdani of Succeed With Omid

As a fitness professional, it is my job to not only create exercise programs that are safe and effective for my clients, but also to provide as much information on nutrition as I can. For easy to make, low calorie, and delicious recipes, one of my favorite sources is Alison Sweeney. Whether it is through her book, The Mommy Diet, or through her many television appearances, Alison has shared some of the best recipes to show that healthy food does not have to taste like cardboard, and I’ve happily shared many of her recipes with my own clients. 

So naturally, I was super excited to be able to share one of her awesome recipes with the Edible Skinny audience. Alison’s Blueberry Salad Flatbread is low calorie, easy to make, and most importantly delicious. 

Blueberry Salad Flatbread

1 pound pizza dough cut into two pieces, (14.1 oz package)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups packed mixed baby greens

½ cup frozen blueberries, thawed

1 Tbs. thinly sliced red onion (about 1-inch long pieces)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/16 tsp. cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

2. On lightly floured surface roll each dough piece into oblong shape about 11-inches long. Arrange dough’s on baking sheet and bake 8 minutes or until just beginning to cook through.

3. Remove from oven and top each dough piece with ½ cup shredded cheese. Place flatbreads directly on oven rack, cheese sides up, and cook until cheese is melted and slightly golden and flatbread is crispy, 8-10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile in bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, honey, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Add mixed baby greens, blueberries and red onion and toss until lightly coated.

5. Arrange salad mixture on flatbreads, dividing evenly, and sprinkle with lemon zest. Cut and serve. 

Yield: 16-20 pieces 

For more of the amazing Alison Sweeney, her latest acting role is The Irresistible Blueberry Farm, which airs October 2nd on Hallmark at 9pm. She is also hosting the Halloween special of the Kids Baking Championship with Duff Goldman October 5th on The Food Network, which looks like it will be another great source of some awesome recipes that I can’t wait to try!

Here’s to life being delicious, and to more Alison Sweeney sharing her deliciousness with the world!