The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [212]
Brazil nuts have been shown in clinical studies to be more effective than supplementation for increasing selenium, which is important in our context, as selenium has been shown to increase sperm production and sperm quality. Both good things for the twins.
But why was I deficient in selenium in the first place? Was it simply because I didn’t eat enough selenium-containing foods like beef?
Or, and this is critical, was something else competing with selenium or removing it from my body? This is the more neglected question. It is also a bigger problem, as you can’t fix it by slamming pills or potions.
Based on a review of published studies, I formed three hypotheses related to my selenium deficiency:
1. Even though I consumed large quantities of supposedly selenium-rich animal foods, like beef (seven ounces satisfies the daily USRDA), the animals grazed on grass from selenium-depleted soil.
2. Going in and out of ketosis had created a selenium deficiency. Unbeknownst to me, long-term ketogenic dieting has been associated with selenium deficiency. This was a real lightbulb moment.
3. Selenium protects against mercury by binding to it. Elevated blood mercury levels, which I tested positive for, could therefore also contribute to selenium deficiency.
Once I had a few plausible explanations, it was time to test corrective actions:
Corrective action #1: I began to consume three Brazil nuts at breakfast and three Brazil nuts at bedtime. Too much selenium hurts swimmies, so I kept well within the tolerable upper limit for adults, which is 400 micrograms per day. One ounce of Brazil nuts (approximately 11 nuts) provides 544 micrograms, so 400 micrograms is approximately eight nuts per day (49 micrograms each). I am consuming six to play well within nontoxic ranges. I experimented twice with higher ranges of 8–10 nuts per day; in both cases, I immediately broke out in the worst acne of my life. Though selenium deficiencies can cause skin problems, it appears that excessive selenium, or at least Brazil nuts, can do the same.
Corrective action #2: Second, I am ensuring that I exit ketosis at least once per week by consuming carbohydrates à la the Saturday cheat day on the Slow-Carb Diet. Since I have tested deficient, I am also consuming one cheat meal every other week for Wednesday lunch, which generally includes a single bowl of brown rice with a Thai meal.
Corrective action #3: I began to attempt to remove mercury from my body without killing myself. Despite multiple DMPS IV chelation sessions, urine tests showed almost no noticeable changes in mercury levels. To date, chelation has not shown benefits, but I plan to experiment with a more extended protocol of 3 days on, 11 days off using EDTA suppositories (fun, fun!) to avoid the often severe side effects of oral chelation.
Almonds Explanation for Testosterone Boost: Almonds were an accidental discovery.
Late one evening, after realizing my bachelor refrigerator contained nothing but alcohol and various disgusting protein powders, I descended on a single large bag of almonds out of desperation. I was starving and ate about 30 almonds (one ounce).
The following day, I had a much higher than normal sex drive and was puzzled. I was able to correlate it with the almond intake only after looking at a detailed food log. But what in almonds could have this effect? The only potential mechanism seemed to be high vitamin E content.
Lo and behold, after this first experience, I tested deficient for vitamin E on the same SpectraCell test that uncovered the selenium issue.
Looking more closely at the research studies on PubMed, I realized vitamin E not only had the potential to counter the oxidative stress that lowers testosterone and sperm production, but it had also been used successfully in combination with selenium and vitamin A (amazing coincidence, right?) for treating partial androgen deficiency in males.
Most interesting to me, vitamin E stimulates the release of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) from the hypothalamus.