“…I love jam and not flim flam…” Louis Jordan, Nat ‘King’ Cole
“…Lions, turtles and bears, my God!” Dorthy, an Oz Whiz predoc, and a spinoff

I would like to offer some of my personal experiences in trying to implement a Warrior Diet as defined by Bambeck. I would start by saying that, unlike Greg Bambeck, I am not a scientist by training, and to some extent I am simply accompanying myself on these co-authored articles. I have made the effort to read some fairly complex studies and have contributed what ideas I can. In addition, I suggested some substantive, analytical and structural changes when I considered it appropriate. But Greg contributed the lion’s share, especially when it came to scientific input. I would also suggest (and I know Greg would too) that several people from our favorite library also contributed and inspired thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, including Robert, H., Lee, Rachel, and Tina, among others.

I have taken to heart many of the practical suggestions laid out in the new article mentioned/linked above. Essentially, he recommends good nutrition and exercise, some vitamins and other supplements, and moderate fasting. These simple ideas are fine, but timing and dosage seem to matter a lot more than you might have thought possible. As an example, a doctor recently scoffed at the suggestion of taking supplemental resveratrol before confiding that, for years, he had recommended a glass of wine with dinner. This reminds me of the old Johnny Carson joke: Would you sleep with me for a million dollars? Yes? Okay, so would you do it for $1.49? What do I think you are? We have already established it and we are only discussing about the price. Dosage and timing, as well as price, can be critical, and the problem is the problem.

Before proceeding, I would like to point out as a disclaimer that the information contained in any and all of Greg’s articles, as well as my own, are in no way intended to serve as a substitute for professional medical advice. Nor should it. Any use of the information contained therein is at the discretion of the reader. We specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained in any of these articles. A healthcare professional should be consulted regarding his specific situation.

Take the above warning seriously because your health may be at stake. Greg and I are not doctors. Anyone who seeks or needs medical advice or has a condition or is considering a lifestyle change should consult their physician to assess their unique needs. As an example, from what I know, various nutritional, exercise, and fasting strategies can be potentially dangerous, so if you do the things we’re talking about without first consulting a doctor, you’re doing them at your own risk. Don’t blame us if you haven’t been checked out by a family doctor, etc. who is fully informed of everything you plan to do. Greg is simply relating the direction that science points. I am just telling a personal story of my experiences which, in my opinion, have had a degree of success.

Another thought. Don’t break the law. Do not take prescription substances without proper documentation from a doctor. Do not use illegal substances. If you need to consult an attorney for legal advice on this, please do so.

Personal experience

Lately, I have noticed some positive changes in my life. I seem to feel better with much more energy. I now run 27 miles a week effortlessly, whereas before I struggled to do 10 miles a week. I do 150 push-ups with no difficulty compared to my usual 40 in the past. My weight is now in the low normal range instead of high normal. HDL is now up to 84. The TC/HDL ratio is excellent. Resting BP is now 95/55. Pulse is 68. I don’t feel like I’m missing something nutritionally. No sugar highs or lows. Sleep seems a little deeper. More relaxed and more positive outlook. In fact, something seems to be happening for the better. Maybe it’s a lifestyle change? Let us consider.

Lately, I’ve become something of a diet warrior, with intermittent fasting often consisting of simply not eating between meals and skipping an occasional breakfast. I am supplementing with some resveratrol and some antioxidants and trying to control my glycemic load and saturated fat intake. I drink one or two glasses of red wine a day for medicinal reasons, which has displaced all other types of alcohol. Without exceptions. I consider myself a co-proportionate omnivore whose portion size fits the nutritional value. Therefore, I can afford two to three molecules of trans fat per year. I hope my taste is adjusted accordingly.

I consider my life to be a work in progress in terms of what I do, how I relate to others, etc. My next plan is to cook up some natto in an old yogurt maker I have laying around. I think a positive and flexible outlook is a net advantage. In the old days, I would have attributed the changes I mentioned to listening to my doctor’s advice to eat right and get some exercise. Now my new train of thought falls more into this pattern: Is my excess strength and endurance a neogenic mitochondrial effect induced by resveratrol/exercise/modest fasting, and if so, how can I best avoid a chronic neo state without significant concomitant ROS damage? Is a large dose of antioxidant supplements a good idea, just in case? Also, can I get any health benefits from forcing a predetermined state of regeneration through a mini-fast accompanied by a timed dose of wine-solubilized sublingual resveratrol with cardio training without undergoing caloric restriction? And are these ideas consistent with my other views on healthy nutrition?

Now, I cannot categorically exclude the possibility of chance correlational effects. It is also not impossible that something I have lived through is an internally discovered motivation, a placebo, a mid-life crisis or a secondary adolescence. My gut reaction is that my omnivorous/fast/co-proportionate exercise strategy is paying off big in a positive direction. Some other side benefits have happened to me. I floss daily to get the resveratrol-laden knuckle residue out from between my teeth. Also, I have no time/opportunity left to wallow in junk food or recreational drink.

Nobel Prize for Greg?

I myself believe that I am in the presence of greatness. Should Greg receive a Nobel Prize for his research on the modified Warburg hypothesis in 1980 or for bringing together the current state of science in several areas of research, including, in one fell swoop, molecular biology, cancer research, diabetes, calorie restriction, and resveratrol studies and heart disease research into one overwhelmingly expansive grand unified theory? I am not on the committee and, while some in the fraternity think he deserves the award if his theories are fully vindicated, I will await future developments and the committee’s decision. I think the lack of direct clinical testing of him in the last two years should make little difference, given his rich history in science. Also, the scarcity of references in the articles worries me little, since all these references are readily available on the Internet and interested parties can do their own research. As an example, Einstein’s Nobel Laureate had no clinical experiments and his result is arguably a finding of less gigantic proportions, particularly in regards to staving off human suffering.

Suffice it to say that Greg, humble as he is and without an effort here to make money, will take no vengeful or sadistic pleasure in seeing the scientific communities squirm when they finally accept that he was right many years ago when his work was snubbed and the research community decided run away from the chicken coop (In a future paper, I will explain in more detail that someone who has already won a Nobel Prize similarly snubbed me. These are warnings I made about the lack of economic substance in certain derivatives and related instruments before the contagion of money management long-term scenario, which nearly caused a global financial meltdown, and the ensuing NINJA loan/collateralized loan obligation/subprime mess that we are still recovering from In view of the magnitude of the damage involved in all three scenarios, perhaps a very minimal amount of flea club feather ruffling and “I told you so” glee would certainly be appropriate, but that should be left to the appropriate ethicists).

Song summary:

The Warrior Diet essentially restricts food to a very limited amount of time each day. No doubt many yogis practiced such methods with little hunger pangs for Bear and with a few NINJA around. I’ll summarize the Bambeck version of the Warrior Diet modified as follows (courtesy Yogi Bear, may be sung to the tune of his theme music):

I’m going to fast (and run/bike fast) until noon, but before dark (and it’s time to finish the next day’s pre-fast), I’ll have all the picnic baskets (sounds more like a flexitarian than an omnivore) co-provided) that’s in NoFlimFlam Stone Park. (Jam is low in resveratrol despite the grapes. In fact, Nat King Cole and Louis Jordan had a metamorphosis from jammer to vocalist, which both also considered serious business. As for Jelly, the quibbler described above may have had a metamorphosis similar, reminiscent of Julia. Quadruple Lee listen to the lyrics. As for Stone Park, I came upon this hopelessly tortured and bombastic parallel while running this sunny morning on the ash trail of Towner’s Woods Park, while searching for a NINJA(?) Often seen that could teach me something about the extension of life.)

Sorry friends for waxing and crying endlessly. Perhaps a good mouse dance would improve the prognosis. But I doubt resveratrol has made me lose my mind or focus. This is something important. Best of luck and happy endeavors in your research and lifestyle choices.

Michael Wolfson JD, MBA Email: [email protected]
Copyright © Michael Wolfson June 11, 2010.