Hello Fellow Students

In my ongoing efforts to experiment on my body and brain so you don’t have to I recently decided to go on a raw vegan diet for 7 days. Just like my College Superman Breakfast and my Superman Dinner experiments.  It was both an amazing and difficult experience. For those that know me, I’m no vegetarian, however I got some really interesting results from this little experiment which I think will really help both students and non-students alike.

My Raw Food Diet Quick Results

• Loss of 3 pounds
• Massive increase in energy
• No significant loss in muscle strength (I performed a pre/post muscle tension test and discovered only a slight loss in overall strength)
• Smoother skin
• Calmer attitude (whether this was mental or not I’m not sure, but I felt less violent overall, if anyone else has done this and had the same thing happen to them please explain it in the comments section)

What is a Raw Diet?

Going on a raw vegan diet or engaging in ‘rawism’ is not eating any food that isn’t heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celsius. The theory is that heating the food loses the essential nutrients and amino acids that the body needs to become and stay healthy. Typical foods are fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, legumes and sprouted grains. Some claim raw food diets result in weight loss, more energy, clear skin, improved insulin tolerance and improved health overall.

The Results Of My 7 Day Raw Food Detox Diet

The first 3 days of my raw food experiment I had extreme cravings for simple carbohydrates and meats. I remember going to dinner with a couple friends, having the raw vegetable platter and my other friends ordering a hamburger, steak and ribs. After fantasizing about licking the bbq off my friend Ruxandra’s face I decided that it would be best to keep myself quarantined from meat eaters for the remainder of the experiment.

After I had quarantined myself from the carnivores I started to lose the cravings for meat and started to see some amazing changes in my body. Take a look at the videos below where I show you exactly what happened to me over the 7 days and a great recipe for raw quinoa salad!

Day 1 Of My Raw Food Diet

Day 4 Of My Raw Food Diet

Day 7 Of My Raw Food Diet

Tips For Anyone Who Wants To Start A Raw Food Diet

I saw some amazing gains over my 7 day experiment.  Although I didn’t see any definitive changes in my brain power; I did lose weight, lowered my blood pressure, got softer skin and had much more energy than I did before. If you’re planning on going raw, make sure you’ve defined a clear start and end date. Try to work with a buddy to keep yourself accountable and most importantly, purchase a multitude of different raw foods to keep your taste buds interested.

Here are some examples:

• Sprouted grains like quinoa and wheat (however, check to make sure that the grains you’re sprouting won’t be poisonous as some grains and legumes such as kidney beans become poisonous when sprouted and not cooked).
• Lots of fruits and vegetables, I would suggest you purchase vegetables that have high amounts of amino acids and therefore proteins in them so you won’t immediately burn them off.
• Root Vegetables, I think carrots saved my life during this diet. A big carrot can keep you satisfied; it’s portable and really tasty with a great crunch. It is absolutely central if you want to stay on the path for the full 7 days.

For Students Who Want To Try A Raw Food Diet

If you’re in the middle of your college or high school classes right now I’d highly suggest that you not try the raw food diet until you have some time off. The first few days are hell; some people report massive headaches and lose of energy over the first few days. If you’re looking for more brain power, from the testing I’ve done, I didn’t see any significant increases in my recall or problem solving skills. However, I did see a massive increase in energy and incredibly smooth skin.  I’ve gone back to eating cooked food; however I’m experimenting with eating higher percentages of raw food to see if I can replicate the same results while still eating the protein I need to keep my lean body mass intact.

I got burned!

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately as I had some big problems that popped up recently, chief of which is my bad ass oil burn.  Take note, a hot skillet + olive oil + little sleep + throwing steaks onto said skillet = one burnt face.  This did however give me an opportunity to study skin burns and how to suppress scarring.  I’ll be posting a video diary of what I’ve been doing and how my burns have been coming along very soon.

Problem number two is that I’ve been very VERY busy with a new collection of products that have been coming out and a significant influx of students that have registered towards the end of September.  I haven’t forgotten about all of you so I will try to get back into a steady posting schedule within the next few days.

If you’d like to help me pay my bills go check out my online tutoring program as we’ve done a retrofit of the site and are offering even more tutoring options.

Liam McIvor Martin

Hello students.  I have a great post for you on how you can make yourself 20% more efficient, improve your health and make yourself in general happier without doing any work.

I live in Canada which for 6 months out of the year becomes a barren wasteland of snow, little sunlight and general depression.  We usually spend those months locked inside our homes, as a consequence we are exposed to stale air which reduces our study efficiency and reinforces seasonal affective disorder.

I found a solution to this problem the same way I solve many of my other problems, I looked at India.  India’s urban areas have some of the highest ratios of air pollution throughout the developed world.  Some have found the solution through the proper management of common houseplants to offset indoor pollution and solve many common breathing problems.

The three plants that you need are:

Areca Palm (removes co² and converts it into oxygen) 4 plants are required per person and should be placed throughout the house.

Mother-in-law’s Tongue (converts co² at night and should be placed in the bedroom) 6-8 plants are required per person.

Money Plant (removes formaldehyde and other damaging toxins) 2-3 plants throughout the home per person.

By using these three plants you could seal yourself in a bottle and would have all the fresh oxygen you could ever want.  From the initial study they found the following health advantages:

- 42% probability of a 1% increase in blood oxygen levels after exposure for 10 hours.

- Reduce in eye irritation by 52%

- Reduce in respiratory irritation by 34%

- Reduce in headaches by 24%

- Reduce in lung impairment by 12%

- Reduce in Asthma by 9%

Any of these plants can be purchased at most any nursery.  Buying all the plants at one time can be somewhat expensive but you can also just buy one of each and then transplant parts of the original plant into other pots.  I would also suggest you purchase some automatic watering bulbs, you fill them with water and inject them into the root system.  They only have to be filled twice a month and are great for people like me who forget to water plants from time to time.

So in doing my monthly education readings as a tutor, I’ve recently had the pleasure of  reading Dr John Ratey’ ‘Spark‘.  I believe that every student and educator should read this book.  Ratey lays out the connection between physical activity and mental acuity and gives educators and students action steps to take to become better students through physical activity.

What Dr John Ratey Suggests

His findings suggest there is a correlation between physical activity and becoming smarter.  He suggests 20 minutes of aerobic activity at 65-75% of your maximum output will result in improved recall and comprehension.

In the VTA Method, one of the central cornerstones of academic success is the use of exercise to improve recall and comprehension.  Anyone who is interested in a quick way to boost your recall almost instantly should give his book a look.  Here are some links to help you out.

If you’d like to check out his book go here: Spark Book

If you’d like to get a sneak peak of his book here: Sneak Peek

If you want to help pay my bills go here: VTA Method

Do you believe in Dr Ratey’s theories on physical activity?  More importantly, do you feel smarter after a workout?  Please… Share with us.

Hello Fellow Students!

I just got a case of Gaba Tea drink from the Jones Soda company.  They wanted me to test out their drink supplement for students and I’ve performed my own experiment with amazing results.

Gaba Research

Gaba is a “naturally produced amino acid and is one of the key neurotransmitters in the regulation of proper brain functionality; it helps to increase the production of alpha brain waves, known to enhance focus + clarity.  At the same time it decreases beta brain waves, which are linked to nervousness and scattered thoughts.” (Jones Gaba).

Now I’m usually quite skeptical about new supplements for increased brain power as usually 90% of them are simply packed with sugar (cough red bull) and get you so hopped up on sugar that you feel amazing regardless of what else is in there.  From my research on gaba however, I’ve found quite a bit of research that both refutes and confirms gaba as a study tool.  In my search to see documented proof of the advantages of Gaba the people at Jones Gaba sent me some research data that for me is still in my opinion only exploratory but I’ll let you guys be the judge.

Gaba Research Data

So based on the research I was given, two studies popped out for me.  The first study was performed on school children being dosed with 100mg of Gaba which tried to find out if Gaba would improve students learning and test taking skills.  An N of 54 was used for each experiment with a P value of < 0.10. (see results below)

The Second Study was on Gaba and improved video game scores.  This study had an N of 10 and a P value of 0.06.  Each of these studies do not appear to have much academic rigor and would not be accepted in any kind of academic journal due to their low level of significance and their incredibly low number of subjects (any university student knows you can’t perform a study on 10 ppl and expect significant results).

gaba learning study

Gaba study on video games

Does Jones Gaba Work?

Unconvinced from the supposedly ‘academic’ data I decided to try Gaba myself and dose myself.  I worked on the included Sudoku puzzles, solving one puzzle then dosing myself and trying the second puzzle.  I put the entire thing together in a video which you can watch here:

Amazingly I saw an improvement of over 10 minutes!  Now there are some obvious problems with my little experiment; warming up with a few sudoku’s before starting the experiment being a perfect example.  However, for all my skepticism I would definitely suggest you run out and buy yourself a couple bottles and try it yourself.  You might be amazed by the results.

My Only Suggestions To Jones Gaba

Cut as much sugar as possible:  Sugar is bad for your general and academic health.  Try to cut some more out and we will be golden.

Get some more studies done:  Get some studies that have significant P values and have N’s of over 100!  If you want to win over college kids, you must run large scale studies, students aren’t stupid and can smell bullshit.

Final Thoughts on the Gaba Supplement

As an online tutor and blogger, it is really important that I prescribe sound advice.  Although the product does have some problems, I would suggest students give this product a try, as a test during a low lying period in their semester.  If they feel confident about using the supplement only then should you try to use it before writing a paper or an exam.

Here is the Jones Gaba main site if you’d like to check it out for yourself.

Liam McIvor Martin

SUPERMAN DINNER!

I got called out for my breakfast choices so I decided publish the superman breakfast.  I had such a great response from the superman breakfast that I’ve decided to also post the superman dinner.  Just like the superman breakfast, this meal is good tasting and good for you.   It takes a little longer than the superman breakfast but properly motivated the entire meal can take under 15 minutes to prepare and gives you 20-30 grams of protein which is the secret to weight loss and muscle growth.  I suggest you try this with the superman breakfast and monitor your results.  In my case, it keeps me below 10% body fat all the time (we’re talking 6 pack territory) and also allows me to build and hold significant muscle mass.

Components of the Superman Dinner

- Lean meat, chicken, pork or lean beef

- Fresh Baby Spinach (as much as you can eat)

- Lentil and pea dahl.  An Indian classic with my own twist to augment the protein

- Crap loads of water (at least a liter)

Cost of the Superman Dinner

It’s quite a bit more expensive than the superman breakfast at approximately 3.50 per meal.  However, for the amount of protein and nutrients you take in during a single sitting, I believe it is quite economical and is still cheaper than anything you could buy.

Advantages of the Superman Dinner

Increased muscle gain with weight training, and lower body fat percentage are the two greatest advantages.  The diet also augments recall as the brain requires protein and water for optimal activity.  Furthermore, the lack of sugar and simple carbohydrates within your diet means you don’t crash which can be disastrous for university.

Anything I should have added? Do you agree with this kind of diet? I welcome comments.

As always, go check out my college online tutoring program for further tips on academic success.

Hello Fellow Students.

I Kinda Like the "Popeye Breakfast" but Meh

I got called out for my breakfast choices so I decided today to show you exactly what I eat for breakfast.  It’s good tasting and good for you.  For all you naysayers who think that you don’t have time for breakfast before class, this should shut you all up.  It took me 4 minutes to cook my breakfast on the video and I can usually do it in three.  So I suggest you all try this as an experiment at least for a week and see what kind of chances you see in your mind, body and mood.

The Components of the Superman Breakfast

- Approximately half a dozen egg whites with one full egg for flavor

- Fresh Baby Spinach, prewashed.

- Salsa or Tabbouleh.  Both excellent options.  The Tabbouleh has more nutrients but is higher in fat, the Salsa is lower in nutrients but higher in fat so go your own way with this one

- Crap loads of water

Cost of the Superman Breakfast

The egg whites cost me 3.29 per liter which works out to approximately .65 with the whole egg

The Spinach lasts me all week and I usually have it twice a day.  At 3.69 per bag that works out to .30 per meal

The salsa costs me approximately .10 per dose

That works out to a grand total of 1.05 for all that food.  

Advantages of the Superman Breakfast

Very little fat, high in minerals and nutrients and incredibly high in protein (18 – 24 grams) which will make you smarter, stronger, faster and will keep your body fat percentage below 10% if you follow that same nutritional theory for every meal.  (Lean protein and lots of veggies)

Here is the Full Video:

So anybody have anything else they’d like to add?  Comment away!