Hey friends, I’m reaching out because I’m walking through something really scary right now, and I would really appreciate your wisdom, experience, and prayers. About three weeks ago, I was hit with a really rough virus. I thought I was on the mend… and then about a week ago I suddenly started losing vision — first in my left eye, then in my right. I ended up in the hospital terrified and confused, not understanding what was happening to my body. While I was there, they ran a ton of tests — full blood panels, autoimmune workups, MRI, and even a lumbar puncture. Most of the autoimmune conditions they tested for have been ruled out, but I’m still waiting on a few more results that take longer, including the GFAP panel. Right now I’m sitting at about 50% vision loss in both eyes, which has been one of the most emotional and humbling experiences of my life. The neuro-ophthalmologist said ischemic optic neuropathy is still a possibility, but there are signs that make him hopeful it could instead be post-/para-infectious optic papillitis — inflammation of the optic nerve triggered by the virus I had. This is treatable, but recovery can be slow, sometimes taking a month or more before improvement begins. I’ve been on steroids for a week now with no major changes yet. I’m also feeling some nerve pain behind my right eye, which can happen during healing, but it’s hard not to worry when you’re living it. To support myself, I’ve been using: - Steroids - BPC-157 - Anti-inflammatory + gut support - Rest and as much calm as possible But this community has so much collective wisdom, especially around peptides, neuro repair, and post-viral healing — so I’m reaching out. If you have experience with optic nerve inflammation, optic neuritis, nerve repair, or post-infectious healing — what peptides, supplements, or approaches would you consider supportive right now? (ARA-290, TA-1, SS-31, MOTS-c, glutathione, SPMs, NAC, high-dose omega-3s, etc.) This whole situation has really tested me but I’m doing everything I can to support healing while staying safe. Any insight, personal experiences, or encouragement would mean the world to me right now.

Creating this space has genuinely been a dream come true. Being able to have thoughtful conversations, challenge ideas, learn out loud, and walk alongside people as they navigate their health has been incredibly meaningful to me. I don’t take it lightly that you choose to spend your time here, ask questions, give feedback, and share your experiences. That trust matters. What excites me most isn’t just protocols or tools it’s the mindset I see here. People being proactive instead of reactive. People choosing to learn, to stay curious, and to take ownership of their health. That kind of curiosity is powerful, and honestly, it makes this work fun. Health should feel empowering, not overwhelming, and learning should feel like an invitation, not a burden. I’m deeply grateful for the support, the conversations, the respectful disagreements, and the encouragement. This community pushes me to think more clearly, teach better, and keep refining my own understanding. I’m committed to continuing to learn, to get better, and to show up fully as part of this process alongside you, not above it. Looking ahead, I’m really excited about what’s coming next year. I’ll be expanding ways to work together more closely beyond one-off consults, for those who want deeper guidance and continuity. That said, this space will always be rooted in generosity, shared learning, and mutual respect. If you’re enjoying the conversations here, know that I care just as much about this community as I do about any one-on-one work. Thank you for being here, for being curious, and for being part of something that feels genuinely special. I’m grateful for every one of you, and I’m looking forward to continuing this journey together.

Redox is one of those concepts that everyone has heard of but very few people truly grasp, and yet almost everything in human physiology depends on it. For trainers and clinicians, redox is the hidden language that tells you why someone can train hard one day and crash the next, why fat loss stalls even with perfect macros, why motivation drops without a psychological trigger, why inflammation rises mysteriously, or why protocols that used to work suddenly stop producing results. Redox isn’t a supplement, a lab marker, or a buzzword. It is the most fundamental process life uses to create energy, repair damage, and adapt to stress. When redox flows, people adapt. When it gets stuck, people stagnate. Understanding redox at a deep level gives you the ability to see beneath symptoms, beneath lab markers, beneath surface-level physiology, and down into the actual physics and molecular dynamics that determine whether a person is moving toward resilience or toward dysfunction. This redox deep dive will walk through what redox is, why it matters, how it gets stuck, what “stuck” actually means at the molecular level, and how different stressors push the system into different dysfunctional patterns. Throughout this, I’ll use analogies and imagery that make the invisible world of electrons and membranes feel intuitive and concrete, allowing you to visualize exactly what is happening inside cells when energy is being made—or when the system jams. You’ll see how mitochondrial membranes behave like electrical waterfalls, how electrons move like crowds of people flowing through hallways, how redox imbalance can freeze a system the way traffic jams choke off a city, and how trainers and clinicians unintentionally worsen stuck redox by focusing on quantity of activity instead of the phase of the system. Redox is short for reduction and oxidation the transfer of electrons. To understand why this matters, imagine every cell in your body as a tiny city. Energy isn’t created in one burst; it’s created by passing electrons down a series of steps, like handing a baton from one runner to the next. Reduction is when a molecule gains electrons, oxidation is when it loses electrons. In biology, electrons fall down an energetic staircase inside mitochondria called the electron transport chain. As electrons move, they power tiny pumps that push protons across a membrane, building what can be imagined as a “pressure gradient” or electrical tension. This tension the mitochondrial membrane potential is like the charged battery that lets ATP synthase spin and generate ATP. Think of it like water flowing through a hydroelectric dam: the higher the water pressure behind the dam, the more electricity you can generate. If the water level drops too low, the turbine stops. If the dam wall gets blocked and pressure rises too high, the system becomes dangerous. Mitochondria work exactly the same way. Redox is the management of electron flow across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Everything hinges on whether electrons are moving, whether they have somewhere to go, whether the membrane potential is balanced, and whether the cell can match energy demand with supply.

Most people think of seafood as “protein plus omega-3s.” That framing is incomplete. What actually makes marine foods unique is not just the fats they contain, but how those fats are organized inside membranes. This organization happens through phospholipids, and phospholipids determine how cells breathe, signal, contract, recover, and adapt. If you want to understand muscle performance, brain health, recovery, inflammation, or aging, you have to understand membrane biology first. This article will walk through what phospholipids are, why membranes matter more than isolated nutrients, and how mussels, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies differ at a molecular level. We’ll move from beginner-friendly analogies to mitochondrial signaling and redox chemistry, and end with clear takeaways for clinicians and strength coaches. Start with a simple picture. Every cell in your body is wrapped in a membrane. Every mitochondrion inside that cell is also wrapped in membranes. These membranes are not passive walls. They are active, dynamic surfaces where energy transfer, signaling, and adaptation happen. The material those membranes are made of determines whether signals flow cleanly or break down into noise. Phospholipids are the structural units of membranes. Each phospholipid has a “head” that interacts with water and “tails” that interact with fat. When billions of them line up, they form a flexible, semi-fluid surface that proteins, receptors, enzymes, and ion channels embed into. If the phospholipid composition is poor, those proteins still exist, but they don’t work properly.A useful analogy is a racetrack. The engines (mitochondria) and drivers (enzymes) matter, but if the track surface is cracked or unstable, performance suffers no matter how strong the engine is. Phospholipids are the track surface. There are several major classes of phospholipids relevant to human physiology. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) provides membrane structure and transport. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) contributes to curvature and mitochondrial dynamics. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is critical for signaling, especially in neurons and muscle activation. Then there are plasmalogens, a special subclass with a unique chemical bond that gives them antioxidant and redox-buffering properties.

Sleep isn’t passive recovery it’s a cellular recalibration.And if you're not sleeping deeply, your mitochondria, immune system, and brain aren’t clearing debris, regulating inflammation, or consolidating memory efficiently. Enter: Sleep peptides—not sedatives, but neurobiological modulators that repair signaling patterns upstream of symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, poor REM, and sleep fragmentation. Let’s break down the 3 most compelling tools: 1. DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide) - Primary action: Normalizes sleep architecture and promotes deep non-REM sleep - Mechanism: Reduces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), dampens HPA axis hyperactivity, improves hypothalamic GABA tone - Bonus: Acts on mitochondrial protection and glymphatic clearance - When to use: Difficulty staying asleep, nervous system overdrive, parasympathetic insufficiency 2. Semax - Primary action: Neuroprotective and cognitive-enhancing, especially under stress - Mechanism: Boosts BDNF, modulates dopamine/serotonin, reduces neuroinflammation via NRF2 and antioxidant pathways - Bonus: Promotes resilience under oxidative stress - When to use: Brain fog, mood swings, post-infection fatigue, circadian mismatch 3. Epitalon (Epithalamin analog) - Primary action: Normalizes circadian rhythm via pineal gland restoration - Mechanism: Increases melatonin, reduces oxidative damage, supports telomerase activity, improves pineal peptide signaling - Bonus: Supports SIRT1 and FOXO3a longevity genes - When to use: Chronically poor sleep timing, aging-related rhythm disruption, neuroinflammation Big Picture:These aren’t “knock-you-out” tools like sedatives.They restore signaling fidelity—allowing your body to re-enter deep sleep states and modulate inflammatory and redox pathways during sleep. Want to try them? Stacking depends on your redox state, inflammation load, and circadian integrity. Drop a comment and share your favorite sleep stack.