15 Lotions, Potions, and Pills at 40 Orbits

Today is my fortieth birthday. As you might imagine, I’ve heard the phrase “over the hill” a few times today. By present standards, I have indeed lived about half of the life expectancy for American males.

But standards change. By past standards, I’ve already lived more than a full lifetime.

By future standards? Well, remember I’m a Transhumanist. I think it’s more likely that I’ll die in an accident than that I’ll die of the diseases of aging around age 80 (or 800 for that matter).

Am I right? Let’s hope (and work) to find out.

In the mean time, I figure I can improve my odds by at least making a reasonable effort to take care of myself the old fashioned way:

• sleep 7-8 hours each night
• exercise strenuously 3-4 hours per week
• cultivate good relationships
• manage stress
• abstain from unhealthy behaviors like smoking
• minimize consumption of unhealthy foods like soft drinks

On top of those choices, I also use some supplements. And friends have been asking about those. So I thought I’d share that information here on my blog with all of you. In return, maybe some of you have some insights to share with me, to help me improve or change.

Please keep in mind that I’m not a medical professional. And I highly recommend that you do your own research and consult with medical professionals before using any of the supplements that I mention here. To help with that, I’ve linked the names of most supplements to more information about them on Examine.com, which I’ve found to be highly helpful, providing supplement reviews in light of peer-reviewed research.

1. Each morning, I take theanine. This is a nootropic.

2. Each morning and evening, I take sodium bicarbonate. In addition to other benefits, it helps me manage acid reflux that I may have inherited genetically.

3. As needed, I take omeprazole. This is a prescription drug for acid reflux. It’s highly effective for that purpose. But I’m trying to eliminate it completely because I dislike its apparent side effects on digestion.

4. Each morning and evening, I apply minoxidil. It helps me maintain hair growth despite my genetics for balding, which I began around age 18. As an aside, about a decade ago, I also took finasteride, which clearly improved hair growth, but also began to make me light-headed and anxious after a few years, so I discontinued using it.

5. Each day with a meal, I take biotin. I’ve recently begun experimenting with this as a complement to minoxidil for hair growth. The jury’s still out. But early results would be promising if I cared about growing fingernails faster. ;)

6. Each day with a meal, I take fish oil. This is for general health.

7. Each day with a meal, I take magnesium. This is for general health.

8. Each day with a meal, I take vitamin D. This is for general health.

9. Each day with a meal, I take vitamin K. This is for general health.

10. After exercise, I take whey protein. This is for general health.

11. After exercise, I take creatine. In addition to other benefits, this is a nootropic.

12. While bathing, I apply Olay Total Effects Advanced Anti-Aging Deep Penetrating Moisture Body Wash. Without something like this, my skin would dry up and fall off in Utah’s desert air.

13. After bathing, I apply Olay Professional Pro-X Age Repair Lotion With Sunscreen. Take a look at the peer-reviewed study in the British Journal of Dermatology.

14. Each evening, I take melatonin. This is a nootropic.

15. When feeling illness coming on, I take echinacea.

If you like these thoughts, you might also like “Lincoln Cannon’s Stack of 50 Nootropics and Geroprotectors.” It’s a newer article, published on the Thrivous website, in which I share an updated list of my nootropic and geroprotector supplement regimen about five years later.