WaveHunter

I have a 4tB computer hard drive loaded with business data files being readied to be shipped to me here in Thailand from the the United States. I want to know if there are going to any issues regarding duty or any other things to deal with. The drives do not at all look new and have plenty or ID labels and writing on them. They absolutely do not look like they are intended for resale. I don't imagine there should be any payable tax on them or other issues BUT in the past I have had some pretty weird experiences with Thai Customs resulting in delayed delivery to my door, once for over 4 weeks! I can't afford for that to happen this time. Are the any steps I should take to avoid such issues? Knowledgeable help would certainly be appreciated. Thanks

After writing my last reply, I just wanted to briefly go through your post, point by point Truth is, I have read countless research papers. It's true none of them have given the "gold seal of approval " to exercising in a fasted state" but many of them support the notion with sound scientific data. It is only when these studies are viewed as a whole, did I form the opinion that there was enough science-based information for me to believe in it, and worthy of doing a bio-hack to prove it to myself, which I have done, and found that is was beneficial to me, where the sedantary approach was a disaster for me. I disagree with you here completely about Verhoeven's knowledge or veracity as a researcher. Verhoeven's status as a PHD candidate and an active and published researcher in one of the cutting edge cellular biology labs in the US that actually is focused on autophagic response, make him imminently qualified on topics such as the underlying science of water fasting. Many of the "respected" authorities you regularly come across on YouTube, like Goldhammer for instance, are not truly research scientists, working full-time in labs, and they are often far-removed from cutting edge academic research. The duration of a water fast all depends on what your goals are. Most people only fast to lose weight, which I think is incredibly dumb and completely off the mark of what an extended fast can accomplish for optimal health. Water fasting is all about "resetting" the homeostatic state of the human body by accelerating the autophagic response, and nothing else. I'm not talking about the silly notion of ridding the body of environmental toxins or any of that other nonsense that health gurus love to talk about. We are in the midst of an obesity and Diabetes type II epidemic today, primarily caused by over-consumption of heavily processed foods, most of which are carbohydrates. Excess body fat should not be the concern since that is only about vanity, and it is only a symptom of a much bigger problem. The real issue is that such poor nutrition can cause irreparable damage to the intracellular proteins that allow our bodies to function optimally. "Dieting" to lower excess body only amounts to putting a band-aid on an infected wound. If the underlying issues are not resolved, the problem will not be solved. The underlying issue is metabolic, not caloric, so the concept of dieting to lose weight is simply flawed. Since there is now incontrovertible proof that fasting (along with other metabolic stressors such as exercise) causes an accelerated autophagic response, this accelerated response is really the major health goal of doing an extended fast. If you are seeking a source of research to serve as proof of this, I guess the Nobel prize winning research of Yoshinori Ohsumi is a good place to start. I fyu are not familiar with hsi work, here's a starting point: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2016/press-release/ To sum up, The duration of a fast really has to do with the accelerated autophagic response, and nothing else. Nobody can really say what the optimal duration of a fast should be. For me, I limit extended fasts to no more than 7 days. There are, after all, negative consequences of as prolonged fast. For instance, just as much as autophagy can reset dysfunctional proteins can replacing them, it can also do the same thing with cancerous cells, so it's not wise to look at only the positive aspects of fasting. I don't mean to come down on True North or Goldhammer, but quite frankly, he is a chiropractor (just like Dr, Berg). I don't consider his credential to be suitable for me to consider him an authority on the metabolic sciences. Like berg, he is a smart businessman who's very good at promoting himself and his clinic as far more than what they really are. They are certainly not involved in any legitimate science-based research. The only research papers I've ever seen published by them are statistics-based research, not actual science-based lab studies, and of the papers I saw, none of them seemed to be peer-reviewed in trusted publications like Lancet, or the New England Journal of Medicine. I'm sure they do well for their clients otherwise they would not be in business as long as they have been...but basically they are a for-profit business and nothing more...in my humble opinion, of course. Again, respected authority is going to endorse and unproven concept, but look at his personal fasting protocol, and you'll see that exercise is a very real part of it. You did not miss anything. I mention Cahill because he is like that father of the modern-day metabolic sciences being what they are today. Before him, the therapeutic concept of water fasting was not taken seriously in the scientific community. For his day, his work was groundbreaking, and really served as a foundation for all the notable researchers who followed. Again, what I was trying to say is you don't need to understand all the science-based details of a scientific paper to gain insight from it. Sometimes the concluding statement is simply enough because one research report is just a stepping stone to another one. For me, it's all about putting together notable bits and pieces from many different papers, and then over time, just getting a feel for what the larger truth may be. I just think it's a better approach to seeking the truth, than just to make an assumption of what the truth is from only one source or one person.. For a short term (72 hour) fast, I agree that electrolyte supplementation is not a huge deal for most people, but after that, imbalances occur, and it's simply better to be safe than sorry since the repercussions of an imbalance can be a very serious thing for some. I take all of this stuff real seriously, but at the same time, I strongly disagree that prolonged fasts should only be done under the direct supervision of a MD, unless there might be a metabolically related pre-condition. For every prolonged fast I undertake, I do a pre-fast blood test, and then a post-fast blood test, and have my doctor review them for me. That's the extent of the MD supervision of my fasts, and it has worked fine for me, and the reason for that (I think) is that I'm real careful about staying properly hydrated and supplement with electrolytes, and also psyllium (to keep the digestive tract active) , no thing more, no fancy fasting enhancers, no himalayan sea salt, no apple cider vinegar LOL (I'm think of Dr. Berg nonsensical fasting advice here...hahahaha). Regarding fast duration, like I said before, I think you should base it more on autophagy than anything, and to my way of thinking, anything longer than 7 days might be pushing things just too far. Again, prolonged fasting is a real frontier and science-based facts are a very gray area. I just think it's important to be as well informed as you can be from well-vetted and diversified sources, and then take an adventurous plunge in the form of a bio-hack to find out for yourself ???? My only input with #9 is what I already said, and that is to consider what your actual goal is with a fast, and then decide how long it should really take to achieve it. I mean, fasting, not matter how often you've done it before, is a major shock to your system, a definite inconvenience, and nerv fun or rewarding while you're doing it, so my mindset is "how short can my fast be", not how long.

My point is actually very simple. There are no studies currently that empirically confirm that exercising while fasting is beneficial. There are no studies that empirically confirm that being sedentary while fasting is beneficial. Much about fasting, autophagy, and metabolic sciences in general are still largely unexplored territory with mostly unproven concepts. Therefore, as a lay person interested in practising optimal health, we have several options to pick from: Take no action and wait for science to confirm the truth Listen to proponents of one side vs the other side, and take action based on which one you believe in more. Listen to proponents of BOTH sides, and then use their views to go on and do your own research of all the well-vetted studies. and then, after digesting as much information as you need, do a bio-hack on yourself, and then use the result of that to decide which view is the one to believe in I prefer #3. This is clearly the most difficult track to take. It's very hard to try and stay unbiased as you look at both sides of the question, and it takes a lot of time and effort, but I prefer it to the other two. It's like if you have ever watched a trial proceedings. You have the prosecutor laying out his/her version of what happened, and his presentation is very compelling. But then you hear the Defence's version of what happened and it is also compelling. You, as the jury, then have to decide which version YOU believe is correct. You may choose wisely, or you may make a mistake, but in the final analysis, you MUST make a decision that you feel best defines the truth. You can look at any / all scientific studies in the field of metabolic science and find things you believe are correct and things you disagree with, No single study can prove or disprove a concept when that concept has yet to be proven by peer review, so as a lay person who wants to optimize their health by fasting, you have to look at all the available and make that decision for yourself. That's really all that I am saying. I have a whole library of notebooks I've amassed over the twenty years, going back to when I first became curious about the metabolic sciences. I have explored and bio-hacked so many different concepts, I can't even keep track...Whole food, Veganism, Carnevor, Low Carb, OMAD, Water Fasting, Autophagy. Here's an example of just one of my Fasting / Keto notebooks for 2021: What I'm trying to say is that you really have to be your very own researcher when it comes to topics such as fasting and exercise. Nobody can tell you definitely whether dieting and exercise go together. You have to piece it together all on your own. So, when I say that I believe that exercise is important (even vital) for a successful fast, it is only MY opinion because almost all of the well vetted scientific research I've seen supports that view, even though there is no single study that I know of that makes that makes such a bold claim. More importantly, I believe it because it has worked well for me in practice, where a sedentary approach to fasting was a disaster. I mean, I guess it all depends on what you expect from a Fast. The majority of people's only goal is to drop some excess weight. To me, that is a dumb idea. "Water fasting" is just a nasty little catch-phrase used by YouTube gurus. In reality it should not be considered a weight-loss diet. The real goal of fasting should be to induce accelerated autophagy. Autophagy goes on in the human body 24/7 but when a person has a history of over-consuming carbs and heavily processed foods, the regular autophagic response can not keep up with the intra-cellular damage that occurs from poor nutrition. Intracellular proteins become irreparably damaged and began to accumulate. The goal of fast should very simply be to accelerate the autophagic response (which Ohsumi proved in his Nobel prize winning research). He proved that any type of metabolic stressors such as deprivation of food, or increased physical stress (i.e.: exercise) have a direct effect on the autophagic response. So, when you fast, and when you exercise, you increase this autophagic response. The big picture of fasting is simply this: Fasting and exercise induce accelerated autophagy, which is able to sequester those damaged intracellular proteins caused in part by poor nutrition, and pass them outside the cell membrane so that they can be broken down to amino acids. Then, when fasting ends and you resume eating, new intracellular proteins can replace the old, damaged ones, allowing the body to return to a more homeostatic state. That's it in a nutshell IMHO. The goal with a fst is to induce accelerated autophagy and nothing more. When the human body is in an optimal homeostatic state, there no need to go on a diet to lose weight. The body will take care of that all on its' own provided sound nutrition is practiced and one does not resume poor nutritional habits after the fast. Autophagy is now coming to the forefront of many prominent researchers such as Dr. Valter Longo, and Verhoeven (who I mentioned yesterday, and who's research work is laser focused specifically on autophagy). And of course there is Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi's ongoing work, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize in 2016. Anyway, as usual, I have gotten carried away in my writing. Sorry for being so verbose, but I hope it has some meaning for you ????

One thing I forgot to mention is that while exercise is good for an extended fast, it is not so good for the initial few days of starting a fast. During this time, until ketogenesis ramps up, the body has no alternative but to catabolize proteins, and exercise will only cause more catabolizing to occur. Not only that, but until there is adequate ketones bodies being released, the body will go into survival mode by decreasing the basal metabolic rate. So, the first 3 days of a prolonged fast, I take a brisk 30 minute walk daily, but that's about it until day 3. Regarding Goldhammer, I'm sure their clinic has helped many people but the research that comes from them is really as a sponsor of others' research, and that leads me to believe it may be a bit biased. What's more, the type of research papers that result are more related to clinical statistics as opposed to fundamental biochemistry and physiology. The only reason I mention Cahill is because his research provided the foundation for truly understanding metabolic biochemistry and how the body reacts to food deprivations, and their findings are as true today as they were when first published. You really do not need an academic understanding of biochemistry to understand Cahill's work, or any of the current research that's being done. You may need to familiarize yourself with real basic biochemistry; things like the Krebs cycle, for instance, but YouTUbe is actually your friend with this since there are plenty of really good videos that you can actually trust, written by academics. Actually one guy I religiously follow on YouTube is Nicolas Verhoeven. He is PhD Candidate in Molecular Medicine and a researcher in a molecular biology lab that is researching cell biology related to autophagy, and really is on the cutting edge of this, which is intimately related to water fasting. Though incredibly difficult to read for the lay person (me), here is his latest research paper, and I only link here so you can see this guy really knows what he's talking about: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350870898_Parkin-independent_mitophagy_via_Drp1-mediated_outer_membrane_severing_and_inner_membrane_ubiquitination My point is that in order to understand the link between fasting and exercise, the answers are not in a research paper but in understanding the metabolic processes that underlie both fasting and exercise, and people like Attia and Verhoeven provide the link between very difficult to understand research and the truth. I'm not saying their viewpoint is right or wrong, but what they have to say gives you a starting point that is firmly rooted in science so that you can further explore the topic on your own, and then have your very own viewpoint on it, instead of having to rely on others opinions. Verhoeven's YouTube channel is called Physionics (https://www.youtube.com/c/Physionic/videos), and he discusses a wide variety of topics related to his research, and many focus specifically on water fasting, all strictly from a scientific perspective. He also describes complex physiological and biochemistry processes in a way that anyone can easily understand. What's more, he provides very detailed "translation" of whatever scientific papers he happens to discuss in easy to understand language in his written "video notes" of his channel. I've gotten a working knowledge of some very complex biochemical processes through his simplified (but not misleading) explanations. He discusses water fasting as well as critiquing many f the proponents and that includes Goldhammer, Fung, including Valter Longo and his Fasting Mimicking Diet (which is very in-depth and fascinating). He also critiques (in a fair impartial way) people like Berg, Fung, etc... . He is literally a gold-mine of incredibly reliable and accurate information! Regarding refeeding, all the guidelines [put out by health gurus) is overkill IMO. I've used a simple protocol to end a fast and it has never caused me issues. Throughout the fast I take psyllium daily just to keep something running through my digestive tract (and that will not interfere with ketosis or autophagy), and water water mixed with electrolytes (Sodium, potassium, and magnesium). The electrolytes are not just to stave off headaches and "keto flue", but because those three electrolytes are seriously depleted in in a 72 hour fast. You might not feel any negative repercussions during your fast, but you could in a serious way afterwards. (Verhoeven did an excellent video on this on his YouTube channel BTW) On a 7 day fast, I do a 3 day refeed. I continue with the psyllium, and on Day one of the refeed I have one meal only, consisting only of soup (I like Minestrone best), and consume it very slowly over a one hour period, along with natural vegetable juices (not processed or with added sugar) On Day 2, the same thing, but two meals of soup plus a simple salad. On Day 3, I just go back to OMAD (one meal a day), keeping it light and low in carbs, and difficult to digest proteins. By day 4, I'm pretty much back to eating the way I normally would, and just being careful not to binge. The whole idea is simply to avoid shocking your metabolic system which is now fat-centric, no longer carb-centric, and it is really as simple as that. Bone broth and all the other things that health guru's suggest are fine if that's your thing, but they are certainly not necessary. All that's necessary is good common sense IMO. Regarding the duration of a water fast, I never go beyond 7 days. I did once as a bio-hack but really, form everything I have read, there is no point in going beyond 7 days. I only go for 7 days because of the effect it may have on autophagy, and even possible stem cells, but those are still very gray areas to me (which again is why I really like Verhoeven's videos since his research is specifically to do with these things. As for research I can point you to, again I have to say that I can not think of any specific papers I can suggest that support the link between exercise and fasting except the basic biochemistry concepts that come into play with the two. Attia and Verhoeven are my two "go-to" starting points I can suggest though.

I am familiar with Goldhammer and True North, as well as the clinic in Germany I think you are referring to which is the Buchinger Wilhelmi Clinic. The problem I have with such clinics is that they are obviously "for profit" institutions, and while I've never heard anything negative about either clinic, most of their PR efforts that you see on YouTube are seriously lacking in science-based information and they emphasize anecdotal information that celebrates the virtues of fasting. I particularly dislike the way they discuss prolonged fasting as a panacea for everything under the sun, stressing that that your protocol MUST be done under the direct supervision of an MD trained specifically in fasting protocols, which is just nonsense, and shameless self-promotion. I prefer to educate myself ONLY from science-based sources with no bias based on financial gain. My belief that "moderate" exercise while in a fasted state is based not only on such information, but it is backed up by personal experience. My first attempt at a prolonged fast (7 days) was a failure because I followed the common notion that being sedentary during the fast was a very important element of fasting. As a result, I had a horrible time of it. I felt lethargic which is a normal component of fasting BUT that should only occur until ketone body production begins to ramp up (i.e.: 72 hours into the fast). However, for me it continued until day 5 when I finally gave up. Worse, I didn't recover after I began eating again. My workouts (both resistance training and cardio) took about 3 weeks before before they were back to where they were before the fast. It was obvious to me that something was seriously wrong. That's when I got more serious about the underlying science to how the human body responds to being in the fasted state. Probably the most important work I read about were the studies by Dr. George Cahill's into the physiological changes that occur in starvation. I linked it below, and it is an excellent primer on the physiological stages that the human body goes through when deprived of exogenous nutrition. His research which was summed up in the paper, "FUEL METABOLISM IN STARVATION" was a landmark study that fundamentally changed metabolic science and laid the groundwork for safe and effective modern-day fasting protocols. It is essential reading if you are to really understanding what truly happens to the human body while in the fasted state, and some of those changes are complete unique to human beings, as opposed to animals in general. The problem I have with most modern-day proponents of fasting is that many of them don't have a clue of the actual biochemical and physiological changes that occur when the human body is deprived of exogenous macronutrients...and that includes many practicing MD's! As for clinical studies concerning the relationship of exercise to fasting, I have read many. You can as well by googling. I purposely don't like citing specific studies since you can't just look at one particular study to form YOUR OWN opinion. Usually when you want to effectively research a topic, you need to learn from many different sources (including the ones that you might feel a bias against) and only then begin to form YOUR OWN opinion Personally, I do not downplay any well-vetted sources. I have watched many interviews and speeches, ands read articles from Goldhammer, Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Stephen Phinney, and a host of other noted authorities that study prolonged fasting. I even regularly watch YouTube videos by Berg and Ekberg, since all such sources often have some element of truth. But, in the final analysis, it's up to you the individual to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. Too many just a quick and simple answer to a very complex topic such as this and will usually only look to one source for that. A good place to start for me was with Peter Attia's blog simply because he is both an MD and a triathlete, and he has done extensive study of both fasting and exercise physiology, and practices prolonged fasting protocols on a quarterly basis every year, and considers exercise while in the fasted state to be an integral part of the protocol. I know he has vested financial interests with a few companies that make products for fasting, but still I find him to be honest, and most of his information led me to other sources and I was able to develop my own valid and actionable course of action. BUT...The real acid test for me is what actually works FOR ME. All I can say is that ever since I incorporate exercise into my prolonged fasting sessions (7 day fasts, 4 times per year), they have all gone very smoothly with minimal lean body mass loss, good blood tests after the fast, no need for an exotic refeed plan, and high levels of energy during and after the fast. Just a quick point: In addition to exercise, the other big mistake I made on my initial fast was not considering the importance of electrolyte supplementation, specifically sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Not only to it stave off headaches and the usual "keto flue" but it helps you sleep better and tolerate exercise better while in a fast. I hope some of what I said you an find useful ????

Proviron is pretty easy and inexpensive if you find the right pharmacy. I get Bayer very cheaply my my pharmacy in Pattaya, at about 1/10 the price a hospital pharmacy sells it for, and no it is not fake ????

It's all really "the luck of the draw", but it seems like some of the major players are aware of the issue and have been seeking ways so that the end-user is not so inconvenienced by it anymore. I have never had a problem with Amazon, but eBay was a complete nightmare earlier this year...but then they finally got their act together with 2-part authentication that actually works, and I have been trouble-free since July. Still though, a Thai IP address is like a red flag for may US-based servers. I can not log into most government sites at all, and when I contact them, they openly admit it is intentionally set up like that. The same issue occurred when I tried to log into my internet domain provider to pay my annual renewal fee (Verio), and had to do it with their assistance over the phone. The only solution I have come up with is to set up a virtual cloud computer and use that when I need to interact with these sensitive sites. It's really quite easy and cheap to do. I only use the virtual computer when I need to connect to a site that I know will treat my Thai IP as a red flag, which amounts to only maybe 15-30 minutes a month, and you are only charged for the time you are connected, so it costs me maybe $10 USD per month. best solution I could find, and I'm happy with it ????

There has been a lot of studies in the last few years (serious studies) that are proving that moderate exercise while in the fasted state is not only possible, but essential for protecting lean body mass. The consensus up until just a few years ago was that you should NOT exercise while fasting. It has pretty much proven to be completely wrong, and many who followed that advice (including me) lost significant lean body mass (LBM). Without going into the biochemistry of it all, exercise stimulates the body to release IGF-1 by dramatically increasing Growth hormone production, and indirectly reduces gluconeogenesis. In a sedentary state this will not happen, and that's why a sedentary faster can often lose a lot of lean body mass during a prolonged fast. If "moderate" resistance training and cardio training are conducted during a prolonged fast (greater than 5 days), LBM loss will be minimal; nothing you could not restore within a week of being in a gym. Read about Dr. Peter Attia as a starting point to learn more about this. I'm not going to reference these studies or defend them since that will always lead to a bunch of back and forth arguments and nonsense on a forum like this, but anyone that takes the time to do their own due diligence and become familiar with these studies, and also take the time to understand the ACTUAL metabolic changes that occur in the fasted state, will see that these studies make sense. These studies were carried out by very well established researchers from major universities, not silly YouTube Gurus spewing unsubstantiated pseudo-science.

I need advice from those of you who use e-sim cards in their smartphones to receive text messages from the USA while here in Thailand. I have been going crazy lately with my banks and credit card companies, as well as Amazon and eBay with their plethora of identity verifications they are now doing exclusively through text messaging. Since my US cell number does not work in Thailand, and most banks and credit card companies will not send txt messages to foreign phone numbers, it's becoming a really frustrating and annoying issue. I spoke with Apple and they said all I needed to do was use an iPhone 10 or more recent, and set up an e-sim account with my US carrier (in my case ATT), and I was told this would solve my problem. I want to hear from people who are using these cards for that purpose. Does it work reliably for ID verification? And most importantly, how expensive is it on a monthly basis if all you are using it for is getting these ID verification codes?

Looking for a pharmacy that still carries Rotex Medica 20-amp boxes. Bayer is back in stock But only sold as single amps at 250 THB Which is pretty expensive compared to 20 amp boxes of RotexMedica at 3300 THB per box. anybody know anything?

I want to know if there are any Customs issues I should know about concerning mailing dried herbs and spices in sealed plastic packaging from Thailand to the USA. I plan to send by FedEx. Well vetted information (not guesses or off-topic advice) would be appreciated. And yes, I already tried getting this information from US Customs and it was only vague and seemed to be about "live" vegetation only . I want to be as sure as possible because I will be sending relatively large quantities of each item (10 packages of each item) Items consist of: Lemon grass dried Dried Kaffir Lime leaves Dried Galangal Root Thai Whole Chilies They are all in sealed plastic packages like this: