Snapshot · Modern Wisdom
Tim Ferriss has taken the sulforaphane-precursor supplement Avmacol for nine months primarily for neuroprotection, given multiple family members with Alzheimer's, and has noticed unexpected improvements in skin tone.
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At 2:13:00 · chapter starts 2:11:35
Tim Ferriss produces Avmacol, a tablet containing a glucoraphanin precursor and myrosinase enzyme that the body converts into sulforaphane. He has been taking it for nine months, motivated primarily by multiple family members with Alzheimer's and his desire for neuroprotection — alongside xylitol mouthwash for the same reason. He notes that sulforaphane activates NRF2 pathways — biologically plausible, reasonably safe, interesting human data, but not a slam-dunk clinical intervention. An unexpected bonus: Ferriss has received more compliments about his skin in the past six months than ever before, and attributes it tentatively to Avmacol and Timeline's Urolithin A. Chris Williamson then drops a bombshell: University of Michigan researchers have amended the foundational microplastics study, finding that latex and nitrile gloves worn during sample collection shed stearate particles chemically identical to polyethylene that the instruments couldn't distinguish from plastic. The credit-card-per-year consumption figure may be off by a factor of 100.
Tim Ferriss has taken Avmacol — a sulforaphane precursor that activates your body's own detoxification pathways rather than supplying an external antioxidant — for nine months, primarily for neuroprotection given his family's Alzheimer's history. An unexpected side effect: more skin compliments than he's ever received.
University of Michigan researchers found that latex and nitrile gloves worn during microplastics sample collection shed particles chemically identical to polyethylene, suggesting the widely cited credit-card-per-year consumption figure may be inflated by up to 100 times.
Spencer Greenberg and Jeremy Stevenson analyzed almost 500 self-improvement techniques and found they all reduce to just 12 underlying psychological drivers.
Cold exposure has good short-term alertness benefits but the evidence base for long-term health benefits is much weaker than popularly believed.
In a randomized study of 20 habit-formation techniques run on hundreds of people, almost none of the techniques produced statistically meaningful results.
People given a tiny-habit fallback option (e.g. 10 squats instead of gym) were actually MORE successful at completing the full habit, not less.
The most effective habit-formation technique was 'habit reflection' — recalling a past successful habit, writing down what helped, then applying those lessons to a new habit.
A study found that simply scheduling enjoyable activities was as effective as standard cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, leading to its own therapy called behavioral activation.
The 'worry time' technique — deferring all worries to a designated time of day — helps people realize they have more control over worry than they thought and reveals it is less useful than it feels.
A study found that participants told to try to stay awake while in bed fell asleep faster than participants told to try to sleep — illustrating the paradox of direct effort.
Spencer Greenberg reduced his severe social anxiety dramatically in roughly 6 months through a structured exposure therapy hierarchy, culminating in asking strangers for hugs.
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