Health and Wellness Shopping List

LoveHome Memory Foam Lumbar Support Back Cushion with 3D Mesh Cover Balanced Firmness Designed for Lower Back Pain Relief- Ideal Back Pillow for Computer/Office Chair, Car Seat, Recliner etc. – Black — If you suffer from lower back pain, you have a rounded lower back, AND you are sitting down most of the day, then consider using this lumbar support pillow. To properly use it, first sit your butt back as deep into the chair as you can. THEN wedge the pillow into your low back. Then lean back. The pillow should feel comfortable and relaxing to your low back.

SOFTaCARE Seat Cushion Coccyx Orthopedic Memory Foam and Lumbar Support Pillow, Set of 2 (Black, 2 pcs) — If your chair offers no lumber support AND it has a very thin cushioning for your butt, then consider getting a seat cushion + lumbar support pillow combo. This is a good combo to turn a cheap hard plastic chair (e.g., a dining chair) into a low cost ergonomic chair. A proper ergonomic chair would still be better, but those usually cost $1000 plus.

Life Extension Enhanced Zinc Lozenges, 30 Vegetarian Lozenges — Zinc lozenges are one of the few effective supplements that are proven to reduce cold durations. There are some caveats though:

• Choose zinc acetate, which is a more effective form than zinc gluconate (common form).
• You must start using the lozenges as soon as you feel the symptoms of a sore throat.
• Suck on them and let them dissolve naturally. Try to coat your throat with the zinc saliva.
• Take them every few hours.

Zinc acetate lozenges are only useful against viruses. Viruses will use the terminals on a cell and hijack the cell to produce more viruses. Zinc acetate effectively blocks all the terminals of the cells in your throat for a few hours. Essentially, zinc acetate buys you a few hours where viruses are blocked out from reproduction in your throat. Thus, you need to take the zinc lozenges every few hours to be effective. Chris Masterjohn has a good article and podcast explaining the effectiveness of zinc acetate.

How do you know if you have a virus or bacterial infection? You normally won’t know on your own. Just start taking the zinc acetate at the first sign of a sore throat. Normally I feel an obvious improvement in my sore throat after 1-2 zinc lozenges.

Uvex Skyper Blue Light Blocking Computer Glasses with SCT-Orange Lens (S1933X) — Blue light blocking glasses (amber tinted glasses) are effective for improving sleep. We need blue light during the day so our brain knows what time of day it is. Blue light anchors our circadian rhythm during the day. However, at night it is unnatural to see blue light. Many people experience sleep issues due to blue light exposure so close to bed because it sends signals to our brain that it’s day time.

A simple solution is to minimize blue light as you are approaching bed time. My preference with these glasses is to have a routine with them. After dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and showering, then I will put these glasses on as I wind down for bed. It’s important to not only block blue light, but also try to darken your surroundings and avoid bright lights in general. Melatonin is the darkness hormone, so try to achieve darkness as you get closer to bed.

I’ve tried a few different blue light blocking glasses and these ones are the strongest ones for a good price. They are not the most comfortable, but they do a good job blocking the blue out.

Professional Wooden Slant Board, Adjustable Incline Board and Calf Stretcher, Stretch Board – Extra Side-Handle Design for Portability – 16″ X 12.5″, 5 Positions (450 LB Capacity) (Partial-Coverage) — I suffered with tight calves for years. This was from posture and lifting weights. I got this calf wedge and used it 3-5 times daily for 60 second intervals. My calf tightness was cured in 2 weeks. Don’t stand on it for longer than a minute~ though.

I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly effective this device was for my calf stretching. I have zero regrets buying this. Day 1 I could only do the middle setting. Now I’ve progressed to the max setting and I stand on one foot and bend forward. I also use this for single leg calf raises in my home gym.

Serious Steel Mobility & Recovery (Floss) Bands |Compression Band | Tack & Flossing Band (7 feet L x 2 inch W) – Black & Red — Voodoo floss is a physical therapy tool that works very well for elbow and knee inflammation. When I’ve had knee or elbow inflammation building up, using voodoo floss was a great way to spread up the healing process. It uses compression to improve blood flow to the tendons.

If you have joint pain, you should always consider treating the root of the problem first. That is, was it a form issue that caused the pain? Was it an overuse injury and you just need to deload? After you address that first, then consider using a tool like voodoo floss to speed up recovery.

To use voodoo floss, you wrap the floss around your joint. You want it tight, but not so tight it’s cutting off circulation. Do some very light, full range of motion movements for the joint. Typically for the knee, do air squats. For the elbow, do very light bicep curls and dumbbell tricep extensions. Do these movements for 1-3 minutes and then remove the floss. Repeat this a few times a day. Here is a good video demonstrating how to use voodoo floss for your knees. I also have two Twitch clips where I demo this on stream. Clip 1 and Clip 2.

Body Back Buddy Original Trigger Point Therapy Self Massage Tool – S-Shaped Shoulder, Back & Neck Acupressure Massager, Myofascial Release Tool & Deep Muscle Massage Stick by Body Back Company — The back buddy (or theracane) is a great self massage tool. It is very well thought out to hit most of your body with requiring very little force due to the amazing leverage of this tool. For some tight spots, I like to use a physical therapy tool like this one to apply pressure to a muscle and mobilize it while under pressure.

HYPERSPHERE by Hyperice – 3 Speed Localized Vibration Therapy Ball – Ideal for Sore Muscle Release – Deep Tissue Massage – Relieve Muscle Pain and Stiffness — If I could choose a single physical therapy tool, I would choose the Hypersphere. It’s an incredibly powerful vibrating ball that allows for easy self massage and mobilizing. Massage guns are great, but often you need someone to help you use it, but that is not the case for the Hypersphere. My friends at the physical therapy clinic recommend using the Hypersphere on the floor or wall with a foam pad to protect both the surface and the ball. Avoid using it on hard surfaces like tile or hard floors as it could damage the ball.

A simple way to use the Hypersphere is to first find a sore spot on your body. Turn on the ball and press that spot of your body into the ball. While pressing into that sore spot, start moving that body part through it’s natural range of motion. Avoid pain. This is a simple way to mobilize and release adhesions in the body.