Viking Chow: Work in Progress

Objective

High here-and-now performance with nonnegative long-run impacts aimed at a time-constrained student. By "short run performance" we understand something like constants blood sugar levels and focus throughout the day. By nonnegative long-run impact, we understand that few nutritional deficiencies in the long run. Cost not a major constraint as long as it is less than 6 pounds per day. Ideally pleasurable, i.e. tasty with smooth consistency for easy consumption. Nutrition-only: Stimulants & nootropics are separte

max u[p(x), s(x), l(x)] s.t. (x·c) ≤ 6

where x is an n-vector of ingredients, c is the associated cost vector, p is pleasure, s is short-run performance, and l is long-run impact.

Variables

Pleasure

Taste. At first, I wanted a neutral flavour so that it would be easy to drink and I wouldn't tire off it after a week. Now, I think there needs to be some sort of flavouring system. I've tried with toffee flavouring (MP) but it gets sickly very quickly. Caffeine and salt makes it very foul. (To-try: Cocoa powder. Then vanillin. Ideally want to avoid sweeteners. Look into getting a water filter.)

UPDATE: Take salt as a pill.

Consistency. Soy lecithin for emulsification + Xanthan Gum for thickness. But: it's way too thick sometimes. Need to experiment with lecithin, make it depend on amount of oil, avoid the yellow layer of lecithin. Also, experiment with different amounts of water. Haven't actually taken that seriously at any point.

Grittiness. The chow fails to dissolve in the water. Considering this thread I want to add both more Xanthan gum and water. "0.5g is plenty for a day's worth", says Axcho.

Short-run performance. Works as advertised. Bought an energy drink and almost fell asleep. I just don't respond well to simple sugars. Oats keep me going all day. (Also, why bother with maltodextrin except for athletic purposes?) Oats are cheap enough. Mistake to have soy lecithin as choline source - switch to something like Alpha-?

Long-run performance. No data. Some reason to worry.

Future (notes)

Remove maltodextrin (high GI) and maybe also palatinose (expensive and redundant) - go pure oats?. Maltodextrin can be part of a new "workout-specific" drink, but not this one. Reduce number of ingredients (flaxseed, casein, ...). Reduce number of pills.

Nutritional profile

Carbohydrates

Protein To-do: Confirm that I am getting the correct amino acids

Fat Based on this comparison of dietary fats, I definitely want to go for canola oil/rapeseed oil.

I want a minimum of saturated fats and a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids.

I have some issues getting accurate data for the product, e.g. Tesco's Rapeseed oil. So, for the missing values, I looked up the average canola oil on Wolfram Alpha. The Tesco oil is 29.3g per 100g polyunsaturated fat and contains 9.3g Omega-3 per 100g. The mean values on Wolfram Alpha are 24g and 6.2g (i.e. 25.89%) and 16g of Omega-6 (66.66%), which would imply there is ... The range for omega-6 is 8.8 to 19, so I reduce it to 19....

Comments

!: Based on the 'Viking' nutrient profile

?: Updated the Kirkland vitamin according to the description on Amazon. Also, it contains so much sodium this and sodium that, I'm skeptical it contains 0% sodium ...

!: "Excessive absorption of zinc suppresses copper and iron absorption". Should I be worried about the high levels? The bulk of it comes from the Kirkland pill. Nordic recommendations cap it at 150mg/day

!: "... evidence indicates that a 1:1 ratio (between calcium and magnesium) is closer to optimal given different absorption rates in the gut of these two minerals.", says a whole food site. So I'm not worried about a bit more magnesium.

!: BP Calcium/Vit-D contains 1000mg Calcium Citrate, which is 21-24% actual calcium, so I typed it in as 20% (=200mg calcium) to be safe.

?: How do I get more sodium without crossing the max limit for chloride? (Maybe switch away from Lo Salt, find an iodised salt). Nordic recommendations do not put a cap on chloride. Where did I get the max? Gwern writes that "Existing iodized table salt often has far less iodide than recommended, or even what the manufacturer claims it has" and argues at length that iodine deficiency is a problem.

!: Also need extra electrolytes for rowing days, including sodium.

!: Not the slightest worried about high levels of Vitamin D. According to Gwern, 10,000 IU is highly likely to be enough, and is similar to what one might get from an hour on the beach; so 5000 IU should be satisfactory. Also, the Vitamin D should be taken in the morning.

!: V. annoyed about the high manganese level. Some discourse user claims "we need at least 10mg/day of manganese to keep the oxidation to a minimum in the mitochondria". A lot of it comes from the oats. An interesting discussion on Discourse argues that the 11mg limit is somewhat arbitrary. (1) Manganese toxicity has not been reported. (2) The guy who proposed the 11mg limit is the same who said "scientists are not quite sure". So I'll let this one slide.

!: Winter is coming and I want more vitamin C. It's water-soluble, so worst case scenario it's just going to be expensive urine.

!: "Lecithin has specifically been found to be ineffective at treating dementia", says one study. Worth looking at an additional choline source (CDP?) given that I'm also adding piracetam.

!: Current ratio between "fast" (whey) and "slow" (casein) protein is 5:1. Does it even matter? Maybe skip casein entirely and avoid the complication?

?: Palatinose seems like a wonder-carb, which makes me worry. What are the downsides? I heard someone say something about it metabolising into fructose. That would not be ideal.

?: Do oats contain insoluble fiber? Husk is definitely soluble, right? And Xanthan gum is insoluble.

?: Rapeseed oil (some issue with ml/g)

?: Flaxseed powder. Doesn't blend well, does it?

?: Omega 3 liquid (I want a 1:1 ratio between Omega 3 and 6, or better (why exactly?); very little info on nutrition of O3 liquid on MP)

!: Biotin: Mild deficiencies can lead to "neurological symptoms in adults, such as depression, lethargy, hallucination, and numbness and tingling of the extremities". Ideally, I could avoid purchasing this separately

!: BP Probiotics not necessary, only temporarily included in the recipe.