The SHN #15: Kapil Gupta, Sugar Myths, and 4,000 Weeks to Live

Welcome back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

In this edition, we’ll learn about author Kapil Gupta.

After that, a dive into the bestselling book “4,000 Weeks…”

Then comes the debunking of some sugar myths.

Finally, I’ll include some links to things I’ve found particularly interesting recently.

Joe Burt

A Truth Teller

Dr. Kapil Gupta is a “personal advisor to Kings, Queens, CEO's, professional athletes, celebrities, and performing artists around the world.”

He maintains an active blog, has written several books, and shares many thought-provoking messages on his Twitter (X). Gupta’s overarching aim is to seek Truth at all costs, and his teachings are among the most direct I’ve seen.

For anyone used to more bubble gum spiritual teachings, Gupta’s words may seem a bit harsh. His writings are filled with messages that cut deeply into the human condition, and I will share some examples found throughout his library here, with some commentary.

“Meditation will get you nowhere, meditativeness will give you the keys to your inner kingdom.”

There are many people who see meditation as just another “to-do” among their many daily tasks. A box to check off. In truth, meditation is just the training ground for developing moment-to-moment awareness in all your life. Bringing full awareness to each second of your day is the “goal” of meditating if there was one, not just to keep your streak alive.

“Our behaviors are a manifestation of our internal state. Our state of being. Our state of understanding. Our state of ignorance. Our state of wisdom.”

We often believe that it is the external circumstances in our lives that lead us to act in certain ways. On the contrary, the way we show up in the world is a direct reflection of our inner world, however still or chaotic. This is why all spiritual and religious traditions agree that “working on yourself” will change the world more than working on factors outside of yourself.

“The ultimate parenting [or coaching] becomes not being a parent at all. The ultimate parenting [or coaching] comes when you divorce yourself from the need or desire for an outcome.”

I don’t have the incredibly hard job of being a parent but thought this was interesting.

“I have discovered that to chase happiness is to chase a ghost.”

Happiness is not somewhere off in the distance. It is freely and ever-available in this present moment, should you choose to recognize that fact. Believing it’s right around the corner will keep you in un-happiness permanently.

“The hard truth is that no one cares about you. No one cares about me. People only care about themselves.”

I told you his words were harsh!

“Rare is the man who does not consume alcohol. And the only way that he would stop is if the pain of the mind began to cease. Then he would not have anything to have a respite from. In fact, his daily life would become a heaven, rather than a hell.”

Say what you want about alcohol, but the majority of people use it (consciously or unconsciously) to escape the state they are in. Since the state they are escaping from is their everyday reality, what does that say about their enjoyment of that experience?

“The man of wisdom has seen that all joys are followed by misery. All pleasures are followed by pain. He has seen the undeniable reproducibility of this fact. And thus he has grown tired of seeking pleasure. And in so doing he has become immune to the pain that follows.”

Constantly chasing pleasure is a trap I’ve fallen into countless times. Once the pleasurable experience is gone, withdrawal kicks in and brings with it a measure of pain. Then the seeking pleasure activity begins to kick back in to alleviate this pain, continued ad infinitum.

“Man has little choice but to live in dis-ease. Because he lives his life from within the mind. Thus he lives under its weight. And, therefore, he is depressed. He continually is assaulted by the mind. He is a slave. He is constantly bombarded by the shrapnel of involuntary thoughts. He knows not a moment’s peace.”

“Mind-identification” is a state of being where you accept and believe the thoughts, beliefs, desires, and opinions that present themselves in your head. When you can step back and see this process occurring, you can recognize the fleeting nature of these appearances in consciousness and realize their illusory nature. The space you create opens an entirely new available experience.

“To come to the devastating realization

That all a man has been chasing day and night for his entire life . . .

Has never existed.”

Want to listen directly to Gupta? Here is a YouTube clip nearly two hours long on his discourses, and here’s a podcast done with Naval Ravikant. And also a quick clip on “Why You Care What Other People Think:”

Book Spotlight of the Week: 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

This New York Times Bestseller by Oliver Burkeman presents a thought-provoking manual on the subject of time management. Departing from the contemporary fixation on ceaseless achievement, "Four Thousand Weeks" introduces readers to practical techniques for forging a purposeful existence through an acceptance of our limitations. The book illustrates that many of the counterproductive perspectives we've adopted about time are not immutable facts but rather conscious decisions made by both individuals and society. It underscores the possibility of adopting alternative approaches.

Here are a few key takeaways:

1) There exist certain undeniable truths we must acknowledge:

-Our existence is finite, rendering it impossible to accomplish everything, regardless of our efficiency or productivity

-Temporal control eludes us (and our perception of manipulating time appears strange when viewed historically)

-Futile is our attempt to command the future, irrespective of meticulous planning

-From a cosmic vantage, our significance is ultimately minuscule

2) At times, our fixation gravitates excessively towards the future:

-Mentally inhabiting the future causes us to forfeit the present moment

-When we view childhood merely as a precursor to adulthood, we strip it of inherent value

-Even in leisure, we endeavor to exploit time purposefully, converting it into a means to an end rather than an end in itself

3) We often overlook the meaningful things in life:

-Absence of deliberate trade-offs results in misguided prioritization

-The pursuit of convenience can erode life's brilliance

-Personal dominion over time sometimes hinders shared moments and synchrony

4) Once the above is recognized:

-We liberate ourselves from unattainable expectations that generate anxiety

-Our ability to make astute trade-offs improves, enabling us to prioritize meaningful aspects

-Ultimately, we embrace actual living, directing our focus towards our present passions

This is just a small part of what’s discussed in the book. If you want to read more but don’t want to read the whole thing, check out a more detailed book summary here.

Twitter Thread of the Week

Hands On Knees FTW

The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of two distinct recovery positions, namely hands on head (HH) and hands on knees (HK), utilized as immediate recovery stances following high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

Despite what your high school coach may have told you, this study conclusively found that recovering with your hands on your knees “resulted in significantly faster decrease in HR (heart rate) between intervals than that of the HH posture.”

“On the basis of the findings in this study, HK posture significantly improved HRR, VT, and V˙CO2 in comparison with HH posture. The positive effects of HK posture on HRR, VT, and V˙CO2 may suggest improved parasympathetic influences and cardiorespiratory mechanics when adopting this posture during a recovery period from a fatiguing exercise.”

Medical Myths- Sugar Edition

This article in MedicalNewsToday addresses the commonly held beliefs about sugar which turn out to actually be myths. Let’s take a look at each one:

1. Sugar is Addictive: This commonly held belief is based on animal studies where animals were given sugar alone and then observed. Since humans rarely eat sugar in isolation, these studies don’t translate well. Professor David Nutt says “There is not currently scientific evidence that sugar is addictive, although we know that sugar has psychological effects, including producing pleasure, and these are almost certainly mediated via brain reward systems.”

2. Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive: A meta-analysis combined data from 16 scientific papers that concluded: “This meta-analysis of the reported studies to date found that sugar (mainly sucrose) does not affect the behavior or cognitive performance of children.” (People with children may doubt the truth of this conclusion)

3. Sugar Causes Diabetes: There remains no direct link between sugar and diabetes. Additional reading on this topic here.

4. Avoid Fruit While Dieting: Doing this will make you miss out on a range of healthful compounds. Here’s a study showing eating mangoes improves blood glucose in obese individuals.

5. We Must Eliminate Sugar from Our Diet: Because there are healthful foods containing sugar, eliminating sugar altogether is likely an unwise idea.

6. Sugar Causes Cancer: According to Cancer Research UK: “There’s no evidence that following a sugar-free diet lowers the risk of getting cancer, or boosts the chances of surviving if you are diagnosed.”

My main takeaway from the sugar debate is that just “avoiding sugar” is not the right approach. It’s a boilerplate recommendation by many (including my former self) that misses the nuance, namely that sugar is present is healthy foods and is, arguably, the body’s preferred fuel source.

I’ve been experimenting recently with a fairly significant increase in overall sugar content and I feel pretty good. The major difference I can report is increased mental energy. I’m not sure if I’ll stick to this level of sugar/carbohydrate intake but for now it’s working for me.

Modern Mouthwash Recipe: Mix ½ cup warm water, ¼ cup coconut oil, and 2 tablespoons baking soda in a small bowl. Swish in mouth for 30 seconds. This would be a preferred option to commercial mouthwashes, which can cause more harm than good.

Fasting Ineffective for Shrinking Belly Fat, May Actually Increase It: This study shows that intermittent fasting (IF) not only fails to target visceral fat (the most perilous type) but potentially encourages its long-term accumulation. IF seems to amplify the capacity of fat-storing regions to accommodate new dietary or de novo synthesized fat, possibly due to elevated cortisol and estrogen levels.

The researchers found “visceral fat became resistant to this release of fatty acids during fasting. There were also signs that visceral and subcutaneous fat increased their ability to store energy as fat, likely to rapidly rebuild the fat store before the next fasting period.”

Surgery, The Ultimate Placebo: In this lecture, professor Ian Harris critically examines widely performed surgical procedures that either demonstrate no more efficacy than placebos, or have never undergone testing. Harris discusses the history of sham surgery trials, placebo effects, and the reasons surgeons often dismiss evidence of ineffectiveness and continue these operations.

In the video, Harris claims “billions of dollars are being wasted on hundreds of thousands of operations that have been shown not to work or that have never even been tested to see if they work better than doing nothing.” He wraps up by suggesting that we should approach novel surgical procedures with the same scrutiny as new drugs, funding only those that are part of a trial to determine their efficacy. Currently, a majority of surgical procedures lack the rigorous evaluation of blinded trials.

That will do it for this time! Hopefully you got some value out of it. If you have any questions/comments/things you’d like to learn more about please don’t hesitate to reach out.

If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link! 

To read all past newsletters, go here.