Health isn’t just what you eat. It’s how you think about what you eat.
Your choices should be guided by philosophy. Bruce Lee had Jeet Kun Do for physical dominance. Ayn Rand had Objectivism for personal drive. And Patrice O'Neal had The Cult of Black Phillip for social guidance.
What do you have?
When you drink a cup of water, is it a burdensome task to “hit your daily quota”? Or is hydrating your body from the largest organ down to the cells that shape your hair follicles an act of love?
When the spark flickers on your stovetop, are you just throwing mush on a pan to scarf down before bed? Or do you salivate thinking about the flavors about to hit your tongue, grateful for the artisinal experience of nourishment?
Health begins at the micro level. The small daily choices (drinking soda, skipping workouts, ignoring your goals) are what snowball into disease, fatigue, depression, and nihilism.
Even a Vitamin D capsule can hold philosophy. How you treat the smallest actions (pill swallowing, drinking water), reflects how you treat yourself. But even philosophy can become a trap when you don't live by the word.
You's a fraud
Minimalists whose only philosophy is minimalism are frauds. They're no better or worse than political zealots, sports fanatics, or grad students clinging to theory.
Minimalism is sold as consuming and producing less, but real minimalism is simply clarity. It’s not about throwing things away. Instead, focus on only keeping what enhances your life. Plus you constantly take supplements, you're really just made up of dust (snaps).
Minimalism demands that you create a unique philosophy: one that fuses your experiences, the people you love, and the decisions that fulfill both. My minimalism should never be yours. Don't jock the style.
Loyalty to what you've learned and agree with can quickly turning is oppression when it traps you in someone else’s system.
Why a Vitamins philosphy?
Vitamins are the building blocks of joy.
I recently watched Bryan Johnson’s documentary, Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, and felt strangely happy for the progress of the human experience. In the race for immortality, your lungs will eventually give out. But at least you ran the race and full sprint. What drives Johnson is passion and a freedom he's earned through business acumen.
The human challenge is defining passion and freedom relative to your own personal, financial, and social capital. I start with the building blocks that fuel me because if my cells are healthy, then so are my organs, then my body, then my mind, and ultimately my spirirt (I enjoy this breakfast nearly every morning).
For the past three years, I’ve experimented with supplements. My current rotation looks like this:
- Biotin
- Pumpkin Seed Oil
- NAD+
- Molecular Hydrogen
- ONNIT Day/Night Pack
- Palmetto
- Fruit Flavored Electrolyte Powder
- Daily Morning Hot water mix comprised of: Cinnamon stick pieces, cloves, garlic clove, turmeric, pure sea salt, lemon wedges
When I load my 7-day pill container, I dump everything in randomly. My only philosophy is to keep my body guessing. My shelf isn’t lined with 50 bottles. I rotate a few, intentionally and quarterly. It’s minimalism of biology.
Bryan Johnson created a life where everything is perfect, and I consider that homeostais, may be his downfall. He eats the same calories takes the same supplements, and goes through a similar fitness routine everyday. He's teaching his body to depend on routine so completely that chaos can become lethal.
In the real world, chaos is the constant. You might catch a cold, miss the gym, fall and bruise a muscle, have a long night of sex that throws off your hormones. What a time to be alive!
Perfection seeks control; philosophy seeks understanding. The question is: Can you simultaneously balance both and meditate through the chaos?
You only meditate through the quiet. That isn't very zen of you
Perfection is flawed when pressure hits. Muscles grow through tension and micro-destruction. They rebuild stronger because vitamins, nutrients, and rest fuel their repair. Muay Thai fighters purposely condition their bones through repeated bone-shattering impact to build resilience to pain.
Repition is great for safety, but what happens when the supply chain dries up and Bryan can't get his ProButyrate, Metformin or Collagen Peptides? How will his body know how to adapt?
Your body is a marketplace too. Your cells trade energy while your organs balance supply and demand. When the system starts to fail, adaptability is your only currency.
The key to longevity is turbulence training— physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Your philosophy should welcome destruction, enforce rehabilitation, and reignite passion at all costs.
The randomness of my supplement intake is a simple but important step in doing just that.
My supplement philosphy
Don't you, ever, get too, comfortable
Here's what I took last week:
-
Sunday:
- 2 Biotin pills
- 1 Pumpkin Seed Oil
- 1 Saw Palmetto pill
-
Monday:
- 1 Biotin
- Onnit Night Pack
- NAD+
-
Tuesday:
- Saw Palmetto pill
- 1/2 Onnit Day Pack
-
Wednesday
- Molecular Hydrogen Tablet
- 1/2 Onnit Day Pack
- 1 Pumpkin Seed Oil pill
-
Thursday
- Onnit Day Pack
- Onnit Night Pack
-
Friday:
- 1 Biotin
- 2 Pumpkin Seed Oil pills
- NAD+
-
Saturday:
- Molecular Hydrogen Tablet
- 1 Biotin pill
- 1 Pumpkin Seed Oil
- 1 Saw Palmetto pill
Note: Every morning I start with boiled water steeped with: whole cinnamon pieces, 3-4 loves, ginger, lemon wedge, and turmeric. Throughout the day I steep different water temperatures in the same mug, and close my night with another hot water steep. I randomly add ACV and the electrolyte powder in small doses throughout the day to aid with digestion and cell fueling.
In a perfect world, you’d get every nutrient from food. But the world isn’t perfect. The cost of food is increasing. Supplements are the scaffolding. They're the lift where human bartering currency and affordable nutrients fail. I supplement for that reason, and to save money. 1 30-day bottle of NAD is $49 at $1.63 a pill. If i make that 30 day supple last at minimum two months, now I'm paying .82 cents a pill and saved $24.6 cents a month. That can cover the $1-$2 increase of groceries I need and that will offer natural vitamins.
This isn’t medical advice; it’s a framework; a minimalist’s approach to individual biological experimentation without addiction or waste.
The life you save will be your own. You are micro in this macro world, so treat the micros of your body like sacred architecture. Heal from the inside out.
The Philosophy of Vitamins is simple: nourish wisely, live lightly, and let your cells remember what your mind forgets. Balance is everything.
Below are Vitamins A to K, each paired with a philosophy to shift how you see health. Each one carries more than biochemistry. They carry character and self-respect.
Notice: I haven't listed any sources for these vitamins. I'm not going to tell you to eat more carrots, or take more pills. I've done half the work. If you want change, take the next steps to discover how you can implement these vitamins into your life.
🅰️ Vitamin A: See truth. Nourish your vision.
- Function: Supports vision, immunity, cell growth + skin health
- Lens: A for Awareness– seeing clearly, both physically, intuitively and "illuminating" hidden needs (e.g., night blindness = ignoring low-light struggles).
- Deficiency:
- Physical: night blindness, dry eyes, dull skin, lowered immunity, slower healing.
- Metaphorical: lack of insight, inability to “see” one’s path, neglect of intuition, fear of the unseen or the future, confusion between what’s real and what’s comfortable.
🅱️ Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Every journey begins with a spark.
- Function: Food turns into energy; prevents beriberi (nerve/heart damage).
- Lens: B1 for B— the foundational spark; life’s "on/off" switch.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, anemia, nerve pain, poor metabolism.
- Metaphorical: mental burnout, lack of motivation, spiritual exhaustion, scattered focus, loss of joy or curiosity. Forgetting to “feed” the mind that fuels the mission.
Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin: Honor your balance
- Function: Energy production, cell function, antioxidant
- Lens: B2 for Balance + Brightness– harmony between energy and rest.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: cracked lips, sore throat, inflamed tongue, light sensitivity, fatigue.
- Metaphorical: speaking without nourishment, words that wound instead of heal, inability to “digest” light or praise. When communication loses its vitality and clarity.
Vitamin B3 – Niacin: Transform
- Function: Metabolism, DNA repair, skin health, cholesterol management
- Lens: B3 for Bravery and Balance– transformation through discomfort.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: inflamed skin, diarrhea, dementia, depression, fatigue.
- Metaphorical: loss of identity, detachment from purpose, spiritual dullness. When the mind forgets itself aka the soul’s version of amnesia.
Vitamin B5 – Pantothenic Acid: Adapt. Evolve. Thrive.
- Function: Hormone synthesis, energy metabolism
Lens: B5 for Breadth and Becoming— the "panto-" in its name means "everywhere," like small acts with universal impact; change, adaptation, personal growth. - Deficiency:
- Physical: fatigue, headaches, numbness, irritability, poor stress response.
- Metaphorical: inability to adapt, emotional burnout, resistance to growth. When flexibility hardens into fear, and life’s changes feel like threats instead of evolution.
Vitamin B6 – Pyridoxine: Meditate through the storm
- Function: Brain health, mood regulation (serotonin/dopamine synthesis), neurotransmitter synthesis, hemoglobin production
- Lens: B6 for Balance and Bridges– emotional steadiness, inner equilibrium; connecting nutrients to emotions, anemia to energy (withstanding today's storm is the bridge to growth).
- Deficiency:
- Physical: anemia, confusion, skin inflammation, nerve pain, weakened immunity.
- Metaphorical: disconnection from empathy, emotional numbness, lack of discernment. When one stops translating experience into understanding (losing “emotional metabolism”.)
Vitamin B7 – Biotin: Glow from within
- Function: Hair, skin, nails, metabolism
- Lens: B7 for Beauty– outer glow from inner nourishment
- Deficiency:
- Physical: rittle nails, hair loss, dry skin, fatigue, nerve issues.
- Metaphorical: loss of self-confidence, shaky identity, feeling “unrooted” or fragile. When outer beauty mirrors inner depletion.
Vitamin B9 – Folate (Folic Acid): Nourishment at the root
- Function: Prevents neural tube defects, Cell growth, DNA production, pregnancy support
- Lens: B9 for Birth and Beginnings– creation, potential, nurturing; critical for pregnancy, but also "new chapters" (cellular rebirth).
- Deficiency:
- Physical: anemia, fatigue, poor cell growth, birth defects, depression.
- Metaphorical: creative blockage, loss of fertility in ideas, inability to “birth” new visions or nurture potential. When imagination is starved before it can form.
Vitamin B12 – Cobalamin: Plug in. Feel alive.
- Function: Nervous system, red blood cell formation, energy
- Lens: B12 for Belonging and Backbone– connection, vitality, identity; the silent sustainer (stores last years, like resilience).
- Deficiency:
- Physical: fatigue, anemia, nerve damage, memory loss, mood swings.
- Metaphorical: disconnection from heritage, spiritual anemia, fading memory of who you are. When the lineage of self (mental, cultural, ancestral) is forgotten or neglected.
🅲 Vitamin C: Heal together. Strength in connection.
- Function: Immune support, skin, antioxidant
- Lens: C for Connection– immunity as community; collagen synthesis.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: weakened immunity, slow healing, bleeding gums, joint pain, scurvy.
- Metaphorical: cynicism, lack of resilience, emotional bruising, inability to repair trust or recover from setbacks. The loss of one’s “spark” or vibrancy.
🅳 Vitamin D: Step into the sun. Embrace life.
- Function: Bone health, immune support, mood
- Lens: D for Diversity / Depression– the light that lifts and expands; sun exposure varies by skin tone/location; universal yet personal.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: bone weakness, low mood, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, weakened immunity.
- Metaphorical: bone weakness, low mood, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, weakened immunity.
🅴 Vitamin E: Stay radiant. Stay resilient.
- Function: Antioxidant, skin protection, anti-aging, protects cell membranes
- Lens: E for Endurance and Elasticity– preservation, resilience; flexibility against life’s "oxidative stress".
- Deficiency:
- Physical: muscle weakness, vision problems, nerve damage, oxidative stress.
- Metaphorical: difficulty letting go, emotional stagnation, holding on to resentment, losing one’s protective boundaries. When the heart’s “antioxidant” (forgiveness) runs low.
Vitamin F (Obsolete term for essential fatty acids)
- Science: Omega-3/6 for brain/heart health.
Lens: F for Flow— fats lubricate joints and thoughts. - Deficiency:
- Physical: easy bruising, excessive bleeding, weak bones, calcification of arteries.
- Metaphorical: inability to “clot” emotionally, wounds that keep reopening, fragile moral structure. When balance and boundaries fail to hold the inner self together.
🅺 Vitamin K: What holds you together isn’t always visible.
- Function: Blood clotting, bone metabolism
- Lens: K for Knowing– unseen support, body wisdom.
- Deficiency:
- Physical: easy bruising, bleeding gums, fragile bones, slow healing.
- Metaphorical: inability to emotionally or morally hold things together. Repeated self-sabotage, unresolved conflict, the loss of internal structure that keeps a life intact.
