About
Why this site?
Hey there. If you’ve come to this site, your health is probably not what it could be. Maybe you’re trying to reach peak performance, but are bogged down by all the “normal” aches and pains of daily life. Maybe your health has mysteriously declined, leaving you struggling to get through the days with no idea why. Maybe you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic condition, and wondering if this is game over for your dreams. It’s awful to feel that life could be more, if only your health weren’t holding you back.
I would know. I’ve been in all those places. Growing up, feeling good in my body and mind always seemed out of reach reach. I wondered if problems like weight struggles or poor focus were just a part of life. Following lifestyle changes at age 17, peak physical and mental condition were no longer unattainable – they became my effortless daily experience.
After starting college, this vitality was stripped away. Symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, muscle wasting, and insomnia became all I knew. I was a pre-medical student supposed to be excelling academically, but my dreams were starting to look out of reach. The brain fog got so bad I could barely comprehend simple lab instructions. At my worst, I had difficulty walking straight. I feared that if my condition continued to get worse, I’d have to put my aspirations aside.
The worst part was I had no idea why this was happening to me. I had a healthy diet and lifestyle – I had no right to feel this bad! I wondered what the hell was going on. Was I slowly going crazy? The doctors told me it was all in my head, caused by stress from school. Only after years did I discover that mold in water-damaged buildings I’d been living in was responsible for all these symptoms..
It’s been a long road. Many times I questioned if I could ever feel well again, if I could ever accomplish anything great if I was always so sick. But I promised to myself that I would get better, no matter what it took. Five months after leaving the moldy house, I’d recovered enough to take the MCAT, the infamously arduous 7.5-hour medical school entrance exam. I scored a 526 (out of 528), equivalent to the 100th percentile of scores.
Throughout my journey, what has weighed most heavily on soul is seeing that millions of people are suffering silently, just like I did. I may look fine on the outside, but I have deeply battled chronic illness before even graduating college. I know what it’s like to be plagued by problems that are “normal” or dismissed as purely psychological. To wonder how much more colorful life could be, how much more you could achieve, if only your body could keep up.
If you’ve ever had mysterious or persistent health struggles hold you back from high performance, then this site is for you. My focus is on providing easy-to-understand and actionable information that you can use right now to upgrade your body and create the life you deserve. We only get one shot at this lifetime – why not make the most of it?
What is enlivenment?
Enlivenment is a reminder that we live in, and are influenced by, our environment. So often, environmental factors are the missing link for people who just can’t seem to get their health in line no matter how hard they try. We’re surrounded by our environment constantly. If it provides the wrong inputs to our body, then even “doing everything right” such as eating quality food or moving regularly won’t be effective. I learned this the hard way.
But enlivenment is also a reminder that once we’re aware of how our environment affects our health, we become more enlightened as to what’s going on with our bodies. We know better how to nurture ourselves so our health can support whatever we want to do in life. I used to wonder why, with no explainable reason, I’d start feeling anxious, depressed, weak, or stupid, despite leading a conventionally healthy lifestyle. Was there just something wrong with me? Was I morally weak? After becoming aware of environmental influences, I no longer am perplexed by changes in my physical or mental states. I have a higher awareness of what is causing my suffering, and how to address it.
We are at a cusp in history, transitioning into a new age. There is a growing mismatch between the environments of the modern world vs what our bodies have evolved to deal with. Yet on the bright side, more and more people, often with stories like mine, are realizing that environment is a critical part of health. No one should have to suffer silently or be held back form their dreams as I was, just because their environment is dragging them down. I hope you will join me in this journey of finding how caring about one’s environment can lead to true health.
Yours in health,
Andrew