routines

what i take, eat and use every day
vegan, no alcohol or drugs \

• Supplements
• Nutrition staples
• Exercise
• Teeth
• Sleep
• Hearing
• Air

Supplements

I take supplements only when the evidence is strong or moderate.

Supplement	Dose	Why
Vitamin B12	350 µg/day	Essential on a vegan diet. Strong evidence.
Iodine	200 µg every other day (potassium iodide)	Vegan diets are often low in iodine. Strong evidence.
Creatine monohydrate	5 g/day (capsules)	Muscle and strength. Vegans start with less of it. Strong evidence.
Vitamin D3 (vegan)	2,000 IU/day Oct–Mar, 1,000 IU/day Apr–Sep	Little sun in German winters. Moderate evidence.
Algal oil	1 capsule/day (265 mg EPA+DHA)	Vegan source of EPA and DHA. Moderate evidence.
Zinc + selenium	15 mg zinc + 100 µg selenium	Pending upcoming blood test

Not taken:

• Magnesium, calcium and iron: my food covers them.
• L-citrulline and maca: weak evidence.

Nutrition staples

• Fortified soy milk: Alpro Soja ohne Zucker, 400 ml or more a day. It has calcium, B12 and vitamin D. The “Bio” (organic) versions are not fortified, because EU organic rules don’t allow added vitamins.
• Iodised salt
• Ground flaxseed for omega-3 (ALA) and fibre.
• Peanut butter.
• Walnuts for more omega-3 (ALA).
• Kiwi every day, for vitamin C and fibre.
• Coffee, 1–2 cups a day, before 14:00. Linked to lower heart disease and death risk (observational studies).
• Target ~130–160 g protein a day.

Exercise

• 10,000 steps a day.
• Stairs: I always take the stairs when I can, never escalators or lifts.
• Pull-ups.
• Bouldering. About 2–4 injuries per 1,000 hours of climbing (studies range from 0.02 to 13), mostly minor, and much lower than football or rugby. Bouldering and crimp grips raise the risk of finger overuse injuries.
• Calisthenics park: I sometimes jog to a local outdoor bodyweight fitness park and train there.
• Smartwatch reminders: it tells me to get up and move, and to do short 30-second exercises during the day.

Teeth

• Brush three times if i can, at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste (1450 ppm).
• I bring a toothbrush with me usually.
• I use two different toothpastes: a whitening one in the morning and an antibacterial one in the evening. Both have fluoride.
  • Evidence: I found no study showing that two toothpastes work better than one. The evidence is for fluoride at 1450 ppm, twice a day. A whitening toothpaste removes some surface stains. It does not change the colour of the tooth.
• Brush in the morning before eating.
  • Evidence: this is reasonable. Acidic food softens the enamel for a short time, so brushing straight after eating can wear it. Fluoride on the teeth before a meal also helps. My first meal is at 12:00, so this is easy.
• After brushing, spit out the toothpaste but don’t rinse with water. The fluoride then stays on the teeth.

Sleep

• Earplugs: custom-made sleeping earplugs from Hörluchs.
• Sleep mask to block light.
• Melatonin, 1 mg, for falling asleep

Hearing

• Concert earplugs: custom-made, with filters, from Hörluchs. They lower the volume evenly, so music still sounds clear.
  • Evidence: a randomised trial at a music festival found less temporary hearing loss with earplugs than without (Ramakers et al., JAMA Otolaryngology, 2016).

Air

• AirGradient ONE air monitor. It measures CO₂, fine dust (PM2.5), VOCs, temperature and humidity.
• I take it with me when I travel.