Hacker News Reader

Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

I like sweet things in my coffee. I also like not being overweight. Hence, sucralose in my coffee and 1000mg daily of metformin (taken for life extension purposes, second order effect is lowering blood sugar level). The right answer need not be "abstain from what you enjoy" if we can hack together a solution from diet and engineered compounds.

View on HN

Sugar in your coffee ain't gonna make you overweight.

Have real sugar, don't take sketchy drugs, live a generally healthy balanced life.

Metformin is a pretty serious drug and that is a high dose. It's one thing to use it for off-label use like PCOS, but I would be very cautious for a more nebulous use.

Metformin is fairly safe and toxicity doesn't occur until you reach doses that are many, many times higher than therapeutic doses [1] [2]. Not a doctor, not your doctor, talk to your GP before starting such a regimen (especially for healthy kidney and liver function). My prescription was a 3 minute convo after my annual physical ("its safe, my kidneys and liver are working, I want to live longer [3] [4], and I will sign a waiver I won't hold you liable if necessary"), and I would've just ordered it online if my doctor said no.

[1] https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/4/731

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934269/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25041462

[4] https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02432287

What does metformin do for therapeutic purposes? wiki doesn't allude to much besides diabetes treatment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin

Look under the Research section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin#Research

It's the last entry. Relevant links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4613459/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156816371...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28802803-metformin-reduces-a...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5943638/

thanks I missed that section!

Basically, the TLDR is that it makes the insulin your body produces work better.

The nice thing about it is that it can't drive your blood sugar low.

Did you have diarrhea when you started Metformin?

None. Some people do, it is a documented side effect.

Not just diarrhea but this horrible greasy concoction that required a shower...

Metformin could be sold as an ultra laxative for some folks...

> Metformin is a pretty serious drug and that is a high dose.

According to a former endocrinologist of mine, 1000mg daily is the lowest effective dose. 500mg pills are the lowest dose available. What is your source for 1000mg being a "high dose"?

For diabetes or PCOS, sure.

What is the effective dose for general life extension?

If you reduce the amount of sweetener slowly, you will likely eventually get used to just drinking coffee black.

I've suggested this to 5 different people over the course of my life and it worked for 100% of them.

Feel free to ignore this suggestion, but I can't see any downsides ;-) Worst case scenario is you're still drinking the same amount of sweetener a few months from now

I like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and eating candy bars - I'll just switch to vaping and granola bars so I can still do what I enjoy.

Can't tell if /s. Life is meant to be lived. Make healthier choices, but still enjoy. Otherwise, what's the point?

Yes, being healthy is enjoyable. Sometimes protecting ones health means not doing those things that provide superficial, temporary feelings of joy (junk food, artificial sweeteners that could lead to cancer and other health issues, smoking, etc.) that are in fact bad for our health and likely to reduce long term joy.

You can do just about anything in moderation and it won't be bad for you, short or long term. For example, having a cigarette or two a week over a few beers with some friends. Completely abstaining from superficial, temporary feelings of joy can be detrimental to some people when they finally do give into temptation.

  Life is meant to be lived.

A tautology at best, but more likely empty rhetoric.

  Make healthier choices, but still enjoy.

This assumes healthy choices cannot produce enjoyment.

  Otherwise, what's the point?

In our modern times, it seems to me, the point of life is whatever you make of it. I'm getting the impression that the point of your life is to experience as much pleasure as possible, i.e.: hedonism. This is a perfectly valid approach to one's life, but I wouldn't assume that others are getting less enjoyment out of their existence simply because they choose to impose constraints on the pleasures they pursue.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com