Welcome back to Health Gossip Top Shelfies, a series peeking into the medicine cabinets, vitamin shelves, and beauty (slash wellness) rituals of our dear community.
Today marks our first male Shelfie. Chris Gayomali is a New York City-based consultant, magazine editor, and the writer behind HEAVIES. I loved his interview with Molly Young, which filled in some of the blanks from her Health Gossip feature (protein pancakes, prison workouts, et al). Now, Chris is here to fill in some of the blanks from his own routine. Enjoy.
Who are you?
I’m Chris, a writer, magazine editor, and consultant based in New York City. My pie chart of work is all over the place. During the day, I’m head of editorial at SSENSE, but I write features for places like GQ (where I was an editor for nearly a decade), New York magazine, National Geographic, The Believer, etc. I also work as a consultant and strategist with my friends at C47 and the Office of Applied Strategy, and write the health and wellness newsletter, HEAVIES.
Outside of all that… I’m heavy into Muay Thai and train at Five Points Academy like 5 days a week. My gym is my favorite place in the city, and I’ve made a handful of wonderful friends there. I’m also 41 and tired 99% of the time, mostly because my wife and I have a four-year-old son who is very curious and funny and enjoys waking us up before the sun comes out.
Describe your approach to health and wellness.
The wellness industry, at least here in America, is one of those downstream effects of a society designed to profit off healthcare. It’s partly why I try not to overcomplicate my approach to health.
To my mind, it’s mostly just four things: eating right 80/20 (mostly whole foods), getting enough sleep, moving your body, and filling your life with people you love. That’s basically it. Supplements, red light, PEMF, peptides, hyperbaric — all that other sh*t is fun and nice to have, but not required.
Fundamentally, I think of being “healthy” as introducing necessary friction into your life. Cooking for your people, lifting heavy objects, reading challenging novels, walking places, meeting up with a friend even though it was a long day and every ounce of your being just wants to bail and order Seamless and binge Netflix or whatever. That’s sort of been the mission with HEAVIES: the case for doing the hard thing in order to become a little more resilient.
What are some of your must-haves?
I get sent a lot of products to try, but the important-ish things for me are:
Filtered water. This is probably the big one for most families, since hydration and cooking with water can do a lot of work for your health. My friend Dr. Michelle Davenport is the source code for all of this, as water-based cooking, i.e. soups and braises, is sort of the skeleton key to longevity. Essentially, it helps lower the level of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in your food, which are these harmful compounds associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and all that bad stuff associated with the Western diet. I use an AquaTru reverse-osmosis countertop system and have been testing the Rorra filter. New York tap water, while delicious, is filled with PFAs and microplastics — not because our water-treatment infrastructure is poor, but because a lot of building pipes are really old.
Creatine. Since I’m sleepy all the time, I find that 10g of creatine daily, as recommended by Dr. Rhonda Patrick, helps mitigate brain fog and has helped me squeeze in more reps. The downside, which isn’t even really a downside, is that I’m like 17 pounds heavier than I’d like to be (my fighting weight is closer to 125 pounds).
Whey protein. I try to get 120g of protein a day, which is a lot to get from meat alone, so I often supplement with a shake or two. I like whey because its amino acid profile is more complete than, say, pea protein, which can be high in heavy metals.
Beetroot powder. Good for blood flow and heart health. For vanity purposes, I love that bodybuilders swear by the stuff because it makes your veins look cool and throbby.
Vitamin D. I’m originally from Southern California and grew up surfing, meaning getting enough sun when I was younger was never an issue. Quite naturally, I was shocked when a recent blood test revealed that I was close to being vitamin D deficient, so as a result, I’ve been supplementing with a little something extra to get through this relentless winter.
Any wellness secrets you swear by?
Hot pot night. Ideal food (soup, protein, veggies) and friends. Very communal. Good for the soul.
I’m a big believer in PEMF therapy to speed up cellular healing and get it done frequently at MOCEAN (second-favorite spot) here in New York City. It’s a game-changer, especially for nagging injuries; it should be more popular than red light, to be honest.
This is probably the millionth Mocean rec I've read! Immediately adding to my visit list. Loved Chris' feature!
It really is true: the basics and a bit of friction go so far. Bodybuilders and beetroot powder… who knew?!