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Red Pill Jr.

Red Pill Jr.

Plus: An essential skill

Geoff Girvitz
March 27, 2025

Today on Dad Strength

Red Pill Jr.
How to improve your blood panels
The 4-point foot rule
An article, a quote, a dad joke

Red Pill Jr.

“Do you know why you hear about why girls are great so much more often than you hear that boys are great?”

This wasn't some Red Pill Junior moment, in case you're wondering. It was just a description of media options in front of my son and me. Not to mention an accounting of several moments in his school curriculum.

In all seriousness, though, Paw Patrol is the worst

“Girls didn't always get a fair chance and now people are trying to fix that.” I hastily added, boys are awesome…” and then, finding myself again, “You, in particular.”

He gets it. We don't need to be brittle about this kind of thing. The world is changing and attempting to find balance. I'm at peace with that. He seems to be too. However, this is something that needed to be talked about. And his feelings will forever be important to me.

What about those who disagree? Especially in the wake of what is often described as a crisis for men?

My answer is this: If everyone else has endured these feelings for generations, anyone with a modicum of inner strength should be open to receiving them in full. That feeling should inform how you navigate your way through life.

If you feel a real sense of injustice? Great! Listen to that voice. Respond to it. But it's a light side/dark side of the Force kind of thing. You can choose bitterness and rules that apply only to you. Or you can articulate and operationalize values that will benefit everyone.

How to improve your blood panels

Fats are more than just calories. They make up the lion’s share of your brain, massively improve the efficiency of your nervous system, and make up the membranes in your cells, working as a sort of passive traffic system for nutrients entering and exiting your cells. Some fats, particularly polyunsaturated ones, help fortify cell membranes, making them more fluid and functional. Saturated fats are more rigid, which is fine, as long as they’re not your sole source of dietary fat. Trans fats—now banned throughout North America—make membranes more rigid in unnatural ways, disrupting function and increasing disease risk.

Zoom out to your blood vessels. Think of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) as a kind of arterial fibre that patrols your bloodstream, hauling excess cholesterol away from arteries and back to the liver for recycling. LDL (low-density lipoprotein), on the other hand, dumps cholesterol where it doesn’t belong—contributing to arterial plaques and bad plumbing, in general. The ratio between these two—HDL to LDL—is an important one.

Improving that ratio isn’t about avoiding fat, but about choosing better fat sources.Start with olive oil, nuts, avocados, and fatty fish like mackerel or sardines—all rich in monounsaturated and omega-3 fats that help raise HDL and lower LDL simultaneously.

For best effects, though? Movement. Exercise boosts HDL levels, while reducing triglycerides (another type of fat worth reducing). Cutting out added sugars and refined carbs reduces small,less- dense LDL particles.

While doctors still look at HDL to LDD ratios, more current thinking emphasizes the importance of markers like ApoB.

Do you need me to yell at you to get a checkup? Email me and put “checkup” in the subject line and I will do just that.

Get unbiased research on supplements, guides and more.

The 4-point foot rule

You should be able to stabilize your weight across four points in your foot, as shown here. There are exercises where this won’t/can’t matter, like throwing, jumping, and Olympic weightlifting (which is in the middle of the first two. However, for most strength training exercises, you should be able to find that weight distribution and then maintain it through a full range of motion.

You don’t have to do this but you should be able to. I consider it to be a fundamental skill for knee health.

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