Biohacking is a practice that involves making lifestyle tweaks to optimize health and promote longevity, and it is becoming increasingly popular, with the global wellness economy expected to reach $8.5 trillion in the next three years.

Biohacking methods vary per person, including diet and supplements, and can help with mental health and boredom, with some using cold-water therapy as a method for mental health.

Intermittent fasting is a biohacking pillar that can be effective under medical supervision, and it has been shown to have a profound effect on metabolism, with some studies suggesting that it can increase longevity and improve mental clarity.

However, intermittent fasting can also have negative consequences, such as worsening gastrointestinal diseases, increasing fainting risk, and leading to hormonal imbalance, and it is essential to approach it with caution and consult with a medical professional before starting.

In addition to intermittent fasting, other biohacking methods, such as high-dose supplement intake and extreme forms of exercise, can also have potential risks and side effects, and individuals should carefully examine the benefits and side effects before taking any supplements or engaging in extreme physical activity.

Some biohackers use devices to track their biological processes, collect stool samples for analysis, and track nighttime erections as a meaningful health indicator for cardiovascular health, and these methods can be effective in improving health and longevity, but they require careful consideration and medical supervision.

Leslie Kenny, a biohacking enthusiast, reversed her rheumatoid arthritis and lupus symptoms through lifestyle changes, including a plant-based diet, supplements, and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, and her biological age is 21 at 58 years old according to the GlycanAge blood test.

Biohacking can also involve medical screenings, such as the GlycanAge blood test, which can determine an individual's biological age, and it can help individuals identify areas for improvement and make informed lifestyle choices.

Overall, biohacking can be a useful tool for individuals looking to improve their health and well-being, but it is essential to approach it with caution and carefully consider the potential risks and benefits, and to consult with medical professionals before starting any new program.

It is also important to note that biohacking is not a substitute for medical treatment, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions should work with their healthcare provider to develop a personalized plan.

By combining biohacking methods, such as nutrition, physical activity, and mental health practices, individuals can potentially improve their overall health and well-being, and increase their longevity, but it is crucial to approach biohacking with a critical and nuanced perspective, recognizing both the potential benefits and the limitations and risks of various techniques.

Biohacking practices can interact with medications and worsen side effects, and some biohackers experiment with health-hazardous implants, which can cause adverse reactions and health risks.

Medical professionals warn against unregulated biohacking practices, and regulation and expert oversight are needed to minimize risks.

Bryan Johnson, a well-known biohacker, takes 111 pills daily and uses electronic devices to track his biological processes, but his methods are controversial and debated online.

Neurofeedback therapy is another biohacking practice that can retrain the brain and provide relief from symptoms of mental health issues like depression, but it is still considered experimental and not covered by insurance companies.

The effectiveness and safety of various biohacking methods are not always supported by reliable scientific data from clinical research, and more research is needed to fully understand the effects of biohacking on human health.

In conclusion, biohacking can be a powerful tool for improving health and well-being, but it is essential to approach it with caution and carefully consider the potential risks and benefits, and to consult with medical professionals before starting any new program.

Biohacking is a practice that involves making lifestyle tweaks to optimize health and promote longevity, and it is becoming increasingly popular, with the global wellness economy expected to reach $8.5 trillion in the next three years.

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'It saved my life,' ADHD, trauma, OCD patients turn to neurofeedback therapy

Posted at 8:18 AM, Apr 05, 2024
and last updated 2024-04-05 08:18:12-04

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Cracking the code to wellness is now costing Americans $1.8 trillion annually.

For the average American, that breaks down to more than $5,300 per year.

Those numbers come from the Global Wellness Summit's 2024 trends report.

The report also shows that the global wellness economy, which generated $5.6 trillion in 2022, will continue to surge and reach $8.5 trillion within the next three years.

A driver of those staggering stats is ‘biohacking,’ which is the term for do-it-yourself biology.

It has generated 951 million views on TikTok and over on Google, there's been a 900% increase in searches for ‘biohacking.’

"The way that i like to describe it is using what we know about biology to help us become better versions of ourselves," said Britney Cirillo with Alternative Therapeutics.

‘Biohacking’ can be anything from using a smartwatch to track our heart rate to jumping in an ice bath and neuro-feedback therapy.

The idea behind neuro-feedback therapy is that we can essentially re-train our brain to tackle mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, and OCD, which Emily Dean suffered from for about a decade.

"Was pretty afraid to even leave my house alone. At my worst, I was unable to care for my physical health," said Dean.

Dean ultimately needed to check into the hospital as her mental health declined.

After being discharged, she discovered neurofeedback therapy.

"It completely changed my life," said Dean.

Dean said the sessions at Alternative Therapeutics in Cuyahoga Falls provided relief that medications and traditional therapies could not.

"We're not your average counseling practice," said Cirillo.

Cirillo uses neurofeedback therapy to balance electrical activity in a patient's brain, regulating delta, theta, alpha, and beta levels.

"If any of those brainwaves are being overproduced or underproduced, that will correlate with symptoms that the client is experiencing," said Cirillo.

The goal is to essentially retrain the brain using operant conditioning, a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are rewarded.

"We tell the brain to do a certain thing when it does that certain thing, they're rewarded instantly by that video game that they're playing," Cirillo.

I was so interested in how it works that Cirillo gave me a taste of a typical session.

My goal was to keep the flames of a fire burning bright and the sound of the crackling strong while playing a game on a tablet.

Cirillo was checking to make sure my brain was in an ideal zone.

I only sat there with the tablet for a short time, but a typical therapy session lasts about 20 minutes.

"And so, with more and more practice, the brain starts to recognize what it's supposed to do and it reinforces that pathway, strengthens it to the point that that's their new normal," said Cirillo.

Despite gaining popularity during this ‘biohacking craze,’ neurofeedback therapy is still considered experimental.

"I think it's an interesting phenomenon," said Dr. Robert Lufkin with the USC School of Medicine.

Lufkin said regulating the brain could give people better outcomes when it comes to their mental health.

"I think in my opinion, this can have beneficial effects on an individual," said Lufkin.

Lufkin said regardless of what form of ‘biohacking’ people choose, it's shifting the balance of the doctor-patient relationship.

"It's certainly exploding in recent years, and I think it reflects the fact that all of us as, as patients are taking control of our own health," said Lufkin.

Dean is beyond grateful she gained control.

"Neurofeedback therapy and Alternative Therapeutics saved my life," said Dean.

After completing 20 sessions five years ago, Dean has been able to maintain her progress with a few booster sessions, along with some tools to help her navigate the world.

A world that, for years, Dean navigated with crippling fear.

"Before neurofeedback I was afraid to go to the grocery store alone. Last year, I went to California alone. That is something that I never thought would be possible for me," said Dean.

With insurance companies still considering neurofeedback therapy experimental it is not covered.

However, Cirillo said many of her clients have success when they submit for out of network reimbursement.

On average, people will need about 20 sessions to get the end results they're looking for.

Biohacking methods vary per person, including diet and supplements, and can help with mental health and boredom, with some using cold-water therapy as a method for mental health.

Title:

Content: TV legend Davinia Taylor has revealed how well she is feeling after undertaking a new lifestyle that involves biohacking.

Biohacking occurs when someone changes their nutrition and lifestyle in order to make themselves healthier. Each person who biohacks does so in a different way whether it’s cutting out alcohol, taking supplements, or engaging in anti-ageing procedures.

Davinia – who starred in Hollyoaks – has explained that her biohacking involves cold-water therapy and removing inflammatory foods from her diet.

As a result of her new lifestyle, which also includes the use of saunas and supplements, Davinia has said that she now feels healthier than she ever has before.

Speaking to Hello! Davinia said that she entered a difficult period of poor mental health after the death of her mother when she was 35.

She added: “Boredom drove me to drink and then to eat unhealthily. I don’t want to go into my 50s feeling bored, so I had to find another way to get the dopamine I crave.”

On the techniques she uses for her biohacking, Davinia reveals that one of her routine acts is taking supplements from a company she founded. Known as WillPowders which contain collagen, protein, bone broth, and MCT (a healthy form of saturated fat) they have become an essential part of her routine.

Davinia explained: “If I don’t have my morning keto creamer and collagen, I’m going to end up binging on croissants or brownies. It’s how I’m wired after my 1980s upbringing.”

This isn’t the first time Davinia has spoken about biohacking. Earlier this year she told the Evening Standard that it wasn’t a case of taking big measures to improve one’s health.

She said: “There's so much doom and gloom… There's so much doom and gloom…There are so many little hacks you can do just to make yourself feel mentally better.”

Davinia highlighted the benefits of cold-water therapy, a method she said can be cheap to access: “The water’s freezing in this country two-thirds of the time. And on the few months a year when it’s not, just go to the supermarket, buy some ice bags and empty them into the bath.”

What are the health benefits of the practice of bathing in cold water?

It may reduce depression.
It may improve brain function.

Intermittent fasting is a biohacking pillar that can be effective under medical supervision, and it has been shown to have a profound effect on metabolism, with some studies suggesting that it can increase longevity and improve mental clarity.

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The Science Behind Intermittent Fasting

The Urban Menu
 3 days ago

Intermittent fasting isn’t a new concept, nor is it a difficult one to understand. The idea is that you take in all of your calories for the day within a limited window of time, and the rest of the day, you stick with water, maybe a cup of coffee, or tea in the morning, if you feel inclined. The idea is that giving your body a period of time “off” from digesting food allows your cells to heal and renew. Intermittent fasting became popular because calorie restriction was found to contribute to healthy aging. A few mouse and worm studies seem to show that drastic reductions in food intake over a long period of time could prolong your life. The research is compelling, but actively restricting your calorie intake for long periods of time could be a rough path to enjoyable longevity. The goal is not to be thin, frail, distractible, or preoccupied with food. Rather vibrant and full of zest. There is a way to eat big strapping meals of steak and veggies smothered in butter without worrying about calories. All while maintaining muscle mass and having enough energy to go on long hikes. Pushing off breakfast for a few hours gives me all of the benefits of calorie restriction, without all the misery. Fasting is the way to be able to eat a cake when you feel like it without having to worry about the fat gain. It offers many of the same benefits of calorie restriction – increases longevity, neuroprotection, regulates insulin sensitivity, stronger resistance to stress, beneficial effects on endogenous hormone production, boosted mental clarity, and more – but without the active, agonizing restriction. [caption id="attachment_6620" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Photo by freepic.diller on Freepik[/caption] You can eat meat and vegetables with plenty of animal fat, and skip meals on occasion. A sixteen-hour fast is on the low-but-still-effective end, or you could opt for longer, more intermittent fasts – say, a full twenty-four hours once or twice a week. When you’re done with the fast, eat as much as you want. It essentially turns into “eat when you’re hungry,” because let’s face it: eating the types of foods we evolved to eat induces powerful satiety and makes eating the right amount of food a subconscious act. Fasting becomes a whole lot easier (and intuitive) when you’ve got your food quality dialed in. You’ll hear that you should never exercise on an empty stomach. You’ll hear that fasted training will burn your muscles and cause you to waste away. You’ll hear that performance will surely suffer. None of these things are necessarily true – and they are even less so if you are well- adapted to a low-carb eating strategy. Fasted training can actually result in better metabolic adaptations (which mean better performance down the line), improved muscle protein synthesis, and a higher anabolic response to post-workout feeding (you’ll earn your meal and make more muscle out of it if you train on an empty stomach). Studies on Muslim athletes during Ramadan show no effect on performance while fasting, as well as a more favorable lipid profile in those who exercise and fast rather than just fast. When you train in a fasted state, glycogen breakdown is blunted and more fat is burned, leaving you more glycolytic energy in the tank for when you really need it and less body fat. Those are just a sampling of the benefits to fasted training; there are dozens more. [caption id="attachment_6621" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
Photo by vershinin89 on Freepik[/caption] A lot of health influencers will tell you that failure to eat something every few hours will cause mental fog and sluggishness, so keep a banana or a granola bar on your person at all times. Of course, this is all based on an assumption that we need to supply exogenous carbs on a regular basis to properly fuel the brain. This notion that fasting is only the province of anorexics or “caveman” has kept many people from experiencing the vast array of benefits. I maintain that one’s comfort in handling intermittent fasting effortlessly does increase dramatically when you’ve reprogrammed those cells (and genes) to predispose your body to derive most of your day-to-day energy from fat, as opposed to constantly dipping into glycogen stores as happens when we rely so much on refeeding carbs every few hours. Overall, fasting just seems right. It’s like a reset button for your entire body, presumably across a large spectrum of maladies and dysfunctions. It puts your body into repair mode – at the cellular level – and it can restore normal hormonal function in the obese or overweight. It is definitely an interesting thing to consider. Have you ever tried intermittent fasting?

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Content: Home » biohacking, reprogramming mind and body to live better

biohacking, reprogramming mind and body to live better

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It’s called “biohacking” and it comes from Silicon Valley. Listen: The long life diet: the longevity formula is calorie restriction …

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It’s called “biohacking” and comes from Silicon Valley.

A relatively new word that comes from the union of “biology” and “hacker” and indicates the attempt to positively influence the functioning of the organism, by hacking, ie trying to “force”, one’s genetic heritage. A strategy to live better and longer launched years ago by Californian top managers and which then spread throughout the world. How to upgrade the “operating system” of the human body? No manipulation, here we are talking about “reprogramming” and new lifestyles. “Our genetic heritage has enormous unexpressed potential that can be activated,” he explains Fabio Piccinidoctor and psychoanalyst, researcher of Food Sciences of theMarche Polytechnic University, author of the book “Biohacking Techniques: how to optimize metabolism to increase health and longevity”. “Biohacking aims to activate epigenetic modifications by awakening dormant genes to enhance the body’s resources.” While genetics studies the structure of DNA, epigenetics the way genes express themselves, i.e. how much they are turned on or off. “We’re talking about a set of strategies that aim to strengthen the body from a physical and mental point of view, first of all through nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, cognitive stimulation”. One of the pillars of biohacking and the intermittent fasting, Piccini adds, which plans to concentrate the diet in a precise time span of the day (to be followed always under medical supervision). «But it is equally important to take care of sleep, we know very well that sleep debt accelerates aging and that 30-40 percent of people sleep too little. Just as it is essential to check thehydration. Physical training must also be intermittent, with recovery periods in place to allow the muscle layers to rebuild. And then, you have to keep learning something at any age, another pillar of biohacking: studying music or a new language, for example, to counteract cognitive degeneration”.

See also  The dashboard of Xbox Series X will have a higher resolution-

THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Sandra Milo is one of the supporters of this well-being and longevity strategy. «I’m lucky, at 90 I’m in full health and I still have a great desire to enjoy life. I don’t know if it’s a matter of genetics, nor do I think there is a “magic formula” of longevity, but I have certainly always been careful to lead a healthy life. There is nothing more beautiful than reaching old age with a smile and in full autonomy », says the actress who baptized the first Biohacking Suite in Rome. “Our mission is not so much to lengthen life but to improve its quality by lowering the rate of morbidity,” explains Dr. Claudio Urbani, specialist in regenerative medicine, neuroscience and stress therapy, head of the longevity center Umb. «Biohacking aims to modify dormant functional responses from non-use, from muscular or cardiovascular function to flexibility. It is about regaining possession of the body and the mind-body axis, starting with stress management». Diagnosing your own state of “aging” involves a series of tests. «The measurement of oxidative stress which measures the quantity of free radicals and indicates any inflammatory states, plethysmography to evaluate the functionality of the microcirculation of the legs, impedancemetry to study body composition, fat and lean mass, nutritional status and hydration level. And only after the check is a tailor-made program created for each person. Among the suggested therapies, there is also that of the cold which stimulates the metabolism and reduces inflammation ».

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According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

However, intermittent fasting can also have negative consequences, such as worsening gastrointestinal diseases, increasing fainting risk, and leading to hormonal imbalance, and it is essential to approach it with caution and consult with a medical professional before starting.

Title:

Content: Experts are increasingly talking about the negative consequences of intermittent fasting
1: 39
Recent studies show that intermittent fasting can have dangerous health effects and have a negative impact on the endocrine system.
Endocrinologists warn of the risks associated with this type of diet and recommend being cautious when using it.
“Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract associated with erosive and ulcerative processes, as well as cholelithiasis can worsen against the background of interval fasting.
People with weakened immunity and low blood pressure can not tolerate long intervals between meals, which increases the likelihood of developing fainting conditions.
Before you decide to resort to this method, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination and get permission from the doctor, ” noted nutritionist and nutritionist Daria Rusakova in a comment for Pravda.ru.
One of the main dangers of intermittent fasting is that it can lead to hormonal imbalance.
Fasting for long periods of time can cause stress in the body, which can lead to an increase in cortisol levels.
This can cause a variety of problems, including a change in appetite, sleep disturbance, and deterioration of the thyroid gland.
In addition, intermittent fasting can reduce the metabolic rate, which can make weight loss more difficult.
The body can begin to store energy and slow down metabolism, which can lead to a weakening of fat burning.
Blogger lost 10 kg on an interval diet
Author Larisa Sokolova
Larisa Sokolova — journalist, correspondent interviewer of Pravda.Ru
Editor Kirill Yanchitsky
Kirill Yanchitsky – Publishing editor of Pravda.Ru.
Specialist Ponomaryova Alla
Chief Physician ON CLINIC on Arbat
Specialist Sergey Shcherbakov
Conducts diagnostics and treatment of the entire spectrum of endocrine diseases, including thyroid diseases, type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, low growth, osteoporosis, problems associated with hair loss, gynecomastia in men
Specialist Eliseeva Victoria
Is engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as overweight, obesity, impaired carbohydrate metabolism, impaired glucose tolerance, glycemia, thyroid diseases, adrenal diseases, pituitary diseases, osteoporosis, hyperprolactinemia

What are the side effects of intermittent fasting?

In addition to intermittent fasting, other biohacking methods, such as high-dose supplement intake and extreme forms of exercise, can also have potential risks and side effects, and individuals should carefully examine the benefits and side effects before taking any supplements or engaging in extreme physical activity.

Title:

Content: New superhuman brains.
About drugs that make you smarter and more miserable!
Entrepreneur and programmer Dave Asbury ’ s mornings may not seem different at first glance than anyone else ’ s.
Dave wakes up and takes his young children to school, then comes home and makes himself a breakfast of coffee and butter.
Then, he walks into his office, reaches out to a corner, pulls several capsules out of boxes that look like medicine, and then starts working.
[1] Here it is.
Everything is normal, until we discover that the capsules he takes are not really drugs, but drugs.
Dave ’ s use of these drugs cannot be considered strange: throughout human history, before civilizations even existed, drugs accompanied humans.
For the damage that may lead the individual to death, some found in them an escape from the worries and burdens of life, although the price they will pay for this is high.
What is really strange is that what Dave, and many others, want from taking a certain type of drug is the complete opposite of all this; he doesn ’ t want to get away with it every morning; he wants to indulge more in it and manipulate it to his advantage; he wants to become smarter, more productive, richer.
Dave ’ s drugs are neither weed nor opioid, nor are they similar to any other familiar drug, Dave taking nootropics, or “smart ” drugs.
The chemist C.C. didn't have a clue.
Giragia Yuma said that the word he invented as the name for the drug Pristam, which he installed in his laboratory one day in 1964, would become so popular 60 years later.
The name of this compound came from the combination of the Greek words "nos", which means brain, and "tropin", which means "me," and created in his laboratory the first drug that he hopes will succeed in bending the brain of those who use it.
[2] Like any medicine.
Another, Gergea designed the prestam as a treatment, and he hoped it would help patients with brain and cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer ’ s in the elderly and speech disorders in children.
But most Nutrobix users now are often completely healthy individuals with no brain abnormality, and do not aim to cure themselves of a disease.
[3]
Smart drug users are also different from any other type of drug users: they are not marginalized groups or young Magna people who dose drugs in dark dens or raucous parties; nootropics are some of the world ’ s finest college students and some of the brightest tech minds in Silicon Valley, the tech heartland of San Francisco.
By taking drugs that are mostly made for people with cognitive disorders as a result of mental illness, these brilliant students and programmers want to enhance their ability to learn, focus and think creatively to become smarter, which seems to be happening under the influence of these drugs.
Phoebe, a history student at a prestigious university in England, describes the impact of nootropics on her in an interview with The Guardian: “These drugs help you work, so you can study longer without distractions.
You feel like going to the library on your own, and you don ’ t even want to take a lunch break.
You look at the clock and it ’ s 7: 00 p.m., but you can still keep going. ”
Johnny, a student at the same university, describes his first experience with drugs: "I had a strange feeling, I remember sitting in the exam and thinking, 'This is terrible!
Oh, my God!
I feel as if I ’ m going to lose consciousness, ” but at the same time I could remember everything, whole paragraphs remembered word for word.
That was great. "[4]
It all sounds really cool, taking a few pills in the morning gives you an incredible ability to work and think.
But, as anyone who has ever taken a drug knows, every drug has side effects that range in severity, from mild things like a headache to symptoms as severe as the disease for which you took it, and additional drugs have to be taken to treat it.
So what are the side effects of entropy?
There aren ’ t enough studies to answer this question, but many people ’ s long-term experience with Nutrobox has never been promising.
Writer and journalist Kate Miller tells her story with those drugs that she started taking after a student in her final year of university, continuing with her after entering her career.
At first, everything seemed great, she found that she could concentrate for long hours and work tirelessly until late at night, and with all this, she was able to maintain a good social life.
But not long after, the ugly face of Nootropics revealed itself to her: Kate became an addict.
In her New York Times article, Kate recounts what she went through: “I was fooling myself when I thought I could stay balanced while taking these drugs, when I thought the benefits outweighed the harm.
I started to increase the doses I was taking, and then, I found myself spending long nights flipping over in bed and falling asleep, my mind racing and my heart beating violently.
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was reach out to take the pills again.
My body started getting used to these drugs, and then I lost their effect, so I started to increase the dose.
I would take it if I found myself yawning after I turned off the alarm.
I turned into a wreck, always angry and lost my ability to connect with the world. ”
Kate reached the point where she found her life was falling apart on all levels, and here came her decision to stop taking those drugs once and for all.
But what no one has told her is that stopping itself will be difficult, as nitrobix, like other drugs, leaves its users at the beginning of quitting defenseless in front of a barrage of painful withdrawal symptoms.
“I found myself sleeping during meetings and I couldn ’ t finish my work before the deadline.
I also began to feel very hungry and began to eat heavily.
This disorder left me with a very fragile and sensitive brain chemistry, and my weight gain and late work only made matters worse.
It was hard for me to understand at the time that what I was going through was withdrawal symptoms; no one had warned me about the side effects of these drugs. ”
Phoebe and Jonny, students who had been helped by Nootropics during the exam period, soon noticed the bad effect on them; Phoebe began to feel severe pain in her stomach, and Jimmy felt that he was becoming too dependent on her for everything, and he ate it every morning without really needing it.
Fortunately, before they went through Kate ’ s bad experience, the Taliban gave up Nutropics altogether.
Even Dave Asbury, an entrepreneur who takes huge amounts of nootropics every morning and founded a company that makes coffee mixed with the drugs, has developed a severe allergy to certain foods that he has been eating normally throughout his life.
In a paper in the journal Clinical Neuroscience, researchers Farid Taleh and Jane Aglotti found that many Nutrobix drugs cause side effects ranging in severity from diarrhea, headaches, dizziness and insomnia, to memory loss, identity disorders and motor system deficiencies.
The research also included a case study of four individuals between the ages of 17 and 28 who were taken to the hospital emergency room after a nervous breakdown. [6] Here, we find ourselves faced with a more important question: Why would people with high levels of intelligence resort to drugs that may add to their intelligence even deeper, but they may also have side effects that no one knows are serious?
[7]
Tim Farris, an entrepreneur and renowned author of human development books, has no real qualms about the long-term side effects of nootropics.
Speaking to CNN, after he started talking about the amount of pressure entrepreneurs are under today, he concluded: “Just like an Olympian who is willing to do anything, even if he reduces his age to five years, to win a gold medal, you ’ ll think about any drugs you take to become smarter. ”
[8]
Jeff Wu, a software engineer who set up a company that specializes in manufacturing nootropics, goes on to say, “Creativity and high mental performance are the only ways you can succeed in Silicon Valley.
I liken tech and finance to professional athletes, so the only way for your team, product or project to be successful is to have a comparative advantage over competitors. ”
It ’ s not just the tech industry, Wu adds: “To become smarter and more productive is to meet modern day standards of success. ”
If some people seem willing to swallow poorly researched drugs without suffering from a real disease just to increase their ability to produce something strange, you ’ ve never heard of the term and the practices that these drugs and many other strange practices include: body hacking, or “biohacking. ”
As a programmer or engineer might look at a computer looking for ways to develop it, biohackers are trying through methods that vary in extremes, from intermittent fasting to injecting themselves with stem cells, to make their bodies and brains better, stronger, healthier.
At first glance, this may not seem like a bad thing, so who wouldn ’ t want to be the best possible version of themselves?
But what ’ s interesting about this is that their desire to develop their bodies and brains stops at the point where these bodies and brains are more productive, and does not go beyond them to other areas of life, where none of the body hackers, for example, thought about creating a drug that by taking it more willing to help others in their distress.
Faced with the large number of people who are willing to take Nutropics to increase their production capacity, neuroscientist Anders Sandberg found in a study that only 9% of people are willing to take a drug that makes them more empathetic or kinder.
This increased use of nootropics and the willingness to manipulate the very composition of the body in order to increase production is itself a symptom of a civilizational disease that envelops our world today: the obsession with success at any cost.
The Guardian ’ s Carol Gadwallar says of this: “In the 1960s, sedatives were known as the little helper of mothers.
Today, however, Futropics is a small aid to capitalism.
“It ’ s just another symptom of a world dominated by competition where everyone is looking for a comparative advantage that puts them above others. ”
[10] Neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee says: "Today, from the moment of their birth until their death, people only know about running in a rat race.
We are overwhelmed by the feeling that there are a limited number of prizes on the horizon and that everyone is competing for them.
It ’ s hard and you ’ re willing to do anything to win. ”
[11]
In this world governed by machines and numbers, we are also expected to become machines: machines that wake up in the morning and work tirelessly until evening falls, and everything is ultimately governed by numbers.
How successful you are depends on how much you produce each day, which at the end of the month will translate into how much you make.
Your salary or wealth is no longer just a means to provide you with a decent life, but has become a kind of obsession, everyone wants to be successful in a modern culture that values only material values, and defies those who fail the test of making money.
In such a culture, it is not surprising to find people willing to swallow drugs with unknown side effects in order to be better.
Isn ’ t that, in one way or another, what modern culture imposes on us all today, working to burn and losing some of life ’ s simplest pleasures just to live properly and escape the stigma of failure?
The question remains: Is there then a relentless pursuit of success, what kind of happiness?
Or is the summit nothing more than a glittering image of something really empty and cold and lonely?
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Sources:
1.
I ’ m The Guy Who Created Bulletproof Coffee – This Is My Morning Routine
2.
Nootropic
3.
Under pressure, Silicon Valley workers turn to LSD microdosing
4.
Students used to take drugs to get high.
Now they take them to get higher grades
5.
The Last All-Nighter
6.
Probable Nootropicinduced Psychiatric Adverse Effects: A Series of Four Cases
7.
My smart drugs nightmare
8. smart drugs: what silicon valley is on
9.
Under Pressure: Silicon Valley workers turn to lsd
10.
Students used to take drugs to get high.
Now they take them to get higher grades
11.
Under Pressure: Silicon Valley workers turn to lsd
Source: The Island
About this story
“Narcissism ” is a widespread term, often misused to describe anyone who abuses us.
But in fact, a little bit of narcissism will do you good -- this report looks at the evolution of the concept of narcissism over the past decades.
6 / 10 / 2017
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Content: 18 +
• Health
• Health
Health care
Naive biohacking: why is it dangerous to take vitamins “just in case ” and is it true that hacking the body is the way to nowhere (and not to eternal life)
To live longer (for herself and her family), to avoid cancer and heart disease, biohacking enthusiast (now in the past!) and lifestyle podcaster Teresa Skrobanek conducted an experiment and plunged into the world of a thousand and one supplements for longevity.
Whose infectious example was she inspired by?
What was the danger of taking her medicine for diabetes and vitamin B capsules (it is recommended for everyone to calm down!)?
After what biohacking did Teresa really feel better?
Let ’ s share her story.
Master1305
Biohacking experiment
At the end of 2022, Teresa Skrobanek, a responsible mother and grandmother, decided to try to include “longevity ” supplements in her diet.
The general goal is to live as long as possible (for yourself and your family) and avoid breast cancer and heart disease, the risk of which is higher in women over fifty (and Teresa was 57 at the time).
Anti-age drugs were prescribed by a doctor, but, apparently, the specialist was free to relate to the ratio of anamnesis and goals of taking drugs.
In April 2023, Teresa discovered that the capsules in her medicine cabinet were metformin, which is usually prescribed to patients with type II diabetes.
Although the woman did not suffer from this disease, the doctor prescribed the drug due to the fact that the results of the studies were encouraging (but not guaranteed!) - it helps to fight aging
Teresa has also tried over-the-counter drugs, such as nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplements, which supposedly, but not proven, speed up metabolism and reduce signs of growing up.
According to the experimentalist, she followed the example of the brightest biohacker – IT billionaire Brian Johnson, who takes about two dozen supplements a day, uses at least 7 skin creams and annually spends $2 million on unusual procedures to restore youth (for example, bowel photos, blood transfusions, weekly acid peels and laser therapy).
20 supplements a day and no rejuvenation
The more and longer Teresa took the drugs, the more she doubted.
Feeling worse, and Skrobanek plunged headlong into the study of dietary supplements - the results were contradictory.
For example, studies have shown that the widely advertised low-age supplements of nicotinamide riboside (a form of vitamin B3) increase the risk of brain cancer.
And the unpleasant consequences of the use of metformin (remember, Teresa took the medicine for diabetes, not being a diabetic!) were headaches, drowsiness and anxiety.
“I started to have a headache.
I felt very tired, although the pills were supposed to give me strength, ” Skrobanek told The New York Post, with whom she shared her entire story.
How do I know that taking these substances will not harm my kidneys or liver and will not cause cancer in 5-10 years? ”
beast01
Errors made by Teresa, which can not be made by biohackers novice
At TikTok, where the hashtag # BioHacking has garnered more than half a billion views, proponents of the biohacking movement boast of swallowing 70 to 150 different rejuvenating dietary supplements every day.
For example, to slow down the aging process, businessman Joe Cohen takes rapamycin, an FDA-approved drug that a 2014 study found could help increase life expectancy.
However, Cohen told The Post that he does not recommend a strict regime to his followers: mindlessly copying from and to the anti-age program of trendsetters is dangerous!
Instead, an experienced biohacker (Joe says he ’ s been studying this phenomenon for 20 years!) encourages newcomers to take blood tests first to determine the body ’ s biological needs and deficiencies, carefully examine the benefits and side effects of any supplements, and take only what seems right.
Cohen clarifies: “By understanding your physiology, you can take certain medications that will boost your energy, mood, and chances of avoiding age-related illnesses.
Preserving health is much more important than simply prolonging existence. ”
According to the businessman, his goal is to live as long and healthy a life as possible (and not necessarily up to 150 years)!
Roman Samborskyi
If not biohacking, then what (spoiler: food)
New York City Nutrition nutritionist Diana Rodriguez agrees with Cohen.
But to start your way to longevity offers still not with tablets, but with a healthy diet: “It is recommended to use food as the first method of preventing dangerous diseases.
Fruits, vegetables, low-fat proteins, nuts and legumes, in which "tons" of vitamins and minerals, can be very useful. "
Increasing nutrient intake through organic whole foods is something Teresa Scrobanek started doing in June 2023, when she gave up the supplement diet once and for all.
And she never felt better:
“If a long life meant that I got it with terrible side effects due to taking supplements, then I would prefer a shorter, but better life, which is based on proper nutrition and training, ” concluded Teresa.
The editors remind that drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements and food products have contraindications.
A specialist consultation is required.
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Comments (0)

Some biohackers use devices to track their biological processes, collect stool samples for analysis, and track nighttime erections as a meaningful health indicator for cardiovascular health, and these methods can be effective in improving health and longevity, but they require careful consideration and medical supervision.

Title:

Content: Millionaire Bryan Johnson takes 111 pills a day and wears a 'jet pack' to bio-hack his body into aging backward

Bryan Johnson, a millionaire gave an interview to TIME recently and said that he takes 111 pills a day to reverse his biological age.

He also claimed to use various electronic devices to track the biological processes in his body. For example, he wears a baseball cap that projects a red light onto his scalp.

He also collects his own stool samples for analysis. Furthermore, Johnson sleeps with a 'tiny jet' pack attached to his penis to track his night-time erections.

Why millionaire Bryan Johnson takes 111 pills daily?

Johnson wants to reverse biological aging in his body and aims to get his 46-year-old organs to function like 18-year-old's.

He eats his dinner at 11 am. He starts the day with a "green giant" smoothie, which includes collagen, spermidine and creatine, according to the Fortune report. According to reports, he's worth $400 million.

Bryan Johnson claims that these pills help him reverse the biological process of aging, hence helping him stay young for longer. Monitoring his body processes helps him understand his body's requirements, helping him plan his meals and supplement intake accordingly.

Johnson made his fortune in his 30s when he sold his company Braintree Payment Solutions to EBay for $800 million in cash. He told podcast host Steven Barnett:

"Everyone should know these three things: (how) much you weigh, how fast you're aging, and the duration of your nighttime erections."

He added:

'This data is really important because it represents psychological health and sexual health."

He also drives his electric Audi extremely slowly, around 16 miles per hour on the streets of Los Angeles. According to the TIME report:

"Driving is the most dangerous thing we do. What would be more beautiful irony than me getting hit by a bus and dying?"

He even swapped his blood with his teenage son to help him reverse his aging. According to the aforementioned Fortune report, he takes daily body fat scans and routine MRIs, monitored by a team of 30 doctors. His team of doctors calls this plan the "Project Blueprint".

When asked about cardiovascular health, Bryan Johnson said:

"Cardiovascular health (for people are not familiar) you can go to the gym and build big biceps or whatever, but people are not familiar that nighttime erections are actually a meaningful health indicator."

It's not known whether these practices help reverse age or not. Bryan Johnson's way of tackling premature aging is controversial and is heavily debated online.

Indranil Biswas is a nutritionist and personal trainer with a diploma in dietetics and personal training with a specialization in sports nutrition and strength training.

What do you think of this story? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Edited by Bhargav

Leslie Kenny, a biohacking enthusiast, reversed her rheumatoid arthritis and lupus symptoms through lifestyle changes, including a plant-based diet, supplements, and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, and her biological age is 21 at 58 years old according to the GlycanAge blood test.

Title:

Content: I’m 58 but have a biological age of 21 – this is how I did it

After eight rounds of failed fertility treatments and a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, Leslie Kenny changed her lifestyle with the aim of reducing inflammation – the results, she says, were dramatic

Leslie Kenny was 39 and had endured eight rounds of failed fertility treatments, including IVF using a donor egg, when her doctor delivered even more bad news: the pain she’d been feeling in her wrists and fingers was rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and her blood tests showed signs of the disabling autoimmune condition lupus.

“The doctor prescribed me immunosuppressants and said, ‘You have five good years left’,” Kenny says. “I don’t know what that meant but I took it as ‘that’s all you’ve got’ – that this was the end. I was crushed.”

Lupus is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues and causes inflammation that can cause permanent damage to the skin, joints, heart, lungs, kidneys and even the brain. There is no known cure, although it may relapse and remit. RA, another autoimmune condition, affects the joints leading to inflammation and thickening in the joints, which causes pain and reduced mobility. Again, there are treatments available, but it cannot be cured.

That bombshell diagnosis came in 2004. Today, Kenny is 58 and a slim, healthy woman with boundless energy. Her arthritis and lupus – a diagnosis she now questions – have gone into remission. But more than that, she appears to have beat the ageing process: recent blood tests show her biological age is just 21.

She took the “GlycanAge” blood test while attending a conference on longevity in the US. It is offered by a London-based bioinformatics company and measures levels of inflammation in your body. The results are based on determining the process of ageing as an accumulation of damage to your body over time by over-activation of the immune system, leading to inflammation of the tissues and cells. The result generates an estimated “biological age” depending on the average level of inflammation observed in the body at various points during a normal lifespan.

“Inflammation is the thing that I have been paying attention to for the last 19 years, so I suppose it’s not a surprise,” Kenny says.

Kenny is likely one of only a handful of people who could achieve such results. She is one of a breed of ‘biohacking’ devotees who swear by putting cutting-edge research into cell rejuvenation into practice in their own lives to keep their bodies and minds young, and to fight off the common causes of ageing, including inflammation, high blood sugar and cardiovascular degeneration.

The most well known of these biohackers is Bryan Johnson, the American multi-millionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist. At 46, he spends $2m (£1.5m) a year on treatments and techniques – including restricting calories, taking large amounts of daily supplements, a strict sleep schedule that involves early nights and very early mornings, and blood transfusions – in an attempt to stop the ageing process.

He claims to have reversed his heart age by five years and has the lung capacity of an 18-year-old. Of his particular quest, Kenny reflects: “That very British saying ‘horses for courses’ comes to mind… but he is biohacking for immortality, whereas I prefer to think of myself as ‘bioharmonising’ for a healthy lifespan.”

Kenny is the co-founder of a not-for-profit group, the Oxford Longevity Project, whose aim is to get the latest groundbreaking ideas and research findings on anti-ageing and longevity to the widest possible audience – and she’s testing them out on her own body.

She set up the organisation with Oxford biologist Professor Denis Noble; Dr Paul Ch’en, a GP with a special interest in the ageing process; and academic and multiple marathon runner Sir Christopher Ball. Kenny brings lived experience as a patient who has seen her own health transformed by putting the latest academic findings into practice.

It was the shock of such a devastating diagnosis at such a young age that prompted Kenny to start doing her own research into autoimmune conditions and inflammation. It encouraged her to turn away from the pharmaceutical answers given by her doctors and find a new approach.

“I did try immunosuppressants and I really hated them. You had to jab yourself in the tummy. There are lots of bruises and it hurts. I just felt I shouldn’t be doing this,” she explains. “I have more of an Asian philosophical orientation, of the idea of bringing the body into balance rather than ‘let’s squash this symptom’. What I wanted to do was bring the body back into harmony.”

Back in 2004 the internet was still in its relative infancy, but patient groups had already started forming to share information on common health conditions. Kenny searched for anything she could find about the link between autoimmune disorders and inflammation in the body. She found there were common causes of inflammation including poor diet, lack of sleep, stress and undiagnosed allergies.

Kenny quit her job (she was, at the time, running a matchmaking agency) to reduce stress and improve sleep, and then overhauled her diet. Allergy testing found she was reacting to wheat and dairy, so she cut both out, and also reduced her sugar intake.

“At the time the idea that sugar was bad for you was kind of a new thing, but I removed sugar from my diet as much as I could and then took lots of foods that were anti-inflammatory,” she says. This involved a largely plant-based diet, also including oily fish such as salmon, lots of extra virgin olive oil and plant milks. She followed guidance from Dr Barry Sears, whose bestselling book The Zone Anti-Inflammatory Diet, had been recently released.

Then, after much discussion with autoimmune sufferers in the US, Kenny took a very radical – and expensive – step: online patient networks in the US were recommending intravenous immunoglobulin, a treatment that resets the immune system by replacing antibodies in your blood but was not recommended on the NHS. Kenny underwent two eight-hour blood transfusions at a hospital in Denver, Colorado in the United States, costing £24,000 and funded by health insurance provided by her then-husband’s employer. It is offered as a treatment for some conditions on the NHS, but not for lupus or RA.

Six months later her blood results had been reversed. The three readings her doctor was monitoring – C Reactive Protein, cytokines and TNFalpha, all of which measure inflammation and the function of the immune system – had reduced rapidly. Her doctor reported that her lupus appeared to be in full remission and she was free of disease and in control of her arthritis symptoms.

Kenny’s rapid success at improving her health kicked off a passion for self-management of illness and ageing that has defined her last two decades. “I really feel that patients need to have a chance of a fair fight,” she says, adding that not everyone can afford expensive blood infusions, but there are many things we can all do cheaply to improve our health.

Living in Oxford and surrounded by academics, Kenny began discussing her results with local friends and neighbours, including Lachlan MacKinnon, who was working on commercialising biotechnology for the Oxford Science Enterprise. He introduced her to Prof Katja Simon and Dr Ghada Alsaleh, who were both working at the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology at Oxford University at the time, who had discovered something quite surprising – spermidine. “He [Lachlan] said, ‘It’s a terrible name, but it’s really interesting because it seems to be helping with the immune system’.”

In mice, spermidine – a polyamine found in high levels in plants such as mushrooms and fermented foods – was able to boost antibody levels in elderly subjects, keeping the immune system strong, and activate the process of autophagy: a natural cell rejuvenation process that usually happens during periods of fasting.

You may have heard the word recently due to Rishi Sunak’s commitment to a 48-hour fast every week. Consuming spermidine is believed to make the same cellular process happen, but without the inconvenience of starvation. Studies are ongoing but the first published papers also show the same effect in humans as mice.

Kenny has been taking a spermidine supplement ever since, and now promotes these findings alongside other new research through the Oxford Longevity Project.

Kenny also follows a ketogenic diet, very low in carbohydrate and higher in protein, which some academic research shows can help to preventing and treat diabetes, controlling blood sugar spikes and reducing inflammation.

Kenny’s daily routine also includes supplements of collagen, antioxidant-rich raw cacao, and glutathione, which helps repair tissues. She takes HRT to manage her body’s transition through the menopause and says the progesterone helps with restful sleep.

Two days a week she fasts for 16 hours, but she admits “I’m not slavish about it”. More important is the foods you do eat. “The Japanese drink and smoke like chimneys but they only lose four years of life to this, but in the UK we lose 10. It’s because they’re microdosing every day with green tea, they’re eating natto, which is full of spermidine; they’re eating fish full of Omega 3, and lots of fermented foods.”

Kenny walks her dog for at least 30 minutes a day and has an active life. She uses katsu bands, a product from Japan similar to a blood pressure cuff, which pulls the blood into one limb for 30 seconds then when it releases “the blood hits the pituitary gland and says ‘I’ve been lifting heavy weights’, and sends hormones to repair the body,” she explains.

She also uses an inversion chair – a small stool that makes doing a headstand easy for anyone, whatever their age – that trains the core and stimulates the vagus nerve, responsible for the regulation of organ functions such as digestion, heart rate and respiratory rate.

The efforts of figures like Kenny are being watched by experts. Vasa Curcin, professor of health informatics at King’s College London, says the “exciting work” going on among the global community of biohackers is “a huge opportunity to raise awareness and identify challenges for novel therapies and lifestyle tech interventions”.

But he adds: “We need to start considering pragmatic methods that would allow for these efforts to stop being just anecdotal evidence and start contributing to larger knowledge bases to support scientifically rigorous validation studies.”

So what is Kenny’s advice to the rest of us? “The most important thing is to get started and just do one thing. Whether that’s diet or putting a weight by the kettle and doing a bicep curl while you boil it. Just ask yourself to do it once a week, and the next week do it twice a week. Do it slowly and then it becomes a habit.”

Most Read By Subscribers

Biohacking can also involve medical screenings, such as the GlycanAge blood test, which can determine an individual's biological age, and it can help individuals identify areas for improvement and make informed lifestyle choices.

Overall, biohacking can be a useful tool for individuals looking to improve their health and well-being, but it is essential to approach it with caution and carefully consider the potential risks and benefits, and to consult with medical professionals before starting any new program.

It is also important to note that biohacking is not a substitute for medical treatment, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions should work with their healthcare provider to develop a personalized plan.

Title:

Content: Support Your Freedom to Speak:
A Community of Biohackers & Transhumanists "Ending the Blight..." ☠ with Justin of LongeCity.org
jroseland
137 Subscribers
49 views
Published Yesterday

My interview with Justin Loew of The Immortality Institute aka Longecity forum, the most popular online community of Biohackers and Transhumanists. Their ambitious mission is to end the blight of involuntary death.

1:50 More than just a forum

3:58 The mission

10:80 How does Longecity support anti-aging research

13:05 How can people contribute to anti-aging science

17:50 Are there any research projects specific to supplements?

20:22 What I love about Longecity

25:00 Human rejuvenation

26:16 "Smart drugs are the gateway drug to anti-aging"

27:10 Justin's interest in anti-aging

30:20 Evangelizing longevity (and Transhumanism?)

34:20 Risk-averse biohacking

43:10 What do you do for personal development?

44:50 Is virtual reality an addictive trap? Meta?

47:16 Popular threads - Is it possible to eradicate fear? Visiting Chernobyl?

About Longecity 📑 Everything mentioned here

https://www.limitlessmindset.com/websites/1287-longecity-org

👉 Join the forum

https://www.limitlessmindset.com/LongeCity

💲 Support LongeCity

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🤝 Connect on LongeCity with

Justin http://www.longecity.org/forum/user/27-mind/

Jonathan http://www.longecity.org/forum/user/28661-jroseland/

Confused?

Invest at least $150 in your Biohacking and get a helpful 30-minute free Biohacking consulting call with me. See my recommended Nootropics sources and Biohacking products here:

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I'm not a doctor, medical professional, or trained therapist. I'm a researcher and pragmatic biohacking practitioner exercising free speech to share evidence as I find it. I make no claims. Please practice skepticism and rational critical thinking. You should consult a professional about any serious decisions that you might make about your health. Affiliate links here support Limitless Mindset.

Content Copyright LimitlessMindset.com. All Rights Reserved.

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By combining biohacking methods, such as nutrition, physical activity, and mental health practices, individuals can potentially improve their overall health and well-being, and increase their longevity, but it is crucial to approach biohacking with a critical and nuanced perspective, recognizing both the potential benefits and the limitations and risks of various techniques.

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Biohacking & Toxic Masculinity: How Women Dismantled The Boys Club

Author: Medical reviewer:
Beauty & Health Editor
By Jamie Schneider
Beauty & Health Editor
Jamie Schneider is the Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.
Medical review by
Bindiya Gandhi, M.D.
Physician
Dr. Bindiya Gandhi is an American Board Family Medicine–certified physician who completed her family medicine training at Georgia Regents University/Medical College of Georgia.
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We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

Take a quick search for “biohacker” on TikTok (a tag with over 137 million views), and you’ll discover a slew of men discussing their muscle gains, testosterone levels, and cold plunge routines. You’ll see some women on the page, but the space is undoubtedly dominated by male energy. And think of the outspoken biohackers you may listen to on podcasts—chances are most of them are men, too.

This gendered approach to biohacking, while pervasive, is simply misguided. But now, women are asserting their authority in health optimization, and we expect their emphasis to soar in the year ahead.

Meet the experts

Molly Maloof. M.D.

Molly Maloof. M.D. provides health optimization and personalized medicine to high-achieving entrepreneurs, investors, and technology executives. Since 2012, she has worked as an advisor or consultant to more than 50 companies in the digital health, consumer health, and biotechnology industries. Her company, Adamo Bioscience, is working on sexual health optimization.

Gabrielle Lyon, D.O.

Gabrielle Lyon, D.O. is a board-certified family physician leading a disruption in modern medicine that focuses on the largest organ in the body: skeletal muscle. With a background that includes a combined research and clinical fellowship in geriatrics and nutritional sciences at Washington University and undergraduate training in nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois, she is a subject-matter expert on protein for health, performance, aging, and disease prevention.

Stacy Salvi

Stacy Salvi is the vice president of product and strategy at the medical device company Movano Health—the creator of the Evie Ring, the first medical-grade health wearable designed for women.

Mona Vand, PharmD

Mona Vand, PharmD studied pharmacy at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences before developing her platform that shares holistic wellness advice.

Why biohacking isn’t just for “bros”

“Women are the original biohackers,” declares family physician, Molly Maloof, M.D. “Our hormones change throughout our lives, and this requires us to adapt accordingly.” Our biology means that women often need to constantly edit their health routines and experiment with lifestyle habits as time goes on. Isn’t that the very definition of biohacking?

Let's back up: Here at mindbodygreen, we think of “biohacking” as the practice of making lifestyle tweaks to optimize health and promote longevity. Not shortcuts—contrary to popular belief—but low-lift, everyday habits that complement and enhance an existing well-being routine. Think: optimizing your exercise regimen using tools and techniques (the “biohacks”) to enhance muscle growth. It’s essentially all about advancing health with “do it yourself” biology—a topic that can pique anyone’s interest, regardless of gender.

“[Women] have a most complex physiological lifecycle that requires us to track and manage fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, sexuality, perimenopause, and menopause. So we should be looking at biohacking as a path to even greater health and owning the opportunity to improve our lives,” says Maloof.

Yet many women feel intimidated to enter the biohacking scene as it exists today, turned off by the male-dominated energy in the room.

Women are the original biohackers

Molly Maloof, M.D

“Biohacking has always grabbed my attention, and I want to learn, but it sometimes makes me really stressed out, because I go into this state of perfectionism where I have to do all the things,” says doctor of pharmacy and wellness practitioner Mona Vand, PharmD. “The few biohackers that I followed were all males… it just doesn't really resonate with my energy.”

This male energy is not only frustrating but can potentially harm women’s health in the long run. After all, building muscle, prioritizing protein, and keeping an eye on various health metrics are crucial for longevity—in some cases, these proactive measures can save lives. When women don’t get involved, it can totally impact their well-being.

“Physical strength is nonnegotiable,” says functional medicine doctor Gabrielle Lyon, D.O. “I've been a physician since 2006, and I've never heard someone say, ‘I regret being physically strong.’” And the muscle-building space impacts more than just physiological changes, she says. “You optimize fertility, you make healthier babies, you help the epigenetics of your child,” Lyon adds. “You age better, your skin is better, you're less likely to fall and break a hip… There's nothing that doesn't get better the stronger you are.”

So let’s be clear: Dismantling the biohacking boy’s club is not just about helping women feel included; there are real health implications at stake here.

Why the biohacker space actually really needs a dose of feminine energy

I’d be remiss not to mention how biohacking culture can easily become synonymous with hustle culture (some experts don’t even like to use the term, as it implies you can achieve optimal health with quick fixes). But as more women enter the biohacking space, we expect it to become more intuitive and less about hitting every single benchmark. From there, we predict women will focus more on sustainable changes long-term instead of a gazillion quick hacks.

“I used to think it was a flex to do a million things at the same time and habit stack,” Vand recounts. “I now carve out time for doing things that have no efficiency to them, that are strictly for joy or rest and relaxation, versus benefiting my longevity or health. It can be a little bit obsessive when you get into this thought pattern, and I just don't resonate with it.”

This doesn’t mean biohacking will become “softer” as it embraces feminine energy. But there’s an opportunity here for women to introduce some much-needed flexibility into a space that has long felt needlessly rigid.

How the biohacker game is changing — and where it’s headed next

Thanks to a growing awareness that healthcare protocols should not be gendered, more women are now starting to pay attention to markers of performance like lean muscle, hormetic stressors, VO2 max, HRV, zone 2 training, etc. “Cold plunging, saunas, and harder, more physical activities are not just for the boys anymore,” adds Lyon—and we expect an even bigger shift to come in 2024.

“I think it’s super exciting to see biohacking become more mainstream and more women joining the conversation,” adds Maloof. She praises apps like Wild.AI, for women who aim to make lifestyle adjustments based on their menstrual cycle, and Zero, for women who want to dabble in time-restricted eating, both of which have helped to herald the shift.

Other existing health optimization companies are now inviting women into the conversation by introducing specific features informed by their unique physiology. WHOOP, for example, is currently working on upgrades to their popular health-tracking band: “We did a study recently where we learned a lot about how a woman's body changes during pregnancy and how her heart rate variability (HRV) will evolve. It'll decrease, and then about seven weeks before she gives birth, it will increase sharply,” explains Will Ahmed, WHOOP founder and CEO, on the mindbodygreen podcast

If a woman didn’t know that this was supposed to happen, she might look at this stark increase with a critical (or anxious) eye. “We've been able to take population-level data on pregnant women and now have a feature in the app, where a woman can see how her body is evolving alongside what other pregnant women are experiencing,” he adds.

Similarly, creatine supplements—from the ingredients to the packaging—are no longer marketed toward dudes looking to bulk up, and we are certainly here for it. After all, muscle mass is a predictor of longevity and healthspan, so supplements that promote it can help all of us “hack” our health in a big way.

And as Lyon notes, women have lower endogenous creatine stores compared to men (meaning, they have less available). And the amino acid has been associated with significantly increased muscle mass1 in both men and women, without increasing the risk of adverse outcomes2, like weight gain. “Most of the women in my practice will go on creatine, and they find anecdotally that it really improves both anaerobic and aerobic exercise performance,” Lyon shares.

Not to mention the supplement’s brain health perks: Taking creatine has been shown to benefit both working memory and processing speed3 as well as cognitive longevity4. “It is above and beyond simply sport performance,” adds Lyon, who has certainly seen an uptick in women curious about creatine.

As women feel intimidated (or even restricted) by biohacking spaces, some experts have taken it upon themselves to create new ones that center the feminine. For example, neuropsychophysiologist Kayla Osterhoff, MPH, offers a Women's Biohacking Mini Course, consisting of lifestyle routines and tips aligned with female physiology.

Osterhoff also recently presented at the 2023 Dragonfly Live Conference—among other female biohackers—to discuss the latest advancements in women's well-being and the “health revolution” that’s sweeping the mainstream. This conference aims to gather the “who's-who” in the health space to discuss cutting-edge strategies and innovations that optimize well-being—by having women biohackers at the forefront of the conversation, we can expect them to hit the main stage in a broader sense.

Or take the brand new Evie Ring, the first medical-grade health wearable designed for women, created by medical device company Movano Health. The technology ties hormonal information to a woman’s sleep, activity, and heart health data (among other metrics).

For instance, “If we notice a more restless night of sleep in the luteal phase, we'll point it out and also give some strategies for how somebody may attack their day, despite having not gotten as good of a night of sleep,” says Stacy Salvi, vice president of product and strategy at Movano Health. Similarly, “We know that there are cardiovascular implications when your estrogen drops, so they would want to keep a better look on the function of their heart,” she adds. “This would be something that they would be able to do from our app.”

Even the design itself was made with women in mind: The ring features an open band meant to accommodate how women’s fingers change in size throughout the day, so it can stay comfortable.

To avoid needless stress, Evie also limits the amount of goals you can set on the app. “You can only set three at a time, because we do not want to overwhelm [users] with a bunch of different things,” says Salvi. “I mean, I'm an overachiever. I probably would set every single goal and then fail at them.” And heaven knows we don’t need yet another way for busy, overwhelmed women to feel like they’re failing in a society with unsurmountable standards.

Forecasting the future

A woman walks up to the weight rack in 2024. She sees the usual suspects—bros pounding protein shakes and grunting through their bicep curls—but now she also sees a fair amount of women on the scene. They’ve got creatine supplements! Fitness trackers! Kettlebells! (And no, they aren’t pink.)

Granted, we still have a ways to go before women feel totally embraced by the biohacking space (we’d first have to close the centuries-long gender gap in science and medicine), but it’s clear that the arena is becoming way less of a boy’s club. “And the world is ready, my friend,” says Lyon. “The world is absolutely ready for this.”

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Biohacking practices can interact with medications and worsen side effects, and some biohackers experiment with health-hazardous implants, which can cause adverse reactions and health risks.

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Content: Biohacking is a controversial practice, but Lepht Anonym accepts its risks. More than once he has ended up in the ER, leaving doctors perplexed by inserting chips and even boxes with connectors into his body.

Centuries ago, when a doctor wanted to try a new vaccine or a new drug that he had created … he tested it on himself. Many died while developing new medicines.

Some biohackers they see themselves as those pioneering doctors of the Middle Ages: they test on their own body biotechnologies that aspire to improve the human being, cure diseases, and evolve the human condition, to achieve the desired happiness. And some have also died trying.

The biohacking, also known by the name of DIY biology or DIYbio, has as purpose improve our human condition making nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and technological implants available to everyone. You have more information on this card:

From its origins, Humanity pursues immortality and eternal youth. Biohacking seeks to improve our human condition with cybernetic implants. We explain who biohackers are, and why chips are installed inside the body.

Biohackers implant chips, sensors, machines and other mechanisms with the aim of overcoming physical and intellectual limits.

There is an ethical branch o legal of biohacking that only experiments with implants that do not pose a health hazard, for example chips under the skin.

But another trend is committed to not setting limits, even at the cost of putting your health at risk. Its objective is to defeat all diseases, aging and even death, with the help of technology. Then we will stop being human to become transhumans.

A first step towards posthumanism, where Humanity could dispense with its own body and live eternally as data in a neurological network.

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Within these biohackers, grinders they are the most extreme version. It is the case of Lepht Anonym, a British biohacker that, as he tells us Business Insider, more than 50 chips, antennas and other devices have been implanted in the body.

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As only professionals can use anesthesia, all Lepht Anonym implants have been inserted into your body by volunteers, to live. Your goal is “improve our quality of life through technology“.

Lepth explains on his blog that inserts its own chips because “there is no other easy way to do it. I will not wait for someone with a research laboratory to endorse this search.“.

The first chip that this biohacker was implanted under the skin, it allowed pay in stores simply by touching the card reader.

It was also implanted some magnets under the fingers, which detected external sensors to feel the distance between hands and objects. This could help blind people to move without hitting obstacles.

Hackers and the computer world are increasingly present in television fictions. Surely at the moment we can think of a series that deals with these topics, but if you can only think of one or two, we have selected a few about hackers that we find interesting.

His latest experiment, last year, has been his most troublesome. A box several centimeters long, with antennas, USB storage and connectors, was inserted under the arm. All went well until he hit his arm in a taxi, and began to swell. He had to go to the emergency room:

There the doctors told me that I was fatal, that they did not understand why I had put a box in my arm“.

In the end, he gave up: “They kept insisting that I take it off. I let them do it because they discovered that a hole had opened in one corner of the device and a large amount of a viscous substance was coming out“.

After that incident, Lepht Anonym has not updated his blog again.

The biohacking it is a practice that is just beginning. But without a doubt, it will go further. There are already medical biohackers, and the goal is to incorporate this branch of technology into medicine.

Put it in the hands of experts, because people’s health is at stake.

Medical professionals warn against unregulated biohacking practices, and regulation and expert oversight are needed to minimize risks.

Bryan Johnson, a well-known biohacker, takes 111 pills daily and uses electronic devices to track his biological processes, but his methods are controversial and debated online.

Neurofeedback therapy is another biohacking practice that can retrain the brain and provide relief from symptoms of mental health issues like depression, but it is still considered experimental and not covered by insurance companies.

The effectiveness and safety of various biohacking methods are not always supported by reliable scientific data from clinical research, and more research is needed to fully understand the effects of biohacking on human health.

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PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, 55, has stated that he will have his body cryogenically frozen when he dies in hopes of being revived in a distant future. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who at 59 looks like he could bench press his 40-year-old self, invested heavily in a startup that aims to keep people young by flushing out aged cells. Neither hold a candle to Bryan Johnson, the 46-year-old tech mogul who has spent US$2-million a year on an extensive list of therapies – from taking more than 100 pills a day to receiving blood transfusions from his teenage son – in an effort to reverse his biological clock.

The anti-aging industry has ballooned to a worldwide value of US$63-billion. Thanks to advances in technology, it has proliferated to include treatments that can be considered affordable. Middle-class Canadians, if they stretch a bit, can now buy injections to stimulate growth hormones, or get testosterone pellets implanted in their butt muscles to stave off signs of aging. Meanwhile, breakthroughs in the field of regenerative medicine are attempting to stretch our lifespans to new limits.

“There are a handful of emerging technologies that are helping people feel young for longer, and I believe they are the future,” said Shawn Seit, an aesthetics doctor at Toronto’s Rejuuv clinic, a privately owned medical centre that administers anti-aging treatments that range from Botox to hormone balancing and peptide therapy.

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Seit, slender with jet-black hair and a near-permanent smile, has been an aesthetics doctor for 20 years, after spending a stint as an emergency room physician. His personal anti-aging arsenal includes hormone balancing coupled with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Like his middle-aged, affluent clients, Seit chooses to see symptoms of old age such as muscle loss and even degenerative disease not as inevitable but as a sickness to combat, or even cure.

“In our society, we just accept that menopause, body degeneration and disease are things you just have to accept and go through when they come,” he said. “But it’s miserable, so why not delay it if you can?”

One of the most popular therapies Seit’s clinic offers is hormone balancing, where clients – often menopausal women or men in their 40s or above – receive doses of estrogen and testosterone to delay signs of aging such as muscle loss, belly fat gain, hot flashes and changes in libido. For longer-acting therapy, patients can opt to receive testosterone through one-centimetre-long, cylindrical pellets implanted in the buttocks three to four times a year. They can access those treatments, along with preliminary blood testing and nutritional counselling, for a crisp $4,000 a year.

For a yearly fee of $4,200, clients can also enlist in peptide therapy, which involves injecting a protein, sermorelin – thought to stimulate the production of growth hormones – into the stomach or thigh.

“People hear about these therapies and think we are looking to transform them into Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he said. “But it’s not about that – it’s about making you feel 30 when you are 50.”

These are far from the most radical or eyebrow-raising anti-aging therapies out there. Toronto’s Longevity House, a 9,000 square-foot facility that opened in 2021 and charges $100,000 for a lifetime membership, offers clients access to a suite of services such as red-light therapy, chakra therapy and electrical muscle-stimulation suits.

In the United States, startup Ambrosia started offering infusions of blood from teenagers and young adults in 2016, charging US$8,000 a litre, only to be shut down that same year after being dubbed unsafe by the FDA.

The dearth of robust scientific studies on these treatments is making some experts question their effectiveness and safety. Brett Finlay, a B.C.-based microbiologist and co-author of The Whole-Body Microbiome, says he wants to wait for results from clinical trials before believing in any trendy anti-aging method. The problem, he said, is the length of time it takes to collect such data. One longitudinal aging study from the Netherlands that set out to study the change in physical, emotional, cognitive and social functioning of people as they age has been continuing since 1992.

In the absence of data, Finlay fears that internet movements such as taking steroids for muscle growth or applying snake venom to wrinkles are motivating demand for quick fixes, which are clouding tried and true healthy practices.

“The truth is that we already have anti-aging methods, but they are incredibly boring and hard: It is exercise, eating a balanced diet with lots of fibre, good sleep and cultivating a good community of people around you,” said Finlay, adding that these lifestyle practices have been shown to reduce stress and inflammation, which are correlated with some of the most prevalent causes of death such as obesity-caused illnesses, diabetes, cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Trends and fads come and go, whereas science just plods along and slowly gives us answers.”

While not always flashy, modern medicine and peer-reviewed science have extended the average Canadian lifespan by roughly 30 years since the early 1900s, mainly by decreasing infant mortality rates, Finlay said. However, the average lifespan in Canada has plateaued at around 81 years old since the 2010s, and the next leap could come from the field of regenerative medicine: new treatments to heal tissues and restore bodily function lost to aging or damage.

In January, a research team from Harvard led by biologist David Sinclair paused and even reversed the aging process in mice by essentially rebooting damaged cells to their stem cell state using gene therapy. As a result, old mice that had gone mostly blind regained the ability to see. Sinclair told the Harvard Gazette and wrote on his social media that this reset might one day be applied to humans and allow us to delay or cure diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s, though the researcher also noted that human trials and federal approval would still take many years.

In July, Sinclair’s team discovered that a grouping of chemicals consisting of anti-seizure medication, a cancer drug and a variety of molecules had a similar age-reversing effect in rats. While the cost of these treatments is difficult to predict, Sinclair told reporters this summer that the chemicals would be a “step towards affordable whole-body rejuvenation.”

Canadian research teams are also making breakthroughs in regenerative medicine. Toronto-based medical startup Acorn Biolabs has developed a method of extracting human cells from hair follicles, culturing them as stem cells, freezing them in cryotherapy and storing them for less than $16 a month until they are needed. The idea, said Acorn Biolabs co-founder Drew Taylor, is to store a person’s healthy cells and have them ready to produce whatever kind of tissue their owner may need later in life.

So far, Taylor’s team has regenerated cells for aesthetic purposes including hair growth and wrinkle removal, and athletic purposes such as accelerating bone recovery. He said their eventual goal is to use banked cells to create any tissue on demand – say, new pancreas cells for someone with diabetes – though that could still be a decade or more of research away. This has not stopped clients as young as 20 and as old as 80 to bank their cells in Acorn’s cryogenic chambers.

“We are on the precipice of leveraging our own cells to deliver us health,” said Taylor, who has been fascinated by medicine since watching his father, Ron, play professional baseball and then become team physician for the Toronto Blue Jays. “Regenerative medicine is the future of living healthily for longer.”

Finlay does not discount the possibility that a scientific breakthrough in regenerative medicine could eventually enhance our lifespans and revolutionize how we think about age.

“It’s thought that under absolutely pristine conditions, like a perfect diet, low stress, an active lifestyle and great genetics, people can live for up to 120 years,” he said. “That’s already pretty good, and I don’t think we have a magic bullet. But what if one day, we did. … That would be priceless.”

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Is there clinical evidence for benefits of short intermittent fasting methods?

Clinical evidence for fasting as long as seven days is not yet available.

In conclusion, biohacking can be a powerful tool for improving health and well-being, but it is essential to approach it with caution and carefully consider the potential risks and benefits, and to consult with medical professionals before starting any new program.