Biohacking encompasses a spectrum of self-optimization techniques targeting health, well-being, and longevity, with popular methods spanning nutrition, supplementation, physical activity, mental health practices, medical monitoring, and technological interventions.

**Nutritional strategies** are central, with intermittent fasting—cycling between eating and fasting windows—used to manage weight, improve metabolic health, and reduce inflammation, though it should be practiced under medical supervision for safety .

The ketogenic and Bulletproof diets emphasize high fat, low carbohydrate intake, and the use of "bulletproof coffee" (coffee with butter and oil) to enhance cognitive function and energy, while gluten-free and dairy-free diets are adopted to optimize gut health and reduce inflammation, though scientific support for these exclusions varies by individual .

**Supplementation** is widespread, with biohackers consuming compounds like collagen, MCT oil, glutathione, spermidine, and creatine to support tissue repair, cognitive function, and metabolic health; some, such as Bryan Johnson, reportedly take over 100 pills daily, but the efficacy and safety of such regimens lack robust clinical validation .

**Physical activity** often involves high-intensity interval training, strength training, and extreme exercise, believed to improve cardiovascular health and fitness, complemented by recovery practices like ice baths and sauna use to reduce inflammation and enhance resilience .

**Mental health practices** include mindfulness, meditation (e.g., the 6-Phase Meditation Method), journaling, and neurofeedback therapy, which aims to balance brainwave activity and is gaining popularity for addressing anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline, though it remains experimental .

**Medical screenings** and the use of wearable technology to monitor biomarkers, heart rate variability, and sleep patterns are common, providing real-time feedback for health optimization .

Biohacking encompasses a spectrum of self-optimization techniques targeting health, well-being, and longevity, with popular methods spanning nutrition, supplementation, physical activity, mental health practices, medical monitoring, and technological interventions.

**Nutritional strategies** are central, with intermittent fasting—cycling between eating and fasting windows—used to manage weight, improve metabolic health, and reduce inflammation, though it should be practiced under medical supervision for safety .

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

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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/

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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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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.”

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.

Quick Links

Edited by Bhargav

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

It reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases, such as metabolic disorders.

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

It reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases, such as metabolic disorders.

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

It reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases, such as metabolic disorders.

The ketogenic and Bulletproof diets emphasize high fat, low carbohydrate intake, and the use of "bulletproof coffee" (coffee with butter and oil) to enhance cognitive function and energy, while gluten-free and dairy-free diets are adopted to optimize gut health and reduce inflammation, though scientific support for these exclusions varies by individual .

Title:

Content: Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Anticipated health and wellness trends for 2024

Dance is a form of exercise, self-expression and healing. Picture: Pexels Yan Krukau

Published 2h ago

Share

“As people prioritise health and wellness - be it physical or mental - we are seeing a need for spaces that tick these boxes.

“Ultimately they are becoming a home of sorts, and a meeting place for like-minded people who are on a journey seeking betterment,” said Robyn Schaffner from the Light House, a new holistic haven in Cape Town.

Schaffner shares her thoughts on what the wellness trends will be for 2024.

Biophilia exercises: communing with nature

There is a growing inclination for outdoor exercise. With this in mind, studios globally will feature a biophilic design that seamlessly integrates the indoors with the outdoors, allowing fresh air to permeate during temperate weather.

Pools - previously only a space to swim laps - are now becoming a hub for innovative experiences such as Watsu water healing, cold plunging, and water breathwork.

Dance as exercise, movement, and healing

Dance is a form of exercise, self-expression, and healing globally and this will be visible at Light House too. “By embracing the trend of free-form movement, we champion ecstatic dance as a conduit for releasing energy, achieving emotional catharsis, and reconnecting with the body's innate wisdom.

“By promoting ecstatic dance, we shine a spotlight on its profound potential for holistic healing and personal transformation.”

Free movement: redefining exercise

In the realm of fitness, Light House embraces a back-to-basics philosophy with a twist.

“Celebrating the essence of free movement, our classes encourage participants to connect with their bodies on a deeply intuitive level,” explained Schaffner.

“The unique ‘Akasha’ class, blending Vinyasa flow, dance, and personal exploration, exemplifies this philosophy.

“Additionally, ecstatic dance and power and balance yoga sessions provide opportunities for uninhibited self-expression and playful engagement. It’s a matter of embracing movement in your own personal style.”

Bio-hacking: elevating wellbeing

The pursuit of optimal wellbeing remains a steadfast trend which is being explored through the lens of bio-hacking.

“By hosting enlightening talks and workshops with industry experts, delving into diverse well-being subjects, we are arming our clients with the information they need to improve their health.

“This includes an exploration of the intersection between spirituality and science, presenting a comprehensive perspective on holistic living.

“Workshops on topics ranging from mushroom stacking and sleep syncing to meditation and intermittent fasting will be offered,” said Schaffner.

Cacao: wellness in every sip

Recognising cacao’s potential as an alternative to coffee, it is the ideal companion for those seeking sustained energy, focus and tranquillity.

In the realm of beverages, cacao is fast replacing the likes of flat whites and cortados thanks to its myriad of health benefits.

Need for mental and physical clarity: supplements abound.

Nootropics, adaptogens, and functional medicines will take centre stage in 2024.

These meticulously crafted supplements are designed to support mental and physical wellbeing, fostering a harmonious balance that empowers individuals to navigate the challenges of modern life with enhanced clarity and vigour.

Title:

Content: NewsLocal NewsSummit County

Actions

'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.

Title:

Content: I Was Experiencing Extreme Burnout Until I Practiced These 3 Things to Come Out Stronger

Learn how to fight mental burnout and become a better entrepreneur with these three simple practices that most already know but often forget about.

By Ron Lieback

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Mental burnout, unfortunately, compliments entrepreneurism. There's no denying this sentiment, but I've discovered three proven practices that continuously help bypass much of that mental exhaustion.

The practices — rooted in physical health maintenance, meditation practices and mandatory downtime — take minimum effort or time. These insights will help keep you energized in your entrepreneurial journey without burning out — something I experienced multiple times throughout my ongoing entrepreneurial journey and promised myself that burning out would never happen again.

Related: 3 Insights From the First Large-Scale Study on Burnout and Entrepreneurs

Identifying and checking for mental burnout

According to the nonprofit HelpGuide.org, mental burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. I've recognized the following multiple times while leading my agency and productivity consulting practice:

  • Feeling overwhelmed or emotionally drained
  • Lack of motivation
  • Irritability
  • Insomnia or excessive sleep
  • Loss of interest in once enjoyable activities
  • Decreased productivity at work or school
  • Increased anxiety or depression

These factors can quickly creep in without you noticing it. Author and lecturer Chris Bailey helps us better understand this. In his latest release, How to Calm Your Mind, the productivity hacker says understanding and being aware of the six burnout factors within our work life can help us overcome it.

The six factors are:

  • Workload (How demanding the workload is)
  • Lack of control (How much autonomy, resources and freedom over workload)
  • Insufficient rewards (Financial, social or intrinsic)
  • Community (Quality of work relationships and interactions)
  • Fairness (Treated respectfully)
  • Values (Does the work have a sense of purpose aligned with values?)

Bailey says to set reoccurring calendar events to check in on yourself to create awareness around the six factors. He says he checks every six months; I have bi-monthly calendar alerts set now to check on these six factors. It's shocking how much they pop up, although I'm aware of them.

With that said, it's essential to recognize when you are starting to feel burned out so that you can take steps to prevent it from getting worse. Mental burnout can be difficult to identify, but recognizing the signs early on is key in developing strategies for battling it.

For new entrepreneurs, the following tactics can be eye-opening, regardless of how simple each sound. And for seasoned entrepreneurs, it's always good to get back to these basics. For example, I recently acquired an entrepreneurial assessment software company and quickly lost myself, forgetting many of these basics.

Related: An Entrepreneur's Greatest Asset Is Wellness. Here Are 5 Ways to Protect Yours.

1. Prioritize energy

Although many slog through work and become successful, the efforts take more time and longer-term health suffers. This leads to mental burnout. Focus on creating sustainable energy through proper diet, exercise and sleep, and you'll be able to focus not only sharper but also longer.

After nearly two decades of biohacking and testing various diets, I mostly follow Dr. Gundry's diet laid out in Breaking the Keto Code. Still, I tend to rely on more supplements and longer periods of fasting. Exercises include only two strength-training resistance workouts weekly, along with much walking/hiking, stationary biking, off-road motorcycling and bouncing daily on a mini trampoline in my office.

As for sleep, I learned to regulate my sleeping patterns and use Circadian Optics lighting every morning when I wake up to start the day off through reading, writing or meditating. I hack my sleep in various ways, but my favorite includes a proper cocktail of magnesium, zinc, potassium, GABA, ashwagandha and Kava, along with no food or alcohol at least three hours before snooze time. So test, tune and find what works for you.

2. Practice meditation and mindfulness daily

Although the benefits are proven, and it's well-known across the world of entrepreneurism, many still don't meditate. It's a mindset that one must discover, and once discovered, the benefits of relaxed and focused thinking help you produce more quality work in less time.

I treat meditation like brushing my teeth; it's just part of life now. It helps clear the mind and provides some insight into any problems causing stress. I'm a huge fan of Vishen Lakhiani's 6-Phase Meditation Method, which works wonders in roughly 20 minutes per day and doesn't require traditional methods like sitting in the lotus position or clearing the mind of any thought. Want to make it even more rewarding? Compliment the meditation with a FAR Infrared sauna blanket. I typically do the 20-minute 6-Phase, followed by another 20 minutes of the sauna while listening to theta or delta wave sounds.

Meditation and mindfulness techniques can clear your mind from negative thoughts and allow you to focus on the present moment instead of worrying about what's ahead or what's happened in the past. The outcome is less stress and a fresh look at everything. Others are 5 a.m. Club workoutaholics, but I have more energy and focus on meditation.

This will help relieve stress levels significantly and enable you to approach work with more clarity and purposeful action steps.

Related: How Mindfulness Can Take Your Entrepreneurship to the Next Level

3. Enforce downtime for mental relaxation and productivity

Scheduling regular breaks throughout the day allows for some time away from work, giving your brain a chance to relax before returning to full focus. My threshold for deep, focused work is about 1.5 hours straight; then I can feel my mind slowing. That's when I take a break for an analog activity, sometimes a mere 10 minutes of reading something drastically different from what I'm working on or challenging myself for 20 minutes with jazz guitar lessons.

Working nonstop without any breaks will eventually lead to feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done within a certain period. On my deepest workdays, such as writing or creating client strategies, I break for an hour, typically around noon, to take a bath. This supercharges like no other.

My office is a rented lake house, which makes day baths simple. If you work in a traditional office building, try working from home on the days you need the most focus and spend some time soaking. All my greatest client strategies and business/investment ideas manifested while soaking.

It is vital not only to take short breaks daily, but also to schedule mandatory downtime away from work. For example, I totally shut off every Wednesday after 5 p.m. and one entire day on the weekend. That means zero emails, computers, answering calls or anything related. This helps avoid burnout.

Mental burnout can be a difficult obstacle to overcome, but with the optimal tactics, such as the simple ones above, you can learn how to battle it. By taking time for sustaining energy through physical health, meditation and mandatory downtime, You can become a better you and have time to focus not just on the day-to-day work duties but on ideas that will change the world — a mission that should be the sharpest focus for every entrepreneur.

Ron Lieback

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor

ContentMender Founder, Author

Ron Lieback is the founder and CEO of ContentMender, an SEO-driven content marketing agency, and a productivity hacker. He is also the author of 365 to Vision: Modern Writer's Guide (How to Produce More Quality Writing in Less Time).

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**Supplementation** is widespread, with biohackers consuming compounds like collagen, MCT oil, glutathione, spermidine, and creatine to support tissue repair, cognitive function, and metabolic health; some, such as Bryan Johnson, reportedly take over 100 pills daily, but the efficacy and safety of such regimens lack robust clinical validation .

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.”

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**Physical activity** often involves high-intensity interval training, strength training, and extreme exercise, believed to improve cardiovascular health and fitness, complemented by recovery practices like ice baths and sauna use to reduce inflammation and enhance resilience .

**Mental health practices** include mindfulness, meditation (e.g., the 6-Phase Meditation Method), journaling, and neurofeedback therapy, which aims to balance brainwave activity and is gaining popularity for addressing anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline, though it remains experimental .

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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”.

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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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Content: INTERVIEW

The model scientist on a mission to stop women ageing

Dr Daisy Robinton is a molecular biologist who focuses on the massive impact the ovaries have on how women age. Her goal? A radical improvement in the health of 51 per cent of the population

The Times

In Silicon Valley, the buzz is all about eternal youth. Billionaires are pouring cash into immortality tech, the science of hacking old age and even death. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has invested millions in the Methuselah Foundation, a non-profit that aims to make “90 the new 50 by 2030”. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is a huge investor in Unity Biotechnology, a start-up developing therapeutics to flush out senescent cells (which are deteriorating but don’t die off when they should).

In the pursuit of immortality, these west coast wannabe Dorian Grays are trying every form of biohacking, from sleep tracking, fasting and meditation to implanting chips and hardware into the body. Both Apple and Google are showing interest in entering the sphere.

But so far, as

**Medical screenings** and the use of wearable technology to monitor biomarkers, heart rate variability, and sleep patterns are common, providing real-time feedback for health optimization .