Biohacking is an emerging trend that promises to help slow down aging and prolong longevity through DIY lifestyle changes such as fasting, diet optimization and wearable tech. Unfortunately, however, not all biohacks provide adequate scientific evidence and should therefore be used with caution.
Biohacking often begins with small, simple changes such as increasing sun exposure, decreasing blue light exposure or trying intermittent fasting.
Personalized nutrition planning
Personalised nutrition planning is a biohacking strategy that involves tracking and analyzing your food intake through apps. The data obtained can help improve diet quality, boost workout performance, maintain weight management and identify any future health issues before they develop – but before undertaking this method it is advised to consult a qualified healthcare provider first.
Intermittent fasting has quickly become one of the most widely practiced biohacking techniques. Based on autophagy – a process which breaks down and recycles cellular debris – intermittent fasting has become a cornerstone of longevity research, as well as being adopted by many seeking to enhance both their physical health and mental wellbeing.
Wearable tech has become an invaluable tool for biohackers. It can monitor physical activity and heart rate to increase fitness and overall health, acting as a motivating tool towards reaching goals faster while providing invaluable insights into your body’s response to various forms of exercise.
While some biohacking practices have scientific roots, the culture surrounding biohacking tends to exaggerate claims and drift toward pseudoscience. For instance, infrared saunas have been touted as detoxifiers and cell regenerators; yet little evidence supports these claims. Furthermore, extreme fasting may pose health risks by leading to nutritional depletions.
Biohackers use food, fitness, and sleep tracking and analysis as well as supplements to increase their wellbeing. Nootropics – natural chemicals which enhance cognitive ability – and adaptogens (herbal remedies that relieve stress) are popular choices among biohackers for this purpose.
Biohacking your body begins with eating a balanced, whole-food diet and exercising regularly, prioritizing sleep, practicing mindfulness meditation to address emotional stability, investing in high-quality supplements such as Better Way Health’s beta glucan for its powerful immunity boosting properties, as well as using DNA testing kits to identify genetic variants that influence how you react to specific foods and nutrients.
Autophagy
Autophagy is a natural process in your body that allows it to recycle its own cell components and support cell repair and growth, while also helping prevent neurodegenerative diseases and immune system disorders. You can enhance autophagy through lifestyle practices like fasting or caloric restriction. Some studies even indicate that increasing autophagy may reduce inflammation, cancer risk and overall improve overall health.
Autophagy is most prevalent during fasting, exercise and stress periods when your cells tap into stored energy to break down cellular debris and break it down for energy conservation. Autophagy also plays an integral part in metabolic regulation and energy conservation but when mismanaged can contribute to metabolic disorders and age-related diseases.
To facilitate autophagy, it’s essential that you eat a diet high in healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. This will prompt your cells to break down damaged proteins and lipids for fuel while simultaneously getting sufficient sleep and minimizing stress levels. In addition, drinking enough water daily is key for keeping cells working as intended.
Autophagy can be stimulated through numerous methods, such as intermittent fasting, caloric restriction and ice baths. While their benefits appear promising, more research must be conducted to verify their efficacy and it’s best to consult your physician before trying any extreme self-hacking techniques.
Additionally, other factors can also influence autophagy. A lack of sleep can reduce brain autophagy levels and subsequently contribute to memory loss and cognitive decline; similarly, certain bacteria and fungal species may disrupt your autophagy system and disrupt its normal processes.
Attempt to improve cellular health using tools like InsideTracker to track autophagy levels and identify nutritional deficiencies or genetic predispositions. With this knowledge at your fingertips, you can develop an action plan to maximize cellular health and promote longevity – such as making changes to diet such as prioritizing nutrient-rich foods or scheduling exercises that balance stress with repair.
Intermittent fasting
If you follow health trends closely, chances are you have come across the term “biohacking.” While its term might sound vaguely scientific or trendy, its concept is quite sound; biohacking involves optimizing how your body’s systems function through strategies such as intermittent fasting and personalized nutrition.
Intermittent Fasting (IF), is a diet trend that involves only eating during certain windows of time and restricting caloric intake for the remainder of the day. Although often considered “new,” humans have been practicing intermittent fasting for centuries – it allows glucose and insulin levels to stabilize, helping prevent fat storage while encouraging weight loss. Furthermore, intermittent fasting promotes autophagy which reduces inflammation while detoxifying cells of your body.
There are various approaches to intermittent fasting (IF), and you should experiment to find what best fits with your lifestyle. Some people eat all their food within one 8-hour window while others fast for 16 hours each day and only consume food during 8 of them. Whichever approach is chosen, IF can help optimize metabolism and boost results from any diet plan.
The ideal biohacking diet focuses on quality of food and features plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats as part of its core components. Furthermore, this diet encourages protein consumption from high-quality sources while restricting processed and sugary beverages for consumption – to give your body everything it needs for proper functioning and survival.
Additionally to consuming a healthy, well-rounded diet, fasting results can be enhanced using biohacking tools like cold water therapy, infrared sauna therapy, and red light therapy. These therapies help improve skin health, increase collagen production and facilitate cell regeneration during fasting – while simultaneously decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress that leads to weight gain.
As with any supplementation program, always consult a physician prior to beginning biohacking supplements. As with other forms of fasting tools such as intermittent fasting or intermittent fasting plans, start slowly and build up over time until longer periods of fasting are possible. It’s essential that these tools don’t replace eating healthy balanced diet and drinking plenty of water while fasting.
Cold water therapy
Cold water therapy may be one of the newest health trends, but its benefits extend far beyond being an “it” trend. Cold water therapy reduces inflammation and boosts immunity while supporting metabolic health and mental clarity. On this episode of Health Essentials hosted by John Horton and functional medicine specialist Melissa Young discusses cold water therapy practice as part of biohacking movement; listen in for tips to get started with self-care trend!
Biohacking practices such as intermittent fasting, supplements and infrared saunas are among the more widely practiced biohacking approaches. But it’s important to keep in mind that not all these interventions may be suitable for everyone; many lack strong scientific support. Also important: biohacking should never replace balanced nutrition and regular physical activity, nor be recommended for people who already have health conditions or genetic predispositions.
As an endurance sports dietitian, I’ve witnessed numerous biohacking trends creep into the athlete community. Some, such as intermittent fasting or nootropics, have been proven to improve performance while others such as altitude training or caffeine may have lesser evidence for effectiveness. All these biohacking trends can serve to detract from evidence-based approaches to endurance training and nutrition.
Biohacks that focus on optimizing natural systems within the body are most successful; such as optimizing sleep, eating nutritious foods and engaging in consistent physical exercise. They should also prioritize our microbiome – an ecosystem composed of bacteria, viruses and fungi which aid immunity – as well as focus on stress reduction – something particularly crucial for athletes.
Biohacking techniques include red light therapy, which is used to promote cell health and autophagy. This noninvasive therapy uses red or near-infrared light waves to stimulate mitochondria within cells – particularly beneficial during fasts when autophagy levels increase dramatically. As well as red light therapy, biohackers also rely on supplements and herbs that boost cognitive performance by producing synergistic effects to achieve peak performance without endangering long-term health.
