Biohacking: A Beginner's Guide
What is Biohacking?
Biohacking, also known as human enhancement, is practice aimed at improving performance, health, and wellbeing through strategic interventions. Some common biohacking techniques, like meditation and intermittent fasting, have been around since ancient times.
Biohacks can be anything from weight loss, general well-being, anti-ageing to enhanced brain function. But the best biohacking results come from being well-informed and cautious about what works for your body.
What are the Different Types of Biohacking?
Biohacking comes in many forms. Such as DIY Bio, Nootropic and Grinder (modifications). The most popular type is nutrigenomics, in this article, we will focus on this category.
Nutrigenomics
Nutrigenomics refers to the strategic use of foods and supplementation based on how they interact with your genes. At its core, nutrigenomics focuses on providing the body with nutrients that work with specific biological pathways to improve multiple aspects of overall health like cognition, stress resilience, immune health, energy levels, sleep and metabolic health.
Nutrigenomics may “hack” your biology in several ways, such as:
Decreasing your risk of developing illness or conditions that you’re genetically predisposed to.
Helping you achieve physical, mental, or emotional changes, such as losing weight, boosting cognitive health or reducing stress.
Helping optimize a bodily function, such as your cardiovascular support, nutrient absorption and gut health.
Ageing and age related symptoms, such as joint mobility, skin health and NAD+ levels
Food and supplementation does impact your genes. But not everyone’s bodies respond in the same way to changes in diet or habits. Personalized nutrition — recommendations based on your genetics, preferences and predispositions, may well replace one-size-fits-all advice in the future. As people learn more about their genetic makeup, nutrigenomics will become a routine part of making nutrition choices.
Genetic tendencies are forecasts, not guarantees. And nutrigenomics can’t eliminate all of the trial-and-error when it comes to diet, supplements and workout routines. But nutrigenomics does give you a more targeted approach to figuring out what steps you can take to feel your best.
A recent review of current nutrigenomics research suggests that minor gene expression changes are only one piece of the larger puzzle. Other factors like exercise, stress levels, and weight all play a role in your body’s response to dietary changes. A holistic approach is always recommended when it comes to your overall well-being.
Many forms of biohacking can be safe. For example, taking certain supplements or making changes to your diet, but the most important course of action is to educate yourself beforehand and make sensible choices for you personal health.
Keep Tabs on of your Progress
Blood work is a key to effective biohacking. It can tell you a lot about your body’s levels of various nutrients and components like plasma and cell count.
If you’re thinking about supporting your wellbeing through supplementation, it should be bespoke, based on data and advised on by an expert. Start with a basic blood test – you can even do this at home through fingerpick testing – to understand your personal levels of micronutrients and curate a targeted nutrition regime. Several biomarkers can be hacked by lifestyle changes. To name a few..
Vitamin D: Optimal vitamin D levels are associated with improved bone health, inflammation, muscle mass and strength, and immune health.
Ferritin: This is a protein that stores iron and supports energy metabolism, helps produce immune cells, and low levels increase the risk of injury, lead to physical and mental fatigue, and correlate with a high exercise heart rate.
Cortisol: This is a hormone that responds to physical or mental stress. Chronically high cortisol levels are linked to fatigue, high blood sugar levels, and poor sleep.
Magnesium: A mineral that supports healthy blood pressure, blood glucose, muscle function, and sleep quality.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol: This is commonly known as the “bad cholesterol” since it can build up in arteries and lead to blockages.
Blood tests give you raw data to work with. They can tell you whether your biohack is working at a cellular level.
Common Nutrigenomic Practices
Dietary biohacking
Dietary and nutritional modifications are common biohacking practices that involve the consumption of dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and prebiotics and probiotics) to improve metabolism, boost energy production, improve insulin sensitivity, trigger weight loss, improve physical performance, prevent chronic diseases, and increase lifespan.
Dietary biohacking also includes specific dietary patterns, such as a ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting, to modulate energy production and metabolism. Understanding the relationship between the human genome, nutrition, and health (nutrigenomics) is a prerequisite for getting desired health outcomes from dietary biohacking. Another vital step included in dietary biohacking is the continuous use of cellular metabolism monitoring devices, such as blood glucose monitoring devices and ketone breath analyzers.
Energy biohacking
Energy biohacking is one of the most commonly used categories, which frequently includes sleep support and stress relief practices. These two practices are particularly crucial as sleep deprivation and chronic stress can negatively affect overall energy metabolism.
Light therapy is used to regulate the circadian rhythm and maintain the sleep cycle. Sleep tracking devices are used to monitor daily sleep patterns. Various meditation apps are also used for sleep support and stress relief. Other techniques that are used in energy biohacking include the consumption of vitamin B12 and magnesium supplements, wearing blue light protection glasses, and time-restricted caffeine intake.
Physical health biohacking
Athletes often look for biohacking modalities to improve their physical performance and trigger recovery from injuries. Exercise itself is a valuable biohacking method that helps increase mitochondrial biogenesis, cellular energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and growth factor release, which collectively support cellular repair and regeneration.
Common physical health biohacking methods include cold therapy, heat therapy, whole body vibration therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, red light therapy for healing, and consumption of athletic supplements, such as creatine, amino acids, electrolytes, and energy drinks.
Age biohacking
Age biohacking mainly focuses on cellular senescence to improve longevity. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is a natural physiological process to remove damaged cells (senescent cells). With age, this process slows down, leading to the accumulation of senescent cells, induction of inflammation, disruption of adjacent cells, acceleration of the aging process, and onset of age-related diseases.
Inhibiting the production of senescent cells or reversing the process of cellular senescence is the primary area of focus in age biohacking to promote cellular health and regeneration. Commonly practiced methods include red light therapy, stem cell therapy, cryotherapy, non-ablative laser therapy, and consumption of anti-aging and mitochondrial support supplements (NMN, Resveratrol, coenzyme Q10, polyphenols, L-carnitine, to name a few).
Brain biohacking
Various neurotransmitter modulators, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), play vital roles in promoting neurogenesis (formation of new neurons) and neuroplasticity (formation of new connections between neurons). High levels of these modulators in the brain are associated with improved cognitive and memory functions and neuroprotection.
In addition to increasing BDNF levels through exercise, brain biohackers often rely on consuming nootropics to enhance their cognitive efficiency. Other common practices include brainwave entrainment, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, neurofeedback therapy, brainwork, brain games, and meditation.
The Bottom Line on Biohacking
Biohacking is a powerful concept that equips individuals with diverse tools and strategies, enabling you to take charge of your health.
Before just jumping into the latest biohack, make sure you are choosing evidence-based approaches for the outcomes you are wanting to achieve. And the only way to know whether or not that biohack worked is through gathering pre-and post-biohack metrics through wearable devices or blood tests.
