March 30, 2013
I'm currently at the PaleoFX Conference, and had the pleasure to listen to a biohacking roundtable with some of the world's top biohackers (pictured above, left to right, Dan Pardi, Josh Whiton, Jolly, Abel James Bascom, and Darryl Edwards).
Although the relatively famous biohacker Dave Asprey was absent, this line-up of biohackers still brought some significant brainpower to stage.
At one point during the roundtable, in a quest to discover the best biohacks of the world's top biohackers, I asked the entire panel this question:
“What is your top biohack or biohacking combo?”
They each had something unique to say…and some of their answers may surprise you! Check out their answers below, and then leave your comments, questions or feedback below.
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Who Is Jolly?
Jolly is a nomadic bio-hacker, and quantified self nerd. He applies the same systematic optimization mindset to every topic, from computer security, to cognitive enhancement, sleep, intermittent fasting, and anti-aging. His favorite shirt reads: Things to do before I die, #1, don’t die. Thus far, he’s winning. He is a consultant for MetaMed, a medical start-up that performs in depth research on each client’s unique situation to optimize health.
Jolly said his best biohacks are:
1) a low carb diet;
2) intermittent fasting;
3) Vitamin D and fish oil.
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Who Is Josh Whiton?
Josh studied computer science in college, discovered he was an entrepreneur, and founded the mass-transit tech company TransLoc. Bolstered by that success he decided to take on another challenge: answering the question, “Why does my mom have diabetes and what is it anyway?” which took him down the rabbit hole.
With the writings of Michael Pollan, Gandhi, and Thoreau as his guide, Josh became a food system reformer (and master compost maker), starting a community garden in his neighborhood and later, a highly-visible one-acre commercial urban farm just a mile from city center.
As for, “What exactly should a person eat?” that question would take him on an adventure of self-experimentation through near-vegetarianism, raw-foodism, and even calorie restriction till discovering paleo, which he continues to advocate from both a dietetic and ecological perspective.
He now lives bi-coastally in Raleigh, North Carolina and the Silicon Valley / San Francisco Bay Area where he advises entrepreneurs, tweaks the diets of paleo friends, and speaks publicly on startups, health and whatever else interests him. When not doing any of that he is likely chopping wood, hunting, or driving a very fast electric car. He shares his thoughts at joshwhiton.com.
Josh said his best biohacks are:
1) A high-fat diet;
2) Monthly bloodletting to control blood ferritin levels;
3) Creatine supplementation, not for strength, but for mental performance.
Correction: after I posted this, Josh informed me that he didn't say “monthly” bloodletting — he said it took him three donations this *year* to bring his ferritin levels within range. Red Cross will only let you give every 56 days. He did say he wished he could get easy “monthly testing” of ferritin levels and other biomarkers. He also found out that you can give a double-donation if you meet certain height/weight criteria.
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Who Is Darryl Edwards?
I am Darryl Edwards, The Fitness Explorer. Lead author of the upcoming April 2013 book “Paleo Fitness” published by Ulysses Press and founder of Fitness Explorer Training & Nutrition based in London, England.
I decided to become a movement coach after learning how to become fitter and stronger in my forties than at any period of my life. My favorite quote is: “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” – Hippocrates
Do you love exercise? If so you are in a minority. Let’s face it, most of us hate to exercise: which is why the majority of us don’t do enough of it or we punish ourselves and do too much. Either approach is detrimental to health. Darryl Edwards developed the PRIMALity methodology to inspire others to make activity truly fun while getting incredibly healthier, fitter and stronger in the process.
His ideal client is someone who doesn’t particularly love to exercise but who wants to become passionate about movement again. Training for what you need to do and for the way that you want to live by referencing our hunter-gatherer past.
Find out more on his blog at: www.thefitnessexplorer.com
Darryl said his best biohacks are:
1) A paleo diet;
2) Natural outdoors movement and play;
Look for Darryl to be on the BenGreenfieldFitness podcast soon. I did some of his outdoor play workouts at PaleoFx and they were fabulous.
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Who Is Abel James Bascom?
Abel James is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, musician, and host of the wildly-popular Fat-Burning Man Show.
As author of “The Wild Diet,” Abel brings ancestral, Paleo, and real food principles to the mainstream. Abel has conducted research studies, presentations, and speaking engagements for Fortune 500 companies, Ivy League Institutions, and the Federal Government.
Abel James completed high school and college in a total of just six years. Distinguished as Valedictorian at New Hampton School, he earned his A.B. from Dartmouth College and graduated as a Senior Fellow with Honors with a concentration in Psychological and Brain Sciences. He focused his fellowship research on the evolutionary and biological basis of the faculty of music and the effects of technological advances on business, popular music, and culture.
Also a professional musician and singer-songwriter and author of “The Musical Brain,” Abel James has toured North America and Europe as the bandleader of several award-winning groups.
Learn more about Abel James at LeanLifestyleInsider.com.
Abel said his best biohack is:
1) Sleep (his answer was a little short, but you can check out more of Abel's sleep hacks here).
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Who Is Dan Pardi?
Dan is the CEO and co-founder of Dan’s Plan, an online wellness and technology company promoting optimal health in our modern world. Prior to founding this company, Dan established a track record of excellence in various health-related occupations, including innovative work in bioinformatics and Scientific and Medical Affairs in the biopharmaceutical industries. Dan has also performed scientific research on diet, exercise, and cancer, and continues to conducts research today in both sleep neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and the University of Leiden.
As a lauded presenter and educator, Dan has been invited to speak to physician and academic audience around the world, including Switzerland, Germany, Moscow, Belgium, Netherlands, Turkey, Budapest, and throughout the United States. He is an invited member of the Society for Ingestive Behavior and is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors for IISRA, which is a global association helping to stimulate independent research grants for academic investigators. Early in his career, he also served as the Assistant Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of San Francisco, where his primary responsibility was the design of year-round training protocols to optimize in-seasons peak performance for 13 different athletic teams.
Dan said his best biohack is:
1) Taking more steps and quantifying them (I'd personally recommend looking into something like the FitBit for this).
Now this only scratches the surface of what was discussed during the biohacking roundtable, but in a few weeks, I'm going to show you how to get access to ALL the PaleoFX produced videos. Stay tuned for that (and for the Become Superhuman videos I'll be releasing soon), and in the meantime, leave your biohacking questions, comments and feedback.
And if you want to check out all of my personal biohack recommendations, click here.
I take fluvoxamine 150mg …….plz tell me what supplements and\or I can take to increase my energy levels …
This thing about bloodletting, does it apply to woman as well, or do they just naturally "bloodlet" every month?
ps, i have latent TB, so i can't donate blood even if i wanted to..
In my experience the bloodletting is mostly useful for a man or post menopausal women. Get your ferritin level checked and see if it is a problem.
I'm trying out some biohacks for my foggy-headedness. I'm trying some Ginkgo Biloba and may try some noopept. I read about some of the benefits here: http://peaknootropics.com/shop/noopept/
One of the claims is that it really kickstarts your memory. Does anyone know more about it?
I recently did two podcasts on nootropics, you should check them out! https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/11/smart… and https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/12/how-t…
Hi Ben. Thanks! I will definitely look at them.
Modinifil is great!
I Just returned from the Low Carb Cruise where Dave Asprey with a panelist. Is there a link to a solid definition of just what a Biohacker is and does, I don't quite understand. Thanks.
Sure, I'd start by reading this: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/01/my-pe…
Check these guys out too, the godfathers of biohacking:
Tim Ferriss
Dave Aspery
SpDamienhttp://www.ideafit.com/profile/damien-roche
SpDamienhttp://www.ideafit.com/profile/damien-roche
This is a great recap. Much appreciated.
Hi :)
1) Yes, bloodletting does improve insulin sensitivity, particularly in omnivmores. 2) LC will depend on who you are/goals. If you are trying to lose fat/stay in ketosis, you generally want lower amounts. I tend to get <100g a day, but it varies.
I'd be curious to know what Jolly means by "Low-Carb" diet … <100g/day?, <50g/day?, <30g/day?
Man, all this stuff listed is so easy (not sure about the bloodletting, though, might be a little more effort involved in it … will have to go read about it).
I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but is bloodletting (josh whiton) really something that can help? Im sure there are arguements for and against this, but what kind of science is behind bloodletting? That sounds like a great topic for a podcast!
Yes, check this out http://www.dailyrx.com/blood-removal-may-lower-cardiovascular-risk
I want to look at Ben's link later but for those of us who care about exercise performance, donating every month may not be satisfactory: "However, the level of blood hemoglobin, your body's oxygen transport mechanism, typically does not recover for up to three to four weeks after donating," according to http://www.livestrong.com/article/509588-donating… which is obviously not a peer-reviewed or perhaps thoroughly vetted site. I feel like I have seen this idea posted by reputable writers though.