Biohacking 101: A Journey to Unlock Your Health Potential
By GR Sep 15
Biohacking is quickly becoming a global trend, particularly for those of us in our 30s to 50s. The goal is to take control of our health and unlock our body’s full potential for a longer, healthier life than our parents.
I was always interested in my health, but I was blown away about the possibility of actually living longer after reading Lifespan by David A. Sinclair. He not only presents the possibility that in the not-so-distant future we’ll be able to live comfortably beyond 100 years, but he provides scientific proof of how this could happen. Since then, I’ve been reading, researching, and “hacking” my own program.
This article marks the beginning of a series that will take you through each step of my personal biohacking journey—from initial testing to tracking results—so you can learn how to optimize your health, too.
Whether your goal is to sharpen cognitive function, extend your lifespan, or simply feel better in your day-to-day life, biohacking offers a tailored approach that combines personalized diets, supplements, mental wellness, and optimized exercise. And thanks to advancements in accessible genetic testing, it’s easier than ever to start.
At the beginning of this year, I began my own biohacking journey. I spent months researching and creating my own program. Biohacking is still in its early stages, with many versions and products on the market, all claiming to help you optimize your health. But what exactly is biohacking? Should you try it? What can you expect? And where do you even begin?
This article will serve as an introduction to biohacking, while the upcoming articles will dive deeper into my own experience—detailing my research, experiments, and learnings along the way. So, grab your favorite nootropic, and let’s dive into the world of biohacking for health optimization!
What Is Biohacking?
Think of biohacking as upgrading your body's software. It’s a practice that blends science, self-experimentation, and technology to fine-tune your physical and mental performance. This can be as simple as adjusting your diet and incorporating targeted supplements or as advanced as exploring genetic testing and cutting-edge molecular therapies.
At its core, biohacking is about making intentional, data-driven changes to improve your health. It’s for everyone, whether you’re just starting out or are already a seasoned biohacker. The beauty of biohacking is that it’s a personalized journey that can be adapted to fit your specific goals and lifestyle.
Biohacking for Men and Women: Health Optimization at Every Stage
One of the primary goals of biohacking is to extend not just your lifespan but your health span—the number of years you live in peak physical and mental health. Through a combination of personalized diets, intermittent fasting, and supplements, biohackers aim to delay aging, enhance vitality, and improve overall wellness.
For men, biohacking tends to focus on boosting physical performance, muscle recovery, and cardiovascular health. Omega-3s, Coenzyme Q10, and fitness routines supported by wearable tech are often key elements of the process.
For women, biohacking addresses unique health needs such as hormonal balance, reproductive health, and menopause. By aligning biohacking diets with menstrual cycles and using hormone-balancing supplements, women can experience improved energy, clarity, and overall well-being.
The Benefits of Biohacking: Unlocking Your Body’s Full Potential
1. Optimize Health
Biohacking personalizes your health strategy through genetic testing, tailored diets, and supplements to address specific deficiencies and optimize your body’s overall function.
2. Increase Energy
By eliminating energy-draining habits and adopting nutrient-rich foods, supplements, and optimized sleep, biohacking boosts your body’s energy production for sustained vitality throughout the day.
3. Accelerate Recovery
Biohacking accelerates physical recovery through techniques like cryotherapy, anti-inflammatory supplements, and sleep optimization, helping your body heal faster after workouts or stress.
4. Improve Cognition and Focus
Nootropics, meditation, and brain training are popular biohacks for enhancing memory, mental clarity, and focus, allowing you to perform at your cognitive best.
5. Enhance Longevity
Biohacking promotes longevity by targeting the root causes of aging at the cellular level, using tools like intermittent fasting, molecular supplements, and genetic insights to extend your health span.
6. Achieve Peak Performance
For those looking to perform at their best, biohacking offers tailored fitness regimens, mental wellness practices, and sleep optimization to help you reach new physical and mental heights.
7. Prevent Disease
By identifying and addressing health imbalances early through genetic and biome testing, biohacking helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases and ensures long-term health.
Key Elements of Biohacking: Mind and Body in Sync
Biohacking isn’t just about one aspect of health—it covers a range of elements that work together to optimize both the mind and body. Here are some key areas:
Cognitive Function: Many biohackers use nootropics—smart drugs that enhance focus, memory, and mental clarity. Popular choices include Omega-3 fatty acids and Coenzyme Q10, both of which support brain health and combat oxidative stress.
Dietary Optimization: A biohacking diet is often customized based on your genetic makeup. Some may follow ketogenic or intermittent fasting diets, while others might focus on plant-based eating. The goal is to find the dietary plan that fuels your body and maximizes energy and mental function.
Physical Performance: Beyond exercise, biohacking for physical performance includes sleep optimization, recovery techniques, and supplements. Wearables that track biometrics help fine-tune workouts and monitor progress.
Cellular and Metabolic Health: Mitochondria are the powerhouses of your cells, and supporting their function is crucial for long-term wellness. Many biohackers use supplements like Coenzyme Q10 and adaptogens to boost cellular health, improve metabolism, and delay aging.
Starts with Testing Your Biometrics:
Biohacking is a more personalized and customized wellness program designed for your body. This requires that you know as much about your DNA and biohealth as possible. There are at least two tests I highly recommend to take to learn more about yourself (although in my resources/references below there are programs that offer even more tests):
Blood Work:
There are plenty of services that conduct comprehensive blood work. I would not recommend going to your PCP as they (a) are threatened by the entire concept of biohacking since they’re supposed to know your health better than you and (b) most standard lab tests don’t go deep enough into your body composition for your biohacking needs.
Comprehensive Blood Test: I’ve used a few lab tests including 23andMe’s premium package and Choose Health. They are relatively good for general information about cholesterol, blood sugar, glucose, inflammation, oxidative stress, testosterone, etc.
However, for my biohacking needs I went with a new company called 5DGENX. They still have some hiccups, but overall the results were VERY eye opening. Plus, they come to your house or apartment if you want to draw blood, which is super convenient. Best part, most of the costs are covered through your insurance, but you will have to pay co-pay, which in some tests could be over $100. Each blood tube is one test so you’ll have combined about 6-7 tests. Overall cost should be under $200.
Result: I was happily surprised by the extent of the lab results; 14 pages in all. The results not only showcase your blood pressure, LDL, Vitamin scores, but also provides a “normal” range and identifies areas you should pay attention to. It also picked up on my allergies to cats, dust, and other items that I didn’t think would be available through a blood test.
Biome Gut Test: There are plenty of gut tests in the market. I recently took the Viome test, easily accessible on Amazon. There are plenty others. What drew me to know my gut health are two Netflix shows (You Are What You Eat, and Hack Your Health). Naturally, I wanted to know what bacteria lurks in my gut, what I need to change in my diet to get rid of the bad bacteria and how I can feed it good bacteria.
Result: Since I did the biome gut test after my comprehensive blood work I didn’t see as many surprises. Still, it did identify a few things that I didn’t realize, such as that I was eating too much shellfish. It also provides some recommendations to adjusting my diet to help balance the good and bad bacteria.
Repeat Testing: Both tests should be done throughout the year to ensure your “biohacking” adjustments are paying off. This can get costly if you sign up to monthly subscriptions. I am ok with semi-annual tests to ensure I’m on the right track. Not as intense biohacking as others, but hey, I’m on a budget.
Types of Biohacking: From Simple Tweaks to Advanced Techniques
Biohacking can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Here are some common approaches:
Nutritional Biohacking: This is the foundation of biohacking. By making small adjustments to your diet or incorporating supplements, you can improve your energy, cognitive function, and overall wellness.
Genetic Biohacking: With the rise of genetic testing, like the Gary Brecka gene test, biohackers can now tailor their diets, exercise routines, and supplement regimens to their DNA. This allows for a completely personalized approach to health.
Molecular Biohacking: This more advanced form of biohacking focuses on cellular health. Techniques may include interventions that support cellular repair and regeneration, enhancing longevity and slowing down the aging process. These include red light therapy, compression therapy, and cryotherapy. Don’t worry. We (or I) will cover these in future articles (and tests).
Technological Biohacking: Wearables and apps that track your health metrics in real-time are essential tools for biohackers. Devices that monitor heart rate, sleep patterns, and biomarker changes help biohackers make informed decisions about their health and progress.
Supplements: Biohacking’s Secret Weapon
Supplements are a major player in the biohacking world. They provide targeted support for cognitive function, physical health, and longevity. Here are some of the most popular biohacking supplements:
Nootropics: Enhance mental clarity, focus, and memory.
Adaptogens: Help the body adapt to stress and support hormonal balance.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Promote cardiovascular and brain health.
Coenzyme Q10: Supports energy production and combats cellular aging.
For both men and women, biohacking supplements can address specific health needs, from improving metabolic function to balancing hormones. These are not just about filling nutritional gaps but about maximizing the body’s natural capabilities. We’ll get much more into this in future articles.
Embracing Biohacking for Health and Longevity
Biohacking is more than just a trend—it’s a lifestyle. By embracing biohacking strategies, you’re taking proactive steps to improve your physical and mental health. Whether it’s through diet, supplements, or the latest wearable tech, biohacking empowers you to continuously improve and optimize your well-being.
This article is just the beginning of a larger journey. In the next few installments, I'll be walking you through my personal experience with comprehensive blood and biome tests—what they revealed, and how they guided the first major steps in my biohacking routine. So, are you ready to start your biohacking journey? From personalized gene tests to tailored diets, the path to optimized health is just a few hacks away.
Stay tuned for the next article, where I dive into how understanding your blood and gut biome can be the foundation of a successful biohacking journey. You'll be surprised by what your body can tell you!
Additional reading, courses and references: