Have you heard the buzz on biohacking your body?
Biohacking your body means changing your chemistry and your physiology through science and self-experimentation to increase your energy and vitality.
👉 In layman’s terms “do-it-yourself” biology.
There’s a ton of stuff out there. From movement to mindset, from what you eat to how you eat it. 🤯
So I thought in this blog we would start to breakdown biohacking your body so you can become the best version of you. Live longer, have more energy, and be happier.
Before we dive in, a couple of biohacking safety tips:
âž• Listen to your body. Seriously, this is a huge one. Biohacking isn’t about incorporating several things at once. It’s about small, consistent practices that change your body in the long run. So, if something feels off, don’t push it.
âž• Always talk with a physician who is on board with natural holistic health practices and can support (and observe) you on your journey.
8th-grade science check! 🤓
Energy in your body comes from????
The mitochondria. 🥳 AKA the powerhouse of the cell. We have trillions of cells in our bodies, so we have trillions of mitochondria that keep us up and running.
The number 1 thing we can do to support our body (and increase our energy) is to reduce temporary inflammation.
This happens by eating quality foods, supplementation, getting movement in each day, proper sleep, and mindset. I know it sounds like a broken record, but our bodies were made to function a certain way for optimal health.
Unfortunately, we don’t always do everything we should to take proper care of ourselves.
One place to start is always from the ground up and that is nutrition so lets cover intermittent fasting first.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is not just trendy, it’s backed by science. 💥
Just remember our safety tips! Listen to your body and check in with your physician.
What exactly is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is when somebody goes between 12 to 16 hours without food. This may sound hard, but if you stop eating at 8 PM at night and don’t eat until after 8 AM, you’re already fasting. (YAY YOU!)
Why does I.F. work so well?
Naturally, you are not consuming during your fasting period, but when you do break your fast (get it…BREAKfast) you want to by consuming healthy protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates. Naturally, this stops the unconscious snacking late at night so you have a lower amount of sugar spikes and crashes. I.F. is a great biohack because it improves your body’s insulin sensitivity (helping us not fall into or reverse insulin resistance).
While you are fasting you can have black tea, black coffee, and water. I still love to add my favourite citrus oils to my water.
Have you tried intermittent fasting? How do you feel when you fast? Now for me when I am working in the emergency department I just can’t do it. I typically work til 3am and eat my meal about 10pm. I feel zapped of energy without a later snack and I just can’t eat enough in my meals to sustain me. I usually manage about 8 hours and maybe 12 on a day off but this is where you do need to listen to your body (not those cravings but your body)- give it a whirl and see how you feel.
Next up what to eat and let's look at elimination
Atkins, Keto, Whole30– there are a slew of elimination diets out there and don’t even get me started on why these are not a good idea!. When it comes to biohacking though, it isn’t a specific “diet” per say, it is figuring out what works for your body specifically. 💪
Some of the biggest causes of inflammation in your body can be linked to wheat, dairy, and sugar so these are good areas to reflect on HOW you feel after you are consuming these things.
A good place to start can be to eliminate one area at a time to see how your body feels. Start slowly, don’t eliminate everything at once. To get started, eliminate one thing (wheat for example) from your diet for 3 weeks. Record how your body feels each day as you are not consuming wheat. Then introduce a day where you eat this a few times that day and record how your body feels after each meal, the next day, and two days after eating.
👉 Do your joints hurt less?
👉 Are you less bloated?
👉 Are you experiencing less heartburn?
This is actually allowing you to tune into being present with your body and having a ton of awareness around what foods make your body feel good, and what foods make you feel “not so great!”
Before we finish up lets talk about fibre! This is your sign to add some fibre to your diet!
No, I’m not going to get all preachy like the old fibre commercials from the 80s.
Ok…maybe a little bit.
The standard American diet is devoid of fibre and the UK follows suit –it's no wonder why it's also known as SAD. 🤣 The amount of processed foods we eat has lead to low bacterial diversity in our gut flora. Fibre feeds our gut flora. If you are eating more processed foods than whole foods (like veggies and fruit at each meal), chances are you need some extra fibre.
We need 30 grams of fibre a day. Focus on eating dark leafy greens, fruits, legumes, and whole grains
Be honest, are you getting all the fibre you need? 👇