The Science of Biohacking

Healthy Aging

Wait, am I a biohacker?

At the 9th Annual Biohacking Conference this week, we’ll be presenting the latest and greatest science on how C15:0 is taking a top spot on the longevity molecule leaderboard. As such, this week is a Biohacking Takeover of Science Says! to cover the most recent peer-reviewed scientific papers on the topic of biohacking.

Chances are, you are a biohacker.

Biohacking used to mean rogue manipulation of our genes to extend human capabilities. Rifai et al. talk about how this term then evolved to encompass a wealthy subset who sought the fanciest technology – at any cost – to land immortality.

Today, biohacking is much more about owning and optimizing our health and wellness. We here at fatty15 like today’s take on biohacking. If you’re reading Science Says!, chances are you are a biohacker.

Evolving from treating disease to optimizing health and wellness.

Remember when our health care regimen basically consisted of 1) annual doctor visits, and 2) taking pills that were prescribed to help manage the conditions found during that doctor visit? Well, thanks to today’s technologies, the following biohacks are happening now:

• Advanced technologies. Beyond treating diseases, scientists are using advanced technologies to discover how to optimize our physical and mental health to delay the onset of diseases for as long as possible.
• Access to the latest information. More than ever, people have access to the latest advances in health and wellness. And we are owning innumerable options to optimize our health.
• Health tracking devices. Wearable (and sleepable) devices are enabling people to routinely track their health to see for themselves which health optimization tactics are working best for them.

The upside of all this, is that we have increasingly new ways to actively optimize our health and find routines that are just the right fit.

Is there a dark side to biohacking?

Supa et al. warn against do-it-yourself biologists and citizen scientists that can thrive in the online biohacking world – and how this group can do more harm than good. As such, Rafiq et al. analyzed online discussions around biohacking to help physicians better understand what their patients may be reading, and how to use the growing biohacking movement to improve patient health.

The hope behind biohacking.

In their paper, Rafiq et al. show lots of hope for the biohacking movement. When looking at the top biohacking topics being discussed online, here’s what the much larger world of you-and-I are asking about, in our endeavors to optimize our health:

• Physical fitness. We want to know which exercises we should be doing – weight lifting or aerobic – and how long and how often. We are learning about breathwork, yoga, and how to maintain our bone density.
• Nutrition. We want to know which diets are optimal for our health, how to fix nutritional deficiencies, and whether or not supplements – including nootropics, ketones, NAD, peptides and probiotics – improve our cognitive function, mental clarity, and general physical wellbeing.
• Wellness. We want to take a more holistic approach to our health – both mind and body health.
• Aging. Aging discussions have been centered around how to slow aging, increase our healthspan (how long we can maintain our health), and extend our longevity. We want to know how to live as healthily as possible, for as long as possible. Basically, what Science Says! typically covers every week.

The great news is that advances in nutrition, fitness, and preventive medicine are helping to provide tangible guidance that we can apply today (with or without an infrared sauna). Simply put, biohacking has been democratized.