A biohacker is an ordinary person who chooses to learn about their own biology and how to change it for the better so that they can have a healthy body and mind now and into the future. Well, at least that’s my definition as there are no official definitions or rules at the moment, as the biohacking community has only emerged in the past decade and it continues to grow and evolve all the time.
Some other definitions of biohacking include:
- ‘DIY Bioscience (DIY bio).’
- ‘The practice of changing our chemistry and our physiology, through science and self-experimentation, to enhance the whole body.’
- ‘Individuals applying the tech-hacker ethos to their own biology.’
My favourite definition is from Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof and considered the godfather of biohacking. He says – “Biohacking is the process of using science, biology, and self-experimentation to take control of and upgrade your body, mind, and life.”
People No longer Rely on the Medical Profession
The bottom line is that people are now no longer relying on the medical profession to keep them healthy but are taking the matter in to their own hands. Not only are they taking control of their own wellbeing, they are also keen to experiment to see how far they can enhance themselves so that they are not just ‘normal healthy’, they are at optimal health and performance. To me this is wonderful as it is not hard to see that the medical profession, while amazing in acute situations, really does not have solutions for many of today’s chronic illnesses and are often overwhelmed by the growing number of patients they need to treat. However, as with everything that emerges from the human psyche, there tends to be a dark side too and biohacking is no different, but we’ll look at this a bit later.
So, what might an average biohacker do to ‘hack’ their biology? The first thing is to research, like a mad person, everything you can on how the human mind and body work. Obviously, there are plenty of books on this, but you will also need to spend hundreds of hours listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos to deep dive into specific areas of human physiology or psychology. Another brilliant tool for the biohacker is watching online health summits and webinars where many brave doctors and health practitioners from around the world are interviewed and talk on their specific area of expertise and this is where you will often learn the really cutting edge stuff. For example, at the moment, I am listening to two health summits, one that focuses on the pandemic of fatty liver disease showing up in the world now and another that looks at how to enhance your mitochondrial function. I realise that to many people this might sound quite dry and boring but, to a biohacker, this is nectar.
Hackers Experiment on Themselves
With this knowledge and ongoing research, the biohacker will then experiment on themselves to try and heal any illnesses they may have as well and make themselves as fit, well and able to perform in the world as possible. One way the biohacker will do this is to try different supplements. For example, when I had chronic fatigue syndrome, one of the key symptoms I had was food intolerances and a digestive system that didn’t work properly. In my quest to cure this (which I have) I have found some amazing supplements that help me keep my digestion healthy such as aloe vera juice, slippery elm powder, probiotics and some blends of supplements that I know I can go to if I feel that my gut is not happy. In the winter, when colds and flu start to take over, I will do an immune system protocol that may include supplements like, vitamin C, vitamin D3 (with K2), medicinal mushrooms, zinc, colostrum. I may not take them all at once, but I have now attuned my intuition to such a degree that I can run my hands over the pots of pills I have at home and ‘feel’ what I need.
Of course, hacking the best way to exercise also plays a huge part in the biohackers research so that they can keep on top of the latest thinking and trends in intelligent fitness. At the moment, HIITS or High Intensity Interval Training, is very popular and a quick and easy way to keep the body fit. I am also looking into something called Primitive Functional movement, sometimes called Animal Movement, and I am very excited by what I am finding there.
Emerging Technologies
Biohackers will also investigate emerging technologies that can be used to keep them healthy and in optimal wellness. For example, light therapy in which light in the red part of the colour spectrum (600-900 nanometres) is produced by a panel which the hacker will stand in front of for a few minutes a day. This light is known to relieve pain, heal injuries, boost energy and make your skin look younger.
And then there are the emerging new treatments that will take human medicine to the next quantum level, such as stem cell therapy. Many of these futuristic treatments are expensive at the moment so can only really be enjoyed by those with a certain income. However, over time, they will become affordable by the masses and re-define what we now think of as the average lifespan.
For me, biohacking my own health has also meant going to some amazing health practitioners, such as clinical homeopaths, chiropractors and herbalists to help me tune my body and keep the nasty stuff at bay.
All of this sounds really positive, doesn’t it, and is definitely the way to go to futureproof ourselves. But, in my opinion, there is also a dark side to biohacking, and this is done by the type of biohackers who are known as grinders.
What is a ‘Grinder’?
A grinder is a biohacker who prefers to enhance their body and mind with do-it-yourself cybernetic devices. You could say that they are choosing to become a cyborg. Many of these devices (known as ‘wetware’) are implanted in the body, often under the skin, eye or head but, as this practice is in the early stages and unregulated, who knows what will eventually be implanted where in the future.
Of course, there are some implants which seem beneficial and I can appreciate the usefulness of, say, the Blood Test implants developed by researchers in Switzerland. This device contains various sensors, a radio transmitter, and a power system. The sensors are coated with different enzymes that allow the implant to monitor various substances in the blood. The device can be recharged through the skin via an external battery. Test results from the implant are transmitted over Wi-Fi to the medical practitioner. For diabetics, this could also give them a constant reading of their blood glucose level by just looking at their smartphone or smart watch.
Other devices currently being implanted are: a sensor that tells you where magnetic north is, finger magnetics that help you sense electromagnetic fields and, probably one of the more well-known devices, RFID chips (Radio Frequency Identification) implanted, usually in hands or wrists. These allow you to open doors, log in to computers or smart devices, pay for lunch, or even unlock your car.
On one level it all sounds useful and even fun, and I’m sure that some of these devices will prove to be beneficial but many grinders insert these implants in their bodies themselves or have it done by piercers. It really is kitchen-table surgery. As you can imagine, some grinders have ended up in hospital with bad infections. It’s also emerging that grinding can become an obsession, a bit like plastic surgery is for some people, and many of the grinders I see on YouTube do not seem to be coming from a balanced place. They are often bright, young people, but there is something uncomfortable and a bit cultish about it all.
Also, I don’t think that these grinders have considered ‘who could be hacking their hack’? Just like any other smart device, these devices can be technically hacked for information or possibly manipulation, especially without the right security.
Natural Biohacking
For me, I prefer to be, what I call, a natural biohacker researching all the amazing natural substances and techniques out there to optimise my wellbeing and performance. There is so much magic and subtle power within the human body that we haven’t explored yet and there are amazing ways that we can work with that before we need to offer ourselves up as cyborgs. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for some of these cybernetic devices, but done in a safe and balanced way that allows us to still be a human being in charge of our own mind and body.