Biohacker's Podcast: Top 10 Daily Biohacks with Ben Greenfield

Introduction

The host introduces the podcast and the guest, Ben Greenfield.

About Ben Greenfield

The host provides an overview of Ben Greenfield's background and accomplishments.

Background

• Ben is a multiple New York Times best-selling author, health consultant, and professional speaker.

• He has been on stage at various health and fitness conferences.

• He has written several books including Beyond Training, Boundless, Endure, and Fit Soul.

Jaw Realignment

Ben discusses jaw realignment as a way to improve sleep quality and parasympathetic nerve function.

Jaw Realignment

• Jaw realignment can be done by working with a chiropractic doctor or sports medicine doctor.

• A massage therapist can also do it using trigger points on the jaw.

• It can improve sleep quality, parasympathetic nerve function, and heart rate variability.

Brain Flush

Ben talks about using 810 nanometer light called a violite inside his nose to target cytochrome p450 in the brain for decreasing neural inflammation.

Brain Flush

• Using 810 nanometer light called a violite inside the nose targets cytochrome p450 in the brain.

• This helps decrease neural inflammation.

• Lion's mane extract is used in coffee every morning to shut down neural inflammation.

Morning Routine for Enhanced Neural Function

In this section, the speaker shares his morning routine that he uses to enhance neural function.

Black Ant Extract

• Black ant extract is a supplement that produces acetylcholine, which enhances neural function.

• The speaker mixes black ant powder with bacopa and lion's mane extract in a jar and adds a teaspoon of it to his coffee every morning.

Hot-Cold Therapy

• The speaker does a specific protocol of hot-cold therapy every morning after his morning cocktail.

• He uses high-dose niacin before stepping into an infrared sauna for 30 minutes.

• After the sauna, he does Kundalini Yoga for 20 to 30 minutes.

• He then goes outside and does Wim Hof style breathing for five to ten minutes.

Jet Lag Recovery

• When traveling across multiple time zones, the speaker has a 60-minute protocol that he uses to recover from jet lag.

• He searches for Turkish bath, Japanese bath or Russian bath on Google maps as they have cold plunges, steam rooms and saunas.

• His protocol involves spending 15 minutes in the sauna followed by five minutes in the cold pool. Then he spends 15 minutes in the steam room followed by another five minutes in the cold pool. Finally, he spends 15 minutes in a hot mineral bath followed by another five minutes in the cold pool.

The transcript is already in English language so there is no need to translate it.

Women and Intermittent Fasting

In this section, the speaker discusses how women respond to intermittent fasting differently than men due to a specific peptide called kisspeptin. He also provides some tips for women who want to try intermittent fasting.

Kisspeptin and Intermittent Fasting

• Women have a specific peptide called kisspeptin that responds to feeding signals in the morning and evening.

• Properly timed feeding signals cause the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which upregulates metabolism and keeps the body in a fertile state.

• Intermittent fasting can decrease sensitivity to kisspeptin, making it less effective for women.

• Medium chain triglycerides or fatty coffee in the morning can help keep some of these effects at bay.

Kundalini Yoga

In this section, the speaker talks about Kundalini Yoga and how it can be used to activate certain chakras for better digestion, cognitive performance, and cardiovascular performance.

Benefits of Kundalini Yoga

• Kundalini Yoga is a combination of movement and breath work that activates certain chakras in the body.

• Specific moves like punching the person in front of you in the back of the kidneys increase blood flow to the brain.

• The practice involves doing different forms of movement for 60 seconds to three minutes followed by squeezing everything before breathing out.

• It works well even if you have limited space or equipment.

Controlling Blood Glucose

In this section, the speaker discusses how to control blood glucose levels throughout the day. He mentions three specific nutrients/supplements that he uses to keep his blood glucose normalized and sensitive to insulin.

Nutrients/Supplements for Normalizing Blood Glucose

• Small amounts of movement throughout the day can help keep blood glucose levels normalized.

• Apple cider vinegar has been shown to lower postprandial blood glucose when consumed prior to a meal.

• Cinnamon, specifically organic Ceylon cinnamon, can decrease blood glucose levels when consumed before a meal rich in protein or carbohydrates.

• Bitter melon extract is just as effective as metformin at lowering postprandial blood glucose levels when consumed prior to a meal.

The Importance of Variety

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of variety in daily life and how it can positively impact overall health.

Benefits of Variety

• Music is one way to add variety and enhance neurogenesis, causing release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and growth of new neurons.

• Learning a musical instrument or learning how to play a new song on an instrument you already know can be particularly beneficial for enhancing vagus nerve tone.

Importance of Variety and Novelty in Brain Health

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of variety and novelty in brain health. He shares insights from Dr. Daniel Amen's book on spec scans for the brain and talks about how different activities can target different areas of the brain.

Variety is Key

• Variety, novelty, and challenge are key to maintaining a healthy brain.

• Table tennis or ping pong is the sport that causes the greatest amount of blood flow to the brain.

• The speaker never goes for a month without delving into something that makes his brain uncomfortable.

Aromatherapy for Cognitive Performance

• Peppermint, cinnamon, and vanilla essential oils can enhance cognitive performance.

• Rose, lavender, and bergamot essential oils can promote relaxation.

Low End Density Pulse Electromagnetic Field Therapy

• Low end density pulse electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) has been shown to be beneficial for enhancing bone healing, soft tissue healing, and giving a grounding or earthing effect.

• PEMF devices are less powerful than other devices like Beamer or Earth pulse but still effective.

Sleep Optimization

In this section, the speaker talks about sleep optimization and shares some of the tools he uses to improve his sleep quality.

Insomni Resonance SR1 Delta Sleeper

• The device is placed on the brachial plexus, which is between the collarbone and shoulder.

• It runs for 22 minutes before turning off.

• It helps create Delta brain waves that aid in falling asleep.

• Combining it with binaural beats and lavender oil can help improve sleep quality.

Aura Ring for Self Quantification

• The Aura Ring is used for self quantification during sleep.

• It does not emit a Bluetooth signal, making it safe to use without exposure to electrical pollution all day long.

• It collects data on hardware variability, temperature, respiration, and heart rate.

• Changing room temperature from 67 degrees to 63 degrees improved recovery by increasing deep sleep from 11% to 22%.

Importance of Sleep Optimization

• The speaker uses these tools when living in modern society but doesn't need them when camping or hunting in the wilderness.

• Using these tools helps him feel much better while traveling around the globe and engaging in modern living.

• They make a night-and-day difference in terms of everything from recovery to overall well-being.

Thinking About Biohacking While Hunting

In this section, the speaker talks about his thoughts on biohacking while hunting.

Thoughts on Biohacking While Hunting

• The speaker's main focus while hunting is to go back and see his family and get whatever big animal he has hunted.

• He does not think about biohacking while hunting because he does not need to.

• The speaker believes that a lot of what is talked about in biohacking is just mitigating the damage caused by modern life.

Top 3 Exercise Tips

In this section, the speaker shares his top three exercise tips.

Exercise Tips

• The speaker rarely does anything that is sympathetic nervous system fight or flight-based in the morning as he finds it too stressful for the body.

• Kundalini Yoga, breathwork, hot-cold contrast are some of the things he does in the morning.

• In the afternoon, he usually works out outside with rocks, sandbags, logs ropes and gets out in nature.

• Constant variety is key if you want to keep your metabolism elevated and stay functional and healthy.

• Always throw a curveball at your body by changing up your workout routine.

Supplements Used by Speaker

In this section, the speaker talks about supplements that he uses.

Supplements Used

• Creatine for its neurotropic effect as well as muscle and power-sustaining effect

• Fish oil for general health benefits

• A good multivitamin to get everything needed without eating copious amounts of food

• Cannabidiol (CBD) for relaxation purposes

• A small microdose of Melatonin combined with something called pH Gaba which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Proper Nutrition and Multivitamins

In this section, the speaker talks about proper nutrition and multivitamins.

Proper Nutrition and Multivitamins

• The speaker believes that if you live on a pristine Himalayan Mountain top and eat all organic food chock full of minerals, you could get away without a multivitamin.

• However, because of the combination of food not being what it used to be and also doing unnatural things with his body, he has to take a multivitamin to get everything needed without eating copious amounts of food.

Morning Routine

In this section, the speaker describes his morning routine in detail.

Preparing Coffee

• The speaker prepares an Americano coffee.

• He mixes it with grass-fed buffalo or sheep butter, MCD oil, collagen reindeer bone broth, chai spices such as cardamom cinnamon vanilla and gloves, functional mushrooms such as chaga, and a blend of 20 different dark pigmented berry powders.

Clear Light Infrared Sauna

• The speaker walks with the coffee to the clear lady infrared sauna.

• He turns on the built-in red light device to increase mitochondrial function in the morning, reduce inflammation, improve skin health and generally feel great.

Breath Work and Meditation

• After a 20-minute breath work and meditation session using different techniques to get his body ready for focus.

• He drinks half of the coffee while journaling his daily priorities.

Morning Workout

• At the 45-minute mark after coming out of the sauna he performs a short morning workout using kettlebells, resistance bands based on X3 bar and some exercises to improve hip movement and posture.

Filtered Shower Head

• The speaker takes a shower under a filtered shower head.

Starting Work Day

• With coffee in hand at his standing desk he starts his workday.

• He recommends not starting your day with your mobile phone in hand as it increases stress levels.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by inviting the audience to share their morning routine and provides information about where to find more content.

• The speaker invites the audience to share their morning routine on Instagram.

• He provides information about where to find more content, including supplements, technologies, courses, retreats, and events such as the Biohacker Summit.