To put it simply, it’s a movement whose goals go way beyond the idea of leading a “healthy lifestyle.”
Biohacking started over ten years ago among groups of young scientists and students in California, who began to systematically evaluate their physical, spiritual, and emotional health, as well as analyze their living conditions and environment. Their goal? To maximize individual performance and increase overall well-being.
In a nutshell: biohacking is about self-optimization. Finding the best version of yourself!
It incorporates the latest scientific and technological advances in the fields of health and wellness, developing them further and applying them in a practical context.
In other words, biohacking is an effective and applicable set of science-based practices that generate real results—and are easily adaptable to each person’s needs and goals.
Given its effectiveness, the number of biohacking enthusiasts around the world is growing steadily. I’m one of them.
Maximilian Gotzler, the founder of FlowGrade, is the most well-known biohacking advocate in Germany.
Although most people who practice biohacking are relatively young, the methods are particularly useful when it comes to anti-aging.
Anyone who commits to the principles of biohacking and adjusts their daily routine accordingly has a good chance of staying healthy and supple — i.e., young — for a longer period of time!
Fortunately, the practices are easy to integrate into everyday life and require just one thing: consistency!
What’s important to keep in mind: Movement, nutrition, and relaxation have an enormous influence on your health, performance, and biological age. Biohacking integrates specific recommendations in each of these key areas that significantly increase your likelihood of achieving successful results.
With that in mind, here are my 10 essential biohacks that everyone can start with:
Take a cold shower for approximately 30 seconds every morning.
Spend one hour a day outside, i.e. in natural sunlight.
Work out to the point of sweating at least 3 times per week.
Take 5 deep belly breaths at least three times a day. Meditate for 15 minutes a day, ideally before going to bed.
Eat as little sugar and carbohydrates—like pasta, rice, and potatoes—as possible. Substitute them with vegetables and protein-rich foods. Drink 2.5 liters of water per day. Depending on your individual needs, take nutritional supplements.
Wear blue light-blocking glasses in the evenings, and turn off all screens 1 hour before going to bed.
Take 400mg of magnesium every evening. This relaxes the muscles and improves sleep quality.
Practice interval fasting—allowing at least 16 hours between dinner and breakfast the next morning—at least 3 times per week.
Have sex frequently.
Get at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night – 9 hours are even better! Your bedroom should be absolutely dark (use sleep-mask), noiseless and have the temprerature about 16-18 degrees. (How to sleep better)
The 10 best quick meals for long-term health and fitness!
These days, when it comes to cooking, there are three important benchmarks:
It has to be quick.
It has to be healthy.
It has to taste good.
Here are 10 recipes for dishes that more than satisfy all three of these criteria. Each recipe serves 2 people and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make.
Russian Borscht Stew with Buckwheat
Russian Stew with buckwheat
1 medium-sized head white cabbage
1 fresh red beet
1 large carrot
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1 thick slice celery root
½ a leek
2-3 large mushrooms or 1 handful chanterelle mushrooms
150 grams buckwheat grains
2 tablespoons vegetable broth powder
Olive oil
Parsley
Slice the vegetables and the mushrooms. Boil 1 liter of water and add the vegetable broth powder to dissolve. Add the sliced vegetables, mushrooms, and buckwheat grains. Cook for 10 minutes at low heat. Finish with a generous dash of olive oil and a handful of chopped parsley.
Serve with a spoonful of hummus and/or sour cream.
Fish fillet (for example, smoked mackerel, as shown here) with FriedPimientos and Blue Cheese Porridge
Fish-Filet with mush potatoes and roasted pimientos
1 smoked mackerel
Alternative: use salmon or any other fish you prefer, season with salt, pepper, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar, then bake in foil for 20 minutes at 185 °
1 bag of green pimientos (a.k.a. pimientos de padron)
2 or 3 potatoes
50 grams of blue cheese
100 milliliters milk
Salt, pepper, and olive or rapeseed oil for sautéing
Fresh tomato slices for garnish
Remove the skin and bones from the mackerel. Fry the pimientos in oil with salt and pepper. Boil the potatoes in salted water, drain ¾ of the water, add the blue cheese and milk, and mash together with a fork or a potato masher.
Serve with a few slices of fresh tomato.
Vegetable Pancakes with Herb Quark, Hummus, and Mixed Green Salad
Feel younger with healthy food
Vegetable pancakes (or potato pancakes), hummus, and herb quark from the deli counter at your favorite supermarket
Salad ingredients: organic mâche greens (a.k.a. lamb’s lettuce), ½ cucumber, 2 tomatoes, green onion
2 tablespoons olive, sunflower, or MCT oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Warm the vegetable pancakes in the oven at 180°C for 15 minutes. Combine the greens with the chopped cucumber, tomato, green onion, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.
Remove the vegetable pancakes from the oven, place on large plate, top with herb quark and hummus, and serve with salad on the side.
The Classic: Fried Potatoes with Eggs Sunny-Side-Up and Fresh Sauerkraut
Fried potatoes with eggs and sauerkraut-salad.
2 or 3 new potatoes
Organic eggs
150 grams fresh sauerkraut per person (barrel-cured is best)
1 or 2 green onions, chopped
Seasoned salt and pepper
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Caraway seeds
1 tablespoon flaxseed or sunflower oil
Rapeseed or olive oil for frying
Peel potatoes and slice them as you prefer. Place potatoes in a skillet with olive or rapeseed oil and chopped green onion and brown for 7-10 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, combine the maple syrup, a pinch of caraway seeds, and flaxseed oil with the sauerkraut. Place the fried potatoes on a large plate with the sauerkraut on the side. Cook the eggs in the same skillet you used to fry the potatoes, sprinkling them with seasoned salt. Lay the eggs atop the fried potatoes and serve.
Red Lentil-Vegetable Soup
Red Lentil Soup with vegetables
500 milliliters organic vegetable broth
200 grams red lentils
50 grams fresh ginger
100 grams chanterelle or porcini mushrooms
200 grams broccoli, green asparagus, or another favorite vegetable
1 bunch of “soup vegetables” (1 rib celery or 1 piece of celery root, 1 leek, 1 handful curly parsley, and 1 carrot, as needed)
2 tablespoons olive or MCT oil
Parsley
Bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Rinse the lentils and add them to the broth. Grate the ginger directly into the broth. Wash and chop the mushrooms and vegetables, and add them to the pot. Cook for 10 minutes. Finish with oil and a handful of parsley.
Serve the soup with a spoonful of sour cream.
Tortellini with Jumbo Shrimp
Tortellini with Jumbo Shrimp
1 package fresh tortellini pasta
400 grams jumbo shrimp
1 green onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
2 medium-sized tomatoes
4-5 marinated sun-dried tomatoes
100 grams whole green olives
1 chili pepper
1 tablespoon organic vegetable broth powder
30 grams of Parmesan cheese
Olive or rapeseed oil for sautéing
Add shrimp, vegetable broth powder, chopped green onions, olives, and chili to a wok and sauté in olive oil. Meanwhile, chop the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and add tortellini, cooking for about 4 minutes. Drain the pasta. When the shrimp are red and cooked through, add the rest of the chopped vegetables to the wok, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Add the drained tortellini to the wok and stir to combine.
Serve in pasta bowls and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.
Mixed Green Salad with Seaweed and Tofu
Green salad with seawead and roasted tofu
250 grams mâche greens (a.k.a. lamb’s lettuce)
2 or 3 medium-sized tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 ripe avocado
1 green onion
Seaweed salad from the deli counter
Your favorite salad dressing
200 grams firm tofu
50 milliliters soy sauce
Rapeseed oil for sautéing
Cut tofu in to large pieces and marinate for 10 minutes in soy sauce. Chop the salad ingredients and combine with the dressing. Serve on two large plates, spooning the seaweed salad over the top. Heat oil in a wok and cook the soy sauce-marinated tofu until well browned.
Arrange the browned tofu pieces over the salad and serve.
Kefir-Spelt Pancakes with Cottage Cheese
Kefir-Spelt Pancakes with cottage cheese
250 milliliters kefir
2 eggs
4 heaping tablespoons spelt flour
Cottage cheese
1 container fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon honey
Flaxseeds (about 1 tablespoon)
A pinch of salt
Butter, plus oil for cooking
Preheat oven to approximately 70°C. Combine the kefir, eggs, and spelt flour, and add a pinch of salt. In a small pan, fry the pancakes in a little oil, brush them with butter, and place them in the preheated oven on a plate to keep warm. In a bowl, smash the raspberries and combine them with honey and flaxseeds.
Serve the pancakes with cottage cheese and garnish with spoonfuls of the raspberry mixture.
Pasta with Stir-fried Zucchini and Mozzarella
Pasta with vegetables and Mozzarella
2 small zucchini
1 green onion
½ red bell pepper
100 grams of your favorite mushroom
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon organic vegetable broth powder
2 large balls of fresh mozzarella
30 grams Parmesan cheese
Oil for sautéing
Freshly ground pepper
Tagliatelle noodles for two
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the package directions. Drain. Chop the vegetables, mushrooms, tomato, and garlic and sauté in a large skillet with oil, vegetable broth powder, and ground pepper. Add the cooked, drained pasta to the skillet and stir well to combine.
Divide into two pasta bowls, top each with a ball of mozzarella, and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.
Sautéed Vegetables with Chicken Strips
Roasted vegetables with chicken strips
300 grams boneless, skinless chicken breast
300 grams green asparagus (or another favorite vegetable)
Green onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 rib celery
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Balsamic vinegar, approximately 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon organic vegetable broth powder
1 medium-sized tomato
Marinate chicken breast in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste for 1 hour. After marinating, cut chicken breast into strips.
Chop the asparagus (or other vegetable), green onion, yellow bell pepper, celery, and garlic and sauté in olive oil for 5-7 minutes. Divide the vegetables between two plates. While the pan is still hot, brown the chicken strips for 3-4 minutes over high heat. Place the browned chicken strips on top of the vegetables. Garnish with slices of fresh tomato.
Everyone’s talking about anti-aging these days. Thats why the market for products and services that promise to help us “stay young” and “feel younger” is enormous.
There’s a wide range of options, from anti-aging skin care products and dietary supplements to more radical approaches like cosmetic surgery.
With all of these options, the goal is to enhance our physical appearance and help us create a fresher, more radiant impression. In the meantime, the market for anti-aging products is booming. The industry is worth billions of dollars. Profits only continue to rise.
I have nothing against high-tech skin creams that actually demonstrate results in nanotechnology experiments.
I also have nothing against fancy treatments at cosmetic salons, which can have a positive side effect we shouldn’t underestimate: wellness. We can think of these treatments as the equivalent of lying on a comfy couch and getting a healthy dose of physical attention, as well as social contact.
Even cosmetic surgery has its raison d’être! (Though it’s a questionable choice for very young people.)
But can all this options really help create the anti-aging effects we’re hoping for?
My opinion on this is a clear- NO!
In the end, if you want to look and feel younger, you should make efforts to create a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately, your lifestyle choices are the deciding factor in how “young” you really are — and they’re reflected in your physical appearance. (For more on this topic, check out my post: BioAge: How you can lower your Biological Age
If you stick to these rules, you’ll get a firmer, healthier body. How? By building your muscles. Working the muscles is the best way to tighten the skin, since the muscles help improve blood flow to the skin’s surface, making it look both rosier and fresher.
Eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep (See my post: This is how you sleep well!) are other essential ingredients in a youthful appearance. This is you see from 10 feet away, just by the way someone walk.
In the end, if you practice a healthy lifestyle and still think something is missing from your anti-aging routine, you’re welcome to spend money on expensive skin creams, visit a beauty institute, or consult one of the many plastic surgeons offering their services.
I wish you success on whichever path you choose!
Feel free to write about them in the comments section below. Your e-mail adress w’ont be published.
There’s no need to explain the fact that a good night’s rest is important for our well-being.
During sleep, the body’s repair processes are running at full speed.It helps us become fit and attractive, literally overnight. However, if you have a hard time falling asleep, or toss and turn during the night—and get upset about it to boot—the nightly calm and flow that contribute to your quality of life get disrupted.
Sleep disturbances have different causes. From serious illnesses to psychological stress to the belief that you’re simply not capable of sleeping well. I especially want to encourage those of you who fall into that last category. Thats why I want to share my ideas about how to get a good night’s rest.
Apart from the temperature, darkness and noise levels in the bedroom, it’s the little things that can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep.
Here’s my recipe for a good night’s sleep:
Take a 15-minute walk shortly after waking up—and once again after dinner.
1 hour before bedtime: Turn off or put away all the electronic devices you think you can’t live without.
On days when you exercise, take 400 mg of magnesium after dinner, which helps relax the muscles and make you sleepy.
On exercise-free days, have 1 cup of tea with sleep-inducing herbs in the evening.
Before lying down, do a 10-minute meditation at the edge of the bed.
If you wake up during the night, breathe deeply into your stomach several times. Count to 10 when you exhale. In between breaths, repeat the word “stop” in your head.
After a particularly exciting day, a tablet of high-dose (1000mg) valerian can help you calm down and sleep better.
An elaborate make-up routine—with foundation, primer and finish—is actually meant for wrinkle-free skin.
When we apply all of these products to mature skin, they end up emphasizing each wrinkle. That is, the more wrinkles you have, the more visible they are.
This is why I recommend staying away from liquid make-up, which makes the face look older. For mature skin, lightly tinted day creams are a much better alternative.
The same is true for powder eyeshadow.
Our eyes tend to make the strongest impression on people, and our eyebrows play the leading role.
Blush is also an absolute must here! It gives the face a healthy-looking freshness. Finally, the lips should always be well-lined—to communicate sensuality and good grooming.
My 5-minute make-up routine—after daily cleansing and skin care—looks like this:
Apply light cream eyeshadow on the upper eyelids. Than brown eyeliner on the outer halves of the edges of the eyelids and smudge a little. Finally brown mascara to the lashes.
Using the fingertips, apply cream blush over the cheekbones.
Frame the lips generously with a subtle lip liner and dab some lip gloss onto the middle of the lower lip. Press the lips together once.
If you like, apply a little loose powder to the nose, forehead, cheeks and chin with a large brush. Bonus tip: lip liner lasts longer if you put a little powder on your lips first!
Voilà!
Now you have time for the other good things in your life!
What are some of your best/worst experiences with make-up? Do you have any tips/tricks you’d like to share?
Feel free to write about them in the comments section below. Your e-mail adress w’ont be published.
Everyone wants to start off the day relaxed, in a good mood, and just feeling good in their skin.
And there’s no shortage of advice and self-help books to help you get there. They explore a variety of themes, from the best forms of exercise to the best new diets, along with long lists of additional things to try—or avoid. Ultimately, the range of effective strategies to improve health and well-being is as extensive as it is confusing. Read BioAge; How you can lower your Biological Age
The question is, do you really need a bunch of complicated self-help books to figure out the ideal way to live? Aren’t there some simple rules that can help you achieve maximum effects with minimal effort?
I say — yes, there are!
I call them “The Magnificent Three”.
If you follow them, you don’t need to belong to a fancy gym, nor do you need to obsess over calorie counts or worry about putting together an elaborate daily routine to stay healthy and fit.
What I love about the Magnificent Three is that they work almost automatically. You don’t have to give them too much thought, which takes the pressure off and leaves you plenty of room to relax and enjoy your life.
Here they are:
Movement: A brisk 30-minute walk every day, no matter what the season or the weather. This is the minimum of what you should be doing exercise-wise. Not only does it get you moving, but walking also gives you a sufficient daily dose of sunlight, which helps ensure a good night’s sleep. Besides walking, there are other forms of exercise—especially cardio and strength training—that are definitely worth a try.
2. A 9-hour night’s rest: Let’s take the myth about a 4 to 5-hour night’s sleep being enough off the table. 7 to 8 hours are optimal. I recommend 9 hours – from the time you lie down to the time you get up. Going to bed earlier gives you sufficient time to relax and takes away the pressure to fall asleep quickly.
3. 16-hour interval fast at night: Dinner before 6 p.m., breakfast after 10 a.m. We know by now what a healthy diet consists of: lots of fresh vegetables, lean dairy products, more fish than meat, whole grains, beans, fruit, nuts and good vegetable fats, plus an egg every now and then. But who knows exactly what their individual needs are? Interval fasting helps compensate for our many nutritional sins, cleansing the body and giving it a break from its digestive duties. An added bonus? It also helps us sleep better.
Voilà.
Feel free to write about them in the comments section below. Your e-mail adress w’ont be published.
Thanks to a tip, my interest in an extraordinary movement—still relatively new in the German-speaking world—was aroused. In July 2019 I followed up on that tip and attended the international biohacking conference, the “FlowFest 2019” in Munich.
During the conference, I familiarized myself with a range of topics and practices in the biohacking scene.
What is biohacking?
It refers to our individual power to increase our physical and mental potential—as well as that of the environment—in order to enhance well-being and performance.
On a beautiful sunny July morning, hundreds of cheerful, healthy-looking, multilingual people flocked to the courtyard of the old factory on Munich’s Prater Island. Their aim? To exchange ideas about new health trends and further increase awareness around issues related to body and mind.
The host was former high performance athlete Max Gotzler.
He is the founder of “FlowGrade” and one of the leading representatives of the biohacking movement. Conference participants spoke German, English, Dutch, and Finnish, along with other languages I couldn’t identify. There were various lectures and multiple workshops on offer.
The conference also brought together a number of outstanding speakers and guests. A sun-worshipping neurosurgeon from the United States, a scientist and keto nutrition advocate, and a self-made biohacker from the Netherlands. He climbs into a tub of ice water for 2 minutes every morning and doesn’t eat his first real meal until 2 p.m.
There was also a scary-looking bodybuilder who won over the audience by lovingly demonstrating stretching exercises to relieve back pain.
Equipment vendors and various representatives for a range of nutritional supplements were also part of the festivities.
I was especially impressed with a red light lamp that supposedly has miraculous biohacking effects beyond heating. Vitamins, magic-powder concoctions, special mattress covers, and magnetic field-zapping devices were naturally part of the offerings, too.
Completing the picture were numerous books about advanced forms of exercise and sports equipment. During lunch, there were only organic and natural lemonades to drink, of course.
Despite feeling slightly critical, I still learned a lot and took away plenty of lessons from the conference!
Here are my everyday biohacking tips for everyone:
Every morning after waking up, a yoga sun salutation, followed by a 30-second cold shower
A 10-minute walk before breakfast, if possible
1 hour of exercise 3 times per week: ¾ cardio and ¼ strength training
After exercise, 400mg magnesium plus calcium in the form of a sports drink
As often as possible, choose only steamed vegetables or salads as side dishes for a protein source
Spend 20 minutes in the sun every day, even when it’s cloudy
Its common knowledge that as we get older the body’s repair processes take longer—and sometimes don’t function as It’well as they should.
What’s lesser known is that countless, barely detectable micro-inflammations are often the cause of the body’s inability to repair itself. These micro-inflammations are small accumulations of immune system. Cells and substances that, in line with their purpose, get rid of the body’s own “waste.”
In the process, the body disposes of immune system cells. They creates an even greater amount of waste, which in turn attracts other cells. This can put a strain on the body.
If we want to lower our biological age, we want to improve the body’s ability to repair itself and clear out what we don’t need.
As I mentioned in my post BioAge: How you can lower your Biological Age regular exercise and good nutrition can have a positive impact on your body’s repair processes. It help you create less waste in the first place.
Besides incorporating exercise and practicing good nutrition, it’s important to prevent the body from overreacting to inflammation—and getting rid of valuable immune system cells in the process.
Anti-inflammatory substances can be helpful here. Cortisone, for example, is one of the greatest discoveries in modern medicine. For some inflammation-related diseases, it’s the remedy of choice.
For healthy people, however, natural substances—such as those contained in plants, fruit, and berries—represent a perfectly adequate way to reduce inflammation. Cherries, raspberries and turmeric are particularly good sources of anti-inflammatory substances. Red wine, which contains a polyphenol called resveratrol, is also a well-known source of anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Here’s my recipe for preventing micro-inflammations:
A handful of cherries or raspberries every day
Every 3 months for two weeks: turmeric capsules OR a delicious dish with turmeric twice a week
Twice a week: a glass of red wine or resveratrol supplements
There’s no living thing on earth, apart from a few animal species that only live underground, that doesn’t somehow depend on the sun.
Nothing has greater power over our planet than the sun. It determines the rhythms of nature, regulating its hibernation and blossoming phases. The warming rays of the sun give us a sense of comfort and well-being. When the sun withdraws, nature longs for it to reappear.
Besides warmth, the sun provides light, which is not only indispensable for the survival of plants and animals, but also for us humans, as part of life on earth. Sunlight determines our waking and sleeping patterns, thereby influencing our sense of well-being.
Through exposure to sunlight on our eyes and skin, we release hormones that keep us active during the day and help us fall asleep at night. Without a sufficient “dose” of sunlight, our hormones grow out of balance and become more susceptible to disruption, ultimately impacting our biological age.
So what’s a sufficient “dose” of sunlight? I don’t think there’s an upper limit here.
Every morning, I try to take a 10-minute walk around the block before breakfast.
If you go to work early in the day, you automatically get your morning dose of sunlight.
During the day, try to spend as much time outside as possible. Even in winter. Why?
Light and fresh air create the best conditions to improve your biological age!
I think of the term “menopause” as a fictional diagnosis.
In fact, there are regions in the world where the term is virtually unknown. For example in Asia. In Western countries, on the other hand, menopause is not only considered a big deal, but it’s also presented as source of suffering for women.
However, I would argue that the phase of life in which women no longer have the biological ability to get pregnant is far less dramatic from a physiological point of view than many believe.
Even during menopause, women retain over half of their female hormones.
At the same time, the male hormone testosterone starts to take over. As a result, many women suddenly feel a greater desire for sex. As the saying goes: “There’s no fox like an old fox.”
A lesser-known fact is that men are much worse off than women as they age. Why? As their testosterone levels drop over time, men lose part of their sex drive—and this isn’t something they can restore naturally.
For women, on the other hand, it’s possible to find substances in the plant world that replicate the effects of female hormones. First and foremost, I want to mention soy, the miracle plant. Tofu and its cousins are outstanding sources of phytoestrogens (estrogen derived from plants). In addition, there’s a whole range of plants, including yam root, that can create effects similar to the female hormone progesterone.
These plant-based substances make it possible for women to balance out hormonal deficits in their bodies.
Whatever your gender, if you believe you’re going through “menopause”:
Two “S’s”—sports and sex—
are the most effective things you can do. Both activities create a hormone release that helps keep the body balanced and fit. If you often work up a sweat during sports or sex, hormone-related sweating becomes less and less of an issue.
Ultimately, it’s up to us as individuals to determine whether or not we’re going through “menopause.”
My gender-neutral prescription for “menopause” is:
Exercising 3 times per week
Having sex 2 times per week
A tasty tofu-based dish 2 times per week
And for women: Yam root supplements in the form of tea or skin gel, 2 weeks per month.
