Bio Hacking

Your best friend being a physician sure is a plus, just not sure if this is another Keto meme worthy trend. At the end of the day a sustainable diet is a nutrition plan you can stick to.

This is what people are saying

Burnt:

Realistically you came to WSO which is full of malnourished, burnt-out, and suicidal individuals so I’m not too sure what you’re gonna get out of this…

I just wanted to get some different perspectives

thebrofessor

I used to think biohacking was a thing when I was younger, now I believe that most of these people are snake oil salesmen and/or charlatans. since I'm closer to 40 than 30 and have been looking into this stuff for a while (>15y), here are some things I've gathered that have helped me, I hope the same for you

1. don't try to fight God, because there's no free lunch. you take TRT, your body stops making it. you take stuff to keep your hair and you could mess with your hormone balance. you think melatonin will make up for a shit diet and lifestyle, think again. think that by puffing on a juul or putting in a zyn is a free lunch because it's not a cigarette? think again. realize first and foremost that the human body is a marvel of science that is not fully understood so try to fuck with it the least amount humanly possible
2. if someone's trying to sell something, ignore them
3. slow progress over time is better than radical changes
4. most people don't know jack shit about statistics so when you hear "a study showed ____" assume they're an idiot. specifically I'm referring to andrew huberman and rhonda patrick and most of what rogan says (though I still appreciate rogan)
5. there's a ton of genetic variability so begin looking at everything through the lens of "what did my ancestors do?" and go from there. for example, someone whose ancestors evolved eating rice, fish & vegetables probably shouldn't eat like paul saladino, and someone who's a descendant of africans who ate meat, berries & honey probably shouldn't go vegan
6. variety is awesome, so don't do the same thing exercise & diet wise every day. sure, you can have the same breakfast but you should try as much as you can to eat seasonally and have an exercise routine that has all levels of intensity, some cardio, some weights, some mobility, some fun (sports), and so on, even if it's not all in the same session
7. more credence needs to be given to maintaining low levels of stress and having fun. really good hormonal shit happens in your body when you're not stressed out all the time
8. too much data can be a very bad thing. endless trackers, keeping spreadsheets of your sleep and macros and all of that, I say bullshit. sure, if you have a specific goal and it helps you track towards that goal (particularly if you're training for a race, trying to learn more about the macros of your current diet, losing a certain amount of weight etc), then use it until the habits are formed, but I have to believe that something like the whoop strap has led to more stress about sleeping well than it has improved people's sleep (I'm looking at you matt walker).
   1. for me? I wore a myzone strap when I switched up my workouts, partially to ascertain what HR zone was when I was distance running (bc I'd never done distance running before), and when I run I use the nike run app, and when I was trying to bulk (wouldn't recommend for my fellow ectomorphs) I used myfitnesspal and then quickly stopped, but once you have a good routine and learn your body, you don't need any of that stuff. save that money and use it to take a nice mediterranean brunette out for wine & seafood
9. see your doctor annually, even if you're young. get an annual physical, get your bloodwork done, and do it religiously. you can feel fine but have high liver enzymes from drinking too much, high white blood cell count if a cancer is lurking behind the curtain, high blood pressure if you're stressed/sleep deprived, and more. I've seen too many clients and acquaintainces die from things that could've been caught earlier. your insurance pays for it, suck it up and go to the doctor (even if I don't ever believe 100% of what the doc says)
10. modernity is mostly for profit, not for human flourishing. minimize things that our brains/bodies don't know what to do with - social media, dating apps, 24/7 news, email after a certain time of the day, overly processed food (if the ingredients haven't been around 500y, be VERY skeptical - specifically plant based meat, seed oils, enriched flour/pasta/bread, sugar alcohols, etc.). furthering this point, if you don't get natural light, your circadian rhythm is off. if you live in NYC, walk outside in the morning and at night without looking at your phone. I won't go into my diatribe about responsible unprotected sun exposure, all I'll say is most sunscreens are toxic and everybody should get some sun from time to time, even if it's just 15min over your lunch break to chill for a bit
11. find something that helps you relax. early in career is going to be a stressful time so you won't be able to get outside, avoid email, get plenty of sleep, eat the best food all the time, but you can find something that helps you downregulate your stress hormones for free. for me, this is prayer followed by breathwork & meditation. find what works for you and do it
12. across all platforms, unfollow all biohackers, longevity specialists, people pushing supplements, political commentators, girls with lumbar lordosis, anyone who uses the phrase "alpha male" unironically, and so on. while I don't have socials, my youtube is never a source of stress because I've curated it to be Catholicism, surfing, jiu jitsu, and language learning. you are what you surround yourself with, so be mindful of what you consume on a regular basis. you can most likely get "up to date" with 5-10 minutes of reading the wall street journal or the morning bulletin from your equity research department and then get on with your day

Except for the vast majority of ppl finasteride is a free lunch - several free lunches like this. Evolution takes much longer than you're describing and outside of niche populations eg inuit not sure we're all that different wrt diet. Rest is all common sense stuff