My experience with bio-hacking | Martin Kremmer | TEDxCopenhagen
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful talk, the speaker delves into the realm of biohacking, a journey of self-optimization using data and technology to enhance health and well-being. After experiencing burnout and feeling misunderstood by traditional medicine, the speaker explores the concept of becoming one's own health CEO. They share personal experiences with DNA testing, epigenetics, and the importance of understanding individual biochemistry. The talk encourages embracing a proactive approach to health, using tools like apps for tracking stress and sleep, and challenging the status quo in healthcare.
Takeaways
- 🌿 The concept of biohacking involves using tools and techniques to improve one's body and mind beyond traditional medical advice.
- 📊 Biohacking emphasizes personal responsibility for health by becoming the 'CEO of your own health', using data and technology to optimize well-being.
- 🚀 The speaker's journey into biohacking began after facing burnout and feeling unsatisfied with conventional medical solutions.
- 🧬 DNA testing and understanding epigenetics can provide insights into personal health risks and guide lifestyle changes.
- 🔍 Personalized health approaches are crucial as everyone's biochemistry is unique and one-size-fits-all solutions can be harmful.
- 📉 The speaker discovered specific genetic risks for health issues like early onset Alzheimer's and metabolic problems, highlighting the importance of personalized health data.
- 🛑 Overreliance on quick-fix medications can suppress the body's natural signals and lead to a disconnection from one's own health.
- 📈 The democratization of healthcare services allows for more accessible self-diagnostic tools, empowering individuals to take control of their health.
- 🛑 The speaker experienced a rash that disappeared after adjusting vitamin B12 and folate intake, demonstrating the impact of proactive health management.
- 💤 Sleep quality, stress levels, and nutrition are critical areas for optimization, affecting overall health and energy levels.
- 🔄 Health is a continuous journey, not a destination, requiring constant balance and adjustment to maintain optimal well-being.
Q & A
What is heart rate coherence and how does it relate to stress levels?
-Heart rate coherence is a measure of the variability in heart rate that originated from NASA's research in the 1970s. It indicates stress levels with green being good, blue being okay, and red signaling that the body is in a state of high stress, akin to being ready to run away from a tiger.
What is biohacking and how does it differ from conventional healthcare advice?
-Biohacking is the practice of self-optimization and self-experimentation to improve one's body and mind. It differs from conventional healthcare advice by focusing on individual data and techniques that are more sustainable, rather than the average advice given by doctors which may not cater to an individual's unique needs.
What was the speaker's personal experience with burnout and how did it lead to biohacking?
-The speaker experienced burnout in 2011 and 2012, characterized by symptoms like a red face and a dry, itchy scalp. After several visits to the doctor and unsatisfactory advice, the speaker was introduced to the term 'biohacking' during a radio interview in 2012, which sparked a deep interest and led to thousands of hours of research into the human body.
Why does the speaker believe that outsourcing our health to the public healthcare system is not ideal?
-The speaker believes that outsourcing health to the public healthcare system is not ideal because doctors often have limited time to spend with each patient and may rely on quick fixes or prescribing medications, rather than addressing the root causes of health issues. This can lead to a lack of personal connection with one's body and an overreliance on medication.
What is the significance of the 'mother effing gene' mentioned in the script and how does it affect the speaker?
-The 'mother effing gene' is a gene that the speaker has a defect in, which downregulates one of the body's vital metabolic processes by 75%. This defect can potentially lead to issues like early onset Alzheimer's and difficulty in breaking down fats, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's genetic makeup for personalized health management.
How did the speaker's DNA testing results influence their dietary choices?
-The speaker discovered through DNA testing that they had a higher risk of developing early onset Alzheimer's and a defect in breaking down fats. This led them to reconsider their high-fat diet, which they had been following without knowledge of their genetic predisposition, and to make more informed dietary choices.
What is the role of epigenetics in the context of the speaker's health journey?
-Epigenetics refers to the study of changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. The speaker mentions that lifestyle choices and the environment can determine the expression of genes, meaning that even if one has genes that predispose them to certain conditions, they are not doomed and can influence their health outcomes.
Why is it important to question health trends and advice, according to the speaker?
-The speaker emphasizes the importance of questioning health trends and advice because everyone is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. Following trends blindly can cause harm to one's biochemistry, as the speaker experienced with their high-fat diet.
What is the speaker's view on the democratization of healthcare services and its potential impact?
-The speaker views the democratization of healthcare services as a positive development that will make health information and tests more accessible and affordable. This empowers individuals to take control of their health and make more informed decisions based on their unique needs.
How does the speaker define optimal health and what are the key areas they focus on for self-optimization?
-The speaker defines optimal health as a journey, not a destination, and emphasizes the importance of balance between what drives and drains us. They focus on key areas such as nutrition, stress management, and sleep quality, which they believe are the most impactful areas for self-optimization.
What is the speaker's advice for those interested in biohacking and taking control of their health?
-The speaker advises individuals to start by understanding their unique genetic makeup through DNA testing, to question conventional health advice and trends, and to use the tools and services available for self-optimization. They also encourage challenging doctors to be better investigators and not just treat symptoms.
Outlines
🚀 Introduction to Biohacking and Personal Health Journey
The speaker introduces the concept of biohacking, which involves using tools and techniques to improve one's body and mind beyond conventional medical advice. They share their personal experience with burnout and how they discovered biohacking through a radio interview in 2012. The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking control of one's health rather than relying solely on the healthcare system, which often focuses on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root causes of health issues.
🧬 Understanding DNA and the Role of Epigenetics
This paragraph delves into the importance of DNA testing and how it can provide insights into one's health risks and tendencies. The speaker discusses epigenetics, the study of how lifestyle and environmental factors influence gene expression. They share personal findings from their DNA test, including a higher risk of early-onset Alzheimer's and a metabolic defect that affects fat breakdown. The speaker highlights the dangers of blindly following health trends without considering individual genetic predispositions.
📈 The Democratization of Health Care Services
The speaker discusses the changing landscape of health care, where online diagnostic services are becoming more accessible and affordable. They share their experience with an online doctor who helped them address a health issue by identifying and adjusting their vitamin B12 and folate intake. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of being proactive about one's health and using the available tools and knowledge to make informed decisions.
🛠️ Optimizing Health Through Nutrition, Stress Management, and Sleep
The final paragraph focuses on the importance of optimizing nutrition, managing stress, and ensuring quality sleep as key areas for improving health and well-being. The speaker shares personal strategies for reducing stress, such as changing breathing patterns and being mindful of daily habits that affect sleep quality. They encourage the audience to take a biohacking approach to self-optimization, to challenge conventional medical advice, and to define their own path to optimal health.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Biohacking
💡Heart Rate Coherence
💡Burnout
💡Epigenetics
💡DNA Testing
💡Homocysteine
💡Vitamin B12
💡Stress Management
💡Sleep Quality
💡Optimal Health
💡Personalized Medicine
Highlights
Introduction to biohacking and its potential to improve body and mind through mindset challenges and sustainable techniques.
Real-time stress levels measurement using heart rate coherence, a technique derived from NASA's heart rate variability research.
The speaker's personal experience with burnout and the inadequacy of traditional medical advice for energy issues.
The concept of becoming the CEO of your own health, using data and technology to optimize personal well-being.
The importance of understanding epigenetics and how lifestyle choices and environment influence gene expression.
Personal DNA insights revealing potential health risks and the impact of following a high-fat diet without considering genetic predispositions.
The danger of following health trends without considering individual biochemistry and the potential for harm.
The gap between scientific research and medical advice, with doctors often relying on outdated information.
The rise of self-diagnostic services and their role in empowering individuals to take control of their health.
The significance of tracking homocysteine levels as a marker for silent inflammation and its connection to metabolic processes.
The challenge of interpreting medical advice and the need for individuals to be proactive in their health management.
The democratization of healthcare services and the potential for affordable, accessible self-health monitoring.
The journey towards optimal health as a continuous process of balance and self-awareness.
The impact of stress on health and the benefits of tracking and managing stress levels.
The role of sleep quality in overall health and the importance of understanding and optimizing sleep habits.
The significance of optimal nutrition, stress management, and sleep as foundational areas for health optimization.
A call to action for individuals to embrace biohacking, challenge medical norms, and define their own health standards.
Transcripts
[Applause]
[Music]
have you ever visited your doctor and
felt like he or she didn't take your
concerns seriously or have you ever felt
worn out for more than just a few days
well I have and right now you're
probably wondering what's that thing on
this year what you see in the screen up
there is my real-time stress levels the
app is measuring my heart rate coherence
it's a technique that originated from
NASA's discovery of heart rate
variability back in the 70s
Green is good blues okay red means my
body is ready to run away from a tiger
and guess what when your body is ready
to run away from a tiger all the time
you burn up so join the next couple of
minutes while I continue my talk and
we're gonna try to lower my
physiological stress levels simply by
changing my breathing what you see on
the screen up there is one of the
reasons that I'm here today I'm here to
tell you about the world of biohacking
I'll scratch the surface on how much you
can actually improve your body and mind
by challenging your own mindset and use
tools and techniques that are far more
sustainable than the advice you'll get
from your average doctor during the day
and sometimes at night I'm a digital
architect who's made a career out of
reducing friction in business processes
that might be a bit geeky but I have an
awesome job however it belongs to my
story that I faced a burnout back in
2011 and 12 now I didn't talk a lot
about it at the time but since my face
was often red like a tomato and my scalp
this dry and itchy it was kind of
obvious that there was something not
right
so I went to see my doctor several times
and he kept renewing my prescription for
also medication and when my energy
was reached a critical low point he
suggested I should try antidepressants
despite the fact that I was not at all
depressed I had a thriving life a career
I was traveling the globe I just lacked
energy so the one day in 2012 I was
somewhere over the Atlantic and my life
changed completely in a five-minute
radio interview
I heard the term biohacking for the
first time fueled by this deep
scientific curiosity
I've since spend thousands of hours
submerged in this fascinating world
called the human body speaking of my
body not too bad
what I've realized is that we've been
programmed to think it is the norm to
outsource our health to the public sick
care system no offense to the many great
people that work in the system it's not
their fault in fact many of them are
victims of the system that they
represent the average doctor is handling
52 patients per day some as many as 80
and the combination of a doctor with
five to 10 minutes to take care of us
and our own desire to get a quick fix to
our problems explains why we for
instance prescribe addictive sleep
medication instead of looking at the
obvious sleep disturbing factors in the
environment around us Sartre says too
much blue light at night suppressing the
sleep hormone melatonin or when we get a
stomach acid reflux heartburn we shut
down the fire by killing the acid
production with medication well guess
what that reflux was your body trying to
tell you to slow down and change your
diet
many people have simply lost the
connection with their bodies and they're
just cruising around on this
pill-popping autopilot without worrying
about the warning lamps that are
screaming right at them we
systematically kill off all the signals
they're usually early in the
Gators of unhealthy imbalances in our
bodies and I believe this is part of the
reason why we continue to see a rise in
stress and the many dreaded lifestyle
diseases that we fear later in life so
let's instead into the world of
biohacking the art and science of living
an optimal life with optimal health now
you may think that I probably got some
bizarre implants somewhere under my skin
telling me when to sleep and when to eat
and when to take a dump but I'm sorry
I'm gonna have to disappoint you but I
do have a cool app for that last part
though you see contrary to the image
often portrayed by the media the vast
majority of the biohacking movement
today it's deeply rooted in what is
natural to the human body we seek to use
data and technology to calibrate our
bodies to a more natural and resilient
state so how does this work well I like
to call it that you are becoming the CEO
of your own health CEOs are accountable
to their course they have systems set up
around them they use data-driven
dashboards and benchmarking to optimize
the business outcome biohackers are no
different we're using data to understand
the complex body that we have the
systems we run tests to check and see
what we set out to correct is heading in
the right direction you see once we
begin to grasp that our health is not a
black box but a collection of processes
then we can begin to understand and
optimize or as we say hack these and
when this is done consistently over a
period of time you will slowly become
the best possible version of yourself
so how do you become the CEO of your own
health well let's start by looking at
the human blueprint our DNA
today more than 20 million people have
used DNA testing services and let me
tell you we are well beyond the fun
facts
like does my pee smell when I eat
asparagus we now know that our lifestyle
choices and the environment that we live
in determines the expression of our
genes we call this epigenetics and it
means that even though your parents
didn't give you the best genes you're
not doomed so let's take a look at two
of the more interesting findings that I
came across when looking at my own DNA
after I was done being surprised that I
was seven times more likely to become
bald than the average person I moved on
to the more nasty stuff firstly I
realized that I have a defect in what is
known as the mother effing gene in short
this means that one of my body's most
vital metabolic processes is down
regulated with 75% next I discovered
that I have a higher risk of developing
early onset Alzheimer's
than most of you great the gene
responsible for this it's also true for
my body's ability to properly break down
fats so now what if left unchecked this
could potentially lead to catastrophic
outcome in the long run and to make
matters worse at the time I discovered
this I've been following a high-fat diet
for three years now I did so because I
was inspired by this social media health
guru and I did so without knowing about
my problem of breaking down the types of
fat that I was eating so I'm curious how
many of you have tried to follow one of
the latest health trends on social media
you see a show of hands yeah quite a few
I figured it's tempting right the point
is we are all unique and there's no
one-size-fits-all so when we exposed to
any of the health trends out there we
need to ask ourselves is this relevant
for me
you can do serious harm to your
biochemistry if you don't pay attention
just like I did you see there is a
downside to this promise of optimization
that we come across our social media
because our brains are born lazy we have
a cognitive bias towards recognizing
patterns that are memorable and easy to
adopt and marketeers know this so how do
we navigate in this world of exploding
amounts of information and promises
where on the one side you have doctors
who claim there's not enough evidence
for them to take the risk to give you
advice which may have adverse effects
and on the other side you have Tracy
biohackers who armed with their genetic
blueprinted biomarkers claim to have
found what is autumn all for them but
who's right the pioneer who seeking to
understand and optimize the root course
or the doctor who's trained to spot and
treat symptoms that's the first line of
defense we are living in a world where
our doctors give advice based on
scientific averages often established
seven to ten years ago if I ask the
typical scientists to research what are
the optimal levels of vitamin b12 for an
adult well scientists will change that
question to how much vitamin b12 should
the average adult take and if you fall
outside that average well then parts of
the pharma industry get thrilled because
that means you're either depressed
suffer from via naval fatigue or
hopefully both obviously I'm joking on
that last point where am i I hope you
get the picture that one our doctors
define as normal it's in most cases
merely average and if we decide to live
in this comfortable vacuum and fear
knowledge and allow decisions to be made
for us we miss out on a lot so in my
case knowing my DNA made it clear to me
I needed to act on the potential defects
in my genes
why because according to emerging
research the combination of the two
genes have just mentioned makes an
excellent cocktail for cardiovascular
disease cardiovascular disease it's even
called
overtime so how did I know what to do
next well luckily my friends the future
of self diagnostic services online is
blooming in the wake of the many bio
hackers that demanded this type of
service so just like going online and
ordering a new shirt I can go online and
order any test that I like what you see
on the screen there is my homocysteine
level over time homocysteine is a
so-called
silent inflammation marker closely tied
to this mother-effing gene I talked
about and when my new online doctor
friend saw the spike in the chart up
there he said you need to call me now
when I showed this to my Danish doctor
she said I've never heard that before
I don't even think we can test for that
but don't worry you look young and
healthy and I go yeah but what about
that rash that I recently got here on my
chest where did that come from I said I
don't know but I have a dream that can
treat that it turned out all I needed to
do was to reintroduce more vitamin b12
and folate in my daily stack of
supplements Iguala my levels came down
and my rash went away this was just one
example of many insights that I gained
when proactively looking at my health
status the point is the democratization
of health care services is coming fast
it's going to be relatively cheap and in
my view we should use the knowledge we
can get already now because the lack of
knowledge is a lack of power so let's
reflect for a second a CEOs of our own
health we now know that there are tools
we can use to ensure the operations is
running smoothly but how do we make sure
that we are building life lasting
happens when I first started changing my
diet I quickly got my energy back there
my also went away
ironically I had so much energy at the
end of the day I started working longer
hours and I felt I could do with less
sleep great I did awesome for some time
but after a while my newfound energy
levels were replaced with periods of
moodiness and fatigue so I went from an
unhealthy life would stress to a healthy
life with stress brilliant the absence
of disease and symptoms is not health
optimal health is a journey not a
destination it's a constant balance
between what is driving us and what is
draining us at all levels in our bodies
so I started tracking my stress to
figuring out what might be draining me
and using the app I showed in the
beginning for instance I quickly
realized how much stress it generates in
us when we get fired up in traffic and
we start yelling at the person right in
front of us that's breaking yes I'm
guilty of that that's a form of stress
even though we know they can't hear us
instead I learned how to put a smile on
my face and breathe properly while
standing in line collecting new energy
instead of expending it rushing through
security same deal though when listening
to a long TED talk similarly I started
delving into the science of sleep and I
understood that there's a lot of factors
that influence whether or not we have a
good night's sleep so I started tracking
my sleep quality and I took note of my
daily habits good and bad still some bad
left yes and it quickly turned out that
I was sleeping much better if I had an
early dinner then I slept with earplugs
in a cold and pitch-black room crucial
yet simple hacks when you're living a
busy life like you all do so why did I
decide to talk about optimal nutrition
stress and sleep today well these are
the most impactful areas that you can
begin to optimize now and doing so will
give you the energy in life to do more
on equally important aspects such as
social activities love and fitness
now I have shared my story and my
journey will continue but there are lots
of other health and lifestyle challenges
out there that you can begin to overcome
with the biohackers mindset so it is my
hope that you will all start to dip your
toes like CEOs in this world of targeted
and quantifiable self optimization or
biohacking as we call it it is my hope
that you will all start to challenge
your doctors to be better investigators
and not just treat your symptoms
don't be a slave of these eerie shared
averages and don't listen blindly to
advice on social media honor your unique
self and use the tools and services that
are already out there take a step into
the future and start to define your own
new norm thank you for listening
you
[Music]
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