Two weeks ago, I received a phone call from the head of a growing health and nutrition company, asking whether I would like to join his team and to plan a meeting to talk about it. I researched their webpage, familiarized myself with their values and mission thinking "wow I’m loving it! I’m on it!"
A couple of days later and on my way to his office, my bicycle chain fell off. Out of the two bad options to walk and be terribly late or fix the chain, showing up with oily hands, I chose the latter and arrived 5 minutes late. I stepped into the office with my brightest smile reaching out my oily fingers to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you madam, would you like to wash your hands?". We both burst out laughing. What an icebreaker!
After formalities and explaining what had happened with me he leaned back in his chair. In silence he looked at first to my hands and then straight into my eyes. So Mrs. Taal, what do you do exactly? "Biohacking", I answered! "Biohoping", he replied. I thought to myself this man is hilarious. No, no b-i-o-h-a-c-k-i-n-g, I repeated! You should have seen his eyes!
The rest of that interview is history but I realised that biohacking needs some explanation.
Let's start by defining what biohacking is to me. Frankly, there is no consensus on the definition and for me personally the definition has changed over the course of years. D. Asprey, who is described as a lifestyle guru, author and founder of Bulletproof Coffee and Bulletproof Nutrition has come up with a definition that my heart currently beats for:
Biohacking - “The art and science of changing the environment inside and around you so that you can have more control over your own biology”.
I get goosebumps every time I read it - this is my passion! The knowledge that gives every single one of us the power to significantly manipulate our own biology is already at our fingertips. It sounds amazing but I can also imagine your question: “How am I supposed to do that?” Let me introduce you to the basics and help you start navigating in my world of biohacking.
The word “hacking” gives a subtle hint that you have to get access into a guarded system. This system which also serves as your laboratory, is your body. What constitutes the guard is one of my favorite topics, but for another time.
The system - your body has 3 main components: mechanical, chemical and energetical. The environment around us has the same 3 components. Good news is that you can hack each component inside and outside the system and there is a myriad of patchways and an abundance of methods to trick the guards and start steering the biology wheel. Moreover, each of the components has direct connection and interaction with one another inside and outside the system. This is where the fun and challenge begins. Change in one component can influence one, or many on the other side. For example - drug intake. Let's imagine you are having a headache, grumpy mood, you don’t feel like doing anything and it is just not a good day for you. You decide to take a painkiller. By doing this you are adding chemicals into your body. This changes your internal chemical state, which in turn changes your energetical (threshold of nociceptors) and as a reward you don’t feel the nagging pain anymore. You automatically feel relieved and start thinking about going for a walk. You get outside and realize it is a beautiful day afterall and continue life as a much better version of yourself than 2 hours before. This is just one everyday example of you consciously taking a chemical element from the external world (paracetamol) and putting it into your system. By doing so, you have manipulated the chemical and electrical component of the internal environment.
I’m sure you realise by now that the manipulation of one component can result in a cascade of reactions and the effect of that travels across the components, system to environment and the other way around.
Biohacking requires consistent experimentation, calibrated lifestyle decisions and personal approach. I have been fanatical about biohacking for several years. I have hacked my own biology on cellular, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. It has transformed my life.
This is exciting enough but add icing to the cake I’d like to share my aspiration. My dream is to adjust “more control” to “full control” in Mr. Asprey’s definition one day. I believe it is possible, I just haven’t figured it out yet. I am convinced that biohacking has taken us to the doorstep of superhumans era. I am excited to be a part of it!
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