Steve Fowkes

Self Biohacking

 

Episode Description

Biohacking is the approach of assessing body functioning and assessing the impact of life style choices. Steve Fowkes, an expert in biohacking, discusses how we can determine if our metabolism is fast or slow, the physical manifestations of the metabolism rate, and how we can hack / alter our metabolism rate. He discusses the body’s pH as an important mechanism in health and its role in circadian rhythms. This goes beyond the message of “alkalinize” as it depends on the individual, the time of day and his life style choices. He will tell you how to hack your own pH and circadian rhythms for optimal performance and health. Other self tests discussed include: An easy self assessment for a coagulopathy as well as approaches for for modifying/ hacking its impact. He will also discuss a simple self test to assess carbon dioxide levels.

BACKGROUND

  • We are never taught to “speak body”
  • Body speaks to us all the time. It is a language that we need to learn, i.e., make measurements of the body functioning
  • Can take nutrients and exercise to see if there is any improvements in body measurements
  • We are not encouraged to pay attention to our bodies
  • When we are young and energetic, we feel we are immortal. We eat junk food that later catches up with us.

BODY TEMPERATURE

  • A non invasive test which measures the speed of metabolism
  • Ideal day time temperature: 98. 6 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Digestion, stress, fear, and anxiety will raise body temperature
  • Take temperature when wake up in the morning when at maximum relaxation
  • This eliminates most of compounding factors from a busy, stressful day
  • Want the first morning temperature .5 degrees lower than daytime temperature (high 97 s to 98)
  • A daytime temperature of 98 is common in a society of people with low metabolism

Low Body Temperature

  • Can result from many conditions
  • Can result in many conditions
  • Need to find the underlying cause and address it
  • if one , two , three degree below normal, this is more serious, not likely to be diagnosed.
  • Symptoms
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Low pulse rate and low blood pressure and heart rate

At higher temperatures and metabolic rates

  • Immunity working better
  • Better ability to handle chemical exposures
  • Likelihood of successful vaccination
  • Better mental clarity and focus.

Causes of a Low metabolic Rate

  • Mitochondrial problem is just one
  • Toxins
    • Average American has 100 times the lead rate that ten generations ago. This
      • Goes into the soil,
      • Goes into the bones
      • Is passed on through pregnancies
    • Formaldehyde
    • Pesticide
  • Hormone imbalances
  • Vitamin and nutrition deficiencies
  • Insulin resistance
  • Toxicity
  • Impaired lung function emphysema
  • Coronary Artery disease

Results of a Low metabolic rate

  • Brain fog
  • Compromised immunity
  • All autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue exacerbated by low metabolic rate
  • Degenerative heart disease
  • Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease

Methods to increase Metabolic Rates

  • exercise
  • anxiety

Results of a high Metabolic Rate

  • Burning a “candle on both its ends”
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Healing mechanisms that are restorative
  • A high metabolism sacrifices necessary repairs
  • Life span is shortened

URINE pH TEST

  • Indicator of how much pH stress in blood
  • There is acid stress and alkaline stress
  • Kidneys regulate pH of blood so that excess acid or alkalinity goes out through the urine.
  • Normally, we have 2 -3 pH swings on a daily basis.
  • Sequential urine pH values assess our circadian rhythms
  • We can learn if our rhythms are out of phase
  • first pH is accumulation of urine from the previous6 – 8 hours
  • By testing urine pH through out the day for several days, we can determine our diurnal rhythms of acidity and alkalinity.
  • We can alter these diurnal rhythms by choosing times to each acidic and alkaline foods

If am urine is too acidic

  • Morning lark
  • wake up early
  • may feel sleepy later in evening
  • May have a shorter daily (23- 23.5 hour) biological clock

If am urine is too alkaline

  • Night owl -typically stays up late and wants to sleep late.
  • Longer than normal daily biological clock
  • They may end up going to bed when not alkaline, wake up alkaline and have trouble “getting going”
  • May need coffee, bacon to get going

When urine pH is alkaline

  • Is good time to rest and go to bed.
  • If rest at this time, recovery is improved
  • If exercise is attempted at this time when exercise is low, the adrenals will have to pump cortisol to create an unnatural acidification.

When urine pH is acidic

  • Good time for activity, exercise, “ready to go”
  • Good for getting up
  • Immunity system is at its peak
  • For a night shift, want to be acidic at night

Biohacking the pH rhythm

  • By eating acidic foods, we can make our body temporarily acidic giving more energy
  • By eating alkaline foods, we can temporarily make our bodies more alkaline
  • Circadian rhythms can be altered by choosing the times to eat acidic and alkaline foods
  • Night owl waking up poorly are already too alkaline:  give them an alkaline food (fruit) for breakfast will derail them for whole day
  • Give a night owl (too alkaline in morning) an acidic food in the morning and it will help them

Acidic Foods

  • fat
  • Meat ,internal organ, nuts, grains
  • Pomegranates, cherries, tomatoes, cranberries
  • Vinegar, soda water
  • Eating acidic foods makes body more acidic and gives more energy.

Alkaline Foods

  • 95 – 99 % fruits, green leafy vegetable
  • citrus fruits (acidity to taste buds is not an indication of what happens to deep tissues)
  • sea vegetables are very alkaline
  • baking soda
  • If are already acidic, can eat alkaline not lose energy
  • Alkaline diet is good for the energetically robust
  • If one eats an alkaline diet and crashes, are already too alkaline

Salads combine acidic with alkaline

  • The oil and vinegar dressing is acidic
  • The acidity is balanced by the alkalinity of the greens in the salad.

Coffee: short term acidic, long term alkaline

  • Short term acidifying (mitochondrial uncoupling agent) giving a 2 hour energy
  • Then alkalizes for several hours
  • During the alkalizing period, people feel tired and desire more coffee.
  • The two hour energy surges coincide with typical coffee breaks.

If eat alkaline and feel worse,

  • Means are too alkaline and may have various conditions such as mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic fatigue syndrome, thyroid, problems, heavy metal toxicity

Cortisol Diurnal Rhythms 

  • Note, cortisol has a diurnal rhythm as well. It is high in the morning and low in the evening.
  • High cortisol levels will wake us up and give us energy
  • Cortisol keeps metabolism high enough to survive.
  • Cortisol rhythms have an inverse relationship with melatonin.

Low metabolism

  • Feel better with acidic nutrition
  • Attracted to acidic foods such as vinegar or oil containing foods

BREATH HOLDING 

  • Breath based on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) in system
  • CO2 is waste product of aerobic metabolism
  • Lactic acid is a waste product of non aerobic breathing.
  • If CO2 is high, then there is a compulsion to breathe
    • can not hold breath for a long time (eg. < 30 seconds)
    • correlates with a fast metabolism
  • Breathing rapidly blows off CO2
  • Breathing slowly (parasympathetic breathing) conserves CO2
  • If CO2 is low, we learn if we breathe too rapidly, we get into trouble (such as a panic attack or stage fright) because the CO2 levels get too low
    • can hold breathe for a long time (e.g., over a minute with low CO2)
    • This correlates with a low metabolism if there was no athletic training.
  • How long can hold breath gives info how high/ low C02 is at that time.
  • Athletic Training or underwater training can increase the time one can hold their breath.
  • Can make interventions such as trying lipoic acid, or exercise to see if it affects breath holding
  • If the metabolism is not aerobic, there is more lactic acid as a waste product (which can cause muscle aches)
  • Breathing rapidly can increase CO2

Relationship between CO2 levels & Metabolic Rates

  • A high CO2 rate correlates with a high metabolism
  • A low CO2 level correlates with a low metabolic rate
  • If low metabolic rate, good to breath slowly as slow, parasympathetic breathing conserves CO2
  • With a low metabolic rate, if one is frightened and starts to breath fast, the blood flow to the brain shuts down because CO2 levels get too low.
  • Deep breathing can raise metabolism rate and is also used as a tool towards enlightenment
  • Singing can raise metabolism and raise CO2 levels as the pressure gradient between the lungs and outside restrains the flow of air, and pushes CO2 back into the body.
  • Even driving along the highway induces rapid breathing because the appearance of things coming at you induces a sympathetic response

 KETOGENIC DIET BIOHACKING

  • If you feel better after a restricting carbs, then most likely have insulin resistance

HEART RATE VARIABILITY

  • Assesses how autonomic system functions
  • Measure heart, how timing between beats change

COGNITIVE BIOHACKING

  • Brain fog is an early indicator of a physiological problem.
  • Mental performance can be measured on line through various games, reaction time tests
  • Examples are quantified mind, luminosity
  • We can log on and play games, get daily score how well we are doing mentally
  • We can make interventions to see if the brain performance improves.
  • The brain uses 20 % of the body’s energy although it is 3 % of the body’s weight.

THICK BLOOD BIOHACKING 

  • Steve had cognitive slowing which he determined was due to thick blood
  • To test, take nanokinase one time per day, then twice per day, then three times a day, and then four times a day for a week
  • If memory improves, then this indicates cognition will improve by continuing nanokinase
  • If there is no improvement, then nanokinase can be discontinued.
  • Take noankinase, I, 2, 3, 4 for a week

OTHER FORMS OF BIOHACKING

  • Electronics to measure steps, pulse rates
  • We can measure how long it takes to walk, bike

RESOURCES

Projectwellbeing.com

Quora blogging

Ceri.com older smart drug literature