Change Your Biology with Biohacking

Until several years ago, the word ‘biohacking’ sounded like something from a sci-fi movie. It wasn’t until 2014 when author Dave Asprey released his now-famous book, The Bulletproof Diet, that biohacking became a household term. What exactly is biohacking? “The art of using technology to change the environment both inside and outside of your body to take control and make it do what you want,” says Asprey.

What Are the Top Benefits?

Thanks to advancements in genetic science and other areas of cutting-edge medical research, the practice of biohacking has steadily gained momentum over the years. The benefits of this highly individualized approach to optimal health and performance include:

• Total-body health and wellness
• Improved exercise stamina and performance
• Anti-aging process
• Improved cognitive function
• Better energy levels
• Chronic disease prevention and treatment
• Weight loss 
• Stress relief
• Enhanced creativity, analytical thinking, and verbal recall

If you think about it, biohacking isn’t very different from other approaches to optimal health and aging. The distinction, according to experts, is the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset that empowers people to do their own research, create their own tests, and continuously refine their health strategies. This is why biohacking has been called the “DIY Biology.”

In biohacking, the quest is never-ending for the most effective and powerful strategies (aka “hacks”) to propel you to next-level health, and beyond. Biohackers are not content to sit back and wait this long. Instead, they’re taking matters into their own hands, and bodies, based on the wealth of information and research at our fingertips today.

Is Biohacking Safe?

The growing field of biohacking is extremely broad and can cover many different approaches and strategies. Some are well-known, safe, and proven. Others are dangerous and extreme. Biohacking methods fall into several main categories, including:

DIY Biology

This type of biohacking empowers people to study their own biology using at-home tests and other do-it-yourself methods, as part of the ongoing effort to create an optimized health routine.

Quantified Self

Refers to the measurement and refinement of performance and health, using wearable trackers and other self-monitoring devices.

Nutrigenomics

This area of research blends genetics and nutrition to determine how specific foods and nutrients impact your unique genetic expression. It’s part of epigenetics, a burgeoning medical field that focuses on the links between a person’s behaviors and environment and their genes.

Grinder

The most extreme type of biohacking, grinder involves the use of implants, injections (sometimes of foreign materials), and other invasive procedures designed to enhance performance and technology. 

Nootropics

Nootropics are drugs or natural compounds that significantly influence your brain function, mood, memory, and other key areas of neurological health. One of the chief goals in biohacking is achieving optimal cognitive function. Without knowing it, you’re probably already consuming a nootropic every day with your morning cup of coffee. That’s because caffeine is a “nootropic” agent.

The Detox Connection

Detoxification, particularly heavy metal detox, is also a central component of biohacking. When done correctly, detoxification techniques help transform health and retard the aging process. 

MCP: The Top Biohacking Supplement   

There are many next-level supplements that naturally complement the biohacking lifestyle — including nootropics such as phosphatidylserine, bacopa, L-theanine, taurine, and medicinal mushrooms. These and other biohacking/nootropic supplements are being researched for their significant, measurable difference in health, performance, and mental capacity. 

In terms of overall biohacking supplement, my top recommendation is Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP). This proprietary ingredient undergoes a unique manufacturing process that results in the only absorbable form of citrus pectin — MCP is not the same as regular citrus pectin supplements.

With close to 80 published studies behind it, MCP is the ideal biohacking supplement. Here’s why:

MCP:

• Quickly enters the bloodstream and goes straight to your cells¹
• Regulates and optimizes cellular function, communication, and performance²
• Blocks master alarm protein in the body, galectin-3, to halt chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and organ damage²
• Supports and protects cognitive function³ 
• Protects heart, kidneys, liver, and other organs from going into failure²
• Safely helps detoxify heavy metals and environmental toxins such as glyphosate⁴
• Balances immune function, prevents immune system overreactions, and inhibits cytokine storms^5,6
• Supports antioxidant activity⁷
• Works synergistically and enhances other therapies, including herbal medicine, antibiotics, and conventional oncology protocols^8,9

Biohacking and Galectin-3: The Missing Link

MCP is the only compound that has been shown to halt and reverse the harmful impact of galectin-3. It’s clinically proven to bind to galectin-3 and counteract the protein’s negative effects. Thousands of published studies show that elevated galectin-3 levels fuel chronic inflammation and fibrosis of organs and tissues. Galectin-3 is a primary driver of our most serious diseases, including cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, autoimmune disease and suppressed immunity, dementia, metabolic diseases, and arthritis.

MCP’s unmatched ability to bind to and rid the body of galectin-3 is what makes it the No. 1 biohacking strategy for total-body health and mental acuity.

Sources:  

1. Fraser L. Courts. Profiling of modified citrus pectin oligosaccharide transport across Caco-2 cell monolayers. PharmaNutrition. 2013; 1(1):22-31. 
2. Eliaz I, Raz A. Pleiotropic Effects of Modified Citrus Pectin. Nutrients. 2019 Nov 1;11(11):2619. 
3. Yin Q, Chen J, Ma S, et al. Pharmacological Inhibition of Galectin-3 Ameliorates Diabetes-Associated Cognitive Impairment, Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation in vivo and in vitro. J Inflamm Res. 2020;13:533-542. Published 2020 Sep 15. doi:10.2147/JIR.S273858 
4. Zhao ZY, Liang L, Fan X, Yu Z, Hotchkiss AT, Wilk BJ, Eliaz I. The role of modified citrus pectin as an effective chelator of lead in children hospitalized with toxic lead levels. Altern Ther Health Med. 2008 Jul-Aug;14(4):34-8.  
5. Ramachandran C, Wilk BJ, Hotchkiss A, Chau H, Eliaz I, Melnick SJ. Activation of human T-helper/inducer cell, T-cytotoxic cell, B-cell, and natural killer (NK)-cells and induction of natural killer cell activity against K562 chronic myeloid leukemia cells with modified citrus pectin. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Aug 4;11:59.  
6. Fernandez-García CE, Tarin C, Roldan-Montero R, Martinez-Lopez D, Torres-Fonseca M, Lindhot JS, Vega de Ceniga M, Egido J, Lopez-Andres N, Blanco-Colio LM, Martín-Ventura JL. Increased galectin-3 levels are associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm progression and inhibition of galectin-3 decreases elastase-induced AAA development. Clin Sci (Lond). 2017 Nov 6;131(22):2707-2719.  
7. Ibarrola J, Arrieta V, Sádaba R, Martinez-Martinez E, Garcia-Peña A, Alvarez V, Fernández-Celis A, Gainza A, Santamaría E, Fernández-Irigoyen J, Cachofeiro V, Zalba G, Fay R, Rossignol P, López-Andrés N. Galectin-3 down-regulates antioxidant peroxiredoxin-4 in human cardiac fibroblasts: a new pathway to induce cardiac damage. Clin Sci (Lond). 2018 Jul 18;132(13):1471-1485. 
8. Hossein, G, Halvaei, S, Heidarian, Y, et al. Pectasol‐C Modified Citrus Pectin targets Galectin‐3‐induced STAT3 activation and synergize paclitaxel cytotoxic effect on ovarian cancer spheroids. Cancer Med. 2019; 8: 4315– 4329.   
9. Ramachandran C, Wilk B, Melnick SJ, Eliaz I. Synergistic Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects between Modified Citrus Pectin and Honokiol. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:8379843.