Using 100s of supplemets, one could reasonably infer that they may interact with each other, potentially influencing their effectiveness in both beneficial and detrimental ways. As Tolstoy said, this introduces too many variables.
I also follow Bryan Johnson since he shares so much of what he learns, and I really appreciate your perspective and agree 110%! I hope to someday work with you to identify my idiosyncratic deficits in energy metabolism. I think this would be big part of the 80/20 approach to longevity.
I would love to get the proper testing (and my family...) as well to focus on individual issues. However the interpretation of these is a daunting idea..my knowledge base is too narrow
Hopefully can get your expert opinions and guidance someday. I have submitted my name to to do so!
Humans evolved to effectively store energy from food as fat. It became essential for our survival.
But we are built for a limited supply of calories, and now, with an abundance of them, we tend to get too fat.
But the other extreme - high calorie restriction and low body fat - is also bad.
For longevity, we cannot go to either extreme. We should build muscle, but keep body fat at a healthy level. Still, for most people this means exercising more and restricting calorie intake.
What blows my mind is that evoo constitutes 15 percent of his calories. That makes me wonder how well he would be hitting your nutritional targets, especially if he has MTHFR and other deficiencies.
Maybe this will get you hired as one more of his many advisors, Chris. I hope so, if that would be good for you.
Separate thing..."biohacking" icks me out in general. I'm (obviously, as a member here) heavily preoccupied with health. It is the "hacking" part that has me rolling my eyes. First of all, it seems to be an identity certain people adopt because they want to be/seem modern, edgy, in-the-know, etc--like being "plant-based" rather than "vegetarian". It's just dorky. On a deeper level, though, the sentiment that seems to distinguish "biohackers" from people who take excellent care of themselves is...like transhumanism. We've been on this path for a long time, regarding all of nature including our bodies as messy and flawed, in need of improvement via technology (human thought and invention). Whereas my approach and the approach of most old-timey "healthy people" is to happily accept the conditions of nature so that we can live well, the "biohacker" seems to not only believe they can, but intend to, outsmart and cheat nature even at the level of their body. I think it's not only expense that explains why people who do this tend to be wealthy. It's like their deepest faith is in CHEATING, because cheating got them ahead in life.
He sent me a wave hello over DM so I got his attention, so maybe!
I think biohacking is a very broad community. Some of it is like that, but a lot of the core things -- infrared, red light, blue-blocking, hot, cold, PEMF, grounding -- are just compensations for not being connected to the natural world by being barefoot on the surface of the earth, exposed to the temperatures of nature, away from artificial lighting, and exposed to sun and fire on a daily basis.
Agree :) And I personally do all those things except PEMF. I wouldn't identify with the term "biohacker" but some people could put me in that category. Well...anyone seeing my greying hair and what gravity is doing to my face probably wouldn't.
It would be really awesome if your ideas became really influential in that crowd. I'd love to see a shift towards more of a "permaculture" approach to human health.
Yeah, his relatively controlled (apparently) NR vs NMN was the only single-variable change he tested. I hope he moves in a single-variable test direction once he feels is protocol has made a sufficient base.
Dec 18, 2023·edited Dec 18, 2023Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD
I partly agree with you. If one's life is so consumed with trying to live forever that it's no longer an enjoyable life, then what's the point?
On the other hand, at the age of 44, I had prediabetes, an autoimmune disease called interstitial cystitis, chronic migraines, and gastritis (stomach inflammation). I had no energy, was 45 lbs overweight, and felt terrible.
I started intermittent fasting, I reduced carbs and sugar, and my prediabetes disappeared (now have an A1C of 5.0!). Prediabetes is the only thing I set out to cure. However, unexpectledly, all of my other health problems went away including an average of 7 migraines per month that I'd had for 25 years.
So in my case--the first way of life wasn't worth living. The changes I made were in no way difficult--I simply love intermittent fasting, I enjoy my food so much more (moved away from processed junk and now eat more red meat, butter, cheese, raw dairy, local eggs, liver, etc).
All this to say, sometimes living your life can mean making small changes (intermittent fasting) that greatly improve the quality of your life without making you into an insane biohacker. I still drink a glass of wine or two once or twice a week. I'll have an occasional dessert. I do eat bread on occasion. All this while maintaining my 45 lb weight loss and feeling better than I've ever felt.
Chris, have you ever thought of training other people to do the kind of specialized coaching you do? If you ever consider it, sign me up to be coach-in-training numero uno.
I'm thrilled with all your concepts and would love to become a coach who helps people interpret your comprehensive screening to maximize health. My personal experience is that the people who need this help the most can in no way read, understand, and implement these steps themselves.
I don't have a PhD is nutrition science but my super power is that I can get up to speed very quickly. I'm particularly interested in learning your method for analyzing the genetic raw data files for actionable nutritional interventions beyond what the generic genetic reports recommend. If you ever teach a class on how to implement this as a coach, I'm already signed up.
Very interesting & informative article
Using 100s of supplemets, one could reasonably infer that they may interact with each other, potentially influencing their effectiveness in both beneficial and detrimental ways. As Tolstoy said, this introduces too many variables.
I also follow Bryan Johnson since he shares so much of what he learns, and I really appreciate your perspective and agree 110%! I hope to someday work with you to identify my idiosyncratic deficits in energy metabolism. I think this would be big part of the 80/20 approach to longevity.
Yess! Can't wait to get you in!
And can't wait to write up my experiments over the last year.
thanks so much!
Secondly, as far as diet goes?
People don’t even know what food is anymore.
We can’t even get passed eating ultra processed foods, let alone, discussing what real foods we should be eating for our unique constitutions.
Time is the ultimate measure.
We need 100 year studies to figure it out.
There are too many variables.
There has to be a fundamental, universal, underlying mechanism to all of it.
How do you explain people doing whatever they there whole lives and live to 120?
As I said, the underlying, fundamental mechanism needs to be at the forefront of the research.
Rule out everything, and get to bottom line.
Probability distribution
Very interesting indeed
I would love to get the proper testing (and my family...) as well to focus on individual issues. However the interpretation of these is a daunting idea..my knowledge base is too narrow
Hopefully can get your expert opinions and guidance someday. I have submitted my name to to do so!
Which of the gene sequencing packages is the one to get...wgs wellness or the comprehensive health screen?
This sequencing.com site is not explicit on explaining the differences
Humans evolved to effectively store energy from food as fat. It became essential for our survival.
But we are built for a limited supply of calories, and now, with an abundance of them, we tend to get too fat.
But the other extreme - high calorie restriction and low body fat - is also bad.
For longevity, we cannot go to either extreme. We should build muscle, but keep body fat at a healthy level. Still, for most people this means exercising more and restricting calorie intake.
What blows my mind is that evoo constitutes 15 percent of his calories. That makes me wonder how well he would be hitting your nutritional targets, especially if he has MTHFR and other deficiencies.
Maybe this will get you hired as one more of his many advisors, Chris. I hope so, if that would be good for you.
Separate thing..."biohacking" icks me out in general. I'm (obviously, as a member here) heavily preoccupied with health. It is the "hacking" part that has me rolling my eyes. First of all, it seems to be an identity certain people adopt because they want to be/seem modern, edgy, in-the-know, etc--like being "plant-based" rather than "vegetarian". It's just dorky. On a deeper level, though, the sentiment that seems to distinguish "biohackers" from people who take excellent care of themselves is...like transhumanism. We've been on this path for a long time, regarding all of nature including our bodies as messy and flawed, in need of improvement via technology (human thought and invention). Whereas my approach and the approach of most old-timey "healthy people" is to happily accept the conditions of nature so that we can live well, the "biohacker" seems to not only believe they can, but intend to, outsmart and cheat nature even at the level of their body. I think it's not only expense that explains why people who do this tend to be wealthy. It's like their deepest faith is in CHEATING, because cheating got them ahead in life.
He sent me a wave hello over DM so I got his attention, so maybe!
I think biohacking is a very broad community. Some of it is like that, but a lot of the core things -- infrared, red light, blue-blocking, hot, cold, PEMF, grounding -- are just compensations for not being connected to the natural world by being barefoot on the surface of the earth, exposed to the temperatures of nature, away from artificial lighting, and exposed to sun and fire on a daily basis.
Agree :) And I personally do all those things except PEMF. I wouldn't identify with the term "biohacker" but some people could put me in that category. Well...anyone seeing my greying hair and what gravity is doing to my face probably wouldn't.
It would be really awesome if your ideas became really influential in that crowd. I'd love to see a shift towards more of a "permaculture" approach to human health.
Dave Asprey called me something like “bio hacker before it was cool” or something like that on his podcast haha.
I agree with this assessment of biohacking. My goal is to work with nature, not against it. I mostly want to increase my healthspan not my lifespan.
He's also vegan (excluding some animal supplements) by choice which I dislike. (Vegan by literal choice, as in he just prefers it)
As an aggressive animal eater... There's so much unlearned, unexplored. 😤
N of 1 study with 100s of variables is not likely to add any useful data imo...
Fun? Sheesh. Live your life already. Read Marcus Aurelius for free for starters
Yeah, his relatively controlled (apparently) NR vs NMN was the only single-variable change he tested. I hope he moves in a single-variable test direction once he feels is protocol has made a sufficient base.
I partly agree with you. If one's life is so consumed with trying to live forever that it's no longer an enjoyable life, then what's the point?
On the other hand, at the age of 44, I had prediabetes, an autoimmune disease called interstitial cystitis, chronic migraines, and gastritis (stomach inflammation). I had no energy, was 45 lbs overweight, and felt terrible.
I started intermittent fasting, I reduced carbs and sugar, and my prediabetes disappeared (now have an A1C of 5.0!). Prediabetes is the only thing I set out to cure. However, unexpectledly, all of my other health problems went away including an average of 7 migraines per month that I'd had for 25 years.
So in my case--the first way of life wasn't worth living. The changes I made were in no way difficult--I simply love intermittent fasting, I enjoy my food so much more (moved away from processed junk and now eat more red meat, butter, cheese, raw dairy, local eggs, liver, etc).
All this to say, sometimes living your life can mean making small changes (intermittent fasting) that greatly improve the quality of your life without making you into an insane biohacker. I still drink a glass of wine or two once or twice a week. I'll have an occasional dessert. I do eat bread on occasion. All this while maintaining my 45 lb weight loss and feeling better than I've ever felt.
Yes well what yu describe is totally reasonable. The Middle Way...
The best experiment on longevity I’ve ever seen is the life of Winston Churchill.
Non-stop drunk, cigars, red meat, friending dictators … still lived longer that modern healthy lives averages.
You are 💯% correct!! “ Sheesh. Live your life already. Read Marcus Aurelius for free for starters” 🫶🏼🕊
Stoicism is not the answer for everyone...Marcus had some good ideas/meditations to be sure
Chris, have you ever thought of training other people to do the kind of specialized coaching you do? If you ever consider it, sign me up to be coach-in-training numero uno.
I'm thrilled with all your concepts and would love to become a coach who helps people interpret your comprehensive screening to maximize health. My personal experience is that the people who need this help the most can in no way read, understand, and implement these steps themselves.
I don't have a PhD is nutrition science but my super power is that I can get up to speed very quickly. I'm particularly interested in learning your method for analyzing the genetic raw data files for actionable nutritional interventions beyond what the generic genetic reports recommend. If you ever teach a class on how to implement this as a coach, I'm already signed up.
Maybe someday we can hire you at BioOpt :)