Biohacking – a new trend that could revolutionize sports performance and health

Having been cancer-diseased and gone through a one-year chemotherapy at the age of 18, Adrian Kochsiek had to find ways to naturally strengthen his immune system and recover his body performance. A complete diet change along with regular sports sessions and some willpower led to a full recovery. Today, Adrian is the CEO of Mitocare, a startup offering natural, plant-based health supplements developed by doctors, and explains what biohacking is all about.

“Biohacking is a health and lifestyle approach which developed fairly recently, though the subject of self-improvement is probably as old as mankind itself. Bio is a Greek word for “life” and hacking, obviously, is a computer-age word meaning “to modify (a computer program or electronic device) in a skillful or clever way”.

Biohacking can be defined as modifying the human organism in a skillful or clever way to optimize performance and health. Therefore, any measures taken to boost your body and brain performance can be categorized as biohacking.

You may think of biohacking as a sophisticated technology only available to experienced and studied biohacking experts. As a matter of fact, that is wrong. Biohacking is simply any step you take to improve your health, wellbeing and performance. With fairly simple hacks, you can upgrade your sports performance, health and physical appearance all at once.

Often feel tired, sluggish or slow? Try to cross sugar from your shopping list. Sugar is a creativity and performance killer which will make you think and act much slower. Try going for several weeks with no sugar at all and compare your performance to that previous to the experiment. Most likely you will find that it increased dramatically.

A nice side effect is that your physical appearance will improve, too. This little extra belly fat you never really liked may vanish and you will wonder where it went!

This rule applies to added sugars, not fruit sugar or other natural occurring sugars. Avoid sodas, sweets and pastry, but also processed foods, flavored yoghurt and cereals that contain added sugars. Check the labels of the food products you buy – some may contain added sugars when you would not expect it, such as ketchup or barbecue sauce.

Like cars run on fuel, bodies run on nutrients such as minerals and vitamins. Alcohol burns the vitamins and minerals in your body which is why people experience the widely-known “hangover” after a night out drinking. Cutting out alcohol will allow your body to preserve valuable vitamins and minerals that keep it on the fast lane.

You do not have to take it to the extreme and never have a sip of beer or a glass of wine again. But try to make it the exception, not the rule. In doing so, you will discover that you are more focused, clear and more capable to achieve your goals.

Allergens are substances that create allergic reactions in your body. You may be aware of one or more allergies you have, but you may also be completely oblivious of it. Allergies can create different physical phenomena that make your life less enjoyable and less productive. To find out, whether the issues you are experiencing are caused by allergens, there is an easy test you can do without consulting a doctor.

For a period of three to four weeks, eliminate all potential allergens from your diet: this includes dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, corn and pork. After three to four weeks without any of these products, start introducing one at a time and observe your body’s reaction to it. If you get a headache, stomach ache, or any other negative reaction, you are probably allergic to it and should eliminate the respective product from your diet completely.

Having found and eliminated your allergens, you will feel much more energetic and in harmony with your body, which will boost your overall health and performance.

Despite popular belief, sleep is not overrated. Of course, there are times when you have to work long hours or other life factors play in and make it impossible to sleep enough. However, on a regular basis, you should sleep 7-9 hours per night in order to maintain your health and good mood and even to lose weight. A regular and sufficient sleep schedule provides you with the energy you need to focus on your tasks. In addition, your body gets the time it needs to recover and strengthen itself. 

When you chronically lack sleep, you could suffer from a weakened immune system, depression, moodiness, trouble concentrating and slower work speed. Kick tiredness in the teeth by giving your body the sleep it needs!

Tips for insomnia:

When you are utterly exhausted but yet cannot fall asleep, take a walk. Try to direct your attention towards the environment around you – consciously look at trees, cars, people and houses instead of focusing on your thoughts. Breathe deeply. Do this until you feel calm and tired.

Bodies are designed for movement. We have been hunting, gathering and wandering, fighting, horse riding and physically working for thousands of years. Only very recently have we started to drive cars and to work at offices – what a challenge for our genetic coding!

To be in alignment with the way your body functions, you should move often during the day. Get up from your desk every hour or so and walk around the office for a few minutes. Try to use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can. Consider travelling to work by bike instead of by car. You should integrate gentle physical exercise and movement on a daily basis.

Always remember: it is not about the intensity of the training program you do, it is about the frequency!

(For advanced biohackers.)

In the past, people fell for the myth that in order to lose weight you should avoid eating fats. The truth is the exact opposite. Especially when you have a problem with surplus body fat, the solution is - to eat more fat! 

The now popular “keto diet” eliminates carbohydrates from your food plan and replaces it with healthy fats. This is because you are trying to get the body to obtain its energy from ketones, not from carbohydrates. This metabolic process is called “ketosis”.

Switching from carbs to healthy fats as energy source will allow you to lose weight sustainably provided that you strictly adhere to the program.

Kick out all carbs from your diet such as potatoes, bread, sugar and fruits (fruit sugar = carbohydrates) and replace them with fresh meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts and oils. You want to include as much protein and fat in your diet as you can and eliminate all carbs. Only then will your body switch from sugar to fat energy and only then will you feel good and well-fed doing this diet.

After a few weeks into the protocol, you will find your body losing weight and feeling more strong and agile at the same time. 

You may now say these steps sound easy – why isn’t everyone doing it? As a matter of fact, there is a nasty opponent that kills these attempts often at a very early stage. No, I am not talking about laziness! The initial killer are unwanted detox symptoms.

Here is what happens: When you change your diet and lifestyle to a healthier one, your body may start detoxing. In the course of that, your liver and gallbladder transport released toxins to the small intestine. However, when there are not enough binding agents (such as fiber) in the small intestine to bind these toxins and transport them out, they will be reabsorbed together with the nutrients of your food and end up in your blood stream. You then experience symptoms of poisoning such as headaches, dizziness, nausea or skin problems and many others.

To avoid that, drink at least one liter of fresh, clean water per 25 kg of body weight per day and be sure to eat enough healthy salt (Himalayan or sea salt) by adding it to your food or putting it under your tongue between meals. This ensures that your body does not lack much needed electrolytes.

In addition, make sure to eat enough fiber to clean out toxins from your intestines and ensure they are not reabsorbed into the blood stream. To do so, eat a lot of fresh organic vegetable and unprocessed food rich in fiber. Add psyllium seed husks to your diet for best results.

Biohacking can be challenging, but the benefits of mastering this skill could exceed your expectations in terms of increased performance, health and wellbeing. We wish you all the best!”

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