Biohackineering: October 2016

I did not get much sleep last night and was wide awake by 5:30 AM local time. It might have been caused by all the Bulletproof Coffee I drank yesterday, or my circadian rhythm is still messed up from being in three different time zones this week.

At least two of the devices in the Tech Hall are designed to correct your circadian rhythm, but I really like the Humancharger. While my red sunglasses are intended to block blue light prior to sleep, the Humancharger emits white and blue light deep into your head to help reset your circadian rhythm.

I made good use of my early start to catch up on email and arrive at the Pasadena Conference Center in time for Dave Asprey's opening address.

Neil Strauss: Running a Virus Scan on Your Mental Operating System

Neil Strauss was the keynote speaker. His presentation was regarding how our emotional framework is established when we are young, inverted in our teens and and then presents in a fashion as adults. The major take away was having the humility to evaluate your own system beliefs.

Dave Asprey: Hacking the Power of Light

Dave Asprey spoke about the importance light on your health. The UVB found in sunlight is responsible for the conversion of Vitamin D3 to D-Sulfate and the up regulation of testosterone. Unless you live in the D3 Zone (33 degrees North to 33 degrees South), you are likely not getting enough UVB to stimulate these reactions. Tanning beds are starting replace UVB lamps in the face region with red and infrared bulbs as this stimulates collagen production. Speaking of red light therapy, Dave pointed out the Bulletproof Red Charger in the Bulletproof Lab is like a tanning bed but with thousands of red and infrared LED's instead of UV tubes. Dave talked about the importance of color when it comes to Irlen Syndrome, of which Dave is afflicted.

Harry Adelson: Stem Cells - Here, Now and How

Dr. Harry Adelson gave a very nice overview how stem cell therapy has evolved over the years. I thought Stem Cell research stalled when the unethical means of obtaining them was abolished, but apparently it is legal to remove your own stem cells and transplant them the same day (Autologous Stem Cells).

Dr. Tyna Moore: Barbells and Stem Cells

Dr. Tyna Moore gave a presentation on how physical activity can improve the quality of your stem cells in addition to all the other benefits of exercise, least of all being "harder to kill".

Leanne Venier: From Photos to Biophotons to Flow: The Power of Color & Light for a Bulletproof Body & Brain.

Leanne Venier's talk dovetailed nicely with Dave's on Hacking the Power of Light. Leanne covered everything from blue light therapy for acne and babies with jaundice, to red and near-infrared therapy for inflammation and immune function. Leane stressed the importance of LED light over LASER light: coherence. LASER light is coherent, that is to say all the waves are organized to peak at the same time, making them more intense and likely to cause damage to your cells.

I was pretty exhausted by the end of day two, but it was definitely worth it. I highly recommend attending next year for the Tech Hall and sense of Community alone, but it is nice to know that you can buy access and watch all of the talks from the Bulletproof Conference online.

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Fourth Annual Bulletproof Biohacking Conference this year. I registered late so, naturally, my pass was not ready when I arrived. I was more than willing to wait for my custom printed pass, and even had a free sample of bulletproof coffee while I waited.

I finally received my credentials and proceeded straight to the Tech Hall. The Tech Hall was full of various vendors, many I had heard of, many I had not. Some of the ones that interested me were:

The Tech Hall also housed a portable version of Bulletproof Labs. There was a line and, having missed Mark Sisson's presentation, I wanted to make sure to take in some of the afternoon Q&A with Mark. So, I headed over to the main stage.

The Bulletproof Shop was outside of the speaking halls. All of the usual Bulletproof supplements were there: Upgraded Coffee Beans, Brain Octane and Unfair Advantage, just to name a few. New this year was KetoPrime, a new supplement that is intended to get your body ready for Ketosis. Of course, I had to buy a tube.

Mark Sisson Q&A

Mark Sisson's Q&A was a continuation of his morning talk, so I did not follow everything, but it seemed to focus on over training. He talked about how Cardio and High Intensity Interval Training are great apart, but when used together sends the body mixed signals: get faster (leaner) and get stronger (slower). Mark recommended one day on and one day off, instead of the typical Crossfit schedule of three days on and one day off.

Bulletproof Heart: Natural Heart Disease Reversal Program

Dr. Cate Shanahan's talk might have been the best of the day. Dr. Cate explained that atherosclerosis is not caused by dietary cholesterol, which is biologically different than the cholesterol your body produces and uses. She explained that HDL particles are large droplets of lipids (fat) covered by proteins. As the cholesterol travels through your body, lipids are transferred from the HDL particle to the cells of the body, causing the HDL to shrink as it travels from cell to cell.

LDL are the result of depleting much of the lipids inside the lipoprotein. The reason these LDL are not completely absorbed by the body is that the LDL typically are left with only the oxidized lipids and proteins that the body cannot use. This is why no one should eat man made "vegetable oils" such as "Canola Oil" (AKA "rapeseed") or Corn Oil or over processed seed oils such as Flax and Sesame, and we should be aware of the smoke point of our healthy cooking oils: butter, coconut, lard, olive, tallow as even these oils can be oxidized by excessive heat or ultraviolet light.

Dr. Cate reported that the majority of fatal heart attacks are blockages caused by blood clots caused by a bleeding artery caused by the thinning of the arterial wall when oxidized LDL cholesterol builds up toward the outside of the artery, maintaining the inside diameter of the artery. This phenomenon makes this type of heart disease invisible to the standard dye test. She explained that this test can only detect blockages caused by inward forming blockages of oxidized LDL cholesterol, which are less of a concern. After all, a reduction in diameter would simply cause an increase in velocity, which in of itself is not a bad thing.

Dr. Cate went on to talk about how Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is used in place of dye and can provide cross sections of the artery as it is pulled back out of the body. This can help identify the more deadly outward build up of oxidized LDL particles and thinning of the arterial wall. Unfortunately, UCLA is among the few hospitals in California that perform this procedure.

If you would like to see her talk, you can buy access to all the Bulletproof Biohacking Conference videos. Or, if you would like to know more about her Natural Heart Disease Reversal Program, check out her website.

Dave Asprey: My Year in Biohacking

Dave Asprey's year and Biohacking presentation was informative and amusing. Dave consumed live rat whip worm larvae on stage, hoping that these worm larvae will help with the severity of his allergies to toxic mold. Dave and his wife both had adult stem cells injected this year. Apparently, your fat is rich in stem cells and it is legal to harvest these from your body and inject them elsewhere in your body the same day (Autologous Adipose-Derived Stem Cells) which he also talked about on his podcast with Dr. Harry Adelson.

Kelly Starrett: Ready State

Dr. Kelly Starrett's topic of Ready State dovetails nicely with his new book: Deskbound. He highlighted that some of the best practices do not scale to every day life. However, a daily process including some simple things such as 10-15 minutes of deep breathing in the morning, minimizing non-required sitting time during the day and spending 10-15 minutes on mobility in the evenings are easily incorporated into your day and can have a profound impact on your health.

Check back next week for my notes from day two.