Biohacker Veronika Allister: Hack your body and live to be a hundred!

A person who practices biohacking strives to be the best version of themselves. It is actually a holistic approach to health that combines scientific research, technology and the wisdom of our ancestors. A fascinating discipline that goes far beyond a healthy lifestyle.

Where do we start if we want to get involved?

First of all, you need objective data: values ​​obtained from blood, urine or stool samples. And then you just start observing yourself more. For this, a diary can be used in which you write down, for example, how you feel after waking up, how often you go to the toilet and what the stool looks like, or whether you have regular menstruation and whether you experience pain during it or not. You also need to think about and name where you are in life. For example, you tell yourself that you feel great right now, but you wish you had more energy and less frequent mood swings. And then you start looking for ways to achieve it. You will deal with the basic pillars of biohacking: sleep, breathing, nutrition, exercise, sexual health and mental health, you will find high-quality sources of information and gradually delve into biohacking. The result should be a strategy tailored specifically to your body. You set up a system,

Can you give a concrete example?

For example, if I notice that I've been having trouble falling asleep lately, I start meditating, playing Synctuition 3D music, taking magnesium, writing down my thoughts, and after sunset, stop directing blue light from screens at me. Over time, I started to apply these habits intuitively. The longer you walk this path and are aware of your body and your feelings, the deeper your natural connection with the body becomes. In the end, you will find that you know best what is wrong with you and how to get out of it. Your body has prepared these difficulties for you so that you can listen to it better.

It seems to me that previous generations were unknowingly biohacking. Do you agree?

Certainly yes, but certainly not to the extent and in such a guise as currently. Biohacking is not just a healthy lifestyle, and grandmother's advice is not enough for that. It is about finding the most efficient ways to get the best out of ourselves.

Do we need pencil and paper to monitor our bodies?

It depends on what you want to achieve. In the beginning, writing observations in a journal is certainly enough. But if biohacking is fun, you can use various apps and tech toys to help you. For example, if you want to monitor how your brain waves respond to meditation or breathing exercises, you can download the Muse app. I recommend the MyFlo app to track your menstrual cycle.

Are dietary supplements used?

For the modern person living in the city, high-quality supplements are important. New agricultural practices have led to the fact that the soil does not contain enough of the substances that we need to extract from it. So our food is not the same as it used to be. In addition, minerals and other useful substances are difficult to absorb, which is mainly due to the fact that we have deviated from the so-called homeostasis, that is, the state of balance. I recommend taking magnesium, ideally thirty minutes before bedtime to relax the muscles. In addition, high-quality omega.3 fatty acids, vitamin D ₃ with _K2 and the so-called Black Stuff - extract from pine bark and chaga mushroom, which adjusts the intestinal microbiome.

Do relationships also belong to biohacking?

Relationships affect our health much more than we realize. We should all work on quality relationships that have depth and awareness. You can have the best technology and supplements in the world, but if your relationships aren't working, you still won't feel fulfilled and happy. You may even be much more stressed, and as we know, stress is the biggest killer.

Can you explain in more detail what a conscious relationship is?

That's probably for a separate book, but I'll try to keep it brief. The cornerstone of a conscious relationship is living in truth, being completely truthful and honest. That's something that takes courage, and not everyone has that. We may not know it, but many of us lie quite routinely. For example, let's say we're stuck in traffic, but in reality we wanted to sleep. But living in truth all the time is a whole different ball game. No lie is innocent, a lie is a lie, and the truth is the truth. There's something else that follows from that, and that's conscious communication with your partner. We both need to be able to set healthy boundaries and say when we don't like something. But communication doesn't happen in a way that we blame each other. It's necessary to turn it around and talk about how we perceive the situation. Name your feelings and pain, and accept that the other person's world may look different than ours.

So we have to accept the other person as he is. Don't try to change him.

Yes, I think that's the third building block. Accepting a partner with all the demons they have. Having a conscious relationship can be harder than you can imagine, but it's worth it. Being loved or being loved is easy, but knowing how to love? That takes courage! For example, when your partner cheats on you, or in your world it appears as betrayal, and you still trust them again. Or when they do something that is a complete "no" for you, and you still continue your journey together and accept that that's him too and that's what your relationship looks like. You are one and everything is connected. Your partner only reflects your image - be it pleasant or vice versa. If you have the courage to live in truth, if you have the courage to love and be yourself, then a conscious relationship can be a path to enlightenment for you.

That actually sounds like a partially spiritual path...

Spirituality is about the individual journey of an individual, biohacking is about the same. The path each of us takes is unique. However, biohacking has certain principles that are based on a solid foundation - data. Spirituality is essential for a person's health, this is shown, for example, in research conducted on people from the so-called blue zones - areas where people live to the highest age. But when a person has a healthy body and mind, their spirituality grows by leaps and bounds because their nervous system is better prepared for it.

Longevity is also discussed in connection with biohacking. How can you live to be a hundred years old and be in good health?

That's a good question. In healthcare, we talk about lifespan, but in biohacking, we go even further and talk about healthspan, that is, healthy lifespan. After all, nobody wants to live to 120 at the cost of spending the last thirty years in a hospital on machines. The biological potential of a human being is to live to 120 even in relatively good health. Today, there are technologies and ways to extend a healthy life. Just don't skip the basics. And that's not technology, it's nutrition, exercise, meaning in life, breathing, stress reduction, sleep, and quality relationships. When those foundations are solid, you create a resilient nervous system on which you can build a pyramid of longevity. And as we know, pyramids stand for a really long time and nothing can shake them. Resilience is at the heart of biohacking and overall human health. When you go down the path of resilience,

The concept of biological age is also related to aging. Explain how biological age differs from chronological age?

Biological or epigenetic age is a figure that tells us how old our body is. Our chronological age does not necessarily coincide with our biological age. Some people age faster, and some people age more slowly.

How do we find out our biological age?

We cannot find out much about biological age from blood, rather it is necessary to take samples from saliva. It is also good to know that the body is very complex. There are start-ups that will tell you the exact number, but I think it's more marketing. A person's biological age cannot be determined precisely. But we can find out at which levels its aging is slowed down or accelerated. For example, it can be different at the cellular level and different within immunity. Thanks to this, it is then possible to say what to pay more attention to or what strategy to choose for improving health.

For some women, menopause is a sign of aging. Can we also “hack” the menopause and manage it with aplomb?

We can certainly prepare better for this period of life. It is good to know that hot flashes are common, but they do not have to last long. Some women live in the belief that hot flashes are normal and that they will live with them for the rest of their lives. Cold therapy, being kind to yourself, different breathing techniques or Kundalini yoga help women a lot. At the same time, it is good to talk about menopause, not to keep the change I am experiencing to myself. If a woman knows how to deal with stress and takes the path of resilience, then her transition to this period can be pleasant.

You mentioned cold therapy. What is the difference between cold therapy for women and for men?

I have written a whole book on this subject, which I will publish in the autumn of this year. I have not found a similar publication anywhere in the world, and the difference between cold therapy for men and women is striking. Women harden differently than men. During the period of menstruation or just before menstruation, I recommend hardening really gently or not at all. During pregnancy, cold therapy is beneficial for a woman if she feels like it. In the sixth trimester, we do not really harden, and during breastfeeding, it is again up to the woman and her feelings. Cold therapy is also very welcome during the menopause.

Is biohacking the way or the goal?

A journey that is an end in itself.

Original source: https://www.marianne.cz/rozhovory/biohackerka-veronika-allister-hacknete-sve-telo-dozijte-se-stovky