The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance

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Upgrade Spotlight: How a Peptide Gets Under Your Skin to Combat Aging – OneSkin : 944 Jun 04, 2022

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SPECIAL OFFER FOR LISTENERS OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE: Go to https://www.oneskin.co and use code DAVE15 to get 15% off your first-time purchase.

IN THIS EPISODE OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE™...

…you’re listening to a new Upgrade Spotlight series based on what you told me you wanted to hear on this podcast. On one Friday each month, these shorter episodes will feature guests who’ll get right into useful information in a Q&A style.

You’ll find out how to improve your energy and upgrade your performance. You’ll also get the latest knowledge about powerful tools and technologies that allow you to change your biology and the environment around you.

Introducing OneSkin! During this Upgrade Spotlight, you’ll learn about new products designed to target skin aging at the molecular level and promote skin and body health. You’ll also find out the science behind OneSkin’s formulas and why they are considered “daily topical supplements.” They can help you maintain functional and resilient skin as you age.

OneSkin topical supplements are powered by a proprietary peptide: OS-01, which decreases the accumulation of aged/senescent (zombie) cells in the skin. By targeting the major driver of skin aging, OS-01 has been scientifically proven to:

• Repair cellular damage, including UV damage

• Increase epidermal thickness

• Improve barrier function

• Increase the activity of genes associated with collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin production

• Reverse the biological age of skin

“So this peptide has a very interesting profile because it's small enough to penetrate and it's super safe,” explains Carolina Reis Oliveira, Ph.D., scientist, CEO and co-founder of OneSkin. “There is no toxicity, no irritation. We've done all the recommended studies by FDA for personal care products, and, has this beautiful effect of reducing the accumulation of senescent cells, and also reduces the release of inflammatory markers, and increase the production of hyaluronic acid, elastin and collagen. So, in the end, there's a molecule that has all these attributes that's very important for healthy skin, overall.”

Another exciting part of this peptide work includes MolClock, the first skin-specific molecular clock, capable of reliably and accurately determining the biological age of skin. This was created by OneSkin’s team of female PhD-level longevity scientists as part of its research and development platform.

Carolina relocated from Latin America to Silicon Valley in 2016 to co-found OneSkin and lead the development of the company’s disruptive skin rejuvenation technologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Immunology, along with degrees in biochemistry, stem cell biology and tissue engineering.

Her team of co-founders includes three other female scientists with additional expertise in skin regeneration, bioinformatics, genomics, immunology and molecular biology. Among them, they’ve invented numerous patents and have published nearly 100 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals.

This episode explores exciting new information about improving skin health at the molecular level for the long-term. When you do that, your body will be more equipped to defend itself from environmental stressors and aggressors, especially with age.

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How to Manage Sugar for a Better Brain and a Longer Life – Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D. : 943 Jun 03, 2022

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IN THIS EPISODE OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE™...

…you’ll learn about emerging science that points to the effects of sugar on your gut microbiome and metabolism and the connections between sugar, your mental acuity and longevity.

Biochemist and molecular biologist Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D., continually searches for new ways to improve your gut health and help you live longer. As CEO and co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics, she works to turn scientific discoveries into real products that hack and heal your microbiome and its associated body systems. At Pendulum, her team identifies and isolates new bacterial strains then combines those new strains to create unique probiotics.

“We really worked hard on ways to modulate post-postprandial glucose spikes through the microbiome,” Colleen says. The result? Pendulum’s Glucose Control lowers blood glucose spikes by 33 to 34% for people with type 2 diabetes. “What we didn't realize was how many people who don't have type 2 diabetes were going to end up benefiting from it.”

This conversation homes in on sugar management and a broad range of research that’s exploring what you can do about managing your glucose to keep up your mental acuity (less brain fog, sharper thinking) and live a longer life.

Science has discovered that as you age:

You have reduced ability to metabolize sugar.
Your microbiomes become less diverse and depleted of certain key strains that are important for sugar metabolism.
If you improve glucose control, you see reduced neuronal inflammation and improved cognition.

In the past decade, especially, sugar dominates a lot of the conversation around diet and health. It’s been studied, substituted, moderated, restricted and demonized. With that type of focus, you lose the bigger point.

“You can't completely cut out sugar,” Colleen says. “You do need sugar. Not all sugar is bad for you all the time. Every cell in your body, except for your colon cells, need glucose in order to survive, in order to replicate, in order to perform functions. All of the things that allow you to be a human being require some amount of sugar."

She wants you to know what’s happening to cause the change in metabolic processing as you age and what you can do about it, like:

How to understand your blood glucose range and what fluctuations mean.
How to track your blood glucose and what to do about peaks and dips.
How to improve your focus, sharpness and mental endurance through diet and fitness.

“I'm a scientist, so I'm always going to say more data is better,” Colleen explains. “[Especially] when you're trying to make improvements and you're making these micro-adjustments in your life, and you want to understand what impact are they having.”

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How 5 Self-Coaching Steps Get You to Your Goals – Jason Goldsmith : 942 Jun 01, 2022

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…you’ll learn how to connect the principles of self-coaching to biohacking. You may already be doing some things, but this topic will help you fine-tune your approach in simple, yet powerful, ways.

High performers typically know the value of coaches: experts who can train them and guide them toward goals. But what if you could become your own coach?

Podcast guest Jason Goldsmith emphasizes the value of combining the mental and physical aspects of human performance. He knows, too, that it’s important to learn to coach yourself to achieve any kind of life success you go after. Self-coaching doesn't mean you do it all on your own, it means that you take charge of yourself, for yourself.

This episode brings these concepts together so you can be in charge of yourself and be confident and purposeful when making decisions.

A globally recognized performance coach and founder of Goldsmith Performance, Jason’s best known for his work with golfers, from junior, to amateur to professional skill levels. He also coaches athletes from other major sports, as well as Fortune 500 executives.

He’s distilled his knowledge and partnered with David Novak, cofounder & former CEO and Chairman of Yum! Brands (owner of 45,000+ restaurants) to present sports and business coaching for high performance. They’ve created a practical guidebook for you to learn how to be your own best coach: “Take Charge Of You: How Self Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career.”

This conversation covers strategies to develop an understanding of who you are and what drives you. “That is a crucial part of choosing your SBT (single biggest thing): it should feel big, important, impactful, even aspirational,” Jason says in his book. “There is a difference between setting a goal and choosing a destination.”

You can outline a process with that knowledge that sets you up for success. And then add in something you may not have considered:

“Joy is a critical ingredient, and I don't think enough people have enough joy in their day-to-day life,” Jason says. “It’s really important for people to know what it is that brings them joy and what are the things that diminish their joy. So, if I was able to biohack my day, what are the things I do every single day that make me feel the best possible version of myself? But then what are the things that get in the way of that joy? And then how do I eliminate those joy blockers and have more of those joy builders?”

You’ll find out how in this episode!

“Take Charge of You” includes do-it-yourself lessons, stories, tips, and questions to ask yourself to track your personal growth and professional development. You can follow this blueprint for self-coaching, no matter what your goals may be.

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Mini-Episode: Cool Facts Friday #23 May 27, 2022

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Cool Facts are quick hits of new human and world science curated into short bursts of information just for you. This fun compilation publishes one Friday a month.

Drugs that cut down cancer risk by 61% aren't really drugs.
Take the right type of Vitamin D for the most benefit.
Stressing cells in the sauna could help reverse neurological disease.
A new discovery in brain communication and function.
Making stem cells younger in less time.
Active brown fat could be a marker for pre-diabetes.

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How to Slow Down Your Biological Aging – Morgan Levine, Ph.D. : 941 May 27, 2022

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IN THIS EPISODE OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE™...

…you’ll learn how biological age, rather than chronological age, is the primary risk factor behind diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, even Alzheimer’s. Scientific discoveries show chronological aging may be written in the epigenome, those chemical tags attached to your DNA that control the way DNA operates.

We’re finding out more about both types of aging because of scientists like Morgan Levine, Ph.D., a leading voice in the field of aging and longevity science. She focuses her research on the science of biological aging, emphasizing health span over lifespan.

“If you take the difference between someone’s biological age and chronological age, it should predict the things we care about, the actual things we're trying to prevent—so death, disease,” she says.

She’s an assistant professor of pathology and the Director of the Laboratory for Aging in Living Systems at Yale University School of Medicine. Her team looks at using bioinformatics to quantify the aging process and test how lifestyle and pharmaceuticals alter the rate of aging.

She’s also a founding Principal Investigator at Altos Labs, a biotech company that focuses on cellular rejuvenation programming to restore cell health and resilience.

Today, she’s going to talk about the science of aging and longevity explored in her new book, “True Age: “Cutting-Edge Research to Help Turn Back the Clock.” Three main drivers—health behaviors, recent stressors and adversity, and genetics—determine your biological aging. She shares how to measure your own biological age and why you should track your aging regularly.

This conversation gets into topics and makes them make sense for your own aging, like:

Epigenetics & epigenetic clocks
DNA methylation & telomeres
Cell lifespan
Ageotypes (molecular assessment of aging)
Phenotypic age
The “Ceiling” effect
The “CALERIE” trial
Nutrition & aging (plants, fasting, ketosis)
Fitness & aging (energy & brain health)
Rest & relaxation (sleep & biological programming)

Morgan gives great takeaways on how you can make lifestyle changes to maintain your youthfulness—both inside and out—with low-risk, data-driven biohacking.

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How Focus and Attention Powers Your Mind – Amishi Jha, Ph.D. : 940 May 24, 2022

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…you’re going to find out why you’re missing 50% of your life to fractured attention and distraction and what it’s doing to your brain.

Podcast guest Amishi Jha, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Miami, researches how people pay attention. She co-founded the Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative at the University of Miami and serves as its director. For more than 25 years, she’s researched the science of attention through intensive work with the U.S. Military, first responders, medical professionals, business leaders, and elite sports teams.

She’s found that attention Is both your superpower and your kryptonite.

As a superpower, attention allows you to time-travel in your mind (future and past), highlights what’s important, helps you problem solve, and shuts out distractions, she explains in her book, “Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day.”

When attention is compromised, it’s your kryptonite because it impacts your cognitive function, social engagement, and emotional balance, she points out. The three main forces that degrade attention include, 1) the amount of stress you’re under (and how you’re managing it); 2) being in a crappy mood; and 3) threats real or imagined.

And when your attention gets fractured, you often default to tactics that fail to pull it back together. Amishi’s got great insights in her book that allow you to understand why this happening. When you know what’s going on, it's easier to find your focus.

It’s absolutely possible to change your brain to become more attentive, present, and productive through mindful techniques and daily focusing practices. Amishi’s research shows that mindfulness gives you a sense of control over your mind and allows you to stop negative thinking before it hijacks your brain and body.

The type of mindfulness practice you choose isn’t as important as how consistently you actually do it. The minimum effective dose equals 12 minutes a day, five days a week.

Listen on to a conversation that gives you practical tips on how to re-capture your attention, train your brain and perform at your peak.

More about Amishi Jha, Ph.D.: Amishi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Psychology then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience) from the University of California–Davis. She completed post-doctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University in functional neuroimaging. She leads research on the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion, resilience, and performance. Her work has been featured at NATO, the World Economic Forum, and the U.S. Pentagon.

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Hacking Your Biohacks for Better Sleep, Fitness & Weight Control – Interventions With Dave – Sean Plotkin : 939 May 21, 2022

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In this Episode of The Human Upgrade™...

… Dave talks with Sean Plotkin about changing up his current biohacking routine to get even better results. You’ll find out how to maintain a high quality of life amid the “hustle” that can take up a lot of your everyday life.

In his mid-40s, Sean’s doing a lot to improve his energy, keep his body strong and stay ahead of aging. But, he says, the weight keeps creeping up and he’s concerned about his thyroid function. He has an intense weekly exercise routine and could use some help with nutrition before and after his fitness sessions. He also wants to tackle sleep, believing his isn’t as optimal as it could be.

He’s doing a lot of things right, including: supplementing with glutathione, using ozone, wearing a continuous glucose monitor, cooling his sleep with an Ooler Sleep System, tackling how he feels with Hapbee, managing stress and performance with NuCalm, upgrading his brain at 40 Years of Zen, and investing in a hyperbaric chamber and sauna for home use.

In this “Interventions With Dave” episode, Dave examines what Sean’s doing, what’s working or not, and what he can do to reach his peak performance consistently. They break down:

Nutrient availability (No. 1, energy; No. 2, protein; and No. 3, carbs)
Blood glucose and insulin resistance
Cortisol and stress
Hormones
Cognitive function
Nutrition
Pre-diabetes
Fatty liver
Inflammation
Cold therapy
Cholesterol
Metabolic health
Brain health
And much more!

Sean’s already got great awareness, tools and data to work with. Along any journey, it takes some experimentation—and time—to find that sweet spot that makes you feel like a million bucks.

Note: The "Interventions With Dave” recommendations are designed to help you upgrade yourself and your biology so you can perform better at everything you do. They are not, however, a substitute for advice or treatment by a trained medical professional that may be needed for specific health conditions, illness or injury.

Don't miss the previous episodes in the Interventions With Dave series:

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Your Get-Smart Guide to CBD & Chinese Herbs – Chloe Weber : 938 May 20, 2022

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IN THIS EPISODE OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE™...

…you’ll learn about all things CBD, hemp and THC: what current research says, why quality matters, and how to get real results. Paired with particular Chinese herbs, the benefits to you increase even more.

In the last few years, CBD was a trend, then the market got saturated, and then people said: “I tried CBD and nothing happened.” That’s unfortunate, because experts like acupuncturist, herbalist and Chinese Medicine practitioner Dr. Chloe Weber know exactly what works—and how.

There are four main ways hemp supports the mind and body, and this conversation gets into the mechanisms of them all: Anxiety and stress, GI support, immune support, and pain management/inflammatory disorders.

You’ll also find out:

The differences between full spectrum (with 0.3% THC) vs. isolate vs. pharmaceutical cannabis.
How your body’s endocannabinoid system works and why it’s your master regulator.
What endocannabinoid deficiency means for your body.
How to take CBD and how long it takes to experience its effects.
How pairing CBD with Chinese herbs can benefit your body and brain, and power your performance.
What to look for in high-quality hemp products.
How to maneuver through cannabis strains and THC potencies.
How to decide between CBD oils, capsules, topicals for your particular health needs.
Common misconceptions about and censorship of CBD.
What new cannabinoids are coming onto the scene, like CBG and CBN.

Chloe founded Radical Roots Herbs, a company that offers full-spectrum hemp product and also combines CBD with Chinese herbs to boost the power of both.

“By calming the nervous system and supporting our endocannabinoid system,” Chloe says, “we're actually able accept, absorb and process the Chinese herbs in a more dynamic way."

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Bonus: Biohacking Surgery & Recovery with Dave Asprey May 17, 2022

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IN THIS EPISODE OF THE HUMAN UPGRADE™...

… I will teach you everything you would ever want to know about before surgery, during surgery and after surgery, so that you come in strong, you have a better surgical experience, and you recover way faster than you're supposed to.

Research shows that if you live in America, you’re likely to have an average of seven surgeries in your lifetime. Wouldn’t you want to know how to go in at your best so you can recover at your best?

This was my thinking when I went under the knife last year.

In the hours and days that followed, I blew my doctor’s mind. He had never seen a recovery like mine.

As the Father of Biohacking, I never shy away from an opportunity to blow the lid off what we think is biologically possible. And then I share what I’ve found with the world.

In Heal with Dave, my new documentary, you’re going to learn all of the methods I used to heal without pain and recover to the fullest and beyond. I’ll teach you how.

If this sounds interesting to you and you want to know what to do to have control of your biology at a time when frankly, a lot of people take quite a while to recover and there's increased risk of all kinds of bad things like infections, systemic issues, just not healing very well and building strong tissues, go to daveaspery.com/heal.

Watch the documentary, use the resources. It's my gift to you!

“Heal with Dave” Documentary: https://daveasprey.com/heal/

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Discover Your Attributes & Get More Out of Yourself – Rich Diviney : 937 May 13, 2022

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… you’ll learn why developing your attributes may be more important than skills when it comes to getting more out of yourself. Attributes are wired into your internal circuitry, always running in the background, says Rich Diviney. You’re born with attributes. They’re elemental and considered innate traits—not to be confused with personality traits.

Rich, a retired Navy SEAL commander, bestselling author, and leadership and human performance expert, explains how attributes determine how you absorb, process, and respond to the world around you. By knowing this, you’ll be able to assess your own attributes and put them into action with SMART steps.

In his book, “The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance,” Rich shows you how mindset, optimism and becoming uniquely resilient to stress can help you become a better human. His approach identifies core attributes needed for success in personal or professional tasks.

His ability to choose the right people to be in elite performance groups—like the U.S. Navy SEALs—could be considered a superpower. As the officer in charge of training for a specialized command, Rich was part of the SEAL selection process. He pared down a group of exceptional candidates to a small cadre of the most elite optimal performers. How did he do it? By looking at attributes.

It’s Rich's belief that SEALs are not born extraordinary. Instead, they’ve mastered their own mindset to get the most out of their innate abilities to make themselves extraordinary. He believes we all have the power to do this.

In “The Attributes,” you’ll find examples of attributes within five distinct categories plus a couple more that don’t fit so neatly: Grit, Mental Acuity, Drive, Leadership and Teamability.

So, what are attributes and how are they different than skills?

“A lot of times we get seduced by skills, and we don't think about attributes,” Rich says. “And the reason is very simple: skills are not inherent to our nature. They're very visible, which means they're very easy to assess, measure and test and you can put scores around them and stats around them. … Attributes are inherent to our nature. We're all born with levels of adaptability and situational awareness and resilience. Attributes don't dictate our behavior or director behavior; they inform our behavior.”

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