Biohacking: can you hack your body and gain eternal youth?

Biohacking has divided modern doctors into two camps. Some claim that it is a revolution in anti-aging medicine, while others are skeptical of the new trend and consider it dangerous to health. So who should we believe? We tell you how the innovative treatment trend works and whether it can really harm the body.

What is biohacking?

Biohacking is a new and unfamiliar term to most people. It means a systematic approach to human biology, which aims to focus on all aspects of vital activity. It is a medical and wellness practice aimed at improving quality of life and slowing the aging process by optimizing nutrition, sleep, avoiding bad habits and exercise. Simply put, anti-aging medicine.

Dermatovenerologist and cosmetologist Irina Arbatskaya believes that sometimes people misunderstand the concept of biohacking and even slightly exaggerate when describing the essence of this practice.

Irina: The concept of biohacking is now hypertrophied. Everyone thinks that you need to take a huge amount of supplements and constantly measure your blood pressure. In fact, you have to start with simple things: sleep well, eat a balanced diet, take care of your body and take a conscious approach to life.

Biohacking started to be talked about after the publication of an article by Sergei Fage, the creator of Ostrovka. The article was titled “I am 32 years old and I spent $ 200 thousand on biohacking”. In it, the entrepreneur told how a careful study of vital signs helped him to become healthier and happier.

I wanted to become more energetic, healthy, happy, confident, strong-willed and intelligent, improve my mood and concentration, and extend my life… To do this, I optimized my sleep, nutrition and training, went through thousands of tests, took dozens of different drugs and hundreds of supplements, worked with great doctors, meditated more than a thousand times, went to a therapist – and spent about $ 200 thousand dollars on all this.

Who can do biohacking and is there any contraindications?

According to doctors, there are no special contraindications. It is only important to soberly assess their own well-being.

Irina: The main thing is not to harm yourself. If you do not take into account your physical condition and go on a marathon of 42 km, you can get a cardiovascular disease. Or, if you eat supplements for liver and gallbladder diseases, you can cause drug-induced hepatitis. Everything should be reasonable and dosed. A healthy lifestyle is about awareness. Do not deny yourself some products, just know in what quantity to consume them. For example, people with iron deficiency anemia cannot do without meat, as proteins are involved in building cells and brain function, and the lack of animal proteins can lead to nervous system disorders. Plant proteins, unfortunately, will not replace them. Many female patients unreasonably refuse some products, disrupt the hormonal background and in the worst case begin to be treated for infertility.

Thus, it is important to understand that if you have a negative heredity or disorders in the body, it is necessary with the help of a doctor and genetic tests to determine how to adjust your diet.

Injections of untested drugs are also dangerous. Former NASA employee and head of startup Odin, Josiah Zeiner, gave himself an injection that is supposed to add superpower genes to his DNA. The biohacker revealed that in six months or a little more he will gain incredible muscle mass. Previously, he tried to embed a jellyfish gene to make his body glow green in the dark. The man did not fluoresce after that. But began to say that such injections are safe, as his health did not deteriorate.

Experts have a negative attitude to such risky experiments with gene injections. In this way, it is possible to get an infection into the body. A year ago, biohacker Aaron Traywick was found dead in Washington. The 28-year-old man was testing experimental drugs on himself. He had injected an uncertified herpes drug into his body. Traywick was found senseless in a sensory deprivation chamber used for relaxation.

Psychologists believe biohacking also changes the way people think. The idea of improving oneself and achieving mega results can become obsessive. And an attempt to establish complete total control over the processes occurring in the body can lead to serious physical and psychological problems.