Simple Health BioHacks

Gut Health – Not sure where your gut health stands? Here are 6 signs your gut could use a little tender-loving-care (TLC):
  1. Occasional digestive issues (e.g., stomach aches, gas, bloating, heartburn)
  2. Brain fog
  3. Interrupted mood
  4. Food cravings
  5. Weight management issues

BIOHACKING YOUR GI TRACK

Knowing how to maintain a healthy gut starts by knowing what can offset it; things that are likely to cause problems often work by disrupting the gut microbiome (aka, the bacteria and other microbes living in your gut) as these little critters play important roles in digestion, immunity, metabolism and mental health. 
Things that are known disruptors of the microbiome include:
  • Antibiotics: They work by killing ALL bacteria in the gut as they cannot differentiate between “bad” (harmful) bacteria and “good” (helpful) bacteria. This creates a bacterial imbalance in your gut which can lead to altered metabolism, modified fat storage, changes in hormone levels as well as interrupted brain function and mood.
  • Stress: Elevated stress levels have the potential to deplete your good bacteria which leads to an imbalance in the gut microbiome. As mentioned above, this imbalance can disrupt many aspects of your health.

RESTORING BALANCE

If you find yourself experiencing any of the signs listed above, an imbalance in your gut microbiome might be to blame. To restore balance, there are a handful of things you can try:
  • Eat right: The foods you eat can feed the helpful bacteria and starve the less desirable bacteria. To make sure you are feeding only the helpful bacteria, eat things like plants, fruits, seeds and nuts. To starve the less desirable bacteria, minimize your consumption of processed foods, breads and pastas.
  • Fill up on prebiotic foods: Prebiotics are natural, non-digestible food components that promote the growth of helpful bacteria in your gut. To include more prebiotics in your diet, eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains such as bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus, wheat, oats and ancient grains like quinoa, millet or chia.
  • Avoid antibiotics: Because antibiotics kill off all bacteria, it’s important that you only take them when necessary. If you do you have to take them, consider taking a probiotic supplement to help restore the healthy bacteria.
  • Eat fermented foods: Fermented foods contain a healthy dose of probiotics—the good-for-you bacteria. These foods include: tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha and kimchi.
  • Take probiotic supplements: Like fermented foods, probiotic supplements contain the “good” bacteria that help maintain a healthy ecosystem of bacteria in your gut.  

Probiotics – what should you look for? 

  • High Culture Count
  • The culture count refers to the total amount of live bacterial culture in a single serving. Some people may need a higher amount depending on age or health status. A dose of 50 billion per day is perfect for enhancing immunity and overall health.
    • Number of Strains
    • There are literally more than 1,000 strains of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Look for the naturally occurring strains like lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. A good way to remember is that the L strains are good for the small intestine and the B strains are good for the Large intestine or colon. Cover all the bases with one supplement that with eight to ten different strains for best results.
    • Potency At Time Of Expiration
    • Taking a supplement daily will strengthen your immune system.
    • Keeping healthy is all about being proactive and probiotics go a long way to help keep your immune system strong all year long. For more information please click on the link below.
    • “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
  • Manage stress: Elevated stress levels can be problematic in many ways, one of which is disrupting the balance of bacteria in your gut. To avoid any imbalances, finding ways to manage stress is important. Things that have been shown to help reduce everyday stress include—meditation, spending time with friends and family, adequate sleep, and aromatherapy

Mitochondrial Function – Numbers 1 – 5 from Roy Krebs

  1. Sun Exposure – The sun is one of the most powerful mitochondrial boosters in our arsenal for optimal health and wellbeing.
  2. Cold Thermogenesis – Short bursts of exposure to extreme cold temperatures can up-regulate mitochondrial biogenesis (making new mitochondria) by tricking the body into thinking it has to enter survival mode.Daily cold showers, polar plunges, or walking shirtless in cold winter temperatures are great ways to do this.
  1. Intermittent Fasting – Numerous studies have linked caloric restriction to improved mitochondrial function and increased longevity.  Mitochondria in caloric restriction learn to increase oxygen efficiency, reduce oxidative stress byproducts, yet are able to “maintain critical ATP production”.
  2. Move More – The average American sits for 13 hours a day. Add in the recommended 8 hours of sleep and we’re sedentary for 21/24 hours each day – nearly 88% of our time.Mitochondria like exercise, activity, and movement, and humans are designed for movement. Feed your mitochondria as much movement as possible, focusing on variety and quality.

5. Use Fat For Fuel – Mitochondria can use fatty acids or carbohydrates to create the ATP our cells need for energy. However the ATP creation process from fat is more efficient and creates less free radicals as a byproduct.  This is a crucial consideration when looking at longevity and our overall lifecycle.

Consider these findings from a Yale study that discovered mitochondria adapt their function in response to sugar:
“We found that when sugar increases in the body, mitochondria in some brain neurons rapidly change their shape and their function is altered. These findings imply that alterations in this mechanism may contribute to the development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, in which the body is not able to clear high levels of sugar from the blood.”
For mitochondrial health, the answer appears to become fat-adapted and minimize our sugar intake.  Simply put, burn as little sugar over a lifetime as possible.
 
6.  NRF1 Activation:  The NRF1 protein is a key player in the activation of mitochondrial biogenesis. As such, the upregulation of NRF1 offers a unique way to protect the health of your mitochondria and thus, promote cell function.  Activating the NRF1 protein is like flipping a light switch on and leads to the activation of many genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis (the process of making new, healthy mitochondria). In addition to its effects on mitochondrial biogenesis.

Oxidative Stress/Inflammation:

How can you stop oxidative stress? Bring your body back into balance. Here are some ideas on how to do that:

  • Avoid stressors. When you can, avoid too much physical, mental, and/or emotional stress. Avoid processed foods and toxins, such as chemicals, air pollution, etc. Try to keep healthy by avoiding infections—wash your hands frequently, especially during cold and flu season.
  • Reduce stress. When you can’t avoid stressors, try to minimize the effect they will have on your body by sleeping, doing deep breathing or meditation, and exercising (but not so much that you cause too much physical stress).
  • Boost your internal defense system. Give your body lots of tools to fight oxidative stress. Increase your intake of fresh fruits and veggies, herbs, vitamins, and/or other supplements that contain phytonutrients. These powerful ingredients help protect your health in many ways, one of which is by naturally stimulating your internal defense system.
  • Nrf2 Activation:  Provides a pathway for the production of our own body’s most essential antioxidants and “survival genes;” which is much better than taking antioxidants.
  • Bottom line—maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Eat, sleep, and exercise—enough, but not too much. Enjoy time with family and friends as well as time on your own. Keeping balance in your life will help minimize your exposure to oxidative stress which will keep you healthy for years to come.

 

EMF reduction:

Just as there are good fats and bad fats for our body and good sugars and bad sugars for our body, so there are good/safe EMF’s and bad/harmful EMF’s for our body.
God designed the human body with very specific EMF frequencies. Healthy tissue has these strong God-given frequencies.  Unhealthy or diseased tissue has weak or altered (different) frequencies.
  • Our healthy EMF frequencies become weak or altered for various reasons, but most commonly by too much exposure to other EMF frequencies which are out of the realm of our healthy body frequencies.
  • This can happen over a period of years with low to moderate levels of electromagnetic radiation or it can happen immediately with a rare strong exposure. Once your healthy frequencies are altered, then comes health problems which move into various diseases such as cancer and fibromyalgia. 

To decrease harmful EMF frequencies – Jeromy Johnson:

1.)  Replace your wireless devices with wired versions. This includes:

    • Cordless “DECT” phones
    • Wi-Fi router (at the very least, use a Christmas light timer to turn off at night and consider using a Router Guard)
    • Laptop computers – use an Ethernet cable rather than Wi-Fi
    • Wireless baby monitors. Learn more here.
    • Wireless “Smart” Meters

2.)  Use your smart phone safely:

    • Keep the phone on “Airplane” mode most of the time.
    • Never put a cell phone to your head.
    • Use speaker phone or this Air-Tube Headset for voice calls.
    • You can also place a Ferrite Bead on your headset wire to reduce the radiation transmitting to your head.
    • Do not carry a cell phone in your pocket or bra unless it is on “Airplane” mode.
    • Try to not let a child under the age of 16 use a cell phone. 
    • Do not use the phone while in a car – radiation levels are increased.
    • If you must use a cell phone, do so primarily for text messages and emergencies. Save high data activities and voice calls for a wired internet connection at home.

3.)  Use your laptop computer wisely:

    • Use a wired Ethernet connection for internet (rather than Wi-Fi).
    • It is best to use a laptop that is on battery power (not charging/plugged-in).
    • Use a wired external keyboard and mouse to reduce the EMF exposure to your body.
    • Keep the computer a few feet from your body – never put a laptop on your lap / body. You can place this radiation shield between the laptop and your body.
    • Take frequent breaks and ground yourself in your garden / lawn as often as possible.
    • Utilize wireless iPads sparingly – never stream video or music using Wi-Fi.
    • A wired computer and a Defender Pad EMF shield are key steps to take

4.)  Create a sleep sanctuary – One of the most beneficial steps you can take is to reduce EMF exposure while you sleep:

    • Unplug everything in your bedroom at night.
    • Keep cell phones, iPads and other electronics out of your bedroom. Use a simple battery-powered alarm clock.
    • Turn off the electrical circuit breaker to your bedroom at night. Just keep a flashlight by your nightstand.
    • Make sure any remaining wireless devices in your home are turned off at night.
    • Sleep under a bed canopy that blocks out the microwave radiation from the local cell phone towers and wireless “smart” meters. This is my favorite bed canopy for travel.
    • Consider having an EMF professional help you create a sleep sanctuary. You can learn more about this here.
5.)  Measure the EMF pollution in your home. I explain this in more detail here. The Cornet ED88T meter is a good device for your money.
6.)  Determine if there is a cell phone tower or other wireless transmitter near your home. I like this RF meter the best to affordably check a home. Use the code EMFA-10 for a 10% discount. If there are powerful transmitters, consider utilizing a bed canopy that blocks out microwave radiation while you sleep (especially important for children).
7.)  Begin educating your neighbors, friends and family. Much of the EMF pollution in your home may actually come from your neighbor’s Wi-Fi, cordless “DECT” phones and wireless “smart” meters. Gently begin to show them this pollution with your new meter and share the health effects and solutions seen throughout this website. This book is also the best resource I have for beginners in this topic. You can create an entire community that is aware of and reduces EMF pollution.
Additional Biohacks For Your Health
  • Wash your hand regularly and use the paper towel to turn off faucet and open doors in public restrooms
  • Get plenty of sleep 6 – 8 hours; use a sleep tracker to assess quality of sleep
  • Drink lots of water:  0.5 ounce/pound of body weigh (100 lb person should drink 50 ounces of water daily)
  • Walking 15 min/day can decrease risk for colon & breast cancer by 15%
  • Challenge your mind:  Keep learning & try new activities
  • Follow preventive care & screening guidelines
  • Brush & floss teeth daily and see your dentist regularly
Contact Me