Team Asprey

Genetic Testing: Personalize Your Lifestyle to Kick More Ass

November 21, 2018 by Team Asprey

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Do you track your performance in life? If not, it’s time to start. Collecting data helps you fine-tune your lifestyle to fit your unique biology.
DNA testing is one of the best ways to collect data on yourself. Your genes affect your metabolism, muscle growth, supplement needs, caffeine sensitivity, and more.
It’s worth your time to get a DNA test. Read on for a full breakdown of why (and a DNA test discount for Bulletproof readers).

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Do you track your performance in life?

If not, it’s time to start. Data is essential to biohacking; tracking what you do helps you see what’s working for you and what isn’t. From there you can fine-tune your lifestyle to fit your unique biology (by the way, there are a lot of cool biohacking tools that you can use to track your performance with almost no effort. Check out “Law 29: Track It to Hack It” in my newest book “Game Changers” to learn how).

Collecting data on yourself is one of the best ways to improve your life. The differences it makes aren’t trivial, either. In a recent Bulletproof Radio podcast episode [iTunes], Olympic sprinter Andrew Steele talked about how a DNA test was the difference between him not making the Olympics and winning a medal.

“There’s this ACTN3 gene,” Steele explained. “99% of sprinters have the C version of the ACTN3 gene…I didn’t have it.”

In other words, Steele was a sprinter without the sprinter gene. His muscle fibers didn’t respond to the training that works for every other Olympic sprinter — when he trained like them, his progress stalled, and he was too slow to qualify for the olympics. He didn’t figure out what was up until he took a DNA test and saw how unusual his muscles were.

That DNA test made a big difference: In 2008, after four years on a training regimen that matched his unusual genetics, Steele earned an Olympic medal. He now works at DNAFit, a DNA testing company that helps you find the perfect diet and exercise routines for your unique genetics (Bulletproof readers can get a discounted DNAFit test here).

A single DNA test can give you deep insight into your body’s natural strengths and weaknesses, and help you personalize your lifestyle so you see results faster than you thought possible. Here are a few of the ways you can use a DNA test to upgrade your life.

Boost your workout and fitness results

What’s your muscle type, power or endurance? Not sure? Knowing your genetics gives you a big advantage in the gym. You have two main types of muscle:

Fast-twitch muscles contract quickly and intensely, giving you explosive power that’s good for weightlifting or sprinting.
Slow- twitch muscles contract more gradually, but they also last a lot longer, making them good for endurance exercise like long-distance running.

Everyone has a different ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles. If you’re 90% fast-twitch, you’ll benefit more from brief, intense training like heavy lifting. If you’re 90% slow-twitch, you’ll see better results from steady cardio. If you’re a mix, you’ll want to mix up your training to capitalize on both types of muscle.

Your ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles depends largely on the ACTN3 gene — the variation you have influences how you respond to different workouts.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1180686/”] Testing your ACTN3 gene shows you what workouts will give you the fastest results in the gym.

Tailor your diet for a leaner body (and feel better too)

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene plays a major role in how well you tolerate carbs. If you have a certain ACE gene variation, for example, you’ll struggle to break down and use carbohydrates, and eating a lot of them will make you put on weight and increase your risk of diabetes.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2745746/”]

Testing your ACE gene will help you figure out if you have high-, moderate-, or low-carb tolerance. If you change your diet to match your genes, you’ll stay leaner and feel better.

Cut out foods that sap energy and cause low-grade inflammation

Your genes also influence whether or not you’re lactose intolerant. If you get violently ill after eating dairy, you probably already know that you’re better off without it. But lactose intolerance exists on a spectrum, and eating dairy could be giving you background inflammation that’s sneakily sapping your performance.

Determine which nutrients your body can’t process

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene determines how well your body uses vitamin D. Your vitamin D needs could change by as much as 30%, depending on what VDR variant you have.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26011658″] VDR also influences weight gain and metabolism, possibly because if you have low vitamin D sensitivity you don’t get enough for your body to function properly.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4287888/”]

There’s also the SOD2 gene, which controls antioxidant production inside your mitochondria (the power plants of your cells). Your mitochondria use antioxidants to protect against stress so they can keep cranking out energy. Depending on your SOD2 variation, you may want to take a lot of extra antioxidants daily — or you may make tons of antioxidants naturally, which makes your mitochondria much more resilient.

When it comes to DNA tests, these examples are the tip of the iceberg. Genetics affect everything from sleep quality to testosterone production, and getting your genes tested will help you personalize your lifestyle so you can be a better, faster, stronger human.

To learn more about genetics and performance, check out this Bulletproof Radio podcast episode [iTunes] with the people at DNAFit, or pick up a DNA test with this discount for Bulletproof readers.

5 Reasons Why You Are Not Getting Pregnant

November 15, 2018 by Team Asprey

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Not getting pregnant can be an emotionally painful, stressful experience for both you and your partner.
If you’ve been trying for 6 months to get pregnant, see your doctor. If you’re in your mid- to late-thirties or older, don’t wait as long.
Reasons why you are not getting pregnant: You’re not tracking your ovulation, you’re having sex at the wrong time, you’re stressed, you’re not eating enough of the right foods, and your thyroid is out of whack.
It takes about 3 months for your hormones to balance themselves after following the above issues.
If you still are not getting pregnant, ask your doctor for a full hormonal panel.

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You’re ready to have a baby, but after months of trying you’re not getting pregnant. It can be an emotionally painful, stressful experience, for both you and your partner. The good news is, there are things you can do to boost your fertility and increase your chances of conceiving. Read on for the reasons why you may not be getting pregnant, and how to change that.

Reasons you are not getting pregnant

You’re not tracking your ovulation

The first thing I ask my patients is how long they’ve been trying to get pregnant. If you’re in your late-twenties or early-thirties, and you’ve been trying to get pregnant for 6 months without success, see your doctor. If you’re in your mid- to late-thirties and early-forties, you don’t want to wait that long.

The second question I ask is whether you’ve been tracking your ovulation — this is key. Ovulation is the point in your cycle — typically mid-way — when your ovary releases an egg.

There are many misconceptions here, so let’s clarify. An egg lives for 12-24 hrs. Most women release only one egg at a time. However, as you get older and the “clock starts ticking,” it’s more common for more than one egg to get released. That’s why older mothers have a higher chance of twins!

The two eggs could be released on the same day from each ovary, but you could also release one egg and then a second egg a day or two later from either the same ovary or from the other ovary. This can give you a “fertility window” of up to 5 days per cycle. And since healthy sperm can survive up to 5 days in the female reproductive tract, many fertility doctors extend the “window” to 7 days.

Tracking your ovulation so you know WHEN it’s happening is therefore crucial. It’s not unusual for women to miss their ovulation window because they are either not tracking it correctly, or because they ovulate early or late in their cycle. Without a proper tracker and an ovulation kit to test your urine, you won’t know. You can track your cycle using a period tracking app like MyFLO or Period Calendar, and I strongly recommend you buy an ovulation test kit from the drugstore for at least 3 consecutive months. The money spent on the ovulation test kit will be far less than what you might spend on lab tests, supplements, herbs, or fertility treatments.

You’re not timing sex

Given the above information about ovulating, when should you have sex? If you are in your twenties or early thirties, and likely releasing only one egg at a time, you should be having sex every other day, starting 4 days before your ovulation, the day of your expected ovulation, and 2 days later. So if your ovulation happens on day 14 of your cycle, you’d have sex on day 10, 12, 14 and 16.

If you are in your mid-thirties or older, you may be releasing two eggs, at least during some of your cycles, so you want to boost your chances of getting pregnant on the 3 days following your first expected ovulation. So with a 28-day cycle, and possibly ovulating on day 14, and 15 or 16, you would have sex on day 10, 12, 14, 16, 18.

The reason you have sex every other day is because with a “day of recovery”, a man’s sperm count rises. And a higher sperm count means better chances of getting pregnant.

If your cycles are irregular, and/or you have anovulatory cycles, it’s best to consult with a fertility doctor because the simple math above just won’t do it in your case.

You’re stressed

You can still bleed every month when it’s your period, and not ovulate. This is typically due to a hormone imbalance — you’re lacking the right mix of hormones to create a healthy egg. Sometimes a hormone imbalance is hereditary — if your grandmother and mother have a history of miscarriages or struggled to get pregnant, it’s possible you might run into similar challenges.

But the biggest reason — other than hereditary hormonal imbalances — for not ovulating properly is stress. When you’re stressed, you don’t get enough sleep, and without good sleep, you produce fewer sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Instead, your body ramps up production of other hormones like cortisol (the stress hormone).

Cortisol signals to your body that this isn’t a good time to get pregnant. You can have a woman who is desperate to get pregnant, yet her body is saying “absolutely not.” The human body hasn’t changed significantly in 50,000 years — back then humans were living in caves, or on the savannah. When food was scarce, or your life was at risk, you were less likely to get pregnant — your body needed to know it could support a pregnancy and produce breast milk to feed a baby. Not much has changed — high cortisol tells your body now is not a good time to get pregnant.

So how do you lower stress when life is so busy and you’re under so much pressure? You start small. You don’t need to completely makeover your life, move to the country, and meditate five hours a day. Instead, small changes, over an extended period of time, have a cumulative effect.

Here are some ideas:

Go to bed earlier: If you are always tired around 8.30-9pm, then listen to your body and allow yourself to begin your bedtime routine even if it seems “too early”.

Protect yourself from too much blue light exposure: When you work on your laptop at night or scroll through Instagram on your phone, you’re exposing yourself to blue light. Too much blue light suppresses melatonin — the hormone that tells your body when it’s time to sleep. Shut down all electronic devices two hours before bed, and switch to a red bulb in your bedside lamp. Read here for more ways to protect yourself from junk light.

Learn to say no: If you’re someone who likes to say yes to everything, especially to helping others, you may want to pull back a little. If you volunteer every weekend, volunteer every other weekend, at least while you’re trying to get pregnant.
Get support: If you already have another child, look into getting some support. You could hire a mother’s helper — typically young babysitters who can help you run errands or play with your older children so you can get things done, or simply rest. The bonus? They’re typically more affordable than nannies. Or arrange for another parent to pick up your child from daycare once or twice a week, so you can use that time to meditate, do yoga, or go for a walk

Making some simple tweaks to your day can have a huge impact on your stress levels overtime.

You’re not eating enough good fats and protein

You need good fats and high-quality protein to build hormones.

Fats like omega-3s and saturated fat help your body produce sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen — these hormones keep you fertile.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4763493/”] The best sources of fat are:

Grass-fed butter
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Raw nuts
Grass-fed beef and lamb
Wild-caught fish (avoid species high in mercury like fatty tuna — too much mercury and other environmental toxins can hurt your fertility.)[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28844822″]
Krill oil supplements

Protein is also key to creating quality eggs. One study looked at women undergoing IVF at the same clinic. Those who ate a moderate amount of protein (more than 25% of their daily calories) had more embryos to transfer and two times the pregnancy rates than those eating less than 25% of protein. Cutting down on carbs also boosted fertility. The women with the highest pregnancy rate (80%) ate more than 25% protein and ate less than 40% of carbs.[ref url=”https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(12)01583-X/fulltext”]

Learn here about the best sources of protein

If you’re a vegetarian — and a lot of women are — it’s likely you aren’t getting enough fat and protein. Vegetable protein isn’t as efficient as animal protein at building hormones. Animals eat grass — they take the plant and convert it into a more a sophisticated protein. Humans aren’t so good at doing this. Same goes for omega-3 fats from fish, versus from plant sources like flaxseed oil and chia seeds.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2621042/”]

If you’re vegetarian, you want to supplement with digestive enzymes and probiotics and prebiotics — anything that will help you better digest vegetable protein.

Your thyroid is out of whack

If you are not getting pregnant, you want to check your thyroid levels. Your thyroid produces hormones that regulate almost all of your bodily systems, including your menstrual cycle and mood.

Ask your doctor for a full thyroid panel. You want to get the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), T3, and T4 tests. TSH is secreted by the brain, and its job is to tell the thyroid gland to make the right amount of thyroid hormones. A lot of physicians will only test for TSH — if the test comes back normal, doctors assume your levels of thyroid hormones must be normal.

But I see more and more clients whose TSH is fairly normal, yet their actual thyroid hormones are low. That’s why I test TSH along with T3 and T4 so I can get a full picture and I know for sure whether the thyroid is producing what’s needed for pregnancy. A lot of health care plans won’t cover expanded thyroid tests. T3 and T4 each cost around $30 each. Women will spend a lot of money on supplements, herbs, and ovulation kits, yet they often don’t think, “Am I getting the right tests?”

Most women walk around with levels of T3 and T4 that are too low. Even if your tests come back with a “low normal”, you should start supplementing with thyroid medication. If your doctor isn’t onboard with doing the extra tests, find another doctor. Even very small doses of supplemental thyroid hormone can make a huge difference.

You can boost your thyroid with iodine — a mineral that’s necessary to make thyroid hormone. Make sure you supplement under the supervision of a doctor or a naturopath, since too much iodine can also cause problems. To test your iodine levels at home, put two drops of liquid iodine on the inside of your forearms and let it soak in. You should see a dark brown stain on your skin. Let that dry, and check back after 12 hours.

If it’s more pale or completely gone, you have an iodine deficiency, and it’s time to supplement. If it’s completely gone after 24 hrs, your levels are low but not dangerously so. Even then you should have a blood test to see what your actual iodine levels are and see if supplementation is needed.

Another healthy activity that “steals” iodine is exposure to strongly chlorinated water. If you swim in a public pool even once a week on a regular basis, it is slowly lowering your iodine.

What to do next

It takes about 2 to 3 months for your hormones to balance themselves, when following the above guidelines. If you still haven’t become pregnant after 4 months or so, take the next step and order a full hormonal panel.

At a minimum you want your estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, LH, FSH, vitamin D levels, DHEA, CRP, homocysteine, ferritin, iron, and iodine levels checked. Your best chance, however, to have the correct lab tests done and save time and money is to work with a fertility doctor who will guide you through this process and monitor your results. Someone should be in charge of fitting the pieces of the puzzle together. Otherwise it’s much more difficult to understand what the obstacles might be that are keeping you and your partner from realizing your dream of having a family.

13 Fitness Tips That Are Sabotaging Your Diet and Exercise Goals

November 14, 2018 by Team Asprey

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Carbs are evil. Only work out in the morning. Fat turns into muscle. All of those fitness tips are totally false.
New research squelches black-and-white thinking and reveals what you should really know about diet and exercise.
Below, fitness experts and celebrity trainers weigh in on fitness tips about losing weight, counting calories, and hitting your long-term goals.

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What do all of these statements have in common?

Morning workouts are the best workouts.
If you want to lose weight, count your calories.
Fat is evil. Carbs are also evil.

Answer: They’re totally bogus.

Google “fitness tips” and you’re bound to find 1 million falsehoods just like these. They’re based on old science and black-and-white thinking.

Below, certified personal trainers and fitness professionals weigh in on 13 fitness tips that are doing more harm than good.

You’ll also find out how you can create sustainable lifestyle changes that make you feel better than ever.

Ready to bust some myths and learn how to hit your fitness goals? Keep reading for fitness advice you can actually use.

13 fitness “tips” that you should abandon right now

1. There’s only one ideal time of day to work out.

Some studies say that morning workouts offer more benefits for heart health, metabolic function, and hormone response than afternoon workouts.[ref url=”https://www.scitechnol.com/2324-8602/2324-8602-1-109.pdf”] [ref url=”https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.2001.91.1.91″] If you’re intermittent fasting, working out in the morning can help you reap the extra fat-burning benefits of fasted exercise.[ref url=”https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/breakfast-and-exercise-contingently-affect-postprandial-metabolism-and-energy-balance-in-physically-active-males/9DAC8DE59DEEF7926E81FF2BB2C5B7EB”]

So, should you only exercise in the morning? Nope.

Studies show that it’s not when you hit the gym that matters — what really matters is how consistent you are.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22531613″] [ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9526893″] According to Kyra Williams, NASM-certified online personal trainer and nutrition expert, “The best time to workout is the time it fits best into your schedule.”

In fact, you can reap more benefits when you work out based on your biological clock. According to Dr. Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and sleep expert, your body’s natural circadian rhythms translate into four “chronotypes,” or behaviors that define early risers and night owls. If you thrive in the morning, you should go for a run in the evening — and if you’re a night owl who wants to relax before bed, you’ll benefit the most from evening yoga.[ref url=”https://medium.com/@thesleepdoctor/there-is-a-best-time-to-exercise-for-health-and-performance-c7af7aa079bd”]

You can read more about the importance of finding your chronotype in “Game Changers,” Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey’s new book, and listen to their conversation on this episode of the Bulletproof Radio podcast.

So, If you’re not a morning person, it’s not because you’re lazy — it’s just your biology. (Just don’t exercise within 2 hours of bedtime — that will mess with your sleep quality.)

2. You can’t lose weight without exercise.

You hit the gym 2 – 3 times per week, but the scale isn’t budging. What gives? Exercise benefits your entire body, but it’s not the only way to cut back on pounds. Your diet is more important.

You can’t outrun the effects of inflammatory foods like refined carbohydrates and sugar. If you’re eating pizza every night and starting your mornings with a bagel and fruit juice, it’s going to change your body composition — no matter how hard you hit the treadmill. Learn more about how to lose weight based on your body type.

Food can impact your weight in more insidious ways, too. Studies also show that resisting temptation all day can lead to willpower fatigue, which means you’re more likely to make unhealthy decisions[ref url=”https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.aspx”] — like bingeing on a tray of cookies after a day of eating lettuce greens.

If you feel excessively restricted on your diet, it’s time to change the game. Your food should make you feel satisfied, nourished, and content. That’s why the Bulletproof Diet is filled with nutrient-dense foods that make you feel great and taste delicious, like grass-fed steak and rich, decadent coffee.

This isn’t to say you should forget about the gym. Exercise fills in the gaps in your diet and builds muscle, which boosts your brain health and cellular function.[ref url=”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254614001161″] [ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1540458/”] But if you’re exercising to lose weight, remember: Abs aren’t built in the gym — they’re built in the kitchen.

3. The longer your gym session, the fitter you are.

You don’t have to clock in hours at the gym to be lean, strong, and fit. Science says you can even get results from a 13-minute workout, as long as it’s intense and takes your muscles to exhaustion.

The duration of your workout isn’t as important as the quality of your sweat session. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the most impactful ways to work your entire body, build muscle, and improve your cardio. Learn more about the benefits of HIIT.

You can also make your gym sessions more by following a fitness plan. According to Lacey Stone, celebrity trainer and health and wellness expert, “If you don’t have a plan, you are lost. You can’t make your goals happen if you are all over the place.”

Download The Bulletproof Exercise Roadmap now

For individualized guidance and accountability, Stone recommends working with an experienced fitness professional you trust. Just keep in mind that not all trainers are created equal.

You wouldn’t ask any old stranger to work on your car, right? You’d look them up ahead of time. The same attention to detail should apply to your body. Research your trainer to learn about their certifications, experience, and methodology, whether you’re following for a workout plan or taking a group fitness class.

4. Muscle turns into fat, and fat turns into muscle.

Nope. Muscle and fat are two separate tissues in your body. They don’t magically turn into each other, just like you can’t turn that donut into a salad.

“Muscle fibers simply get smaller if they are not used,” says Franklin Antoian, personal trainer and founder of iBodyFit.com. “Fat gets burned away as energy when you work out. Muscle is created by eating the right foods after a hard workout.”

What are the right foods? High-quality carbs to replenish your muscles and protein to stimulate muscular growth and repair. Learn more about the best pre- and post-workout meals to fuel your sweat session.

5. Lifting weights make you bulky.

Lifting weights is good for the body, regardless of your gender — and no, you won’t bulk up just because you hit the squat rack. Resistance training improves your mood, increases your metabolism, reduces insulin sensitivity, supports brain health, reduces pain, and burns fat.[ref url=”https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/FullText/2015/07000/BUILD_MUSCLE,_IMPROVE_HEALTH___BENEFITS_ASSOCIATED.6.aspx”]

“If you’re not taking in massive amounts of protein, you’re not going to gain weight,” says Ramsey Bergeron, a certified personal trainer and owner of Bergeron Personal Training. “If you want to be the house, you have to eat the house.”

If you want to upgrade your performance in the gym, check out this list of workout supplements that actually work.

6. Artificial sweeteners are better than regular sugar.

You might think that diet soda is good for your waistline because it’s zero-calorie. But in reality, artificial sweeteners are just as bad as regular sugar because they’re carcinogenic, wreck your gut bacteria, and perpetuate your sugar addiction.

Instead, try these alternative sweeteners that are natural, well-studied, and just as sweet. And if you just can’t ditch that diet soda, try switching to sparkling mineral water. Learn more about soda replacements in this episode of the Bulletproof Radio podcast.

7. You have to change everything at once.

It’s great to feel passionate about a new diet or fitness class. But that doesn’t mean you have to completely reinvent yourself in order to hit your goals. That’s not sustainable, and it’s not realistic.

According to Stone, lasting change happens with consistent effort, whether that’s 100 percent effort or just 75. If you go all-out and try to completely reinvent yourself all at once, you risk burning out.

“It’s like getting a promotion at work and then stopping working. If you want to be a boss, you have to be the boss,” she says.

So, how do you make that change last? Bergeron recommends making three small changes and sticking with them for a while. Then, make three more.

That might mean cutting back on alcohol, taking a walk during your lunch break, and only eating out once a week. Then, once those changes become a habit, find new actions you can make that support your fitness goals.

8. You have to be fit to go to the gym.

This is a classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. You stand in your own way with this line of thinking. It’s like saying you have to be the CEO to go to work, or you have to be a Michelin-star chef to cook your own food. See how silly that sounds?

Bergeron has his clients come up with a personal rebuttal book to fight this circular logic. Here’s an example:

I’m too tired to go to the gym. There are plenty of workouts you can do at home.
I don’t have time to make dinner. It’ll take at least 30 minutes to go to a restaurant and wait for your food anyway. These easy keto dinners take 30 minutes or less to make.
I’m not motivated to exercise. Follow a fitness plan so you know exactly what to do every day of the week. Work with a personal trainer who you trust and can hold you accountable. Or take a walk outside. Getting some movement (and sunshine!) is better than nothing at all.

“Stop making excuses about being busy,” Stone says. “Beyonce is pretty busy, too. And she’s got two kids. So shut up and do it.”

9. Calories in, calories out is the best way to lose weight.

Also known as the CICO diet, “calories in, calories out” is an old school of thought that says in order to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you consume each day.

In reality, it’s not that simple. Calories are just numbers that define a unit of energy. They’re numbers. They don’t determine the way food makes you feel.

Your diet’s balance of carbs, fats, and proteins and the quality of your food matters more than the number of calories you consume. If you’re eating in a calorie deficit, but you feel like crap because you’re only eating kale and cayenne, you’re not giving your body the fuel it needs to keep your systems running at their peak.

Case in point: In “The Bulletproof Diet,” Asprey consumed between 4,000 to 4,500 calories per day and didn’t exercise. According to CICO, he should have gained tons of body fat. Instead, he lost weight and developed a six-pack.

Why? His diet primarily consisted of healthy fats, organic vegetables, and high-quality proteins — without a diet shake in sight. He lost weight because his body switched to burning fat for fuel, and he eliminated inflammatory foods.

Bergeron doesn’t believe in CICO. He says it’s more important to know how different macronutrients affect your body and find the right balance for you. “That’s why I don’t advocate just ketogenic across the board,” he says. “If someone is doing a lot of activity and they need to use carbohydrates, that’s great. Take them in, but don’t overindulge in them.”

Learn more about how to find your ideal carb intake. To take a deep-dive into the idea that not all calories are created equal, read Asprey’s reply to Time magazine.

10. Carbs are evil.

Carbohydrates have a bad rap. They play an important role in your body: they provide your body with glucose, which is your main energy source when your body isn’t burning fat for fuel.

Most people perform better with some carbs in their system, which is why the Bulletproof Diet advocates carb cycling. The thing is, not all carbs are the same. A plate of broccoli will give your body more fiber and nutrients than a few slices of refined white bread.

“You have to look at your net carbohydrates, which ultimately is your effect on the blood sugar. Fibrous carbs are good for you — anything else depends on your activity level,” Bergeron says. Learn more about how to calculate net carbs.

11. It’s better to eat small meals throughout the day.

Science flips back and forth on this fitness tip. Some research supports the idea that you should eat six or more meals per day.[ref url=”https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(14)01764-X/abstract”] Other studies say that eating more than three times per day will wreck your waistline.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28701389″]

Everyone is wired differently, and the amount of food you eat is super subjective. It all depends on a mix of factors like your genes, your energy levels, and what you’re putting in your mouth.

To find out what works for you, start by cutting out the stuff that spikes your blood sugar and makes you hungry in an hour. That means refined carbohydrates and sugar. (Learn more about insulin spikes in this episode of the Bulletproof Radio podcast.)

You’re going to feel hungry again if your “small meal” is a sad salad with a few lettuce leaves and celery sticks. But if you fill your plate with nutrient-rich vegetables, high-quality protein, and plenty of tasty fats, you’ll feel satisfied and full. Check out this list of keto lunch recipes for tasty inspo like steak Cobb salad, keto low-carb chili, and chicken fajita lettuce wraps.

There’s also lot of benefits to intermittent fasting, a type of diet where you eat within a specific timeframe. “Your body can’t store calories and burn them at the same time,” says Bergeron, who keeps his feeding window between 8 to 12 hours a day. “If you’re just eating all day, you’re never really in a burning state.”

Biohackers use different styles of intermittent fasting to enhance mitochondrial health, lower blood sugar levels, and promote autophagy — the process your body uses to clean up damaged cells and toxins. Try it for yourself and see how you feel.

12. X type of workout is better than Y.

It’s tempting to think that one type of workout will completely transform your body. In reality, it’s not that easy.

“Different workouts have different methodologies and different objectives,” Bergeron says. “Until you’ve tried one, you don’t really know what its effect will have on your physiology.” That’s why it’s valuable to try different styles of exercise to find what makes you feel motivated, challenged, and happy.

HIIT has tons of benefits, but you don’t have to do it at the gym. Take a boxing class. Run a few sprint sets with your friend. Take a dance class. Look for workouts that get your heart rate up and incorporate periods of intense activity with periods of rest.

Don’t dismiss low-impact workouts like meditative yoga and walking, either. These workouts have their own specific benefits, like reducing stress levels and building stronger joints. They can absolutely benefit your long-term fitness goals — and it’s fun to try new things.

“Find something that motivates you to really challenge yourself and push to do something out of this world,” Bergeron says.

13. This diet doesn’t work.

You tell your friends you’re swearing off bread. You purge your house of every tempting candy bar. You start drinking water by the gallon. But the scale doesn’t budge because dieting doesn’t work — right?

“You didn’t gain 40 pounds overnight,” Bergeron says. “Think about how long your fitness level has been where it’s at and how long it took you to get there.” Instead of feeling disappointed because you aren’t getting quick results, focus on the smeller steps you’re taking to reach your long-term goal.

And remember that you can measure progress in ways beyond the scale, too. If you wake up feeling energized, refreshed, and focused, you’re doing something right.

Conversely, if you’re unhappy and feeling restricted, it’s time to hack your diet. Increase your carb intake, try new ingredients, or try intermittent fasting and see how you feel.

There’s also a chance something in your body is out of whack. Check out these medical tests you can get from your doctor to get a bird’s eye view of your gut health, hormone levels, and other important variables for weight loss.

And if you’re craving something “off-limits,” be kind to yourself. It’s almost impossible to stick to your diet 24/7, especially around the holidays. Just get back to your normal way of eating as soon as possible, don’t punish yourself, and pay attention the way those “off-limits” foods make you feel.

Want to bust even more myths? Check out the real science behind the top 10 claims from What the Health. Ready to upgrade your life in 30 days? Check out the Bulletproof 30-Day Upgrade printable.

To Build Muscle Faster, Exercise in the Cold. Here’s How to Add Ice to Your Workouts

November 9, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Cold exposure (aka cryotherapy) is a great biohack to increase brain function and speed up recovery. It’s even better when you combine it with exercise.
Cold exposure increases your blood oxygen levels and lowers your core body temperature. Studies find that adding cold to your workout increases your endurance, as well as your maximum exercise intensity and your recovery speed.
People who added ice to their workouts saw the most benefit during medium-length exercise (20-40 minutes) that alternated between low intensity and high intensity. In other words, cold exposure is perfect for enhancing high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which is already one of the best kinds of exercise you can do.
It’s easy to add full-body cold exposure to your workouts at home or at the gym. Read below to learn how.

[/tldr]

Cold exposure is amazing for your performance. There are lots of ways to do it — braving a cryotherapy chamber, taking an ice bath, dunking your face in freezing water — and they all come with powerful benefits. Adding a little cold to your life is a foolproof way to enhance your brain function, increase your recovery, burn more fat, make your mitochondria more resilient, and build your willpower.

Cold exposure on its own is powerful, and it gets even better when you combine it with exercise. Cold workouts make your muscles more efficient and increase their access to fuel, helping you get more out of your sweat session. Let’s take a look at the science of adding cold to your workouts, how it can upgrade your muscles and help you recover faster than you thought possible, and how to do cold-enhanced exercise at home or at your gym (when temperatures are less than arctic outdoors).

Benefits of cold workouts: Why you want to exercise in the cold

In a recent Bulletproof Radio podcast episode, cold-enhanced exercise pioneer Peter Wasowski describes why adding cold to your workouts is so effective:

“If you exercise with intensity, you can actually shunt as much as 40% of your blood to your skin just for cooling…which means you have less blood flow at the muscle level, and this is precisely why you have sore muscles for a day or two, because there is not enough blood to remove the lactic acid.”

Wasowski goes on to explain that when your core body temperature rises, your blood releases oxygen. Oxygen is the main thing fueling your muscles during intense, extended workouts. By cooling your body down during exercise, more oxygen stays in your blood, and more blood stays in your muscles. As a result, you can go much harder and much longer before you tire out.

That increase in intensity also translates to a greater hormonal response. Pushing your body drives it to release more testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH), which gives you a greater return on your exercise in terms of fat-burning and muscle growth, as well as faster recovery.

Wasowski created Vasper, a cold-assisted high-intensity interval training machine that he used to reverse his arthritis and prediabetes. Vasper basically involves strapping supercooled packs to your body and doing sprints on a recumbent stationary bike. It gives you the equivalent of a two-hour workout in 21 minutes. Vasper has become a staple for cutting-edge physical therapists, and it’s also one of the most popular machines at Bulletproof Labs. NASA is even testing it for space flights to Mars, because it’s so efficient and can help with the joint expansion that comes from going into space.

To summarize, adding cold to your workouts can:

Increase endurance and maximum workout intensity[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14698992″][ref url=”https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/36/2/89″]
Increase muscle gain[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356217/”]
Speed up recovery[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356217/”]
Enhance your testosterone and HGH response to exercise

Cold exposure can make your workouts do a lot more for you. And if you don’t have easy access to Vasper, here’s some good news: With a little effort, you can jerry-rig the experience at home or at your gym. Or, you know, just go outside in the snow, assuming it’s winter and you don’t live in the tropics.

How to work out with cold exposure

If you have any kind of cardio machine at home or at your gym, it’s easy to add in cold exposure. All you have to do is pick up an ice vest and wear it during your workouts. You can also add arm and leg straps for even more cooling. Or, if you’re old school and live in a place with harsh winters, you can just go do sprints in a tee shirt in January.

The best workouts you can do with cold exposure are high-intensity and relatively short. Studies found that cold does not enhance anaerobic exercise (short bursts of intensity, like heavy lifting), probably because your muscles are running on ATP stores instead of using oxygen.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356217/”] Long workouts (more than an hour) are also off the table, because your cooling packs will warm up.

The study’s authors concluded that the best workouts for cold exposure are between 20-40 minutes and combine endurance exercise with bursts of intensity. In other words, you want to do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with cold packs.

HIIT is when you alternate between all-out intensity and brief active rest periods. The cold will increase your maximum output during the intense parts and refuel your muscles faster during the brief rest. You’ll end up being able to go longer and harder without tiring, and you’ll get a lot more out of your workout.

Plus, HIIT is already one of the most efficient ways to exercise. It’s amazing for you, and because it’s so intense you’ll see and feel changes in your body even if you only do it once a week. Here’s a complete guide to HIIT, with benefits and a sample workout. And if you want to do cold exposure on its own, without exercise, check out this guide to cryotherapy. Try adding an ice bath or a cryo session to your week and see how you feel. Thanks for reading.

The 30-Day No Sugar Challenge: A Step-by-Step Guide To Ending Sugar Cravings

November 8, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Cutting down on sugar is the single best thing you can do for your body and brain.
Sugar is physiologically and psychologically addictive. It’s tough to break sugar addiction, but with a few biohacks, you can make it easier.
Try using this step-by-step guide to cut sugar from your diet for 30 days. You’ll be amazed by how much better you look and feel by day 30.

[/tldr]

At the end of 2017, British politician Tom Watson weighed 308 pounds. He’d spent 22 years trying to lose weight with a low-fat, high-carb diet, and at times he’d succeed — but eventually, the weight would pile back on, and then some.

When his doctor told him he had type II diabetes, Watson realized his old approach wasn’t working and that he had to do something new. After some research, he found the Bulletproof Diet and decided to give it a try. In his podcast episode on Bulletproof Radio [iTunes], Watson describes his experience:

“Quite literally from day one, my life just started to get better and better,” Watson says. “…I was hungry every single day for 30 years… I woke up after about a week [on the Bulletproof Diet], and I wasn’t hungry anymore. I’ve not been hungry for 14 months.”

Over those 14 months, Watson has lost 102 pounds. His diabetes has disappeared, his brain fog is gone, and his blood pressure is normal for the first time in over a decade.

The biggest thing for Watson was kicking sugar. “I feel like I’m a reformed sugar addict,” he says. “…sugar is actually the heart of the problem.”

Benefits of cutting out sugar

If you’re a sugar lover, you can probably empathize. Sugar is addictive — it turns on reward pathways in your brain and causes withdrawal.[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/98/3/641/4577039″] Without the right game plan, it’s hard to break a sugar addiction. But when you do kick your sugar habit, the changes to your life can be extraordinary. Cutting down on sugar promotes:

Fat loss[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12760444″]
Mental focus and better mood, thanks to decreased brain inflammation[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5518723/”]
Decreased hunger and food cravings[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/98/3/641/4577039″]
All-day energy with no crash, thanks to stable blood sugar[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3820066″]

It takes about two weeks for your body to get over sugar cravings and withdrawal. With that in mind, here’s a 30-day no sugar challenge. Over the course of the next month, use this step-by-step guide to break your sugar addiction and start feeding your body foods that make you stronger, not weaker. Everything you need to know is in this article.

You’ll be amazed by how good you feel after you get off sugar. Here’s how to do it.

Days 1-7: Ditch the sugar and eat more fat

First things first, scour your kitchen for sugary or high-carb foods and get rid of them. When sugar cravings hit, they hit hard. You don’t want to be surrounded by sweets and cave in a moment of temptation.

Go to your kitchen and look at the nutrition labels on everything. If the food has more than a couple grams of sugar (or if it’s high in carbs, like pasta or potato chips), throw it out.

This applies to natural sugar, too. Sugar is sugar, whether it comes from a candy bar or from a cantaloupe. “Healthy” sweeteners like dates, honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and agave nectar are no better than table sugar; they’ll still spike your insulin levels and cause cravings.

You want to stay under 20 grams of sugar a day for the next month, and keep your overall carbs around 50-150 grams a day, depending on your biology (here’s how to find your ideal carb intake). The goal isn’t too cut out sugar entirely — healthy foods contain small amount of sugar, but the point is to limit them so they don’t mess with your blood sugar and lead to energy crashes.

Once you’ve gotten rid of the sugar and carbs in your kitchen, head to the grocery store and stock up on lots of quality fats, protein, and veggies. Choose things like:

Grass-fed beef and lamb
Wild salmon
Pasture-raised bacon
Pasture-raised eggs
Raw nuts
Grass-fed butter
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Avocados
Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, fennel, cabbage, and other nutrient-dense, low-carb veggies

Check out the one-page Bulletproof Diet Roadmap for a complete list of foods to eat and foods to avoid.

Days 8-14: Hack your sugar cravings

Sugar is addictive. It lights up the reward pathways in your brain and causes withdrawal symptoms when you stop eating it.[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/98/3/641/4577039″] After a couple days without sugar, the cravings are going to hit. You might experience:

Low energy
Mood swings
Strong desire for carbs/sweets
Headaches
Trouble sleeping
Brain fog

This is your body going through sugar withdrawal. Stay strong! The withdrawal will pass after a few days and you’ll feel better than ever before. In the meantime, here are three ways to hack your sugar cravings:

Eat lots of fat (and don’t count calories). Start your day with a Bulletproof Coffee and have lots of fatty meat and butter-drenched vegetables for lunch and dinner. Don’t count calories while you’re getting off sugar; fill up on fat and eat until you’re full. The combination of fat, protein, and fiber will curb your appetite and ease cravings.
Put Brain Octane Oil on everything. Brain Octane Oil is a special type of fat that your liver converts to energy almost immediately. Brain Octane suppresses your hunger hormones and helps a lot with cravings and low energy. Drizzle it on your meals to help you get through sugar withdrawal.
Keep good snacks handy. When you’re going through sugar cravings and withdrawal, make sure you have lots of high-fat, low-carb snacks that you can eat without prep. Choose things like clean meat sticks/bars, grass-fed hot dogs and sausages, grass-fed cheese (if you tolerate it), raw nuts, nut butters, and dark chocolate (78% or darker). The moment a carb craving hits, grab a high-fat snack.. This strategy makes a bigger difference than you might think.

Stick out your second week without sugar. It’s usually the most difficult, but once the cravings subside, you’re going to feel amazing.

Days 15-30: Enjoy your new body and brain

By day 15, your sugar withdrawal will probably have come and gone. You can expect sugar and carb cravings to disappear almost entirely. You won’t have to battle to not eat that cookie at the end of the day — the desire just won’t be there.

For the second half of the month, expect to feel better and better. You’ll enjoy extraordinary mental clarity, stable energy, fat loss, decreased inflammation, better sleep, and more. Now is a good time to experiment with your diet and find what works best for your unique biology.

Try adding intermittent fasting for even more mental focus and fat loss
Add or remove foods from the yellow zone of the Bulletproof Diet Roadmap and see if you feel good eating them
Consider going full keto, or adding a weekly carb refeed day
Fine-tune your nutrition with the right supplements

If you slip up getting off sugar, don’t beat yourself up. Sugar is physiologically and mentally addictive. It’s not easy to kick, but it’s worth the struggle. And at the end of your 30 days — keep going! Use the Bulletproof Diet as a template, and experiment with it until you find something that makes you feel superhuman, every day.

How to Live Forever, According to Deepak Chopra

November 7, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Bestselling author and integrative medicine pioneer Deepak Chopra, MD, was one of the earliest voices to argue that aging is optional.
Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey recently asked Chopra how long he plans to stay in his current body.
Chopra’s answers involve pushing your mind and body, upgrading on your diet, and changing your perceptions of age.
These keys to longevity belong in any biohacker’s toolkit.

[/tldr]

What would you do to ensure you live a long and thriving life? If you follow the Bulletproof Diet, you already know the benefits of optimizing your diet, hacking your sleep, and upgrading your performance.

At the 2018 XPrize Visioneering Summit, Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey asked integrative medicine pioneer Deepak Chopra, MD, how long he plans to stay in his current body.

According to Chopra, the keys to longevity are simpler than you might think.

5 keys to longevity, according to Deepak Chopra

1. Learn one thing every day

Chopra starts every day with the following affirmation: “Every day, and every way, I’m increasing my physical and mental capacity.” He says he pushes himself to learn one new thing every day, which increases his mental capacity.

When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone and tried something new? Whether it’s trying a unique food, learning an unfamiliar word, or experimenting with a different workout routine, new experiences are scientifically proven to make you happier.

Happier people have more fun, feel more gratitude, and live longer lives.[ref url=”http://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6017/542″] Talk about a win-win.

Related: How to Hack Your Happiness

2. Take a deep breath

Inhale. Exhale. Chopra recommends taking deep breaths because “both deep sleep and meditation is a tool for resting.” Deep breathing can help you calm down when you’re feeling stressed, and studies have found that deep breathing can even improve your attention span and focus.

Stress is hard on your body. It weakens your immune system, messes with your hormones, and shortens your lifespan. To find your moment of zen, check out these deep breathing exercises to calm down from every situation.

3. Do something physical every day

Your body was built to move. Challenging yourself to engage in regular exercise can slow down the effects of aging,[ref url=”https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180308143123.htm”] which is why Chopra challenges himself to push his physical capacity every day.

That doesn’t mean hitting the gym for an hour daily. (In fact, you only need about 20 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week to benefit from exercise.)

Chopra engages in activities that support his mind-body connection, like doing one extra stretch, holding one extra yoga pose, or taking an extra 100 steps on top of the 10,000 steps he takes every day.

Go on a walk outdoors. Use a foam roller. Swim with your best friend. Do something daily that gets your blood flowing and brings you joy.

4. Feed your body

Chopra says, “Focus on nutrition which is ideal for your microbiome and anti-inflammatory.” Food is fuel, and when you nourish your body with nutrient-dense foods that taste great, you’re supporting the systems that keep your engines running and your mind sharp.

Turn back time by eliminating inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy, filling your plate with organic vegetables and grass-fed protein, and boosting your gut bacteria.

The Bulletproof Diet is a great place to start. Learn more about the Bulletproof Diet here.

5. Understand that age is just a number

The biggest secret to longevity? Understand that age is just a number.

“There is biological age, there is chronological age, and there’s psychological age,” Chopra says. “We have lots of studies now that show that you can alter even genetic activity that has to do with aging.” One of the ways you can alter genetic activity is by protecting your telomeres — the endcaps of your chromosomes that protect your cells. Learn more about the science of telomeres and aging.

Chopra says that longevity depends on changing your perceptions and expectations of what you think aging is. If you want to stay 21 forever, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you want to thrive, kick ass, and enjoy your life for years to come, you can take actions today so you’ll live longer — and better. Find out how you can biohack your body right now.

“As you grow older, you can hack the biology of youth and still benefit from the wisdom of experience,” Chopra says. And really, that’s what biohacking is all about: pushing your limits so you can take control of your body, mind, and life.

Get on
“The Inside Track”
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Start hacking your way to better than standard performance and results.

Team Asprey

Boost your workout and fitness results

Tailor your diet for a leaner body (and feel better too)

Cut out foods that sap energy and cause low-grade inflammation

Determine which nutrients your body can’t process

Reasons you are not getting pregnant

You’re not tracking your ovulation

You’re not timing sex

You’re stressed

You’re not eating enough good fats and protein

Your thyroid is out of whack

What to do next

13 fitness “tips” that you should abandon right now

1. There’s only one ideal time of day to work out.

2. You can’t lose weight without exercise.

3. The longer your gym session, the fitter you are.

4. Muscle turns into fat, and fat turns into muscle.

5. Lifting weights make you bulky.

6. Artificial sweeteners are better than regular sugar.

7. You have to change everything at once.

8. You have to be fit to go to the gym.

9. Calories in, calories out is the best way to lose weight.

10. Carbs are evil.

11. It’s better to eat small meals throughout the day.

12. X type of workout is better than Y.

13. This diet doesn’t work.

Benefits of cold workouts: Why you want to exercise in the cold

How to work out with cold exposure

Benefits of cutting out sugar

Days 1-7: Ditch the sugar and eat more fat

Days 8-14: Hack your sugar cravings

Days 15-30: Enjoy your new body and brain

5 keys to longevity, according to Deepak Chopra

1. Learn one thing every day

2. Take a deep breath

3. Do something physical every day

4. Feed your body

5. Understand that age is just a number

Get on “The Inside Track” with Dave

See What Trouble Dave’s Getting Into on Social

Start hacking your way to better than standard performance and results.

Get on
“The Inside Track”
with Dave