Team Asprey

Want Smooth, Shiny Locks? Use Bulletproof Coffee as a Hair Mask

November 2, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

The ingredients in Bulletproof Coffee can make a powerful (and effective) hair mask.
Coffee is a great hair rinse to promote shiny tresses, and caffeine encourages new hair growth. Coffee grounds are the ultimate whole-body exfoliant — and they smell great.
Brain Octane Oil is a type of MCT oil sourced from coconuts, and it’s a great moisturizer for your strands and scalp.
Grass-fed ghee isn’t just great for your diet. It’s also a vitamin-packed hair mask treatment for deep conditioning.

[/tldr]

Bulletproof Coffee isn’t just a powerful way to upgrade your morning routine. You can also use that supercharged combo of high-quality coffee beans, Brain Octane Oil, and grass-fed ghee (or butter) as a restorative hair mask treatment for shiny, luscious hair that looks as great as you feel.

You can either use Bulletproof Coffee as a stimulating hair mask, or you can use the ingredients separately to exfoliate your skin, rinse your hair, and enjoy silky-smooth tresses in time for fall weather.

Here’s everything you should know about how to use Bulletproof Coffee as a hair mask. Treat yourself to a relaxing night of self-care — you deserve it.

Bulletproof Coffee hair mask

The ingredients in Bulletproof Coffee are meant to be blended together because blending breaks the fats into small droplets that bind to caffeine molecules.

That’s great for upgrading your morning cup of java — and it’s also an effective way to help your hair soak up all of that moisturizing goodness and stimulating caffeine. Who knew?

Try this hair mask to moisturize your tresses and encourage hair growth.[ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2007.03119.x”] Heads up: Although Bulletproof Coffee can be made with grass-fed butter, you should use ghee on your hair. It’s more stable and won’t clump like butter.

Also, soaking your head in coffee will darken your hair color. If you have blonde or red hair and don’t want to dye it, you can still benefit from an apple cider vinegar rinse. For other moisturizing treatments that don’t involve coffee, keep reading.

How to do it

Follow the Bulletproof Coffee recipe: Brew 1 – 2 cups of coffee. While it’s hot, blend with 1 tsp – 2 Tbsp Brain Octane Oil and 1 – 2 tsp of grass-fed ghee. The shorter your hair, the less coffee, Brain Octane Oil, and ghee you need to use.
Let the coffee cool completely. You might need to blend one more time to combine the cooled fats. Then, fully saturate your hair. (Pour slowly.)
Comb the mask through your hair to evenly distribute it through your strands.
Leave it in for at least 20 minutes. Rinse it out and follow with your normal shampoo.

Bulletproof Coffee is a wonderful conditioning hair mask, but you can use these ingredients separately, too. Here’s how.

Black coffee rinse for shiny hair

For shiny, silky locks, rinse your hair with black coffee. The outer layer of your hair consists of overlapping scales called cuticles, which strengthen and protect the shaft. A flat cuticle helps your hair reflect more light, which makes it look shiny. Because coffee has a low pH level, it can help the cuticle lay flat and reduce frizz better than water alone.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4158629/”]

How to do it

Brew 2 – 4 cups of coffee and let it cool completely. The longer your hair, the more coffee you should brew to fully saturate your strands.
To use the coffee as a rinse, pour the coffee over freshly washed hair. You can also let it sit in your hair for 20 minutes as a deep-treatment mask.
Rinse it out and style as usual.

Coffee ground hair mask for exfoliation and hair growth

This recipe is great for your hair, but you can also use it on your entire body. Leftover coffee grounds are rough enough to exfoliate your skin without damaging the surface. Plus, they smell great.

Exfoliating your scalp helps gets rid of dead skin cells, and caffeine stimulates your hair follicles, which can promote hair growth. If you’re dealing with hair loss, check out this article for more tips to regrow hair naturally.

You’ll notice this recipe features a dash of Brain Octane Oil. This is a powerful type of MCT oil that’s distilled from 100% pure coconut oil. It moisturizes the skin without clogging your pores like coconut oil can. You can also use it as a shaving cream or makeup remover. Learn more about the benefits of MCT oil.

How to do it

Mix leftover coffee grounds with 1 tsp Brain Octane Oil. Optional: Add 2 – 3 drops of peppermint oil.
Add enough water to make a thin paste. Gently massage it into your scalp, then work it through your strands.
Let the mask sit for 5 – 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water. Rinse again with cold water at the end to lock in shine.

Heads up: coffee grounds can clog your drain over time. Only do this occasionally and invest in a fine mesh sink strainer for your drain.

Brain Octane Oil conditioner for dry, frizzy hair

This simple recipe consists of just one ingredient: Brain Octane Oil. Unlike hair masks you might find at your local drugstore, Brain Octane Oil won’t strip your hair of its natural oils. Instead, it’ll moisturize your scalp and smooth your strands for shiny, happy hair.

The steps below are intended as a conditioning treatment one to two times per week. For daily use, Brain Octane Oil is light enough to smooth your strands in place of your regular hair oil. Just use a small, nickel-sized splash, depending on your hair length. Remember, a little goes a long way.

How to do it

Gently massage 1 – 2 tsp Brain Octane Oil into your scalp and work it through your strands. Use more if needed.
Leave the oil on for 5 – 10 minutes. For a deep treatment, cover your hair and leave the oil in overnight.
Wash it out with your favorite natural shampoo. Bask in shiny, moisturized tresses.

Ghee hair mask for ultra moisturizing

Ghee is a clarified form of butter. Grass-fed ghee is a favorite in the Bulletproof Diet because it’s packed with vitamins, virtually dairy-free, and tastes delicious. And when it comes to your hair, ghee reigns supreme as a luxurious, moisturizing hair mask that has its roots in indigenous Ethiopian hair treatments.[ref url=”https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJFS/article-abstract/2B0B62663349″] Use it to moisturize your scalp and strands one to two times per week.

How to do it

Apply 1 – 2 Tbsp of room-temperature ghee to your hair. Optional: If you just want to smooth split ends, apply a pea-sized amount to the ends of your strands.
Leave it on for at least 30 minutes.
Wash it out with your favorite natural shampoo.

Have you ever rinsed your hair with coffee or put ghee in your scalp? Share your experience in the comments.

Looking for more natural (and effective) swaps to upgrade your grooming routine? Check out this list of the most important natural beauty swaps to make this year.

How to Biohack Stress Like a Soldier

November 1, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Soldiers have to deal with extraordinary stress on a regular basis. Military psychologists have developed several kinds of training to help soldiers learn to perform at their best. You can use these skills in your own life.
Habitually stressing yourself and testing your limits teaches you to perform well and keep going, even when you’re well beyond your comfort zone. Find out how to do these stress management techniques.
Stress Inoculation Training teaches you the psychological tools to face stressors and adapt to them instead of being overwhelmed by them.

[/tldr]

Imagine floating in the frigid ocean at 4 AM. You’re on the verge of hypothermia. You haven’t slept in a day. Your body is falling apart from hours of brutal physical training. Salt water bites at your blistered hands and feet. You don’t know what comes next, or when you’ll be able to rest. And your mind is constantly tempting you with the knowledge that you can give up anytime and make it all stop.

That’s the reality of a Navy SEAL recruit going through training. Trainees have to face a series of challenges designed to put them under severe physical and psychological stress — and teach them how to endure anything and still perform at a high level.

In a recent Bulletproof Radio [iTunes] podcast episode, Andrew Herr, a Department of Defense biotechnologist, talked about the military’s emerging interest in biohacking, and how they use psychology and physical challenges to make their soldiers more resilient to stress.

Soldiers have to perform and make reasoned decisions under extreme pressure; falling short can mean their death, or the death of those around them. To deal with that level of pressure, soldiers — particularly special forces units — undergo stress inoculation training designed to make them as resilient as possible.

The stress management techniques that soldiers use can be just as valuable in civilian life. Here’s a look at how soldiers learn to manage stress and keep performing, and how you can use the same techniques to become a more resilient person, no matter what life throws at you.

Get to know your limits (and push past them)

Navy SEAL training is some of the toughest in the world. It teaches soldiers extreme stress management techniques designed to push them past their breaking points, both physically and mentally. Highlights include:

Holding a 200-lb. log with several other trainees, while doing intense cardio, for multiple hours. If one person drops the log, the entire team has to start over.
Drown-proofing, where trainees get thrown into a pool with their hands and feet tied and have to stay calm enough to avoid drowning. People often pass out underwater while doing this drill and have to be rescued.[ref url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/1-dead-4-nearly-drown-during-navy-seal-training-2016-n580086″]
The infamous Navy SEAL “Hell Week”. Trainees are chronically sleep-deprived and exercise around the clock, often in water so cold that they risk hypothermia. They also have to deal with the constant pain of salty ocean water and sand on cuts and chafing skin. Trainees eat around 7,000 calories a day and often still lose several pounds over the course of Hell Week.

This kind of training is extraordinarily stressful, which is the point. It forces trainees to confront what they think are their limits and push past them on a regular basis. Trainees have to be tough, but they also have to function at their best under extreme stress. Drown-proofing, for example, forces trainees to stay calm and act with precision, even when they have no oxygen and are seconds away from passing out underwater.

Resilience comes from overcoming stress on a regular basis. If you want to become more resilient to stress, add stress to your life in a controlled way, and get in the habit of performing well at your edge. It’s one of the most powerful stress management techniques out there. You don’t have to go as crazy as Navy SEALs do, of course. Here are a few ways to test your mental and physical limits:

Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) once or twice a week. If you’re doing it right, HIIT will push you to absolute physical exhaustion in under ten minutes. Do it regularly, and make it incrementally more difficult every week by adding more weight, adding more rounds, or decreasing rest time. You should end every HIIT workout feeling like you’re about to pass out.
Take a cold shower every morning. Life coach Tony Robbins is famous for his cold plunges. In his recent podcast episode on Bulletproof Radio, he explained why: “It’s teaching my brain that when I say go, we go. I don’t negotiate with myself.” Taking a cold shower in the morning will never be easy, which is what makes it so important. Choosing cold exposure means ignoring that tempting voice in the back of your head telling you to take it easy or give up. Ignoring your inner doubter is a valuable habit to cultivate. Plus, cold exposure is amazing for your biology. And if cold showers feel tame after a while? Dump a couple bags of ice in a bathtub and sit in it as long as you can stand.
Do a 24 or 48-hour fast. Intermittent fasting is great for you, and with Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting you use Brain Octane Oil to take away hunger, which makes fasting a lot easier to do and still gives you many of the benefits of full-on fasting. Every now and then, though, you may want to choose the hard road and have nothing but water for 24-48 hours. It’ll be a lot more challenging than doing Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting, which is the point in this case. You’ll have to learn to deal with hunger and fatigue and keep going.

Pushing your limits rewires your brain to handle stress

Pushing your limits is one of the most effective stress management techniques — it forces you to change the way your brain deals with pressure or challenges. Researchers have studied the psychological habits of resilient people and tested how changing your mindset can make you better at handling stress. Through their research, they’ve developed Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), which teaches people to become aware of their stress and learn how to handle it. Psychiatrists also use SIT to help people deal with psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

According to research on stress inoculation, there are certain fundamental habits that build mental resilience. Here are three of the biggest ones[ref url=”https://www.in.gov/idoc/files/Meichenbaum_2007_Stress_Inoculation_Training1.pdf, https://melissainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SIT9_10_17FinalMoore.pdf”]:

Don’t be a victim. Watch out for self-pitying thoughts. Notice when you act or feel like a victim, and consciously choose to shift your mindset from “victim” to “survivor” or even “thriver.” People who reframe hardship as something to overcome, instead of something that’s happening to them, are significantly better at dealing with and recovering from stress, making this one of the best stress management techniques. One tip: look for the silver lining in the challenge. How will facing it and overcoming it make you a stronger person?
Practice forgiveness and compassion. The most resilient people learn to accept difficult situations and find compassion for others and themselves. Being compassionate with yourself instead of beating yourself up allows you to handle more stress and decreases your stress response on a physiological level.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4030538/”] Forgiveness and compassion also permanently change your brain, which is why they are central parts of 40 Years of Zen. When you notice the temptation to judge or blame others, consciously choose to be compassionate instead. It’ll be difficult at first, but stick with it. Every time you do, you’re lighting up and strengthening a new, positive pathway in your brain and breaking down old habits of negative thinking.
Adaptively face your fears. Negative emotions like sadness, guilt, grief, shame, and anger are normal, and are not inherently bad for you. It’s not negative emotions themselves, but trying to avoid them, that undermines your ability to handle stress.[ref url=”https://melissainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SIT9_10_17FinalMoore.pdf”] When painful emotions come up, your monkey mind immediately wants to run from them. Notice when that happens, and feel the painful emotion instead of trying to avoid it. Nobody is happy all the time, and that’s okay. Get in the habit of feeling your negative emotions instead of trying to bury them. You’ll let them go much more quickly, and bounce back with a strong, resilient mindset.

Life is stressful, and it’s worth your time to learn and regularly practice stress management techniques that make you stronger. You’re also capable of a lot more than you think. Make it a habit to push your limits, and pay attention to how you react. When you practice these stress management techniques, you can learn to become more resilient than you thought possible.

5 Reasons to Avoid Farm-Raised Salmon – and Why Wild Salmon Is Better

October 29, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Farm-raised salmon is more likely than wild-caught to contain contaminants, like carcinogenic dioxins and PCBs.
Wild caught salmon has a healthier ratio of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats to inflammatory omega-6 fats, as well as an overall better nutritional profile.
Farmed salmon is not sustainable and may harm the environment by spreading disease to wild-caught fish and encouraging overfishing.

[/tldr]
Salmon has sealed its superfood status with its sky-high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, so picking up a few filets on your next grocery run should be a no-brainer. But when you arrive at your fish counter, you may face a choice. Do you pick up the more affordable farm-raised salmon, or shell out for the slightly pricier wild salmon?

“While there are pros and cons to wild and farmed fish, you will be getting a more nutritious end product with wild salmon,” says nutritionist Kelly Schmidt, RD, author of “What’s the Deal With Paleo and Primal Eating?” And wild-caught salmon’s nutritional advantages are just the beginning. Keep reading to find out why you should avoid farm-raised salmon and eat wild salmon instead.

Farm-raised salmon has more dangerous contaminants than wild salmon

When you eat fish, you’re also consuming all of the pollutants the fish is exposed to, including a pollutant known as dioxins. Dioxins are a type of toxin that’s commonly released by incinerating trash. They tend to be stored in the fat tissue of animals, which is why 90 percent of human dioxin exposure is through food.[ref url=”https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/dioxins/index.cfm”] While dioxins are found in wild salmon too, research indicates that dioxin and dioxin-like compounds are found in higher concentrations in farmed salmon than wild-caught salmon[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257546/”][ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/135/11/2639/4669888″] to a potentially dangerous degree. Dioxin exposure has been linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, infertility, immune system and hormonal issues.[ref url=”https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/dioxins/index.cfm”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257546/”]

Another particularly pernicious contaminant found in farm-raised salmon is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),[ref url=”https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs#what”] a chemical used in paint and plastics. The levels of PCBs were nearly 10 times higher in farmed fish than wild-caught fish, Schmidt says, referencing widely cited research from 2004.[ref url=”https://www.ewg.org/research/pcbs-farmed-salmon”] Too many PCBs are bad news for several reasons. One study found a correlation between dietary exposure to PCBs and increased stroke risk in women.[ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joim.12194″] Other literature has pointed to a connection between the persistent organic pollutants like the ones found in farmed salmon, and insulin resistance, obesity,[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3179488/”] and type 2 diabetes.[ref url=”http://archive.foundationalmedicinereview.com/publications/16/4/301.pdf”]

Wild salmon has a better ratio of good-to-bad fats than farmed salmon

Healthy fats are essential fuel for our bodies and minds, but not all fats are equal. Both farmed and wild salmon are excellent sources of disease-preventing omega-3s.[ref url=”https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/omega-3-fats/”][ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/135/11/2639/4669888″] While farmed salmon is higher than wild salmon in overall fat and calories, it’s also higher in inflammatory omega-6 fats, Schmidt says. “Wild fish has a far better fatty acid ratio of omega-3 fats (anti-inflammatory fats) to omega-6 fats (pro-inflammatory fats).”[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11745-005-1414-0″]

Farmed salmon isn’t as nutritious as wild salmon overall

“Wild salmon has a more robust content of vitamins and minerals per calorie compared to farmed fish,” Schmidt says. “The difference in the nutrition breakdown between farmed and wild fish is due to the diet the salmon is fed. Wild salmon eats other organisms found in its natural environment, where farmed fish are fed a higher-fat processed diet to produce larger fish.” Wild salmon tends to pack more calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium than farmed salmon.

Plus, wild salmon contains the antioxidant astaxanthin (it’s what makes salmon meat appear dark pink). This anti-inflammatory molecule has a host of benefits, including possibly improving muscle endurance.[ref url=”http://www.cyanotech.com/pdfs/bioastin/batl28.pdf”] Wild salmon get their fill of the antioxidant by chowing down on astaxanthin-rich plankton, while farmed salmon only get a knockoff version that’s created from petrochemicals like coal.[ref url=”https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2859-7-3″]

Farmed salmon is more likely to be affected by pollution, parasites, and disease

The densely packed nature of a fish farm can breed a lot of nastiness. The more salmon that are packed into the close quarters, the more excrement and uneaten food accumulates, upping the potential for parasites and disease to spread. This is exacerbated by the fact that farms operate in low current areas.[ref url=”http://www.seafoodwatch.org/ocean-issues/aquaculture/pollution-and-disease”][ref url=”https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Food/Fish/FarmedSalmon”] And of course, disease means more antibiotics are potentially introduced in the mix,[ref url=”https://oceana.org/blog/record-antibiotic-use-concerns-mount-chile%E2%80%99s-salmon-farms-are-brewing-superbugs”] and with that, the risk of giving rise to antibiotic-resistant organisms.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4406955/”]

Farmed-raised salmon are bad for the environment

While you might think that farmed salmon helps solve the problem of overfishing, consider this: Farm-raised salmon feeds on meal and oil from smaller wild-caught fish, which may result in more fish being removed from the ocean overall.[ref url=”https://oceana.org/blog/here%E2%80%99s-why-eating-farmed-salmon-doesn%E2%80%99t-help-wild-salmon”] In addition, escaped farmed salmon also disrupt the ecosystem by threatening to spread pathogens, like sea lice, to wild salmon population.[ref url=”https://www.watershed-watch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Price_et_al-2011.pdf”] Another consequence is the alarming disappearance of British Columbia’s salmon population, which experts believe can be attributed to the spread of a virus stemming from Norwegian salmon farms. Worse, the negative impact farm-raised salmon has on the wild salmon population may echo well into the future. As escaped fish breed with wild-caught fish, they may genetically alter future generations of wild salmon.[ref url=”https://watermark.silverchair.com/54-6-998.pdf”] In other words buying wild salmon over farmed salmon could have a ripple effect that extends well beyond your own health.

Don’t have time to read the article? Give it a listen instead.

Are RFID Chip Implants the Future? What You Should Know About This Biohacking Trend

October 23, 2018 by Team Asprey

People are installing RFID chips into their hands to open doors, store contact information, and pay for goods.
It sounds sci-fi, but this is the same technology that you use when you microchip your pet or use a wireless key card.
The problem? It’s too early to tell whether this technology is safe for humans. There are privacy concerns in the short-term — and serious questions about toxicity in the long-run.
Unless you want to be a human guinea pig, science says you can (safely) biohack your way to a better you by improving your diet and sleep.

Thousands of people in Sweden are adopting microchip technology that puts the convenience of a credit card in their hands — literally.

Every time you use a key card to open a door or swipe your credit card, you use RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. It’s a ubiquitous and convenient part of everyday life. But what if you could leave your keys at home and ditch your card altogether?

NPR reports that more than 4,000 Swedes have implanted RFID chips into their hands. It’s an idea that’s gaining steam in other parts of the world, including the US. In 2017, Wisconsin-based vending machine company Three Square Market made headlines when 50 employees voluntarily opted to install microchips into their left hands.

Microchipping is also a topic of interest in biohacking circles, including the Biohackers subreddit and Biohack.me.

Right now, the chips can perform basic tasks like storing emergency contact details, opening office doors, and storing e-tickets for events. Someday soon, they may help lost children find their way home and notify your doctor if you’re at risk of heart attack.

But are implantable microchips truly safe for your health, your privacy, and your future?

What are RFID chips?

Almost any device that communicates wirelessly uses RF (radio frequency) technology. When people think about implantable RFID chips, they’re generally referring to a microchip encased in a small bioglass tube.

Picture a long grain of rice. Now, imagine that grain of rice inserted into the top of your hand, nestled under your skin between your thumb and index finger. Voila — you’re a cyborg.

RFID chips don’t have a battery or power source. Instead, they’re passive microchips, which means they won’t do anything until they interact with a reader device. It’s the same reason your office key card won’t open every single door in your workplace: It only works with certain readers.

Seattle-based company Dangerous Things sells both implantable RFID chips and NFC (near-field communication) tags. RFID chips are ideal for tasks like opening doors and unlocking computers. NFC tags can store user information like Bitcoin wallet addresses and contact details.[ref url=”https://forum.dangerousthings.com/t/x-series-implantable-transponder-faq/28#faq-what-can-I-do”]

You can buy your own chip pre-loaded in a sterile needle. On its FAQ page, Dangerous Things says that customers can work with one of the company’s professional body piercing or body modification partners to safely install the chip. Or, for the truly savage at heart, you can install it on your own.

More than just a trend

Implantable microchips sound distinctly sci-fi, but they’re not completely new. If you’ve ever microchipped a pet, you already have experience with the benefits of implantable RFID technology.

But is there any significant benefit to this technology for humans? Not yet.

Take the example of Three Square Market. The company’s microchips gave employees the ability to open doors, log into computers, and pay for snacks. Nothing groundbreaking or superhuman — but pretty convenient.

For Three Square Market, this is just one step toward a more connected future. The company says it is developing a GPS-enabled microchip. In theory, the device could help people track their loved ones, like children and aging parents. Patrick McMullan, president of Three Square Market, told The Hustle earlier this month that he envisions a future where the company’s RFID chips can help doctors screen for heart attacks, protect children with GPS monitoring, and track wandering Alzheimer’s patients.

In short, inserting RFID chips into humans is new territory with big potential for data sharing — and that’s a serious case of buyer beware.

Are RFID chip implants safe?

Microchipping has its roots in transhumanism, the idea that humans can enhance their capabilities with the use of technology. But in the case of RFID chips, those capabilities might do more harm than good by opening people up to security risks, privacy concerns, and long-term toxicity.

Security risks

Many key cards that businesses use are vulnerable to cloning, which means that it’s possible for hackers to clone badge access and impersonate employee credentials.[ref url=”https://arstechnica.com/features/2018/01/a-practical-guide-to-microchip-implants/ “]You can minimize your risk by leaving your physical access card at home or using an RFID-blocking sleeve.

But that’s a major problem with implantable RFID chips for access control: You can’t turn off an implant in your hand, which increases your risk of getting hacked.

It’s also too early to tell whether implantable RFID chips offer adequate security protection. In a conversation with global security adviser and futurist Marc Goodman on the Bulletproof Radio podcast, Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey says, “There’s no way anything is going into my body unless I can look at the firmware code, and I can look at all of the other code there, and I know it has appropriate security stuff in it.”

Chips like those offered by Dangerous Things are programmable, so you have a measure of control over your code. But as RFID chip technology advances and companies like Three Square Market offer turnkey systems, there’s no telling whether that capability will change.

Privacy concerns

There’s also the question of where all this information will be stored, especially as RFID chips evolve and can hold more sensitive information. McMullan’s vision of a microchip that helps parents monitor their child’s location might sound like a life-saving advancement. But once the company’s app collects consumer data, there’s no telling how that information will be used.

It might be safely stored on secure servers in the cloud — or it might be shared with subsidiaries and partners. This is unregulated territory. That means you have to do your due diligence and decide how much of your sensitive data you’re willing to share — and whether you trust the company you’re sharing it with.

Long-term toxicity

In the world of microchipping, buyers have to take active steps to make sure they’re buying from reputable companies that monitor and control their materials. You shouldn’t insert anything in your body that isn’t biomedical grade, period.

Companies like Sweden-based Biohax International coat their chips in biosafe glass, and Dangerous Things rigorously tests the safety of its devices. Unfortunately, this isn’t the norm — not all companies hold themselves to high standards, which means you could expose yourself to metal toxicity. In one test of another vendor’s product, Dangerous Things found that the glass tested positive for lead contamination.

Heavy metals are bad for your body. They mess with your thyroid function, which contributes to hormone disruption, fatigue, and brain fog, among other problems. You can learn more about the dangers of heavy metals in this episode of the Bulletproof Radio podcast with Joseph Pizzorno, a leading naturopathic physician.

The other drawback? Although RFID chips are encased in glass, there’s no telling whether that barrier provide adequate protection against the metal in the microchips long-term. It’s hard to tell until these chips have been in humans for at least 20 to 40 years, minimum.

In short, it’s new tech, so the early adopters are guinea pigs. Microchips are convenient, and they have lots of future potential — but there are easier and safer ways to biohack your way to a better you.

Biohack your body, the Bulletproof way

Want to feel like a superhuman without having to stab yourself with a giant microchipping needle? Reduce inflammation by cleaning up your diet, improve your sleep, and get a better read on your body.

The Bulletproof Diet is a realistic way to boost your energy levels by eating nutrient-dense foods, cutting out foods that are harsh on your gut, and eating tasty, good-for-you fats. You’ll learn when to eat, what to eat, and how to cook it — and you’ll burn fat along the way. Win, win.

Part of being Bulletproof is optimizing your body to perform at its peak. Biohacking your sleep is part of the equation. You can also protect your body and learn more about your genes with a home DNA test — here’s a great guide to get started.

Technology is an important part of the biohacker’s toolkit, but it’s important to weigh your risk against reward. Cutting out inflammatory foods and listening to your body’s needs is science-backed and effective, and it’ll make you feel great. Shooting yourself with an RFID chip — not so much (yet).

How to Clean Your Coffee Maker — and Why You Really Need To

October 19, 2018 by Team Asprey

If you’re not cleaning your coffee maker regularly, it could be growing mold, yeast, and bacteria.
Letting mold, yeast, and bacteria accumulate in your coffee maker could have consequences for your health, such as exacerbating existing respiratory problems or spreading gastrointestinal illnesses.
You should be washing your coffee maker after each use, as well as doing a deep clean once a month (Skip ahead to learn how to clean your coffee maker).

You may see your coffee maker as your ultimate ally — after all it is the dependable vehicle that delivers your daily cup(s) of Bulletproof Coffee. But if you’re neglecting to clean your coffee maker regularly or properly, it could be more foe than friend.

While the boiling water you use to make coffee does help kill germs, at the same time, the reservoir inside coffee makers is a dream breeding ground for unwanted microorganisms. A 2011 study by NSF International, a public health and safety organization, found mold and yeast were found in 50 percent of coffee reservoirs[ref url=”http://www.nsf.org/newsroom_pdf/2011_NSF_Household_Germ_Study_exec-summary.pdf”] — making them a dirtier spot than the bathroom faucet handle, countertop or cutting board. Nine percent of coffee reservoirs also tested positive for coliform, a type of bacteria commonly found in fecal matter.

“Coffee makers are one of the top five places NSF International discovered unfriendly bacteria in our germ study, thanks largely to the presence of two conditions germs love: moisture and warmth,” says Lisa Yakas, Senior Certification Project Manager of Consumer Products for NSF International. “Also, people may not be aware of the need to clean their coffee makers regularly, which allows more time for growth.”

And the nasties that are developing might not be immediately apparent to your naked eye. “There are a lot of crevices to clean that can be hard see, so they tend to be hot spots for bacteria and molds that are water-loving,” according to Kelly Reynolds, PhD, Director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center at the University of Arizona. When you neglect to clean your coffee maker, you may see biofilms manifest like a layer of slime over time. Or eventually you could find black mold, similar to what’s found in showers and toilets (yuck) — develop in those hard-to-see nooks and crannies, she says.

How to clean your coffee maker

Clean after every use

Because biofilm can grow in as little as two days, says Reynolds, it’s important to do a quick wash of your coffee maker following each use.

“Regular cleaning is the best way to avoid the growth of unfriendly bacteria in your coffee maker,” Yakas says. “Clean all removable parts, including the carafe, after every use. You can hand wash in the sink with warm, soapy water, but usually the parts are dishwasher safe. Clean all the parts, and dry thoroughly before re-assembling.”

Do a deep clean every month

You’ll also want to do a deeper clean monthly using vinegar, which is not only a solid cleaning solution, but it’s also perfectly safe to ingest. Here’s how to clean your coffee maker with vinegar:

Add up to four cups of undiluted vinegar to the reservoir.
Let it it stand for 30 minutes before running the vinegar through the unit.
Run two to three cycles of fresh water through the unit until the vinegar odor is gone.

In addition to your daily and monthly wash routine, you’ll want to adopt other hygienic coffee habits. “Empty out any unused water from your coffee maker after each use,” Yakas says. “And leave the lid to your coffee maker reservoir open in between uses. This helps dry it out, which in turn can help prevent the growth of germs.”

What happens if you don’t clean your coffee maker?

In addition to just being gross to think about, the mold, yeast, and germs that can accumulate in an unwashed coffee maker may have consequences for your health. Though there’s not currently data about the health effects of growth specifically in coffee makers, the types of dirt and mold growing in coffee makers can make people sick, according to Reynolds. If you set up a condition where a biofilm is growing, pathogenic organisms, such as salmonella, E. coli, or other gastrointestinal illness spread by water, can sustain themselves, she says.

“You can breathe in organisms like mold if they’re growing in high concentrations,” Reynolds says. “If you breathe it in and are susceptible to infection, this can have respiratory effects.”

For compromised people, such as those with asthma or allergies, it’s extra-important to be vigilant about mold growth (research has linked mold exposure to allergies and asthma).[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114807/”] Same goes for young children and pregnant people. One study has even indicated that prenatal mold exposure can lead to atopic dermatitis in infants.[ref url=”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755718303735?via%3Dihub”]

And the negative outcomes of mold exposure may extend beyond that, thanks to mycotoxins,[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164220/”] which are disease-causing metabolites produced by molds. For example, Ochratoxin A, one mycotoxin, has been associated with kidney[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255309/”] and neurodegenerative[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3179161/”] disease. (You can read more about why mycotoxins are kryptonite and how to hack them here.) Other toxic mold exposure effects may include, fatigue, brain fog, and muscle aches (here’s a full list of symptoms). And these effects can be especially acute for the approximately one in four people who are particularly sensitive to mold exposure). If you think you’re affected by mold, check out these ways to detox your home and your body.

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Why Hair Loss Happens and How to Regrow Hair Naturally

October 19, 2018 by Team Asprey

[tldr]

Hair loss is more common than you might think. It affects about half of men under 50, and around 20 percent of women under 50.
The three most common reasons you lose your hair are stress, hormone imbalances (particularly testosterone and thyroid hormones), and chronic inflammation.
Minodoxil and Finasteride are the two FDA-approved drugs to treat hair loss, but they both come with significant side effects, and you’re better off avoiding them.
Fortunately, you can regrow your hair without drugs. Read below to find out how.

[/tldr]

If you’re losing your hair, you’re not alone. Hair loss is more common than you might think: Eighteen percent of men under 29 have moderate to advanced hair loss, and that number jumps to 53 percent for men in their 40s.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9865198″] Between 15 and 20 percent of women under 50 experience hair loss.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4560543/”]

On a recent Bulletproof Radio [iTunes] podcast episode, hair loss expert Sophia Kogan, MD, explains why hair loss is so pervasive:

“The top three variables are stress, inflammation, and hormones,” Kogan says. All are more prevalent than ever in modern Western society.

The good news is, there are tools to manage hair loss, and even to regrow hair. Here’s why hair loss happens, and what you can do about it.

Stress, cortisol, and hair loss

According to Kogan, “stress is a huge, huge, huge component of [hair loss].”

Stress nowadays is different from the stress your ancestors faced. Thanks to technology like smartphones, internet, email, and social media, your nervous system is in a more-or-less constant state of stimulation.

“We’re no longer able to disconnect from anyone, even ourselves,” Kogan says. “We never put that phone down… that’s what we call the 21st-century conundrum.

Statistics back up what Kogan says: 59 percent of working-age people report feeling significantly stressed.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4377029/”] Most of them also report burnout, exhaustion, anxiety, and depression.

Constantly high cortisol, your body’s stress hormone, causes a 40 percent drop in hyaluronic acid and proteoglycan synthesis.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27538002″] These two compounds protect your hair follicles and help them grow; when they’re depleted, your hair begins falling out — and it doesn’t growing back.

Thyroid and testosterone imbalances can cause hair loss

Thyroid hormone and testosterone imbalances also cause hair loss.

Your thyroid hormones bind directly to receptors in the base of your hair follicles, controlling hair growth and color.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18728176″] Thyroid hormones regulate hair stem cells too, meaning they can start and stop new hair growth.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4454174/”]

The two main thyroid issues people have are over-producing thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism) or under-producing them (hypothyroidism) — both cause your hair to fall out[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5055094″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4738522/”]. A thyroid imbalance is a common issue — thyroid medication is the second most prescribed drug in the U.S. (the first is opiate painkillers).[ref url=”https://www.goodrx.com/blog/the-most-popular-drugs-in-america-by-state/”]

Testosterone and its cousin, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), also drive hair loss. Enzymes in your hair follicles convert testosterone to DHT, and high DHT in your hair follicles causes them to shed.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/”]

Inflammation may cause hair loss, too

The link between chronic inflammation and hair loss is less clear. There haven’t been any causal studies, but a large percentage of people who seek hair loss treatment have signs of chronic inflammation, and stopping the inflammation often reverses hair loss.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22134564″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5419032/#s0015title]

Drugs that regrow hair (and why you should think twice about them)

There are two FDA-approved pharmaceuticals that can regrow hair.

Minoxidil can reverse hair loss for both men and women, although researchers don’t fully understand how it works. Chemists discovered it by accident when they were trying to make a drug to decrease high blood pressure. Minoxidil can cause heart palpitations in rare cases, but the bigger issues are minodoxil’s unpleasant texture and inflammatory properties. Minoxidil leaves a greasy residue in your hair, which is particularly challenging for women, and one of the leading reasons they stop using it.

“Compliance is a huge issue with minoxidil,” Kogan says. “A lot of people also experience scalp irritation or inflammation as a result of it.”

Another downside? Minoxidil sometimes makes your hair fall out, and faster, although researchers don’t know why.[ref url=”https://www.drugs.com/pro/minoxidil.html”]

Finasteride is the second FDA-approved drug for hair loss, specifically for men. It blocks 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme in your hair follicles that converts testosterone to DHT. Finasteride decreases DHT levels by about 60 percent, which is great for reversing hair loss, but blocking sex hormone synthesis has a lot of side effects. The biggest ones with finasteride are erectile dysfunction, low sex drive, and trouble ejaculating, likely because it interferes with circulating testosterone and DHT beyond just your hair follicles.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/”]

How to regrow hair without drugs

Minoxidil and finasteride are both subpar choices for regrowing your hair. You’re better off addressing the underlying cause of hair loss instead of treating the symptoms. Here’s what you can do:

1) Manage stress. Stress-related hair loss is called telogen effluvium. It usually happens within 6 months of chronic stress or a severely stressful event.

Fortunately, stress-induced hair loss is reversible. You just have to calm your nervous system. Stress management is a skill like anything else. Make it a point to add a couple of the following stress hacks to your daily habits:

2) Balance your thyroid and sex hormones. Check out this guide to balancing your thyroid and this guide to balancing your sex hormones. Easing stress will also help your hormones stay in balance.

Nutrition is the best way to balance your hormones. The Bulletproof Diet specifically removes hormone-disrupting foods and emphasizes healthy fats, which provide your cells with the building blocks to make plenty of sex hormones.

3) Decrease inflammation. Again, nutrition is your friend here. Make your food more flavorful with plenty of anti-inflammatory herbs and spices and eat lots of colorful antioxidant-rich veggies. Avoid sugar and simple carbs above all else. The Bulletproof Diet Roadmap is a full guide to what foods you should eat and what foods you should avoid.

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Team Asprey

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Biohack your body, the Bulletproof way

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Do a deep clean every month

What happens if you don’t clean your coffee maker?

Stress, cortisol, and hair loss

Thyroid and testosterone imbalances can cause hair loss

Inflammation may cause hair loss, too

Drugs that regrow hair (and why you should think twice about them)

How to regrow hair without drugs

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