Biohacking India: Sleep, Jet Lag, Hidden Environmental Killers, Air Pollution, Antiviral Tips, Eating For Longevity & Much More!

On my recent whirlwind media and Boundless book tour of India, I hosted, along with my friends Jag Chima and Kris Gethin, a massive biohacking Q&A and panel in New Delhi. We covered an enormously wide range of topics, including:

• How to have energy at your beck and call, all day long...
• Hidden environmental killers and how to hack your environment to remove them...
• Ben and Kris' latest updated sleep and jet lag tips...
• Eating for anti-aging and longevity...
• How to lose fat faster...
• And much more!

Jag Chima, born in England UK, is an entrepreneur, investor, visionary, health and fitness enthusiast and philanthropist with business interests that include Real Estate, Construction, Finance, Lifestyle, Health & Fitness.

Jag is the founder of The London Group, a diversified conglomerate with extensive operations in UK, India and other parts of the world. The London Group is comprised of companies in Property Consultancy, Property development, Estate Agents, Lifestyle brands, Fitness Education, Talent Management and Health Clubs. Jag has carved a niche for himself as a passionate and astute professional, with experience which started in 1998. He has also been featured on many media platforms which include BBC News Asia, BBC Asian Network, MATV.

Jag is a sought after speaker and strategic advisor on business affairs. Jag believes in facing fears and taking on challenges for growth and personal development. Jag recently completed a triathlon and also a 1450 km Cycle ride from Delhi to Mumbai.

He is a proud supporter of The Unique Home for Girls in Jalandhar India. The Unique Home for Girls is a home for unwanted, abandoned girls in Punjab, India. Originally from Wales, Kris Gethin has established himself as one of the most versatile fitness entrepreneurs in the industry. Before founding Kaged Muscle, Kris competed as a lifetime natural pro bodybuilder, placing as high as second place in the Natural World Championships.

As a personal trainer, his clients have included Bollywood celebrities, billionaire businessmen, and champion athletes. In between training clients, he has certified more than 800 personal trainers. Somehow, this tireless innovator found time to co-found a health club franchise called Kris Gethin Gyms. He has shared his extensive knowledge through books, newsletters, videos, and podcasts. Now, he’s moved into the nutrition sector with Kaged Muscle, a company dedicated to creating cutting-edge, ultra-premium sports nutrition supplements for athletes of all types. All of Kris’s pursuits are consistent with his mission of helping others reach their health and fitness goals.

In this episode, you'll discover: -Ben discusses the motivation behind writing Boundless...8:30

• It's about energy; it's what's lacking in most people
• Combine ancestral medicine w/ modern science
• We can tap into more energy than we're capable of currently
• 3 angles: Optimize the mind, body, spirit
• Book: Blue Zones by Dan Buettner
• Have a personal mission statement
• Click here for international delivery of Boundless

-Kris Gethin's thoughts on being "boundless"...15:38

• We all struggle to work our "soul" muscles
• A long-term investment to gain a long-term return
• Blue Zone in South India until 1950's; westernized culture has changed it
• DNA hasn't changed; surroundings have changed
• Eat the cake before the icing; optimize your environment before pursuing biohacks

-The missing link in optimizing sleep...19:02

• Basic concepts: Light, Temperature, Silence
• Light:
  • Circadian rhythm begins when the sun comes up
  • Minimal amounts of natural light will affect your sleep
  • Human charger simulates sunlight in the ears
  • Photobiomodulation (code: GREENFIELD)
  • Replace LED bulbs w/ incandescent bulbs
  • Iris software
  • Expose to as little blue light in the evening as possible
  • RA Optics blue light blocking glasses (code: BEN10)
  • Red incandescent bulbs
• Temperature:
  • Cold shower before going to bed
  • Wearing socks help regulate body temperature in bed
• Silence:
  • Put phone in airplane mode
  • Sleep Stream app
  • Pink noise while falling asleep
  • Sleep Phones - headphones for sleeping on your side (code: GREENFIELD)
• Safety:
  • Don't associate the bed w/ work
  • Gravity blanket
  • Be aware of evolutionary mismatches
  • Dopamine fix while scrolling through social media
  • Cortisol levels increase, affects sleep
• Morning and evening routines:
  • No devices before bed, nor first thing in the morning
  • Meditation - helps w/ falling asleep indirectly
  • Make the phone as boring as possible in the evening
  • iPhone red light trick (youtube video)
• Diet considerations:
  • Fast for one hour before bed, and in the morning
  • Kris advocates for increasing fats and reducing complex carbs throughout the day
  • Ben recommends restricts carbs throughout the day and a carb refeed in the evening
  • Nut butter mixed w/ raw honey and sea salt helps sleep quality while fasting
  • Ben's homemade jello (rich in glycine)
    • Gelatin
    • Hot water
    • Coconut oil or kefir as a base
    • Stevia
• Other hacks and tips:
  • WiFi kill switch
  • Oura ring
  • Whoop (code: BEN)
  • Apollo wearable
  • Silent Mode eye mask
  • Mind Fold eye mask
  • NuCalm (code: BEN500)
  • Defender Shield phone covers
  • Digital wall timer to control the WiFi router power
  • Faraday blankets and clothing
  • Qi, BluShield, Somavedic, WiFi scramblers
  • Breath to control physiology
    • Alternate nostril breathing
    • Box breathing
    • 4-8 breathing (4 count in, 8 count out)
    • Breathe out for a longer period of time than breathing in
  • Relaxator

-Why sitting for long periods of time is the death-knell to a healthy life...59:15

• Sitting is associated w/ shortened hip flexors
• Poor glute activation contributes to lower back pain
• Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
  • Number of calories burned doing small movements
  • Far outweighs calories burned w/ exercise
  • Ben does 15k steps in addition to working out
• Drop in bone density related to sitting vs. squatting while eating, defecating, etc.

-Chronological vs. biological ages and extending your longevity...1:02:30

• Kris' chronological age is 45; biological age is 38
• Optimized sleep has reduced biological age
• Low level activity:
  • Treadmill at the desk (code: BEN10)
  • Air squats on the plane
  • Kettlebell swings
  • Hex bar (deadlift weight is correlated to longevity)
  • Brachiation (hanging) pull-up bar
• Spectra Cell telomere analysis
• DNA methylation clock
• Ben's 3 longevity tips:
  • Fasting
    • Intermittent fasting (12-16 hours each night and morning)
    • 24 hour dinner to dinner fast 1-2x per month
    • Eat 40% of normal calorie consumption for 5 days (Valter Longo)
  • Peptides
    • International Peptide Society
    • Tesamorelin
    • Epithalon
  • DNA and cellular repair mechanisms
    • NAD supplement
    • Sirtuins must be present
• Major causes of aging faster than the actual age
  • Loss of purpose or meaning for one's life
  • Working out too much
  • Not present with the activities in your daily life

-Food choices and anti-aging...1:20:30

• Glycemic variability and inflammation are the two biggest factors
• Ceylon cinnamon
• Apple cider vinegar
• Cocktail w/ bitters, spices affects glucose response
• Rancid, processed vegetable oils are the biggest culprits
• You can burn off sugar, not so w/ vegetable oils
• Dr. James DiNicolantonio
• Glycine can protect cells from vegetable oils
• Spirulina (code: BEN)
• Lactose intolerance can be confused w/ a damaged gut
• BGF podcast with Dr. Zach Bush
• Ion Biome supplement
• SEED probiotic (code: BEN15)
• Slow vs. fast food preparation (fermentation)
• Be wary of things like kombucha which may raise blood sugar levels
• 5 minutes of cold therapy in the morning is Ben's best tactic for regulating glycemic variability
• Kion Lean

-The benefits of fasting...1:39:54

• Enhances cellular autophagy
• Glycemic variability lower
• Fasting is not the same as calorie restriction (intermittent fasting)
• Fasting is a spiritual and personal discipline
• Autophagy: The cleanup of metabolic waste products in the cell
• Grazing throughout the day isn't efficacious
• Countdown app

-Benefits of nasal breathing...1:54:00

• You breathe through the diaphragm
• Increased Co2
• Release of cortisol
• Mouth taping

-Where to start with health optimization...1:56:22

• Book: The Body Electric by Robert Becker
• Calcium can affect the electro chemical balance
• Magnesium supplement
• Think of the body as a battery:
  • Grounding and earthing
    • Grounding mats, shoes (code: BENG10)
    • BGF podcast w/ Clint Ober
  • Sunlight, photons of light charges the body
    • Human body can photosynthesize
  • Cold exposure regularly
  • Water and salt
• Coconut water is a great hydrating fluid

-Core bracing while lifting...2:03:15

• Essentially a breathing exercise
• Foundation Training (Dr. Eric Goodman)

-Reversing damage from blue light...2:05:00

• BPC-157 (code: BEN)
• Visomitin
• Astaxanthin
• Macu Gold Plus

-Stopping autoimmune disease...2:06:45

• Gut and inflammation are the most common factors
• Breathwork, limit vegetable oils, etc.
• Heal the gut
• Kion Colostrum
• Bone broth (code: GREENFIELD)

-Ben's thoughts on veganism and vegetarianism...2:10:15

• Source of the animal is often problematic; proper preparation
• Excess consumption of meat products
• The human body needs omega 3 fatty acids, creatine, taurine, Vitamin B12, that are difficult to obtain on plant-based diet
• Eat in a parasympathetic state, with gratitude, spiritual discipline

Resources mentioned:

- Boundless book - Health Kik

Episode sponsors:

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