Nope, it's not the full recap. For that, you'll have to wait until tomorrow's newsletter. I'd like to capture some random ideas here as I work through exactly what I want to include in my recap.
Dave Asprey said that his favorite biohack of all time is gratitude. You can choose to be either grateful or not grateful. You cannot be fearful and grateful at the same time. You can have a positive growth mindset at any time. The goal is to achieve equanimity - being grounded in a positive state regardless of what's going on around you.
Mitochondria, the powerhouses of your cells, are ancient bacteria that fused with our cells millions of years ago. First and foremost, mitochondria are environmental sensors. They decide what to do by looking at the environment and what other mitochondria are doing. Once they take in the environmental information, they decide what to do. They can make proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, power, and inflammation. Most of our egos and behaviors derive from our mitochondrial programming. Mitochondria are primed to sense things that are dangerous. Mitochondria respond to environmental and internal stress. Short-term stress is good but long-term stress is not good.
If you can make your mitochondria function better, you'll be better.
Ways to improve your mitochondria
Dave Asprey said that his favorite biohack of all time is gratitude. You can choose to be either grateful or not grateful. You cannot be fearful and grateful at the same time. You can have a positive growth mindset at any time. The goal is to achieve equanimity - being grounded in a positive state regardless of what's going on around you.
Mitochondria, the powerhouses of your cells, are ancient bacteria that fused with our cells millions of years ago. First and foremost, mitochondria are environmental sensors. They decide what to do by looking at the environment and what other mitochondria are doing. Once they take in the environmental information, they decide what to do. They can make proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, power, and inflammation. Most of our egos and behaviors derive from our mitochondrial programming. Mitochondria are primed to sense things that are dangerous. Mitochondria respond to environmental and internal stress. Short-term stress is good but long-term stress is not good.
If you can make your mitochondria function better, you'll be better.
Ways to improve your mitochondria
- Intermittent fasting - don't eat for a little while every single day. Also, don't eat after dark.
- Create metabolic flexibility by training your body to burn glucose AND ketones for fuel. If you consume few enough carbs, your body will start making ketones. You can speed up the process by taking exogenous forms of ketones. The best version of this is medium-chain triglycerides in the form of MCT oil.
- Increase consumption of polyphenols, plant-based compounds that increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that gives you neuroplasticity (helps "re-wire" your brain). Polyphenols are found in coffee, chocolate, and various berries.
- Increase mitophagy, which is a process that cleans up defective mitochondria and allows mitochondria to repair themselves. Mitophagy can be triggered by a compound called Urolithin A, which is produced in the body when we eat foods like pomegranates, and certain berries and nuts. Alternatively, you can supplement with Urolithin A directly with a product called Mitopure from the company Timeline Nutrition.
- Maintain/increase NAD+, which is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a molecule found in all living cells that plays a vital role in energy metabolism and is crucial for mitochondria function. Unfortunately, NAD+ declines significantly as we get older. Calorie restriction and/or fasting have been shown to increase NAD+ levels. There are also some supplements that can help. Dave has one called Keto Prime.
- Supplement with Spermidine (go ahead, laugh), a profound anti-aging compound. It mimics the benefits of fasting and acts as a mitochondria booster.
- Get daily exposure to natural sunlight or use light therapy and block junk light, which is just as bad as junk food.