Want to know how to be healthy and prevent disease, rather than relying on biohacks? Follow Roadmap here: drstanfield.com/pages/roadmap 💊 MicroVitamin (multivitamin & mineral that I take): drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin 🩸 Wonderful CGM review: wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pdi.2475
Really appreciate your consistent lack of audience capture Dr. Could you do a followup with UV light exposure devices, nootropics, and vitamin d super dosing, I'm guessing some of these have beneficial sides too.
I generally like Dr Brads videos. But this one isn’t well thought out. The whole problem with Dr Brad is he’s a medical Doctor and has no real philosophy to understand holistic natural medicine. One minute he’s taking NMN and advocating metformin next he’s not and then he’s doing long fasts and now he’s unturned again. Folks find what works for you and be sensible and follow natures path of eating seasonally. *This is a very humpty-Dumpty video Dr Brad and then you fell down*
I can't work out how biohacking has been defined. Is it the use of techniques or medicines that are normally used to cure or address a disorder or disease you don't have?
@@APBCTechnique A doctor who only relies on test results is more reliable than someone who only relies on anecdotes and goes along with all kinds of hypothetical claims. The very fact that he admits to having occasionally overlooked something and dares to show new findings, even if they contradict his old statements, testifies to his sincerity. People are prone to hype and copy each other, it is good that Dr. Brad adds some nuances to this human copy-behavior.
It's unlikely that Vitamin E causes mortality through oxidant/antioxidant imbalance since most potent life-extending substances are also most potent antioxidants such as astaxanthin or EGCG
I have been taking cold showers and doing cold water immersion when possible as part of my morning routine, for about 2 years now. It is the single most powerful factor in managing my anxiety and depression. I feel calm for several hours after that. I am ok if it blunts the positives of weight training, the control it gave me over my anxiety is amazing. The SSRIs that were prescribed to me had weird side effects. I am off meds and in control, thankful to Dr Huberman
There's a window after working out that you want to wait but after that cold shower should be fine. Light cardio to warm up, high intensity balance based activity with low reps, (stretch, sauna, meditate 1.5 hr), rinse -> massage -> cold shower -> BUFFET . Amazing results and you're on cloud 9; you're welcome.
Could be placebo effect. I did cold plunges and showers, for a couple of years. Felt mentally good at the time, but I realize now it was more placebo as I feel just as good, if not better, without my 15 - 30 minute daily cold plunges. You keep doing you, but it seems to be more placebo.
A lot of people that get good results from hot cold mainly are getting aid from improving their Vagal tone. So if you're on of these people take a step further in a much superior way to address the vagus and autonomic endocrine with a Vagas modulator like Nurosym
Been taking a cold bath before bed and it’s something can’t live without. Helps calm me down and helps me get better sleep. I honestly could not stop. I feel so much better.
You’ve failed to mention the 2-3 times dopamine and noradrenaline increase from cold exposure which is why people with depression/adhd and humans in general feel a lot better for 3-5 hours following cold exposure. This benefit is surely enough to justify it for people that enjoy it. A fair amount of people also stack cold exposure with sauna use which we all know has proven cardio benefits , would have been nice to see a mention of that stack! Keep up the vids! 😊
I am also somewhat surprised by these results. The research supposedly has no impact on your psychology/health, but like you said a lot of people seem to feel uplifted/more awake from this. I wonder if any depressed/adhd people were included in the study. Previous research also showed increased cortisol levels in participants. That has to have some effect.
Yes it’s strange, the wim hof vice documentary actually shows him repel bacteria in hospital in a crazy study purely from breathing, go check it it’s insane!
Cold showers are awesome ! Feeling so alive and up after a good morning cold shower. Exercise after if not straight to work, but never cold shower after a workout.
The main takeaways from this which rings true, are: 1) If you are otherwise healthy, don't do extreme stuff to become "more" healthy. 2) Don't do stuff just because it's trendy on TH-cam and people are pushing it like it's going to give you superpowers, or help you live to 150. 3) Don't do extreme stuff if you haven't even hit the "low hanging fruit" of a good diet, exercise, sleep, etc. 4) Don't do extreme stuff because, well, extreme stuff carries real proven risks to your health and few if any proven benefits.
Hi brad, love your channel and vids. But wanted to come back on 2 things. I'm a UK NHS Doc and practice cold exposure. In terms of cold exposure - I agree there is a limited body of evidence - but the evidence that is there indicates it's an effective anti-inflammatory. I agree that therefore you should avoid it post strength training. And professional athletes use it when at their limits for post-game for recovery. I think it likely has effects on vagal tone and vascular tone, but this study was not well designed to investigate this. 15 days is barely enough time for any intervention, even exercise. And reading the study their cold water exposure was frankly laughable: Participants were instructed to take shower in cold water for a set period of time, starting with 30 s, and increase the time each day by 5 s as they become acclimated. The participants received an MP3 file that emitted a sound every ten seconds to keep track of the time. Furthermore, clear instructions were provided to the participants regarding the duration and specific body parts to be exposed to the cold. They began by showering their feet and legs (front and back) for 10 s, then their torso (front and back) for 10 s, and finally their entire body, including their head, for 10 s or the remaining time. Almost all of the studies prior to this use CWI (Cold water immersion), and state what temperature etc. For a proof of concept study, you need your intervention parameters to be spot on. What you can get from this study is it takes longer than 10 seconds per body part, likely longer than 15 days, to see an effect. I think it's a powerful form of hormesis which will help with BAT, vascular tone, vagal tone. But agree it needs more studies, and studies done well!
Bro, don't spread hate. Spread understanding! (You may not like the term, but you shouldn't criticize the whole community. And you definitely shouldn't "hate" anyone.)
I think I started "intermittent fasting" when I was around 15, before I knew that it was a thing. I've just never felt like eating right after waking up. Moreover, I find it impossible to learn efficiently after breakfast. Eating a low-carb breakfast doesn't solve it. I just have to be fasted. So that's the main reason I do it, but in addition, I do believe that I'm healthier when eating in a shorter window. Is it universal? I don't know, I may be in a genetic minority here. But I think it's important that we don't scare people away from experimenting to find out what works best for them by making breakfast-skipping into a younger sibling of smoking. It's not. I'm not saying this is THE only valid way of eating, but it is A valid way of eating and it should be acknowledged as such.
@JohnnytNatural Muscles are important, but so are other things. Using your brain is important too, and for me learning requires an empty stomach. There are some people out there who only care about mice studies showing that suppressing mTOR extends lifespan - and so they want to drive mTOR chronically to the ground, completely disregarding the importance of muscles in human health. I do believe that is a mistake - just as I believe that it is a mistake to disregard any intervention that doesn't optimize muscle growth.
Well said, I’ve observed a friend in his 60’s working with intermittent fasting. He’s strong as an ox and works 12-16 hours a day, incredible power and looks like he’s 30. He eats in one window of time a day and hasn’t had a problem with muscle, his job depends on it actually.
I'm on an extremely low carb lifestyle. I do 16 to 18 hours fasting. But when I eat I do not count calories. I eat until I get full. I do weight lifting and my coach is SURPRISED how I've been developping muscles. One thing for sure about fasting, is that I never ever got sick again after I started doing it. So no, it's not just you, it is the way we humans are designed to do and more than 90% of doctors will never recognize this.
Your advice on not doing icebaths if you don't like them is likely wrong. The neuroscience of today shows a big increase in dopamine from doing things we don't like to do. And in fact we strengthen the part of our brain association with will power from doing difficult things we don't want to do
Great point. Plus he omitted several studies showing the positive effects of the WH method, cherry-picking what suited him. Plus he takes several supplements, i.e. biohacking himself.
@@jimb3457 Sinclair is a confirmed scam artist that twists scientific data to sound believable to the non-scientists, not the kind of longevity. He's made tons of money on the back of resveratrol despite no actual proven longevity effect on humans and a mere mechanism that sounds convincing if you don't know what you're talking about. He's also made tons of money on NMN with exactly the same tactics, on top of disgusting business practices like locking NMN into a state where it can't be sold legally by other supplies anymore.
Questionable Bio-hacks: Cold plunge Metformin High antioxidants Intermittent fasting (Skipping breakfast is no good and lack of protein) Continuos glucose monitors
I cannot comment on all of these, but usually people just focus on underlying mechanisms and extrapolating from a single mechanism that it is a good or bad. They frequently also make use of animal studies to support their claims. Maybe intermittent fasting or cold plunged have some benefits, but they have to be contrasted with personal perceived disadvantages. For instance, what is the outcome variable of interest when doing IF? If it is weight loss, it can certainly be helpful for some, but it may not be. It may also be counterprodutive for muscle hypertrophy. Finally, it is important not to exaggerate certain advantages of whatever strategy one is employing!!
A variety of studies show the opposite, that cold exposure weakens the immune system even down to the mucocilliary action inside our noses. For centuries people have known that going out in the cold is often a precursor to getting an infection.
Come on he is not citing all the data and only what he wants to show. This is called misdirection. For Whimhoff he doesn’t mention the lymphatic benefits, the release of cold shock proteins from the liver, the norpinephrine and dopamine benefits. Obviously if you high dose any antioxidants you will upset a balance. Intermittent fasting creates many other benefits besides autophagy. How about growth hormone, more efficient mitochondria etc. Brad over the last year has flipped and is obviously on Big Pharma’s payroll and has become their Stooge.
I love your channel however I do take issue with your critique of WHM. I have personally experienced significant health benefits from my practice and many of my friends and family. When I do my practice, I get significant increases in my hrv results, mental t energy levels. I admit there could be a massive placebo effect in play. However, it is a no cost trigger to get these benefits. Furthermore, a recent Huberman podcast with goggins he mentions doing activities that you do not enjoy or like (non dangerous of course) increases the size of the anterior midcingulate cortex. I believe there is more complexity to this, and it deserves further thought. Still love your work Brad!
I generally like Dr Stanfield's videos because they are based on solid clinical studies. However, this video against biohacking is not helpful. What is biohacking? Not defined. I think he is saying don't just do any ole biohacking, do the biohacking I recommend. After all, biohacking is just doing therapies that improve health. Who can be against that in general?
Yeah, when it comes to alternative stuff he's just not there.. on any of it. And perhaps not as objective and rigorous in assessing research as he thinks. Sticks very close to the "safe" establishment consensus
Most "biohacking" like the cases mentioned here, are at best untested and at worst already found to have overall negative consequences. I thought that was pretty clear myself but maybe I'm just very smart. Some age-related changes are pathogenic, others are adaptive. Until one has established which category a change belongs in, it's best not to take actions to counter it as doing so is just as likely to shorten your lifespan as increase it. Most biohackers that have YT channels are probably going to end up shortening their lives by countering protective, adaptive changes. Good luck with your choices.
Yes, he should have defined biohacking so that the less intelligent listeners can understand his position. He provided five examples of biohacks that he does not recommend. Could you provide one example of a biohack that he recommends? Your example has to be something similar to the examples he gave. That is, something experimental outside of mainstream science that is not widely accepted or recommended for the general population. Healthy people taking metformin or rapamycin would be a biohack; recommending good sleep hygiene (7 to 9 hours of sleep/night) and avoiding refined sugars are not biohacks.
"Doing therapies that improve health" is just _healthcare_ . "Biohacking" is the budget DIY version, floating by on the fringes of science-based medicine. Of course, "biohacking" can be a wonderful exercise of bodily autonomy and self-care to make up for the many shortcomings of healthcare under a capitalist model. The problem is, if you go in too deep, you cross the line into pseudoscientific / magical thinking realm, and start megadosing supplementes to dangerous levels, or forsaking sound medical advice. Or sunning your arsehole because somebody on a Medium post told you to. Or taking horse dewormer and avoiding vaccines.
I think there's biohacking based on the latest well-run clinical studies, and then there's biohacking based on what anyone says on TH-cam. The first type is not dangerous.@@l.u.c.a.s.
So the biggest problem here with Dr Bads video is his advice is based on one study and if you watch this channel you will see that Dr Bad often changes his advice based on the next study - for example, NMN . I have been taking cold showers for 6 years now and since then I have never had a single cold or flu. It's not a study but I have heard the same thing from many people.
How lazy is it to discourage biohacking when each thing contained within the biohacking category has its own set of pros and cons. This is a stupid video imo meant to clickbait people who seek healthy habits@@ralfhum
cold shower is very different from extreme ice bath/full body immersion such as the wimhof method mentioned in this video, i've seen people add salt into their ice water to make it even colder.
Been doing the WIm Hof Method for about 7 years and it has been a net positive for me. I rarely get colds, have more energy and just feel better overall. There are plenty of studies that show benefits, how about an in depth look at those as well. Thanks!
🤔🤔🤔 Regarding the Wim Hof Method and the Swiss study results: I find it puzzleing that they did not find any beneficial effects from meditation. Meditation is know to be effective in reducing anxiety & stress. This study contracticts these results and leaves me puzzeled...
@@60-Is-The-New-30 No the study does not relate to aging in this case but it says that it has no effect on anxiety and stress. Please watch the citation in the video again.
Been doing daily breathing exercises for 2 years. No more atrial fibrillation. Been doing 4 cold plunges a week....there IS something to it despite this podcast.
You are a doctor who sells multivitamins, so your statement "I hate biohacking" seems incongruent. Biohacking and promoting multivitamins share a common goal: optimizing health. Dismissing biohacking as a category, while advocating for a health supplement that essentially performs a similar function, seems contradictory. It's important to recognize and address this apparent inconsistency in your stance. Perhaps your language is a little sloppy.
He said that his concern is that people who bio hack lose sight of the goal, and become entranced by the biohack itself. That’s the thing you want to avoid, that’s the thing many Biohackers do not avoid. It’s not easy to hear that something you hold precious does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. And to be honest, many vitamins are right in there, too. Biohackers have to be ready to change with the change if they want biohacking to be a viable option.
Micro-dosing multivitamins has nothing to do with biohacking, BUT MEGA dosing and forcing your self into some crazy unusual routine, could cause more harm than good, this is what this video is all about.
He sells a single multivitamin to fuel funding for rapamycin research and also to create a low dose supplement that supports an ideal lifestyle without megadosing. Instead of hating, please provide a counter argument to the data he’s provided.
I am neutral in my opinion of Dr. Stanfield in general, however after meeting many many people who have practiced Wim Hof methods over months to years, the benefits have been MASSIVE, on every scale the practitioner was focusing on. I would propose, that like many lifestyle practices, it’s only relevant to look at long term studies. If you take a smoker and study them after they quit a month, or a non-smoker a month after they started smoking, it’s unlikely to find any major changes. With any lifestyle effort, it’s the cumulative affect which occurs over years usually and forms a habit which brings the profound results. I hope you Dr. Stanfield, will not critique something that has helped so many due to a lack of data and self-experience. All the best and thank you for encouraging humans to be healthier!
As I noted above, results for a lifestyle change take time. Where are the studies looking at people’s wellness changes 6-12-18-36 months into using Wim Hof? I’m not talking about my own expertise with WHM here, I’m personally familiar though, with lifestyle systems and observe their impacts. For instance, I met a young man (over 20) who struggled with being active. It would literally take him a minute to go from one side of a room to the other. After 6 months of the WHM he’s a changed man, has started a new career, and has taken charge of his life in a completely new way. WHM was the only change he made for that, and he had been working to boost his energy with supplements and a dozen other things prior. This signals to me there’s something here, but it’s not a short term change. The research needs to reflect that new lifestyles aren’t a “fast” modifier.@@TheMountainBeyondTheWoods
@@t5396 Cold water immersion attenuated long term gains in muscle mass and strength. It also blunted the activation of key proteins and satellite cells
The vitamin e increasing mortality was with alpha tocopherol which is an isolate. You have to use mixed tocopherols as occurs naturally in food. Other studies show vitamin e protects against oxidized polyunsaturates. But it's better to just avoid deep fried and get vitamin e from food than supplement.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🚫 *Biohacking can have marginal gains at best and can potentially damage the body.* 02:16 ❄️ *Cold water immersion, like ice baths, may not offer significant cardiovascular or cognitive benefits and can blunt the positive effects of exercise.* 03:12 💊 *Taking Metformin for lifespan or health span benefits in non-diabetic individuals doesn't align with research findings and may blunt exercise benefits and lower testosterone levels.* 04:22 💊💊 *Antioxidant supplements like vitamin C or E may not have overall benefits and can potentially disrupt the positive effects of exercise.* 05:16 ⏳ *Intermittent fasting in otherwise healthy individuals may have questionable benefits and could potentially worsen blood sugar control and insulin responses if not balanced properly.* 06:13 📊 *Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) for non-diabetics can lead to misinterpretation of data and unnecessary dietary restrictions, potentially causing anxiety and unhealthy food choices.* Made with HARPA AI
The Wim Hoff study on researchgate seems a bit shaky IMO: is the sample not a bit small to come to firm conclusions(test and control are each roughly 20 people)? The confidence intervals on a lot of these variables are huge. I see improvements in the study, but they aren't statistically significant. Couldn't the outcomes have become significant with larger study groups?
"Force yourself"? It makes it sound like a cold shower someting awful. After a week when you are used to it, the discomfort is minimal, because that's the point of the showers, to become resistant towards the cold. Exercise is hard/uncomfortable too, but that doesn't make it bad, by the opposite. Avoiding the cold makes you weak against the cold, just like not exercising makes you weak. You also save money not needing to take warm showers. Cold baths are part of my culture here in Scandinavia, and they are great.
Actually... there's some evidence that you get a tolerance to the health-benefits if you do it continuously without a break - so, 1-2 weeks of shower, and then a week without it, seems reasonable. (source: Dr. Susanna Søberg's research and talks on Huberman's podcast)
I'm well over 50 and doing cold showers and breathing for over 4 yrs gave me immune strength I never had. I was not sick ever since, but before I had 3-5 serious influenzas yearly with fevers going to 40C. That's the most important study for me!
Well, if you have an AXE - you can split wood or split your head... You can induce too much stress or even drown in the cold baths, or you can tame your joint pain and boost dopamine. You can do IF incorrectly, or do it correctly by aligning with circadian rhythms and greatly improving your sleep as the result. (and lose weight) CGM can give you anxiety or it can guide you into improving your personal glucose disposal rates through exercise and preven sliding into prediabetes. I think my next video is going to be titled "Why I'm All For Biohacking" 👴
What about the supposed dopamine and cortisol increases (without crashes) from short term cold exposure? The whim hoff stuff always seemed dangerous imo. Also what about analysis without that breathing technique?
What about contrast showers vs cold showers? Most people aren't really doing ice baths/cold water immersion. Using contrast showers to minimize post-workout soreness has been a common technique for decades.
I don't have the answer to that one but I do know this: The soreness comes from inflammation and it's the inflammation that signals the body to produce more muscle tissue. Anything that reduces post-exercise soreness will likely reduce muscle gain.
I never felt like I received any benefit from taking cold showers. I think all of the things that people claim it does for them can be better achieved by pushing yourself hard in the gym.
@@andrewrivera4029 My philosophy is that you can practice mind over matter in a cold shower and be miserable or you could practice it in the gym and get jacked.
@@legendarygigolo823 The gym (be it cardio or weight training) is a lot less stressful and unnatural for our body than getting into a 5°C bath for a few minutes. Cardio effects are much closer to sauna than cold plunges.
No, I am convinced that there is real - not placebo - benefit from cold showers for SOME people. Cold showers might just let you cold because you don't suffer from the conditions that they help with.
I believe, per Dr. Mike Israetel, cold immersion can reduce soreness in athletes. So, if one has a tournament with back to back games or playing several days in a row, it can help them stay at their best. But it also reduces the adaption response, so it’s best not to do it when trying to put on muscle or become more cardiovascular fit (less sure on this).
Another danger of biohacking, not mentioned here, is that most biohackers seek to reverse all age-related changes without first looking for evidence of whether each one is pathogenic or adaptive (adaptive changes are protective). Many age-related changes are, in fact, adaptive. Try to reverse them and you will likely adversely affect your lifespan and/or healthspan. It is essential to determine which is which before trying to change them. Also, you can't do that by theorizing or seeing which changes make people feel better. For example, if you're over 50 and you inhibit all the CD38 in your body, you'll likely have more NAD+, more energy and, as a result, feel much better. You'll also likely die younger... from cancer. The reason being: Senescent cells and cancer cells produce CD38 CD38 is an enzyme that breaks down NAD+ NAD+ is needed for energy Cancer cells have a higher energy requirement than healthy cells That's one example, I'm sure there will be many, many others. If any particular age-related change is actually pathogenic, this should be demonstrated by data showing that reversing the change increases healthspan and/or lifespan. If you can't find data that shows this, attempting to reverse that change is a pure gamble - with your life.
I think the doctor you interviewed understates the dangers of glucose spikes. I've gone carb free for 3 years now, and I use a CGM 2-3 times a year to see if there are any changes and what different foods do. I think her view that there is nothing wrong with glucose spikes is understating the issues that can be raised. My doctor tells me that the insulin spike that follows the glucose has some negative impacts as well.
Sorry but I am fan of peptides, hormone replacement therapy, sarms, etc. im subscribed to an Anti Aging/Hormone Replacement Therapy clinic and its the best decision I have made. Didn't help when the FDA decided to ban most peptides but that is because of Big Farma and them wanting to make money of the next big thing which peptides, Bioregulators, and more.
Hormone replacement therapies are in the preventative care clinical guidelines. When used correctly and as per the clinical guidelines, they can be wonderful treatments and I prescribe them in my clinic with oversight from our hospital endocrinologists. My point in this video is that following biohacks likely offer minimal (if any) benefits and are possibly harmful. Far better to follow the latest preventative care guidelines
There is a benefit of vitamin C supplements for those with iron deficiency, as it lowers hepcidin and thus fascilitates absorption of non-heme iron supplements beyond what would otherwise be possible.
@@travisn346 Not for the stated purpose. Especially if you are taking a lot of iron to remedy a deficiency you'll just not get enough AA via the natural route.
This is another example of 'learned experts' drawing misleading conclusions from junk science. That study on cold water immersion only lasted 15 days. The only conclusion that can and should be derived from such extremely limited duration study is 15 days of cold water immersion is insufficient to draw any conclusion. Way to go in misleading the public, DOCTOR.
The analysis on intermittent fasting is simply wrong....There is overwhelming evidence of the benefits, largely in terms of disease prevention, autophagy, cleansing, stem cell, growth hormone and BDNF enhancement....and a big one....the leveling of insulin levels and resulting increase in insulin sensitivity....And, of course, in maintaing a healthy body mass ratio etc. And, on personal, anecdotal level, and having practised IF (and time restricted feeding - missing breakfast in my case) for 20 years now - and now at 70 years old and still lean, muscular and atheletic - I can attest to its benefits.
I use a CGM once a year. I don't care about the spikes. I use it essentially to have my average glucose (more accurate that the a1c estimate) and average fasting glucose (more accurate than a one time blood test)
I've been doing intermittent fasting, 16/8, for years and have had no problem building muscle and increasing strength. They key for me has been to make sure that both the last and first meals around the fast are very high in protein, to make sure I get all my calories in and to lift weights 3 times week. Fasting is only catabolic if you do it for too long, don't strength train and don't eat enough protein.
A problem with this type of video is that they just assume people are stupid. CGM just gives people the data, why just disqualifying a tool just because someone dumb was using it. It’s just one sample. How can that be a sound argument?
Cold baths do nothing for cardio? Ok. But what about immunity and anti-inflammatory functions? The exact thing that blunts strenght excercise results is anti-inflamatory effect, is it not?
So, show the studies that display that IF works in almost every way regarding health benefits rather than what you 'don't like'. There are far more studies espousing the benefits rather than the detriments to 'otherwise healthy adults'.
And why do people appear to get results with cold water immersion? Those that would do this, like myself, may be somewhat obsessed with eking out any performance gains they can and are not the norm. It would appear to be effective by other people. II am wondering if lap swimming in a somewhat cold pool has a negative effect. I prefer it to warm pools. Any thoughts? Thanks for this informative channel. I watch it often
The concept of cold baths or showers blunting/attenuating muscle protein synthesis makes very good sense, indeed! It's very much similar to the research (limited) on the concept of consuming antioxidants after a workout. The body's natural response is to swell after inflammation. The natural way to build muscle and ADAPT to the inflammation from working out would then, logically, be to AVOID REDUCING INFLAMMATION after a workout. It's certainly something to think about... and we need more studies and research for sure... but I will continue to moderate any chilling of my tissues after a purpose-built inflammation session (resistance training with weights). And I will also continue to try and avoid overdoing the antioxidants in close proximity to a workout! Fascinating topic!
Biohacking is not some well-defined term with an exact meaning. Biohackers can do anything from making sensible health choices based on their biomarkers to implementing all kinds of questionable health practices that vary from debunked to ones with limited evidence. The title of this video should have been "Why I'm Against Unproven Ways of Biohacking," but that would have probably meant fewer clicks.
So you decided completely ignore Dr. Susanna Søberg research about cold exposure (and others) presented in A. Huberman podcast with other than cardiovaskular benefits.
Dr. Stanfield, I like that you have recently taken a more critical eye to the research. You used to promote a pretty large stack of supplements. So, I appreciate the thought process behind finding things that work and those that don't. I'm not sure that you should "hate biohacking". Somewhere in these there is bound to be something that provides real benefits. Additionally, I recall that you use one of the most egregious biohacks...you have excellent LDL measurement, but you ignored the research and set up a ridiculous target of getting your LDL to 50 by taking statins. This is in the face of conflicting LDL theories and definite harm caused by statins, and little to show that they extend healthspan or lifespan.
@@Joseph1NJ I can add something to this. High LDL, as long as your HDL and Triglycerides are in check, has NO INFLUENCE AT ALL with cardiovascular disease. Very soon, this LDL Bed Time Story will be destroyed.
I am happy to embrace the state of the science and am also happy to accept that none of these things are proven. The fact that it was proven that cold showers have no positive effects, and even negative ones, was new to me. I mostly see it as a stoic exercise myself, and I think I'll continue doing it (although the large scale study does give me pause). However, with fasting, I think the case you make is a little misleading, if I am honest (and I say this as someone who takes much of your advice). Most of the groups from the studies you've cited have very small groups, and the largest one (n=110, still not huge) does not claim that eating late makes you fat, but that having a late circadian rhythm correlates with obesity (so the other way around). I fast because I get sleepy if I eat breakfast and lunch. Skipping breakfast works for me to stay alert during the day. I am not obese. I may well be wrong, but I don't see any science that convinces me that this is unhealthy.
Cold 🥶 showers saved my life because it chanced my perception of what’s possible and overcome fear so I don’t need a study sometimes try & error is the best game that you can play it’s not that i don’t trust hard working scientists but for every opinion exist an opposed opinion I have to trust myself and my ability to find the truth by figuring it out what’s good for me.
Good luck with that! Me, I trust science, not my feelings. I'll stick with that one. I'll never forget a study where healthy lab mice were given Metformin along with another drug to see if they could improve the benefits. The treated group were leaner and showed increased grip strength and stamina. Though we coudn't ask them, I guess they must have felt pretty good. End result: Their lifespan was reduced 30% Feeling good does not necessarily equate to improved health or longevity.
“Unbiased” scientific studies can be dishonest/misleading in so many ways that I don’t care to go into right now. Not saying they all are, but we shouldn’t take something to be the truth just because one or two studies came to the same conclusion. Trial and error really is the best method. Good luck friend and keep doing what works for you!
@@TheBigJawn So you're saying you should "reinvent the wheel?" Should you build your own hadron collider in your backyard? How do you choose what to experiment with? Is drinking bleach good for you? Where does one get the idea of ice baths or cold showers? Did they think of it on their own or did they hear it from someone else? It's sad what poor education is doing to our society. People seem unable to make reasonable judgements about reality. Science is about skepticism and uncertainty, not about absolutes. Show me a study claiming to be "unbiased." It's likely one claiming some extreme diet like the carnivore diet is the most healthy diet.
I also believe in trying stuff as long as effort and risks are limited. Listening to your body works most of the time, and in the exceptional cases, there are usually helpful warnings available.
You didn't discuss my favorite bio-hacking activity - saunas. I think the reserach surrounding heat shock proteins is pretty robust, too strong to call it a scam, wouldn't you say?
Funny how if you make bad faith arguments, only focusing on negatives, and completely ignoring positives, things like ice-baths suddenly sound pretty bad for you. I expected much better from this channel, and it makes me question the rest of the videos now. This is literally like going: "Exercise increases inflammation, a major risk factor for all round health and longevity, thus we should avoid physical strain where possible." - completely ignoring the cause or uses of said inflammation. I don't have vested interest in these topics, but I care about honesty and transparency - I don't like being mislead. There are pro's and con's to most things, if you just ignore one side, the video is misleading and manipulating.
Yes, exactly, just say straight away that you work for the conventional medical system. Anything that doesn't have to do with medication automatically doesn't work. SUCH NONSENSE
going crazy about the protein with autoimmune disease was the worst thing I was doing with my health. Two of my worst flares triggered at the times when I was worrying so much about my protein intake and chugging down things to meet 1.5grams/kg weight it is not possible with a stable health. 40-50 grams was enough. Now whenever I see a protein maniac I automatically assume "Oh here is an ignorant person" & who cares what he thinks..
Yes Brad has created a protein supplement I believe. 1.5 g per kilogram is a large amount of protein if you're eating other foods like fats and cards. Especially if youre not exercising. We myst remember that channels like these are to a degree about self promotion.
7:43 - Wait... does avoiding carbohydrates (not to the level of going keto, just lowering carbs) inherently raise overall cholesterol, in and of itself? Or is it because this patient was substituting out carbs for high-cholesterol raising foods?
Regarding ice baths, look at how that increases testosterone an hour before exercise. Yes i agree after training not a good idea but before has been show to increase testosterone
@raziques.1821 no. In fact I have been icing my balls to boost test before exercise as well as before bed and have had amazing results in terms of raising my t levels and also having much harder elections. So I would either do the cold exposure an hour before training or ice my balls 30min prior
Yeah I keep hearing about the negative effect on blood sugar spikes etc but then I keep hearing people saying it doesn’t matter so I’m glad you included that one. Is Zoe one of the companies to stay away from?
I'm no expert, but Zoe makes its money from selling AI generated recipies after extensive personal testing. I distrust them because I have the impression that personalized medicine is not very advanced and because AI is often a hint for billshit. People have different opinions about this, but the grey haired Zoe expert also advertised boasters for the disease I don't want to name because I never know if that might keep my comment in the shadows.
I would say stick to traditional diets. Would you say 200 years back and further we were consuming this much sugar? My feeling is people went without food for some periods and it did not cause people to die, just starve slightly which many animals go through.
Couldn't the same be said for potassium supplements which you recommend and include in your own multivitamins - which you heavily promote, presumably for your own financial gain? I looked into adding potassium after you covered it in a recent video but then saw the many headlines about the many health risks of too much potassium. That plus the fact that a big proportion of people (if not most) already have good levels of potassium makes me wonder why you recommend it and why you seem to be pushing it so hard on people who not only don't need it but could be harmed by it. If I've misunderstood anything please do explain further...
I consider taking supplements and certain dietary practices to actually be biohacking .However have to agree that non diabetics taking metformin could be counterproductive also the anti oxidants taken in large quantities are suppressing oxidants that are required for optimum immune function I have to agree with Dr Brad on that.
Your comments about cold exposure based on ONE STUDY, show ignorance and OUT- OF- CONTEXT observations. Most studies show THE OPPOSITE of your conclusions. Furthermore, the Wim Hof method is based on the exercise and meditation behavior of Asian and Indian monks over several thousand years!
The Wim Hof community can be quite questionable and cultist, and they tend to claim all kinds of unproven benefits, but there was a study in the Netherlands on cold exposure with 3000 subjects which found a 30% decrease in sick days in the group that did daily cold showers. Before I read the study and tried it out myself, I was also rather sceptical, but started taking cold showers mainly in hopes to get more used to the cold (I'd start feeling cold at temperatures below 20°C and hated the cold in general) and thought if it also helps the immune system, that would be a nice benefit. Turned out both worked, I haven't worn any extra layer even in Winter since I started with the cold showers, I guess it's partly physiological adaptation but also a big part mental stubborness, and my sick days were reduced indeed by about 30%, a typical cold that would have lasted around 10 days before would last then around 7 days with the peak days feeling less severe. What it did not help much was with feeling more "energized" or any of the typical other claims.
Thank you, that's interesting. Both, that there is this study and your personal experience. My immune system might have improved slightly after half a year of cold showers, but I am not sure yet. I feel relexation for a few hours after a cold shower and I am in need of that.
A CGM by itself is a just a measurement device as is, for example, a balance. Does Dr. Stanfield consider he is hacking his body when he weighs himself?
The only one of those I partake in is cold showers and when learning about them (like most people probably from Andrew Huberman) it was noted to not do it too close to resistance workouts. I generally leave it a couple of hours at least after weights before doing it so hopefully that's fine. I'll often have a cold shower immediately after a cardio session (I'm much more sweaty!) but I don't think there's an issue there. Certainly I'm in complete agreement about the issues you raise through the video. This is pretty important stuff.
@DrBradStanfield: I was surprised about an hba1c of 5.7 being classed as perfectly normal in the video. I had 5.8 and my doctor told me it was elevated and to modify my diet to avoid going into a pre-diabetic range. Are there differing opinions amongst doctors on this subject?
Let me help you Take cold plunge or cold bath before exercise, after waking and there should be 24 hour gap between the next exercise session Do not take vitamin c or e close to your exercise time Take the(delta, gamma) tocotrinol form of vitamin e and and not the tocopherol form , it is very crucial CGM is good, but it depends not everyone needs it but people do get benefits from it, the people who struggle with it are the people who have no basic knowledge about healthly insulin spike after meal, no knowledge in any field even if it filled with profible opportunities will yield no result Metformin , yah this is bad, but considering most people are moving towards type 2 diabetes, it might help them but it can serve as potential danger if you are healthy
And that's why I couldn't care less about studies, just how I feel, look and my blood work, because one day they say one thing, and the other day another thing, in my case with IF, I'm extremely healthy, way more healthier than people who eats breakfast, including my glucose from which I was pre diabetic before starting IF, I also look way younger than my age, my blood work are phenomenal in every way, and I gain the same amount of muscle like normal diets, and you'll see, the studies says this today, and in a few years they will say something completely opposite, just like it happened with the amount of protein a person can absorb in one meal, first it was 30 grams, now it doesn't really matter, just eating the amount of 0.8-1g per pound of bodyweight matters. Best
First off, good to see that you didn't include sauna on your list as the science is pretty clear on the benefits. 4 of your 5 items make pretty good sense but I don't agree with you on CGM's just because people use them poorly. That's like saying not to exercise because a lot of people get hurt by not doing things correctly. CGM's can be extremely useful for everyone and people should understand their proper usage in order to maximize the benefits or work with their doctor to understand the results. It should also be noted that all of your "dietary advice" is your opinion and you do not have the proper scientific background to call yourself an expert in that area and your understanding of the lipid hypothesis is falling down around your ears and yet you seem intent on going down with that ship.
I don't think you always need to fully understand the theoretical concepts underneath(eg lipid hypothesis). What is most important is outcomes. If there's no strong evidence to support claims made, or if the evidence is shaky, then I would understand him not supporting it.
@@Thought.Strings Do I have a study that shows that Brad doesn't understand other studies on the lipid hypothesis? No, but someone should definitely fund one of those.
@@davidmoran7827 your response implies you understand the studies better than he does. What are your credentials? If there is more to be said about those studies please say what you think he misunderstood. I would watch a video of yours on response to his!
As usual Brad looks at the data and takes a "common sense" approach to the subjects and gives his opinion in a brief understandable manner...well done and thank you! Keep it up!
Thanks Brad...Great video 👍🏻...I think a lot of well meaning people are making these kind of mistakes....I went a little to far left myself last year and I definitively wasn't feeling my best...went back to a whole food diet adding bread, fruits and cutting the fat a little and I feel so so good 😌🙏🏻💙 A video on how high a healthy blood sugar can go up to after having a healthy meal would probably be helpful for many! TX
Question: would replacing all vegetables in diet with broccoli sprouts slathered in mustard also count as "biohacking"? Because it feels like it belongs up there.
When I was in my late teens I used to take cold showers in the morning - so I was ahead of Wim Hoff. However, my fingers would go blue and it would take hours for the circulation to come back. It was misery. And that experience was enough to teach me it's not good. We have to be careful of the "experts" and the "gurus". I think listening to your own body is the best thing we have in the interim - it's not always right but I think it is most of the time.
Listening to your own body is THE most important thing. I personally do not respond well to many mainstream “biohacking” advice and supps even Dr. Brad is giving. Just one example creatine gives me weird heart palpitations, anxiety and sleepless nights as a side effect to the positive effects. I have a few others too. Unless we have hard data on ourselves to tell us otherwise, how we feel is the more important factor in any intervention we undertake than to blindly follow what is advised for the general population.
I totally agree with you. I think it is going to be a while though before we get the hard data and also it can be complicated - like you said, a supplement can give positive and negative results. All the best. @@MrCoffis
@@campersruincod6134 Interesting never heard of that mutation🤔 Thanks, I’ll look into it. Just skimming through you might be on to something, though I imagine there are enough other mutations that could potentially have similar effects or a combination of. I guess I’ll have to do a DNA test now, to be sure. I do react non conventionally on B vitamins and even get inflammation on my eye lids if I take for a prolonged time. I even had to remove a growth (chalazion) from there that was induced by B vitamin supplementation. So there’s definitely something going on there.
The CGM quackery also applies to the therapeutic guidelines/recommendations used in management of gestational diabetes (in Australia). My experiences have seen some very dated and horribly inaccurate information being disseminated to women with marginal glycemia (after a single OGTT). Hearing that TH-camr describing the patients experience- with needlessly stringent 'guidelines' and the proclivity for OCD-like behaviors with the ridiculously narrow target glycemia concentrations really does seem familiar.
Want to know how to be healthy and prevent disease, rather than relying on biohacks? Follow Roadmap here: drstanfield.com/pages/roadmap
💊 MicroVitamin (multivitamin & mineral that I take): drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin
🩸 Wonderful CGM review: wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pdi.2475
Really appreciate your consistent lack of audience capture Dr. Could you do a followup with UV light exposure devices, nootropics, and vitamin d super dosing, I'm guessing some of these have beneficial sides too.
I generally like Dr Brads videos. But this one isn’t well thought out.
The whole problem with Dr Brad is he’s a medical Doctor and has no real philosophy to understand holistic natural medicine.
One minute he’s taking NMN and advocating metformin next he’s not and then he’s doing long fasts and now he’s unturned again.
Folks find what works for you and be sensible and follow natures path of eating seasonally.
*This is a very humpty-Dumpty video Dr Brad and then you fell down*
I can't work out how biohacking has been defined. Is it the use of techniques or medicines that are normally used to cure or address a disorder or disease you don't have?
@@APBCTechnique
A doctor who only relies on test results is more reliable than someone who only relies on anecdotes and goes along with all kinds of hypothetical claims. The very fact that he admits to having occasionally overlooked something and dares to show new findings, even if they contradict his old statements, testifies to his sincerity. People are prone to hype and copy each other, it is good that Dr. Brad adds some nuances to this human copy-behavior.
It's unlikely that Vitamin E causes mortality through oxidant/antioxidant imbalance since most potent life-extending substances are also most potent antioxidants such as astaxanthin or EGCG
I have been taking cold showers and doing cold water immersion when possible as part of my morning routine, for about 2 years now. It is the single most powerful factor in managing my anxiety and depression. I feel calm for several hours after that. I am ok if it blunts the positives of weight training, the control it gave me over my anxiety is amazing. The SSRIs that were prescribed to me had weird side effects. I am off meds and in control, thankful to Dr Huberman
Yeah, I have to agree with you on the cold water exposure therapy. I feel great and energised afterwards.
There's a window after working out that you want to wait but after that cold shower should be fine. Light cardio to warm up, high intensity balance based activity with low reps, (stretch, sauna, meditate 1.5 hr), rinse -> massage -> cold shower -> BUFFET . Amazing results and you're on cloud 9; you're welcome.
It has also helped me tremendously
Could be placebo effect. I did cold plunges and showers, for a couple of years. Felt mentally good at the time, but I realize now it was more placebo as I feel just as good, if not better, without my 15 - 30 minute daily cold plunges. You keep doing you, but it seems to be more placebo.
A lot of people that get good results from hot cold mainly are getting aid from improving their Vagal tone. So if you're on of these people take a step further in a much superior way to address the vagus and autonomic endocrine with a Vagas modulator like Nurosym
Been taking a cold bath before bed and it’s something can’t live without. Helps calm me down and helps me get better sleep. I honestly could not stop. I feel so much better.
You’ve failed to mention the 2-3 times dopamine and noradrenaline increase from cold exposure which is why people with depression/adhd and humans in general feel a lot better for 3-5 hours following cold exposure. This benefit is surely enough to justify it for people that enjoy it. A fair amount of people also stack cold exposure with sauna use which we all know has proven cardio benefits , would have been nice to see a mention of that stack! Keep up the vids! 😊
I am also somewhat surprised by these results. The research supposedly has no impact on your psychology/health, but like you said a lot of people seem to feel uplifted/more awake from this. I wonder if any depressed/adhd people were included in the study. Previous research also showed increased cortisol levels in participants. That has to have some effect.
Yes it’s strange, the wim hof vice documentary actually shows him repel bacteria in hospital in a crazy study purely from breathing, go check it it’s insane!
Cold showers are awesome ! Feeling so alive and up after a good morning cold shower. Exercise after if not straight to work, but never cold shower after a workout.
The main takeaways from this which rings true, are:
1) If you are otherwise healthy, don't do extreme stuff to become "more" healthy.
2) Don't do stuff just because it's trendy on TH-cam and people are pushing it like it's going to give you superpowers, or help you live to 150.
3) Don't do extreme stuff if you haven't even hit the "low hanging fruit" of a good diet, exercise, sleep, etc.
4) Don't do extreme stuff because, well, extreme stuff carries real proven risks to your health and few if any proven benefits.
#3 is key. Changing diet is key esp. the older you get
Diet, exercise and socializing!
Hi brad, love your channel and vids. But wanted to come back on 2 things. I'm a UK NHS Doc and practice cold exposure. In terms of cold exposure - I agree there is a limited body of evidence - but the evidence that is there indicates it's an effective anti-inflammatory. I agree that therefore you should avoid it post strength training. And professional athletes use it when at their limits for post-game for recovery. I think it likely has effects on vagal tone and vascular tone, but this study was not well designed to investigate this. 15 days is barely enough time for any intervention, even exercise. And reading the study their cold water exposure was frankly laughable:
Participants were instructed to take shower in cold water for a set period of time, starting with 30 s, and increase the time each day by 5 s as they become acclimated. The participants received an MP3 file that emitted a sound every ten seconds to keep track of the time. Furthermore, clear instructions were provided to the participants regarding the duration and specific body parts to be exposed to the cold. They began by showering their feet and legs (front and back) for 10 s, then their torso (front and back) for 10 s, and finally their entire body, including their head, for 10 s or the remaining time.
Almost all of the studies prior to this use CWI (Cold water immersion), and state what temperature etc. For a proof of concept study, you need your intervention parameters to be spot on. What you can get from this study is it takes longer than 10 seconds per body part, likely longer than 15 days, to see an effect. I think it's a powerful form of hormesis which will help with BAT, vascular tone, vagal tone. But agree it needs more studies, and studies done well!
Bro, don't spread hate. Spread understanding! (You may not like the term, but you shouldn't criticize the whole community. And you definitely shouldn't "hate" anyone.)
I think I started "intermittent fasting" when I was around 15, before I knew that it was a thing. I've just never felt like eating right after waking up. Moreover, I find it impossible to learn efficiently after breakfast. Eating a low-carb breakfast doesn't solve it. I just have to be fasted. So that's the main reason I do it, but in addition, I do believe that I'm healthier when eating in a shorter window. Is it universal? I don't know, I may be in a genetic minority here. But I think it's important that we don't scare people away from experimenting to find out what works best for them by making breakfast-skipping into a younger sibling of smoking. It's not. I'm not saying this is THE only valid way of eating, but it is A valid way of eating and it should be acknowledged as such.
@JohnnytNatural Muscles are important, but so are other things. Using your brain is important too, and for me learning requires an empty stomach. There are some people out there who only care about mice studies showing that suppressing mTOR extends lifespan - and so they want to drive mTOR chronically to the ground, completely disregarding the importance of muscles in human health. I do believe that is a mistake - just as I believe that it is a mistake to disregard any intervention that doesn't optimize muscle growth.
Eat when you are hungry. Some days that will be when you wake up, other days at 4 in the afternoon.
Well said, I’ve observed a friend in his 60’s working with intermittent fasting. He’s strong as an ox and works 12-16 hours a day, incredible power and looks like he’s 30. He eats in one window of time a day and hasn’t had a problem with muscle, his job depends on it actually.
I'm on an extremely low carb lifestyle. I do 16 to 18 hours fasting. But when I eat I do not count calories. I eat until I get full. I do weight lifting and my coach is SURPRISED how I've been developping muscles. One thing for sure about fasting, is that I never ever got sick again after I started doing it. So no, it's not just you, it is the way we humans are designed to do and more than 90% of doctors will never recognize this.
Your advice on not doing icebaths if you don't like them is likely wrong. The neuroscience of today shows a big increase in dopamine from doing things we don't like to do. And in fact we strengthen the part of our brain association with will power from doing difficult things we don't want to do
Great point. Plus he omitted several studies showing the positive effects of the WH method, cherry-picking what suited him. Plus he takes several supplements, i.e. biohacking himself.
@@hotbit7327 Yep. Brad's into selling vitamins that by the way......contain vitamin C.
Any advice that is based on evidence is not wrong.
Advice based purely on opinion, often is.
Can you see the difference?
@@antonystringfellow5152 Maybe Brad can explain why the king of longevity, David Sinclair, takes metformin and does not have diabetes or pre-diabetes.
@@jimb3457 Sinclair is a confirmed scam artist that twists scientific data to sound believable to the non-scientists, not the kind of longevity. He's made tons of money on the back of resveratrol despite no actual proven longevity effect on humans and a mere mechanism that sounds convincing if you don't know what you're talking about. He's also made tons of money on NMN with exactly the same tactics, on top of disgusting business practices like locking NMN into a state where it can't be sold legally by other supplies anymore.
Questionable Bio-hacks:
Cold plunge
Metformin
High antioxidants
Intermittent fasting
(Skipping breakfast is no good and lack of protein)
Continuos glucose monitors
I cannot comment on all of these, but usually people just focus on underlying mechanisms and extrapolating from a single mechanism that it is a good or bad. They frequently also make use of animal studies to support their claims.
Maybe intermittent fasting or cold plunged have some benefits, but they have to be contrasted with personal perceived disadvantages. For instance, what is the outcome variable of interest when doing IF?
If it is weight loss, it can certainly be helpful for some, but it may not be. It may also be counterprodutive for muscle hypertrophy.
Finally, it is important not to exaggerate certain advantages of whatever strategy one is employing!!
Rapamycin (Unwanted side effects of Irritable Bowel disease preventing regrowth of the intestinal lining)
Skipping BREAKFAST IS REQUIRED to lose weight and not muscle. WTF
Cold exposure since 7 years....never got cold cough ...sleep improved...no anxiety...
A variety of studies show the opposite, that cold exposure weakens the immune system even down to the mucocilliary action inside our noses. For centuries people have known that going out in the cold is often a precursor to getting an infection.
do you have kids in this time? how are your hormones?
Come on he is not citing all the data and only what he wants to show. This is called misdirection. For Whimhoff he doesn’t mention the lymphatic benefits, the release of cold shock proteins from the liver, the norpinephrine and dopamine benefits.
Obviously if you high dose any antioxidants you will upset a balance.
Intermittent fasting creates many other benefits besides autophagy. How about growth hormone, more efficient mitochondria etc. Brad over the last year has flipped and is obviously on Big Pharma’s payroll and has become their Stooge.
I love your channel however I do take issue with your critique of WHM.
I have personally experienced significant health benefits from my practice and many of my friends and family.
When I do my practice, I get significant increases in my hrv results, mental t energy levels.
I admit there could be a massive placebo effect in play. However, it is a no cost trigger to get these benefits.
Furthermore, a recent Huberman podcast with goggins he mentions doing activities that you do not enjoy or like (non dangerous of course) increases the size of the anterior midcingulate cortex.
I believe there is more complexity to this, and it deserves further thought.
Still love your work Brad!
I generally like Dr Stanfield's videos because they are based on solid clinical studies. However, this video against biohacking is not helpful. What is biohacking? Not defined. I think he is saying don't just do any ole biohacking, do the biohacking I recommend. After all, biohacking is just doing therapies that improve health. Who can be against that in general?
Yeah, when it comes to alternative stuff he's just not there.. on any of it. And perhaps not as objective and rigorous in assessing research as he thinks. Sticks very close to the "safe" establishment consensus
Most "biohacking" like the cases mentioned here, are at best untested and at worst already found to have overall negative consequences.
I thought that was pretty clear myself but maybe I'm just very smart.
Some age-related changes are pathogenic, others are adaptive. Until one has established which category a change belongs in, it's best not to take actions to counter it as doing so is just as likely to shorten your lifespan as increase it. Most biohackers that have YT channels are probably going to end up shortening their lives by countering protective, adaptive changes.
Good luck with your choices.
Yes, he should have defined biohacking so that the less intelligent listeners can understand his position. He provided five examples of biohacks that he does not recommend. Could you provide one example of a biohack that he recommends? Your example has to be something similar to the examples he gave. That is, something experimental outside of mainstream science that is not widely accepted or recommended for the general population. Healthy people taking metformin or rapamycin would be a biohack; recommending good sleep hygiene (7 to 9 hours of sleep/night) and avoiding refined sugars are not biohacks.
"Doing therapies that improve health" is just _healthcare_ . "Biohacking" is the budget DIY version, floating by on the fringes of science-based medicine. Of course, "biohacking" can be a wonderful exercise of bodily autonomy and self-care to make up for the many shortcomings of healthcare under a capitalist model. The problem is, if you go in too deep, you cross the line into pseudoscientific / magical thinking realm, and start megadosing supplementes to dangerous levels, or forsaking sound medical advice. Or sunning your arsehole because somebody on a Medium post told you to. Or taking horse dewormer and avoiding vaccines.
I think there's biohacking based on the latest well-run clinical studies, and then there's biohacking based on what anyone says on TH-cam. The first type is not dangerous.@@l.u.c.a.s.
Nobody is saying use ice baths immediately after exercise, experts have said to wait at least 4-6hours afterwards
"We want to be healthy so we can live our life... We don't want to live to be healthy". I needed to hear that, thank you, doctor.
Why do I always find myself watching these clips late at night while I'm stuffing my face with sandwiches?
So the biggest problem here with Dr Bads video is his advice is based on one study and if you watch this channel you will see that Dr Bad often changes his advice based on the next study - for example, NMN . I have been taking cold showers for 6 years now and since then I have never had a single cold or flu. It's not a study but I have heard the same thing from many people.
How lazy is it to discourage biohacking when each thing contained within the biohacking category has its own set of pros and cons. This is a stupid video imo meant to clickbait people who seek healthy habits@@ralfhum
Science changes based on evidence… he’s literally following the science.
cold shower is very different from extreme ice bath/full body immersion such as the wimhof method mentioned in this video, i've seen people add salt into their ice water to make it even colder.
Been doing the WIm Hof Method for about 7 years and it has been a net positive for me. I rarely get colds, have more energy and just feel better overall. There are plenty of studies that show benefits, how about an in depth look at those as well. Thanks!
Did CGM for several months and I"m still alive. This 'anecdotal evidence' of a hysteric patient and an upset doctor on social is doing more harm.
Avoid salt? I do not agree. I started using oryx kalahari desert salt a while back and it changed my life and that of my clients
🤔🤔🤔 Regarding the Wim Hof Method and the Swiss study results:
I find it puzzleing that they did not find any beneficial effects from meditation.
Meditation is know to be effective in reducing anxiety & stress.
This study contracticts these results and leaves me puzzeled...
It does not mean that it will increase lifespan
@@60-Is-The-New-30 No the study does not relate to aging in this case but it says that it has no effect on anxiety and stress.
Please watch the citation in the video again.
@@toom2141 I see what you mean
@@helena_5456 maybe. There's much more to lifespan than stress.
Good point.
Been doing daily breathing exercises for 2 years. No more atrial fibrillation. Been doing 4 cold plunges a week....there IS something to it despite this podcast.
You are a doctor who sells multivitamins, so your statement "I hate biohacking" seems incongruent. Biohacking and promoting multivitamins share a common goal: optimizing health. Dismissing biohacking as a category, while advocating for a health supplement that essentially performs a similar function, seems contradictory. It's important to recognize and address this apparent inconsistency in your stance. Perhaps your language is a little sloppy.
He said that his concern is that people who bio hack lose sight of the goal, and become entranced by the biohack itself. That’s the thing you want to avoid, that’s the thing many Biohackers do not avoid.
It’s not easy to hear that something you hold precious does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. And to be honest, many vitamins are right in there, too.
Biohackers have to be ready to change with the change if they want biohacking to be a viable option.
Micro-dosing multivitamins has nothing to do with biohacking, BUT MEGA dosing and forcing your self into some crazy unusual routine, could cause more harm than good, this is what this video is all about.
He sells a single multivitamin to fuel funding for rapamycin research and also to create a low dose supplement that supports an ideal lifestyle without megadosing.
Instead of hating, please provide a counter argument to the data he’s provided.
I didn't perceive the message as "dismissing biohacking entirety." But did get a sense of caution as he has pointed out with many supplements as well
@@JackMyersPhotography in the video, he stated “… I hate biohacking.” That’s not very nuanced. But it is quite instinctual.
I am neutral in my opinion of Dr. Stanfield in general, however after meeting many many people who have practiced Wim Hof methods over months to years, the benefits have been MASSIVE, on every scale the practitioner was focusing on. I would propose, that like many lifestyle practices, it’s only relevant to look at long term studies. If you take a smoker and study them after they quit a month, or a non-smoker a month after they started smoking, it’s unlikely to find any major changes. With any lifestyle effort, it’s the cumulative affect which occurs over years usually and forms a habit which brings the profound results. I hope you Dr. Stanfield, will not critique something that has helped so many due to a lack of data and self-experience. All the best and thank you for encouraging humans to be healthier!
if the benefits have been MASSIVE why aren't we seeing that in the research?
As I noted above, results for a lifestyle change take time. Where are the studies looking at people’s wellness changes 6-12-18-36 months into using Wim Hof? I’m not talking about my own expertise with WHM here, I’m personally familiar though, with lifestyle systems and observe their impacts. For instance, I met a young man (over 20) who struggled with being active. It would literally take him a minute to go from one side of a room to the other. After 6 months of the WHM he’s a changed man, has started a new career, and has taken charge of his life in a completely new way. WHM was the only change he made for that, and he had been working to boost his energy with supplements and a dozen other things prior. This signals to me there’s something here, but it’s not a short term change. The research needs to reflect that new lifestyles aren’t a “fast” modifier.@@TheMountainBeyondTheWoods
Why didn't you mention any of the benefits of ice bathing?
The blunting effect of ice baths can easily be mitigated by doing them on your off days
What blunting affects?
@@t5396 Cold water immersion attenuated long term gains in muscle mass and strength. It also blunted the activation of key proteins and satellite cells
I also have to disagree about ice bath- it has helped me a lot with my chronic pain
The vitamin e increasing mortality was with alpha tocopherol which is an isolate. You have to use mixed tocopherols as occurs naturally in food. Other studies show vitamin e protects against oxidized polyunsaturates. But it's better to just avoid deep fried and get vitamin e from food than supplement.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🚫 *Biohacking can have marginal gains at best and can potentially damage the body.*
02:16 ❄️ *Cold water immersion, like ice baths, may not offer significant cardiovascular or cognitive benefits and can blunt the positive effects of exercise.*
03:12 💊 *Taking Metformin for lifespan or health span benefits in non-diabetic individuals doesn't align with research findings and may blunt exercise benefits and lower testosterone levels.*
04:22 💊💊 *Antioxidant supplements like vitamin C or E may not have overall benefits and can potentially disrupt the positive effects of exercise.*
05:16 ⏳ *Intermittent fasting in otherwise healthy individuals may have questionable benefits and could potentially worsen blood sugar control and insulin responses if not balanced properly.*
06:13 📊 *Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) for non-diabetics can lead to misinterpretation of data and unnecessary dietary restrictions, potentially causing anxiety and unhealthy food choices.*
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The Wim Hoff study on researchgate seems a bit shaky IMO: is the sample not a bit small to come to firm conclusions(test and control are each roughly 20 people)? The confidence intervals on a lot of these variables are huge. I see improvements in the study, but they aren't statistically significant. Couldn't the outcomes have become significant with larger study groups?
"Force yourself"? It makes it sound like a cold shower someting awful. After a week when you are used to it, the discomfort is minimal, because that's the point of the showers, to become resistant towards the cold.
Exercise is hard/uncomfortable too, but that doesn't make it bad, by the opposite. Avoiding the cold makes you weak against the cold, just like not exercising makes you weak. You also save money not needing to take warm showers. Cold baths are part of my culture here in Scandinavia, and they are great.
He said dont do it close to exercise - he did not say do not do them altogether
Actually... there's some evidence that you get a tolerance to the health-benefits if you do it continuously without a break - so, 1-2 weeks of shower, and then a week without it, seems reasonable. (source: Dr. Susanna Søberg's research and talks on Huberman's podcast)
I'm well over 50 and doing cold showers and breathing for over 4 yrs gave me immune strength I never had. I was not sick ever since, but before I had 3-5 serious influenzas yearly with fevers going to 40C. That's the most important study for me!
Well, if you have an AXE - you can split wood or split your head...
You can induce too much stress or even drown in the cold baths, or you can tame your joint pain and boost dopamine.
You can do IF incorrectly, or do it correctly by aligning with circadian rhythms and greatly improving your sleep as the result. (and lose weight)
CGM can give you anxiety or it can guide you into improving your personal glucose disposal rates through exercise and preven sliding into prediabetes.
I think my next video is going to be titled "Why I'm All For Biohacking" 👴
What about the supposed dopamine and cortisol increases (without crashes) from short term cold exposure? The whim hoff stuff always seemed dangerous imo. Also what about analysis without that breathing technique?
What about contrast showers vs cold showers? Most people aren't really doing ice baths/cold water immersion. Using contrast showers to minimize post-workout soreness has been a common technique for decades.
I don't have the answer to that one but I do know this: The soreness comes from inflammation and it's the inflammation that signals the body to produce more muscle tissue.
Anything that reduces post-exercise soreness will likely reduce muscle gain.
I never felt like I received any benefit from taking cold showers. I think all of the things that people claim it does for them can be better achieved by pushing yourself hard in the gym.
@@andrewrivera4029 My philosophy is that you can practice mind over matter in a cold shower and be miserable or you could practice it in the gym and get jacked.
@@legendarygigolo823 The gym (be it cardio or weight training) is a lot less stressful and unnatural for our body than getting into a 5°C bath for a few minutes. Cardio effects are much closer to sauna than cold plunges.
No, I am convinced that there is real - not placebo - benefit from cold showers for SOME people. Cold showers might just let you cold because you don't suffer from the conditions that they help with.
I get ischias like symptoms from cold shower, it shows up the day after
Why take professional football Players Icebaths after a match, if there is no benefit?
I believe, per Dr. Mike Israetel, cold immersion can reduce soreness in athletes. So, if one has a tournament with back to back games or playing several days in a row, it can help them stay at their best.
But it also reduces the adaption response, so it’s best not to do it when trying to put on muscle or become more cardiovascular fit (less sure on this).
Professional athletes often prioritize their performance and recovery, sometimes at the expense of other factors.
Another danger of biohacking, not mentioned here, is that most biohackers seek to reverse all age-related changes without first looking for evidence of whether each one is pathogenic or adaptive (adaptive changes are protective).
Many age-related changes are, in fact, adaptive. Try to reverse them and you will likely adversely affect your lifespan and/or healthspan.
It is essential to determine which is which before trying to change them. Also, you can't do that by theorizing or seeing which changes make people feel better. For example, if you're over 50 and you inhibit all the CD38 in your body, you'll likely have more NAD+, more energy and, as a result, feel much better. You'll also likely die younger... from cancer. The reason being:
Senescent cells and cancer cells produce CD38
CD38 is an enzyme that breaks down NAD+
NAD+ is needed for energy
Cancer cells have a higher energy requirement than healthy cells
That's one example, I'm sure there will be many, many others.
If any particular age-related change is actually pathogenic, this should be demonstrated by data showing that reversing the change increases healthspan and/or lifespan. If you can't find data that shows this, attempting to reverse that change is a pure gamble - with your life.
I think the doctor you interviewed understates the dangers of glucose spikes. I've gone carb free for 3 years now, and I use a CGM 2-3 times a year to see if there are any changes and what different foods do.
I think her view that there is nothing wrong with glucose spikes is understating the issues that can be raised. My doctor tells me that the insulin spike that follows the glucose has some negative impacts as well.
I thought cold immersion was about shivering which would stimulate more mitochondria leading to more brown fat, not about the cardiovascular system?
Sorry but I am fan of peptides, hormone replacement therapy, sarms, etc. im subscribed to an Anti Aging/Hormone Replacement Therapy clinic and its the best decision I have made. Didn't help when the FDA decided to ban most peptides but that is because of Big Farma and them wanting to make money of the next big thing which peptides, Bioregulators, and more.
Peptides are cool, but you're playing with fire with the rest of it.
Hormone replacement therapies are in the preventative care clinical guidelines. When used correctly and as per the clinical guidelines, they can be wonderful treatments and I prescribe them in my clinic with oversight from our hospital endocrinologists.
My point in this video is that following biohacks likely offer minimal (if any) benefits and are possibly harmful. Far better to follow the latest preventative care guidelines
@@theyetti90 How so?
@@DrBradStanfield excellent. thank you for clarifying and sorry for misunderstanding.
Couldn't start the day without a cold shower! Been doing it since teens and long before I heard of the Hoffman
There is a benefit of vitamin C supplements for those with iron deficiency, as it lowers hepcidin and thus fascilitates absorption of non-heme iron supplements beyond what would otherwise be possible.
I'd venture that naturally derived vitamin C would be more efficacious than ascorbic acid (which was probably used in the trials).
@@travisn346 Not for the stated purpose. Especially if you are taking a lot of iron to remedy a deficiency you'll just not get enough AA via the natural route.
Good video but disagree on CGM. It’s still a useful tool to use once or twice. Just because someone over reacts to it doesn’t mean it is not useful.
This is another example of 'learned experts' drawing misleading conclusions from junk science. That study on cold water immersion only lasted 15 days. The only conclusion that can and should be derived from such extremely limited duration study is 15 days of cold water immersion is insufficient to draw any conclusion. Way to go in misleading the public, DOCTOR.
Good point!
This doctor is great at ripping apart studies when it fits his narrative. Very disappointed in this lazy video.
I agree. Even improving your diet and exercising can take time to see positive results. The Wim Hof study should have lasted at least 6 months.
The analysis on intermittent fasting is simply wrong....There is overwhelming evidence of the benefits, largely in terms of disease prevention, autophagy, cleansing, stem cell, growth hormone and BDNF enhancement....and a big one....the leveling of insulin levels and resulting increase in insulin sensitivity....And, of course, in maintaing a healthy body mass ratio etc. And, on personal, anecdotal level, and having practised IF (and time restricted feeding - missing breakfast in my case) for 20 years now - and now at 70 years old and still lean, muscular and atheletic - I can attest to its benefits.
Intermittent fasting is a scam and it causes more harm than good. For starters, it slows the metabolism
What about "Cryotherpay"?
I use a CGM once a year. I don't care about the spikes. I use it essentially to have my average glucose (more accurate that the a1c estimate) and average fasting glucose (more accurate than a one time blood test)
I've been doing intermittent fasting, 16/8, for years and have had no problem building muscle and increasing strength. They key for me has been to make sure that both the last and first meals around the fast are very high in protein, to make sure I get all my calories in and to lift weights 3 times week.
Fasting is only catabolic if you do it for too long, don't strength train and don't eat enough protein.
Dr. Layne Norton from biolayne agrees with you.
A problem with this type of video is that they just assume people are stupid. CGM just gives people the data, why just disqualifying a tool just because someone dumb was using it. It’s just one sample. How can that be a sound argument?
Cold baths do nothing for cardio? Ok. But what about immunity and anti-inflammatory functions? The exact thing that blunts strenght excercise results is anti-inflamatory effect, is it not?
So, show the studies that display that IF works in almost every way regarding health benefits rather than what you 'don't like'. There are far more studies espousing the benefits rather than the detriments to 'otherwise healthy adults'.
And why do people appear to get results with cold water immersion? Those that would do this, like myself, may be somewhat obsessed with eking out any performance gains they can and are not the norm. It would appear to be effective by other people.
II am wondering if lap swimming in a somewhat cold pool has a negative effect. I prefer it to warm pools. Any thoughts?
Thanks for this informative channel. I watch it often
The concept of cold baths or showers blunting/attenuating muscle protein synthesis makes very good sense, indeed! It's very much similar to the research (limited) on the concept of consuming antioxidants after a workout. The body's natural response is to swell after inflammation. The natural way to build muscle and ADAPT to the inflammation from working out would then, logically, be to AVOID REDUCING INFLAMMATION after a workout.
It's certainly something to think about... and we need more studies and research for sure... but I will continue to moderate any chilling of my tissues after a purpose-built inflammation session (resistance training with weights). And I will also continue to try and avoid overdoing the antioxidants in close proximity to a workout!
Fascinating topic!
LOL oops, watch the WHOLE video before posting, oohwha... I just got to the part about antioxidant supplementation 🤣🤣
This is my favorite channel for up to date, non bias information on health and human performance. This goes hand in hand with my own experiences.
Biohacking is not some well-defined term with an exact meaning. Biohackers can do anything from making sensible health choices based on their biomarkers to implementing all kinds of questionable health practices that vary from debunked to ones with limited evidence. The title of this video should have been "Why I'm Against Unproven Ways of Biohacking," but that would have probably meant fewer clicks.
Ice baths fixed my raynaud's
This is much needed. Thank you for bringing sanity to the biohacking and longevity discussion.
So you decided completely ignore Dr. Susanna Søberg research about cold exposure (and others) presented in A. Huberman podcast with other than cardiovaskular benefits.
Dr. Stanfield, I like that you have recently taken a more critical eye to the research. You used to promote a pretty large stack of supplements. So, I appreciate the thought process behind finding things that work and those that don't. I'm not sure that you should "hate biohacking". Somewhere in these there is bound to be something that provides real benefits. Additionally, I recall that you use one of the most egregious biohacks...you have excellent LDL measurement, but you ignored the research and set up a ridiculous target of getting your LDL to 50 by taking statins. This is in the face of conflicting LDL theories and definite harm caused by statins, and little to show that they extend healthspan or lifespan.
@@Joseph1NJ I can add something to this. High LDL, as long as your HDL and Triglycerides are in check, has NO INFLUENCE AT ALL with cardiovascular disease. Very soon, this LDL Bed Time Story will be destroyed.
Thanks!
I am happy to embrace the state of the science and am also happy to accept that none of these things are proven. The fact that it was proven that cold showers have no positive effects, and even negative ones, was new to me. I mostly see it as a stoic exercise myself, and I think I'll continue doing it (although the large scale study does give me pause).
However, with fasting, I think the case you make is a little misleading, if I am honest (and I say this as someone who takes much of your advice). Most of the groups from the studies you've cited have very small groups, and the largest one (n=110, still not huge) does not claim that eating late makes you fat, but that having a late circadian rhythm correlates with obesity (so the other way around).
I fast because I get sleepy if I eat breakfast and lunch. Skipping breakfast works for me to stay alert during the day. I am not obese. I may well be wrong, but I don't see any science that convinces me that this is unhealthy.
Cold 🥶 showers saved my life because it chanced my perception of what’s possible and overcome fear so I don’t need a study sometimes try & error is the best game that you can play it’s not that i don’t trust hard working scientists but for every opinion exist an opposed opinion I have to trust myself and my ability to find the truth by figuring it out what’s good for me.
Good luck with that!
Me, I trust science, not my feelings. I'll stick with that one.
I'll never forget a study where healthy lab mice were given Metformin along with another drug to see if they could improve the benefits. The treated group were leaner and showed increased grip strength and stamina. Though we coudn't ask them, I guess they must have felt pretty good.
End result: Their lifespan was reduced 30%
Feeling good does not necessarily equate to improved health or longevity.
Overcome fear? If you have a problem with fear, why not address the circumstances that give you fear, rather than make one up?
“Unbiased” scientific studies can be dishonest/misleading in so many ways that I don’t care to go into right now. Not saying they all are, but we shouldn’t take something to be the truth just because one or two studies came to the same conclusion.
Trial and error really is the best method. Good luck friend and keep doing what works for you!
@@TheBigJawn So you're saying you should "reinvent the wheel?" Should you build your own hadron collider in your backyard? How do you choose what to experiment with? Is drinking bleach good for you? Where does one get the idea of ice baths or cold showers? Did they think of it on their own or did they hear it from someone else?
It's sad what poor education is doing to our society. People seem unable to make reasonable judgements about reality. Science is about skepticism and uncertainty, not about absolutes. Show me a study claiming to be "unbiased." It's likely one claiming some extreme diet like the carnivore diet is the most healthy diet.
I also believe in trying stuff as long as effort and risks are limited. Listening to your body works most of the time, and in the exceptional cases, there are usually helpful warnings available.
You didn't discuss my favorite bio-hacking activity - saunas. I think the reserach surrounding heat shock proteins is pretty robust, too strong to call it a scam, wouldn't you say?
Funny how if you make bad faith arguments, only focusing on negatives, and completely ignoring positives, things like ice-baths suddenly sound pretty bad for you.
I expected much better from this channel, and it makes me question the rest of the videos now.
This is literally like going: "Exercise increases inflammation, a major risk factor for all round health and longevity, thus we should avoid physical strain where possible." - completely ignoring the cause or uses of said inflammation. I don't have vested interest in these topics, but I care about honesty and transparency - I don't like being mislead.
There are pro's and con's to most things, if you just ignore one side, the video is misleading and manipulating.
Yes, exactly, just say straight away that you work for the conventional medical system.
Anything that doesn't have to do with medication automatically doesn't work. SUCH NONSENSE
Anyone who tries to convince me NOT to get into a bathtub full of ice cubes is A-Okay in my book!
Dr. Stanfield, Are you still taking Glycine and NAC at 1.5 G daily. and later at 55 twice a day? Or has things changed regarding these compounds?
what's the status of your Rapamycin trial?
going crazy about the protein with autoimmune disease was the worst thing I was doing with my health. Two of my worst flares triggered at the times when I was worrying so much about my protein intake and chugging down things to meet 1.5grams/kg weight it is not possible with a stable health. 40-50 grams was enough. Now whenever I see a protein maniac I automatically assume "Oh here is an ignorant person" & who cares what he thinks..
Yes Brad has created a protein supplement I believe. 1.5 g per kilogram is a large amount of protein if you're eating other foods like fats and cards. Especially if youre not exercising.
We myst remember that channels like these are to a degree about self promotion.
Why should we avoid saturated fats when they are less oxidized?
You seem to refute all new concepts. My take away is you feel that medical advice from 30years ago is all we need to know and listen to our doctor.
So, Amla powder is not a good idea? It is a powerful antioxidant.
Tulsi, Ginkgo biloba, and magic shrooms tea 🍵☕ Is a BIG W and instant OG
Why use the word "hate"??
Clicks and comments 😂
7:43 - Wait... does avoiding carbohydrates (not to the level of going keto, just lowering carbs) inherently raise overall cholesterol, in and of itself? Or is it because this patient was substituting out carbs for high-cholesterol raising foods?
cold plunge is great
Regarding ice baths, look at how that increases testosterone an hour before exercise. Yes i agree after training not a good idea but before has been show to increase testosterone
Hey! I have a question, so doing Cold water plunging before exercise wouldn't affect our hypertrophy?
@raziques.1821 no. In fact I have been icing my balls to boost test before exercise as well as before bed and have had amazing results in terms of raising my t levels and also having much harder elections. So I would either do the cold exposure an hour before training or ice my balls 30min prior
In two more years Brad will be back to the food guide and questioning exercise.
😂👍🏼
Yeah I keep hearing about the negative effect on blood sugar spikes etc but then I keep hearing people saying it doesn’t matter so I’m glad you included that one. Is Zoe one of the companies to stay away from?
I'm no expert, but Zoe makes its money from selling AI generated recipies after extensive personal testing. I distrust them because I have the impression that personalized medicine is not very advanced and because AI is often a hint for billshit. People have different opinions about this, but the grey haired Zoe expert also advertised boasters for the disease I don't want to name because I never know if that might keep my comment in the shadows.
My man Brad hitting us with facts.👊Respect
I would say stick to traditional diets. Would you say 200 years back and further we were consuming this much sugar? My feeling is people went without food for some periods and it did not cause people to die, just starve slightly which many animals go through.
this video thumbnail is hilarious
Thanks for the effort making it.
Couldn't the same be said for potassium supplements which you recommend and include in your own multivitamins - which you heavily promote, presumably for your own financial gain?
I looked into adding potassium after you covered it in a recent video but then saw the many headlines about the many health risks of too much potassium. That plus the fact that a big proportion of people (if not most) already have good levels of potassium makes me wonder why you recommend it and why you seem to be pushing it so hard on people who not only don't need it but could be harmed by it.
If I've misunderstood anything please do explain further...
I consider taking supplements and certain dietary practices to actually be biohacking .However have to agree that non diabetics taking metformin could be counterproductive also the anti oxidants taken in large quantities are suppressing oxidants that are required for optimum immune function I have to agree with Dr Brad on that.
Your comments about cold exposure based on ONE STUDY, show ignorance and OUT- OF- CONTEXT observations. Most studies show THE OPPOSITE of your conclusions. Furthermore, the Wim Hof method is based on the exercise and meditation behavior of Asian and Indian monks over several thousand years!
The Wim Hof community can be quite questionable and cultist, and they tend to claim all kinds of unproven benefits, but there was a study in the Netherlands on cold exposure with 3000 subjects which found a 30% decrease in sick days in the group that did daily cold showers.
Before I read the study and tried it out myself, I was also rather sceptical, but started taking cold showers mainly in hopes to get more used to the cold (I'd start feeling cold at temperatures below 20°C and hated the cold in general) and thought if it also helps the immune system, that would be a nice benefit. Turned out both worked, I haven't worn any extra layer even in Winter since I started with the cold showers, I guess it's partly physiological adaptation but also a big part mental stubborness, and my sick days were reduced indeed by about 30%, a typical cold that would have lasted around 10 days before would last then around 7 days with the peak days feeling less severe.
What it did not help much was with feeling more "energized" or any of the typical other claims.
Thank you, that's interesting. Both, that there is this study and your personal experience. My immune system might have improved slightly after half a year of cold showers, but I am not sure yet. I feel relexation for a few hours after a cold shower and I am in need of that.
A CGM by itself is a just a measurement device as is, for example, a balance. Does Dr. Stanfield consider he is hacking his body when he weighs himself?
The only one of those I partake in is cold showers and when learning about them (like most people probably from Andrew Huberman) it was noted to not do it too close to resistance workouts. I generally leave it a couple of hours at least after weights before doing it so hopefully that's fine. I'll often have a cold shower immediately after a cardio session (I'm much more sweaty!) but I don't think there's an issue there. Certainly I'm in complete agreement about the issues you raise through the video. This is pretty important stuff.
You do you bro! We aren't all the same. These hacks work for many.
Trouble with Dr Brad is that he doesn't take into account the carnivore diet. IF works great for me and I get plenty of protein !
@DrBradStanfield: I was surprised about an hba1c of 5.7 being classed as perfectly normal in the video. I had 5.8 and my doctor told me it was elevated and to modify my diet to avoid going into a pre-diabetic range. Are there differing opinions amongst doctors on this subject?
Let me help you
Take cold plunge or cold bath before exercise, after waking and there should be 24 hour gap between the next exercise session
Do not take vitamin c or e close to your exercise time
Take the(delta, gamma) tocotrinol form of vitamin e and and not the tocopherol form , it is very crucial
CGM is good, but it depends not everyone needs it but people do get benefits from it, the people who struggle with it are the people who have no basic knowledge about healthly insulin spike after meal, no knowledge in any field even if it filled with profible opportunities will yield no result
Metformin , yah this is bad, but considering most people are moving towards type 2 diabetes, it might help them but it can serve as potential danger if you are healthy
Bhai insta id kya hai tumhari?
And that's why I couldn't care less about studies, just how I feel, look and my blood work, because one day they say one thing, and the other day another thing, in my case with IF, I'm extremely healthy, way more healthier than people who eats breakfast, including my glucose from which I was pre diabetic before starting IF, I also look way younger than my age, my blood work are phenomenal in every way, and I gain the same amount of muscle like normal diets, and you'll see, the studies says this today, and in a few years they will say something completely opposite, just like it happened with the amount of protein a person can absorb in one meal, first it was 30 grams, now it doesn't really matter, just eating the amount of 0.8-1g per pound of bodyweight matters. Best
It's called placebo
This is exactly why I love this channel!!
First off, good to see that you didn't include sauna on your list as the science is pretty clear on the benefits. 4 of your 5 items make pretty good sense but I don't agree with you on CGM's just because people use them poorly. That's like saying not to exercise because a lot of people get hurt by not doing things correctly. CGM's can be extremely useful for everyone and people should understand their proper usage in order to maximize the benefits or work with their doctor to understand the results. It should also be noted that all of your "dietary advice" is your opinion and you do not have the proper scientific background to call yourself an expert in that area and your understanding of the lipid hypothesis is falling down around your ears and yet you seem intent on going down with that ship.
I don't think you always need to fully understand the theoretical concepts underneath(eg lipid hypothesis). What is most important is outcomes. If there's no strong evidence to support claims made, or if the evidence is shaky, then I would understand him not supporting it.
@@Nelis1324 I agree with your argument and I don't think that Dr. Brad actually does understand the outcomes or the underlying theoretical concepts.
Do you have studies which backup your statement? What is your opinion based on?
@@Thought.Strings Do I have a study that shows that Brad doesn't understand other studies on the lipid hypothesis? No, but someone should definitely fund one of those.
@@davidmoran7827 your response implies you understand the studies better than he does. What are your credentials? If there is more to be said about those studies please say what you think he misunderstood. I would watch a video of yours on response to his!
As usual Brad looks at the data and takes a "common sense" approach to the subjects and gives his opinion in a brief understandable manner...well done and thank you!
Keep it up!
Thanks Brad...Great video 👍🏻...I think a lot of well meaning people are making these kind of mistakes....I went a little to far left myself last year and I definitively wasn't feeling my best...went back to a whole food diet adding bread, fruits and cutting the fat a little and I feel so so good 😌🙏🏻💙 A video on how high a healthy blood sugar can go up to after having a healthy meal would probably be helpful for many! TX
Could you go over the research for NEU5GC found in red meat and its potential effect on arteriosclerosis and cancer? What about bovine collagen? Thx
Question: would replacing all vegetables in diet with broccoli sprouts slathered in mustard also count as "biohacking"? Because it feels like it belongs up there.
When I was in my late teens I used to take cold showers in the morning - so I was ahead of Wim Hoff. However, my fingers would go blue and it would take hours for the circulation to come back. It was misery. And that experience was enough to teach me it's not good. We have to be careful of the "experts" and the "gurus". I think listening to your own body is the best thing we have in the interim - it's not always right but I think it is most of the time.
Listening to your own body is THE most important thing. I personally do not respond well to many mainstream “biohacking” advice and supps even Dr. Brad is giving. Just one example creatine gives me weird heart palpitations, anxiety and sleepless nights as a side effect to the positive effects. I have a few others too. Unless we have hard data on ourselves to tell us otherwise, how we feel is the more important factor in any intervention we undertake than to blindly follow what is advised for the general population.
I totally agree with you. I think it is going to be a while though before we get the hard data and also it can be complicated - like you said, a supplement can give positive and negative results. All the best. @@MrCoffis
@@MrCoffiscreatine can give you issues if; you have kidney problems or you have specific MTHFR mutations.
@@campersruincod6134 Interesting never heard of that mutation🤔 Thanks, I’ll look into it. Just skimming through you might be on to something, though I imagine there are enough other mutations that could potentially have similar effects or a combination of. I guess I’ll have to do a DNA test now, to be sure. I do react non conventionally on B vitamins and even get inflammation on my eye lids if I take for a prolonged time. I even had to remove a growth (chalazion) from there that was induced by B vitamin supplementation. So there’s definitely something going on there.
@@MrCoffis glad I could help :)
The CGM quackery also applies to the therapeutic guidelines/recommendations used in management of gestational diabetes (in Australia). My experiences have seen some very dated and horribly inaccurate information being disseminated to women with marginal glycemia (after a single OGTT). Hearing that TH-camr describing the patients experience- with needlessly stringent 'guidelines' and the proclivity for OCD-like behaviors with the ridiculously narrow target glycemia concentrations really does seem familiar.