We live in times when Mahesh Kumar, an entrepreneur now based in Stockholm, has rice-grain-sized chips implanted under the skin of his hands, precisely between the thumb and the forefinger. Another professional who spends his time between Gurugram and Los Angeles, did the same a year back. This person, who did not want to be named, says getting it done has made life convenient. He no longer needs to carry his ID cards, the toll pass, official passes, and certain other documents. All information is stored in this little chip that he just has to get scanned.
Oceans apart, celebrities like Canadian singer Grimes, and American rapper Lil Uzi Vert, already have a $24 million diamond implanted in their foreheads. They have already been discussing on Twitter, how to get Elon Musk’s Neuralink ‘brain chip’ implant by 2022. It comes as no surprise then that a growing number of people want to make their bodies and brains function better by hacking their biology. No longer seen as a Silicon Valley trend, the movement is taking off in India, with experts riding the wave.
At its most basic, it means doing things to your body and mind to make them function better, where wellness enthusiasts take a do-it-yourself approach to make lifestyle changes that improve health.
It brings together minds from technology, wellness, anti-ageing, and science communities.
At the extreme end of the spectrum are people getting devices implanted under their skin, while others opt for gene editing. Celebrity trainer and nutritionist Prateek Kumar believes that if one can enhance their body functions by simply manipulating the kind of foods they eat and when they eat, it is a simple but a great hack. However, he sees people increasingly going on OMAD (one-meal-a-day) thereby, misusing the hack. “Intermittent fasting with strategic caffeine use is one of the best biohack to drop large volumes of body fat. You can drastically reduce the metabolic age of the body and improve your focus. It allows you to eat carbohydrates and keep your leptin levels high,” says Kumar.
While some want to outsmart their brains, others redesign their faces without surgery. Jag Chima, CEO of Physique Global, and world-renowned fitness entrepreneur, shares that he has seen a lot of extreme biohacking techniques in the West, like estrogen-blocking implants, and peptide injections that take a lot of professional research and supervision before being implemented. Closer to home, he sees people trying biohacks like cold therapy, glucose monitors, IV drip therapy, advanced supplements like melatonin, and DHEA boosters. Many are under the misconception that biohacking is an advanced concept and a privilege of the rich. “But actually, it can be as simple as fasting, hydrating, earthing, spending time outdoors in the sun, eliminating processed foods from your diet, improving sleep, meditating, or exercising. These are free, yet overlooked. I always say basics are the foundation, and if you don’t have the basics right, the advanced techniques are of no use,” says Chima.
Every individual is different and biohacks should be implemented after analysing the individual’s health and lifestyle. It is not recommended for anyone to go on an iron-rich diet if they have a history of heart problems, asserts Chima.His venture constantly produces educational content surrounding biohacking. It is about doing what works for you.
Renowned Indian biohacker and wellness crusader Dr Sajeev Nair believes that if we look back to ancient wellness wisdom available in India through yoga, Ayurveda and siddha, one can use many methods and processes to take charge of their biology. “Lack of knowledge has led the West to move towards at a great speed. They have the latest mechanical and electrical means of biohacking, making it dangerous,” says Nair, adding, “Looking at Ayurveda and yoga as biohacking science can bring in a cool and youthful element to these ancient wellness practices. You can also use self-healing meditations as a quick biohack.”
The Indian biohacker’s venture called Vieroots has developed a proprietary Geno-Metabolic Analysis based on genetic and metabolic data that combines the two to come out with a Personalised Lifestyle Modification Plan, called EPLIMO, which with the support of AI, provides a person highly personalised diet, fitness, yoga, nutritional, and supplements plans to control the body.
Pranav Anam, a geneticist and the founder of a startup called The Gene Box, has a way of looking at someone’s DNA and suggesting more lasting hacks than a one-diet-fits-all approach. Genetic tests that cost between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000 use a simple saliva swab to analyse up to 70,000 genetic markers. The company that was signed by German football club, Werder Bremen, to do testing for athletes, claims to be able to predict anything from a predisposition to a disease. Anam asserts that the arena of genomics has revolutionised the process of biohacking. “With advancements, we now know how physiological functions correlate with molecular mechanisms. With AI, ML and genomics, one can achieve wellness through set targets aligned with one’s genetic blueprint, and evangelise solutions using the DNA,” says Anam. Ready to hack away?