The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance

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The Hormone War Dividing Female and Male Longevity : 1318

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Aug 22, 2025

Guest

Teal Swan

Teal Swan, a bestselling author and international speaker, explores the complex relationship between hormones and longevity. She reveals how male and female biology diverges, impacting metabolism and brain function. The conversation dives into the effects of birth control on testosterone and how trauma shapes our biology. Listeners learn about biohacking strategies like fasting, sleep optimization, and supplements to balance hormones for better resilience. Teal's insights bridge psychology and biology, offering profound perspectives on personal transformation.

53:48

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ANECDOTE

Processing Betrayal Through Examination

Teal Swan describes using deep examination and disidentification to determine what feelings belong to you versus others after betrayal.
She processes betrayal by questioning perspectives and looking at both parties' pasts to see how the picture unfolds.

insights

INSIGHT

Narcissism As A Relational Adaptation

Teal Swan frames narcissism as a relational adaptation that arises in zero-trust environments.
She argues narcissistic behavior is a coping mechanism to prioritize self-interest when trust is absent.

insights

INSIGHT

Gendered Patterns In Narcissism

Teal Swan says men show narcissism more overtly while women often use victimhood tactically due to social double standards.
She notes women may progress their aims by presenting as victims to avoid being labeled narcissistic.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Navigating Betrayal and Narcissism

02:18 • 12min

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Exploring Early Development and the Business of Biohacking

14:25 • 3min

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Exploring Birth Trauma and Spiritual Awakening

17:02 • 3min

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Perception and Perspective in Art and Life

20:05 • 19min

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Energies of the Divine: Masculine and Feminine Dynamics

38:36 • 15min

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Exploring Perception and Validating Alternative Experiences

53:12 • 4min

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In 'Heavily Meditated', Dave Asprey combines ancient wisdom traditions and practices with modern technology and cutting-edge methods. The book is based on his immersive program '40 Years of Zen' and provides an 8-step approach to help readers remove their triggers and upgrade their mental well-being. Asprey draws on his extensive experience in biohacking and human performance optimization to offer practical advice for improving mental clarity and resilience.

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The Field

The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe

Lynne McTaggart

The Field by Lynne McTaggart presents a new biological paradigm that extends beyond traditional physics, suggesting that our bodies electromagnetically extend beyond their physical boundaries. The book explores the concept of the Zero Point Field (ZPF), a sea of energy that connects mind and matter, and provides scientific evidence for phenomena such as ESP, spiritual healing, and remote viewing. It bridges the gap between mind and matter, and between us and the cosmos, offering a new perspective on health, sickness, memory, will, creativity, intuition, the soul, consciousness, and spirituality.

Your hormones may be waging a hidden war that determines how long you live and how well you perform. This episode reveals how male and female biology diverge—and what those differences mean for your longevity, metabolism, and brain optimization.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Revisit this episode where Dave Asprey sits down with Teal Swan, a bestselling author and international speaker known for her work on human behavior, healing, and consciousness. Her insights bridge biology and psychology, uncovering how hormones, trauma, and environment shape both performance and resilience. Her ability to decode patterns of narcissism, victimhood, and trust through the lens of functional medicine and human performance makes her one of the most provocative voices in personal transformation.

Together, they explore the science behind the hormonal divide between men and women—why birth control alters not just fertility but also male testosterone, why perception and neurodivergence impact neuroplasticity, and how early trauma imprints mitochondria and metabolism. You’ll learn how fasting, ketosis, cold therapy, sleep optimization, and smarter not harder strategies can shift your biology toward higher resilience and greater longevity.

They also break down the biohacking tools and supplements that can help balance hormones, upgrade mitochondria, and fuel nootropics-level brain performance. From the hidden biological costs of hormonal birth control to how carnivore and targeted nutrition affect both male and female healthspan, this episode gives you a framework for hacking your biology at the deepest level.

This is essential listening for anyone serious about biohacking, hacking human performance, brain optimization, functional medicine, or understanding how masculine and feminine biology directly influence lifespan and resilience.

You’ll Learn:

• How hormonal birth control impacts both women’s fertility and men’s testosterone

• Why victim mentality rewires the brain and reduces neuroplasticity

• How narcissism functions as a biological stress adaptation

• The role of mitochondria, metabolism, and trauma in shaping healthspan

• How fasting, ketosis, supplements, and cold therapy affect hormone balance

• Why balancing male and female energetics may be a key to longevity

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (audio-only) where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.

Keywords: hormone war, male vs female longevity, hormonal birth control effects, testosterone collapse, estrogen disruption, masculine vs feminine biology, victim mindset neuroscience, narcissism as adaptation, betrayal and biology, neuroplasticity and trauma, perception and neurodivergence, fractal vision, birth trauma programming, mitochondria and stress, species-level hormone imbalance, industrial hormone disruption, male fertility decline, female hormone resilience, functional medicine hormones

Resources:

• Teals Website: https://tealswan.com/

• Teal’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TealSwanOfficial

• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/DAVE15

• Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com

• Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated

• Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com

• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com

• 40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com

Timestamps:

0:00 — Cold Open

0:33 — Intro