Health Via Modern Nutrition with Dr. Latt Mansor

Biohacking is an umbrella term for the passion and mission to enhance and improve upon the human body, often with a hacker-like ethos. One arm of this comes in the form of "grinders", a growing collective of biohackers whose expertise lies in functional body modification (usually with electronic hardware) that extends their human capabilities.  Episode 43 features Tim Cannon, a human host of multiple implants including RFID's (radio-frequency identification devices) and magnets. His interest in being open to the idea of human enhancement stems from adolescence, when playing role-playing video games (where you are free to build up your character to your own liking and continually level up to become more powerful) made him wonder "Why can't we do this to ourselves?"  Some years later, and Tim is in the midst of a movement that pushes citizen science forward and in the process of creating an implant (named Northstar 2) that has a variety of functions such as a built-in glucose monitor and gesture recognition. All arms of biohacking share one commonality: Bringing the power of personal health into your hands through open education and science-based experimentation. Geoffrey Woo and Tim discuss his experiences with implants and the challenges and risks attached to being a grinder, the differences between the medical field and biohacking, and a host of community questions! Listeners asked Tim what he believes the most popular consumer augmentations will be in the near future, why he chose to invest in implants than wearables, and what measures are taken to ensure safety when implanting a device with a battery into a fellow grinder.

Exploring the rise of healthy processed food like keto-friendly meal replacements, the impact of mental health on metabolic disease, and the need for personalized nutrition based on individual context. The podcast features Dr. Cameron Sepah, a clinician and tech innovator, discussing the evolution of meal replacements and challenging mainstream views on processed food.

Have you ever tried memorizing and recalling the exact order of 59 decks of cards randomly shuffled together? Our guest this week not only attempted this incredible feat of brain power but succeeded in doing it, breaking the World Guinness Record for "Greatest Memory".  Episode 41 features Dave Farrow, a master of memory and PR strategies. Due to a difficult and formidable childhood filled with health problems and near-death experiences, Dave began to fall behind on his academia and had little help from outside resources. Forced to take matters into his own hands, Dave explored behavior modification approaches, such as creating specific memory techniques that were tailored to combat his ADHD and dyslexia. His determination for self-learning and cognitive improvement expanded to becoming a two-time Guinness World Record holder for memorizing and reciting 59 decks of playing cards all randomly shuffled together. Get this, he was allowed to only see each card once with zero repetition.  Geoffrey Woo and Dave discuss various memory tips and tricks (one is a HIIT version of mental training), the importance of PR and its impact on a business' success, and the rise of mental games as a serious sport. 

Biohacking comes in many forms, from those wanting to hack their work productivity, those aiming to optimize long-term health, and those wanting to correct their bodily shortcomings and deficiencies. This week, we talk to one biohacker whose mission might sound like something straight out of science fiction...adding additional sensors to the human body. Welcome to the HVMN Enhancement podcast. Episode 40 features Neil Harbisson, the world's first cyborg. Growing up color-blind, Neil sought to experience color without altering his existing gray-scale vision. His solution? Implanting an antenna in his head that allows him to perceive visible and invisible colors such as infrareds and ultraviolets via sound waves. This initial modification to his body spurred his current passion for cybernetics.  He is a co-founder of the Cyborg Foundation, an international organization that aims to help humans become cyborgs, defend cyborg rights and promote cyborgism as a social and artistic movement. Geoffrey Woo and Neil dive into his experiences with his antenna (did you know Neil can detect active/false alarms in stores?), discuss the ethical and practical appliances of cybernetics, and why adding additional sensors found in other species (antenna = bug) has made Neil actually feel closer to nature than, say, a machine. 

We always stress that tracking and measuring your biometrics is essential to successful biohacking, but sometimes you need to remember one simple thing: Listen to your body. Episode 39 features Ben Coomber, host of UK's #1 health & fitness podcast (Ben Coomber Radio) and writer for major publications such as Men's Fitness and The Daily Telegraph. A regular rugby player, Ben spends much of his time maximizing his athletic performance through the use of high-fidelity fitness, nutrition, and supplementation. As someone who dealt with childhood obesity and a multitude of other issues, Ben understands the difficulties of changing one's lifestyle even if they know it is for the better. While Ben has tinkered with various regimens and diets, he has concluded that his natural intuition is key to his own personalized health goals. Through educating and sharing his personal experiences to the world, Ben continues to push his audience to become a better, healthier version of themselves. Geoffrey Woo and Ben discuss the ins and outs of Ben's fitness and nutritional routine, the importance of recovery after training or working out, and the potential for exogenous ketones as a pathway to treat brain injuries.

If you begin thinking about the human body as a system, where inputs directly cause outputs, you'd become more mindful of the one input we put into our bodies every single day: Food. Episode 38 features James Colquhoun, the filmmaker of some of the most internationally acclaimed food documentaries (Food Matters, Hungry for Change). After being driven to explore nutrition in order to save his father's life and seeing the results of a changed diet, James became inspired to spread the knowledge and change the lives of many others. An early contributor to the biohacking ethos by pushing people to be more thoughtful of the food they put into their bodies, James has devoted himself to arming people with the knowledge they deserve to live a healthy and prosperous life. Geoffrey Woo and James discuss the importance of not being dogmatic about diets, how certain practices from the past are making a comeback to modern society (i.e. feast and famine periods), and the influence nutrigenomics (as well as nature-based philosophies) have on each individual.  

Episode 37 features Dr. Priyanka Wali, a forward-thinking doctor who is experienced with guiding patients through a prescribed ketogenic diet. Originally a vegetarian, Dr. Wali is now an advocate of the ketogenic diet. She's helped those with diabetes to those simply curious about the diet for health optimization purposes. One such biohacker Dr. Wali personally guided was Business Insider's own Melia Robinson, who recently wrote about her experience being keto.  Geoffrey Woo and Dr. Wali discuss the rapidly growing interest in the ketogenic diet, why more doctors should view nutrition as an integral part in health and medicine, and Geoff's experience fasting for seven straight days!

Welcome to the THINKING Podcast, produced by HVMN.  Episode 36 features Dr. Ted Achacoso, an exceptional polymath who has professionally trained in interventional neuroradiology, pharmacology, neurology, medical informatics, neuro-interventional radiology interventional endocrinology, nutritional medicine, and more. After spending years absorbing knowledge from different areas of medicine, Dr. Achacoso current mission now revolves around HOMe: "Health Optimization Medicine". Health Optimization Medicine just does that: Optimize health. Sounds a lot like biohacking, right? Instead of waiting for a patient to develop a reason for medicine, Dr. Achacoso is aiming to swing the pendulum towards optimizing health by detecting and correcting imbalances in your body (hormones, nutrients, toxins, etc). By doing this and taking precautionary measures, this practice has the potential to not only prevent future disease but also bring you to your most optimal shape.  Geoffrey Woo and Dr. Achacoso discuss the reasoning and science behind the HOMe framework, the problem with the "incentive structure" the current health care system seems to have, and Dr. Achacoso's own hardcore biohacking regime! 

Welcome to the THINKING Podcast, produced by HVMN.  Episode 35 features Jasmina Aganovic, president of Mother Dirt, a product that flips the switch on the normal school of thought of modern hygiene. Instead of cleaning bacteria from your skin, Mother Dirt aims to restore & maintain the good bacteria. What's the rationale behind this, you ask?  The microbiome.  The microbiome is a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment. The particular environment we're talking about here is your human body, which is home to 100 trillion microbes. Before you jump out of your skin, it's known that these microbes play an essential part in our bodily function and survival. The popular frenzy surrounding probiotics is fueled in large part by surging scientific and public interest in the human microbiome. Mother Dirt is playing a huge part in leading this new space in the dermatology industry by bringing microbiome-friendly products to consumers that are backed by their own clinical research. Geoffrey Woo and Jasmina discuss the nuances of bringing a potentially controversial product to market, the theory behind why modern society is too clean for our good, and the role of the microbiome beyond cosmetics/dermatology (recent studies have shown that lower blood pressure is associated with a healthy microbiome).  

Welcome to the THINKING Podcast, produced by HVMN.  Episode 34 features Geoffrey Woo returning to the mic with Brianna Stubbs, who is now formally a member of the growing HVMN team. Dr. Stubbs, coming from an impressive academic and athletic background, is leading our Research and Development team in our efforts to contribute to the space of human enhancement.  Geoff and Dr. Stubbs discuss the differences between industry-funded research and government-funded research, not shying away from the uncomfortable truths and nature of any funded study. Dr. Stubbs dives into the difficulties scientists have including women into a study, in which standardizing is a challenging process due to constantly changing variables (i.e hormones) that are present in women. Geoff also ponders about the role of science and research development in the world of top-tier athletics, in which Brianna reveals that it is tough to convince elite athletes to partake in any experiment, likening them to a well-oiled machine in which any outside variable can throw them off their track. Needless to say, the research world is a complicated beast. Luckily, we have one of the best researchers to make certain that HVMN has integrity around searching for the truth, while also having a sustainable business model that will continue to serve you all with the products you've come to know and love (plus more in the future)! Check out HVMN: https://hvmn.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=post