Optimal Performance

Increasing strength and boosting brain power with Dr. Birk. From physical movement to mental performance, the Central Nervous System governs everything we do. On today’s episode of the OPP, Dr. Ruminder Birk explains how we can optimize physical, mental, and emotional performance by “biohacking” our nervous system. Owner of Atlantis Chiropractic, Dr. Birk has an intimate knowledge of the nervous system and he brings his holistic, wellness based approach to the show as we discuss: How the Central Nervous System is first to develop Neural pathways controls movement and cognition The Windsor Autopsy Studies - failed attempts to dispel chiropractic claims that spine health impacts organ function What the research says about chiropractic adjustments increasing physical performance (6-16% boost from single adjustment) Old school Strongman secrets to increase neural drive for increased strength How low-level laser therapy, vibration plates, inversion and other biohacks can help us  optimize nervous system function How chronic sympathetic activation (aka, stress) impacts hormones, sleep, energy, organs and what you can do about it Why “firefighters put out fires - but don’t build houses” Biohacking and optimizing neurotransmitters for optimal mental performance

Beyond Blue Light: Why Technology is Killing Our Eyes Daniel Georgiev is a Bulgarian programmer who created Iris, special software designed to protect our eyes from the harmful effects of increased screen time. If you're an OPP listener, you're no stranger to blue light and it's impact on our hormones and sleep. But our increased screen time is killing our eyes for more reasons than blue light. In fact, Daniel says blue light is the least of concerns when it comes to overall eye health. We cover: the problem with blue blocking glasses and screens pulse waves from LED screens (flicker rate) optimal brightness why Kindle screens are "healthier" color inversion why glossy screens cause "double images" eye-friendly fonts blink detection and eye movement how taking more breaks with the 20-20-20 rule can help mitigate eye strain Daniel's technology to help color blind people experience more color Screen usage may be required, but there are ways to minimize it's harmful effects and Daniel shares numerous helpful tips and explains how his $10 Iris software can help us "hack" our screen usage. (think f.lux but better) On the blog: get Daniel's Top 4 Tips to Hack Your Computer Screen: 1. Use the 20-20-20 Rule 2. Avoid LEDs or Control Flicker Rate 3. Matte > Gloss 4. Use Eye-Friendly Fonts

East meets West in this week's OPP featuring Scott Dolly, owner of Evolution Human Performance and Rehabilitation. With an education that spans Physics, Biology, Qi Gong, Yoga, Mediation and more, Scott marries the best of Eastern and Western philosophies into his practice which he focuses on the the Neural Patterns in the Biomechanics of Movement, Scraping & Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and Alignment. After he assessed, analyzed, scraped, poked and prodded on me for several hours, Scott and I sat down in his Winchester, VA facility to talk about :  Why normal and average are misused terms Tuning a human like a guitar: energy, vibrations resonance frequencies and the musical notes that correspond to each of the 7 chakras Proper motor sequencing in the biomechanics of movement: from cerebellum to motor cortex to the muscles that fire Why foam rolling is a good "warmup" for IASTM & soft tissue mobilization What the heck is scraping? Self-diagnosing your anterior pelvic (if you don't know what it is, you probably have it) Why stretching doesn't always work: you cant remove a knot from rope by pulling on the rope Why stability is more important than strength Why a tool is only as good as the person using it Open-chain vs closed-chain movements Biohacks to accelerate healing (from a man who is 6 weeks out of an Achilles rupture) Why Evolution Human Performance and Rehabilitation has performance enhancing blue lights in the facility Big thanks to Scott for opening his facility and his mind to us. This is a truly insightful podcast and one I'm sure you'll enjoy.

"Few observers have truly internalized the implications of the fact that the rate of change itself is accelerating." - Ray Kurzweil, founder at Singularity U  The future is coming faster than we think. Don’t be a passive passenger. Think for yourself, think ahead and ask questions - don’t follow blindly. Today's guest on the OPP is Hannes Sjob, the Chief Disruption Officer at Epicenter Stockholm and a faculty member at Singularity University. Hannes takes us on a fascinating glimpse into the future of wearable - and implantable - technologies, Artificial Intelligence and the intersection of BioTech with biohacking, health and Big Data. What’s coming? What does it mean? What can we do with it? On the positive side, we could see the democratization of medicine - a revolutionary shift in the way we proactively protect our health with real-time biofeedback from heart rates (already happening) to hormone levels along with suggestions for course corrections. Are we really 2-5 years away from grain-of-rice-sized implants that could change the way medical systems operate and treat patients - especially important in rural and undeveloped areas where the nearest doctors are hundreds of miles away. Conversely, on the futuristic Sci-Fi, skeptical side, there are serious questions that we need to ask (and answer) about tracking and monitoring - do we trust the people who have this data? Who will access to it and what can they do with it? What are the real Big Data concerns? Can we encrypt certain information? (yes) Technology is accelerating faster than most of us realize, and while it has tremendous potential upside, we need to have these conversations now while we still have the opportunity to curate the future we want for ourselves. We won't have all the answers today, but we certainly need to start asking the right questions. Enjoy this show with Hannes and let us know your thoughts on Implants, AI, and the future of biohacking.

Andy Murphy is a leading high pressure performance coach for 7 and 8-figure entrepreneurs. He is not your typical mindset guru or NLP mental performance coach - and this is not your typical “design your dream life" podcast episode. Andy explains how our neural networks shape our view of ourselves and how we move through the world - laying out the exact steps we can take daily to upgrade our minds for optimal performance. We examine how our belief systems limit our thinking (and our possibilities), how the prefrontal cortex (PFC), neurotransmitters (like dopamine) and how our mirror neurons (read: social circles) influence our choices. We also cover: Creating your alter-ego and moving through the world as that avatar The importance of a crystal clear vision for where you want to go Why you need to be on “auto-pilot” to attain peak performance What is “Connor McGregor thinking”? (And why you should be using it!) The problem with morning routines - and how to fix them The law of 33% How “mirror neurons” shape our thinking and influence our behaviors The problem with most “self-help” approaches How to make novelty and “shiny object syndrome” work FOR you - not against you Why the advice “ be the dumbest person in the room” doesn’t work for many people Lifestyle design is an under discussed element of optimal performance. To not actively design our own lives is to leave them to chance. Andy’s unique talents to deliver actionable strategies make this episode of the OPP packed with tips to implement into your daily routine.

Is Cancer a Metabolic (Mitochondrial) Disease? Our guest on the OPP today, Dr. Thomas Seyfried says it is. Dr. Thomas Seyfried is a leading cancer researcher, Biology professor at Boston College and author of the book Cancer as a Metabolic Disease. His work focuses on epigenetic and metabolic nutritional therapies for neurological and mitochondrial diseases.      According to Dr. Seyfried, cancer is a mitochondrial metabolic disease. His Press-Pulse protocol of ketosis, fasting, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) created with colleague Dominic D’Agostino is producing amazing results in animals, dogs, and people.   On today's show, we explore: Why Dr. Seyfried thinks genetic tests are a waste of time & money Why neuroinflammation should scare you (Hint: it's linked to almost every major disease) How cancer could be single disease with a single cause, and a single cure Why calories restriction - and fasting - signals our healthy cells to improve themselves How ketosis starves cancer cells and helps heal the body Why protecting our mitochondria may be our best method to reduce our risk of cancer How Dr. Seyfried and Dominic D'Agostino linked up to create the Press-Pulse method of starving cancer with ketosis, then destroying it with Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments (HBOT) The frustrating truth about why the scientific and medical communities are not rushing to fund studies and implement these treatment protocols Dr. Seyfried is a brilliant man who is asking the right questions and taking great strides to advance our understanding of cancer and health in general. You'll hear and see more of Dr. Seyfried's Press-Pulse anticancer treatments in the book Tripping Over The Truth and the forthcoming Dog and Cancer Series. We're honored to have him on the OPP, and excited to share this information with you. Share this episode, tag us in your post, and you'll be entered to win a signed copy of Dr. Seyfried's Book "Cancer as a Metabolic Disease"

Today’s guest on the OPP is Dr. Cyrus Raji, a neuroradiologist at UCSF conducting structural and functional neuro imaging (brain scans) to investigate neuropsychiatric disorders, cognitive decline and head trauma.    He was recently awarded the 2017 Alzheimer’s Grant by the ASNR and his colleague during his training at the University of Pittsburg was Bennet Omalu - the man portrayed by Will Smith in the movie Concussion.   On the OPP today, we talk about the 7 modifiable lifestyle choices that could reduce Alzheimer’s diagnoses by 1 million worldwide.    We discuss the amyloid plaques seen on brain scans for Alzheimer’s, why waiting for these to show up is too late and why amyloid removing drugs don’t work (Hint: neural cells are already dead) and how we might correct this with Growth Factors and lifestyle choices - like exercise - that stimulate the release of BDNF, aka Miracle-Gro for the brain.   We also discuss the differences between depression and cognitive decline, what each looks like on the MRI, the difference between structural and functional brain scans, and the procedures that led to Bennet Omalu’s CTE discovery, and of course, the current news on NFL players and CTE.     Dr. Cyrus Raji is truly a leader in the field of brain imaging to investigate depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s and CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) - He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers on these topics in such journals such as Neurology, Human Brain Mapping, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and the American Journal of Neuroradiology.   I had a blast chatting with Dr. Raji and I’m sure you’ll love this episode.

I’ll spare you the sensationalized, click-bait headline about how spirulina and chlorella are the missing nutrient in your diet that are 1000X more powerful than fruits and vegetables.    But, technically speaking, one gram of algae – the amount in a single tablet – contains the nutritional equivalent of 1,000 grams of fruits and vegetables. So make no mistake about it, these nutrient dense blue green algae, Spirulina (a bacteria) and Chlorella (a plant) are true superfoods.   Spirulina contains 2.5X more protein per ounce than steak and 2-5X more antioxidants per ounce than leading fruits and vegetables.   A mere 30 gram serving of chlorella has 5X the chlorophyll content of kale and contains more iron than liver.   They’re also the most potent source of plant-based omega-3’s and Vitamin B12 - making them a powerful supplement for non-meat eaters.   These nutrient powerhouses may be the most nutrient dense foods on the planet and Catharine Arnston of Energy Bits is on the OPP to share the details of how we can upgrade our diet with a 30-calorie snack that can:   support our mitochondria  boost ATP enhance antioxidant capacity buffer and remove lactic acid speed recovery remove heavy metals (detoxify body) and possibly fight cancer* These superfoods also contain 18,000-24,000 I.U.s per serving of the little known antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) that is 3500X more powerful than Vitamin C.  Tune to learn more about the nutrient density of this powerhouse superfood, and how to get more of it into your diet. Catherine also advises us on the 7 questions we need to ask when choosing our green supplements, including the source, how was the cell wall cracked, how is it processed, how is it packaged - find out the rest (and why these matter) on the show.

The most polarizing topic in medicine, the OPP vaccine debate did not disappoint. We invited Yale Director of Public Health Dr. David Katz and the Paleo Cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson on to explore both sides of the vaccines conversation...what happened shocked me. Our debate quickly turned into a 1-sided conversation as Dr. Katz excused himself from the recording. As a health professional with a position likely funded by - and certainly supported by - the medical orthodoxy, I understand Dr. Katz’s reluctance to “pretend there is a legitimate debate” about the safety of vaccines.    However, the pro-vaccine contingency’s strategy to "ignore the debate so the public will think there isn’t one” is more of a red flag than they realize. I, like many others feel like - if there is nothing to hide, we should be able to have an open, honest, transparent discussion about the safety of the public.   Despite our loss of the pro-vaccine argument in this debate, I tried to present you an unbiased episode that is digging for answers. Admittedly, it’s hard to remain slant-free when one side is running TOWARD you with information and the other side is running AWAY from you.   It seems the more and deeper we dig, the more confusing and frustrating this topic gets.   This episode is packed with information and thought-provoking details… Among the anti-vaccine information in this episode is the story presented in the Vaxxed Documentary where a CDC whistle-blower and co-author (William Thompson) on the “vaccines not linked to autism” study claims they fraudulently manipulated the data to deliver the outcome desired by the CDC and Big Pharma. Tune in and let us know your thoughts.

Our guest on the OPP today is Eric Remensperger. Eric was diagnosed with inoperable Stage IV, metastatic Prostate Cancer - and survived. Instead of radiation or chemotherapy, Eric used oxygen, light, fasting, ketosis, sleep and functional foods to improve mitochondrial, cellular, and immune function to defeat his cancer. (Disclaimer: This is not medical advice.) This is the story of one cancer survivor - and his mission to share the information that saved his life. On this information-packed, inspiring episode of the OPP you’ll hear: Why Eric says we’re all "cancering" ←→ healing on a spectrum at all times and what this means for our immune system and odds of developing cancer (the noun/condition we know) How fasting induces autophagy and promotes a stronger immune system - helping Eric fight off his cancerous growths How Eric used oxygen therapy to reduce lactic acid, and clear metabolic waste from cancer cells to stop their proliferation Learn the single 30-day cycle of medicine Eric used in his treatment (and why) Why morning sunlight plays a crucial in optimal health and wellbeing Ketosis: nutritional vs. therapeutic and how it impacts cancer Why Oxidative stress is beneficial and how it plays into balancing our electron transport system A self-professed health nut BEFORE his diagnosis, learn the single biggest mistake that Eric says led to his development of cancer Why Eric ditched his daily 48-ingredient superfood shake when he was diagnosed with cancer - and what he’s doing instead Hear how Eric’s daily routine is designed today in an effort to keep him healthy, cancer-free, and thriving Thanks to Eric for sharing his story with us.