BioHack Your Life with The 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel

BioHack Your Life with The 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel

By Omid Vojdani, Health and Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

A few years back, I had the experience of a lifetime when I visited the flagship Upgrade Labs, the brainchild of Bulletproof founder, Dave Asprey, and the world's first Biohacking Health and Fitness facility, in Santa Monica, CA.  Amanda McVey, the VP of Upgrade Labs, and her expert team there treated me to almost every ‘biohack’ they had at their disposal so I could have the full experience of being upgraded by the cutting edge tech they had. After almost 4 hours I left with a level of energy that I can only describe as feeling like superman, but also a paradigm shifting sense of what is possible in the realms of human performance and health.

Since that experience, I dove head first into the world of biohacking in an attempt to feel that level of bionic energy as my new normal. Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof, and a celebrity in the biohacking space, defines biohacking as “changing the environment outside of you and inside of you so you have full control of your biology, to allow you to upgrade your body, mind, and your life.” For example, most people know that when we get outside into nature and expose ourselves to healthy amounts of sunshine, we feel great and have replenished our vitamin D levels. Biohackers take that bit of knowledge and will use red light devices indoors to get all the same benefits (and then some) without having to leave the house. If I can get all the health benefits and save time and energy, I can use that savings for other things.

That is why I’m so excited about the 6th annual Biohacking Conference and Upgrade Experience that is taking place from April 5th through the 7th at the iconic Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. Being in the health and wellness space myself, I knew a lot of the science of what I was going to go through at Labs years ago, but as they say, “words don’t change people, experiences do.” This is a chance for up to 1,200 people to experience the upper levels of human performance, and redefine what they want ‘normal health’ to mean.

This year, CEO Martin Tobias says, “We’ve totally overhauled this experience, making it more intimate and more interactive for attendees. People will walk away feeling better, looking better, and empowered and informed to live better.” Attendees will be treated to an Upgrade Labs approved menu of food prepared by the head chef and staff of the Beverly Hills Hilton, and if you choose to stay at the Hilton itself, in-room biohacks tailored towards combating the wear and tear of travel will be available. I’m looking forward to using the breath-EZ again; a little device that mists structured water that we breathe in to help restructure our cells from the inside out.

The speakers this year include, of course, Dave Asprey (the father of biohacking), as well as Arianna Huffington, Jim Kwik, Paralympian Amy Purdy, Dr Joseph Mercola, and many more. I’m most impressed with the wide variety of speaker topics this year, ranging from stem cells to the power of human connection to meditation and even spiritual awakening. I’m personally looking forward to Naveen Jain giving his talk about what he and his team are learning over at his gut microbiome company Viome. They’ve been collecting samples for years now, and I’d love to see the trends they’re discovering between our health and our gut bacteria.

I’m also looking forward to the tech playground this year more than others. Previously, there were almost too many venders and toys to play with, and I was left with the homework of trying to figure out which red light therapy company I wanted to go with. This year, the Upgrade Labs team has hand selected the best of the best in each category to be present aiming to create a much more streamlined experience for attendees to play with. Be sure to find the ‘cheat machine’ if you want to feel what a weightlifting workout SHOULD feel like.

My 4 hour upgrade experience left my life changed for the better; from making my workouts much more efficient, to improving my meditation game, to even redirecting my attention from what I thought was knee pain to instead focus on my lower back and kidneys. I can’t even imagine the changes that I’ll be able to make with 3 whole days of immersive biohacking and the new tools I’ll learn from speakers at the top of their industries. More importantly, I’m looking forward to shattering the upper limits of what my health can be.

If you’re interested in going to the event, purchase your tickets soon at  https://xp.upgradelabs.com/page/1375153/register, as space is limited and filling up fast. If you can’t make it, I highly recommend making a visit to either of the Upgrade Labs locations and treating yourself to the upgrade experience.

Omid Vojdani is the founder of Succeed With Omid, a program of complete personalized mind body health specializing in wellness, injury rehab, and relationship management. For more information check out succeedwithomid.com

Hacking Your Health in 2018 with Bulletproof Labs

Hacking Your Health in 2018 with Bulletproof Labs

By Omid Vojdani

Health and Wellness Editor, Edible Skinny

Hello, and happy health to you all! I was lucky enough to be invited to Bulletproof Labs in Santa Monica, a ‘fitness facility’ dedicated to optimizing physical and cognitive performance through science. After spending four hours there, trying almost everything they had to offer, I realized that calling Bulletproof Labs a fitness facility is like calling Picasso a painter; technically it’s accurate, but really only scratches the surface of the level of artistic precision they are able to deliver to the body.

That precision all starts with comprehensive testing and setting a baseline for where you are when you arrive. From body composition analysis (body fat, intra and extracellular water, and even the amount of skeletal muscle mass), to looking under the hood with a NASA developed gut micro biome test, they can really see what modalities will be the most beneficial to moving the needle when it comes to optimizing your health.

From there, the knowledgeable staff can help custom tailor a program that delivers measurable results. Every piece of exercise equipment there tracks your performance from workout to workout to help show the dramatic progress along the way. After all, progress equals happiness!

The physical training equipment they have there is unlike anything you will ever find in your local gym. One piece of equipment delivers the equivalent results of a three and a half hour high intensity workout in only 21 minutes, and by combining cold and compression, avoids all the muscle soreness. They also had one machine that trains the bones themselves to gain more density to allow for more skeletal muscles to develop, and it was only a 20 second workout!

Any athlete will tell you that while the workouts are important, recovery is really the key to superhuman performance. I was able to try out something they called the Breath EZ. Specially treated water is misted into your face and this EZ (exclusion zone for you science nuts) water triggers a dramatic process of cellular repair and detox in just 15 minutes.

My absolute favorite experience there was also one of the simplest. By combining electronic pulses with electromagnets, this therapy bed was able to target inflammation that was trapped deep within my body to deliver pain relief that rivaled 2 years of going to a chiropractor all in just 15 minutes.

This small list of modalities only scratches the surface of what they have to offer. But this is one of those examples of feeling is believing; even for me, a health nut and self proclaimed biohacker, I left still feeling like I didn’t even know I could feel so good!

To wrap up, in my opinion, Bulletproof Labs is at the forefront of a new wave of healthcare. Millions of people invest time and money every day going to doctor’s appointments and gyms across America to go from dying to surviving. It’s time to visit Bulletproof Labs to go from just surviving to thriving!

For a more complete look into what the facility has to offer, visit http://bulletprooflabs.com/

Omid Vojdani is the founder of Succeed With Omid, a program of complete personalized mind body health specializing in wellness, injury rehab, and relationship management. For more information check out succeedwithomid.com

Biohacking Life at the Bulletproof Coffee Shop and Café

Edible Skinny was lucky enough to attend the grand opening of the flagship Bulletproof Coffee Shop and Café in Santa Monica last week.  Biohacker, best selling author (The Bulletproof Diet), and Bulletproof Coffee creator Dave Asprey was on hand to marshal in the brand’s first brick and mortar!

Some call Bulletproof’s butter coffee lifestyle a cult, others the perfect solution for taking control of their life.  Asprey chose Los Angeles as the first location for his coffee shop based on readership of his Bulletproof blog.  Actor Brandon Routh, Late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Actress Shailene Woodley, and Music Producer Rick Rubin all follow Asprey’s Biohacking lifestyle.  Believers states this high-fat diet can lead to weight loss, an extra energy boost, avoiding that pesky afternoon crash, and keeping yourself mentally focused. 

The apex of techie coffee creations (Bulletproof’s drinks will be served in glass beakers), will use only butter from grass-fed, pastured cows (like Kerrygold), Brain Octane MCT oil, and single-origin, organic coffee that's grown, harvested and stored so as to be pesticide and toxin free, and less likely to cause inflammation in the body (like the Paleo diet any food that creates inflammation is a BIG no no).

 

The cafe will use a digitally controlled brewing system with metal filters that resemble the pour-over or French Press method, and a computer will precisely measure temperature, time, and pressure.  The baristas will be known as “coffee hackers.”

Since Bulletproof Coffee is meant to be a meal replacement, the cafe won’t serve breakfast, but options from its lunch and dinner menu were tray passed during the opening.  There were many carnivore delights (including the exotic lamb’s broth… but not for this Veg).   I mostly stuck to the dessert bar, which included Coconut Cream Semi Freddo and Chocolate Pudding with Coconut Whipped Cream and Raspberries.  Lots of sweetness and still Bulletproof friendly!

 

So if you’ve ever thought about jumping into the world of butter coffee, your chance to Biohack your morning Joe has just arrived!

The Bulletproof Coffee cafe and shop is opening soon (the date was unsure) at 3110 Main St. in Santa Monica, with hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.