Biohacking is the New Extropianism

I have often wondered how humanity moves forward so quickly without any concern about how or why our bodies dwindle over time. This train of thought has led to a social movement that our species has never witnessed: biohacking. What is biohacking? Well, it is the modulation of the human body via methods like supplementation and exercise. So, for example, if you consume caffeine, you are actually biohacking.

Bryan Johnson

In my research, I have come across one person who epitomizes the state of biohacking better than anyone else: Bryan Johnson. He's a now-famous tech mogul who sold Venmo's parent company, Braintree, to PayPal in 2013, making hundreds of millions of dollars as a result. Now, he is leading a biohacking movement, which can best be described through its slogan, "Don't Die."

Johnson, a former Mormon, has transitioned to a secular worldview that emphasizes a scientific approach to understanding the world. I share his appreciation for the scientific method, which shows that consciousness is linked to brain activity.

As to the question of what happens after death, there is a simple answer to this too found in biology: we return to how we were before birth, which is a state of non-existence. I wish it wasn't this way, but it is the way our bodies work. These happen to be the factors driving Johnson in his quest to defeat death. His famous Blueprint Protocol, which involves a strict bedtime, diet, exercise and supplement routine, is not for most, but you can still take in aspects of it to form your own protocol.

Nick Szabo and extropy

There is someone else with whom I share many similarities: Nick Szabo, the creator of Bitcoin's predecessor, Bit gold, and the famous coding concept, smart contracts.

Mr. Szabo's famous interest in extropy is what led him to become more involved in the cypherpunk movement with other famous computer scientists like Hal Finney and Wei Dai. Personally, I see biohacking as a nascent form of the extropian movement in some respects.

The reason is that many people involved in the biohacking scene seem to be libertarians like myself. This makes sense, since someone who biohacks in their free time likely doesn't place too much trust in doctors to take care of their health. But also, correcting the damage associated with aging is a goal of extropianism, since it involves (often complex) methods to extend one's life.

This line of thought also matches Bitcoin, since the whole point is to minimize trust in third parties.

The human body is incredible

An example of a biohack is supplementing with a combination of the amino acids glycine and n-acetyl cysteine (NAC) to form the endogenous antioxidant glutathione. What is glutathione? It is a vastly important tripeptide made by our bodies that scavenges free radicals and protects organs from damage that accumulates over time.

ER doctors are instructed to administer NAC intravenously to patients with acetaminophen (Tylenol) poisoning to rapidly build glutathione so that it binds to the toxin, thereby preventing liver failure. As it turns out, glutathione declines rapidly with age and is vital to maintaining the homeostasis of the body due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Indeed, as we age, the level of cellular damage builds up significantly over time, which, when combined with the natural decline in glutathione, contributes strongly to bodily deterioration. Extensive research has been conducted into NAC and glycine, which has resulted in a reversal of aging markers in vitro and, more importantly, in vivo. Animal studies conducted on glyNAC supplementation show a consistent, drastic improvement in aging hallmarks such as genomic instability and deregulated nutrient sensing.

These remarkable effects have been confirmed in a well-designed randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in humans. Crucially, there are numerous other important endogenous molecules like glutathione that decline with age, including carnosine, creatine, etc., making supplementation vital. Luckily, these molecules and their precursors (beta alanine for carnosine, etc.) are readily available from lab-tested supplement companies like Solgar.

The future of medicine

A key problem with "regular" physicians is that their education, while quite impressive, is often rooted in dogmatism. In other words, they are very good at diagnosing conditions and prescribing drugs, but any form of medicine that's not part of their formal education is sometimes seen as extreme or even pseudoscientific in their eyes. Biohacking, when done correctly, is not any of those things, as there is sound research being conducted into safe molecules like glycine and NAC.

Now, none of this is to say that you should just stop seeing your primary care physician and hop onto the biohacking train completely. You should still have a doctor that oversees your care, but I recommend consulting a doctor with a strong understanding of supplements and exercise, such as Mark Hyman. The reason being, if you were to tell a "normal" doctor about NAC and glycine, which have clinical evidence confirming their effects, they would still look at you like you are an alien.

However, I think it is only a matter of time until medicine (like nanotechnology) improves to the point where a doctor is no longer needed. The overall point here is that when you're not rooted in dogmatism and continuously research the human body, you can achieve great things that were otherwise not thought to be possible. In my eyes, biohacking is the newest and hottest form of extropianism that will unleash a vast increase in research on longevity.