Talk About… BIOHACKING to Boost Your Immunity!

This week, I have a highly relevant ?podcast that I’m excited to share with you: BIOHACKING TIPS TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY with Biohacker Oksana Andreiuk.

I met Oksana Andreiuk a few weeks ago at a networking event. Yes, a networking event. I took the advice that Sharon Mah-Gin shared with us in the NETWORKING episode ?and amongst other things, I met Oksana Andreiuk!

The conference theme was “The Future of Food.” For one of the sessions, there were four panelists on stage, including biohacker Oksana Andreiuk. I was impressed. So I approached Oksana afterwards, introduced myself, and started asking her questions. Turns out she has degrees in genetics and biotechnology, and she hopes to live to be 150! I asked her if I could interview her for a future Talk About Talk podcast episode.

A few days later, the world changed.

So I reached out to Oksana again, and I asked, “Hey, can we do this interview – like NOW? And can we focus to how to boost your immunity?” It took less than 24 hours for us to schedule and record the interview via Skype. Oksana is so gracious!

And here we are.

Let’s do this!

?The PODCAST:

BIOHACKING TIPS TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY

Let me introduce you to Oksana Andreiuk (@CanadianBiohacker), a biotechnology scientist, biohacking consultant and speaker. She is the founder of Canadian Biohacker and Toronto’s first and largest biohacking meetup group with a mission of bringing biohacking and anti-aging science to the mainstream. Oksana earned her HonsBSc in genetics and biotechnology and Master of Biotechnology from the University of Toronto. Impressive, right?

Oksana Andreiuk, M.Biotech

The first question I asked Oksana: What is BIOHACKING?

“…People think, are you inserting chips into your body? Or it sounds scary or very technical. But it’s not at all. A biohacker is anyone who’s trying to optimize their mental and physical health performance. Biohacking is a term can be defined as the art and science of modifying your internal and external environments to take better control of your own biology. And what I find exciting is that we now have the technology available to us and all the tools to quantify and monitor our biomarkers. But at the at the root of it, biohacking is really getting the fundamentals right and optimizing how you feel every day.”

This sounds like something that can help us NOW more than ever, right?

Oksana Andreiuk

Here’s the good stuff. ?Oksana shares biohacks related to six things that can help boost your immunity:

Sleep
Nutrition & Supplements
Exercise

Manage Your Stress
Take a Cold Shower
Try Intermittent Fasting

As you will hear In the podcast, Oksana shares specific details related to all six of these areas.
I also want to share with you the printable SHOWNOTES, which include:

details for each of the 6 items listed above
specific supplements that Oksana suggests if you are deficient (or if you’re trying to boost your immunity!)
references and links
the interview transcript

Here is a direct link to the Shownotes.
You’re welcome. ?

THANK YOU OKSANA!

? Enjoy the podcast!

Wait WHAT? A COLD Shower?!?

image Unsplash @takemeout

In the podcast interview, Oksana suggests that we try taking a COLD SHOWER. Apparently a COLD SHOWER is a great way to boost your immunity. (Had you heard that? I had no idea.)

Oksana said that cold showers activate our “brown adipose tissue”or BAT. I was curious about this, so I looked it up and found lots and lots and lots of research! Net-net, we can activate our BAT through cold exposure (e.g. a cold shower), which helps with insulin levels, bone health, cardiovascular health, boost your immunity, weight loss, and longevity!

But cold showers sound so unpleasant, right ? According to Oksana, we don’t have to jump right in…

image Unsplash @yann_allegre

We can make cold showers less unpleasant by building up our tolerance day by day:

If you typically take a hot shower, then each day, try decreasing the temperature little-by-little. Suddenly one day, it’s cold!
Try a cold shower after a workout.
You don’t have to stick your head under freezing cold water! Start with your feet and then work your way up our body.
After the shower, recalibrate (or warm your body up) naturally.

?Are you going to give it a try? ?

COMMUNICATION as a Biohack?

It occurred to me that this “biohacks to boost your immunity” topic is slightly off-topic for Talk About Talk. But I hope you agree this podcast episode is incredibly relevant and helpful given the COVID-19 epidemic. I also hope you noted our discussion about the significance of mental health and maintaining SOCIAL INTERACTION in this socially isolated time!

I hope you are surviving, and perhaps even THRIVING, in this physically distant world. And I hope you are maintaining your social connections. It takes someproactivity, creativity and discipline, doesn’t it? SOCIAL INTERACTION positively impacts our mental and physical health. In this time of social distancing, we need to be creative and proactive about maintaining social contact.

Here are a few suggestions from Talk About Talk:

⓵ For starters, you can reduce stress with online social contact. Try a video conference call with a friend!

⓶ Here’s the LinkedIn article I wrote last week focused on optimizing your communication through video conferencing:

⓷ We would love to have you join us in the Talk About Talk private FB group, where we’re focusing on “THRIVING at a Social Distance.” Join us as we talk about communication challenges, “social distancing vs. physical distancing,” and sharing positive news in this socially isolated time.

Come join us on FB!

Until next week – I hope something in this podcast helps you boost your immunity. I hope you manage to stay positive, stay social (at a physical distance!) and stay HEALTHY.