By Jason Croxford

Sure, you can take probiotics, digestive enzymes, and other supplements to support digestion, but you should also get familiar with natural, easy-to-afford foods that support digestion

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #1: USE NATURAL FOOD TO SUPPORT DIGESTION

Sure, you can take probiotics, digestive enzymes, and other supplements to support digestion, but you should also get familiar with natural, easy-to-afford foods that support digestion, including:

  • Fresh carrot juice (supports intestinal mucous membranes)
  • Celery juice (promotes intestinal movements and alleviates constipation)
  • Carminatives that reduce gas in the intestine: orange, fennel, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cilantro, caraway, licorice, oregano, parsley, peppermint oil, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, dill, thyme, garlic.
  • Bitters that stimulate the production of stomach acids and digestive enzymes: Jerusalem artichoke, Angelica sylvestris root, yellow gentian, Angelica archangelica root.
  • Other foods that support digestion: Aloe Vera, pineapple, chia seeds, chlorella, sauerkraut, currants, Iceland moss, cranberries, oats, papaya, lingonberries, rhubarb root, wheatgrass, Valeriana.

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #2: LOOK FOR AMINES

Food hypersensitivity can be caused by the histamine, tyramine or other “biogenic amines” present in the food (chocolate, red wine, tuna or fermented ingredients such as cheese). In some cases, food (for example tomato or pineapple) may release histamine in the body. This is referred to as Histamine Intolerance Syndrome (HIS). Individuals with HIS typically have a low level of diamine oxidase, an enzyme that metabolizes histamine in the system.

So, if you get headaches, brain fog, low energy or other issues, then you should review your diet for the following and experiment with eliminating any that happen to be major staples:

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #3: CAREFUL WITH FOIL

Tinfoil is used for stewing meat or fish on a grill or in an oven, Stewing in tinfoil reduces the formation of glycotoxins and HCAs, but the amount of aluminum released into the food is up to 6 times the amount considered a safe daily upper limit.

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #4: TRY SOUS VIDE

Once limited to the pros, sous vide (pronounced sue-veed) is a cooking technique that utilizes precise temperature control to deliver consistent, restaurant quality results. High-end restaurants have been using sous vide cooking for years to cook food the exact level of doneness desired, every time. The technique recently became popular for home cooks with the availability of affordable and easy to use sous vide precision cooking equipment.

Sous vide, which means “under vacuum” in French, refers to the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath. This technique produces a result that is impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. Plus, vacuum sealing good means that vitamins and minerals are not lost during the cooking process unlike boiling or steaming.

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #5: NUTRIENT DENSITY FOOD

Nutrient dense foods give you the most nutrients for the fewest amount of calories. In other words, nutrient-dense foods give you the “biggest bang for the buck”. You get lots of nutrients, and it doesn’t cost you much in terms of calories.

Nutrient density is the exact principle we used when we rated all of 127 foods found on the World’s Healthiest Foods website. They give you the most nutrients possible for the least amount of calories.

Eating nutrient dense foods like the World’s Healthiest Foods is one of the healthiest ways that anyone can eat. No principle is more likely to support healthy eating than the principle of nutrient density. Why is nutrient density so helpful? Because it gives you a concentrated amount of valuable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids, and phytonutrients, to name a few.

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #6: GO BEYOND STEAK

Unbalanced animal consumption can cause an amino acid imbalance in the body. Muscle tissue is rich in methionine, the excessive consumption of which has been found in animal tests to increase oxidative stress and to accelerate aging.

Muscle tissue is scant in glycine, an essential amino acid, but it’s plentiful in collagen-rich animal parts, like connective tissue, bone marrow, and skin. Some connective tissue containing glycine can also be found in minced meat. The potential harmful effects of high amounts of methionine could be offset by including more glycine in our diets.

BIOHACKING DIET LESSON #7: MAKE A BIOHACKERS MORNING DRINK

Get hydrated in the morning by squeezing the juice of half a lemon into approximately half a quart of water mixed with half a teaspoon of high-quality salt. Lemon juice supports the digestive system and acts as a diuretic, increasing the need to urinate and hence removing waste products that have accumulated in the body overnight. Salt helps the adrenal glands produce healthy levels of the hormone, cortisol, which is important for helping your body wake up in the morning.

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