Supriya Bhattarai

She is a Clinical and sports nutritionist and a strong advocate for ‘moderate eating’. She is the co-founder of Mitahara, an enterprise that aims to change eating habits in the country by promoting sustainable and healthy food choices. She holds an MSc in Clinical Nutrition from Symbiosis International University with specialization in sports. She has worked as a Clinical nutritionist at HAMS hospital and Arogin care home for about two years. Supriya has keen interest in gut health, nutritional biodiversity, human behaviorism, and genetics. Supriya has had media appearances in NTV, BBC, News 24 and the good health podcast.

Biohacking or human enhancement, is a broad term that involves various lifestyle improvements. Essentially, it involves intentional changes to one’s lifestyle, environment, diet, and body to maximize physical, mental, and emotional health. For example, if you have experienced or seen any of your friends/ family, or colleagues plunge themselves in ice-cold water or have heard them talk about taking a cold shower, they are engaging in biohacking practices. One significant way to bio-hack your system is by changing the way you eat or making conscious, healthier nutrition choices.

Nutritional Biohacking
Nutritional Biohacking uses targeted nutrition strategies to enhance physical and cognitive performance. The major difference between nutritional biohacking of traditional nutrition is that nutritional biohacking majorly focuses on energy, sleep, and ageing. Nutritional Biohacking is more preventive in nature than therapeutic. Bio hackers range from high-performance athletes to everyday individuals looking to upgrade their daily habits. What unites all of these individuals is their proactive mindset- rather than waiting for something to go wrong with their body, they use food and their lifestyle habits to optimize their biology and thereby reduce the risk of disease.

Key principles of Biohacking
1. Personalization: One of the key principles of biohacking is personalization, which involves tailoring the nutrition and lifestyle hacks according to one’s own needs. Bio hackers usually undergo DNA testing, microbiome analysis to customize their diet accordingly. For example, a person might benefit from doing a 16-hour fast, experiencing better energy and focus, while the same can cause gastritis and fatigue to other people. In the context of Nepal, where these tests are not common, choosing science-backed nutrition hacks and experimenting with our own’ s body can provide a more personalized approach to Biohacking.
2. Gut health centric approach: A diversified gut is central for one’s energy, mood, and immunity. Hence, adding probiotics such as tama, gundruk, curd, kombucha, kanji, as well as prebiotics- oats, barley, banana, asparagus is crucial to maintain one’s gut health.
3. Focus on meal timings: The timings of eating specific food also matter to optimize energy and focus. For example, opting for a savory breakfast instead of a sugary one. Eating dessert right after a meal or waiting a few hours after waking up to drink coffee, all of these can regulate energy levels throughout the day.
4. Smart supplementation: Bio hackers often use supplements to fill in nutritional gaps. Commonly used supplements are Vitamin D for immunity, mood, and hormones, magnesium for better sleep and relaxation, herbal supplements like ashwagandha for managing stress, and shilajit for better energy and overall vitality, etc.

By following these key principles of biohacking, individuals can take a more personalized, scientific approach to optimizing their health and well-being. Along with these principles, here are some of the common nutritional bio hacks that you can experiment with.
1. Intermittent fasting: It refers to limiting the eating window to a certain period. Intermittent fasting can initiate autophagy, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase mitochondrial efficiency. To get the most out of it, fast for 18 hours and limit your eating window to 6 hours.
2. Omega-3 fatty acids for brain health and to reduce inflammation: Both EPA and DHA can support brain function and reduce systemic inflammation. If you prefer to add omega-3 naturally without supplements, you can add flax seeds, walnuts, chia seeds, and trout fish in your daily diet.
3. Eating/supplementing magnesium for sleep and stress – To naturally increase your magnesium intake, you might consider incorporating more magnesium-rich foods like rayo saag (mustard greens), buckwheat, kodo (millet), flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and soy-based products into your daily diet.
4. Nitrate-Rich Foods for Performance/blood pressure: Natural dietary nitrates convert to nitric oxide. The foods like beetroot, spinach, and pomegranate improve blood flow and mitochondrial function which thereby increase performance and reduce blood pressure.
5. Meal timing to optimize energy: Having a savory high-protein breakfast can regulate blood sugar, reduce craving, and give a constant energy throughout the day. Eating early dinner promotes fat metabolism and better sleep by allowing insulin to drop and melatonin to rise. Waiting a few hours to drink coffee can help spike the cortisol, resulting in more stable energy. Together, these mealtime habits enhance metabolic health, hormonal balance, and provide sustained energy.

Apart from these nutritional bio hacks, there are some evidence-based lifestyle hacks that can optimize energy and well-being. These are:
1. Morning Sunlight Exposure: Get 10–20 minutes of natural light or sunlight after waking up. If possible, try to be exposed to sunlight at the same time of day. For example, if you are out in the sun at 8:00 am in the morning, go out in the sun at the same time the very next day, and so on. This regulates your circadian rhythm, boosts mood, and helps with better sleep.
2. Post-Meal Walks: Walking 5- 10 minutes after a heavy meal helps in controlling blood sugar, better digestion, and reduces bloating.
3. Breath work: Heart rate variability breathing, box breathing, at least for 5- 10 minutes a day, lowers cortisol, improves focus, and maintains emotional well-being.
4. Screen-Free Hour before Bed: Avoiding screens and blue light before sleep increases melatonin production, leading to deeper and more restorative sleep.
5. Cold Showers or Face Dunks: Short bursts of cold exposure, such as cold showers or cold plunges, activate the vagus nerve, thereby reducing inflammation and increasing alertness. Remember it used to be a norm in our part of the world that the elders used to take morning cold showers and we simply chose to ditch the practice in favour of luke warm showers just because it is easy and possible.

Biohacking, though a relatively new concept, is gaining momentum as a powerful approach to enhance personal well-being. By embracing its key principles, individuals can create a more personalized approach to their health. While the science behind Biohacking continues to evolve, experimenting with these hacks and experiencing their benefits can empower you to take charge of your health and thrive for years to come.