Recently, Gerontologist and biohacker Zora Benhamou, who is challenging the stigma around aging and menopause, proving that with the right tools, this transition can be empowering. In this episode, we discussed about breaking down the essentials of biohacking from foundational health practices to advanced techniques. We dive into the science behind perimenopause, common symptoms, and why women need to be proactive about their thyroid and hormone health., and more. If you would prefer to listen to the interview you can access it by Clicking Here [1].
Dr. Eric Osansky:
I am excited to talk to Zora Benhamou about biohacking your hormones. Really going to be exciting. I’m excited for this conversation. Let me dive into Zora’s short but sweet bio here.
Zora Benhamou is a gerontologist and biohacker dedicated to challenging menopause stigma and ageist stereotypes. As the dynamic host of the Hack My Age podcast, she focuses on empowering women navigating the menopausal transition through biohacking techniques. Welcome, Zora.
Zora Benhamou:
Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to get to talk about menopause to a man and your audience.
Dr. Eric:
Most of my audience consists of women. Many of them are in menopause and perimenopause. I’m sure they’ll find it exciting. Those who are not yet in menopause, they will get there. This will pertain to pretty much all women. If there are any men listening, I’m sure there will be some bits and pieces they can also find valuable. Regardless of whether you are a man or woman, stay tuned. This will be a great conversation.
You have your own podcast as well. As you know, it’s nice to get some background of the person when you’re starting this. How did you start helping women with menopause, perimenopause? How did you become a biohacker?
Zora:
It’s been a journey. I’m originally from LA. We say it’s in your LA DNA to be in your health and wellness, living that life. When my mother died of breast cancer when she was only 57, I was interested in health and wellness, and I didn’t want to die young. I took my education to the next level.
I got first into nutrition health coaching. Then I realized it’s not just about nutrition here. We want to live longer and better; there’s so much more to this.
I found the biohacking community thanks to the internet and social media. I thought, this is brilliant because biohacking, if anybody doesn’t know what this is, is health optimization. It’s actually getting your health into an optimal state, not just a normal state, which we know in general, normal is sick. Normal is different medications and health issues. We want to look beyond that.
When you talk about biohacking, you’re often referring to a biohacker, someone who is interested in this space. The difference between a health enthusiast and a biohacker is we like to test, measure, and assess. We like data. We like to see what is working with us. We like to look at research and understand it and see what is happening in the populations that are being tested.
We understand we are all bioindividual. We may all react completely differently to the same treatment or the same diet or the same supplement. That really intrigued me. I understood that already through my health coaching. I could see women and men were reacting differently. I thought, okay, let’s learn more about this.
When I think about biohacking, some people may go, “Oh, I’ve heard of that. It’s people wearing gadgets and doing these crazy things.” You think of Brian Johnson spending $2 million. At least in my dictionary, it’s not that.
If you look at biohacking as a pyramid, the base of the pyramid is all the things that we know we should be doing in terms of getting our nutrition right, movement, exercise, stress management, sleep optimization, community, purpose in life, etc. These things we know. That’s biohacking. Taking some kind of external factor and changing our internal state.
You have the middle and the top tiers. The middle, you don’t need a doctor for. You can experiment with some supplements. Maybe ice bathing, red-light therapies, some cool gadgets.
The top tier of the pyramid is something you probably need a doctor for. Hormone therapy or platelet-rich plasma injections or regenerative medicine.
A lot of people think of biohacking as the top tier and the middle tier, but it’s the bottom tier that is so foundational. The top two tiers don’t work or don’t work as well if we don’t have the foundation in place. Biohacking mixes a little bit of the science and technology with ancestral wisdom. That’s what I love about it. It’s nice to have these choices. Then we know
When I started in the biohacking world, I would have loved to get a master’s degree in biohacking, but it doesn’t exist. I found gerontology. I was interested in studying aging and longevity. This is fascinating obviously. I’m now 54. When I was looking into this, I was in my late 40s/early 50s. I got a master’s in gerontology because I thought, well, this is much more than just nutrition or exercise. It was looking at the whole life course from birth until death and how to understand what is aging us, why people get diseases, and why people don’t. We looked at the ACE score, Adverse Childhood Experiences. We can understand how that might affect a disease later. It was fascinating. I am really happy I chose that path as well.
I always have to explain what gerontology is and what biohacking is. I’m glad to be exposing this more. I think the two combined are absolutely fabulous. That’s the end of my journey, going into this space.
Dr. Eric:
I appreciate that explanation, the definitions. When I think of biohacking, honestly, I am thinking about using gadgets to improve your health. I’m glad you spoke about the importance of the foundations. Without question, I agree with you. There are plenty of gadgets, new technology that’s been around. I like red light. I like sauna. I can’t say I’ve done cold plunges yet. I do cold showers; I haven’t been brave enough to do cold plunges. Like you said, if you’re not incorporating the foundations—diet, sleep, stress management—you can use all the gadgets you want, but you won’t optimize your health.
Zora:
Sometimes, we use these gadgets to sleep better or manage our stress. They can go hand in hand. It’s that we need to get the foundation as best as we can for free. There are things we can do for free. Then add on.
I’ve met women and men who are doing everything right in that foundation, and they need a little nudge to get to the next level, wherever it is they want to be.
Dr. Eric:
Let’s talk about signs and symptoms when it comes to perimenopause and menopause. For a woman who is not yet there, what are some of the symptoms they should be looking at? Surely you’ll agree with what I’m about to say. Sometimes, the symptoms are common but not necessarily normal. If you could also expand on that as well.
Zora:
Yeah. To give a little background into how I got into the menopause space. The podcast I had was about biohacking for women over 50. I got so much feedback on “We want to talk about hormones. We want to talk to doctors. We want to know more about menopause and HRT.” It was my audience who threw me into this. Of course, I was interested because I was going through it myself.
I went onto the Institute for Bioidentical Medicine and went through their program. So much knowledge to share. That’s what I’ve been doing on social media and through the podcast.
A lot of women have no idea what menopause really is. When we ask them, it’s “Your period stops, and you may get some hot flashes.” To be honest, I was one of those. I didn’t know much when I was in my 40s, and I wish I did. I never heard of the word “perimenopause.”
To give some background, in general, menopause is when your ovaries are shutting down. Your major sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, all start to decline. The baby-making factory is shutting down, and that’s okay. No matter how healthy you are, no matter what you do, you will go through menopause. You are lucky to get to go there. You made it to a certain age. Bravo, that’s already awesome.
The average age when this happens in North America is 51. In Asia, it’s 48. It can happen younger. Sometimes, a bit older. Generally, 12 consecutive months without your period, that’s when you’re diagnosed with menopause. It’s a one-day event. It’s your birthday. Everything after that is post-menopause. When we use the word “menopause,” it’s an all-encompassing word. We may say it’s the whole perimenopausal experience. It may be a symptom.
Menopause is technically this experience, but it’s so much more than that. I look at it as a rebirth, an opportunity to make change, to transform yourself. So many amazing things happen in menopause, but we are not paying attention to that. That is where I am trying to disrupt these stereotypes.
We have perimenopause, too. It happens on average around five years before your menopause birthday. It can very much happen 10 years before that as well. It’s not totally unusual. If you’re in your 50s with your menopause, then in your 40s, you’re starting to have these signs and symptoms. Then there are three different stages of perimenopause: the early, the mid, and the late. This is gradual entrance into menopause.
On average, it’s in your mid-30s when you start to lose your hormone called progesterone. This is your calming and relaxing hormone. It balances out estrogen. When you start to lose this hormone, you may notice your periods are not exactly the same. Maybe they’re shorter. Maybe you’re having more space in between them.
But you’re also maybe feeling a little bit more anxious. You’re maybe worried. Maybe you wake up in the middle of the night, if you weren’t before. Of course, you could be waking up in the middle of the night for many things. Mid-30s, late 30s, early 40s, if you are having some of these signs and symptoms, maybe it’s perimenopause. It’s a possibility.
Too often, we may go to the doctor and say, “We’re feeling anxious and stressed, and we are not sure what to do. I can’t sleep.” Very commonly, a doctor would give a sleep medication and an antidepressant. In fact, maybe if it were hormones, maybe a little bit of progesterone cream would do the trick. Topping up what you’re starting to lose. Without the side effects of drugs. Not that hormones don’t have any side effects. of course, things can happen. Compared to a drug, definitely not.
We are talking about bioidentical hormones here. The structure of the hormone is exactly like the one your own body was producing for decades. It’s something to look at.
Other things women may see and feel that are common would be a hot flash, night sweats, or kicking off the sheets at night when your partner is perfectly fine or maybe even cold. You may have some mood swings. Maybe you’re more snappy than you used to be, and you’re not really sure why. You have some thinning hair. Maybe your skin is starting to dry. Vaginal dryness.
There are 103 symptoms, so I’m not going to name them all. Those are the top ones that most women are seeing and feeling.
Fatigue is one of the biggest ones. “I’m just aging.” No. Being tired in your 40s and 50s once in a while is fine, but if you are constantly tired and struggling to get out of bed, it’s not normal. It’s common, but it’s not normal. As you pointed out, there is a big difference there. We don’t need to have these symptoms and deal with this. We have a spectrum.
Not to scare any women either. We have a spectrum when it comes to the symptoms. We have women who have every single symptom under the sun. It’s very strong, and they’re really suffering. Other women feel zero, nothing at all. That’s about 20% more or less of women.
Just because you don’t feel anything doesn’t mean you’re not going into menopause, or nothing’s happening under the hood. I always worry about the asymptomatic women because of things she is not feeling.
Dr. Eric:
Good and bad. We don’t want our patients/clients to suffer and experience a lot of symptoms. The symptoms will give clues. As an analogy, there is Celiac, but also silent Celiac. Silent Celiac sounds good. “I can eat gluten, and I’ll feel good.” It doesn’t mean the autoimmune process isn’t still there and still causing damage to the intestinal barrier. It’s a different situation here. Sometimes, symptoms can be a good thing.
Before someone is on HRT, including yourself, for the first time, did you initially do some testing through the blood? I think I did hear in an interview you have done the DUTCH test as well, correct?
Zora:
When I first started exploring this, it will depend on what doctor you have. I wanted to know where my hormones were. I was 50, and I said, “I feel okay, but maybe my hormones are gone. I don’t know.”
I checked through the DUTCH test. I didn’t even do the blood testing because my doctor at the time said, “Let’s just do the DUTCH.” I could see that my hormones were gone. As if I were post-menopausal, but I was still having a bleed and regular cycles. No problem at all. We saw also the different pathways that my estrogen was converting into, which was fascinating. Considering my mother died of breast cancer, I wanted to make sure I was going down healthy pathways. I wasn’t even on hormones yet. It’s just my own hormones. How are my own hormones processing?
The dried urine test comprehensive hormones, which is what DUTCH is, looks at the metabolites and so many other markers. You need a doctor to interpret this or someone who is practiced in interpreting the DUTCH test. That’s when I realized I want to have a smooth transition. I decided through my research that for me, it was probably a better thing to do.
Hormone therapy is very personal. Women need to talk with their doctors about the risks versus benefits of taking hormones as well as the risks versus benefits of not taking hormones. Everyone is bioindividual, and they have to have their own assessment.
I highly encourage women to learn more about hormones and their own hormones that are happening, not just their sex hormones or thyroid hormone, but also hormone therapy. What does it mean today, bioidentical, versus what we heard about in the past? It’s very different. It can be life-changing. I have seen so many women have their lives changed, especially the ones who are suffering big-time, and they get their life back, thanks to the proper hormone therapy that has been given to them. I can’t help but be a fan right now.
I always think women are very confused because they’ll hear me, and they’ll hear somebody else, and they’ll hear their doctor and their girlfriend, who all say different things. There is a lot of conflicting information right now. We’re still in that wild west phase, where there are all kinds of formulas out there. You have to decide what you’re going to do.
It’s your choice, but I personally don’t have time for the tons of research that is going to happen for my daughter when she gets to this age. I’m going to make a decision now. That’s why I decided I’m going to go on this because I know what happens if you don’t.
Most women are not on hormones, and we know the risk of Alzheimer’s, dementia, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease increases with age. If we don’t have our hormones, what’s going to happen? If I top up my hormones and try to be the best version of myself and top off all the foundation we’re doing? I always say you can’t outhormone a bad diet and lifestyle.
You may hear, “Estrogen is protective. Progesterone is protective.” I try to correct this terminology because you may get this impression that “I’ve taken this, and I’m good, and I don’t need to do anything.” It lowers your risk of certain diseases; it doesn’t protect you. You can’t just do whatever you want. Keep in mind, with a grain of salt, it may lower a risk if you are on hormone therapy versus not.
Dr. Eric:
In your opinion, should all women in perimenopause and especially menopause be on bioidentical hormones?
Zora:
No, I don’t think it’s for everybody. It’s such a personal choice. There are women who I have spoken to who are so afraid of hormones and have been so ingrained without really understanding them, that they have this fear. I wouldn’t want them to be taking hormones because they will be rubbing this cream, thinking, “Is this going to give me cancer?” Better not to go there.
We know that hormone therapy and estrogen does not cause cancer. It’s multifactorial. But if you have this in your head, I just don’t feel right for pushing women into this. She has to be convinced to do that.
Of course, everyone is different. Weigh the benefits versus the drawbacks. Most women can. I think most women can. Whether they should or shouldn’t is up to them. They have to be 100% convinced that this is going to be great for them.
If something happens, and they’re not convinced, they will blame the hormones. We know cancer started 10 years ago or some disease started years and years ago, not the week that you started hormone therapy. That will get the blame. Most women are perfect candidates for it; it’s up to them to make that decision.
Dr. Eric:
I do recommend educating yourself, which obviously is the purpose of conversations like these.
I will admit years ago, I wasn’t a big fan of bioidentical hormones. I would say, “Let’s optimize adrenals,” which still is important. You need healthy adrenals to have healthy sex hormones. I still say that. Sometimes, that’s not enough.
I’m in my 50s. We’re the same age; I’m 54 as well. My wife just turned 50, and she is still cycling. Again, she is at that age where she is going to have to make that decision pretty soon. Do I want to take bioidentical hormones? Like I said, five years ago, I would say absolutely not, let’s just do everything else to incorporate the foundations and make sure you have healthy adrenals and a healthy gut, which is all important still.
Now, after having a lot of different conversations with people like you on the podcast, I really have opened my mind and am not opposed to it. Even in my situation, I would never have thought about taking testosterone. I am not taking testosterone now, but I am not opposed to it. I thought about if I should be taking it. With my wife, we have had that conversation.
Zora:
When you think about so many women I have worked with, and you tell them, “Get to bed early. Get good sleep. You will wake up and go to the gym, and then you will make yourself a healthy meal.” If they’re having hot flashes, and they’re stressed out, and waking up with a racing mind, and can’t get a good night’s sleep, it’s so much harder to get to the gym and do the right thing and cook the healthy meal. Sometimes, they just need this to get started.
There are some doctors I’ve met who say, “Nope, I will not give a woman hormones until she gets that foundation right. She has to be getting all of that,” and then she has to be detoxifying these hormones as well. At the same time, the poor woman is trying her best.
I personally like to do them both hand in hand. It just makes things so much easier. Again, don’t just ignore the foundation just because you’re feeling so good. Hormones are pretty powerful. You feel really good. if you get it right. Especially if you get it lucky to get it right the first time because so often, it’s about tweaking, a little more of this and less of that, until you find that right formula, the dosage, the one that is absorbing the best.
I encourage women not to give up the first time. Only 25% of women get it spot on the first time. 75%, the rest of us, we have to keep tweaking. That’s where you get discouraged. You feel worse or are gaining weight. You didn’t get it right yet. Give it a chance. But it is a great tool when you are trying to get some of that foundation at the same time.
Dr. Eric:
Can you share your thoughts on thyroid hormone? You also have some personal experience with that.
Zora:
I’m learning a lot from you, too. I’ve had some great guests as well, and I’m excited to have you on the podcast to share more information.
Yes, thyroid is a big one. The symptoms can cross over like menopause symptoms. Thinning hair could be thyroid. So could gaining weight. Thyroid is controlling metabolism, and so many other things. I’ve interviewed some people who say thyroid is the master hormone. Let’s figure out thyroid first before we get you on estrogen and progesterone. That is another strategy.
We need to optimize our thyroid. I have to say so many women in our community have thyroid issues. They’ve never had one before. What’s going on? Why when we lose our hormones does our thyroid get all wonky? Hormones are all interconnected. They influence one another. You can’t just put one in isolation. You have to look at the cascade of things that happen.
My personal story with thyroid is I was getting A+ at the doctor’s office until my mid-40s. I was fabulous. Until my thyroid was getting- It was only a functional medicine doctor who noticed this because traditional doctors said it was great. My cholesterol was creeping up. I never had cholesterol problems. My doctor said, “Oh, I need to give you statins, but I know you. It just feels so wrong.” It is. Why are you proposing this to me? But something was off.
We know thyroid and cholesterol go hand in hand. Traditional doctors unfortunately didn’t know this. It took me years before I go through some functional medicine doctors to explain this to me. Very often, we see women with thyroid and cholesterol issues during this menopause transition.
With my own personal experience, I could see my thyroid creeping out of the optimal levels. For a while, I was still normal. I was scared of a thyroid hormone. Thyroid medicine? I don’t know. I was afraid.
One day, I said, “Look, I think I better do something about it” because I started educating myself. Just because you don’t feel anything. I was asymptomatic. I wasn’t gaining weight. I looked fabulous. I was sleeping okay. I wasn’t having hair thinning. I wasn’t having any of the traditional thyroid symptoms. That’s also why I was like, eh, not needing this.
One day, I decided to optimize this because I didn’t want to fall off the cliff one day, thinking I should have taken care of my thyroid. I started with L-thyroxine, T4. I didn’t feel anything.
One day, I started waking up with heart palpitations in the middle of the night. I didn’t make the connection until three months later. I couldn’t reach my doctor who’d prescribed this to me. I finally spoke with somebody else who suggested I cut it in half. I was taking it every other day. Then the palpitations went away.
I’m a nomad, so I’m seeing doctors all over the world, and then interviewing people all the time. The next advice I got, I was in Thailand, and a doctor at this time said, “Why don’t you try desiccated pig thyroid?” In Thailand, you can get that stuff. Probably better. So I did. I watched my numbers get into an optimal zone. Again, I feel nothing.
Then I get to Spain, and I have a doctor here, where I am right now. I had to find someone to stick with. He said, “This is illegal in Spain. We can’t have you on desiccated pig thyroid.” He is a naturopath and anti-aging medicine doctor. He says, “We’re going to try this supplement.” It’s not going to work. Come on, it’s not even medication.
After two months, he tested me, and my thyroid is getting closer to the optimal level. My cholesterol was coming down. I thought it was so bizarre. There were two ingredients in there. I can’t remember exactly what they were. Evidently, these ingredients are working.
I’m still playing around with it. Luckily, I have time. I’m not suffering. I can work on reaching optimal levels because I really think because you feel fine, doctors are very often, I don’t know how you are, but let’s treat the symptoms. When you don’t have the symptoms, and you see numbers are off, there are some traditional doctors who say, “You’re fine. Just ignore it.” Something inside me says, “I don’t know. Be the best version that you can,” without killing yourself or doing something crazy or stressing out about it.
I’m always working on and experimenting with different things. I’m a biohacker, so I’m testing, measuring, and assessing. This is where I’m at right now.
Dr. Eric:
Thanks for sharing your personal experience. Have you tested for the antibodies to see if you have Hashimoto’s?
Zora:
Yeah. It was low, but I had them. I think it was a 5. Now, we’re doing another test. I can’t remember what it’s called. It’s to see if I have Graves’ or Hashimoto’s.
Dr. Eric:
Another blood test?
Zora:
I think it’s a blood draw. I’m going to go in one month because the doctor said something. We’re doing some other tests. He wants me in one month to come back and test for that.
Dr. Eric:
With Graves’, there are different antibodies. I was wondering if they were testing the TRAB or TSI, but I guess you will find out in a month when you visit.
Zora:
Now I’m curious. I want to tell you. It’s probably in an email somewhere.
Dr. Eric:
Stress management, sleep. That ties into the foundations. What are some recommendations or biohacks people can do to better manage their stress and get better sleep?
Zora:
I would say do whatever you like that makes you less stressed. Make sure it’s healthy, not alcohol or watching TV all night. Find something that makes you feel more relaxed and calm down that nervous system.
There are a couple things I love for free and some things that are paid. We always like the free stuff first.
I’m a breathwork instructor, so of course, the breath. Breathing through menopause is so foundational. It’s not only going to help you through menopause, but it will help you with your life.
The game is to breathe low and light. The less you breathe, the longer you live. It sounds ridiculous. “What do you mean, hold my breath?” We are overbreathers. We are breathing too much.
Very often, if you are in this high anxiety state, if you are a bit more stressed, say if you have a panic attack, you are breathing fast because you are panicky. That’s a stress response, and it’s fine if it’s once in a while. If we are doing this day and night, all day and all night, then it’s a problem.
We are overbreathing partly because we are mouth breathers. I always recommend people learn how to breathe through the nose. Your mouth is not made for breathing. It’s made for eating and talking and maybe some other things.
Your nose is made for breathing. It takes the air, filters this out. You have hairs in there to protect you from viruses and bacteria, with the mucus membranes. There is an oxygen exchange and nitric oxide and cool stuff that happens when you breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
If you were to walk through a hospital or an airport with your mouth open, it’s a big hole here, and a lot of stuff can go in there. You’re not as well protected if you are breathing through your nose.
There is a lot of excellent research showing how breathing through the nose when you’re exercising or through the night particularly, you will have better outcomes. You will sleep better, have better oxygenation of the blood, perform better in athletics. People lose weight and can manage their asthma. It’s such a great free tool. You can learn. You can go on YouTube and learn how to breathe.
“I know how to breathe.” No, you don’t. Most people are overbreathers. Most people don’t know how to breathe. Including me. That’s why I did this program. I really wanted to understand the mechanism on what is happening here, too. There is a chemical exchange, but there is also breathing.
If you were to do some simple breathwork exercises, say you’re breathing through your nose, inhaling gently for four, and exhaling gently for six or eight. Have a more prolonged exhale. Your heart rate will lower. Your blood pressure will lower. Your HRV, heart rate variability, marker of recovery and stress, goes up, which is great. If you have a gadget like an Oura ring or a watch, you will see the data on yourself in a matter of minutes. It’s incredible.
When you see somebody in a panic attack, what do they give them? A paper bag to try to calm them down. That happens very quickly. We don’t need paper bags, but if you have the tools on how to breathe and get in a relaxed state and calm down and how to stay focused without feeling overwhelmed, if you practice daily, then the day you need it, it will be no problem.
What I teach people is functional breathing. How are we supposed to breathe all the time? With your mouth closed, low and light. There is excellent information out there. Patrick McKeown was my teacher with Oxygen Advantage. I love his work.
There are so many ways to breathe. There are 101 ways, and they all have different objectives. For staying calm and relaxed, you don’t need to take deep inhales and deep exhales, blowing out through the mouth, to feel relaxed. It’s about learning how to be low and light.
Dr. Eric:
For someone who is a mouth breather, do you recommend mouth taping at night?
Zora:
I do. It’s one of those things we can do to test out to see how we like it. Most people I recommend to are fascinated by it and like it. You look ridiculous. It’s not sexy. Get your partner to do it. It’s even better if your partner snores. Everyone is having a good night.
You can buy the tape online. It’s special for your mouth. I ran out, so I started using that sports tape. Put a strip in front of my mouth. You don’t have to tape your mouth closed. Just have a tiny strip. It’s amazing.
If you have children who sleep with their mouth open, you can gently close their mouths while they are asleep. Train them on how to sleep with their mouth closed. There is special mouth tape for children as well. One of those fabulous, cheap hacks that make a big impact.
You also have yoga and meditation and all kinds of stuff out there. If that’s not your jam, great. A lot of people say meditation stresses them out, and they can’t do it. Maybe you go out for a walk. Maybe you do some forest bathing. Maybe you listen to calming music and smell some lavender. So many ways to get in this parasympathetic, calm, rest and digest state that it’s finding what you like and what works for you.
Sometimes, the breathwork is the foundation. For anything else in life as well.
But what I tell those people who have a hard time with meditation and staying calm and relaxed: One of the gadgets I really like that works pretty well for me and my community is neuroacoustic software. There is one called NuCalm. This is where you put on some headphones and plug it into your phone. It’s an app. They have different “journeys.” Some are for getting focused and concentration. There is one that is just for staying calm and relaxed. Of course, they have one for sleep.
What it does is the software is actually bringing your brain from a high beta state, which is more alert and excited, to an alpha and theta state, which is more calming and relaxing. It’s more of a meditative state.
When I first tried it, I found it fascinating. Like everyone else, your mind starts to wander when you try to meditate. Then I put this in. Every time my mind started to go away, it brought it back. You hear music. It’s not the music that makes you relaxed or brings your brain into a different brain wave. It is the neuroacoustic software. These are wavelengths. We don’t hear those wavelengths. They mask it with music, so you feel like it’s music. It’s not. When the music shifts, then you are brought back into a relaxed state.
They have these stickers that they put on your pericardium-6 to release GABA. It’s hard for me to understand, to believe it. It’s a sticker, come on. I have tried it with and without the sticker, and it works well, a little better with the sticker, but you can get a lot of benefits with just the software.
It’s different from the binaural beats that you get on YouTube, which you can certainly try. This is free. See if that works.
NuCalm is something to explore as well. If you have anxiety and stress, this is so powerful. It is really, really good. I used to call this thing “meditation made easy,” but now I have had my own experience. I am pretty convinced. It’s what everybody talks about. It actually worked for me.
Dr. Eric:
Not just for stress, but if someone is experiencing anxiety, that’s great. How about depression?
Zora:
I’ve spoken to some people who have depression, and they use it. It’s one tool in their toolbox. I think they’re doing a lot more. It is something they feel is helping them along with many other things. You haven’t heard of it?
Dr. Eric:
No. I will have to check it out.
Zora:
They have a seven-day free trial. Anything that’s free, great. Try it.
Dr. Eric:
I agree. Might as well. I’m sure some of my patients can benefit from it. I appreciate you bringing that up.
How about other biohacking tips? When listening to some of your other interviews in preparation for this conversation here, you talked about biohacking for the heart, the brain, even the vagina. I don’t know where you want to go, but I’d love to hear some other biohacking tips that you have.
Zora:
The HRT, bioidenticals is a fabulous hack for the brain, heart, vagina, everything. In addition to that, depends on where you want to go.
For the heart and the brain at the same time, the first thought I had was kaatsu bands. I don’t know if you’ve heard me talk about those. These are partial blood flow restriction, but it’s different than the traditional bands. You wear them on your arms or upper thighs. You can wear them all throughout the house while you’re cooking or doing errands. You can wear them while you’re training.
It has this cyclical nature where it partially restricts blood flow to the limb. It constricts for 30 seconds and releases for five seconds. It is helping us increase growth hormone and vascular elasticity.
Dr. Dale Bredeson. I don’t know if you know him. He ended Alzheimer’s. He has this as part of his protocol because it brings blood flow to the brain, especially if you wear ones near your arms.
At the same time, it’s strengthening your heart and bringing blood flow to your brain and increasing your own growth hormone. You will have better muscle mass and strength.
It’s something that I found is a tool for women in menopause who are really struggling to build muscle. Without the estrogen, it makes it so much harder. If you have insulin resistance on top of that, it’s really tough. I love this as an add-on for your exercise training to help you with a little bit more growth to the muscles.
Also, as a gerontologist, I see older adults, like my 85-year-old father-in-law. There is no way I am going to get him to lift heavy enough to build muscle mass. He is not interested in going to a gym. But he can put on these bands and putter around the house. He will see better muscle mass. They have done this experiment with 104-year-old women. It just works.
When I had surgeries, I had two total hip surgeries within three months. Over the course of two years, I have not been able to exercise like I do. No impact. All I can do is boring mobility exercises. I was so worried I was going to lose my muscle mass. I was wearing these bands every day. I have not lost any muscle and actually gained some. I was really well prepared to go into this surgery.
After the surgery, after I was healed a little bit, I put them back on. Of course, I could use my arm bands. I didn’t lose any muscle. I’m amazed.
When you go into surgery, usually, people are losing muscle mass. It would be very common. I didn’t only do that. Of course, I’m feeding the muscle with essential amino acids, eating protein, getting sleep, and optimizing everything else. It was part of the protocol. I was pretty convinced that this stuff works.
I don’t know why we are not taking about this in gerontology. We can do certain exercises without risk of injury. Why aren’t we talking about it with people who are getting hospitalized for conditions and surgeries? I don’t know. I’m happy to talk about it, and I think it’s one of the most fabulous hacks for three in one.
Dr. Eric:
That’s great. I work with a lot of people who have hyperthyroidism, including Graves’, toxic multinodular goiter. That results in a lot of lost muscle mass in many people. It’s a catch-22 because they have a lot of cardiac symptoms, so they need to take it easy when working out. I do want them to do some weight-bearing exercise. This might be a good substitute for those who maybe are limited in what they can do. I appreciate you talking about this. This is great.
Prior to pressing record, we chatted a little bit about peptides. Before we wrap up, because that is another biohack and can also tie- Peptides have a lot of great benefits. You also are mentioning it in regard to biohacks for surgery as well.
Zora:
Oh my gosh, I love this. If you are going to go get surgery, go and train for it. Get ready for it. Then know what to do after. There are things you do pre-surgery and post-surgery to have a fast recovery, if you’re interested in a fast recovery. Of course, you don’t have to do anything. You can recover like everybody else. But in the biohacking world, we like to optimize things and supercharge our way through there.
If you are going to get surgery, now is a time to train. You may hesitate. I was the same. I could barely move. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t get in a car. I couldn’t get on a bike or be intimate with my husband. Everything hurts. But there are things we can do for that.
Kaatsu was part of that formula. You can move other body parts, too. If you are having knee surgery, you can work your upper body. If you are having a shoulder surgery, you can work your lower body.
Get the nutrition right. Get your supplements. I looked at bone formulas. I looked at essential amino acids. Getting whey protein, creatine monohydrate, collagen, all of those things are foundational. You’re looking to repair tissue, trying to regenerate.
Of course, you want to manage your stress and sleep. Believe me, you will be stressed before an operation. Someone is cutting you open. It’s totally normal. Try as best you can to use the techniques, whether it’s meditation, breathwork, or NuCalm, to get in a relaxed state as much as you possibly can. Having good sleep before the operation is one of the best things to do.
Your job after a surgery is to reduce inflammation, preserve and build muscle mass and bone, and detox. Usually, surgery, you have to take antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and all the medicine. Thank god we have those things. This is the time to take all those things. I was accepting everything without question because I did not want to be in pain, and I wanted to be able to sleep. I figured I can detox this later. Let’s just get our stuff now, not try to be a hero and be in pain. That was my approach.
I had a really great stack, thanks to all of these amazing guests that we have on the podcast. I tapped into their knowledge and asked them, “What can I do to prepare for this?”
I’ll give you the two things I took, and a couple of things I didn’t take because I couldn’t get ahold of them. If anyone is interested, they can go down that rabbit hole.
The two peptides I mentioned to you before were BPC157 and Thymosin Beta 4 or TB4. These are peptides that are injectable. Depending on what your condition is and what you’re doing, you can maybe take an oral or a nasal spray or some other formula. Who likes to inject themselves? Not me, believe me, I tried to talk my way out of it. I tried to convince the doctor that maybe it was okay. Because I had such a major surgery, they all convinced me I needed to inject myself, which was fine. I got over it.
Sometimes, you can find these two peptides together because they are so powerful together. The BPC157 is great for angiogenesis, muscle and tissue repair, your gut. It will protect the gut. A lot of people on BPC157 have gut issues. Usually, the oral works well for the gut.
TB500 was another peptide I took. It’s also known as TB4. One is synthetic, and one is natural. The natural one, TB4, has more broader effects. It can do a broad range of things. The TB500 is a bit more targeted and cheaper.
I got ahold of TB500, and this was great for tissue regeneration and muscle synthesis. It lowers inflammation and was a fabulous hack.
I did two surgeries within three months. The first surgery, I only got ahold of BPC157. I recovered in three months very quickly. Normally, they would wait 6-12 months before doing a second surgery like that. I did pretty well.
The second surgery, I added in the TB500. I have noticed that I had an uptick right around several days after I started taking it with the BPC157. I’m convinced that’s why all these peptide experts like to give them together. You’ll find them mixed together if you can. It’s easier than me trying to mix the two. That was a fabulous hack.
I am now going to have them in my fridge whenever I need to lower inflammation or need this as an extra boost for recovery from something. You can use them on injuries. It’s not fabulous to inject, but it’s very effective. Now I understand why all these experts are so excited about them.
My protocol was for six weeks, but it is expensive. Depends on your resources. You can go on for longer because most of these experts say they are pretty comfortable and safe.
Don’t do peptides by yourself please. Get Dr. Osansky or someone else who is a specialist to help guide you on how much you should take, how long should you take them, where you should buy them from. Don’t just buy them from Amazon or some website. You don’t really know. Especially if you’re injecting yourself, you don’t want to mess around with that. There are some great resources I have if you ever want to get in touch, and I can send you in the right direction.
Dr. Eric:
You took them all injectable, correct?
Zora:
Yeah, I had to. I tried to talk my way out of it, but for my situation, for this surgery, it was such a big surgery that everybody wanted me to take it in an injectable. I sucked it up, and it was okay.
For me, it was every day for six weeks. Everyone is a little different. Maybe you have a different protocol. Maybe you don’t need to do that.
I also had to inject myself with an anticoagulant for four weeks, which sucked. In Spain, that’s what they were doing. I was fine. “Look, the inflammation is gone. Can’t I just stop this?” They wanted to keep the protocol.
When you have to do it, you just get over it. If you can avoid it, if you can take a nasal spray or an oral, they can be very effective for many things. That was my case.
The last thing I took that was really fabulous, and I continue to take it, is methylene blue. Do you ever use this in your practice?
Dr. Eric:
I just started experimenting with it on myself recently. I’m a newbie but would love to hear your experience with it.
Zora:
Methylene blue was originally made as a textile dye in the late 1800s. Then they discovered that it could help cure some infectious diseases. It was evidently the first drug we ever had on the planet until pharmaceuticals came around. They still use methylene blue in hospitals for cyanide poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning as well. It’s nothing new. It’s been around forever.
I was recommended to take it because it improves your mitochondrial function, which I needed to repair and regenerate. Could be a great support for that. It’s an antiviral and antifungal. I was in a hospital for four days, so all kinds of stuff floating around. Doesn’t hurt. It’s neuroprotective. When you are taking all these medications, your brain takes a hit. Why not? It’s a simple thing.
I took it as drops, putting it on the back of my tongue. Some people use a troche. Some people can drink it. That’s all up to you. It doesn’t taste great, so let’s get this to the back of my tongue and use a Vitamin C to roll it around and stop my tongue from being blue.
I personally don’t feel anything from it. A lot of people say they get a lot of energy. I have a lot of energy as it is, so I wouldn’t want anything more. I haven’t felt anything. I know I protected myself in one way or another. It’s supporting all the other things I’ve done.
Those are the three things I really did that were cool that were easily accessible for me. There were two more. The other two that were recommended to me, which I couldn’t get ahold of, but I would have tried them if I could.
Nandrolone decant. This is an anabolic steroid that has a bad rap because of the body builders. They’re abusing this. When you’re done with the doctors’ guidance and have very low dosages for a short period of time, it helps with building the muscle back. That’s why it was recommended.
The other thing that I couldn’t get ahold of was cerebrolysin. This is an IV drip and a neuropeptide. That helps with the nerve healing and reduces inflammation and protects the brain. I couldn’t get ahold of it. I think you take that drip for four or five days. It’s not like you do it once.
Those were the extra things. Those were the five advanced biohacks that you could try and add on if you want a speedy recovery. Of course, with the guidance of a professional.
Dr. Eric:
All right. That was awesome. Appreciate you sharing those. You just gave a wealth of information here. I need to go back and relisten. I appreciate it.
Before we finally wrap up, any last words for those who are looking to incorporate some of this biohacking, trying to do things to improve their hormone health, as well as optimize their overall health?
Zora:
I think everyone should find the biohacker in themselves to know that you have the answers. Your body wants to heal. Your body wants to work with you, not against you. Trust in yourself. Trust your intuition.
Experiment. You don’t want to go too far, but you can do some small experiments. You have to look at testing, measuring, assessing. Don’t just take a supplement and say whatever. You can write things down in a journal. You can measure with your Apple watch or whatever you have. You can make a decision of if this is working for you or not.
You don’t need to suffer if you are dealing with menopause and menopausal symptoms. We have so many options out there. Go find support. We have so many great resources, whether it’s surgery or menopause. There are just wonderful people out there who do want to help you, who want to take you down a different route rather than one that may not work for you. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. We have choices. It’s about making informed decisions with your health provider.
Dr. Eric:
Well said. Zora, where can people find out more about you?
Zora:
HackMyAge.com. That’s my website. All my social media is HackMyAge. I’m on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, everywhere. If you get lost, Zora the Explorer. If you remember that, you will eventually see me pop up.
Dr. Eric:
Check out her podcast, Hack My Age. You also have a free Facebook group. Zora offers a lot of great resources.
Thank you so much. This was amazing. You provided so much great information. Went above and beyond. Really appreciate you having this conversation with me.
Zora:
Aww, thanks for having me.