Top Biohacker: How I Improved My Eyesight by 18% & Reversed Cellular Aging?

Congratulations on being named one of the top 50 biohackers in the world. I think our job is to, I don't want to say educate, because that's a bit arrogant, but to help people see that this rat race is not healthy. Even if in the course of your day you're wearing plastic-free clothes and you're drinking a crazy, I don't know, kale smoothie, sorry, you are still rushing around, you know. No. And you don't buy health. You do what others say can't be done. Exactly. When people say there's no way out, I'm like, "Oh, watch me." So, one year of extra healthy life, not just life, healthy. Like, I'm not dependent. I'm not sick. I'm just happy and thriving. It's about $1.5 billion a year nationwide in a small country like France. That's about six times smaller, I think, or five times smaller than here. So, it could be potentially six or seven billion a year in the States.

Valerie Orsoni, welcome back to the Pathway to Peak Performance. So great to see you, my friend. Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be back. You are a dynamo. Oh, in this past year, put me in between trips. I know this. Hey, use the lasso. You've got to be careful, you know, about the timing, because you're going here, you're going here, you're going there, you're everywhere. And congratulations on being named one of the top 50 biohackers in the world. That came out yesterday, and that is a big deal. The funniest thing about it to me, when I think about it and knowing you as I do, I think of, like, there's a bunch of good people on that list, right? A very few of them. There's like one or maybe a couple that go back as far as you go back. I always call you the OG biohacker. The other thing I like about you is that you truly explore things at a level that most people really don't. You travel all over the world. You test out all sorts of things. You have truly been an N of one case study for true biohacking in a way that I think is so beneficial. I mean, for years after we're all long gone, which I love. One thing you say is die young very late. As far as possible and as late as possible. Like people say, "How long do you want to live?" I've had this question. Ridiculous. I don't have an end number, right? I just want to be young as long as possible. Yeah. No doubt.

But yeah, this being in the top 50 longevity leaders for me is a big deal, because again, it's a field where a lot of people are trying to make their own space by saying I'm a doctor, I'm a professor, I'm a whatever. And I don't have those diplomas. So what I have is the proof that what I've been doing for the past 20 to 30 years is working, and my N of one, as you said, this is my badge of honor, I would say. So being recognized amongst these people to me was very good. Yeah, I think it's well deserved. Thank you.

And you truly bring so much. The other thing too, if you don't know Valerie's Instagram, you're missing out on an incredible resource, because I think you truly are, what I would say in our world, the queen of content. And it's a lot of work. Yeah, it's a lot of work. And I do it all by myself. Just, you know, I don't have a team. I want it to come from my heart. So, it's not scripted. There is nobody telling me on Tuesday the cover has to be pink and on Thursday it has to be, I don't know, biohacker. It just comes like this. That's why my feed is a marketing nightmare, because it's not worked for marketing purposes. It's worked to share my knowledge. I know, you know, the funniest thing about this is some people are really working it for the other reason. You are really working it to bring this knowledge to the world, and it's really phenomenal. I really congratulate you. And so follow, if you're not following me yet, give me 25 push-ups. Well, where should they follow you? Right, we're going to put it in the show description. But the other thing, too, is people should sign up for Val Biohacker. I mean, that is — Oh, yeah. Biohacker.com is my platform where I share everything. Yeah. I mean, it's just a wealth of incredible information. Things that you will not be able to find other places. I do a lot of work for that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's an incredible, incredible thing.

So charity this year is going to be International Animal Rescue, which is an amazing company and charity that works around the world to save animals from human abuse. We do abuse a lot of animals around the world. So mainly bears, orangutans, monkeys, and they really have a lot of places where they rehabilitate these amazing animals. And I'm so happy when I see, you know, the journey of an animal that was taken by these guys, saved from abuse and then rehabilitated. So I really want them to be supported. Yeah, that's a great charity, and I think now I just want to learn more about it, because how you described it prior to the show is really, it's almost heartbreaking to think about. Yeah. You see what humans do, and these people jump in and get this little bear which was in a small cage for 9 years, and you're like, ah, my dear. They take the bear out and they bring him joy and love and of course veterinarian care and everything, and then, it takes years sometimes, but you see that animal brought back to the wild. You know what? This is also selfish in a way, because it makes me so happy that my endorphins, my happiness hormones go up, and it's kind of good for my biomarkers. And I like to say to people, when you do good, of course you do good, but the good comes back to you as well. And it's also a way to stay on the path of longevity. It helps you. So true.

Okay. Well, as you know, on our show, we are now sponsored by KetoneAid. The KetoneAid KE4 is the one that I think we would use. Obviously, you know all about — Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But this is the one, because for us, like, I think, you know, we've already worked out today. We've already done it. You did. Oh yeah. Big, big training session. Thank you. So you can see here, you're not poisoning me. It's brand new. Unopened. But you're going to use this cap, as you know. Yeah. I think, you know what? You go ahead and you can dose it appropriately as you feel. And then we're going to drink that and cheers, and then we're gonna get on with the show, and then we'll check in on this later on to see how we all — Take four. How many do you take? I take four. Yeah. Okay. Let's do four. Yeah. Cuz I trained hard. Yeah. Going to start with you. Yeah. It's nice because it's anti-catabolic at the end, you know. I use it pre-workout, use it post-workout, and I use a little bit before I go to sleep, oddly enough. Well, it helps with nocturnal hypoglycemia. Yeah, exactly. You nailed it. Why? Well, of course, of course you would. You would know exactly. I do the same. That's why. Yeah. Right. Yeah. This is cool stuff. Yeah. It's good stuff. Okay. Cheers. Cheers. As we say in Corsica, pace e salute. Salute. And health. Yes. You drink it fast. I enjoy the process. Well, you have a much more sophisticated palate than I do. Whoa. We're good. Yeah. All right. So, these guys are great and they've been fantastic sponsors.

So, hey, real quick. YouTube tells me that over 95% of the people who actively watch this channel are not subscribed. Do us both a favor. Go ahead and subscribe now so that we can continue to provide you with the high-quality guests and the information that's going to keep you on the pathway to peak performance. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay, my friend, let's get the rundown, because you have been many places in this last year. Let's get the lowdown. What's hot? What's going on? Okay, so oh my god, so many things. But first, last year, I think right before we talked or right after, I went to Germany, in Berlin, to a place called the Years Clinic. Yeah. You remember that? And the full day of testing. Yeah. Which I really encourage everyone to do. I'm not sponsored by the clinic or anything. I just find it's the best in the world for what they do. They start testing you at 8:00 a.m. all the way to the end of the day. From lung capacity to your eye health, your vision, to your cardiac health, to your carotids, to, I don't know, full body MRI, balance, grip strength, everything you can think of. There are of course blood markers, but they're going to check everything. But when I came back last year, I had amazing numbers, and some of them not so great. So I decided I'm going to work on that. I'm going to tell you which ones. And then three weeks ago, I went back to Germany. I was speaking at a conference in Berlin called Life Summit. And I'm like, hold on a minute. I'm talking at this conference. I'm next to the clinic. Let's do another test, a full day test, complete, the same one. And this morning, right before you, at 9:00 a.m., I was on the phone with the doctor from that clinic who is following me through the process, and she was so amazed, impressed, flabbergasted, you name it, by my lung numbers. The lung numbers are just mind-boggling. They have improved a lot, like my lung capacity, my resistance, everything, by up to 20 to 30% in one year.

Well, and this is interesting too, because there was all of that climbing that you were doing, and then you got to a certain point, from the fires, the mold from the fires, I remember you had to take a break. So that had affected your lung capacity. So take us through it. Let's keep going. Sorry. Yeah. So when I was a kid, first I had tuberculosis. Then later on I had two or three pneumonias. I had a lot of lung conditions going on. And I was always told there's no way you can do mountain climbing. There's no way, no way, no way. Of course, I don't like this word, you know. I'm like, I'll show you. But then, so I was not surprised last year when they told me it's not so great. I was like, okay, this is what it is. And then I'm like, hold on. Am I a biohacker or what? I'm going to biohack the hell out of my lungs. And I started, I bought this little, it's a $40 device from Spain where you actually learn how to force the air. You exhale, how you force the air in. It's a little thing you breathe through. It's pretty hard, and sometimes you don't want to do it, and it's cumbersome. I mean, you know, it's like everything, but I haven't been diligent. I haven't done it every day, but I've done it every other day or so, and already I got amazing results. So I've been working, also I've been doing Norwegian training. What is it? It's a specific type of HIIT training where you do five minutes like slow and then four minutes really high intensity, and five and four, you do that four times. And these techniques have shown that you can really improve your VO2 max, but also VO2 max is just one biomarker. I don't know why everyone looks at that marker. There's so many others. And so by doing so, plus I do also the halotherapy, where every day I breathe an hour of salt in a special machine from Romania. All of that combined, I really got an amazing result when it comes to my lungs. I really reversed everything. And right now I'm at the top 95% for pretty much all the markers regarding my lungs. Wow.

Yeah. And so to me, when people say, "What's your CRP? What's your VO2 max?" I'm like, hold on. These are numbers no one talked about. I mean, no one talks about, you know, what's your resistance, whatever, how much air you keep in, how much is trapped in your lungs, but these are more, I think, a proof of good health than a one-shot number that you will get, you know. Yeah, it's so crazy, right? I mean, when you say C-reactive protein, there's so many things that could be a sign. Oh my god, you're not under 0.5, oh, that's not good. Like, hold on a minute, check the rest. Yeah, you know, it's true. I mean, a lot of people have talked about lab overload. I think, you know, having a lot of data over time that you can go back and really take a look at, hey, where was the smoke signal here, you know, is very important, and will be more important as time goes on. That's why I use Function Health. For me, that's the best I can get here. And so I always use them, because I think they give me the best that I can possibly find.

But I do add to all of these labs, I add a lot of other things, like urine testing and other things, so that you can have even a more like 360 approach. But then you need AI in an intelligent way to analyze this, because when you have this lab overload, whether you like it or not, you have like hundreds of lines. You need to know how to analyze it. Not one human can do it. You need AI at one point. I mean, I'm trying to connect dots from 20 years ago to now, all these labs. But what's really important is not a one test. It's several tests, so you can see where you're going, the trends, how much progress have you done, or you can regress as well. So, but when you have one little thing, for me, for instance, all my results are amazing this year except two or three where I did not improve as I wanted. There's one thing which apparently is not a big deal, which is a small amount of fluid in something called the Douglas wall or something like this. It's at the bottom of the abdomen. No big deal. They are not really concerned. It's a normal thing to have, except my CRP is not the best. It's 0.8. It's still amazing, but it's not under 0.5. And I'm like, what if the root cause of this micro chronic inflammation could come from whatever liquid is there, since it was already there last year. I'm not sick. I don't have anything bad. I'm like, hold on. I'm going to investigate what's there. And maybe that is something that could cause an inflammation, which is not healthy, and I can look at it. But you can only have that mindset if you have different elements across the years, not just one big thing. Yeah. So, did you look into it? Not yet. I got it this morning. Oh, okay. So, no, but the doctor is like, it's nothing, but it could be enough to generate a little bit of inflammation. So, we'll check into it. It's nothing crazy, but that could be it.

I think it's really great when you're at that point in time where you've got it down to a spot where, you know, as I'm writing my — I'm in the midst of, I'm past the draft phase and now I'm in chapter expansion. You've written how many books? 56. One more since last year. And actually working on the 57th for the US. I love it. So I'm in the process of writing my first book. So I have many books to catch up on. I'll never catch you, Valerie. You know, now you have something called ChatGPT. When I wrote my books, I had to write it by hand. Now you press a button and that thing can write for you. I gotta tell you, you know what's amazing to me is the reality is that if you want to write a book the right way, the amount of work that goes into it. So, it's just, you know, I literally spent the entire day yesterday just expanding a chapter. Yeah. And going back, oh, I forgot about this. Oh, I forgot about that. Oh, I have to add this. I have to add this. And it was just on hydration. Just on the hydration, you know, and there's so many more things. And I think also the good news is it'll be a version one, you know. Well, it has to mature a little bit, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like we just keep learning. That's one thing I love about you is that you keep learning. Yeah. I love learning, and I don't have all the 50-letter words like a doctor would have, but that's fine, because I still learn. But you know, I actually just finished a certificate at Stanford longevity research lab, and I was with, like, student doctors and MD students, and I was there and I didn't have all the words. So which means I'm starting from the bottom and up. So it's harder, but I'm still understanding it. Like now I'm following a new course on nutrition science, which, by the way, this is so shocking. We're still learning that you need 77 grams of carbs for breakfast. And I'm like, no, no, no. And only 13 grams of protein, because they're using the old guidelines. And so I'm getting into forum fights with the teaching staff. And I'm like, Valerie, just tone it down. Get your certificate. Put your head down and just lie in all your weekly reports, because if you say what you think, you're going to get an F. Yeah, they don't know. That's the funniest. They refuse to know. No, I told them, "How about the Ancel Keys studies? All these studies that we know now were manipulated, right?" They're like, "No, the guidelines, blah blah blah." I'm like, "Okay."

I think one of the things that is interesting about the people that come out of the traditional health care system, which you and I both agree, and have agreed for a long time, that it is a broken system, right? What did you say earlier? They won't pay for your gym membership, but they'll pay for the hospital bed, right? Yeah. They fund disease. As a matter of fact, my next post on Instagram is about this, how much age is costing us. In the US, it's around $500,000 per person, whether you have it or not, that's going to be the cost. And I'm like, but you know, in Europe they had a study a year ago that came out, actually France, the national, like a big, the accounting department of France, of the government, said for every time we get one more year of healthy life for all the French people, one year represents 1.5 billion dollars or euros per year. So if the entire country were to improve, I'm pretty sure it's the same in the US, you know, give or take. So, one year of extra healthy life, not just life, healthy, like I'm not dependent, I'm not sick, I'm just happy and thriving, it's about 1.5 billion dollars a year nationwide in a small country like France. That's about six times smaller, I think, or five times smaller than here. So, it could be potentially six or seven billion a year in the States. Also, you got to put a multiplier on it in the States, because if you think about it, you know, in France, having been there, the food is just not the same. Okay, 15 billion, right? I mean, you know, it's almost like 15 billion served in McDonald's. I mean, at the end of the day, like, people are just not eating the same. Even McDonald's, I don't like fast food, but the McDonald's in France, the meat comes from France, the bread is baked, and you're like, whoa, it's still McDonald's. But somehow they found a way to make it a bit more French, more, you know, healthier. And we don't use seed oil in France. Like, you go to restaurants — I was shocked. I went to a small little shack of a restaurant in Paris and I was like, "What are you using?" Like, you know, sunflower seed oil. This guy's like, "No, butter." I'm like, "Oh, that's great." Okay. Then I said, "You have 150 grams of chicken?" And the guy says, "No problem." I'm like, "Whoa." Yeah. Yeah.

So, it's a big difference. Oh, since I talked to you, it's a very friendly thing. You know, I love my markers, and I measure, I use something called Core Health to measure my sedimentation at home, my sedimentation rate, which shows my inflammation levels, right? And a regular doctor will accept up to 20 or 24. If you are a biohacker, you want to be under nine. Last year in November, I was at four, which is optimal. I go to New York to visit my son, who doesn't like to cook so much. So, we eat outside a lot, which means, you know, either plastic containers or plastic-lined paper containers, seed oils and all these things, and overcooked oils and everything. Within 3 weeks I went from a four, optimal, to a 12, still okay, to a 22, to 32, which was even for regular doctors out of the range. It took three weeks of eating seed oils and outside, with all this packaging and stuff, which you get so much particles of plastic, to be in the unhealthy range. And then, like, some people do that year-long, for decades.

You know, and it's crazy too, because we see now, you know, we just did on the other show an episode about neurocognitive decline. We say it's a disease of decades. Well, those decades of exposure to those things, which really, if you think about it, if you go back to when we, you know, if you look at the late 90s, you know, the reality is this is where we start to see all this stuff show up. The glyphosate, the heavy plastics and the stuff. Now it's just, it's rampant. It's everywhere. And you kind of did like a Morgan Spurlock. Remember when he did the thing where he — or Super Size Me was the name of the movie? I think it's really fascinating. Most people don't realize it. They're not aware. Hopefully, they're waking up. We are in the sick care model where people are getting ripped off. Absolutely ripped off by insurance companies. It is an absolute travesty. Yeah. The fact that it's even legal in the United States at this stage, knowing what we know, is unbelievable, and it has to change.

Well, I mean, I agree with the seed oils. The thing is, to me, it started in the 80s. It all comes down to this famous Ancel Keys report. Are you familiar with this? For me, it's the root of all evil. This is the worst cherry-picking data, cherry-picking case in history. Like, you have 22 countries studied in the world trying to prove there's a link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. Out of 22 countries, 15 had zero link. You could eat as much saturated fat as you wanted and have no problem. But Ancel Keys picked the seven countries of 22 where there was a connection, and everything we do today, even the famous guidelines we have, are based on this flawed study, right? So we have this, then we have seed oils being, like, from almost no usage to now it's maybe 80% in some places. Then you have sedentarity, then you have all these TV, internet — people are so, like, completely bombarded by data constantly, they don't even have time to do nothing, even when they live. They call someone, they talk to someone, they listen to music, they eat in the car. Like, we are overloaded, everything, everywhere — in actions, in noise, in music, in food. So, plus now it's even more processed food. We have even more processed food than 15 years ago. So all of that combined, yeah, it's a perfect storm. And I don't agree with you. I don't think people know that. I think people like you and me, we know. But the vast majority of the people are kept by, I don't know, society in a place where they are waking up to the news, checking TikTok, rushing through a processed breakfast to work without exercising, working all day long in front of a screen. At the end of the day, they come back, they grab some food that's already prepared and pre-made, come back home and watch TV. This is not a caricature. That's about at least 40% of the people. Then you have people who are putting fitness in the middle, but that's not too much. I think it's got to be more than 40%. Maybe 60. I think our job is to, I don't want to say educate, because that's a bit arrogant, but to help people see that this rat race is not healthy. Even if in the course of your day you're wearing plastic-free clothes and you're drinking a crazy, I don't know, kale smoothie, sorry, you're still rushing around, you know. No. And you don't buy health. I know. You know it happens.

It's so funny when you mentioned the plastic-free clothing. I wear plastic clothes all the time. Wearing it right now, and I was thinking, I'm like, you're coming today. I'm like, "Oh, Val's going to give me a hard time." Okay, just strip. Yeah. All for the views. Yeah. Well, do you want him to remove his t-shirt? So, you know what? That was funny, cuz I was thinking today, you know, actually this is a day where I'm going to actually make a switch and I'm going to go to 100% cotton. Well, I'm kidding on that. You know, by the way, it doesn't go through the skin. It doesn't. You know, people say to me, "You're wearing polyester leggings?" I'm like, first, try to train in leather. Sorry, I'm not a Chippendale. It doesn't work. But also, the polyester molecules are so big, sorry, they don't go through the skin. I'm not saying it's healthy, because you sweat. But if you sweat for 30 minutes and then you shower and you change, and like, I'm home in cotton, it's fine. And I think that's also something a lot of biohacker influencers out there are — fearmongers, you say. I think they are making people scared of everything, like your perfume is killing you, your leggings are killing you. And I'm like, okay, so maybe I shouldn't move. You know, you need to find the right fights. And the fight is not, oh, I'm wearing leggings when I'm training. Hold on a minute. She's training. You know, maybe it's the Starbucks drink every morning in a plastic-lined cup and you sitting 8 hours a day is way more dangerous than you wearing a t-shirt that has polyester in it. So, finding the balance, not being scared of everything. That's good. That's good.

Hey, by the way, one of the things I want to ask you is those glasses. Those are super cool. I love those. He wants them. I'm kidding. I want — Do they make those for men? Yeah, they do. It's called Hyper Optics. They're from Switzerland, and I used to wear glasses like you, like, you know, normal yellow glasses like everyone, and I was like, no — no, I'm kidding. But those, it's a feat of engineering. They use specific types of, I don't know how they do it, but to retexture the light, and I can't explain it yet. I'm supposed to do a nice video for these glasses. I love them, but when you wear them, you feel like less tired, for sure. They also have a version for outside. And, you want to try them? Yeah. Let me see. Want to try yours on? Oh, yeah. Yours are much better. Much better. Much better. Back. But they're amazing. Hyper Optics. Got them from Switzerland, but they do deliver in the US, and a lot of people in the biohacking world are starting to wear them now.

You know, there have been so many brands that have come, and like, you know, I don't know. Well, listen. If it's simple yellow, orange, and there is nothing specific about the lens, you're buying the brand. It's made by a famous influencer, the cut is amazing, whatever. There's nothing special. Also, I'm sorry for that, I'm going to shock people. For years, we said that if you wear yellow glasses or blue light blocking glasses after 7:00 p.m., you will increase the production of melatonin and it would help you fall asleep. Well, a few studies have shown this is not so true. So, I'm kind of in the middle right now, because I'm okay changing my mind, but I need enough studies for that. It's more wearing light yellow, like those, not the stronger ones, all throughout the day when you are inside. It really helps, especially for traveling, and you have flickering lights in the airport, for instance. That really helps with it. But I see people wearing yellow glasses outside in the sun. I'm like, "No, baby, you need the sunlight. It's healthy for you." So, yeah. Yeah, it's interesting too to see, like, how many people are really cluing into this as it's starting to become more and more. I see so many influencers saying, I just designed a new brand of yellow glasses. Well, it's the same thing, except it's 400 bucks instead of 39 on Amazon. I always say to each his own. Hey, listen. If you want to do it, great. If you don't want to do it, then don't. Listen, it's not going to hurt you, except if you wear it throughout the day in the sun. You need the blue light in the day, otherwise your circadian rhythm is going to be messed up. That's why the first thing we always say is go out, get into the sun, and no sunglasses. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But it's not going to hurt you otherwise. If you like it at night and it's part of your bedtime routine, who am I to tell you it doesn't work? You know. 100%.

Hey, so you came out with a product this last year. Yeah, actually. Oh, where is it? I'm doing some flexibility here. Yeah. So, listen. You know, I'm obsessed with supplements. I take a hundred a day. Me too. You do? How many did you take? Uh, well, it's quite a few, but I don't know if it's 100. Well, we'll do a competition online. See, send me the list, I'll send you mine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But so, one thing is, why do I take a hundred? I refuse to take supplements that are all in one bottle, like multi supplements or brain supplements or whatever lung supplement, with like three different things, because it's hard to find the right amount of what you need, right? So I like to take one, two, three, instead of one with three. That's why I take a 100. But a few of the supplements I love, mainly the powder-based ones, like creatine and resveratrol here, which I'm going to give to you. I couldn't find the exact versions I liked. So I partnered with a company here in Utah. So it's all made, really made in the US, not just packaged, made in the US. No filler, vegan, clean, and everything. The brand is called Zell Nova. Zell is from German, cell — new cell. And this one is resveratrol, which as you know is a senolytic, and I'm all about killing the senescent cells which tire our body. And so we have resveratrol, we have very clean creatine, and some as well liquid pills, like omega-3s, but mainly a lot of powder pills. And I wanted my own brand so I can control the quality.

You know, it's funny, because I actually need to order — I'm just running out of creatine, so I need to get some creatine from you. Like, how much do you — Uh, well, okay. So, it's always five grams. Always five grams. Why? Uh, because it's in the hydration formula that I — That's a minimum. Okay. And then you add — Yeah. So it can go up. I've gone, and you know, there's some new data that came out that talks about, hey, 15 to 20 grams on a night when — I do it. Yeah, when you got a bad night's sleep, you know. I do 20 grams in the morning if I have a very bad night's sleep and I need my capacity, my brain capacity, at the top. I don't suggest to do it too often, because, you know — but no, I do 10 grams. I do five grams around my training time and five grams at night for the brain. I'll send you some creatine, but here you can take the resveratrol. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. You know what? This is great. Thank you so much. You know, David Sinclair, yes, out of Harvard, takes very few supplements. One of them is resveratrol. Yeah. He's all about killing senescent cells. He's an NMN guy, with the resveratrol and a little scoop of yogurt.

Hey, by the way, the other day I heard you were talking about something, and you said that you only have two tablespoons of white rice. Yeah. You were talking about this. Tell me more about this, because I'm in a recomp, and so I'm really watching any high glycemic carb. But I know, you know, for the kind of lifting and training that we do, we've got to have some sort of carbs. And of course, I'm going to stay away from all the toxic nonsense. But I've always loved white rice. Tell me, like, why are you only using two tablespoons? What's behind that? So, first, can I correct something when you said high glycemic? Yeah. Cuz my white rice is not high glycemic. How's that? Ha. I transform it. Okay. So, I rinse it before I cook it. I rinse it after I cook it, and then I leave it in the fridge for 12 hours to convert some of the sugar into resistant starch. I always do that with my rice. So if you do that, it's down by 60% already. So you still have some glycemic impact, but just enough for you, not the rush, which is amazing. And what I do now, I do that and then I freeze half of it, so that when I'm in a rush and I don't have to cook rice and don't have the time for the 12 hours, I always have it in the freezer. The thing is, if you reheat it, it still stays in a resistant starch format. So it's okay. I say two tablespoons — I think I was saying two is better than 20. Yeah, sometimes I'll get five, but I mean, I never go crazy, because even though it is a low glycemic index after you've done all of that, still it is, you know, carbs. So, I don't control my carbs crazy. I think carbs are good for us. I used to think we needed less, but I still have rice every day, nuts and stuff, but the fruits are my main source of carbohydrates. Oh. I eat more than the average fruits, and then rice. Sometimes I change, I use amaranth or einkorn, you know, once in a while. If you get it from Europe. Yeah, mine comes from Italy. Yeah, of course. Originally though, corn is from South America. So, but it's been so genetically modified. Any corn that you eat in the United States, I just go, "No, no, no, no, no. I get it from Italy." And there is a carbon footprint. So, you always have to think, what am I doing? So true. How do you decide? It's not easy. But yeah, I eat, like, for instance very often I'm gonna have four eggs, you know, soft-boiled seven-minute eggs, with, okay, here it's gonna be four tablespoons of rice, and then I'm going to have maybe a little bit of salmon and then a full box of berries, you know, like strawberries or something. Low glycemic in the berry side of things, but high nutrient content. Yeah. And I don't want to count. So I used to be obese, as you know, and I used to count a lot. Now I don't want to count. I think we are smart enough to not need an app. I don't need an app to tell me four cups is better than 20 cups, or four spoons. No, I know it. If I indulge, I know I have indulged. I don't need an app to tell me that. I don't need AI to tell me that chocolate mousse is not as healthy as strawberries. I know it. So, if I take it, it's okay. But I know it is a choice I made. I don't need someone to tell me.

Yeah. So a quick question for you with regards to the travel, because we left off that you had gone to Germany, but you've been to many other places since then. And you know, the other thing you said is I was speaking in Berlin, but you've been a featured speaker all over the world. And how many times did you speak this last year? Do you even know? Yeah, actually, it's interesting, you make it sound like it was a lot, but I toned it down to less than 10 times. Oh, you did. The big ones? The big ones, and then I have small speaking engagements, because there is a point in life where you're like, do I want to do all of that, or do I want also to be focused on myself? And being a biohacker or longevity expert, you need to be a bit selfish sometimes. And talking at a conference is taxing. Like, I really take it to heart. I work hard on the presentations. I talk to people. It's a trip. It takes a toll on your body. So if you talk 10 times a year, it's 10 trips already. Yeah, it's a lot. You have to decide where you go. And so I've toned it down. I love the Biohackers World conferences. I talk at all of their conferences because I like the spirit of this BWC, as I call them, people. And the next one is in Chicago in early September and then January in Miami. These guys are good. I've spoken in Berlin and then New York as well, but I try to not go everywhere. If I were to accept all my invitations, I would speak every week or so. I wouldn't have time to do my research. But traveling is taxing. So I took a decision. I know it's not environmentally friendly, but I take one extra suitcase with all my toys, all my biohacking things. Because since I travel more than seven months a year, if I were to say, "No, it's okay. I'm traveling. I won't do that," then it means seven months out of 12, I don't have my red light therapy. I don't have — Okay, granted, I'm not taking my hyperbaric chamber with me. Everything else I take. Even I have a cervical decompressing thing, like a huge thing, I take it with me. So when you find yourself in, like, a city that has a chamber — I go. I mean, people really just don't — I mean, I have to say, like, hyperbaric, there's going to be a lot of data coming out that's going to really show how powerful it actually is. Yeah. When people make fun of me, to be honest, as I said, these criticisms are like insects on the windshield of my life. I don't care. I feel so happy in my chamber. If you don't like it — the thing is, people spend so much energy criticizing what I do. They should spend that much energy being healthier, you know? I'm like, seriously. And whatever you say, guys, I'm still going to do it. So, I don't really care.

You know what I mean? Here's the thing. I think liberty is the most important thing that we have. Freedom of speech, obviously, right? But the ability to do whatever it is that you want to do, you know, if it's good then it's good, and if it's bad then it's bad, but I think you really have the — it's your life, it's your choice. Those people that are always looking to criticize or all that kind of stuff, whatever. Whenever I run into people like that, I think of them as they're either one, having a bad day, or they're deeply wounded and there's something wrong. And so we can just show compassion for them. We're all human beings and we can say, okay, you know what? Maybe this is a person that has something that's just not right, and we happen to be in the way of their trajectory of not right. But sometimes I'm like you. I'm going to expend energy trying to make this other person better, and sometimes I'm like, no, I am surrounded by a lot of bad people online, right? If I were to do that, I would give away all my energy. So I select a few and the rest I just ignore. It's easier.

But again, when I started, you know, I'm 56 chronologically. I don't wear reading glasses. I started when I was 35 doing something to never need glasses. I remember people making fun of me — that was 20 years ago. And as the years passed, I never needed reading glasses. I still don't. And as a matter of fact, I improved my vision by 18% since last year, according to the latest test in Berlin. 18% in a year. That's huge. I added something new, which we can talk about. But it's interesting, because they were making fun of me and now I'm proving that it worked. And you know what the vast majority of the naysayers are saying now? That's genetic, you're lucky. Like, no, baby, I spend 10 minutes a day for the past 21 years working on my eyesight. So I think I'm doing something right. That's not genetics. Genetics doesn't matter. Any way you look at it from a genetics standpoint, you don't actually trend up as you age. No. Right? Unless you're working on it. So exactly. So I'm really happy about it. And it's not that I don't listen to others, but I'm doing so much research that if you tell me I'm wrong, I'm not going to say, oh, you are wrong, I'm right. I'm going to say, hold on a minute, let me think about it, you might be right, let's analyze it, and maybe I'm wrong, that's fine. But if you just say, oh, that's ridiculous, this is where I stop the discussion. I'm not even trying.

You know, I have a lot of friends who are not in this field, a lot, and sometimes they come to me — must happen to you as well — and they say, hey, I have that problem, do you have a solution? I'm like, well, I'd love to know the whole situation. I don't have a one-line answer or one magic pill. And very often they press me for the one thing, and I give them one thing, and then I see them 3 months later, they say it didn't work. And I'm like, yeah, because I didn't have the whole situation, and I gave you one pill because you really wanted something. But in reality, if I want to help you, I need to sit down for a few hours, understand everything, your trajectory, your journey in life, and see how it all connects so that I can help you. I couldn't agree more. The reality is I have people pressing me all the time asking me about this, asking me about that. And I'm like, look, for us to go through all of this, you need to actually do it in a way that's completely different than the way that you're asking me to do it. They're asking, you know, the way they ask you and me, they ask us as they're asking now in the health care system. Like, I have a sore throat, here is a drug. Yeah. I have pain in my wrist, here is a surgery or drug. And me, I say, hey, you have a sore throat. It's the third in the year. Let's think wider. Let's look for the root cause. You have pain in your wrist. Hold on a minute. Let's check everything else, you know? And I never take Advil. I never take Tylenol, cuz I'm like, if there's a problem, I want to find the root cause. I don't want to silence the signal. Yeah. Finding the root cause of everything.

It's like your allergies. You know, it's funny, people will go ahead and they'll take out, they'll take, you know, this time of year, you know, it's one of those things where there's the pollen and the dust and this and that and the other thing, and I always say I just use local raw honey, right? It gives me everything that — And by the way, you don't need to buy this expensive honey from New Zealand or whatever. The local raw is perfect. Actually, as a matter of fact, I think, like, some of the stuff that people are coming out with — I don't know about some of this new honey that's coming out of New Zealand that basically is like, you track it down to the wild hive over here. I don't think it probably has glyphosate in it, but Manuka honey definitely has glyphosate in it. So, I think if you can find local stuff that's, you know — for us, we're blessed with the coastal, you know, that's good.

So, what's next for you? Where are you going? What are you doing? You got this new line, Zell Nova. Nova. Val, by the way, valbiohacker.com. My Substack platform has grown. I'm in the top 100 right now. Wow. Of all the Substacks. So, wow. Top 100. Yeah. I just got an email a week ago. So please help me by signing up. It's free. You don't have to — I mean, you can pay for more, but the basic membership is free. And the more I get, the higher I get in the ranking. Oh, let's see if I want to make a top 10, guys. Everybody listening to the show, please, let's help Val get that. That's a big deal. Yeah, that's a big deal for me, because I put my heart into that. Yeah, well, anything that you do, you're truly a passionate person about it, and that's really phenomenal.

So you've got the new line that's out. You'll continue to take trips, I'm sure. Leaving in two weeks for Bora Bora again. We know, I spend a month or two a year, every year. Yeah. A month or two. Yeah. You know why I love it there? But first, it's 12 hours away from Europe, three hours away from here. I feel so disconnected, and the internet sucks so much. Just so you know, it takes me 36 hours to upload a 1 gigabyte video. I can't work. I can only dive, swim, and write. I mean, I can try to do videos, but really it's really hard. And I don't have to dress up. It's so hot. You just wear a sarong and that's it. And there are no expectations there. I know no one on the small island I'm going to. And it's just, for me, this is true life. Like, I can work and also be disconnected. I'm going to measure my cortisol there. I'm taking all my Ellie sticks. You know the Ellie? Oh, yeah. I measure, see how it goes.

Oh, you know, there's a lot of talk. So, Dr. Suzanne Furry, who does the autonomic nervous system reboot with the procaine injections. I think this is going to be something that is huge. This is going to explode on the scene. The reason being is that we're all, like, over — like you, you talked about it just a minute ago, all of this stimulus constantly in a sympathetic, you know, fight-or-flight sort of framework. I think we just aren't taking — like you're alluding to, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I believe that you're alluding to this notion of, it's good to be bored once in a while. It is good. You know, as a matter of fact, you know, there's the soccer cup right now, the World Cup. World Cup. I see people in bars watching it, it's very intense. It's a game. And they're on their phone looking at Instagram and TikTok at the same time, surrounded by friends, with a screen. I'm like, can you just focus on the screen? But my dad is 85, and as I told you last year, he was given six months to live 20 years ago. And we travel once a year. I take him on a trip, and when I say a trip, we actually hike, you know, 20 kilometers a day, and we visit things. Every day I see him like this, doing nothing on a bench. At first I was scared, thinking he was not him. Well, he has nothing to think about. And I said, dad, what are you doing? He says, just cardiac coherence, thinking about life. And I'm like, he is right. We need to be bored a little bit. You need to drive without music. You need to drive without having to call someone to fill the void of driving just by yourself. I drove to this studio today and it's about 45 minutes from my house. I was tempted to call my mom. I was like, no, I'm just going to drive and just focus on the drive, which by the way is safer for everyone else. But, you know, it's a lot of things like this. I see people in studios with the phone turned off here, but you can still see notifications on the side. Like, you are in an interview. Do you really have to have your phone? I don't have an Apple Watch. I only have a Whoop. So I have zero notifications. I don't even have the time. Who needs the time now? We have phones everywhere. So I don't have any notifications, which — I think this is terrible for brain, you know, brain rot, right? So bad. So no notifications. Yeah, I've really come to this point in time where I've really turned — I mean, like, there's no buzzing. Yeah. I'm always off. Like, if you try to call me, sorry, unless I'm on my phone, I don't see, I don't hear, you know. Yeah. And the reality is that I used to always feel in my career that I had to be on. I had to be available. The minute a client called, I was always there. But as time has gone on, and you know, the portfolio of the work that we do has diversified, I'm just not as available. If you want to speak with me, you can go through my assistant and we can set up a time when I can be prepared also for that discussion. The same, like you're saying before, give me the big picture. I want to be prepared when we're going to sit down. Don't blindside me with something. I want to sit down. I want to talk about it in a way where I've got, okay, I want to bring the research. I want to know, okay, what are we dealing with, okay, now let's come so we can get a solution, not have to come back two and three times, right?

You know, it's interesting, because I used to be like you, and five years ago something happened. I was always available, everyone called me, texted me, I was there. And then I see in my requests on Instagram something which I was never checking, a message from Vogue Brazil, the magazine, in my requests, which I hadn't seen in 3 months. Someone saying, hey, we've tried to reach you, blah blah, but you did not respond, so we are doing the article without you. And I was like, you see, even if I try to be available for everyone, the big one I missed, which means I would not have seen it anyway. I'm not going to be making myself more available. If you really want to reach me, text me, email me, somehow it will reach me. And if it doesn't, it's not meant to be. That's the way I see it. So my phone is always, 100% of the time, ringer off position. If you want to call me, you need to text me first. You can maybe be lucky and I will pick up.

Yeah. You know, it's funny that we keep in touch, but we don't do it in a way where — it's enough to keep abreast of what's happening in each other's lives as friends, but it's one of those things where the minute I see you, we just pick up where we left off. So I don't have to. And — Are you lying? We still exchange a little bit on Instagram. But that's true. Not like in a constant way. That's also another thing. When there were no cell phones, you would call from a physical phone and you would get the huge lowdown of every — like, I would download everything on you for the past, what happened for the past six months, and then I wouldn't talk to you for the next two or three months, because calling someone was expensive. And now it's so cheap to call someone. It's pretty much free that you call someone for nothing. You text someone for nothing. And we take up moments from our other friends and family members' lives for nothingness. And I think we need to refocus on quality. Like, if I send you a message, it can be hello, how are you? That's fine. It's a happy message. But if it's just to tell you, did you see this reel on TikTok? No, I'm taking up some of your time for something that's BS, that doesn't make the world better.

Dr. Richard Louis Miller, who I just think is phenomenal, said to me, "Hey, Jock, we live in a world of loneliness and isolation, and it's an epidemic." He said, "It's an epidemic of loneliness and isolation." And so one of the things that he wanted to work on together was just working on a way to, if somebody pops into your head that you have a good feeling about, just to call them and just say, "I was just thinking about you." Because we never know if that's the day when one of our friends is having a bad day, right? Yeah. No, that's — you just need that, hey, I just want to let you know that I care about you. That's thoughtful, because it means there's feelings behind it, and also, from a longevity perspective, there's real connections. You are improving your markers as well. It's the do good, be good kind of thing. I agree. It's just the emptiness of some of the things we do, which I think we should refrain from, to keep the time for these types of goals.

It's true. And also I really agree with you that we need this contemplative time to just say, okay, I'm going to actually just be okay with just being here, doing nothing. I think that also the problem is that a lot of times people are just trying to stay out of the past. I think it's not only that, but they're not even in the now. They're in the tomorrow. Oh my gosh. I don't want to sound like, you know, pontificating, be in the now. I'll be out. But for instance, guys, you don't see, but this studio is in a place that's amazing. So, I'm already knowing that after that, I'll be sitting on the bench looking at the bay for like a few minutes, doing nothing. And that's something we don't do enough. I was in New York a month ago for the Biohackers World conference, and I see all these ants moving around, jumping, and I was like, people on the phone while looking at something, jumping on the — and I was like, can you just sit down and do nothing? I'm not saying for 2 hours, but you need it, actually, for your brain health, from a longevity perspective. It's not a choice to make. If you don't do it, you will age faster. Period. You can take all the supplements in your life. This is a conscious decision of, I'm not going to do anything. The last time you were here, you said you can't out-supplement yourself — you can't supplement yourself out of a bad diet. You can't out-supplement a bad diet. You can't out-supplement a bad night. You can't out-supplement a bad lifestyle. It's true. Yeah. And you know — and make a good memory. I actually listen to what you say, because I think you always have such powerfully good things to say. They kind of echo for me. That's good. I enjoy it.

You know, and I think the exercise piece, I'll never forget. I saw a piece of footage of you one time. I think it was Mission Street. It must have been Mission Street or Valencia. Pulling a tire. Yeah. You had, it was like a belt squat, you know. Actually, it's actually a harness. I have a harness from my Polar Expedition and I outfitted it with a rope that goes into — I made a hole in the tire. I put, I don't know, whatever, and then, yeah. It's a very big tire. And I also usually wear a mask to reduce the oxygen. So you can do hypoxic training. Yeah. Takes you to altitude. Yeah. That's stuff you're probably doing for your next one. Yeah. So, what is the next one?

Okay. Well, I'm hoping some of my family members are not going to watch this, cuz I haven't told anyone yet. I've climbed 45 high altitude peaks, right? One of them has refused herself to me twice. I had to turn back at 24,000 feet or 23,000 feet twice. It's called Ama Dablam in Nepal. It's a technical climb. It's not just one step before the other. You really have to climb vertical things, and with 25 pounds on the back, or actually 50 pounds on back. So it's a technical one. And I've decided to go back next April. Wow. And as we say — I love English for that. You say third time is a charm, because in French we say third time is always a failure. So I love the American version, third time is a charm, because I want it to be a charm this time. It's a very hard mountain. I don't want to turn back at 23 or 24, that high. I was almost to the top. I was so close to the top. I was like, seriously, you see the top.

But the first time I turned back — you know, it's interesting, in America we don't talk about andropause at all. It's a taboo subject. Now we talk about menopause. But the first time I climbed this mountain, at the time my doctors never talked to me about hormones and hormonal changes. And I'm at 23,000 feet. It's 1:00 a.m. on the final summit day. I've been climbing for 3 weeks. I'm wearing this suit. It's super cold, super exposed in the wind. I get my first complete body hot flash. I am drenched in my down suit and it's cold, and if I stay there, I'm going to die of cold. So, I turn back because of that. And I'm like, if I had known and taken all the progesterone, whatever I needed, I could have climbed. The second time was another story. But so now I think I am equipped from a hormonal standpoint. I'm at the top of my game. I've increased my VO2 max by 30%. I train every day. So I will put all the probability on my side. We'll see, now the mountain decides in the end.

But I think this hormone optimization piece now today, even the standard practitioners are starting to come around. It's becoming more mainstream, which — I mean, it's a shame that it's not as mainstream as going to the dentist. It should be normal. You know, I go to the dentist four times for hygiene per year. And that's because number one, I have a phenomenal hygienist. Pamela, you're the best. Where is she? She's right here. Okay. I need to see that person. Yeah. Oh, I'll tell you, there's nobody else like her. She's phenomenal. And the one thing I would say is that, you know, taking care of the oral cavity is so, so important. That's why I'm always, like, really hyper-vigilant about, you know, making sure that I brush and floss and all of those types of things, and what am I going to eat? How acidic is it? Yeah. Me too. I go to Mexico though for a lot of my work. Well, there are a lot of providers down there that — I mean, I broke a tooth climbing and I went to San Francisco to this fancy medical spa or whatever, to remove the tooth and do whatever, and they told me a number which made me jump. $13,000. I was like, "Holy cow, that's an expedition to Nepal." That's how I count, you know. And I'm like, I'm okay paying for a hyperbaric chamber, or paying for something that I — but I don't understand why it would cost so much, when you cross the border in Tijuana, you have this super fancy clinic that does an amazing job. I wouldn't go there for a cleaning or whatever, right? But the same work — and by the way, the implants here are made in Mexico. So I was like, okay. So I went there. These guys are super well trained and it was 900 bucks and I got the exact same work. But, to your point, I had some pain in my jaw for like 15 years. No one found it here in the States. Over there, this guy spent 1 hour on my X-rays and everything, and he says, "Oh, you have a problem here." Something called a colonization of bacteria. So he fixed it, and I was like, "Wow, for 900 bucks, not only do I get everything done, plus also they addressed a problem that had been hurting me for 15 years." Yeah. And it's amazing too. I think, is pain — like, we're people that deal with pain. Yeah. And so the reality is you become used to it. Yeah. And so it's phenomenal that you're always finding new things. I love to find new things. Yes. That's your thing. You're the great adventurer. Yeah. My nickname at the conferences is reversing the irreversible. That's my tagline. Every time I talk, this is what I talk about. You do what others say can't be done. Exactly. When people say there's no way out, I'm like, ho, watch me.

Yeah. Well, we heard it here first that you're going back to Nepal and you're going to make this climb. It's going to happen this time. Yes, I guarantee. I know. I feel so strong right now. I'm like, there's no way I'm not making it. And also, you have third time is a charm, but you don't have fourth time. So, I have to make it work. There's no saying for after three. Well, there's always this thing, I feel like when you're pushed up against the wall and you have to make it happen, there's no other option. But to be honest, last time I really wanted it to work and I saw that wall and I was like, wow, I thought I was ready, right? And I felt strong, but somehow, I don't know, it just did not happen. I did fall when I was climbing, and there was a plaque on the mountain saying, here died — Valerie died. But it was a male name from Russia, but Valerie died here, and my face comes here and I'm like, holding the rope, I'm like, oh, that's a sign. And usually I'm not superstitious, I don't believe in signs, but in the mountains sometimes you give meaning to meaningless things. And I was like, oh yeah, turning back. And people can judge me for being stupid, but I just felt I had to turn back. You know, I would say, I mean, just my own interpretation of that would be that things don't happen by chance. Yeah, that's too much. That's too much in that. I told them, can you remove the plaques for when I go back, because this guy named Valerie has about seven plaques on the mountain, and every time I walk, I see, here he died, Valerie died. In your head, you don't want to be thinking that, die, die, die. I need to remove that thing. We should be, here's where this person was when they made the summit. Yeah. Right. You know. Yeah, I should do that.

Yeah. So, hey, now's a point in time where we're getting towards the end of the show. What do you feel about those ketones? How do they make you feel? I have tons of energy, and I'm thinking I should take this on my climb, because when I get to 22,000 feet, this can make the difference. I'll tell you what. I'm going to order you a case of it, because you're going to need that. I don't know if I can carry a case. It's going to be heavy. Well, it won't be that big. It'll be enough. It'll be enough. And — Because that could change it. I need this little thing when I get to 24,000 feet. Like, this little tiny thing that makes the difference. Okay. I think what it will do is we'll talk to them about exactly how to work that into your protocol. I'll tell you, for me personally, I'm so hyped up right now, I could go and train again. Right? I feel like — we always talk about it, like we go back and do another session. Yeah, that's really good. I'm going to be buffed up. More buffed than already. More buffed than already. Thank you very much.

Yeah. Well, it's so great to have you in, my friend. I really enjoyed it. Thank you. I love sharing with you. Thank you for coming back. We'll see you next year. Yeah. For more. Yeah. Well, we improve more stuff. So, yeah. Can't wait to hear about this. And also, hey, do me a favor and shoot over all the links to all of those breathing devices and things of that nature that we put in there. And then also the link to the company, because we want to make sure that everyone knows about that. If there's a product out there and you're involved with it, it's going to be the highest quality. That's one thing I know about you. For sure. Yeah, for sure. Everything that's what I call biohackers noise, like all these, you know, props and stuff. I'm like, no, I don't have time. Yeah, too much garbage out there. Yeah. Thank you. Good to see you.