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卢卡斯是《提升你的生理机能》播客的主持人，同时也是Ergogenic Health的创始人。在这个播客系列中，他将深入探索那些在谷歌上无法搜索到的前沿健康和人类表现见解，帮助听众提升生活质量。

卢卡斯对终于能够推出自己的播客感到非常兴奋。在推出这个播客之前，他曾在许多其他播客中担任嘉宾，如今能拥有自己的平台来谈论自己想聊的话题，他觉得这是一种荣幸。

卢卡斯从自己15、16岁时的健康问题开始讲述。那时他出现了胃酸反流、烧心的症状，他的父亲是一名药剂师，给她开了质子泵抑制剂这种反流药物，这种药物能减少胃酸分泌。起初，他以为有了这种药就能消除症状，于是毫无顾忌地吃很多巧克力、Tim Tams饼干之类的食物，觉得即使出现反流，药物也能解决问题。

但随着时间的推移，他发现自己的消化越来越差，还出现了便秘和其他一些令人不适的肠道相关症状。也就是从这时起，他开始研究生物黑客技术，试图找出胃酸反流的根本原因。经过大量的实验，他找到了解决办法。他发现自己其实是胃酸过少，之后便开始采取措施，提供必要的“工具”来促进胃酸分泌。从17岁起，他就再也不需要那种药物了，这让他感觉非常好。

从那以后，卢卡斯开始在墨尔本的一所大学学习运动科学。在整个课程学习期间，他成绩优异，平均分达到了HD（高分），而且也很喜欢这门学科。但与此同时，他花了大量时间研究益智药、草药之类的东西，这些内容和运动科学并没有太大关联。

当时，他参与了墨尔本的一家初创公司，这家公司提供一种益智药组合。对于不了解益智药的人来说，它们基本上就是认知增强剂。在参与这家初创公司的过程中，他彻底爱上了对大脑、神经递质以及如何通过这些来影响大脑、改变个性的研究。他觉得这听起来可能有点奇怪，但他确实对如何发掘自身弱点、如何利用这些工具来弥补不足并取得进步非常着迷。

正是这样，他对神经科学产生了兴趣。从那以后，他一直在大量阅读PubMed上的文章，多年来实验过的益智补充剂和化合物超过180种，他还会在未来的播客中探讨其中很多实验。当然，这些实验有成功也有失败。

他举了一个例子，19岁时，他对一种据说能帮助排出体内重金属的化合物——琥珀酸很感兴趣。药物寄到后，他很兴奋，就在第一次约会前愚蠢地吃了一片，结果那次约会简直是一场灾难。他到达约会地点后，出现了严重的脑雾和焦虑，感觉非常糟糕。但他从这次错误中吸取了很多教训，通过不断实验和研究学到了大量知识。

他在实验中往往遵循一种特定模式：先研究某个化合物之类的东西，查看相关的临床研究，然后评估它对自己身体的影响。这包括追踪自己的表现或其他任何他想改善的方面，他会在iPhone上做笔记，全面记录整个过程，然后给出反馈和评分。

他喜欢实验的原因是，理论上的东西和实际应用到日常生活中亲身体验的感觉完全不同。很多时候，他认为某种东西在理论上会产生某种效果，但实际尝试后，却出现了完全相反的结果。这也让他认识到，需要将理论与应用结合起来，并考虑到个体差异。

他经常向一起工作的人强调，每个人的身体都是独一无二的，一种补充剂对某个人有某种影响，对另一个人产生完全相同影响的情况是非常罕见的。人们往往忽略的一点是，对于这些干预措施和实验，重要的是它们在自己身上产生的效果，别人的情况并不重要。他可能会做出一些假设，但真正了解自身感受的只有自己。这是他多年来学到的东西，也是他一直鼓励别人去做的。他认为自己培养出的高度自我意识对他走到今天帮助很大，尽管有人会说他这是健康强迫症，但他不这么认为。当感觉良好时，他会想办法保持这种状态，利用这些实验、实践和生活策略来确保自己不断进步。

卢卡斯说，他最亲密的朋友都知道，如果他在事业、运动表现等方面没有进步，他就会变得很烦躁、很沮丧，这就是他的性格。他总是渴望前进、成长，希望在生活的各个方面都能看到进步，无论是社交、情感、精神、身体还是学术方面。他希望在一天结束时，能回顾这一天并说这是很棒的一天，因为自己取得了进步，这是他非常看重的一点。

接着，他谈到了自己过去一些错误的限制性信念，而这些信念实际上在某种程度上帮助他走到了今天。最主要的一点是，他觉得自己在足球生涯中没有取得成功，没有成为职业足球运动员。从一年级、学前班、幼儿园一直到大学一年级，足球都是他生活的全部。他非常自律，为了足球放弃了很多东西。

他认为，足球生涯中那些非常严厉的教练教会了他很多自律的品质，这些品质至今仍在他从事的工作中发挥着作用，这是积极的一面。但消极的一面是，有一位教练对他们的表现要求极为苛刻，这让他在训练和比赛结束后总觉得自己不够好，这种感觉直到今天还在影响着他，不过他希望在身边人的帮助下，最终能够克服这种感觉。他觉得很多人可能都能理解这种不够好的感觉。

在Ergogenic Health初创阶段，他之所以在课后留在大学里创作内容，就是因为觉得自己不够好，他必须证明，在放弃足球生涯后，自己能在其他方面取得成就。他觉得自己亏欠父亲、家人和所有支持过他的人，认为如果不能成为职业足球运动员，那无论做什么，都必须做到优秀。这种心态一直激励着他，塑造了他的行为。

随着时间的推移，他变得非常自律和专注。他天生就有长时间专注的能力，只要有任务，就能坐下来全神贯注地去做，进入一种能屏蔽周围几乎所有事物、只专注于手头事情的状态。而且他觉得自己有强大的意志力、毅力和拼搏精神，总有那种坚持不懈的渴望，这无疑帮助他走到了今天。

卢卡斯的首要原则是，如果他知道某件事对别人有好处，那他就必须分享出来。他总是愿意给予，因为他知道发自内心的给予比接受更让人感觉良好。他也是在过去一年左右才意识到这一点，当人们在社交媒体上给他发消息，或者他帮助过的客户回来感谢他时，这种感觉非常充实和有意义，这也是他一直努力追求的。他的目标就是通过帮助别人改善生活来获得这种积极的反馈，这也会改善他自己的心理健康和幸福感，形成一种双赢的局面，这是他生活的方式，而且他认为这种方式永远不会改变。

他还提到，自己看待健康的角度非常注重表现，他明白，如果不能消除疾病，就不可能健康，也不可能有良好的表现。但他真正喜欢合作的是那些本身就比较健康、感觉良好或者已经有良好基础的人，他喜欢通过自己所知道的各种方法、技巧和生物黑客技术来帮助他们提升现有的健康基线。

他掌握的实验方法、化合物等资源非常丰富，他的电脑上有一个Excel表格，里面有大约1800个不同的帖子想法。还有很多在运动表现领域几乎没人提及的地下化合物和能增强运动表现的辅助手段，值得大家关注。

最后，卢卡斯说自己一直有一种探索精神，他坚信自己会为人类发现一些非常伟大、非常了不起的东西，可能是一种新成分、新化合物、新的生活技巧，虽然他不知道具体是什么，但这种信念一直存在于他心中。每天醒来，他都有一种强烈的感觉，相信自己会发现能造福全球数百万人的东西，这种信念激励着他不断前进。他不知道这个东西会是什么，也不知道什么时候会被发现，可能是5年，也可能是10年，但他在这个播客中说了出来，希望以后回顾时，能想起自己在第一集就提到过这件事。

卢卡斯期待在播客中呈现一些前沿的生物黑客技术和健康内容，也非常感谢大家的支持，希望大家能帮忙推广这个播客，让更多人知道。如果大家能留下五星好评，他会非常感激。他对能开启这个播客系列的旅程感到非常兴奋，期待很快与大家再次交流。

感谢大家收听今天的节目，想要获取详细的节目笔记和学到的知识，可以访问nofilter.media/boostyourbiology。本节目由No Filter Media制作，“畅所欲言”。

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D:2025.10.30<markdown>

个人健康旅程与生物黑客实验

@Lucas : 我在15、16岁时开始经历反流和胃灼热，我的药剂师父亲给我开了质子泵抑制剂，这让我可以吃任何我想吃的东西，但最终我的消化变得更糟。随着时间的推移，我的消化变得越来越差，我开始研究生物黑客，试图找到我经历反流的根本原因。通过大量的实验，我发现我实际上是胃酸过低，然后开始培养它，提供我需要的工具来基本上提高胃酸的产量。自从17岁以来，我就不再需要服用反流药物了。 我开始在墨尔本的一所大学学习运动科学，同时花大量时间研究益智药和草药。我参与了一家提供益智药的公司，并爱上了学习大脑、神经递质以及如何操纵大脑。我对如何解锁弱点，以及如何利用这些工具来弥补缺陷着迷。从那以后，我阅读了大量的PubMed文章，并尝试了超过180种不同的益智补充剂和化合物。19岁时，我尝试了一种叫做琥珀酸的化合物，用于帮助重金属螯合，结果却在第一次约会时造成了灾难。

分享图

15、16岁时，我开始遭受反流和胃灼热的困扰。那时，我感到非常沮丧。幸运的是，我的父亲是一位药剂师，他给我开了质子泵抑制剂——一种降低胃酸分泌的药物。起初，这确实解决了我的症状，让我可以毫无顾忌地享受巧克力、饼干等食物。

然而，好景不长。随着时间的推移，我的消化系统状况越来越糟糕，便秘和其他肠胃问题接踵而至。这促使我开始深入研究生物黑客技术，试图找到反流的根本原因。

经过无数次的实验——我是一个不折不扣的实验狂人，这一点至关重要——我最终发现问题的根源在于胃酸过低。于是我开始积极调理，采取各种方法来提高胃酸分泌。令人惊喜的是，从17岁起，我就再也没有需要服用反流药物了。

这段经历点燃了我对健康和人体运作机制的热情。在墨尔本的一所大学攻读运动科学学位期间，我同时投入大量时间研究益智药和草药。一次偶然的机会，我参与了一家当地创业公司，该公司销售益智药组合。正是这次经历，让我彻底迷上了大脑的奥秘：神经递质如何运作，如何通过干预来优化大脑功能，甚至改变性格。我着迷于如何利用这些知识来弥补自身的不足，并以此为工具推动自己不断进步。

从此以后，我潜心研究PubMed论文，并亲身尝试了超过180种不同的益智补充剂和化合物。当然，这其中既有成功的案例，也有失败的教训。

我至今仍清晰地记得19岁时的一次失败实验。当时，我尝试了一种名为琥珀酸的化合物，旨在帮助排出体内的重金属。我兴奋地收到快递，却愚蠢地在第一次约会前服用了一片。结果，我遭遇了严重的脑雾和焦虑，第一次约会以彻底的失败告终。这次经历虽然糟糕，却让我深刻地认识到：理论与实践的结合，以及个体差异的重要性。

我的实验遵循一个特定的模式：首先，我会查阅大量的临床研究文献；然后，我会在自身身上进行测试，并详细记录各项指标的变化；最后，我会根据结果进行评估和总结。实践证明，理论与实际效果往往大相径庭。同一种补充剂对不同的人可能产生完全不同的效果，而这正是许多人容易忽视的。我的实验重点始终放在自身感受上，而非他人经验。

正是这种持续不断的探索和自我实验，让我对自身有了更深刻的了解，也让我在事业上取得了成功。我始终追求进步，无论是事业、运动、社交、情感还是精神层面，我都渴望不断成长。这种对进步的渴望，以及由此产生的自律和专注，是我成功的关键因素之一。

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D:2025.10.30<markdown>

00:00

I thought there's something there's definitely something to this because you know I was obviously waking up with better morning wood and noticing more energy and things like that so yeah man then I then I sort of did blood work before and after 12 weeks and I managed to get my testosterone all the way up to 988. Welcome to the Seamlund Podcast I'm your host Seamlund and today our guest is Lukas Alwyn from Australia. Lukas has studied exercise science and naturopathy and is into many different biohacks.

00:27

He runs his website at ergogenic.health where he discusses his experiments and shares the latest studies on health, steep, hormone optimization and longevity. This episode is brought to you by Katsu Training. Katsu bands incorporate blood flow moderation training that trick the body into thinking that it's lifting heavier weights than it actually is. When traditional weightlifting requires you to reach 70-80% of your one repetition maximum to stimulate muscle hypertrophy, then katsu bands achieve that effect only at 20-30%.

00:54

So, it's perfect for treating injuries or used when you don't have access to heavier weights. Research about katsu bands also shows it lowers blood pressure, speeds up recovery from injuries, releases stem cells, builds muscle, burns fat and prevents aged muscle loss. These things are amazing and I use them almost every day to recover from my heavier workouts. If you want to try out the katsu bands then use the code SEAM for a 10% discount at katsu-global.com. That's S-I-I-M at katsu-global.com. Lukas, welcome to the show.

01:25

Sim, thanks for having me, man. Yeah, I'm glad to talk with you. And, you know, it's interesting because, you know, one of the things that you're known online is this experiment that you did with icing your testicles. So I think like it was a good icebreaker between you and the audience. And I can maybe explain, you know, why did you do it and how does it work and what were the kind of results?

01:46

Yeah, man. So I actually stumbled across the practice, like scrolling through some bodybuilding forums a long time ago. And I've read some people logging their experience, you know, like applying an ice pack to their testes. And I was like, hmm, I sort of looked into the research and, you know, I came across some studies sort of demonstrating beneficial effects on fertility, right?

02:09

And so there was like a one particular study that demonstrated that ice in the testes for like eight to 12 weeks improves a variety of sperm parameters.

02:19

and obviously being the biohacker I am similar to you Sim I ended up sort of just trialing it myself and you know I started grabbed an ice pack and started applying it you know regularly every single night and I thought there's something there's definitely something to this because you know I was obviously waking up with better morning wood and noticing more energy and things like that so

02:43

Yeah, man. Then I sort of did blood work before and after 12 weeks and I managed to get my testosterone all the way up to 988 nanograms per death later. So yeah.

02:53

Yeah, that's pretty crazy. And the testosterone level is also quite high. We can talk about it a bit later of how you did it. But what's the potential mechanisms of this cold improving, I don't know, like sperm? Yeah, so the research sort of looked at how anytime the testes are two degrees too warm, so anytime they're outside temperature,

03:18

you know, increased by two degrees outside of core body temperature, it actually arrests spermatogenesis. So it actually impairs fertility. So the practice is based around…

03:33

you know, we're cooling the testes, but we're also one of the mechanisms that hasn't been fully explored is the vasoconstriction that occurs, just like when we have a cold shower or jump into an ice bath, we get severe, you know, vasoconstriction. I think the same sort of will apply with the testes. We're getting major vasoconstriction up against the actual gonads. And then that's followed by like a rebound sort of vasodilatory response, which

03:59

makes sense sort of just bringing more oxygen nutrients to the testes to help with their function right so you wouldn't want to basically have uh some something hot on on your lap sitting like a laptop or something that would also inhibit this spermatogenesis

04:17

Exactly. Yeah. And that's one of the leading causes of infertility is just generally like, you know, being exposed to EMFs and just heat in general is having a deleterious effect on sperm parameters. You know, definitely one of the leading culprits behind infertility for sure. I also, you know, gotten a lot of questions about like the sauna. So would that also have like this negative effect?

04:43

Yeah, so part of my recommendations when it comes to sauna usage is that I think all men need to bring an ice pack in with them using the sauna. I know it sounds crazy, but I mean, I've got my own infrared sauna here, full spectrum, you know, mid and air and far infrared. And I always make sure to bring an ice pack in. And it just makes sense because traditionally they viewed the sauna

05:07

um the the sauna or like heat exposure as a mean as a male contraceptive a long time ago like a method of contraception right and uh is there any um let's say uh you know like prescription or protocol with the ice pack like how many times a day would you need to do it how long per each session yeah so um there is no like i mean i'm trying to

05:35

sort of describe like a bit of a protocol, and that would be like 10 to 15 minutes up to three times per day. And I think the best way to sort of start is, and one thing that all men need to know is that we don't want to be applying the ice pack directly to the skin of the testes. We don't want to burn the skin. A lot of guys think that it's applying the ice pack there, but it's just going to damage the skin and burn the skin. So instead, you want to apply it directly up against the underwear for 10 to 15 minutes.

06:04

right yeah okay gotcha yeah that was a good clarification uh so yeah how did you you know get into uh this uh biohacking and health in general well i mean i've always been fascinated with um various interventions to improve my performance on the soccer field so i played and i played professional soccer for many years and

06:24

i was always interested in like what could i use or take that could improve my ability to read the play on the soccer field um and that's when i sort of experimented with like l-theanine and acetyl-l-carnitine and things like that just the basic nootropics

06:39

And you just fell in love with the whole idea of taking control of your health. And it didn't just snowballed into like starting the Instagram page and then just sharing really useful research, which a lot of people are liking at the moment. Yeah, you have really interesting posts and articles as well and videos about more or less conventional ideas. And yeah, it's definitely people should check it out.

07:02

But let's talk about the testosterone experiment. So that's quite high for a natural testosterone. So how did you do it? And what were the things that you maybe experienced as well?

07:12

Yeah, well, I mean, I did devise like a full protocol. I outlined it in some detail in my testosterone course. But essentially what I did was I focused on lowering prolactin, increasing monounsaturated fat intake and saturated fat. So both those types of fats.

07:33

I was shifting my protein sources primarily to organ meats. So eating liver, kidneys, chicken hearts, things like that, rich in zinc, CoQ10, selenium, all these vital nutrients, heaps of cholesterol. I mean, so I was focusing on, you know, high cholesterol diet alongside like five grams of taurine every day, plus like vitamin B1. I was using a couple of herbs like cistanche, um,

08:00

i was using a couple of i mean there was one pharmacological intervention that i guess it's not really directly shown to increase testosterone but it's um ciproheptadine so that sort of helped with lowering serotonin so um yeah really focusing on

08:15

Optimizing and driving up dopamine and lowering serotonin, I think really helped. Okay. So what do you think about this trend that over the past few decades, this average testosterone levels have been declining because of maybe like xenoestrogens and bad lifestyle and plastics and chemicals in our environment?

08:35

Yeah, I mean, there's some crazy stats going around now. I mean, they say that like in 33 years or so from now, all men in the Western world will be infertile, which is pretty scary stats. I mean, you've seen the diagrams, the graphs yourself, the trending decline is so severe. And I think you definitely hit the nail on the head. There's EMF exposure, plastics, microplastics,

08:59

nutrient deficiencies, poor sleep, obesity, insulin resistance, lack of exercise. There's so many factors playing a role in the decline in both fertility and testosterone. Mm-hmm.

09:11

Yeah. It's kind of funny thing that physically men are, let's say, more resilient, but at the same time, their sperm is also very fragile or very vulnerable to very small things like EMF or, I don't know, the xenoestrogens and plastics and things like that. Yeah. It is funny like that. And I like to look at testosterone as the resilience hormone because it does help…

09:39

a man sort of become more robust and withstand stress because there was one particular study that looked at how testosterone can um help uh increase a man's willingness to withstand adversity so how long a man could withstand severe adversity and struggle it was the higher the testosterone the longer they could last in like struggling sort of thing right right

10:05

Yeah. And what's your like the software now? Like, have you changed anything? I mean, I know it was a while ago when I got my test done, I'd hope to see a little bit higher by now. I mean, I've been experimenting with some things that may help increase it further, but I

10:25

I think, yeah, definitely environmental things affect that. At the time that I did the test, my sleep was excellent. I was sleeping like eight hours a night straight. I was definitely in a caloric surplus. Whereas right now, I don't know if I would be in a caloric surplus. The one thing that's changed is that I'm doing 20,000 steps a day. So I'm not sure what sort of impact that's going to have on me.

10:49

my hormone status. Okay, gotcha. But what are maybe like some of the best like exercises or, you know, exercise is important for testosterone, but there's also like the aspect of chronic overtraining and yeah, not having enough time for recovery. So, you know, what would be like a good way to balance those things and optimizing it? Yeah, well, from the exercise perspective, leading up to that blood test, I was doing two leg sessions per week and those leg sessions were

11:18

very heavy like six to eight reps roughly um and then you know followed by i did two sprint sessions per week as well i'm convinced that sprinting has some phenomenal effect on testosterone i've seen evidence that shows that it increases dht um significantly um but in terms of like

11:39

There was absolutely no long duration cardio, nothing beyond 20 minutes. That's been shown to have a deleterious effect on testosterone. So yeah, avoiding the LIS, low intensity, steady state. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

11:58

Yeah. And, you know, what I also like to do is that focusing more on this very low intensity, like, you know, walking is actually a very low effort way of getting your steps in and getting cardio without, you know, yeah, starting to interfere with like muscle growth and without interfering with these hormones and things like that. So it's a very, yeah, like a better way of, unless you are, you know, trying to deliberately increase your endurance or something, then yeah, like a minimal effective dose or minimal effort is a kind of a better way to

12:26

Do go about it. Yeah. It was tricky because I was trying to balance like, I mean, I was trying to really optimize for testosterone, but at the same time, I was trying to like maintain balance.

12:35

aerobic capacity and like it's you know you're trying to optimize for so many different goals but in the end i think um the combination of icing certain exercises certain sleep protocols couple of herbs supplements i think they're all and then obviously really healthy thyroid function my um my t3 my t3 levels are like basically like bordering on hyperthyroid so i think that definitely having a better metabolic rate is definitely going to help as well right

13:04

And how would you achieve that with like nutrition, what kind of foods to raise your T3 and as well as testosterone? Well, I was definitely encouraging myself to like have a lot of carbohydrates. I wasn't holding back on carbs when I was trying to optimize testosterone. In fact, I was having upwards of 250 to 300 grams of carbs per day, which is quite, I mean, moderate to high.

13:30

And yeah, in terms of which carbohydrate sources, I was actually staying away from starchy carbohydrates because I find that they can irritate my gut. So sort of leaning towards the sort of brown rice, quinoa, oats, things like that, and some fruit as well.

13:49

yeah yeah like a two low carb can definitely um eventually have like negative effects on uh disaster if you do it like for too long especially if you like have intense training on top of that so yeah i also you know like prefer more of like a cyclical approach uh of doing that but you you mentioned also like the fats and um those things uh how would they contribute to the system

14:13

Yeah, I mean, so obviously I said sort of shifting the focus towards saturated fats and monounsaturated. So the monounsaturated fat sources, mostly avocados, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, a little bit of almonds, and there was probably a little bit of avocado oil. But then like…

14:34

yeah predominantly like lean b or something like just beef you know not worried about the the super lean aspect but and the combination of the saturated fats plus the monounsaturated realistically is ideal and then from the polyunsaturated fats purely just having the uh fish or seafood yeah you mentioned it would like like a small surplus but um

14:58

would let's say like if you get too low in body fat that would also uh i would imagine eventually have like a negative effect on testosterone so what was maybe like a what is like a ideal body fat range to have let's say the most optimal testosterone it's a good question um i haven't fully delved into that but i think you know something somewhere in the range of say 11 to maybe 15 body fat i think would be healthy have you seen i don't know have you seen much research in that realm

15:28

Well, I think that there is some, let's say, this individuality and everyone has, let's say, their body fat set point where their body is functioning optimally. Some people are genetically very easily able to stay at 6% all the time, whereas others, for them, it's hard to go below 11% because their body starts to fight it and downregulates the hormones. So I think there are some differences between people. Some people

15:54

I think in general, around 10% is probably the best and staying below 10% all the time, your body can get used to it eventually. But let's say for most average people, it can eventually start to catch up. So you really maybe wouldn't be able to stay there year round. But for maybe a few months of the year, it's probably not going to have a problem.

16:17

Yeah, my body fat, according to my, I did a DEXA scan and everyone was shocked with my results. My results came back as 14%, which like people that look at me, they're like, there's no way you're 14%. Yeah.

16:33

Yeah, I saw one of the pictures as well. You have leanness and the six pack and it tells you 40%, which kind of makes a lot of people think that the test is wrong or something. But yeah, usually people carry the body fat in different areas as well. And yeah, it's just the looks aspect can be deceiving, so to say, that the percentage itself is also not really that relevant if people are after their looks themselves.

17:00

Yeah, yeah, exactly. You're also interested into like these adaptogens and different kinds of compounds. So are there any like adaptogens that haven't shown to actually, you know, boost testosterone and help with it?

17:14

i mean the most well known is is definitely ashwagandha but my my stance there on ashwagandha one of my one of my blog posts actually went viral talking about um how ashwagandha although it's effective for you know lowering cortisol and increasing testosterone it can have a effect similar to ssri drugs by sort of desensitizing the um the 5ht1a serotonin receptor so um

17:40

um i mean that that's something i learned quite some time ago so i've sort of stayed sort of clear from ashwagandha instead shifting my focus towards um korean ginseng safford muesli um cistanche pine pollen and tonka dali these are like the main ones that i was leveraging um but yeah i think definitely my favorite one is uh cistanche it's well known uh

18:02

it's one of Genghis Khan's favorite herbs. He used it to populate much of Asia. So yeah, definitely like that one. Yeah, that's pretty cool. And ginseng is also like good for stress management in general. And you know, stress has like a negative effect on testosterone. Yeah. Yeah. I like, I mean, Panax,

18:23

Panax ginseng is generally very warming and very stimulating. And that's also been shown to have beneficial effects on luteinizing hormone as well. How do you consume it? As a powder or the root or the supplement? Which one is the best?

18:41

I always lean towards like a powdered extract. Yeah. Tend towards like sort of 10% ginsenicides. But I mean, obviously I've experimented with a range of adaptogens. Another one from Russia, morale roots, which is quite good. Rhodiola. I've tried basically every adaptogen under the sun. Yeah. Yeah. Like I also like the Rhodiola. Usually you actually kind of feel the effects of it faster as well with it.

19:11

But you also mentioned in your blog that you had some health issues in the past. So what were they and how did you kind of solve them? Well, I mean, the one thing that sort of got me into this, my dad being a pharmacist, I actually suffered from reflux heartburn. And this was ongoing, very young age. It was prescribed proton pump inhibitors, so like Nexium, Sonimac.

19:36

And that was leading to, now that I understand the research, what it's doing, I understand that, you know, clearly that's affecting vitamin B12 absorption, iron absorption, magnesium. So that was definitely having a deleterious effect on my health at the time. And that's sort of what transitioned, what prompted me to study naturopathy and complete my naturopathic degree.

20:00

And so, yeah, like the reflux and heartburn was definitely a major factor, a major reason why I got so interested in health and then sort of biohacked my way out of that using like gentian root and artichoke extract and,

20:14

i don't even you know i haven't needed any reflux medications for like i don't know eight years now so okay nice yeah yeah the um these medications tend to have uh yeah like even like you know proton pump inhibitors they um reduce the results from potassium as well and uh so yeah you you may actually get worse uh from using them

20:35

chronically at least um what what about uh have you looked into things like you know cognition and mental side like any no tropics any research on that yeah i mean i'm i'm heavily involved in and i spent a lot of time researching um nootropics and um cosmetic neurology which definitely is an area that i'm really fascinated in um so yeah i mean i've experimented with

21:01

hundreds of different nootropics, you know, ranging from, you know, L-theanine, L-carnitine, CDP-choline, L-for-GPC, just a range of really, you know, sort of, I guess they're well-known now, some of these ones, but I've, you know, I've used a range of other ones. A couple of my favorites, I sort of, I think I mentioned one of them is Bromantine, which is a, it's a synthetic, it's a synthetic adaptogen. So it was developed by the Russians to sort of, you know,

21:30

See if they could help their soldiers withstand stress. And bromantane is definitely one of those compounds that helps with just physical energy and just being more motivated sort of thing. Okay. Well, that's interesting. What is it or how does it get formulated? Where do we extract it?

21:49

Bromantane basically was actually modeled off a compound called Bematil. And it works through a unique enzyme in the brain. And it's an enzyme that needs to be addressed, which is

22:05

ignored. And that's like most people that use L-tyrosine or phenylalanine, these amino acids, their ability to get converted into dopamine is regulated by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. So that enzyme that converts the tyrosine into L-DOPA, that's where bromantane comes. It actually upregulates that enzyme to shuttle more tyrosine into dopamine. So

22:32

it's having a, it's actually having an epigenetic effect on this enzyme. So it's actually increasing the mRNA expression, which is awesome. Okay. Right. So dopamine is, um, you're known as the kind of reward chemical and helps with motivation and attention. Uh,

22:47

So I would imagine that if you have, let's say, high dopamine, then you're also more eager to do the things that you need to do, even if you're, let's say, because all of the times, like, you know, starting to work or being productive is actually having this intrinsic motivation to do it. And if you have this intrinsic motivation, then you, even if you are tired, the intrinsic motivation is going to override that and you're still able to focus and get the thing done. So that's like a…

23:11

important way of actually boosting your productivity and motivation through like internal internal means exactly and i like to look at dopamine as the anti-procrastination neurotransmitter yeah yeah and you know but at the same time there's also like you know dopamine is involved in like addiction and that sort of thing as well so that kind of gets it gets a bad rap uh because of because of this association yeah i mean the the whole addiction side i think um

23:39

Yeah, definitely. It definitely plays a role. But I think the opioid network is definitely more reinforcing and addictive. You know, like activating that mu opioid receptor can be more reinforcing. For sure. And that's where serotonin may actually be like a negative thing.

23:59

Exactly. Yeah. So that's where serotonin can have a dampening effect on the pleasure response can contribute to something known as anhedonia, which is the inability to experience pleasure, which people can get from using 5-HTP, tryptophan, melatonin, things like that. So it's almost like, you know,

24:21

You know, there's a lot of this online that I need to dopamine fast to kind of clear my receptors from like, I don't know, eating junk food or watching pornography or being addicted to social media. I need to kind of dopamine fast. But the serotonin may actually be the problem, not the dopamine. Exactly. Exactly. And I think you'd be surprised how many people have chronically high serotonin. And then I realized that

24:47

Let's look at just for men, for example, serotonin is having a suppressive effect on testosterone. Serotonin has a suppressive effect on thyroid stimulating hormone. You know, it really is a hibernation neurotransmitter. Yeah. Can you explain to me what is actually serotonin and what are the main effects on the body?

25:10

Well, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that's synthesized from tryptophan, so found abundant in like turkey or walnuts. And its role, it's considered a neuromodulator. I mean, it does seem to modulate a lot of other neurotransmitter systems, but

25:32

In general, a person with high serotonin is often very compliant and very obedient. And so, like, they can follow orders. I mean, that sort of makes sense why the SSRI medications can make people feel like a zombie because they're basically flooded with serotonin and, you know, they just have no, they can't think. No motivation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

25:59

Yeah, but serotonin is also associated with sleep and relaxation, which comes to the hibernation side. Exactly. So yeah, definitely regulating. I think the main area of research

26:12

in regards to serotonin is actually in the gut and we know that you know 90 90 of the serotonin is made in our gut um but serotonin is what causes diarrhea when there's too much you know too much serotonin can increase peristalsis gotcha so how would you like what would be like you know uh like a good amount of serotonin you obviously don't want to have too much but you know i would imagine like not enough can also cause you know just irritation or not being able to relax and sleep

26:41

Yeah, I mean, if we had the… I mean, I'm sort of hoping that in the next couple of years we have technology that can accurately assess neurotransmitters in the brain because it's difficult to ascertain, like, the levels of serotonin in specific brain regions because…

26:58

One could have high serotonin in say like the amygdala versus they may not have high serotonin in the hypothalamus. And we know that serotonin is function and role in these different brain regions will exert a completely different effect. So I think, um,

27:13

yeah i'm looking forward to seeing that sort of research you know maybe in the next few years or so okay yeah yeah but yeah let's say if someone is uh in this slump of uh hibernation so to say they don't feel any motivation and they are very obedient so to say uh following the rules and all those like how would be like a good way to lower the serotonin then like is there any is there anything like that is artificially spiking the serotonin too high in our environment and making us you know imbalanced

27:40

I mean, from an anti-serotonin sort of perspective, one compound that's pretty readily available, activated charcoal seems to have an anti-serotonin effect. Vitamin B1 can help to increase the uptake of serotonin.

27:57

um but generally speaking like exposure to bright you know going out and seeing the sun exposure to the sun that's going to help to lower that um serotonin gotcha and also boosts motivation or dopamine from the sun exactly gotcha okay um what you also had like a post about uh naltrexone uh so maybe talk about what is it and what was the experiment or the research

28:24

Yeah, I was looking back at naltrexone and, you know, I was wondering, geez, why did I go down that path? I mean, I know what it does. Basically, naltrexone is basically an antidote or it's an opioid antagonist. So it blocks the opioid receptors out.

28:42

And it can also block the endorphins. So it can have an anti-endorphin effect. And that seems to have a powerful modulatory role on the immune system. And I originally started researching it in the context of autoimmune disease because many people were seeing improvements in their autoimmune symptoms using low dose naltrexone. So I ended up getting some maybe three years ago.

29:09

And within 30 minutes of taking the first dose, I think it was 2.5 milligrams, which is moderate to low. I did a workout. I did some sprint training. And I remember usually my response from sprinting is that I get a feel good feeling.

29:30

you know definitely like a bit of a rush an endorphin rush after sprinting and i remember on this low dose naltrexone i had none of that and i felt actually really flat like really flat and i was like

29:44

I knew that was coming. And that seems to have like it had a mild rebound effect. So like after blocking the endorphins, the endorphin receptors, it can have a rebound elevation and modulation effect. Okay. So did you get it like any post-dose like rebound?

30:08

I mean, it took a few days. I don't know what's wrong. I honestly think that my blood brain barrier is extremely leaky. It must have let too much naltrexone in, but it took a while. It took like three to four days to really notice the rebound effect. Okay. And how did it feel? Or was it any different?

30:27

I guess I just felt more social, a bit more outgoing, just in a better mood, more resilient. It's also been shown to raise testosterone as well. I know it's been used in a fertility study, but I mean, I wouldn't recommend anyone sort of just go out and experiment with that. It is a pharmaceutical medication. It needs to be used under guidance. Right. Yeah.

30:54

Only if your dad is a pharmacist. It's like, do not try this experiment at home. And I try it at home. I wonder what sleep, like sleep is also very important for just testosterone and overall health. Do you have like any special hacks or compounds that you use for sleep? Yeah, man. I mean, my favorite hack at the moment is mouth taping. I've been mouth taping for years.

31:23

a number of months, in fact, probably over a year now. Mouth taping is awesome because it supports nitric oxide production because most of the nitric oxide is produced in the nasal cavity. I also incline my bed. So I've inclined my bed about six inches and

31:43

I find that some of the initial studies were looking at improving varicose veins and helping with glymphatic drainage, helping with the brain. And also I've been using a particular seaweed, a brown seaweed called Eclonia Carver. It's an impressive marine drug that's really effective for it copies a lot of the effects that L-theanine does in the brain. Okay.

32:13

uh and l-theanine is uh you know has these relaxing effects of lowering your excitation and uh you know focus not focus but you know this uh i don't know yeah excitement yeah so i mean eclonia carver um seems to increase alpha waves in the brain similar to l-theanine it's also helping with a gaba response and it lowers cortisol quite dramatically as well okay uh but you do let's say um

32:43

With GABA, I also have the similar effect as serotonin. If you, let's say, get too much of it, making you too docile or too kind of hibernating. You know, well, it's a great question. And I've recently began to ponder that as well, whether excess inhibitory neurotransmission, such as GABA. So excess GABA, it may have a blunting effect on glutamate. And glutamate is the opposite to GABA. And that's excitatory, stimulating glutamate.

33:12

But usually the case is that most people have excess glutamate, not enough GABA. But I mean, that's a bit of a broad statement because like, do we have research on that? I don't know. Okay. But would you ever recommend taking like a GABA supplement or something?

33:32

I do use it sort of infrequently. I mean, I'm going away on a holiday fairly soon and I've packed some GABA. Like I might use it very sparingly at a low dosage. I do notice tolerance if I use it consistently. So, I mean, I like GABA. I like to use GABA sparingly like once or twice a week. Gotcha. But what about melatonin? Melatonin supplements?

33:57

Geez. I mean, I was very excited when I found out about melatonin, some of the pleiotrophic effects it has in the body, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, some remarkable immune effects. But unfortunately, experimenting with melatonin just left me disappointed.

34:16

I just prefer, like right now, I just prefer to wear my blue blockers, you know, 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock at night. And, you know, just wearing my blue blockers alone, I did a Dutch test recently and my melatonin levels were on the top end of the range. And I'm like, it makes sense. I don't need to use melatonin. The only time I would ever consider it is jet lag. Yeah. Yeah. I also agree that…

34:43

you know uh although i do think that there isn't this negative feedback that your body would stop producing melatonin if you take it as a supplement i think it's still like you know kind of more better to just use it uh whenever you do have like a bad night's sleep or you're trying to catch up on some bad night's sleep and things like that because yeah usually because then you may develop this psychological dependency that oh i need to take it in order to have uh like a good better sleep and that creates like maybe this placebo like feedback loop

35:09

So it's, yeah, but I do always, you know, you always use it when you actually need it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And the other aspect to that is like a lot of people are actually like overdosing melatonin without realizing it.

35:24

was really i was a big fan of um smart drug smarts podcast he had a guest talking about um melatonin supplements and realistically the most ideal dosage is 300 micrograms sustained release whereas most supplements are selling like three milligrams or 10 milligrams which is super high right yeah but that can definitely be like um you know again you may feel tired and drowsy if you take too much in the morning

35:53

But is there any melatonin usually helps with deep sleep? But is there any way to specifically increase REM sleep that usually some people struggle with? Yeah. So from the REM sleep optimization sort of thing, rhodiola was researched in combination with acetazolamide. It actually does increase REM sleep. I would assume that would be the high Rosevins extract. There's two different types of constituents there.

36:23

I've used the solidicide and the rosevins. The rosevins extract, the high percentage of rosevins was more calming. So if I were to like sort of look at REM sleep optimization, really, we just want to ensure we're getting sufficient like vitamin B6, vitamin A, and some of these essential nutrients, magnesium, zinc. These all have a positive effect on REM sleep.

36:49

Gotcha. And any other besides compounds, like any hacks or any technology, any kind of beta routines or something to help with that? At one stage, I was experimenting with the acupressure mat with the spikes. I mean, I did get a good response initially. Again, I felt like I built tolerance to that really quickly.

37:16

But in terms of, yeah, like the inclining my beds, mouth taping, blue blockers, Eclonia Carver, and then, yeah, I mean, occasionally I might use…

37:28

um ciproheptadine um which sort of does help with sleep uh but from my experience our bpc 157 that increased my i mean it increased my deep sleep dramatically dramatically really well so bpc is like a peptide and uh it's usually mostly known for like it's uh helps to recover from injuries and tendon ligaments and that sort of thing so how would it how would it help with the sleep

37:57

Well, if you look at some of the other research, I know BPC is well studied for improving muscle, sorry, muscle soreness and ligaments, like torn ligaments and injuries, etc.

38:11

It's also research to heal the gut, leaky gut, things like that. But it also has been shown to help restore the GABA system. Like it has some restorative effects on the GABA network. So I think I'd imagine that's probably how it helps with sleep. So kind of just repairs the brain, if that makes sense.

38:34

Yeah, yeah. It's a phenomenal compound. Gotcha. Have you used it for this injury treatment itself as well?

38:43

Well, that's the reason why I first tried it was because I tore my medial meniscus and sort of I used BPC for about two weeks. And after about a week or so, there was no pain in my knee. And so this was orally as well. Like most peptides have to be injected, but BPC is unique because it's an orally bioavailable peptide, which is what we want.

39:09

Okay. Well, yeah, that's good to know. Any other peptides that you have used? I haven't really played around with too many. I mean, back in the day, I did use a particular bovine. So like a pig peptide amino acid complex.

39:33

That was mostly for muscle building and recovery and things like that. It helps with increasing nitrogen retention. So I'm sure it was having a positive effect on protein synthesis. But yeah, I mean, I'll be getting into peptides in the next probably like five to 10 years because I think there's some really phenomenal, phenomenal up and coming peptides. So have you looked at the research about the current state? Yeah.

40:01

I mean, there's one particular, it's not really a peptide, but there's one small molecule for fat loss. As one of my highest performing YouTube videos, it's called 5-amino-1-MQ. And this particular molecule seems to increase intracellular NAD levels significantly.

40:19

Like, you know, instead of taking nicotinamide mononucleotide or any other NAD supplement, it seems to increase it intracellularly. I spoke to Ryan Smith from TaylorMade, and he said some pretty phenomenal things about it. It also increases skeletal muscle satellite cell production. So helping with stem cell production, things like that.

40:44

So yeah, 5-amino-1-MQ is definitely a really cool compound. Okay, that's interesting. So yeah, like the peptides themselves are supposed to be research chemicals and they're not like for human consumption unless you have like maybe a doctor who is prescribing it. So how would maybe people who are interested in it, how would they, I don't know, learn more about it or where can they actually get it from some facility?

41:11

Well, I had a, I mean, I spoke to Ben Greenfield and Ryan Smith from TaylorMade and I ended up finding a really reliable vendor, which I'm now an affiliate partner with. It's on my website. People just search 5 Amino 1MQ. They'll see I've linked to a particular product that has really good reviews. Okay, gotcha. So what about, have you ever done or what's your thoughts on fasting?

41:41

Geez, I mean, I spent a lot of time researching. I mean, I do fast maybe five days a week. My first meal is often around 11.30 midday. And that's like the highest protein, high fat meal. But to be honest, like my goals are very much contrary to…

42:04

sort of implementing the fasting because i'm trying to build as much muscle as i can at the moment whilst you can build a lot of muscle still fasting um i just can't get enough calories in if i fast too much so um i do fast but i do it sparingly gotcha yeah uh so uh yeah like you you do it but um

42:28

what do you think about the research or something? What have you, what was your thoughts about, is there any potential for it for, for like a helper sector? Oh, absolutely. From like a longevity, longevity and metabolic health and insulin sensitivity. I'm a big fan. I'm a big fan. I think it's, um, you know, the research is strong. It does help with, you know, improving, increasing lifespan and overall health span. Um,

42:54

But I mean, I also don't mind the use of fasting mimetic compounds like spermidine and metformin, dihydroberberine, things like that. Yeah, those things do mimic, at least turn on the same pathways in the body as fasting or calorie restriction does.

43:13

And, you know, arguably I would have like, you know, what I also like to think about is that there are ways to kind of speed up the benefits of fasting, like with things like exercise or solas or taking these different compounds. So we can get like some of the benefits faster without you needing to, you know, fast for days and days because you're like you maybe you would need to fast for three days to get into topology. But yeah.

43:34

that will only be the case if you're like sedentary and uh inter-resistant and those things that you you don't have like this uh energy stress on the body whereas you you do have this higher energy stress uh by with the exercise or the memetics then this process is gonna be a lot faster yeah somebody should uh retitle these compounds as like faster fasting yeah

44:00

Which ones? Yeah, you mentioned the berberine and metformin. So which one do you think is like your favorite? Well, actually, there's a new form of berberine, which I think it's going to be trending a lot more, the dihydroberberine. It's a metabolite of berberine that seems to…

44:21

have much better bioavailability than regular berberine. So dihydroberberine at about 50 to 100 milligrams per day is equivalent to like 500 to 1000 milligrams of berberine. So yeah, I'll tend to load up on that around my highest carb meal of the day. And that helps to lower the blood sugar and lower the insulin as well.

44:46

I also do use metformin about maybe twice a week or so. And that's usually under, I mean, that's under very strict circumstances. So if I've had a really poor night's sleep, the next day I'll have metformin because I know I'm insulin resistant.

45:04

And I'll also, if I'm going to have a cheap, like go out and have some fun on the weekend or whatever, I'll have metformin. If I'm going to eat like crappy food, like pizzas and whatever, I'll have metformin. Yeah. So that's biohacking. Yeah.

45:20

What about coffee? What do you think about coffee for the health benefits? There's a lot of controversy that some people don't think that it's healthy at all, whereas some others think… I have also seen a lot of research about the benefits of coffee. Yeah, I mean…

45:37

I'm someone who actually I don't drink coffee at all. And the reason it's not that I don't like coffee. I really enjoy it and I really feel good on it. I have more energy. I feel great. The only reason why I don't drink coffee is because I lose track of my baseline. It ends up giving me this sort of false level of energy and I just forget like where am I at? And then eventually one or two days after drinking coffee, I'm like, if I don't have coffee on the third day,

46:06

I mean, I'm struggling. My adrenals are so shot that I really struggle. So honestly, I just have decaf coffee or some other sort of caffeine alternatives. Gotcha. But what does the research say? What are the main benefits to coffee? Overall, we see an improvement in liver function over time. So reduction in liver cancer, it increases DHT, it improves

46:35

uh, testosterone, it improves, um, the microbiome. I mean, I think coffee has a, has a broad effect on improving, uh, lifespan and longevity provided that the individual uses it consistently. I think this, and one to two cups per day, I don't think pushing it any beyond maybe 200 milligrams per day is very beneficial. Um, but I think

47:03

For most people who really struggle with like energy and adrenal issues, then I think caffeine can be slightly hijacking their adrenals. Right. Yeah, for sure. There's definitely too much that may happen. But yeah, what is the mechanism or the reasons why coffee has these benefits? And would it be like the caffeine or would it be also like the polyphenols that you get from even like decaf coffee? Like which one is it?

47:32

I think it's the combination. I mean, there's studies that show that caffeine by itself is

47:40

has a different effect through caffeine in coffee. So we know that these polyphenols, they're also, some of them are psychoactive. Some of them have, they modulate the microbiome. I think when we look at coffee, we're not just looking at the caffeine. Absolutely. We need to look into the full picture, the polyphenols, the caffeic acid, the chlorogenic acid. There's a range of unique polyphenols that,

48:08

again, work on the gut, work on binding to the bitter receptors in the back of the tongue, the bitter receptors in the stomach. The bitter receptors stimulate gallbladder, bile release, improve liver function. So I think, yeah, overall, the benefits really lie in the whole package, the way that nature designed. Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. And is there like any alternatives to coffee, like any teas or something?

48:36

I really like yerba mate. I mean, I respond quite well to yerba mate tea, South American tea. That's rich in theobromine that has a longer half-life and seems to have a smoother energy kick than coffee. And then there's also one compound that I really like.

48:59

It's called tea cream, which seems to be a similar molecule to caffeine, but it has a much longer half-life and also has no signs of tolerance or habituation, which is

49:11

That's what we want. We want a compound that doesn't build tolerance. Gotcha. Yeah. Like the green tea is also very researched and has also similar antioxidant effects and protective effects from cancer and things like that. So yeah, very ancient beverage.

49:32

Well, Lukas, it's been really fascinating to talk with you and we could definitely spend hours on all the different research you've done and all the topics. But yeah, we'll start wrapping things up as well before I ask my last question. Where can people learn more about you and your work?

49:47

Yeah, awesome. I just want to say thanks for having me on the show, Sim. It's been fun. People can check me out on Instagram, ergogenic underscore health, and also check me out on YouTube. Just type in Boost Your Biology. There'll be a whole channel there so they can check that out. Awesome. We're going to put all the links in the show notes. And my last question is, what's this one piece of advice or habit that you wish you adopted sooner? Oh, geez, that's a tough one.

50:17

One piece or habit? Oh, okay. The biggest one for me is actually…

50:22

don't underestimate the impact of social connections like you can biohack all day you can go on the treadmill desk you can go on the sauna but i think social connections having a good community and a tribe is really what makes me feel the best yeah and research also shows that helps with like actually living longer so if you want to yeah if you want to live longer then you need to have a good social connections

50:48

That's it. That's it. Awesome. Well, it's great talking with you and yeah, I'll see you around in the future. Likewise, Tim. Take care, man.

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D:2025.10.30

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