When you love biohacking, you are almost guaranteed to at least consider fasting at some point or another, and may have already started experimenting with different types of fasting.
Intermittent fasting is a growing trend, and popular types of longer fasts include bone broth fasts, juice fasts, water fasts, and even fasts like the master cleanse diet, where you only consume a mixture of cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and maple syrup, and drink saltwater every day.
I actually tried the master cleanse diet when I was in primary school and Beyonce made it popular, and to this day, I cannot handle the taste. Jonathan did it for five days while I did my bone broth fast. He had been wanting to do it for months and even prepared for it by going on a ketogenic diet for months before the fast.
To be honest, I did not really plan on doing a bone broth fast, but I had to go for an operation recently, and I started playing with the idea of doing a fast to help force me into becoming ketogenic, as having ketones in your system can help with wound healing.
I had also been feeling quite frustrated with my health and body even before the operation, so I wanted to do a system reset. There are a few reasons why I chose to do a bone broth fast, which are:
You Do Not Feel as Deprived as When Water Fasting
A lot of biohacking enthusiasts do water fasts, but I just could not. To be honest, I am a bit of a food addict (actually, I am a life-long food addict and binge eater), but my love of health at least allows me to balance it out a bit, and my weight has stayed the same because of it for a long time.
I think doing a water fast will be too traumatic for me to do at this time, but maybe I will feel braver about doing it in a few months or years.
Calorie Restriction Stimulates Autophagy
Just like water or dry fasting (not even water… oh hell no), calorie restriction also puts your body in a state of autophagy, which translates to self-eating, and is the process of the body clearing out damaged or senescent cells.
I consumed about 500 calories on the bone broth diet, so it was a lot like the Fasting Mimicking Diet by Valter Longo, PhD, except it was a bit too much protein and a bit lower in calories. I plan on experimenting with the Fasting Mimicking Diet over the next year by doing it once a month for five days instead of doing a monthly three- or five-day fast like many other biohacking lovers.
It Is an Easier Way to Consume Salt While Fasting Than Drinking Salt Water
While watching Jonathan struggle to finish two teaspoons of Himalayan salt diluted in a litre of water, I happily sipped on my bone broth with the same amount of salt. It is a good idea to consume more salt (sea salt or even Himalayan salt) in order to ensure that your electrolyte levels stay optimal.
Bone Broth is Healing for Your Gut
Bone broth is a wonderful source of essential minerals, and it is also high in collagen. Collagen is made from the amino acids, proline and glycine, and it is crucial for healthy joints, supports skin structure, and promotes healthy hair growth.
Your gut lining is also partly made with collagen, and getting it from your diet will help you greatly in terms of your health. Gut health should be a big focus in any biohacking lover’s journey. If you have a damaged gut lining, proteins and even other food particles can go through the holes in your gut lining and enter your bloodstream.
The body will see them as foreign bodies and start to attack them, which can cause inflammation. A damaged gut lining can also make it harder to digest foods and absorb nutrients. Your biohacking diet will be wasted if you are not absorbing the nutrients you are consuming to advance your health.
I Got to Play with My Pressure Cooker
When I became interested in biohacking and saw how some other biohacking enthusiasts were making bone broth in their pressure cookers, I became even more desperate to have one. I finally got one a few months ago (thank you mom), which for me, was a dream come true.
Even before I discovered biohacking, I loved cooking. As a kid, my dream was to become a chef, and I am using my own health and biohacking journey as a way to experiment with cooking and become wonderful at making healthy meals.
My Results?
While I was hoping to see some weight loss on the bone broth fast, I actually gained a kilo, but I am too bloated thanks to PMS to know what is truly going on. I do feel wonderful, however, and have more mental clarity than I have had in months.
I tested whether or not I was in ketosis every day by using ketone urine test strips, and was in ketosis within a day, even after a few weeks of eating carbs daily. To break my bone broth fast, I ate a decent plate of oxtail stew that my grandmother made, as well as dark chocolate, which I believe is the best way to break a fast (my gran’s food has always been the best).
The meal did kick me out of ketosis, but the next morning, I was keto again and overjoyed. After the fast, I am planning on staying on a rather strict ketogenic diet, as I want to finally get rid of my belly fat, which I have been trying to do for years.
With the newfound strength I have from doing the bone broth fast, it has also been easier for me to fast for 16 hours on some days, although I only aim for 14 hours on most days.
That was my experience with doing a bone broth fast as a biohacking and health enthusiast. Perhaps you would like to try it yourself, or experiment with other types of fasts, but the health benefits are promising. Becoming your Superhuman self requires some self-experimentation after all.
