16 biohacks for staying healthy & productive virtually ANYWHERE

I have Biohackers who contact me often complaining that their countries make it difficult or impossible for them to get quality, pharma-grade Nootropics.

Americans who have never lived abroad have no idea how lucky they are that they can Google search for any supplement they want, identify a high-quality source of it, digitally swipe their credit cards, and in 5-7 days it will reliably arrive at their doorstep.

In other countries they have a confusing mess of regulations and laws about what supplements are allowed:

* You never really know if you're allowed to import a supplement until you do.

* About a 3rd of the time, it will get lost in shipping. The shipping firm almost always charges you some (surprise!) extra fees.

* Anything health-related is more likely to get stuck in customs, sometimes they will release it, sometimes not.

* There's a 20% - 30% VAT tax.

Recently I ordered some things shipped to Sofia, Bulgaria and after waiting two weeks on shipping it was a royal pain in the ass to pick them up at the airport. You have to give power of attorney to a Bulgarian firm to fill out the paperwork to release your packages. It doubled the cost of the items and took at least half a day.

I lived for several years in Europe and three years in Latin America, in that time I've had so many debates with young Europeans, Canadians, and Australians that mocked my American libertarianism. I was so backward because...

I believe that people need to take care of themselves, it's not the government's job to take care of people who make bad decisions.

I don't trust the government to defend me and my family. I value the right to defend myself.

They implied that they were so much more evolved than Americans because they have...

Free healthcare

Free college

Paid maternity leave

Two months of paid vacation yearly

The unwitting young socialists I've debated think they are free. But because they value security, comfort, and hedonism over philosophically robust freedom their countries are sliding further and further into communism. The totalitarian fist constricting freedom manifests as these arbitrary restrictions on supplements.

In a way, it's fair that these cultures that traded freedom for security are now less secure and less free.

In any city in Europe, you are always within a stone's throw of someplace selling cigarettes and booze, but God forbid that they allow people to import and consume the health supplements they want!

Anyways...

Here are 16 Biohacks that are available to you virtually everywhere.

Brain Training (Dual N-Back)

From a rainforest hut in Costa Rica to the forlorn hills of Moldova, I've brain-trained with Dual N-Back. For me, it has marked short-term and long-term effects.Within about 20 days of usage, you'll experience a positive effect on your emotional reactivity, focus ability, and short-term memory.

Perhaps thanks to the mainstream media, brain training has caught a bad rap in recent years, many people who have NOT tried it think it's a total waste of time.

However, anybody who's looked at the science will conclude that brain training is worthwhile.Looking at the science means actually reading papers in the science journals or on PubMed NOT merely consuming an opinion of the science by a journalist, a blogger, or a podcaster. Looking at the science concerning Dual N-Back you'll find that there have been a couple of studies published that expressed very mild skepticism or failed to demonstrate significant effect BUT there have been more studies that did demonstrate transfer effects to general intelligence.The balance of the weight of the science is on the side of it being beneficial and you can find a lot more veteran Biohackers online talking about its very real effect on focus, mood, and short-term memory than those who found it unremarkable.

Meditation

This is a long-term Biohack for a limitless mind. If you start meditating today (which you really should if you aren't) it won't change your level of focus, happiness, and productivity much tomorrow but if you can stick with it for a year or two it has a profound transformational effect on your mind.

It requires very little; you should ideally do it in a quiet room but the environment doesn't need to be perfectly tranquil; I've done some of my best meditation.on park benches and trainsThere are a couple of tools like Headspace or Insight timer that you can download on your smartphone that are free or cost very little.

Quality Coffee + Green Tea

You may have heard mixed things about coffee. The truth is that high-quality coffee, consumed in reasonable amounts can be a highly effective Nootropic, especially when taken alongside an L-Theanine source like green tea.

Obviously, if you have the option of buying mycotoxin-free, organic coffee fresh from the farmer who produced it that is preferable, but often you don't. In those cases follow this rule of thumb: Good coffee should be palatable drunk straight black without anything added.

If the coffee has that strong bitter taste that we classically associate with coffee and needs to be mixed with milk or cream to taste pleasant, that's a good sign that it's not really healthy coffee. If it has a slightly bitter taste that is still pleasant, it's likely fine.

You'll also know how anxiety-prone it makes you after multiple cups. For me, if I drink 2-3 cups of coffee and notice myself getting irate with little things, that's also a sign that it's not good stuff. Actual healthy coffee consumed in reasonable doses should wake you up, and make you alert and motivated but not anxious and overstimulated.

In almost any city in the world, you can find an organic or vegan food grocery store that sells high-quality coffee or go to a hipster cafe and you'll likely find some tattooed baristas who are real connoisseurs of 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine (the chemical name of caffeine).

Caffeine and L-Theanine are regarded as one of the most efficacious Nootropic combinations. A 2010 Dutch human study, The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness, suggested consuming Caffeine and L-Theanine in approximately a 2:1 ratio. From its abstract:

The combination of moderate levels of L-theanine and caffeine significantly improved accuracy during task switching and self-reported alertness... and reduced self-reported tiredness... There were no significant effects on other cognitive tasks, such as visual search, choice reaction times, or mental rotation. The present results suggest that 97 mg of L-theanine in combination with 40 mg of caffeine helps to focus attention during a demanding cognitive task.

This stack is one of my favorites and I consistently start my mornings like this...

* The Umami taste of green tea actually improves the bitter taste of the coffee.

* Green tea has a subtle anxiolytic