June 27, 2020

From podcast : https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/brain-podcasts/how-to-become-a-genius/

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:01:08] Podcast Sponsor

[00:03:53] Guest Introduction

[00:06:22] How Daniel Became An Authority On Nutrition At Such A Young Age

[00:16:03] How A Bee Sting Led To An “Aha” Moment For Daniel

[00:24:20] Biohacks And Routines In Daniel's Life

[00:37:34] Breath Protocols And Foods To Remain In The Parasympathetic State

[00:47:04] The Value Of Keeping Tabs On Your Poop

[01:00:25] The Remainder Of Daniel's Routine

[01:06:01] How To Alter Your Genius Via Epigenetics

[01:12:35] The GENIUS Mode

[01:15:58] Closing the Podcast

[01:17:38] End of Podcast

Ben:  On this episode of the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast.

Daniel:  Only one quarter or 1% of the population's genius, and there's nothing the 99.75% of us can do about it. That's pretty inspiring. It's really empowering, but at the same time, we're going to be careful of what we're doing because you could be turning off your genius. And if you're not turning on your genius, what are you turning on? Yeah, it's the best at analytical. You can't replace the AI in analytical, like it's faster at math, it's faster at algorithms, all that stuff. So, we got to focus on the other types of geniuses.

Ben:  Health, performance, nutrition, longevity, ancestral living, biohacking, and much more. My name is Ben Greenfield. Welcome to the show.

Well, today is a fun interview. I actually got to interview a young man, a very smart young man, and I think you're going to love him. I had a wonderful, wonderful time interviewing this cat. So, his name is Daniel Bissonnette, if I'm pronouncing that correctly. I sound fancy when I say it at least. Speaking of fancy, we have a really, really cool announcement, and that is that the Kion Colostrum, which sells like hotcakes, is currently 10% off. Colostrum is known as nature's first food. It's given to babies to provide them with nutrients, vitamins, proteins, antibodies for a healthy gut lining and a strong immune system. And even if you aren't a little baby, you get all the benefits when you take colostrum. I take it regularly to support my gut health, particularly in the heat or during exercise in the heat.

So, when you're out on a run in the summer or in a hot gym or hot anywhere and you feel like your stomach gets a little funky, especially when you're exercising in hot weather, one of the things colostrum has been shown to do is to decrease gut permeability, thus decreasing endotoxicity due to exercise in hot weather, also wonderful just for a full gut-healing effect. So, our colostrum from Kion is one of the highest quality you can get your hands on. It's from grass-fed, pasture-raised goats at a local farm near my house actually in Washington. So, non-GMO, no antibiotics, no hormones, single-origin. You don't find colostrum like that, folks, and we've got it. Nature's first food it's called. So, 10% off at Kion. You go to getkion.com, getK-I-O-N.com. And your code is BEN10 over there.

The other cool thing is that while you're working on your gut with the colostrum, you can also work on your skin from the inside out because my friends at Organifi have cracked the code on creating a really great tasting, raspberry lemon tasting, really good on ice this time of year actually in a little glass mason jar. You put some of this on ice and mix it up with water. What is it? It's called Glow. It's a plant-based beverage that supports your body's natural ability to be able to produce collagen, and the smooth fine lines, and wrinkles, and protect your skin from sun exposure and toxins again from the inside out so you don't have to smear toxic sunscreen on.

It's got five times the moisture of hyaluronic acid from the tremella mushrooms in there. So, it hydrates your skin as well with that hyaluronic acid equivalent. That was five times hyaluronic acid. How do you like that? You don't have to get hyaluronic acid injected underneath your skin particles. Plant-based bamboo silica in there to help support collagen production. And that I mentioned, it tastes amazing. So, you can consume it anytime of day, very low calorie, wonderful for your skin, and you get 20% off. Go to organifi.com/ben. That's Organifi with an “I” dot com/ben.

Well, as promised on today's show, I have a prodigy, a 15-year-old guy. His name is Daniel Bissonnette. I just love to say his last name because it makes me sound refined and all Frenchy. Anyway, so I first saw Daniel — I think he tagged me on an Instagram post. And here was this kid with like long hair sitting cross-legged, meditating in his shorts, almost Wim Hof style on what appeared to be a giant frozen glacier. And I'll link to that post in the shownotes actually if you guys go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/daniel. I'll link to that Instagram post, and also to everything else that Daniel and I talk about today.

So, I started to look into Daniel because anytime I see a young man doing something that seems mildly interesting, or at least out of the ordinary, I will always raise an eyebrow or at least turn my head. And it turns out that he was actually listed, and I don't believe he is any more appear plant-based eater, but he was listed as one of the world's top 100 most influential vegans, the most in-demand health and nutrition youth keynoter in the world. He's an award-winning activist. He's a best-selling author. He wrote a book when he was, I believe, just like 11 or 12 years old called the “Breakfast Burst.” He's been all over TV in Canada. He lives in Toronto. He has one of the highest viewed YouTube channels for a guy his age in health. And he's just doing amazing things. He's now building out this Biology of Greatness program where he's exploring the interaction between DNA and unlocking your genius. And we have so many things we can talk about.

And Daniel, I think you might be, aside from my own boys, one of the youngest dudes I've ever had on this show. So, no pressure, man.

Daniel:  Cool. Oh, yeah, definitely. I've been a huge fan for a while. Yeah. It's part of my morning routine is listening to the Ben Greenfield Podcast. I got your book right here. Your book is crazy. It's like the size of —

Ben:  Which book do you have?

Daniel:  “Boundless.”

Ben:  Oh, yeah.

Daniel:  It's like the size of like two and a half textbooks. It's crazy. I mean, you can't even read it like a normal book because it's so heavy.

Ben:  Yeah. It took on a life of its own, man. But you wrote a book, too. You wrote a book, too. I know you wrote a book when you were young.

And you know what I want to know is I want to know what your childhood was like, like how you're raised and how you came to be where you're at right now. So, were you homeschooled or unschooled? Did you have some kind of a weird thing happen that pushed you in a direction that you're at right now where you're defying the status quo and social norms in terms of what a 15-year-old boy should be doing? How did all start for you?

Daniel:  Yeah. Actually, it started — interestingly, I actually do go to school, and it's interesting because it started all when I was really young because my parents raised me on a plant-based diet. And I thought every kid ate like that until I went to school and I was quite shocked, and it was crazy, I was the only kid in my whole school who wasn't eating junk food. I thought it was art supplies because when I was little, I make art with it. I mean, it looked like that's artificial, but I got bullied because of my diet. And so, for six years of my school life, I was bullied because I ate different.

Ben:  Because of hemp crackers and nut cheese?

Daniel:  No, they didn't. Actually, they just made fun of me, picked on me. And basically, my ideas, I learned that they didn't really matter and I'd just get in more trouble if I told them. So, it really wasn't a great experience. But then in Grade 3, my teacher asked me to give a presentation on my diet, like the last thing I'd want to do is do that, right?

Ben:  Right.

Daniel:  But I figured, I thought about it. And my mom brought this point up, “What if I just have one more kid? And if I just have one kid, just one kid, it'll be worth it.” So, I gave the presentation and to my surprise, kids started listening. They started trashing their junk, asking me to read the labels. They were asking me if it was organic, looking for that organic symbol, the non-GMO symbol. It was really cool. And I'm like, “Wow!” And it was so powerful because I found my voice. I then gave a talk at a global rally and it went viral, becoming most viewed video on YouTube for that event.

Ben:  What's a global rally?

Daniel:  Oh, it's a March Against Monsanto global rally.

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  I don't think it's still here.

Ben:  March Against Monsanto. I'll raise a glass to that.

Daniel:  It was cool that talk and I'm so little in it now I look back. But it went viral, became the most viewed video in YouTube for that event. And that event was held in over 450 different cities around the globe with over two million attendees. So, I knew I was onto something, and that kind of got me started with speaking. And then after my talks, people didn't really know what to do. It wasn't very practical. So, I decided, why don't I create a book that is carefully formulated to have the right foods combined correctly at the right time to boost people's brainpower for breakfast? Because breakfast is so important to nail that breakfast. I say that breakfast is even more important than lunch and dinner because your body is primed to absorb the most nutrients because you've been fasting for eight hours. And even Dr. Mercola recommends if you're doing intermittent fasting, he now recommends to skip dinner instead of breakfast.

Ben:  Yeah, yeah. Well, that's part of Satchin Panda‘s research too on circadian rhythmicity that if you're going to skip a meal, it appears that the one to skip from a metabolic and a circadian rhythm standpoint would be dinner. And obviously, for some people like hard-charging athletes and exercise enthusiasts, they're going to need a little top off on calories at the end of the day. But I agree. And I'm not a breakfast skipper. I'm like a late breakfast guy, like I start to eat breakfast about 9:30 —

Daniel:  Me, too.

Ben:  — 10:00-ish. That's when my appetite kicks in. Whereas my kids, they'll get up and go straight to making pancakes, eggs, bacon, whatever. But yeah, I agree, breakfast is based on most of the research I've seen, if you were to say — and there was actually a recent one that just came out, early day feedings versus late-day feedings for the highest calorie meal. And early day feedings definitely went out again from both of metabolic health and a circadian rhythmicity standpoint.

Daniel:  Yeah. And they did studies actually that people who eat a really big breakfast are a lot less likely to overeat at dinnertime, and they actually lose weight. They did these two studies where one person had a big breakfast and one group had a really small breakfast and a big dinner. And they found that the group that had a big breakfast actually lost weight. Whereas the group that didn't gained weight. So, it's really cool. And anyways, that book did pretty good. Then, really interesting, I was filming a video on poop because you can tell a lot about your health from your poop. And then my dad gets this email from our website that someone bought the book.

Ben:  Wait, wait, wait. We're going to film a video about poop. You got to give details about that because — are we talking about like you as a talking head talking about your poop or are you like video camera in the toilet?

Daniel:  No, I was talking about the importance of your health and your poop and how you can learn a lot about it.

Ben:  Alright.

Daniel:  So, my dad gets this email saying, “Someone bought the book.” I'm like, “Oh, probably my friend's mom. She said maybe she'd get it.” We look into it. The person who bought the book was actually Susan Cameron, James Cameron's wife.

Ben:  Oh, wow.

Daniel:  And it was crazy. And then this book got endorsed by Eric the Trainer, which is Hollywood's top fitness trainer. He trains a lot of the top Hollywood actors. And then, this guy from this band — I don't remember the band because it's not my generation, but I saw his concert, one of the last concerts. They were performing with Def Leppard, but it was cool. No, sorry. No, it's the Def Leppard band, that really ripped guy, it was that guy. I don't know his name.

Ben:  Yeah. Okay. Wow. Yeah. I don't know his name either, but I do know Def Leppard is actually a band. So, there's something to be said for that. Did you just get lucky or these people randomly find you, or was this something you were doing from a social media standpoint?

Daniel:  It's actually at one of my talks. And then we went to the event, the last concert that — they were doing a world tour, their last concert?

Ben:  Def Leppard?

Daniel:  Yeah. So, the guy was in town and he went to the event, the fitness trainer actually called Eric the Trainer, and this guy saw me talking, and then we went to the concert. It was really cool. But yeah, so that book got endorsed by him, and Dr. Udo too, Dr. Udo Erasmus, the father of flaxseed oil.

Ben:  Oh, yeah. I've had him on my podcast like 10 years ago. I actually really like his approach because a lot of people, they'll [00:12:42] _____ plant oils, but healthy cold processed plant oils with a high number of the omega-7s and the omega-9s and some of the things he works into. That's one of the few times that I will say, yeah, definitely drink vegetable oil because this is the good kind of vegetable oil.

Daniel:  Yeah. The oils are very sensitive. And that's one of the things I also like about Ian Clark‘s products is his oils are in darker glass containers so that they don't get damaged by the sunlight.

Ben:  Yeah. Usually, Miron and I've actually interviewed Ian as well because he makes the black seed oil and the phytoplankton. He's got a really, really interesting suite of products and he's up there right around you. He has a big farm right by Toronto.

Daniel:  Actually, interestingly enough, my parents met Ian because I was born in Toronto, and my parents met Ian 15 years ago. So, it was around the time when I was born. So, very, very cool. But yeah, we were hanging out with him recently before the coronavirus outbreak happened.

Ben:  I can tell you, not to rabbit hole too much, but Ian's been texting me lately telling me to get barb wire fences put up around my property and he showed me like all the pickup trucks I need to buy and the 50-gallon gasoline cans to bury in my backyard. Like he's gone full-on prep remote lately.

Daniel:  Oh, yeah, yeah. I talked to him about that actually recently. It's crazy what's going on and he's definitely preparing because he doesn't want to take any chances.

Ben:  Yeah. And I should tell people real quick. Ian Clark, he's a super interesting cat in and of itself, and I interviewed him. I'll put the link to my interview with Ian if you guys want to hear about Ian because he's actually a fascinating dude. So, go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/daniel and go check out the shownotes because I interviewed Ian if you guys are wondering who this weird cat is.

Daniel:  Yeah. Ian has got some very interesting stuff. He was teaching me some interesting stuff. He's got this new slapper thing and it's interesting. It's this ancient Chinese medicine technique — sorry, no, I think it's classic Chinese medicine.

Ben:  Of course.

Daniel:  But yeah. It's cool. Ian's very cool. So, this book I released, it was great. It was successful for many years. I wrote it when I was 11 and I found the recipe book was great because I'm a very passionate chef. I love cooking. And then when you combine that with nutrition, it's the ultimate combination that I wish all chefs had because nutrition is so essential. And then you combine that with wonderful seasoning and you look at Chinese medicine, the seasoning is your medicine. It's not the food, it's the seasoning. So, you add wonderful spices, cinnamon. Cardamom is great. I want to talk about that with blueberries when I get into my morning routine. But you look at rosemary, all these great spices are antifungal, antiviral, and they're loaded with quality medicinal benefits, and they got quite strong flavors. I mean, you look at cloves, it's the number one highest source of antioxidants in the world. I mean, you're not going to eat a spoonful of that because you're going to be rolling on the floor, but it's definitely powerful.

Ben:  So, you get into all this stuff in the “Breakfast Burst”, the “Breakfast Burst” it's called?

Daniel:  “Daniel's Breakfast Burst” was just the recipe.

Ben:  Okay. So, those are the recipes. You wrote this. It turned into kind of a smash hit that thrust you into the limelight. You go around giving all these talks and signing books and appearing on all these different platforms that you've been on. But what kind of progress from there? Because for example, I know that you're no longer plant-based, you're up to other things, so where have you taken things since then?

Daniel:  Well, actually, what I didn't really realize is this was just the beginning. It all started really for me in Grade 6 when my teacher called my mom for a meeting, and he says, “We've tested Daniel and he's not a gifted child. In fact, he's not gifted in anything. Some children are not entirely gifted, but they're gifted in certain areas. With Daniel, nothing shows up, nothing. In fact, his writing is so horrendous. I'm thinking of giving him the writing disability test.”

Ben:  Your teacher is kind of [censored], man.

Daniel:  Oh, he was. Everyone hated him. He made a kid cry on his birthday.

Ben:  Not that we're about negativity and unforgiveness on the show, but that's a pretty low blow.

Daniel:  It was actually against the rules because they discovered when the gifted test was first created — and they no longer use it anymore because — I'll explain why right after. But they discovered that the gifted test you can't tell the kids the results if they fail because it can have lifelong consequences on their confidence, and he went against those rules, many years after the rules were already set in stone. So, I'm very grateful because I wouldn't be on this journey if it wasn't for him.

Ben:  Wow, way to see the silver lining.

Daniel:  The reason they don't use the gifted test anymore is because you can no longer tell — and they realize this just now because schools take a while to realize things. You cannot tell a child's intelligence when they're an adult if you test them as a kid because information and — like for example, I wasn't tested genius, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a genius. I don't know. Maybe I am. I'd like to think I am. Everyone likes to think they are.

Ben:  So, so far you don't seem that stupid during an interview. I mean, I'll pull you back if it turns out you're not a genius, I might not just even publish this, but for now you're doing alright, you're doing alright. Okay. So, genius or not, what actually happened?

Daniel:  So, I felt crushed and I was just sitting down in my chair just feeling sorry for myself. And my mom comes up to me and she places her hand on my shoulder and she says, “Son, you were given this experience as a gift. So, snap out of it, you little wimp.” And then she like snapped at me. I was shocked and I realized she was right. There was no reason to just get all mad about it. And I thought about it, I'm like, “What if my teacher's wrong?” And I look into it and I discover that Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, Leonardo da Vinci, all these people, much more, they were all conscious about their diet. Even Gandhi, he was conscious diet, too. So, if you look at all these people and they're all conscious about their diet, that's no coincidence.

Ben:  Yeah. I mean, Hippocrates, one of the fathers of medicine, he would use — well, kind of a not diet to heal many diseases. He was a huge proponent of fasting and calorie mitigation, and using that is almost a reboot for the body. And from there, of course, we know many scientists and physicians and great thinkers all viewed food as something that could either bestow energy or [00:19:09] _____ improper amounts or with the improper types of food could just steal energy from the body. And I think that's totally true. I mean, even now, some of the most productive people who I interviewed on this podcast, they're one meal a day people, or they are intermittent fasting people, or they're highly cognizant of diet almost to a fault of what the world might label as orthorexic, but I consider it to be just yet another kind of feather in the cap of productivity because they know how much that can steal or bestow energy.

Daniel:  Well, they're taking advantage of your body's natural evolution process. We've evolved and not know what our next meal would be. And so, you can really tell that in our DNA and consistently eating and wasting a bunch of energy digesting.

Ben:  I don't know about you. I do my best work when I'm mildly hungry like I try to stay kind of sort of somewhat hungry the entire day all the way up until dinner. And then at dinner, I will finally say, “Okay. I'm going to enjoy dinner with the family. I'm going to eat until I'm satiated.” But yeah, I'm super productive. And if I stop for huge lunches or make my smoothie too big for breakfast, I absolutely get sluggish.

Daniel:  Oh, yeah, and there's definitely something about that, eating dinner with the family. And a lot of people aren't doing that right now with devices thinking they can just sit on their device and, whatever, entertain themselves on Netflix while eating. And there's so much evidence that shows that when you eat dinner with your family, there's something that happens there. Your digestion is better, you're happier, and you want to have happy emotions when you're eating because that affects how you digest and all these different things. So, conscious eating and mindfulness eating is the term I feel like people are overusing it now, but it's actually really important, and I think that is something that people need to be more aware of, but definitely.

So, back to the story. I got basically really in-depth into this. I'm like, “There's got to be a way to turn on genius.” I discover more limiting beliefs on Google. Who knew? Only one quarter or 1% of the population's genius, and there's nothing the 99.75% of us can do about it. That's pretty inspiring. But I'm like, “This doesn't make any sense.” So, I keep looking and I can't find anything. Then I'm running to school one day because I just sprint to school. Kids don't understand. They're like, “Why? You can just walk.” But I'm sprinting and I run into a bee. It freaks out and stings me in the neck. Now, the neck is a painful place to be stung, so it's on my mind all day. Obviously, I didn't tell my mom because you know what she would say.

Ben:  You're lucky you're not allergic because the neck would be the worst place to get stung. I'm assuming you're not allergic to bees.

Daniel:  No, I'm not. Well, it got me thinking, “What makes a worker bee a worker bee? And what makes a queen a queen?” It's something we really have to think about and I think it's really important.

Ben:  You realize most young men would not think about that when they get stung by a bee. They would be more making a mad scramble for the nurse's station.

Daniel:  Well, my mom has taught me well.

Ben:  Alright. So, you instead began pondering the deep philosophical life of bees after you're stung?

Daniel:  Yes. And actually, it's very interesting. I'm not going to get all into it because it doesn't really relate much to humans except we have a lot more in common with the bees than we realize. What I discovered, and this is shocking, everything we'd know about the bees is completely backwards. Every single larva in the beehive is a queen. Every single larva is genetically a queen. Now, I'm not saying they have the capability built-in and it's off. No, no, no. It's on. They're all queen bees, but they're fed bee bread, which is pollen and honey, and it contains p-coumaric acid, which is a plant flavonoid.

Ben:  Have you ever eaten bee bread? Because I've heard it tastes amazing. It's like a mix of the royal jelly, and the propolis, and the pollen, and the honey, and everything altogether, right?

Daniel:  Yes. Royal jelly, honey, and then pollen. And then they match it up in a little section on the beehive, and then they let ferment. So, that's the food, but it contains p-coumaric acid, a plant flavonoid, which to the bees turns off their queen gene. To us, it creates hormesis that's great, that's beneficial because we're so large compared to the bees, but it turns off their queen gene. Now, royal jelly doesn't have anything that turns on the queen gene. It's just a nutrient-dense food, but it's not much special in it.

So, you look at it and you realize, “Whoa, this is crazy. It's more important that the queen avoids bee bread than it is that she eats royal jelly. What she doesn't do is more important than what she does.” And guess what, then I started going deep down the rabbit hole and I discovered there's a science called epigenetics that proves to us that this is exactly like humans, except bees can only alter the genetic expression when they're larva. We can do it throughout our entire life. But this also means that every action we take every single day is altering our genetic expression. So, it's really empowering, but at the same time, we're going to be careful what we're doing because you could be turning off your genius. And if you're not turning on your genius, what are you turning on? Like cancer?

Ben:  I want to get into in a little bit here how you've tied this epigenetic factor into what your new program is called, the “Biology of Greatness.” But I want to set that aside for a moment. I want to get back to the “Biology of Greatness” and how exactly that process of altering yourself epigenetically would actually work and how you're teaching that.

But you've also already alluded to like some little habits, some little routines, some little hacks, and I want to make sure we have time to get into that because again, what turned me on to you is this photo of you doing what appeared to be some pretty intense cold thermogenesis. So, I want to hear a little bit more about your day. And then after that, let's get into the DNA alteration, what you're teaching now in your program.

Daniel:  Well, actually, yeah. So, let's get in-depth into it.

Ben:  Alright.

Daniel:  I begin my morning by waking up. It's the most important step of the day. And then what I do is — it kind of depends on the day. Sometimes I sleep in a little bit. And then what I do is I get up in the morning and I go for my exercise. So, I have this bike called the Schwinn Airdyne. It's like a fan bike. You probably heard of it.

Ben:  I love those.

Daniel:  It's really great and it's got a high-intensity interval training session. So, I do 10-second sprint, 10-second rest for five minutes straight. And then I'll do some pushup, sit-ups. I'll go for a sprint and I'll come home. And I actually have these toe shoes that I wear. You know the five-finger toe, the Vibram shoes?

Ben:  Yup.

Daniel:  So, those are really great shoes and it's — kids make fun of me at school for them a lot, like I get so many comments. People think they're water shoes, but I really couldn't care less. You know how many comments I get about my long hair? It's crazy. Honestly, it's so crazy I can walk —

Ben:  You've got a full headed hair.

Daniel:  I can walk into any women's restroom and nobody would notice. I'm not saying I've done at all, but —

Ben:  Wait until you're you 23. You get a little goatee, maybe a little scruff. You might start getting called out on that.

Daniel:  Yeah, yeah. No. But for now, I can take advantage of it.

Ben:  Alright. So, you've got your interval training that you do on the bike. When you wake up, are you doing any type of gratitude, meditation, anything like that, or are you just like getting straight to the bike?

Daniel:  When it comes to the meditation, that comes next. S0, after I do my fitness routine, I let my brother involved, my younger brother. He's 11 right now. And then what I do is I do my cold shower. Now, I like to jump into a freezing cold or lie in the snow, but all year round is not really that cold where I can take a cold shower and I'll get those benefits. So, I'd take my cold shower. But I do a cold/hot shower. You mentioned one of your most popular videos on YouTube is how to take a cold shower, and I think that's ridiculous. It is definitely hilarious.

Ben:  Yeah, exactly, because it's not exactly rocket science. Get in the shower.

Daniel:  And one of the things I learned from you, box breathing, I definitely do that. But what's really interesting, and I want to dive deep into this, is cold immersion. We hear about it from Wim Hof and all these great people, but there's an angle nobody talks about, and that's the angle of meditation and alpha brainwaves. We know the Schumann resonance, the pulse of the earth. The earth has a frequency. That's why grounding is so powerful. And that's why I don't know if we'll be able to live on Mars because — actually, this links back to bees in a way. The bees have an internal compass, and that's how they guide throughout, and that's how they go back to their hive every time. They find it because they are very sensitive with the electromagnetic fields. So, they actually did a study where they put like a landline phone that was plugged in on top of the beehive. The bees left. The beehive was empty.

Ben:  Wow.

Daniel:  So, quite fascinating. But, we're also sensitive to this, not to the same level as the bees, but we have the same proteins in us that are sensitive to these electromagnetic fields. So, what's interesting is alpha brainwaves. Their brainwaves are when millions of neurons find synchronicity. And each hemisphere of the brain produces different brainwaves at different times. But beta brainwaves, which is the state most of us are in, when we're talking, we're in beta brainwaves. Like, I love talking. So, if alpha brainwaves were activated with talking, I'd have alpha brainwaves all the time, but it's not. It's beta brainwaves. So, alpha brainwaves are very interesting because they're the exact same frequency as the Schumann resonance. I hope I'm saying that correctly, but yes, the same resonance as the earth, same frequency. It's not a —

Ben:  Yeah. They're close to that 7.8 Hertz around in there.

Daniel:  Exactly.

Ben:  Although admittedly, the earth does — it fluctuates a lot, like it goes from zero all the way up to 100 Hertz, which is nowhere near the mega million, and I believe I've even heard them talk about close to billion Hertz frequencies that you get from some of these non-native forms of EMF. But it's actually really interesting because tomorrow, after I interview you, I'm actually interviewing Jane Goldberg from New York City, who has written an entire book about radiation hormesis and how just by being outside barefoot, you're not only exposed to this pulsed electromagnetic field of the earth and the Schumann resonance, but also mild amounts of radiation. Even radiation emitted from like stones and geological formations, and at this low-dose radiation.

And she even gets to Chernobyl and how some rodents are living longer around that area, and some of the actual — and this is going to be controversial, I know, when I interview her, some of the health effects of the atomic bomb. But it actually is very interesting how much of a hormetic and electrical effect we get from the planet, which is scary when you consider that right now, we're in the process of enveloping the entire planet in a whole host of signals that are at massively higher frequencies and higher amounts of pulsation than what we'd normally experience.

Daniel:  Yeah. Like Elon Musk's plan to send 42,000 drone satellites in the air to cover every inch with 5G. That's pretty crazy. And that links back to alpha brainwaves because we work electrically. We're electric beings and our brainwaves are electrical. So, it's going to have major psychological effects, these 5G towers and these 5G satellites. And to not even do any studies on that, that's ridiculous. It's very crazy. But back to the benefits of alpha brainwaves. Alpha brainwaves are very powerful. We know alpha brainwaves are great because they did a study and they found that amateur archers mastered archery in one day to Olympic level with one day of training. In the alpha brainwave state, they had an electrical —

Ben:  There's a lot of archers listening into this show who might raise an eyebrow at that though because some of these cats are practicing for years and years to become [00:30:18] _____.

Daniel:  Yeah. I mean, I guess it's not the best Olympic level, but it was like you have intense learning abilities like —

Ben:  Oh, yeah. Don't get me wrong. I've read the “Inner Game Of Tennis” and “The Inner Game Of Golf” and Max — who is a [00:30:31] _____, Psycho-Cybernetics, I think. I mean, you can get a great deal of learning, shocking amount of learning, even muscle growth. Like they've done studies on muscle growth and visualizing a contraction of the left bicep versus the right bicep, not actually contracting it and seeing a myofibrillar response in the muscle itself. So, there is a definite mind over matter effector, and also an intense training effect that could take place in the absence of actual training apparati.

Daniel:  Yeah. And that's also your learning ability. They did a study because they've found that, actually meditators, both hemispheres of the brain at the same time create the same frequency. This is very rare. But when meditators meditate, they can achieve this. So, they actually created this music track, these tracks that have two different frequencies that converge into one. I think it's like with the different years, you hear different music. And they did a study where they took two groups of students. One group was listening to these tracks while studying and the others weren't. And they found that the ones who were listening to these tunes were — like they learned way better, they did way better on the tests and they were all using the same literature, the same teachers, same classroom. So, it's just that music alone.

When you get both hemispheres of the brain to produce the same brainwave, it's crazy. Brainwaves are something that I feel aren't studied enough. Like you look at your productivity when you're in alpha brainwaves, [00:32:00] _____ creativity happens, which is very essential because AI is advancing fast. And soon, it's going to replace a lot of jobs and tasks. I mean, it already is. So, we have to be prepared. And AI cannot replace creativity, at least not yet. It can create these algorithms, but it's really not the same.

Analytical genius, and this is something I talked about in my book, there are three different types of genius. There's analytical genius, then there's the emotional genius, and then there's a creative genius. And we really have to find which one we are. And analytical genius is what's taught in schools, but that's what AI is the best at. AI is the best at analytical. You can't replace the AI in analytical. It's faster at math, it's faster at algorithms, all that stuff. So, we got to focus on the other types of geniuses. And that's stuff that AI can't replace. And alpha brainwaves do help with that.

Interestingly, they did a study, NASA scientists did a study and they found that school actually teaches your neurons in your brain to fight against each other because you're criticizing and creating at the same time and that doesn't work. So, they found that creativity dramatically decreases as people age because they go through school. And I'm not going against school, but I am saying that it's been proven with very credible scientists. So, that's something very interesting. But what's interesting? So, how do we activate alpha brainwaves? I mean, there's plenty of ways you talk about in your book.

Ben:  And by the way, we're talking about your morning routine. This is something you're doing in the morning to activate your alpha brainwaves?

Daniel:  Yes.

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  Cold showers because our body has a mechanism, a defense mechanism. It's the opposite of your fight or flight response. It's an inner defense mechanism. And when it activates, boosted oxygen and blood flow to the brain. You also get lower brainwave frequencies. So, you get alpha brainwaves, and you get a lot of great benefits from that. And that's what cold emergent activates. It activates that defense mechanism. So, you get boosted blood flow throughout the brain. And when you combine that with cold and hot, you get the maximum benefits. You also activate your alpha brainwaves. And the best part about this is it doesn't take that long to snap into it. Whereas meditation, you really have to master it. This, all you need to do is focus on your breathing and resist that first urge to get out of the cold. And I've got plenty of practice doing this. I was able to lie in the snow for 14 minutes in just swimming shorts. All you need to do is focus on your breathing and really relax.

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What kind of breathing are you doing? Because in most cases, you'll see people recommend the Wim Hof, the Inner Fire, or often called the tummo breathwork.

Daniel:  Oh, no, you don't do that one during cold immersion.

Ben:  Well, you don't do that during cold immersion, but a lot of people do it prior to heat the body and then also to — you activate a slight sympathetic drive. I have yet to really wrap my head around the very best way to do it, because honestly, I get a great deal of benefit out of using Wim Hof or Inner Fire or tummo breathing before I'll go get in the ice tub or do a very cold, cold exposure. But once you're in there, obviously, the Wim Hof breathwork is very sympathetically driven and very activating. And the problem is that you need to get yourself back into a parasympathetic state once you get into the ice or into the cold. The best way I've found to do it is you lead up to intense cold or work out in the cold or cold water swim with the Wim Hof, but then you have to progress from that into box breathing, or nasal breathing, or alternate nostril breathing, or something that brings you back down into parasympathetic after you've activated that inner fire.

Daniel:  Oh, yeah. Well, I actually learned the box breathing from you and that's something I do. But I find that, yeah, when I was 11, I did 11 minutes in the snow in just swimming shorts, and it was cool, but I was doing Wim Hof breathing technique during the cold immersion. It wasn't as intense like I didn't feel the tingling in my fingers, but when I got up, I felt like I was going to faint. So, that wasn't good news. I mean, I've survived and I've actually got a lot of YouTube — they suddenly changed their guidelines a little bit every time. Some of my videos, like my videos got tens of thousands of views, just got removed because when I was little, I wasn't giving any warning in the video for kids to try cold immersion. Just be careful because I'm jumping into the lake when it's snowing and nobody's there, and I'm just swimming in shorts.

But I do recommend it for kids. And a cold shower is really safe. I bet your kids do cold immersion. It's got so many benefits and it's just impossible to ignore it because boosted immune system, boosted brainpower, alpha brainwaves, all these great stuff. Why would you stay away from it? And what I really talk about — I read a lot of these studies and I tried out and you get nothing from it. I mean, a good example is Moringa. I was actually chatting with Darin, the Baruka nuts guy, I call him Mr. Baruka, like last week I think. And, yeah, I found one of the things in his interview with you that was so interesting is the Moringa. I mean, it makes sense to me. They test some fresh Moringa, and then they sell you the product, but it's dried. So, there's no actual studies on the dried one that they're showing you. You think, “Wow, this is such a great food.” You try it and then go, “Where's the benefits? I'm not feeling anything.” That's what happened to me. I'm like, “Wow. Moringa is a great food.” So, we buy a few bags of powdered Moringa and I'm like, “I'm not feeling anything. This is ridiculous.” So, we stopped buying it. But powdered is not what I recommend. But basically, trying these methods out and experiencing it for yourself is so important. So, when I tried cold immersion, you feel a difference. And when I feel a difference, that sells me. I'm like, “This is good. I got to do this.”

Ben:  I agree, I agree. And sometimes it does depend though with some of these so-called superfoods. Delivery mechanisms I think are also important. Like in some cases, a coffee or a tea-based compound, when blended with fats, you get better bioavailability, and all of a sudden, you feel it more. Some nootropics or smart drugs or microdosing with psychedelics, for example, sometimes when you combine that with something like infrared light or sunlight or something that activates the mitochondria, all of a sudden, something you didn't feel that much you feel a lot. The same thing could be said for breathwork. Like a lot of times, if you combine some type of a compound with a breathwork practice and you're tuned into your body, all of a sudden, you begin to feel it.

I think one problem also is people will like dump their 18 different superfoods into a smoothie, but then they're off like checking emails, scrambling into their car, heading to work and not in touch with their bodies. And I think one of the best things that you can do, I know this sounds kind of woo-woo, but whenever you try a new compound and new supplement and new superfood, go and meditate afterwards. Just total sensory depth. Tune into your body and see how your body feels. And I think that's the best way aside from perhaps maybe like a heart rate variability measurement or attention to your sleep cycles or something like that to assess whether or not something is having like a beneficial acute effect.

Daniel:  Yeah. And what I do is whenever I try a new food, I'll just eat it and see how I feel the next day, and I'll make sure my diet is exactly like it was the day before. And then you see, do you feel good or not? It's so simple. I call them little microstudies for yourself because we all have different biology. And you can get these biological tests and your DNA tests. I'm sure you're all into that. I know because I've seen a lot of your videos, but it's not something you can do very often. Whereas this, you can try food out. And it's very simple, it's free. I like it. I was just trying to be as accurate. This is also great. If you look at your poop, it's free biofeedback every single day on your gut health and you don't have to get a test. Of course you can get it tested, but it's really practical. And look at cold immersion, you activate alpha brainwaves. You don't need to buy any fancy devices. Obviously, these fancy devices are great. You can buy grounding mat, but why would you do that? You can just step on the earth, right?

Ben:  Right.

Daniel:  Obviously, it's not as convenient. And there's also the earthing effect that you get.

Ben:  Or maybe at the time that we're recording this podcast, you're sheltered in place. So, you live in some like fifth floor in New York City loft or something like that. There are some use cases, but yeah, I agree. Most of the stuff, as far as entry-level, is pretty much free.

Daniel:  And then it's also that synergy, like nature is really smart with synergies. You got the fiber with the sugar. You have the sodium in the salt with all these minerals and the iodine. And so, you just strip all that away and you go, “Oh, salt is bad. Can't do that.” That's not how it works, but it's very powerful. Anyways, so my morning routine. I take my cold shower, then once I'm done my cold shower, I'm going to have my breakfast. And I make sure I have blueberries in the morning. Blueberries are great with totipotent cells. They're also great because they boost blood flow to the brain and for up to five hours, they actually increase productivity in the whole area, like the whole brain, not just specific areas. So, it's really cool. And I love blueberries. They're delicious and they grow around here and we buy — we go through hundreds of pounds every year, me and my family. Like we buy 100, 200 pounds at once. We love them.

Ben:  It's the ingredient in my little antiaging smoothie recipe that I make is I use organic blueberry powder. The main reason for that is I just don't eat a lot of carbohydrates 'til the end of the day. So, I don't put a lot of berries in my morning smoothie, but I do use some of that concentrated powder extract.

Daniel:  Yeah. Blueberries are loaded with quality antioxidants, and they're the second-highest source of anthocyanins. So, you're getting those blood boosting effects. Another thing that's really important is to have it with cardamom. Cardamom is important because it actually — so blueberries have been shown to boost natural killer cells. Now, natural killer cells are your body's defense mechanism against cancer. And what's really cool is athletes who train, when they do long endurance running, usually, their killer cell count drops to about half. But what's interesting is if they've been having blueberries for six weeks, it actually doubles the amount of natural killer cells they have.

Ben:  No kidding. They've actually done a study like that where they've taken runners and give them blueberries, and then analyze killer cell activity post difficult workout and found that the drop in killer cells was mitigated with blueberries.

Daniel:  Yeah. It's very interesting. And the study was done to see if it would reduce the oxidative stress. The blueberries would reduce it. Of course, blueberries are really high in antioxidants, but then they also tested something else and they found that out. So, the cardamom. Cardamom is really powerful because they put lymphoma cells in a Petri dish. And they found that the Petri dish, they put cancer cells and then they put some natural killer cells. Natural killer cells took away a little bit of the cancer. It was cool. It did some benefits. But then they added cardamom spice and it did a little better. So, they added more cardamom spice and it did a little better. And the more they added, they got to this point where the same amount of killer cells were killing 10 times the amount of cancer than before the cardamom. It's like steroids for your natural killer cells.

Ben:  Interesting. So, there's kind of like a synergistic effect. I wonder, and I actually don't know about this, where cardamoms would grow or the altitude or conditions under which cardamom would grow compared to that of blueberry, because in many cases, you'll find these things grow in close conjunction to one another if they have those type of synergistic effects. But I'm actually not familiar enough with cardamom to know. Where are you getting your cardamom?

Daniel:  We just buy it from Om Foods. I don't know exactly where it's from.

Ben:  Okay. So, is the cardamom like a powder that you're using?

Daniel:  No. It's very interesting. I mean, you look at cinnamon. You take the cinnamon powder, put in your mouth, nothing really. Take the cinnamon bark, it's actually spicy. It's got this potency. So, I never really buy these powdered spices. I always like to buy it in its whole form. So, all the oils there. It's all perfect. Break it up. You can grind it yourself and it works great that way. Actually, when you make rice, put the whole cardamom pod in there because the rice will absorb all the delicious flavors. It's great. And then you just take out the pod because it floats to the top.

Ben:  Okay. Got it. Yeah.

Daniel:  So, that's what I do.

Ben:  And for people not familiar with cardamom at all, it's actually a spice. It's made from the seedpods though. So, you're saying instead of getting the ground-up seedpods, you're getting the whole seedpods and then using those in your cooking.

Daniel:  Yeah. And you can grind them yourself. So, the potency is very different when you have a whole food and a powdered food.

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  So, then I'm going to take my morning dump. Sounds interesting.

Ben:  Yeah, but it does it. I want to hear about how you videotape it though.

Daniel:  Yeah. So, my dumps are my morning assessments. And I like to get them out in the morning. And actually, I'm a very big believer in coffee enemas. I did one last night, and it's really important for detoxification, to boost glutathione production. But what's really interesting is your poop. Because it's food, it goes through your gut. You can tell a lot about your gut health and the gut microbiome from poop, and you can analyze it. They're even doing — I don't know. They're doing this new type of treatment where they take other people's poop and put it into people with weak gut microbiome.

Ben:  Fecal transplants. Actually, they put the halt on some of the studies and some of the legality of it in the U.S. due to a variety of factors, some death, some FDA regulation, etcetera. People doing dumb things with DIY transplants, but they're right now — I was actually talking with a functional medicine doc two days ago, and there's a few companies now developing and have studies behind these as well, some pretty impressive, essentially like oral poop pills from healthy donors that would actually be like FDA approved for things like clustered [00:48:18] _____ and even bacterial dysbiosis, colitis, and a lot of issues.

So, yeah. Not only is that something I'm really keeping my eyes on because it makes sense, and it seems like it could be something helpful if safe and from a healthy donor. But then recently in a podcast, and I think it will have come out by the time this podcast comes out, I did a whole story about these new line of toilets that are analyzing your poop using urinalysis, using flowmeters, using literally anal crease prints, finger scans, and doing like a full stool analysis, Bristol stool scale analysis as well all from your own little smart toilet. So, Lord knows how much EMF it produces, but apparently, it's going to happen.

Daniel:  Well, it also has a built-in 5G monitor.

Ben:  Are you photographing your poop, or are you just kind of like taking a glance at it?

Daniel:  I eyeball it and look at the Bristol stool chart. I want to have that right consistency. If it's too hard, I take laxatives or like magnesium citrate. I'll also take some insoluble fiber. If my poop is too soft, I'll take some soluble fiber.

Ben:  Honestly, I wish more young people were tuned into their poop, and actually under because it —

Daniel:  I know. It's so important.

Ben:  Yeah. You can learn so much just by taking a glance at whether there's undigested particles in it, the texture, the composition, the regularity. I mean, I should probably go have a chat with my own boys about their poop because you're making me realize that that isn't something we've talked about in detail yet, is how to analyze your own poop. Do you talk about this in any of your books or programs, the poop analysis?

Daniel:  I do talk about it in my programs, and yeah, my new book coming out. And I think it might be in the shownotes.

Ben:  Okay. I'll put it in the shownotes. So, maybe after this, we can chat. You got to send my boys your book so they can read about how to analyze their poop.

Daniel:  I will, yeah, as soon as I can get it printed because all the print shops are close right now.

Ben:  Oh, yeah.

Daniel:  It's crazy. But you know what, people are worried about the coronavirus, but 70% of your immune system is in your gut. So, when you release, you can learn a lot about it. And when it comes to probiotics, a lot of people — I mean, that poop injection. I don't know why people would do that when you can take really good quality probiotics. And one of the things that is so powerful is kefir. When you look at kefir compared to yogurt, yogurt has two strains of bacteria. Kefir has 50 strains. I'm not talking about the kefir you buy at the store. You have to make it yourself. We do that. And it's one of the reasons I'm no longer vegan anymore because there's such essential nutrients in egg yolks and in kefir that you find. You can't find it in plants. You can't find 50 strains of bacteria in plants. You're not going to find that good bacteria in kombucha.

Ben:  Yeah. I mean, arguably, you're going to get some soil-based probiotics and you can also ferment plants, like you can concentrate — I do this one. I make nettle. I concentrate some of the Lactobacilli in the nettle by fermenting it for four to eight weeks. But it is easier to do a 24 or even a 12-hour fermentation on dairy and fast track that.

Daniel:  And then you look at the choline in eggs. You can't get that in the large enough amounts. And then actually, you look at fish, fish have some nutrients. They got the iodine and you look at the blue zones, you look at — what's it called? The Okinawa, Japan. There's a special island called Ōgimi, or I don't know if I'm pronouncing correctly, but they have the most 100-year-olds per capita. And what's their secret? Well, they have typhoons that happen a lot. So, their soil is mineral-rich so they don't have mineral-deficient food. That's Dr. Joel Wallach's research, 91 essential nutrients and 60 of them are minerals. You got to get your minerals in your diet, and table salt isn't going to cut it. You got to get quality sea salt. And actually, I don't recommend Himalayan salt because of the heavy metals that are found in there.

Ben:  Yeah. Microplastics too now.

Daniel:  Oh, yeah. Well, that's the thing with sea salt. It does have microplastics. The brand I use, Ian Clark says this is his second favorite one, it's Premier Labs pink sea salt.

Ben:  Okay. What about Celtic salt? Robert Slovak, when I interviewed him, he was pretty bullish on Celtic salt and had done some aspect analysis, pretty high in minerals, and seems to be low in metals.

Daniel:  It is good, but some brands do have microplastics. You really have to find a good brand. That's the most important part.

Ben:  Yeah. Well, this was just the Celtic brand, like the blue bag with a slightly gray salt that hasn't been bleached. And what you said was Premier? Because I'll put this link in the shownotes for people.

Daniel:  Premier Labs pink salt.

Ben:  Okay, Premier Labs pink salt. Alright, cool. Got it.

Daniel:  Pink sea salt, yeah. Very cool. And it's the best, in my opinion. Look, and if Ian Clark likes it, then it's for the best. My mom is really in tuned to with her body, like a lot more than — like she's really sensitive too to foods. So, she'll be telling if she doesn't feel good after, she knows that's not good. And she says it's because she's a woman, and women have the special capability, but anyways —

Ben:  Intuition.

Daniel:  Yes, the intuition. And she likes the salt the most. We also tried real salt, and it's just very — it's very dry and aggressive. I like the salt the most, and salt is so important. But back to the Blue Zones, why do these people live the longest? They also eat a lot of seafood. They're probably not going to live the longest anymore because if you want to get your dose of iodine from seafood now, you're going to get a lot of mercury to the point where you might die, because mercury is very present in fish. If you're going to eat fish, I would recommend sardines. I wouldn't recommend other type of fish.

Ben:  Yeah. A fish does have appreciable amounts of selenium in it, which can reduce and mitigate some of the mercury toxicity, although some of the fish higher up in the chain I'm still very careful with, like tuna and sea bass and anything that's like dolphin or shark-related, anything like that. But yeah, some of these SMASH base fish, sardines, mackerel, herring, anchovies, and wild-caught salmon.

Daniel:  The little ones.

Ben:  Yeah, yeah. Those all I think are less of an issue, yet you still get some protective effects from selenium overall from fish. But yeah, you do need to be careful.

Daniel:  Well, then you can also detox. And detox is important. One of the things — iodine and Ian Clark's got a great product for iodine. You might put it in the shownotes.

Ben:  I have it. He sent me some last month. I've been using it.

Daniel:  Yeah, yeah. I got some from the — you got to get it in the U.S. because they don't ship to Canada, but it's really cool because it's got like this really cool process. And they don't need any alcohol or any other solvents. And what's really important is you have to know the creator of the product. And Ian is a great guy and he's got some very good stuff. He's very knowledgeable and he's not a guy who's going to cut corners just because he wants to save a few pennies.

Ben:  How much did Ian pay you before you came on the show, dude? I'm just joking.

Daniel:  Yeah.

Ben:  By the way though, just a quick interruption, the iodine — is that an activation product? Because I forget. It's up in my pantry right now. It's a really, really good form of iodine. And by the way, just to let people know before you respond about the dosage, because I had a doctor test me with — this was when I was coming on my triathlon days. He tested me to have some pretty significant hypothyroidism. And I think it was due to pretty strict ketogenic diet combined with massive amounts of physical activity. And so, I was on low doses of Armour Thyroid for a while, and I've replaced that with iodine and selenium supplementation, and then I use just a couple capsules of beef thyroid, beef thyroid extract every morning. And I feel like there's zero difference in terms of metabolism, body heat, body fat, anything like that compared to the Armour Thyroid that I was using. So, that iodine has served me well. But what's the brand?

Daniel:  I know he's got — it's Activation Products.

Ben:  Okay. So, it is an Activation Product? Okay.

Daniel:  Yeah, it is. But what's interesting about iodine — and you can do that test, and it's much more accurate. But if you want to know right away, especially with the coronavirus, I don't think they're doing these tests now, I don't know. But all you need to do is you just put iodine on your arm, just put a little bit on your arm, rub it into your arm, and then leave it alone. It should disappear within a week. But if it disappears in a few hours, you're heavily deficient in iodine. So, that's the test. See how fast it absorbs into your skin. And that way, if your body really is hungry for iodine.

Another problem is iodine antagonists, bromine, fluoride, chlorine, there's more, but these are the main ones that are in our diet. Where is bromine? Bread. They used to put iodine in bread. So, people were getting their daily doses and people were really healthy. And some ludicrous scientist was like, “We should replace it with bromine because the iodine might not be safe in that amount.” And what's interesting is Ian's iodine is much safer than other iodines. And you can get other good brands of iodine. And I'm not saying you have to get Ian's. It's just the one I use, and I like it. I wouldn't recommend trying to overdose on it, but it's not something that is achievable, like it's not very easy to overdose on it.

So, it's a lot safer than other iodines, but iodine is very essential. It's an essential nutrient. And what happens is if you don't have enough of it — because chlorine, fluoride, and bromine look almost identical on the atomic level, and your cells have a very primitive kind of —

Ben:  They're all halides.

Daniel:  Yeah. They're like, “Oh, my god, it's some iodine.” So, if you don't have enough iodine, it's going to take that. It's going to think it's a lesser quality iodine or whatever. So, it takes it, and then it blocks the system and it causes a lot of issues. Women need more iodine than men too, and breast cancer is caused — one of the causes is the deficiency in iodine. Now, there's something interesting. Your thyroid gland converts iodine into iodide. So, that's one of its functions. A lot of iodines out there, what they'll do is they'll basically put an electric current through the iodine separating iodine and iodide, then your thyroid gland doesn't have to do the work. So, it's like, imagine not having to use your muscles at all. It's really, really weak. You need your thyroid gland to stay healthy. And if it's not doing that, it's not good news.

Ben:  Okay. So, iodine, that's part of your morning routine?

Daniel:  And evening.

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  I take it at 9:00 every morning and 9:00 in the evening. And I've been doing it for a little while. And what's really good about the iodine is once your body gets the iodine, it starts getting rid of the chlorine, the fluoride, and the bromine because it's now has a better source. Plus, iodine also removes heavy metals from the tissue, like it detaches it so that the heavy metals can be detoxified. So, that's really powerful. So, it helps with detoxification. I've noticed my urine. I know we're talking about number one and number two in this podcast. But my urine has been a little bit smelly because I've been detoxifying. That's the only thing I'm changing in my diet is I'm consuming that little bit of iodine because you took a teaspoon, put it in water, you take in the morning and in the evening, 12 hours apart.

Ben:  So, it's twice a day, morning and evening for iodine supplementation? Is that based on research that shows the body responds the best to that?

Daniel:  Ian said to do that, so —

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  — I think he knows it. But he says every 12 hours do it.

Ben:  Yeah. Okay.

Daniel:  And in that way — basically, just to replenish your body with iodine.

Ben:  Right, right.

Daniel:  So, it's a protocol and it's really effective. He says that you feel even better after, and I definitely feel like my body is detoxifying.

Ben:  By the way, I should throw in there that what I meant by that was that urinary iodine concentration does follow circadian rhythm. They have done a study on that and shown — and this was actually a study that they did on children and they showed fluctuation of iodine levels on a circadian rhythmicity pattern that I would suspect, although I haven't dug much into the study, that morning and evening dose, that's probably what influenced Ian's recommendations.

Daniel:  Probably. Iodine is actually quite powerful. I mean, there's a lot of really key components, and iodine is one of them that your body can't produce, and it needs it. It's part of the 91 essential nutrients that Dr. Joel Wallach is talking about.

Ben:  Yeah.

Daniel:  So, we need those minerals and we have to get the iodine in our system. It does a lot more. Obviously, I don't want to talk about it forever because it's going to sound like I'm selling it. I'm not. I'm just recommending.

Ben:  Plus, I want to make sure we have time to dive into the rest of your routine. I know we're already getting kind of long in the tooth and I want to get a chance to talk about this epigenetic modification and your approach to that. So, fill me in on a few of the other non-negotiables that are part of your routine that you think my listener should hear about, and you being familiar with this podcast, like things that people might not know or that you want to touch on.

Daniel:  One of the things I do right after I take my iodine is I get a little bit of work done. One of the things you mentioned on the podcast that I find is really important is thinking about productivity. When it comes to productivity, you have the same — you have a diffuser and you put essential oils there and that's your productivity. Same thing for music, that's really important. That's something I'll do. I listen to the same music when I'm really productive. So, that way, I get back into it. And binaural beats, I'm not a huge fan of them because I really haven't noticed much benefit from them with the alpha brainwaves. So, that's something I'll do.

And then after I'm done doing my work, I'll usually sit down. I don't have the fancy standing desk in the treadmill that you have. I was looking to get it, but then I'm like, “I'll just go for a sprint in the middle of my work.” So, I'll go for my sprint. And usually, I'll reply to some messages. I'll work on my book and I'm finally done with that now, so I get to move on to filming some videos, doing more information, doing some research. And it's really fun.

Ben:  By the way, I'm just curious what kind of music does a guy like you listen to when you talk about listening to music?

Daniel:  Yeah. Actually, that's a really good point. Kids at my school think I'm weird. I don't listen to songs that are on the radio because there's so much negativity and everything goes straight to your subconscious mind.

Ben:  Negativity or stupidity?

Daniel:  Yeah. And all these songs have interesting programming. I'm like, “Is there an agenda behind this?” I don't know, maybe, but it's just really negative. I'm like, “I'm not putting that in my subconscious mind.” And remember, your subconscious mind records everything. If you were able to access your subconscious mind, I don't know how to do it, I don't even know if it's been discovered, but if you could, get into a brainwave state and activate everything in your subconscious mind and just — you'd have everything memorized because your subconscious mind records everything. Imagine accessing all that data, you'd know everything you've known over your entire life and all those memories that you forgot would come back. Everything is all in there. You can access it.

Ben:  Yeah. And by the way, did you know that they've actually studied popular music lyrics since the '60s? And they came out with the study last year. I briefly reported on this in one of my podcasts' newsflashes that they found that in the past 50 years, lyrics have increasingly grown, A, sadder, and B, angrier. And literally, the tone of the music. So, if you go and you look up some Bob Dylan lyrics, for example, and then compare them to — I suppose you could say maybe like the average Lady Gaga album or any of these other folks who are little bit more like, often from a sentimental standpoint, kind of angry or negative. It's actually pretty profound the difference in terms of the expression of joy in music. At least in the U.S., pop music over the past 50 years.

Daniel:  And it goes straight your subconscious mind. Music is the delivery. It's insane. People are listening to this all day. And even the rap music, since everyone is listening to that right now. What I listen to is I listen to heroic movie soundtracks.

Ben:  Oh my gosh, that is what my — my kids have an entire Spotify library of epic music soundtracks. And we were talking — that kind of stuff you'd hear from like Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans, some of the Lindsey Stirling stuff where she's got the epic violin and put the pop music —

Daniel:  Oh, yeah, Lindsey Stirling. My brother actually plays the violin. Mozart's great. They've done so many studies on Mozart. My favorite music right now is Avatar: The Last Airbender theme. That TV show is so great and it actually talks about shockers in it, too. So, it's really cool [01:04:14] _____ show.

Ben:  I'll send the track over my kids. I bet they dig it if that's kind of music you like.

Daniel:  It's also really well-crafted show, but it's cool and there's a lot of — like they used ancient Chinese techniques, martial art techniques, Tai Chi for the bending when you control the elements. Anyway, so whatever. It's just my fun stuff. I really enjoy listening to that. But that's kind of like what I do. So, you can imagine how heroic I feel when I'm taking a dump on the toilet. Another part of my routine is then I'll eat. I'll work 'til lunch. I'll eat. And then, I'm going to listen to your podcast. Sometimes I listen to it in the morning, but usually it's around that time when I listen to your podcast. So, that's one of my daily routines. That's essential. You can't avoid that. There's no avoiding that. Yeah, it's very important. And then I read your book. Usually, I sit down and read a book in like a day or two because I just like finishing a book in one day or two. I don't like stretching it out over a few months. But your book, I couldn't do that. It's just too much information.

Ben:  I purposefully wrote it to be a book that you had to come back to over and over again, not to make it a pain in the butt for folks, but just because I wanted to be more of a cookbook that people could return to over and over again. But I think I've pimped up my book enough on this show.

Okay. So, we probably are going to need to do another interview because I have this hunch that we tapped into like maybe a quarter of your daily routine and maybe a tenth of the actual knowledge inside your head. I had no clue that you were so well-versed on a lot of these nutritional principles. And by the way, folks, we're going to talk about the DNA here in a second, but if you're listening in and you want me to have Daniel back on the show, just go to the comment section, pipe in, let me know what you think about this guy. And I'm guessing we're probably [01:05:57] _____ around 2:00. So, go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/daniel.

But Daniel, I want to make sure we have time to talk a little bit about altering your genius because we alluded to that at the beginning and I'd love for you to dig into how you're doing that from an epigenetic standpoint.

Daniel:  Well, that all relates back to what we've been talking about because it's the environmental side of things, and it's also your food. That's what's really important about epigenetics. And that's also one of the reasons why the yin and the yang diet is so powerful. It's one of the only diets that focuses on your environment and the seasons. A lot of people aren't focusing on the seasons anymore because it doesn't matter anymore. The seasons don't matter because you get to have whatever you want all year round. But it does matter because your environment affects your health and a lot of people don't realize that. So, cold immersion is great. I do infrared lights. My dad built this thing together where he took a bunch of plywood sheet and then he drilled holes in it. And you can buy these heat lamps. It's near-infrared light heat lamps because near-infrared is way better than far-infrared. My dad designed it. So, it just slides into our far-infrared sauna and we can just plug it in. So, we have our homemade near-infrared light sauna. So, that's what I do. And then that way, you still sweat because it's a heat lamp. This thing is crazy powerful.

Ben:  Yeah. Well, near-infrared is — it's amazing for especially the topical effect and some of the effects on mitochondria. Far-infrared does penetrate a little bit more deeply. So, it can work a little bit better for heating internally. But Clearlight, the company that I use, they just launched a near-infrared hook-up that you can put into any of the Clearlight saunas. And it's almost like those Joovv lights, but it mounts to the interior of the sauna. So, you get to have both far and near-infrared when you're in the sauna. But what does that have to do with the DNA component?

Daniel:  Well, first, I want to say that those heat lamps are so powerful. You can't have the far and near-infrared on at the same time.

Ben:  Oh, you can, but it's super intense. It's sympathetically stimulating.

Daniel:  I'm going to be cooked if I do that. I will be cooked.  That doesn't really relate to the DNA, that's just something I do to really look youthful because I really want to be sexy forever, like that chapter in your book.

Ben:  Yeah, of course.

Daniel:  That's the first one I went to.

Ben:  Yeah. So, you can go into the women's restroom for the rest of all time.

Daniel:  Exactly. And one of the parts for keeping your body in check, and this relates down to the DNA level, is you got to detox. Detox is more important than nutrition. I'll take my activated charcoal once — I don't do once a week because it's just too much, but what I will do is every time I come home from traveling — if I occasionally get sick. Actually, this is interesting. I notice that if I ever get sick, I just feel sick, but when I do a coffee enema, I don't feel sick anymore. So, I'm like, “Am I really sick or do I just feel like that and it's just because there's a build-up of toxic waste down there and I got to get rid of it?” I don't know. But I found that whenever I'm sick, it's always stuff are still down in there and coffee enema will solve it. So, it's interesting. I mean, that's something that you can't really ignore when you realize, “I feel horrible. Oh my god, I feel great now.” It's like an instant effect. So, that's something that's really important. And I know you talk about it a lot. I swear by coffee enemas.

Ben:  Yeah. No. I do one to two a week, and I do agree, a lot of people do have — and I don't think that the colon in people is broken for the most part, but you can get a little sluggish in terms of peristalsis, in terms of glutathione production, in terms of bioproduction. And the coffee enema just seems to reboot so many of those pathways, including phase one and phase two detox pathways in the liver that it definitely does something, like not only your colon, but your entire body and head feel clear as a bell afterwards, and some of those is the caffeine effect as well. But it is something that — it's not these newfangled thing biohackers who want attention on social media are doing, it's something that's been a staple practice of, for example, Eastern medicine and a lot of other ancestral cultures for a long time. Not just the use of coffee enemas, but sometimes the use of different bacterial or probiotic enemas, sometimes yogurt enema, sometimes saltwater enema. So, yeah. I think in the West, we still have almost like this Victorian prudishness about sticking tubes up our backside, but yeah, enemas, rectal ozone, suppository delivery of things like melatonin or glutathione, there's something to be said for using the butt for other things than just pooping.

Daniel:  And you know what, that's one of the reasons I really, really like you as a biohacker, and that's why I've been a fan for a really long time. A lot of biohackers are really excited about the new technology. There are actually some biohackers out there who think 5G is the coolest thing ever, and they already have the chip implanted in their hand. What I love so much about you is that you combine ancestral living with biohacking, and it's so important because people back then, they knew a lot. In fact, it seems like they know more than we did now because we're rediscovering what they were doing. We're like, “Wow. This is so powerful.” But they were already doing it many years ago.

So, it's really, really important. That's what I love so much about you as a biohacker, and that's why I've been tuned in to your content for a while is because you understand that our body has a natural capability to heal itself. We've survived on this earth for so long. It relates back to sunscreen. It's like this ludicrous idea that really, sunscreen is essential because all of the sudden, we have a weakness to the sun. Like, we've involved in this earth. The sun is an inavoidable part of our existence on earth.

Ben:  Yeah. I interviewed Matt Maruca about this. And actually, Matt is older than you. When I first met Matt, he was 18. But you remind me a lot of Matt because Matt Maruca, who's the founder of RA Optics and also just a genius when it comes to light, he's one of Jack Cruise's understudies and talks very passionately and intelligently about a lot of these issues as you do about superfoods, for example, and the interaction of nutrients with the body. You remind me of Matt a little bit first, by the way, but I've interviewed him and I'll include a link to that show in the shownotes. But yeah, this idea that the skin can build up a callous and the idea that people who sunbathe on weekends, for example, have much higher rates of skin cancer than workers who are out in the sun all day long because they built up that tolerance to UVA and UVB exposure. And again, like I mentioned, tomorrow, I'm interviewing —

Daniel:  And the infrared, right?

Ben:  Yeah. I'm interviewing a gal on the radiation hormesis benefits of not just sunlight radiation, but radiation from the earth, radiation from some geological formations. Yeah. It's quite curious how we have created these evolutionary mismatches where we are concentrating non-native radiation, and non-native EMF, and non-native light sources into our bodies while at the same time, kind of ruthlessly mitigating by living in tubes and boxes, a lot of the native EMF, the native radiation, the native hormesis.

So, fill folks in on who could use this genius mode program and what it involves as we're wrapping up here.

Daniel:  Okay. So, the “Genius Mode: The Biology of Greatness,” my new book, the reason it's so powerful is because it gets into everything that I've studied over the past three years and that I've really tried out that is super effective. I explained why, get into some travel hacks that are also really important because you got to stay performing when you're traveling, which is really interesting. So, it gets a little bit more in-depth into the bees and how their genetic mechanism works. And it's really important to understand that because they are very complex, actually, their whole system, and we can learn a lot from them.

And then we also get into epigenetics a little bit more in-depth into my story. And I also talked more about cold immersion, alpha brainwaves. And actually, one more thing I want to mention actually, did you know that theta brainwaves are the state of — what is it, hypnosis? When you're hypnotized, you're in theta brainwave states. It's very interesting. You're very suggestive in that state and you got more access to that subconscious mind. So, there's definitely a link going on in that.

Ben:  Yeah. That's something that I do with my boys is we have this one meditation program that you can download for free. You can Google it. It's called EcoMeditation. And what it does is it places you into a state of theta brainwave activation and then you tap. In this case, you tap your heart. So, you're creating an anchor when you're in that theta brainwave state, when you're highly suggestible. Create that anchor and you recite a few incantations where you're saying, “I am at peace. I can create this sensation anytime I would like, et cetera.” And then the idea is then when my kids are in the ice tub or — yesterday, we had a naturopathic physician over and he was giving them balloon nasal adjustments, like literally adjusting their skulls from inside their nose, which is kind of uncomfortable for a kid. And they just started tapping on their hearts to bring them back into that state of inner peace and almost activate very quickly and acutely that theta wave activation. So, yeah, I agree. You're highly suggestive in that phase and you can do some cool things to pull yourself back into that phase while you're in that state of suggestibility. So, it's a very cool stuff. And you get into, I know a lot more, in the genius mode. You call the GENIUS Mode program. Is that what it's called?

Daniel:  Well, yeah, the GENIUS Mode program is where I go. It's a life coaching program with a group of people, and I do it over a month.

Ben:  Okay.

Daniel:  I do do that and I offer it at events and online. If you really want to get a quick start, it's also cheaper. Just get the book if you want.

Ben:  And what's the book called?

Daniel:  It's “The Biology of Greatness.” And actually, your listeners will get a 25% discount if they —

Ben:  Okay. So, I'll put a link in the shownotes to that.

Daniel:  Yeah. There's no special code. It's just a special link.

Ben:  Actually, I think, let me check and see that. Okay. So, BenGreenfieldFitness.com/biologyofgreatness I think is the link. That's the one I have written down here.

Daniel:  Yeah. Or also, they can go to — I would recommend going to, yeah, thebiologyofgreatness.com/ben.

Ben:  Okay. Either one would work. Okay. Cool.

Daniel:  Yeah, yeah. There you go. Yeah. So, you definitely go there, check it out. You can also get the program on that. I'm doing it for like a lot cheaper just because I want to get to know more of your listeners and it's really cool.

Ben:  You have to send the book down to my kids though, whichever book talks —

Daniel:  I will.

Ben:  — about poop, send that too. Actually, send my kids both the books because I think they would find you highly inspiring, and I think that a lot of parents who are listening in, you guys should have your boys or your girls listen to this because Daniel is obviously very passionate, very well-informed. He's not a genius, we all know that because his teacher established that way back in the day. But actually, he's mildly smart, obviously. So, I do recommend his program. And I'll admit, like usually when I get somebody on the show, I've already read their book, but I haven't read your book yet. And so, I got to get my hands on it.

And I'll link to the book, “The Biology of Greatness.” Also, your “Breakfast Burst” book. I'll put all that at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/daniel. I'll link to Daniel's website and Instagram, and then my podcast with Ian Clark, the Bristol stool chart, the Premier Research Labs pink salt. I'll just link to everything.

Daniel:  To the iodine, all that great stuff.

Ben:  Yeah. I'll hunt down some of these studies too on blueberry and cardamom coingestion, on blueberry and natural killer cells, on the urinary iodine concentration. I always like to find the research studies that we talk about and put them in the shownotes. And of course, the “Avatar Airbender” soundtrack, of course.

Daniel:  Yes, of course.

Ben:  I'll have to put that one on my kids' iTouches.

Daniel:  How could you forget that? That's the most important biohack.

Ben:  Yeah. Well, I have another interview coming up in about five minutes. Otherwise, we would just go and go. I could literally talk to you for the next hour. But again —

Daniel:  Yeah. It's so nice to get to talk with you.

Ben:  If you guys are listening in, go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/daniel. I'll link to everything there. And Daniel, dude, thanks so much for coming on the show. This has been awesome discussion.

Daniel:  Thank you so much for having me.

Ben:  Alright, folks. I'm Ben Greenfield along with Daniel Bissonnette signing out from BenGreenfieldFitness.com. Have an amazing week.

Well, thanks for listening to today's show. You can grab all the shownotes, the resources, pretty much everything that I mentioned over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com, along with plenty of other goodies from me, including the highly helpful “Ben Recommends” page, which is a list of pretty much everything that I've ever recommended for hormone, sleep, digestion, fat loss, performance, and plenty more. Please, also, know that all the links, all the promo codes, that I mentioned during this and every episode, helped to make this podcast happen and to generate income that enables me to keep bringing you this content every single week. When you listen in, be sure to use the links in the shownotes, use the promo codes that I generate, because that helps to float this thing and keep it coming to you each and every week.

 

 

Meet 15-year-old prodigy, Daniel Bissonnette. This kid first turned my head when I saw him sitting cross-legged and meditating in his shorts on what appeared to be a giant frozen glacier in a social media post of his he tagged me in.

I looked into Daniel, and it turns out he's a pretty impressive young man.

Daniel is currently listed as one of the World’s Top 100 Most Influential Vegans, the most in-demand health/nutrition youth keynote in the world, an award-winning activist, bestselling author, developer of the “GENIUS Mode” program, and host of the weekly YouTube “Daniel Bissonnette Show.”

Daniel has delivered hundreds of presentations since the age of 9 at conferences, expos, consumer shows, community groups, food companies, schools, institutes, and non-profit organizations and continues to make headlines today.

But, it all started out when Daniel was a bullied elementary school kid who wanted to help a few friends eat healthier.

In third grade, Daniel was approached by his teacher and decided to publicly speak about his food choices. Pleasantly surprised to see how many kids began trashing their junk food and switching to healthier alternatives, Daniel was encouraged to continue spreading the message and volunteered to speak at a global rally. Little did he know that his first public talk would go viral. It became the most-viewed YouTube video for the event that took place in 500 cities around the world with over 2M attendees!

From that moment on Daniel, began to speak on stages of leading health events across Canada, the US, and Europe. By the age of 11, he became a signature speaker with the largest health show franchise in Canada and published his bestselling book Daniel’s BREAKFAST Burst. With Daniel's BREAKFAST Burst he was able to inspire more children around the world to eat a healthier breakfast than any other authority!

Daniel’s BREAKFAST Burst was such a hit that it was featured in popular magazines, radio, TV, and even purchased by Hollywood celebrities. It sure got kids and parents excited about eating their way to smarts too with over a month of carefully designed breakfast meals that deliver peak nutrition for mental performance. By 12 years old, Daniel was ranked in the World’s Top 100 Most Influential Vegans and joined the non-profit organization “Borneo Wildlife Preservation” to help raise funds and awareness to support reforestation and pygmy elephant conservation projects in Borneo. At 13, he was honored the Shining World Leadership Award for Compassion by Supreme Master Ching Hai and completed his long-anticipated “GENIUS Mode” program.

In his “GENIUS Mode – The Biology of Greatness” program and Biology Of Greatness, Daniel shares breakthrough science on a never before discussed topic—altering your DNA to become a genius. “There are ways we can go into our genetic code and rewrite it. Genius is something you CAN become because it’s a built-in mechanism and there’s an exact science to doing so!” says Daniel. He reveals his daily “hacks” you can use to increase brain power, intelligence, develop physical and mental resilience, and turn on your GENIUS expression.

During this discussion, you'll discover:

-How Daniel became an authority on nutrition at such a young age…6:30

• Parents raised him on a plant-based diet
• Suffered bullying at school because of his food choices
• Asked by the teacher to give a presentation on his diet
• Gave a presentation at a “March Against Monsanto” event that went viral on the web
• Became a well-known speaker on the topic, and wrote his first book to help people apply knowledge into action
• Book was endorsed by Eric the Trainer
• BGF interview with Udo Erasmus
• Udo's Oils
• BGF interviews with Ian Clark:
  • The Ultimate Superfood You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.
  • The Mold-Cancer Link, Resetting Your Nervous System, Dry Fasting, Nanonutrients & More With Ian Clark.
  • Energy Medicine, Biobeds, Marma Points, Fringe Siberian Ginseng Powder & Much More!
• Love of cooking and nutrition knowledge is a potent combo

-How a bee sting led to an “aha” moment for Daniel…16:00

• A teacher told Daniel that he “wasn't gifted in anything”
• Became aware that great thinkers (Einstein, Leonardo, Gandhi, etc.) were all very conscious of their diet
• Hippocrates was a proponent of fasting as a reboot for the body
• Family dinner has many unseen benefits (digestion, emotional state, etc.)
• Got stung by a bee, and began asking the difference between a “worker” and a “queen” bee
  • Every larva in the hive is genetically a queen bee
  • They're fed “bee bread” (pollen and honey)
  • The bee bread “turns off” the queen gene
  • What queen bee doesn't eat is more important than what she does eat

-Biohacks and routines in Daniel's life…24:20

• After wakeup:
  • Schwinn Airdyne bike
  • Vibram shoes
  • Meditation and gratitude
  • Cold shower (hot/cold contrast) activate the alpha brain waves
  • Box breathing
• Alpha brain waves
  • Comparable to the Schumann Resonance
  • Archers mastered archery in the alpha brain wave state
  • Book: The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
• Meditators create same frequency on both sides of the brain simultaneously while meditating
  • Avatar Airbender Soundtrack
• Three types of genius: analytical, emotional, creative
• Schools teach neurons and the brain to fight each other

-Breath protocols and foods to remain in the parasympathetic state…37:30

• Wim Hof
• Tummo breathwork (Innerfire breathwork app)
• Lead up to cold thermogenesis with Wim Hof, then box breathing to get back into parasympathetic state in the cold
• Benefits of cold thermogenesis: Boosted immune system, Boosted alpha brain waves
  • Morozko Forge (use code BENFORGE for $150 off the retail price for any Forge)
• BGF podcast with Darin Olien
• Moringa extract
• Combine with red light therapy (use code BEN for a gift at checkout)

-The value of keeping tabs on your poop…47:05

• When trying new superfoods, meditate; stay in touch with your body
• Poop is very indicative of the health of the microbiome
• Magnesium citrate (use code BEN10 to get 40% off of selected packages)
• Concentrated organic blueberry powder (Daniel recommends combining with cardamom)
• Effect of Blueberry Ingestion on Natural Killer Cell Counts, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation Prior to and After 2.5 H of Running
• Cardamom benefits and recipes
• The toilet that analyzes your poop
• Bristol stool chart
• Kefir is a powerful probiotic
• Premier Research Labs pink sea salt
• Sardines will provide less exposure to mercury than other seafood

-Little known facts about iodine…54:00

• Ian Clark's iodine activation product (use code BEN for a 15% discount)
• Apply iodine to the arm to test iodine levels (fast absorption = low iodine levels)
• Iodine antagonists: fluoride, bromine, chlorine
• Bread previously contained iodine
• Iodine deficiency contributes to breast cancer
• Body disposes of iodine antagonists with consumption of iodine
• Urinary iodine concentration follows the circadian rhythm

-The remainder of Daniel's routine…1:00:35

• Essential oil diffuser
• Music for productivity (epic movie soundtracks)
• Your subconscious mind records everything
• Sprints during working breaks
• Popular music lyrics become angrier and sadder over time
• Avatar Airbender Soundtrack

-How to alter your genius via epigenetics…1:06:00

• Seasons matter when it comes to diet
• Cold thermogenesis
• Near-infrared light therapy (use code BEN for the JOOVV to get free gift at checkout)
• Clearlight near-infrared sauna (use code BENGREENFIELD for $500 OFF regular prices and a free gift)
• Detox is more important than nutrition
• My interview with Matt Maruca
  • Matt Maruca's company RA Optics (use code BEN10 to save 10%)

-And much more!

Resources from this episode:

– Daniel Bissonnette:

• Daniel's Genius Mode Program
• Daniel's Genius Activation Program
• video of Daniel at a March Against Monsanto event

– Podcasts, Articles, and Studies:

• With Udo Erasmus about vegetable oil
• With Ian Clark
  • The Ultimate Superfood You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.
  • The Mold-Cancer Link, Resetting Your Nervous System, Dry Fasting, Nanonutrients & More With Ian Clark.
  • Energy Medicine, Biobeds, Marma Points, Fringe Siberian Ginseng Powder & Much More!
• With Darin Olien about baruka nuts
• With Matt Maruca of RA Optics
• About gratitude with Owen Griffith
• With Jack Kruse about cold thermogenesis
• About Meditation
• About Box breathing
• Effect of Blueberry Ingestion on Natural Killer Cell Counts, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation Prior to and After 2.5 H of Running
• Cardamom benefits and recipes
• Iodine deficiency contributes to breast cancer
• Urinary iodine concentration follows the circadian rhythm
• Popular music lyrics have become angrier and sadder over time

– Books:

• Daniel's new book The Biology Of Greatness (25% discount automatically applied)
• His first book Daniel's Breakfast Burst
• The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

– Gear:

• Schwinn Airdyne bike
• Vibram shoes
• Morozko Forge (use code BENFORGE for $150 off the retail price for any Forge)
• JOOVV for red light therapy (use code BEN for a gift at checkout)
• Essential oil diffuser
• Clearlight sauna (use code BENGREENFIELD for $500 OFF regular prices and a free gift)
• RA Optics blue light blocking glasses (use code BEN10 to save 10%)

– Food and Supplements:

• Udo's Oils
• Moringa extract
• Magnesium citrate (use code BEN10 to get 40% off of selected packages)
• Concentrated organic blueberry powder
• Cardamom
• Kefir
• Pink sea salt by Premier Research Labs
• Iodine activation product (use code BEN for a 15% discount)
• Sardines
• Ian Clark's Activation Products (use code BEN for a 15% discount)
• Ancestral Supplements Thyroid Extract

– Other resources:

• The Schumann Resonance
• Wim Hof's Tummo breathwork
• The Wim Hof Method Inner Fire breathwork app
• My video on cold showers
• Bristol stool chart
• The toilet that analyzes your poop

Episode sponsors:

–Kion Colostrum: Nature’s “first food” that supports immunity, GI function, athletic recovery, and more. BGF listeners, receive a 10% discount off your entire order at Kion when you use discount code BEN10.

–Organifi Glow: A plant-based beverage that helps support the body’s natural ability to produce collagen, smooth fine lines and wrinkles, and protect the skin from sun exposure and toxins. Receive a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code BENG20.

–Magnesium Breakthrough: Magnesium Breakthrough is the most effective magnesium supplement I’ve ever tried. Say goodbye to having to buy 7 different bottles of magnesium to get the complete dose. Save up to 40% off select packages when you use discount code BEN10.

–Comrad Socks: Seriously comfortable compression socks designed to support your every move. Receive 20% off your Comrad purchase when you use discount code BEN20.

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Daniel or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!