Biohacking: The Line Between Curiosity and Chaos

By: Steven Long DO, MS-HSA, NASM-CPT

In the ever-growing landscape of wellness trends, few movements have captured as much attention—or stirred as much confusion—as biohacking. From wearable tech and cold plunges to microdosing obscure supplements, biohacking is marketed as a self-directed revolution in human optimization.

At its best, it empowers personal ownership and curiosity about health. At its worst, it turns into an uncontrolled biological experiment—one with real consequences.

At Beyond Health, we support the desire to know more and do better. But we draw a clear line: if you’re going to manipulate your biology, you must first understand it. You need objective data, clinical guidance, and physiological context. Otherwise, biohacking shifts from potential to peril.

What Is Biohacking, Really?

Biohacking is broadly defined as any attempt to change or control one’s biology to improve performance, longevity, or health. It’s a wide umbrella that includes:

• Intermittent fasting
• Nootropics and cognitive enhancers
• Cold exposure (cryotherapy, ice baths)
• Red light therapy
• Nutraceuticals and peptides
• Sleep optimization with tech or supplements
• Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in non-diabetic individuals

Some of these approaches have promising research behind them. Others are based on anecdote, preliminary studies, or outright pseudoscience. What works for one person may do nothing—or worse, cause harm—to someone else.

Anecdote ? Evidence

Social media is filled with self-proclaimed biohackers sharing protocols, supplement stacks, and sleep metrics. While experience can spark insight, it is not a substitute for rigorous science.

Too often, influencers cherry-pick animal studies, misunderstand physiology, or ignore safety concerns to promote trendy regimens. The consequences are real.

At Beyond Health, we routinely see patients who have biohacked their way into physiologic dysfunction:

• Liver injury from excessive supplement use or off-label peptide injections
• Renal strain from dehydration or fad diets
• Adrenal dysregulation from chronic stimulant use or fasting
• Hormonal imbalance from unregulated testosterone, thyroid, or DHEA use
• Worsening of pre-existing anxiety, tachycardia, or autoimmune conditions

These cases are increasingly common. And they’re avoidable.

One study published in Hepatology in 2024 estimated that nearly 20% of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in recent years was related to over-the-counter supplements and herbal products—many of which were promoted as part of “biohacking” protocols (Navarro et al., 2024).

If You Can’t Measure It, Can You Really Hack It?

The foundation of good biohacking is measurement. Without metrics, you’re guessing.

Many self-hackers rely on subjective outcomes: “I feel better,” “I think I sleep deeper,” “My HRV looks better.” But without knowing what systems you're affecting and how you're quantifying change, you’re not optimizing—you’re just experimenting.

At Beyond Health, we encourage curiosity—but we insist on structure. For any intervention, we ask:

• What system are you trying to change? (e.g., glucose regulation, sleep architecture, inflammatory status)
• What markers are you using to measure success? (e.g., labs, wearable data, functional testing)
• What risks exist, and how are they being monitored?
• Is there peer-reviewed evidence supporting this approach—or at least a plausible mechanistic rationale?

We also teach our patients to critically evaluate claims using the Bradford-Hill criteria, a foundational set of principles in epidemiology that help assess causation. When looking at a supplement or protocol, ask:

• Is there a strong association?
• Is there consistency across studies?
• Is there a dose-response relationship?
• Is there biological plausibility?
• Is there experimental evidence?

Without satisfying several of these principles, what you’re looking at may be hype—not health.

If you don’t have clear answers to these questions, stop. You’re hacking without a hypothesis.

What We Support: Intelligent Personalization, Not Hype

We don’t reject innovation—we integrate it. But we only use tools when they:

• Have a defined physiologic target
• Can be measured objectively
• Are backed by credible safety data
• Make sense within the patient’s full clinical context

For example:

• A CGM in a non-diabetic person can reveal reactive hypoglycemia or erratic glucose patterns that impair energy or cognition.
• Red light therapy may aid recovery or inflammation when used in a monitored rehab protocol.
• Specific peptides may support tissue repair—but only when dosing, sourcing, and monitoring are tightly controlled.

Everything we do at Beyond Health starts with labs, goals, and history. Your plan isn’t built from someone else’s YouTube channel—it’s built for your biology.

A Call to Action: Let’s Biohack Responsibly

Curiosity is a gift. But without science, structure, and supervision, it becomes a liability.

If you’re drawn to biohacking:

• Don’t chase every trend. Ask: what’s the mechanism?
• Don’t rely on anecdotes. Ask: what does the data say?
• Don’t ignore your labs. Ask: what are my baselines?
• Don’t do this alone. Ask: who’s guiding this process?

At Beyond Health, we work with patients who want to explore the edges of human performance—but do it responsibly. With measurement. With mentorship. With medical insight.

Because the best “hack” isn’t a shortcut—it’s a system.

Let’s Talk.

Whether you’re a health nerd, a high performer, or just someone who’s tired of trial and error, we’re here to help.

Schedule your free consultation. Let’s build a smarter, safer path to peak health.