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"That's a big part of our ethos, is asking the right questions. You're checking that pathway... You get a better handle on where you're sitting physiologically."

John O'Connor

Oct 26, 2020

EFR 397: Breaking the Vanity Culture of Health and Biohacking with John O'Connor

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You are not the same person as anyone else. So why should your diet or even your approach to healthcare be the same as otehrs? Guest John O'Connor, co-founder of Gene Food, is a successful entrepreneur but even more successful human being because he has tapped into the ability to more completely understand how his unique body operates and how to optimize it to his custom needs, wants, and goals. In this epsiode, John shares the science behind why biological data collection can be both extremely useful but also somewhat dangerous when digging too deep into biohacking, how to truly understand this human experience so as to optimize it, and how science can save us from the vanity culture of health and wellness when it comes to a life vitality and longevity. Also, tune in to the second half for John's insight into the current state of affairs for the wellness industry, brick-and-mortar as well as e-commerce and the challenges both are facing in 2020.

“The more a law lays claim to universal validity, the less it does justice to the individual facts.” --CARL JUNG

Follow John and Gene Food @genefood

Follow Chase @chase_chewning

Ever Forward Radio is brought to you buy Audible - get your FREE 30-day trial of the best audibooks and so much more powerful audio content at AudibleTrial.com/everforward

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Your free, 30-day trial comes with:

  • 1 credit (2 credits for Prime members), good for any premium selection titles you like—yours to keep.

  • The Audible Plus Catalog of podcasts, audiobooks, guided wellness, and Audible Originals. Listen all you want, no credits needed.

  • A friendly email reminder before your trial ends.

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Episode resources:

More about John:

John O’Connor is the founder of Gene Food and an Integrative Health Coach trained at Duke Integrative Medicine.

After his career in the NYC startup world left him stressed, burned out, physically sick, and unsatisfied with what he saw as the cookie cutter approach of traditional medicine, John became a “citizen scientist” and turned to deep medical research as well as alternative forms of medicine to restore his health. A passionate “bio-individualist,”who believes there is no one size fits all approach to nutrition, his current journey is one of self discovery aimed at gaining as much insight as possible as to how his unique physiology works. In conjunction with Dr. Aaron Gardner, Gene Food’s head of research and resident geneticist, John’s role at Gene Food is to help condense and distill the latest studies and commentary on nutrition science and nutrigenomics and communicate the core message to the Gene Food audience.

While living in Southern California, John’s approach to health and wellness was shaped by three key mentors.

First, by Mia Barbrick, a healer and acupuncturist based out of Laguna Beach. It was under Mia’s care that John first saw how powerful ancient healing modalities can be when applied to the right patient by the right practitioner at the right time.

Next, Dr. Stephen Brody, a Stanford trained endocrinologist and anti-aging doctor in San Diego. Dr. Brody introduced John to the world of advanced lab testing that is sadly off-limits for most Americans. Through years of detailed lab tests, John learned just how powerful personalized medicine can be. For the first time, John was exposed to lipid markers like Lp(a), a particularly atherogenic form of LDL-P that can become dangerous in those with a genetic predisposition, but that sadly is rarely, if ever, tested for in the United States.

Last, John completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training under Gerhard Gessner, a member of the faculty of the University of San Diego as well as the proprietor of Prana Yoga in La Jolla, CA. Through Gerhard, John learned that Yoga is far more than just the asana practice. The science of Yoga can be applied to all facets of life.

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EFR 397: Breaking the Vanity Culture of Health and Biohacking with John O'Connor

You are not the same person as anyone else. So why should your diet or even your approach to healthcare be the same as otehrs? Guest John O'Connor, co-founder of Gene Food, is a successful entrepreneur but even more successful human being because he has tapped into the ability to more completely understand how his unique body operates and how to optimize it to his custom needs, wants, and goals. In this epsiode, John shares the science behind why biological data collection can be both extremely useful but also somewhat dangerous when digging too deep into biohacking, how to truly understand this human experience so as to optimize it, and how science can save us from the vanity culture of health and wellness when it comes to a life vitality and longevity. Also, tune in to the second half for John's insight into the current state of affairs for the wellness industry, brick-and-mortar as well as e-commerce and the challenges both are facing in 2020.

“The more a law lays claim to universal validity, the less it does justice to the individual facts.” --CARL JUNG

Follow John and Gene Food @genefood

Follow Chase @chase_chewning

Ever Forward Radio is brought to you buy Audible - get your FREE 30-day trial of the best audibooks and so much more powerful audio content at AudibleTrial.com/everforward

What you get

Your free, 30-day trial comes with:

  • 1 credit (2 credits for Prime members), good for any premium selection titles you like—yours to keep.

  • The Audible Plus Catalog of podcasts, audiobooks, guided wellness, and Audible Originals. Listen all you want, no credits needed.

  • A friendly email reminder before your trial ends.

Get your free 30-day trial at AudibleTrial.com/everforward

Episode resources:

More about John:

John O’Connor is the founder of Gene Food and an Integrative Health Coach trained at Duke Integrative Medicine.

After his career in the NYC startup world left him stressed, burned out, physically sick, and unsatisfied with what he saw as the cookie cutter approach of traditional medicine, John became a “citizen scientist” and turned to deep medical research as well as alternative forms of medicine to restore his health. A passionate “bio-individualist,”who believes there is no one size fits all approach to nutrition, his current journey is one of self discovery aimed at gaining as much insight as possible as to how his unique physiology works. In conjunction with Dr. Aaron Gardner, Gene Food’s head of research and resident geneticist, John’s role at Gene Food is to help condense and distill the latest studies and commentary on nutrition science and nutrigenomics and communicate the core message to the Gene Food audience.

While living in Southern California, John’s approach to health and wellness was shaped by three key mentors.

First, by Mia Barbrick, a healer and acupuncturist based out of Laguna Beach. It was under Mia’s care that John first saw how powerful ancient healing modalities can be when applied to the right patient by the right practitioner at the right time.

Next, Dr. Stephen Brody, a Stanford trained endocrinologist and anti-aging doctor in San Diego. Dr. Brody introduced John to the world of advanced lab testing that is sadly off-limits for most Americans. Through years of detailed lab tests, John learned just how powerful personalized medicine can be. For the first time, John was exposed to lipid markers like Lp(a), a particularly atherogenic form of LDL-P that can become dangerous in those with a genetic predisposition, but that sadly is rarely, if ever, tested for in the United States.

Last, John completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training under Gerhard Gessner, a member of the faculty of the University of San Diego as well as the proprietor of Prana Yoga in La Jolla, CA. Through Gerhard, John learned that Yoga is far more than just the asana practice. The science of Yoga can be applied to all facets of life.