Maximizing Human Potential: Biohacking with Dr. Mike Van Thielen

Join me for the upcoming Free Masterclass on March 24th, 2024:
Harmonize Your Energy


Unlock the secrets of turning back your biological clock and supercharging your mental acumen with the guidance of Dr. Mike Van Thielen, our esteemed guest who merges neuroscience with athleticism to redefine the possibilities of human potential.

Learn more from Dr. Mike here:
Biohacking Unlimited


Dr. Mike demystifies the world of biohacking, illustrating that these powerful techniques are not reserved for the few but are accessible tools for all. We dive into his treasure trove of practical tips that promise to ramp up your focus and attention, enabling you to thrive in a world that too often feels like it's moving at the speed of light.

You can try ClariGenZ at this link:
Try Clari Gen Z

We all have ambitions that fuel us, but how often do they seem just out of reach?           Dr.  Mike walks us through mastering the art of purposeful planning, breaking down grandiose dreams into actionable steps. We also tackle the thorny issue of dopamine overload – the hidden adversary in our perpetual quest for productivity. From mindful nutrition to moderated social media usage, we uncover strategies for rebalancing our brain chemistry. This episode is packed with actionable advice that can transform the way you work and live, turning what can feel like mountains back into molehills.

Dr. Mike shares his evolution from a stem cell clinic CEO to embracing medical marijuana pre-screening, all while hunting for safe, effective ways to boost brain health. Tune in to this episode for an enriching journey that equips you with the knowledge to elevate your body and mind beyond what you thought possible.

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Transcript

Dr. Charlyce: 0:53

Welcome back to the Art of Healing Podcast. This is Dr Charlize. Thank you, as always, for joining me for today's episode. Before we get into the episode and I introduce our guest for this week, I do wanna remind you that on the Saturday, the March 23rd, at noon central standard time, we'll have the opportunity to meet face to face during the masterclass harmonize your energy. This is the second time to have the masterclass. We had our first class on February 24th and it was a great time, a great time of discovery for all of us. So I've decided to do it again and many of those that attended plan to attend the second masterclass, in which we explored our energy centers and our hormones.

Dr. Charlyce: 1:42

During today's episode, we are gonna discuss focus biohacking keys to success from noted author, athlete, ceo and founder of several companies, neuroscientist Dr Mike Van Theelen. Dr Van Theelen is a medical director of Clary Gen Z Health, which is an innovative medical company that has developed treatments to combat focus and inattention without the harmful side effects of many of the prescription medications that are available. Dr Van Theelen is an accomplished author, public speaker and athlete. He shared the stage with celebrities such as Les Brown, brian Tracy and Darren Hardy, and he has also accomplished several awards in his athletic career, including holding national records and titles, and he has also been a coach and therapist for Olympic athletes. Dr Van Theelen is an entrepreneur with a vast business experience in a proven track record and establishing successful businesses in the areas of anti-aging, regenerative medicine, nutrients and supplementation.

Dr. Charlyce: 2:57

During our episode, we got a great chance to get clear on what biohacking is. We also got to discuss things that we could do in our daily lives to improve our focus and attention. Dr Van Theelen sells some great advice that we can use, no matter if we are elite athletes just trying to do better in our everyday lives. Advice, really, for all of us. So definitely enjoy. Hi, dr Mike, nice to meet you.

Dr. Mike: 3:28

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Charlyce: 3:31

It's a pleasure and it is an honor. I'm so excited to share your work and share your information with my audience. I think it's gonna be incredibly helpful. So, to get us started, for those of us that are new to the concept, can you tell us what is biohacking?

Dr. Mike: 3:49

Yeah, good question, because it's an amorphous term and there's many definitions out there and so, but for me it's easy. Biohacking means upgrading the body, the mind and life, and from a health point of view it means or a performance point of view, it means objectively reversing our biological age, because we all have a chronological age, right? But we know it doesn't mean much, because some people are 60 and they're about to die and they're suffering, and other people are 85 and they're doing very well and they're independent and healthy, right. So chronological age is just a number. What's really important is our lifespan or our health span. So I believe that today, with the technologies and biohacking strategies that are available to us not just the elite, but the average person I believe that anybody that starts implementing these biohacking strategies can live to be 100 years chronologically but be able to do what a 40-year-old does, so still enjoying taking vacations, hiking, golfing, whatever it is that you like to do, and I believe that's possible today if we implement these strategies.

Dr. Charlyce: 4:59

So it's not just about the longevity, not just being here, it's actually being here and being healthy enough and strong enough to actually enjoy where you are.

Dr. Mike: 5:12

Enjoy life, help others right, because that's what life is about. And being productive, yes, finding fulfillment. But when you're in a hospital bed from age 65 to 85, yes, those are 20 years but what have they done but drain you and other people right?

Dr. Charlyce: 5:30

So now, when I hear the term biohacking, I tend to think this is something that's for the elite, is for someone who's super wealthy. So is biohacking something we can all do.

Dr. Mike: 5:43

Yes, we certainly can, and you're correct, because some people think biohacking that's the storm. So we immediately think about expensive technologies. So I need to have a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in the house, or I need to buy a $100,000 whole body photo biomodulation device. No, no, no. Now those are all things that could work, and if you have money and you got nothing, better to spend it on for sure. But even those expensive technologies don't work if you don't have your foundation in place, right. So there are some foundational biohacks.

Dr. Mike: 6:17

So when I get clients, I'm not even starting with biohacking many times because I kind of put my clients in three categories. Number one regaining control of your health. So when you are in pain, when you're diagnosed with a medical condition, are you overweight? That means it's your below normal. So we need to regain control and we have to get you back to quote unquote normal, get rid of the pain, get you an optimal weight and get rid of those medical diagnosis and get you healthy again. So that's stage number one.

Dr. Mike: 6:47

Then number two is once we're back to normal. We got to go to optimal health, so now we got to implement lifestyle modifications so that we can be strong and vital and fit at optimal health and only then in stage number three is optimal health the ideal foundation to maximize the benefits of biohacking. Because now we're in optimal health but now we want to reverse that biological age. So even if we don't go through those three stages and somebody that is overweight and has diabetes or high blood pressure, high cholesterol not the fittest person purchase a hundred thousand dollar piece of bio equipment, that body's not going to respond to that anyways. And so there are. In my latest book I talk about seven foundational biohacks. That is the foundation that everybody should start with, and they don't cost any money.

Dr. Charlyce: 7:40

Okay, before I go on to my next question, what is your latest book?

Dr. Mike: 7:44

My latest book, number eight here is the Isot Method Unleashing your Super Power. So that talks a lot about the biohacking we're talking about today, but also talks about productivity focus, freeing up valuable time and those types of things. So it's a big book.

Dr. Charlyce: 8:01

Oh, that's great With listeners. I'll make sure I share how we can get copies of Dr Mike's latest book because, I'm sorry, I didn't actually realize that before we started our episode that you had recently authored a book, another book, because I did let the listeners know your other publishings. So, in this world where we are bombarded with distractions and sensory overload, especially from the internet and social media, what are your recommendations that can help us focus better, to be more successful and to accomplish more? What's your approach?

Dr. Mike: 8:35

Yeah, there's a lot there, but I think there's a few key points here that I like to share. Number one the reason why a lot of us are not focused and not driven, don't have any passion and struggling day to day, is because we lack purpose. And so when you're just going to an eight to five job and you don't know what tomorrow brings, next week, next year brings, and there's no drive because you're working for somebody else and you're not living your own dreams, then what's the purpose? Right, there is no purpose. And so, you know, many times that puts us in a situation where we are not focused, not focused on goals or dreams or a plan to execute those, because we don't have one right.

Dr. Mike: 9:23

So many times, with my mentees, I really start with the foundation, which is purpose and plan. We need to find our purpose, or rediscover our purpose, or confirm our purpose, to ignite that passion, ignite that fire, and then, based on our goals and our dreams that we want to achieve, we need to create a plan. And that's important because we need to know where to go, because many times, you know you probably heard the saying before when your dreams are not scary, they're not big enough. But on the other hand, if they are scary and big, then most of us will feel overwhelmed and assume we can't attain those goals and dreams. And that's exactly why we need a plan, because then we can break that huge, big, scary dream down into smaller steps, incremental steps that we can implement on a daily basis, that we can attain on a daily basis and then bring us fulfillment. And so purpose and plan is the foundation, because we need to have the drive, we need to have that passion and we need to have that path and we need to know what's coming and what we need to do to get there. And so that foundation in itself alone will immediately, you know, give you that focus because you know where you're going and when you have a drive and focus, nothing's gonna stop us, because suddenly obstacles become stepping stones and opportunities to get your closer to that goal versus. It's not meant to be. And why this and why that? Because we don't have any direction right.

Dr. Mike: 10:53

So I think, from a broader perspective, that's very important if you want to focus, if you want to be productive, that we know why we're working and where we, what we're working for and what our purpose is, what we want to accomplish, but on a daily day, today, day day, today basis, I think people, most of us, are in what we call a dopamine overload. In order to be in the zone, in order to be present in the moment, in order to be, like you said, focused, our five intelligence hormones, which are dopamine, epinephrine, epinephrine, acetylcholine and serotonin, they need to be optimal and they also need to be in balance, and that's where we're in the zone Now. Most of us today are in a dopamine overload, meaning the hormones are out of balance, and the result of that is brain fog, lack of focus in attention, procrastination and all those types of things that make us very, very Much less productive. Right, and so the first thing I do with my clients is educate them about dopamine overload, because we need to understand what it is and why are in this brain fog and why we can't pay attention and why we procrastinate. And so the overload is caused by excess dopamine.

Dr. Mike: 12:03

Where do we get dopamine from and what is dopamine? Dopamine is our reward hormone, so if our brain scores a little dopamine, it feels good, it's like we're getting a pet on the back. So, consciously or unconsciously, we're seeking more of that. So when we talk about sugary foods and sugary drinks and energy drinks. In other words, bad food and bad, you know, beverages. And we think about social media, right, because if somebody likes your comment or heart your instagram, it gives us a dopamine hit, and so therefore we seek more of it. Hence we get addicted to social media or we just spend simply too much time on social media, and so all of that brings us in a dopamine overload, which is that imbalance of those intelligence hormones which get us into that slump Vicious cycle of in attention, lack of focus and so on. So first we need to upgrade that diet and we need to regain control of our social media, and not the other way around and so many times that will kind of balance those hormones by itself.

Dr. Mike: 13:05

And then we need to do basic stuff that we got away from. You know, when I was a kid, we had a designated area where, where your homework needed to be done, and so even adults. Now, when you ask them, where do you do work? It's in the kitchen, it's in front of the TV, it's on the bed. But each area has its purpose. You cannot eat or work in your bedroom. That's the bedrooms for sleeping.

Dr. Mike: 13:27

So you need a designated place and when you're going to work on a project or your homework, you know you need to. You need to let other people know that you are, close the door and say, don't disturb me. And then we have these nice devices that disturb us all the time. So we need to turn them off and put them away, right? And so this device is very convenient, but you need to be in control of it. Meaning, I want to have this device in case I need to have find a research article for my project, or if I need to call my colleague and ask him a quick question, because if I have to look it up, it's going to take me three hours and he has the answer. But I'm going to use it to my advantage. When I'm going to work on something, I'm going to turn this off because I don't want other people to interrupt me for their advantage or their benefit, right? So we need to get in control of the money. We need to create an environment where we can work and can focus right.

Dr. Mike: 14:19

And so then there's many techniques and strategies.

Dr. Mike: 14:22

To mention one, the Pomodoro technique.

Dr. Mike: 14:23

It's a technique that works for all of people.

Dr. Mike: 14:24

For some people it doesn't work, but what you do is you set a timer and for 20 25 minutes you're really going to focus in the designated area no distractions, no phones, now thing. And then the timer goes off and there's a five minute mandatory break where you leave, you go out, you do what you got to do in five minutes, not for all two minutes. You come back and you repeat the cycle four or five times and that's where, for all of people, they really are into, instead of just not having any idea what the plan is 20 minutes on, five minutes off, and you focus and you're not distracted. And if you, if you want to check your social media during the five minutes, great, but not while you're getting focused. And so there's many things that we can do to recreate a productive environment and being focused, because, as you know, they say that most of us produce 80% of what we produce in 20% of the time. So in 20% of the time we do 80% of the work and the rest we're just wasting and distracted.

Dr. Charlyce: 15:27

I know for myself. It feels like I get an incredible amount done. In about 20 minutes Everything's done, and then the rest of the time I'm like I don't know what happened with that. I did something. So dopamine, which I always understood, is like the feel good chemical, feel good hormone. What you're saying is that right now, what's going on? Most of us have too much dopamine. Yes, and I'm searching it too much or yes.

Dr. Mike: 16:00

So in the past and even now, it just depends on many things. It depends on your diet, it depends in if you're healthy or unhealthy. It depends if you're in control of social media or not. Because in the past we were. We were figuring out how to promote and stimulate dopamine, because dopamine's feel good and dopamine motivates and dopamine inspires. So we were figuring out how to get more dopamine. And so how do we get more dopamine? If we want? The number one exercise will promote dopamine. Number two a deep delta sleep will promote dopamine. So you need enough sleep.

Dr. Mike: 16:37

Sunlight natural sunlight will cause reactions in which dopamine is promoted. So we need to spend more time outdoors in the sunlight, not with a hat and sunglasses and clothes on. We need to try to get as much skin bear as we can so the sunlight can actually be absorbed by our body and produce a dopamine. So what do we have? We have sunlight, yes. And then next I would say over diets very important Something with saturated fats, with, will deplete our dopamine.

Dr. Mike: 17:12

Our essential amino acids will promote dopamine. So many people talk about getting enough protein. But I would say, if you are going to get some supplements, get the essential amino acids, because then your body doesn't have to break down those proteins into amino acids. So amino acids will promote dopamine. What else there is?

Dr. Mike: 17:37

Certain supplements or vitamins like folate, b6, iron, magnesium, curcumin so those are the ones on top of my head that will promote dopamine also, and you know, those are the things that you can do to increase it, and that's a good thing. But you got to make sure you're not already in an overload. But the overload comes from the opposite, right unhealthy foods, you know sugary drinks and energy drinks, and then, of course, an overload from social media, which is only the last kind of decade where we are exposed to getting dopamine from a social platform, and so but if you're in, if you're in, if you have a healthy diet and you're in control of your social media, then, and only then, would it be prudent to you know, to try to stimulate or promote your dopamine levels with the things that I just mentioned. But most of my clients is the opposite. They're in a dopamine overload. So we need to get that under control.

Dr. Charlyce: 18:39

Thank you for explaining that. You mentioned vitamin B6. And in my own practice that comes up a lot as far as getting that dopamine optimized. You said vitamin, getting enough vitamin B6 naturally.

Dr. Mike: 18:59

Yes, it's, it's folate and B6. Yeah, those are. Those are considered the the nutrients or vitamins that promote dopamine.

Dr. Charlyce: 19:11

Okay, okay, great Okay. Thank you so much and it just that kind of clicked with me because I know with my own patients, being deficient on vitamin B6 has been a reoccurring theme. So that's actually it helps, helps my folks Well. Thank you so much.

Dr. Mike: 19:27

And again, doesn't matter what it is, if it's low it's not good either, because then we also have an imbalance of those intelligence hormones, causing that brain fog, inattention in focus, right? Yeah, I experienced most of them all in an overload, but we cannot generalize with our patients, right? So we got to know what their diet is, what they're doing, what their symptoms are and, based on that, we may need to lower the dopamine to create a balance or we may need to increase that dopamine to achieve that balance.

Dr. Charlyce: 19:53

Okay, oh, that is so cool. I'm sharing that.

Dr. Mike: 19:56

You're welcome.

Dr. Charlyce: 19:57

So can you share with us? Clary Gen Z, maybe just tell us about the company and then share with us what the company offers as far as enhancing our mental and our physical performance.

Dr. Mike: 20:12

Yeah, it's a good backstory, because I was the CEO of a stem cell clinic until COVID hit and then we had to close the doors. So I was kind of figuring out what I was going to do and a colleague of mine called me up and said, hey, do we have time? Because we need help, because in the state of Florida they were pre-screening patients from medical marijuana. Right, I said sure, I'll do some of the calls. So I actually ended up talking to 100 people or patients per week with what With anxiety, depression, ptsd, adhd and all those conditions. And so what I found was that of course, there's therapies out there and therapists out there, and there's smart drugs out there, like your Ritalin, well, butrin, et cetera. But I found that again there was this common denominator that I figured out most of these people didn't have a purpose in life, right, and just imagine that you don't know what tomorrow brings, next week or next month brings. And I placed myself in those shoes and I would be worried, I would be fearful, and so those negative emotions they translate into what anxiety, depression and those types of conditions, right? So I think we always gotta go, always back to that foundation, right, because therapies and drugs can mask symptoms, but why are those symptoms there in the first place is important. But, long story short, one of the things that I was trying to do is get those patients of those harmful medications, but give them an alternative that is not harmful. So we have smart drugs like Ritalin, which, again, it seems to help these people focus, but if you look at the long, long list of side effects, we're talking about increased heart rate, increased risk for heart disease, seizures, psychosis, and the list goes on. So it's not something that I personally can recommend. So I went to look in the field of what they call neurotropics or notropics, which are the natural alternatives to smart drugs, and there's many on the market Baqoba, Ginko Biloba and many Chinese herbs and Ayurvedic medicines that have properties that would help us focus or help us with our memory, and things like that.

Dr. Mike: 22:28

But I came across something that is patented as biocitroids, and biocitroids is a terpene from a specific type of blood orange or citrus fruit, if you will, from Southeast Asia and at 30 milligrams of or higher, this biocitroid is able to cross the blood-brain barrier in about 30 minutes. Now other supplements may work too, but many times they need several weeks to build up in your system to find out whether or not they work. And so this works pretty quickly, and so I came in contact with the company that had the patents to this biocitroid in the United States and they were actually trying to make a formulation with it, and that's when I started helping them out. And so we added three ingredients. We added l-tyrosine, which is an amino acid which has been proven to help with memory, et cetera, and focus. Then we added phenylanoline, which is a neuro agent which helps with photographic memory and focus.

Dr. Mike: 23:23

And then the last ingredient we added, which is a very important one to me, is phosphatidyl, which we know scientifically to stimulate NGF nerve growth factor, in other words, stimulate the formation of new brain cells, neurotransmission, et cetera. And so when we put those four natural ingredients together, we found that there were no cheetah effect, no adverse reactions or side effect, and that still many of these patients were able to get into that zone, because what we try to do with those ingredients is optimize and balance those five intelligence hormones that we talked about today, and so it doesn't work for everybody, just like anything else. So I usually tell people give it a try. If you go to trysmartspillcom, you can get a free sample. Give it a try. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, don't buy it right.

Dr. Charlyce: 24:15

That. Thank you so much, so that that sample link is trysmartspillcom. So I'll make sure that we get that in the show notes so that we can all all try that.

Dr. Charlyce: 24:28

That, actually that sounds like a wonderful formulation and, as you're, you're naming off what's in it, I thought wow this is such a so interesting, and I'm finding it really interesting that what led you to here was screening people for medical marijuana, which I know has helped some people. But I do get worried that it's being used, just like pharmaceuticals, to mask symptoms but not getting down to the root of it. And sure enough you're finding a solution for these people that it doesn't have to just be oh, let's just snow your brain with more chemicals. So that's wonderful, thank you. Thank you, so are there. Do you have anything else to share about Clarigenz or any other offers to share with?

Dr. Mike: 25:11

Well, clarigenz is the company and the product is called Focus Plus. So you can get a free sample of Focus Plus from the company and again, I've helped people getting off those medications. But at the same time I also put all of top athletes and NFL players on it, because sometimes it gives them that little extra etching focus that they need to win. So you know it can be used for anybody. You know some people use it just before they go on stage for the, for the keynote speaking or a presentation at work, where they just need a little extra focus or any competition, and so it doesn't mean you need to take this every time, but it may help in certain situations and it's all natural.

Dr. Charlyce: 25:51

Nice. Thank you so much. So before we part, Dr Mike, can you tell the listeners what's the best way to connect with you, your company, learn more about you and where to find a copy of your most recent book?

Dr. Mike: 26:05

Yes, very good. Well, I'm not too much of a social media guy because that would give me a dopamine overload, right. But everybody can find everything they need on my website, which is biohackingunlimitedcom, and on that website you can find all my books Number one you also can find my mentorship programs and, related to the mentorship programs, you can schedule a 20 minute free call with me where we can talk where you are, what you want to achieve and see how I can help you out. So check out those mentorship programs. What else? We have a Costa Rica VIP biohacking retreat coming up in August, and we always have our limitless slab, which is also on the website. The limitless slab is a 12 week virtual program where we basically help people to maximize their performance or overcome any disease, to self optimization. So there's basically a five step formula.

Dr. Mike: 27:03

The first two we talked about we need purpose and plan, which is the foundation. And then, number three, we need to learn how to be present in the moment, because that's where we produce. We talked about that too. We need to master the skill of being in the zone on demand, because being in the zone is not just for athletes. Everybody can master this skill, and just imagine that when you master that skill, how would that affect your business? Are your life or your performance right? So that's number three.

Dr. Mike: 27:30

Number four is biohacking. That's where we upgrading the body and the mind, not just the body in reversing that biological age. But we didn't talk about the mind today. But we really want to upgrade that mind, mindset, you know, basically manage all the faculties of the subconscious mind and put our ego aside so we can leave our full potential. So that's step number four. And then step number five, because it's a five step program. Step number five we're going to take the elements of those four steps first four steps that work for you, and mold them into what I call a power routine, which is a daily routine that's customized just for you, that you can count on each and every day to be the best version of yourself. So check out the limitless lab on the website. So everything is on one place biohackingunlimitedcom.

Dr. Charlyce: 28:19

Well, dr Mike, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much for bringing all these great offers to all of us. I think I'm going to be trying it as well. So I thank you so much for bringing all this great stuff and, in honor of our dopamine levels listeners, I'm going to make sure that you can check your show notes, which I do always make available. I do have social media, but I got to agree with you, dr Mike. As much as I can, I do try to keep communication through email, phone call, try to keep it personal, but for you listeners.

Dr. Charlyce: 28:48

I'll make sure a list of all of Dr Mike's great resources are available. Dr Mike, thank you so much.

Dr. Mike: 28:56

Thank you so much, because it's your time and your effort too, and together as a team, we try to help more and more people.

Dr. Charlyce: 29:04

Thank you so much, Listeners. I'll see you next week. Thanks.