真外刊精读 | 新加坡生物黑客风潮

翻译 | 祝思琪

Biohacking in Singapore: keto diets, fasting, flotation therapy, DNA kits – how people are looking to optimise health and longevity

新加坡的生物黑客：生酮饮食、

禁食、漂浮疗法、DNA试剂盒——

人们希望促进健康和长寿的方法

From : SCMP

Published: 28 Nov, 2019

Every morning, before he has his ice bath, 39-year-old Tommy Ye clocks up five minutes of exercise by jumping on a trampoline in his flat.

每天早上，在洗冰浴之前，39岁的汤米·叶都会在他的公寓里跳蹦床锻炼5分钟。

He then whips up some bulletproof coffee – made with unsalted butter and coconut oil – for breakfast, after having fasted since 7pm the previous night.

他从前一天晚上7点开始禁食，然后用无盐黄油和椰子油煮了一些防弹咖啡作为早餐。

Part of Ye’s daily routine includes stripping down in a darkened bedroom so he can fully absorb the light from his Redjuvenator, a machine from the US billed as a revolutionary healing and anti-ageing invention that uses red and near-infrared light. Infrared light is energy you can’t see, but your body can feel as heat, and red light is similar to infrared – but can be seen.

叶日常生活的一部分包括在一间黑暗的卧室里脱光衣服，以便他彻底吸收来自他的红光复原器的光线。这台来自美国的红光复原器利用红色和近红外光工作，被宣传为一种革命性的治疗和抗衰老发明。红外光是你看不见，但你的身体能感觉到热量的能量，红光与红外光相似，但可以看到。

Ye says the Redjuvenator helps small wounds heal faster. He also uses it when he feels a cough coming on.

叶说，红光复原器有助于小伤口更快愈合。当感觉有点咳嗽时，他也会用它。

Ye is part of a growing subculture of “biohackers” in Singapore experimenting with ways to engineer their health and longevity. Biohacking – or DIY biology – is a term that covers a wide range of biological treatments and systems, lifestyle changes, and technology.

叶是新加坡不断增长的“生物黑客”亚文化群体中的一员，他们试验各种方法以筹划健康和长寿。生物黑客（或称DIY生物学）是一个有着广泛概念的术语，涵盖了生物治疗和生物系统、生活方式的改变和技术。

Ye turned to biohacking after a health scare in 2016 when it was suspected he had fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver. Today, he says, his readings are normal. He follows a low-carb diet and now weighs 75kg (165 pounds), down from 85kg.

在2016年对健康产生担忧之后，叶成为了生物黑客，当时医生怀疑他患有脂肪肝，脂肪在肝脏中积聚。现在，他说，他的读数是正常的。他遵循低碳水化合物饮食，体重已从85公斤下降到75公斤（165磅）。

The Myanmar-born insurance agent, now a naturalised Singaporean citizen, says he feels happier, more alert and healthier since he started biohacking. He sees the S$2,000 (US$1,465) he has spent on the practice as a small price to pay.

这位缅甸出生，现在已入籍为新加坡公民的保险代理人说，自从他开始从事生物黑客活动以来，他感到更快乐、更机敏、更健康。他认为他在实践过程中花费的2000新元（1465美元）只是一个很小的代价。

“We all grow old and die, but maybe we can find a way to slow death down,” he says.

他说：“我们都会变老然后死去，但也许我们可以找到一种方法来延缓死亡。”

Ye has bought a home DNA test kit to help him understand his health-related conditions and, if finances permit, he wants to try stem-cell therapy.

叶买了一个家用DNA检测试剂盒，以帮助他了解自己的健康状况，如果经济允许，他还想尝试干细胞疗法。

The term “biohacking” has only recently entered the lexicon in Asia, according to 36-year-old British fitness trainer Joe Hanney.

据36岁的英国健身教练乔·汉尼说，“生物黑客”这个词最近才进入亚洲的词典。

In 2018, Hanney founded Biohackers Singapore, the country’s chapter of the global Biohackers Collective organisation to bring together like-minded people “obsessed with the pursuit of achieving an optimised life and superhuman performance”.

为了将志同道合、“痴迷于追求最优化的生活和超凡的表现”的人聚集在一起，汉尼在2018年创立了全球生物黑客集体组织新加坡分会。

The group, which has 200 members, has informal gatherings and monthly talks to discuss the potential benefits of sensory deprivation tanks; the freezing temperatures of cryotherapy; earthing – walking barefoot on grass, sand, dirt or rocks; sleep tracking and lucid dreaming; cognitive enhancers, or so-called smart drugs; and other treatments and systems.

该小组有200名成员，举办非正式聚会和月度会谈来讨论感官剥夺罐，冷冻疗法的冰点温度，接地——赤脚在草地、沙滩、泥土或岩石上行走，睡眠追踪和清醒梦境，认知增强剂或所谓的聪明药，以及其他疗法和系统的潜在好处；

Cryotherapy is a trendy new treatment for sore muscles and rejuvenation.

冷冻疗法是一种治疗肌肉酸痛和恢复活力的时髦的新疗法。

For peak productivity, Hanney practises a form of “polyphasic” sleep, which means he sleeps between 10pm and 4am, and later has 20-minute power naps in a NovoThor whole body light pod – a device that uses red and near-infrared light to treat injuries, reduce pain and relax muscles.

为了达到最高的工作效率，汉尼采用了一种“多相”睡眠方式，也即他在晚上10点到凌晨4点睡觉，然后在诺和索尔全身光舱——一种使用红光和近红外光来治疗损伤、减轻疼痛和放松肌肉的设备中睡20分钟的午觉。

He naps to the sounds of binaural beats (tones that induce specific brainwave states), while inhaling the scent of lavender-infused oils after sipping on a calming, medicinal mushroom drink. All the while, his body’s functions are tracked by the Biostrap wearable health tracker on his wrist.

他听着双耳节拍的声音（引起特定脑电波状态的音调）小睡，同时在啜饮一种镇静的药用蘑菇饮料后吸入薰衣草精油的香味。自始至终，他的身体机能都由他手腕上的穿戴式健康追踪器Biostrap跟踪。

Hanney likens this tracking of his health data to how a GPS device enables easier travel planning. “It takes out the guesswork,” he says. “To me, biohacking is taking control of your life and bringing balance to it.”

汉尼把这种对他健康数据的追踪比作GPS设备使旅行计划变得更容易的过程。“这排除了猜测，”他说，“对我而言，生物黑客正在掌控你的生活，并给它带来平衡。”

The NovoThor whole body light pod

诺和索尔全身光舱

Hanney plans to open HACKD Fitness Singapore, the city state’s first biohacking gym and a spin-off of HACKD Fitness in New York, in the central business district by the end of this year. It will cater to newcomers as well as biohackers “who want to take it to the next level”.

汉尼计划今年年底前在中央商务区开设新加坡黑客健身，这将是新加坡第一家生物黑客健身房，也是纽约黑客健身的分部。它将满足新人和“想进入到下一个层次”的生物黑客们的需要。

The futuristic gym will be equipped with artificial-intelligence bikes, brain-stimulator headphones and vibration plates. It will also track data such as heart-rate variability, and “gameify” the entire experience to motivate clients to beat their current scores, Hanney says.

这间未来的健身房将配备人工智能自行车、脑刺激耳机和振动板。汉尼说，它还将跟踪心率变异性等数据，并使整个体验“游戏化”，以激励客户超过他们目前的分数。

Users will also be able to have a “stacked series of experiences” at other partnering health and wellness outfits that offer services such as cryotherapy and DNA testing.

用户还可以在提供冷冻疗法和DNA检测等服务的其他合作医疗保健机构获得“一系列丰富的体验”。

The most popular biohacking craze in Singapore is the high-fat, low-carb keto diet, which helps to put the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. Its rise may be linked to the Singapore government’s 2016 declaration of a war against diabetes. More than 400,000 Singaporeans live with the disease.

新加坡最流行的生物黑客热是高脂肪、低碳水化合物的生酮饮食，其有助于让身体进入到一种叫做酮症的代谢状态。它的崛起可能与新加坡政府2016年宣布向糖尿病开战有关。超过40万新加坡人患有此病。

Seriously Keto, one of Singapore’s pioneering keto-friendly bakeries, has taken advantage of the popularity of the keto diet, and provides sugar-free desserts to health-conscious consumers, such as those on ketogenic, paleo and gluten-free diets.

全酮，新加坡首创的亲酮面包店之一，利用生酮饮食的流行，为注重健康的消费者，如采取生酮饮食法、原始人饮食法和无麸质饮食法的人提供无糖甜点。

Originally from Indonesia, founder Janti Brasali, 53, realised there was a shortage of these products on the market and that she could bake keto desserts for more than just her friends and family. The bakery’s bestsellers include KetoBuns, Chocolate Deluxe KetoCups (chocolate cupcakes) and Fin-Garlicky Sticks (pretzel sticks).

原籍印度尼西亚的53岁创始人詹蒂·布拉萨利意识到市场上这些产品存在短缺，她可以不仅只为朋友和家人烘焙酮类甜点。这家面包店的畅销食品包括酮面包、巧克力豪华酮杯（巧克力蛋糕）和蒜味鱼翅串（椒盐卷饼棒）。

Raphaël Chabaud, 31, has biohacked his own health by going full carnivore. He says his all-meat diet, which he switched to after the first time he tasted beef tartare (a traditional French dish made from raw ground beef), has similar benefits to those of the keto diet.

31岁的拉斐尔·沙巴德通过全食肉生物黑客自己的健康。他说，他在第一次尝到生牛肉（一道用生绞牛肉制作的传统法国菜）后转向全肉饮食，这种饮食与生酮饮食有类似的好处。

The marketing professional, who was brought up on a vegetarian diet, says he now feels full of energy, has lower inflammation and doesn’t feel hungry as often. A recent blood test concluded that everything – bar his cholesterol, which was a little high – was within the normal range.

这位吃素食长大的市场营销专家说，他现在感觉精力充沛，炎症减轻，也不像以前那样经常感到饥饿。最近一次血液测试的结果是，除了他的胆固醇有点高之外，一切都在正常范围内。

One of the unexpected advantages of his diet, which he adopted last year, is that Chabaud’s supermarket shop is now simpler. The French national now just zooms straight to the meat section to snap up essentials like beef, bacon, chicken and sausages before he buys other products such as eggs.

他自去年采用的饮食方法带来的一个意想不到的好处是，沙巴德现在去超市购物更为简单了。这位法国国民现在直接走到肉类区，抢购牛肉、培根、鸡肉和香肠等必需品，然后再购买鸡蛋等其他产品。

“People like to tease me about it … at the gym, they make jokes like, ‘Oh you’re the meat guy,’” Chabaud says with a laugh, adding that he sees this as a good segue into friendly discussions about nutrition and health.

“人们喜欢就这点取笑我……在健身房，他们开玩笑说，‘哦，你是那个吃肉的家伙，’。”沙巴德笑着说，并补充道，他认为这是一个友好地讨论营养和健康问题的良好开端。

A flotation pod at Singapore’s Palm Ave Float Club

新加坡棕榈大道漂浮俱乐部的一个漂浮舱

His diet is not without its disadvantages though – having to look for options while eating out has made Chabaud’s “social life more complicated”, so he usually opts to stay in, or will join friends for a drink after dinner.

不过，他的饮食也并非没有缺点——外出就餐时必须寻找可供选择的餐厅让沙巴德的“社交生活复杂化”，因此他通常选择留在家里，或者晚饭后和朋友一起喝一杯。

Although at least 70 per cent of the calories he consumes are still derived from animal products, Chabaud is starting to slowly introduce some carbs and plants back into his diet. “While I am still convinced of the benefits of a meat-based diet, I want to experiment with a more flexible version of the diet that will make it easier socially and that may give me more energy in the gym,” he says.

尽管他所消耗的热量中至少有70%来自动物产品，但沙巴德已经开始慢慢地将一些碳水化合物和植物重新引入到他的饮食中。“虽然我仍然相信肉类饮食的好处，但我想尝试一种更为灵活的饮食方式，使我在社交时更容易，同时也可能会让我在健身房里有更多的能量。”他说。

Flotation therapy is also on the rise in high-stress Singapore, and at Palm Ave Float Club – the Lion City’s first-ever float centre, in Kampong Bugis – people lie in sealed futuristic pods filled with water and Epsom salts in near darkness.

在高压的新加坡，漂浮疗法也正兴起，在棕榈大道漂浮俱乐部——位于甘榜格南的狮城的第一个漂浮中心——人们几乎在一片漆黑中，躺在充满水和泻盐的密封未来舱内。

Founder Derrick Foo first tried flotation therapy in the US after listening to a podcast about it. He then continued to do it in Taiwan, before eventually buying a US$20,000 pod for himself.

创始人德里克福在听了一个有关漂浮疗法的播客后，首次在美国尝试漂浮疗法。然后他继续在台湾做这件事，最后为自己买了一个2万美元的漂浮舱。

The Palm Ave Float Club, founded in 2014, was pretty “experimental at the start”, and the founders weren’t sure it would take off, recalls co-owner Sarah Chan. But five years on, the business has seen steady growth and “fewer sceptics”, she adds. An hour-long float costs S$90.

成立于2014年的棕榈大道漂浮俱乐部“一开始有相当的试验性”，创始人并不确定它会取得成功，共同所有人陈莎拉回忆道。但五年过去了，业务稳步增长，并且“怀疑者减少”，她补充说。一小时的漂浮费用是90新元。

The centre has a loyal following of Singaporeans and foreigners from diverse backgrounds. These include athletes such as mixed martial arts practitioners looking to supercharge their recovery process and professionals in fields including finance, law and education seeking to unwind.

该中心有一批来自不同背景，包括新加坡人和外国人在内的忠实追随者。其中有运动员，比如希望加速康复进程的混合武术从业者，以及寻求放松的金融、法律和教育等领域的专业人士。

“Most of our clients are here for stress relief,” Chan says. “Others are here because of sleep issues, physical injury, to deepen their meditation practice – or just out of curiosity.”

“我们的大多数客户都是来这里缓解压力的，”陈说，“其他人来这里是因为睡眠问题、身体受伤、加深冥想练习——或者只是出于好奇。”

责任编辑 | 余 昉

版面编辑 | 祝思琪