Is There a Superior Diet for the Entrepreneur? The 'Father of Biohacking' Shares What He Eats for High Energy, Low Body Fat and Optimal Output.

Plus....some science behind the madness.

By Elisette Carlson, Founder of SMACK! Media

Biohacking Entrepreneur Dave Asprey landed a feature in Entrepreneur Magazine at the age of 26 wearing a T-shirt that read, "Caffeine is My Drug Of Choice," shortly after he turned buttered coffee into a multi-million dollar business known as Bulletproof Coffee.

Known as the "Father of Biohacking," Asprey is also a four-time NYT Best-Selling Author, host of the top 100 podcast, The Human Upgrade, with over 350 million downloads, and eight-time Entrepreneur, with his latest company, Danger Coffee, a mold-free line of coffee that contains over 50 trace minerals, nutrients and electrolytes.

The question gets asked a lot, is there a diet for the successful entrepreneur? While there is no definitive answer, Asprey shares a diet that has helped him maintain optimal health markers and build several businesses. Here, I ask Asprey about his diet and share some of his daily food, supplement and hydration habits.

Over a Zoom call, while I was drinking my usual decaf almond milk latte, Asprey explained to me that most coffee depletes your body of minerals and electrolytes and makes you feel tired. He said, "Danger Coffee gives you the good stuff - the antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, nutrients and optimal fasting support."

With that, I responded with a question, "So what else do you eat to maintain high levels of energy, very low body fat (he's at 6%) and strong health biomarkers?" Asprey and I discussed his day-to-day nutrition. Like Tim Ferriss, who preaches in his 4-Hour Body Diet to "eat the same foods every day," Asprey shared his philosophy for eating that helped him lose 100 pounds without counting calories or excessive exercise.

As a clean-eater who is also a creature of habit and known for my morning protein pancakes and almost daily salmon, veggies and clean carbs like homemade sourdough bread, I understood Asprey's logic. But there's a science behind Asprey's diet, who, at age 28, while running four companies, experienced bouts of brain fog, arthritis, Hashimotos, pre-diabetes and was overweight. I got very granular with my questions, and below are the routines and nutrition principles that Asprey, now at age 50, follows.

He wakes up with MCT oil in his coffee, followed by multiple supplements totaling 84 pills throughout the morning. Twenty minutes later, he drinks water with lemon juice and Celtic sea salt for electrolytes because, according to him, the body doesn't actually absorb water without minerals.

Asprey likes to intermittent fast in the morning but he also listens to his body. So, for example, if he wakes up hungry, he will have a protein shake with an animal-based protein powder, never plant-based, because "they contain toxins." He also explains that you do not break a fast with butter or MCT oil in your coffee because mTOR nor insulin levels are not raised, meaning that your body remains in a fasted state.

Most regularly, Asprey eats his first meal around 1 or 2 in the afternoon, which consists of steak or ground beef with some arugula or cauliflower and plenty of herbs and spices, especially rosemary and oregano because "those have thousands of times more polyphenols per gram." He also enjoys sheep's milk cheese or yogurt. He will add white rice and a type of fruit to that meal, usually blueberries, because of their prebiotic fiber. Asprey eats about 40 grams of prebiotic fiber daily to feed his gut bacteria. He prioritizes 200 grams of protein per day, and if he only eats two meals, he looks to get 100 grams of protein per meal, which he can easily attain with 1 pound of meat within each of the two meals.

How about fish? "I do eat some fish, but mostly sushi-grade and always wild-caught because of so many plastics and heavy metals in the ocean, and because of that, I take supplements to bind the toxic metals." He also avoids gluten but finds joy in good meals with friends and his family, in particular at The Well in Austin, Texas, and he looks forward to Kimbal Musk's Kitchen restaurant opening in the fall.

For dessert, Asprey enjoys a handful of things from his cookbook, including "Get Some" Ice Cream, but his typical treat is a "rice thing with a bit of honey" that he makes. Asprey enjoys chocolate but has cut back on it due to oxalates and will only eat chocolate that has been tested for heavy metals and mold toxins.

You'll be surprised to learn that the Bulletproof entrepreneur only works out about 20 minutes per week and is not a "hit your 10,000 steps per day" type of guy. Asprey focused on AI-assisted workouts using the Upgrade Labs (one of his companies) AI bike and cheat machine. (Leave it to the Father of Biohacking to have a 'cheat' machine, right?)

I asked him to walk me through one of his AI-assisted workouts: "On the AI bike, you warm up very slowly for 2 minutes, and at the end of those 2 minutes, AI applies resistance instantly, and you do an all-out sprint for 20 seconds. Then, you go back to a prolonged cycle for three minutes. After those three minutes, you do another 20-second all-out sprint. Then, you cool down for 3 minutes. You're only working hard for 40 seconds, and it's all driven by AI, so you get the best possible workout targeted to your fitness levels."

As for other wellness rituals, Asprey practices daily breathwork, sauna, cold plunge, getting sunlight outdoors, reading, listening to music and spending time with his family. Like most successful entrepreneurs, he prioritizes sleep, practices gratitude and finds time to meditate.

His latest book, entitled Smarter Not Harder: The Biohacker's Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want, is about helping people maximize their well-being with as little effort as possible. While I can tell you that I'm personally not a fan of eating two pounds of meat per day, I'll attest that Asprey's No Bake Brownie Bites and Easy Collagen Freezer Fudge are some of my favorites. And as of last month, paired with a cup of decaf Danger Coffee.

Originally published on Entrepreneur.com on March 20, 2024