HVAC Bio-Hack

A couple of weeks ago, I went down into my basement and discovered that in our utility room where all of our home’s mechanicals are located, the floor was covered with water and it was dripping from our wall mounted boiler. I immediately shut off the boiler, and began looking for the source of the leak. I also called our HVAC guy. He came over, and by then I was able to show him where the leak was coming from, and he called his supplier for the part. The supplier told him he did not have the part and would call him back when he knew how long it would take for it to be delivered. My question was now what? He said to go to the auto parts store and pick up some JB Weld epoxy for aluminum, clean the area where the leak is, mix the epoxy and apply it, let it cure for 6 hours, and fire up the boiler and see if it still leaks. I said what if it still leaks?

Biohacking is a term that has been used over the last decade by people who use various means to try to make tiny improvements to their health. The use of this term is extremely loose and sort of a slang way of making it sound like these people have discovered a shortcut to better health. Many times, these little “bio-hacks” are just simply good habits that are highlighted for the reason why they are good. Not all bio-hacks are the right fit for everyone, and I would suggest before you try the latest cool bio-hack, take a look at the obvious first.

This reminds me of a podcast that I listen to occasionally of a guy that calls himself a biohacker as well as other self-proclaimed titles. On one of his episodes, he did a very cool interview with a functional medicine expert. She actually went through his entire case history during the interview and revealed many issues he has struggled with, yet he was “biohacking” his way past his symptoms. I give him a lot of credit for revealing his own issues. It was a great lesson for his audience that although these tricks can cheat you a little energy gain here, and a little more focus there, they don’t really get to the root cause of the problem. To his credit, he was willing to do whatever it took to find better health and performance. The part that struck me was that by trying to do it all on his own, he was missing the opportunity, or prolonging the meeting or connection to someone that knew more about what his body needed than he was able to find out for himself.

A real-life application of this can be the example of hormone imbalance that many men and women struggle with. They often find themselves taking prescription hormones to try and elevate their lower levels. The question that is never answered is why are these levels low? Knowing that the body is intelligent by design, innately it adjusts all of its biochemical levels to perfectly adapt to the lifestyle that we are living. The most important hormone in the body is insulin. It takes priority over all of the sex hormones. Therefore, if insulin is not regulated and has not been regulated first, the other hormones will never be ideal. You can try to game the system to take different medications or “bio-hacks” to make slight changes, but how long will that last before the next big thing rears its ugly head? This is what usually happens, and we are so surprised when so and so is diagnosed with a new, more serious illness.

I followed my HVAC guy’s advice and went to the auto parts store, and purchased the correct epoxy. After applying it, waiting the six hours, I fired the boiler back up and it worked without a leak. I now have two options, I can forget about it and enjoy the heat in my home, or I can replace the part as soon as it comes in. Obviously, I will be replacing the part when it arrives. The question is are we trying to go through our life with epoxy, duct tape, and bailing twine, or are we willing to hire the experts to discover the true cause of our less-than-ideal function? I highly encourage you to adopt the mindset of “whatever it takes to make it right” attitude.