The word “forest” means a lot to the people of Finland: food, shelter, leisure, work and inspiration. Biohackers improve their bodies and mental abilities, “pumping” their own body. Find out how traditional Finnish-forest relations can be echoed by healthy lifestyle enthusiasts.
Biohacking, that is, “hacking” of the organism, may even include tough methods and technologies, for example, the introduction of alien elements under the skin, as in science fiction films, or attempts to change DNA. Such methods seem completely far from the notions of evergreen forests, where there are no superhuman beings, and the population consists of ordinary, solitary animals that do not appear to people. Let's follow where and how the forest and biohacking are connected.
Difficult food from wild plants
According to the Finnish notion of the right of universal access, everyone can freely walk in state or private forests, pick mushrooms and berries.
Award-winning chef, a real herbalist, author of a cookbook, biohacker Sami Tallberg specializes in seasonal food from wild ingredients of local origin. He could spend hours talking about the nutrient-rich raw foods that are available in the wild (and in fact he does when he holds seminars).
Plants in the wild have to struggle hard for their existence. You could even say that they are forced to show sisu: this difficult to translate Finnish word means courage and perseverance. The concentration of nutrients in wild plants is much higher than in varieties grown in greenhouses.
“Organic food is good, but food from wild plants is many times better than it,” says Sami Tallberg. The top three of his best tips for healthy nutrition includes a detox of the body using dandelion, booster of spruce spruce and nettle rich in vitamins and minerals (do not eat it raw, so as not to burn leaves). Be sure to pay attention to the following information, it is unlikely that you will receive such spam by e-mail: they say that nettle increases libido.
“For me, as a chef, the basis of the work is food from wild plants, but my attitude to the forest is holistic,” Sami says. “Forest is my art gallery, my supermarket and my sanctuary.”
“My work and life, continuing the Finnish tradition, I always relate to the time of year. The first Finns were hunters and gatherers, and I am proud to build the current Finnish culinary art, based on their customs and wisdom. ”
Berry properties
Chefs are not the only ones talking about the health benefits of Finnish food, especially berries. For 20 years, the VTT State Technical Research Center has been studying the antimicrobial properties of berries.
According to a recent VTT study in collaboration with the Central University Hospital of Helsinki, berries of the Rubus genus, such as raspberries and cloudberries, may contain a highly sought-after drug to combat skin infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are often found during surgery.
Forest and especially Finnish berries have long been a source of innovation in medicine, food supplements and cosmetics. The Finnish company Aromtech produces supplements made from sea-buckthorn berries rich in Omega-3, -6, -7 and -9 acids, as well as natural vitamins A and E. Supplements and products for external use, developed on the basis of sea-buckthorn oil, have a number of benefits.
Another company, Pihqa, relies on the centuries-old Finnish tradition of using natural resin, spruce resin, to treat various skin diseases. Scratch-applied resin forms an anti-bacterial film and speeds up the cleaning process.
Feel alive
But you can "pump" your body, not only with food. So we got to the favorite Finnish theme: saunas.
The oldest scientific study on the benefits of the sauna dates back to 1765. The most widely recognized beneficial effect of a sauna on human health is the improvement of blood circulation. Add to this douche with cold water after the steam room, and learn what it means "living veins."
The alternating alternation of hot and cold procedures is not only characteristic of Finland, but the Finns know better than others how to improve blood circulation using temperature contrasts. Sauna can be heated to 100 degrees, while when you go outside to swim in icy water or lie in the snow, the temperature can reach 30 degrees of frost.
Simultaneously with the "pumping" of the body, you can also "pump" your brain with endorphins. Biochemical and psychological studies show the same result; whatever the reason, you feel great after the sauna.
Barefoot
Imagine walking barefoot on soft moss. Clean air is saturated with oxygen, thanks to photosynthetic trees around you. Inhale, exhale. Great, right?
In addition to the soft texture of moss, blood circulation in your legs is enhanced by the spiky tips of pine and spruce needles on the forest floor. You can decide for yourself what hormones will be produced during a forest walk: endorphins (if you are in boots) or adrenaline (if you are without boots).
For a convinced biohacker, barefoot walking can be akin to the hippie spirit. However, the soil you touch also matters. Aki Sinkkonen, a Finnish scientist in the field of wildlife and eco-friendly solutions, would like to bring a piece of Finnish forest to everyone, especially those who live in the city.
Each gram of soil contains up to five billion harmless bacteria that naturally strengthen the immune system of children visiting the forest, protecting them from non-infectious diseases. The urban sandbox on the playground contains only 10,000-100,000 bacteria per gram, which is not enough to protect.
“Finnish forests are an ideal environment for healthy exposure to diverse microflora because, thanks to our cold winters, we don’t have more dangerous pathogens,” says Aki. And there is always a forest nearby, within walking distance, even in the capital.
The cleanest air
The farther you are from the city, the higher the likelihood of falling asleep, the bearded lichen hanging from the branches and trunks of trees and so named because of the appearance.
Finns will tell you that if susceptible to pollution, usnea grows on old trees, this is a guarantee of clean air. In Finland and other northern countries, the cleanest air in the world is, and you will realize that you have arrived at the right place when you see this bearded lichen, and your lungs will tell you kiitos (thanks).
Text: Virve Ilkka, April 2019
Biohacking, that is, “hacking” of the organism, may even include tough methods and technologies, for example, the introduction of alien elements under the skin, as in science fiction films, or attempts to change DNA. Such methods seem completely far from the notions of evergreen forests, where there are no superhuman beings, and the population consists of ordinary, solitary animals that do not appear to people. Let's follow where and how the forest and biohacking are connected.
Difficult food from wild plants
According to the Finnish notion of the right of universal access, everyone can freely walk in state or private forests, pick mushrooms and berries.
Award-winning chef, a real herbalist, author of a cookbook, biohacker Sami Tallberg specializes in seasonal food from wild ingredients of local origin. He could spend hours talking about the nutrient-rich raw foods that are available in the wild (and in fact he does when he holds seminars).
Plants in the wild have to struggle hard for their existence. You could even say that they are forced to show sisu: this difficult to translate Finnish word means courage and perseverance. The concentration of nutrients in wild plants is much higher than in varieties grown in greenhouses.
“Organic food is good, but food from wild plants is many times better than it,” says Sami Tallberg. The top three of his best tips for healthy nutrition includes a detox of the body using dandelion, booster of spruce spruce and nettle rich in vitamins and minerals (do not eat it raw, so as not to burn leaves). Be sure to pay attention to the following information, it is unlikely that you will receive such spam by e-mail: they say that nettle increases libido.
“For me, as a chef, the basis of the work is food from wild plants, but my attitude to the forest is holistic,” Sami says. “Forest is my art gallery, my supermarket and my sanctuary.”
“My work and life, continuing the Finnish tradition, I always relate to the time of year. The first Finns were hunters and gatherers, and I am proud to build the current Finnish culinary art, based on their customs and wisdom. ”
Berry properties
Chefs are not the only ones talking about the health benefits of Finnish food, especially berries. For 20 years, the VTT State Technical Research Center has been studying the antimicrobial properties of berries.
According to a recent VTT study in collaboration with the Central University Hospital of Helsinki, berries of the Rubus genus, such as raspberries and cloudberries, may contain a highly sought-after drug to combat skin infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are often found during surgery.
Forest and especially Finnish berries have long been a source of innovation in medicine, food supplements and cosmetics. The Finnish company Aromtech produces supplements made from sea-buckthorn berries rich in Omega-3, -6, -7 and -9 acids, as well as natural vitamins A and E. Supplements and products for external use, developed on the basis of sea-buckthorn oil, have a number of benefits.
Another company, Pihqa, relies on the centuries-old Finnish tradition of using natural resin, spruce resin, to treat various skin diseases. Scratch-applied resin forms an anti-bacterial film and speeds up the cleaning process.
Feel alive
But you can "pump" your body, not only with food. So we got to the favorite Finnish theme: saunas.
The oldest scientific study on the benefits of the sauna dates back to 1765. The most widely recognized beneficial effect of a sauna on human health is the improvement of blood circulation. Add to this douche with cold water after the steam room, and learn what it means "living veins."
The alternating alternation of hot and cold procedures is not only characteristic of Finland, but the Finns know better than others how to improve blood circulation using temperature contrasts. Sauna can be heated to 100 degrees, while when you go outside to swim in icy water or lie in the snow, the temperature can reach 30 degrees of frost.
Simultaneously with the "pumping" of the body, you can also "pump" your brain with endorphins. Biochemical and psychological studies show the same result; whatever the reason, you feel great after the sauna.
Barefoot
Imagine walking barefoot on soft moss. Clean air is saturated with oxygen, thanks to photosynthetic trees around you. Inhale, exhale. Great, right?
In addition to the soft texture of moss, blood circulation in your legs is enhanced by the spiky tips of pine and spruce needles on the forest floor. You can decide for yourself what hormones will be produced during a forest walk: endorphins (if you are in boots) or adrenaline (if you are without boots).
For a convinced biohacker, barefoot walking can be akin to the hippie spirit. However, the soil you touch also matters. Aki Sinkkonen, a Finnish scientist in the field of wildlife and eco-friendly solutions, would like to bring a piece of Finnish forest to everyone, especially those who live in the city.
Each gram of soil contains up to five billion harmless bacteria that naturally strengthen the immune system of children visiting the forest, protecting them from non-infectious diseases. The urban sandbox on the playground contains only 10,000-100,000 bacteria per gram, which is not enough to protect.
“Finnish forests are an ideal environment for healthy exposure to diverse microflora because, thanks to our cold winters, we don’t have more dangerous pathogens,” says Aki. And there is always a forest nearby, within walking distance, even in the capital.
The cleanest air
The farther you are from the city, the higher the likelihood of falling asleep, the bearded lichen hanging from the branches and trunks of trees and so named because of the appearance.
Finns will tell you that if susceptible to pollution, usnea grows on old trees, this is a guarantee of clean air. In Finland and other northern countries, the cleanest air in the world is, and you will realize that you have arrived at the right place when you see this bearded lichen, and your lungs will tell you kiitos (thanks).
Text: Virve Ilkka, April 2019
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