I am excited to welcome Melanie Avalon as my guest for today! Melanie is a SAG-AFTRA actress, author of What When Wine: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Paleo-Style Meals, Intermittent Fasting, and Wine, host of the top iTunes podcasts The Melanie Avalon Biohacking Podcast, and The Intermittent Fasting Podcast with Gin Stephens, who has appeared on this podcast twice before. Melanie is certified as a wine specialist by the WSET and as a holistic nutritionist by the AFPA. She is a member of MENSA. Melanie developed the top iTunes app, “Food Sense Guide", to help those with food sensitivities, and she currently runs three rapidly growing Facebook groups. Melanie and I became friends when I appeared on her podcast last year, and we have stayed in touch since then. We are doing a biohacking block in April. Throughout April, we will be featuring on the podcast many of the people who I consider to be cutting edge in the biohacking space. Melanie is a powerhouse woman in the intermittent fasting space. She is one of the people helping to change the face of the health and wellness industry. She has no medical training. Yet, she is able to grasp some pretty heavy-duty concepts, and she fully understands the technology behind the various biohacking devices. Melanie is joining us today to talk about some of the biohacking devices and modalities and the benefits you can expect to experience from each of them. So be sure to listen in to find out what she has to say about the benefits of biohacking, supplements, and hormetic stressors. Show highlights: Melanie talks about what biohacking means to her, and she explains where you can start with that. Melanie walks us through the spectrum of biohacking devices, from those she considers milder or more benign to the more intricate ones, and explains what they do. Blue light-blocking glasses were the first biohacking thing that Melanie did. She has never stopped using them. Melanie explains the physical benefits of Near-Infrared Light Therapy and Near-Infrared Light saunas. Cold can do some amazing things for our bodies. We talk about challenging ourselves with hormetic stress and cold therapies. Melanie talks about the benefits of using the Apollo Neuro device for sound wave therapy. Melanie is a reformed insomniac. She discusses what has been the most helpful for her in terms of the quality of her sleep. Melanie talks about supplements that can be helpful for biohacking. The role that NAD+ plays in supporting our energy levels. Melanie talks about Vitamin D and explains why getting enough of it is vital for your health. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Melanie Avalon Follow Melanie on her personal Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter, join her Facebook Group.            Recommended books: The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof Lifespan by David A. Sinclair, Ph.D. and Matthew D. LaPlante  Breath by James Nestor The Switch by James W. Clement Recommended app: dminder