Mast Cells Explained: Biohacking Inflammation, Allergies, and Brain Fog : 1322

The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance

Dave Asprey

Fat, Health & Fitness, Meditation, Biohacking, Lifestyle, Diet, Science, Self-improvement, Fasting, Nutrition, Hacking, Fitness, Brain, Wellness, Education

4.6 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Millions of people are living with unexplained symptoms like allergies, brain fog, anxiety, and chronic fatigue without realizing the hidden cause: mast cells gone rogue. In this episode of The Human Upgrade, Host Dave Asprey sits down with leading functional medicine physician Dr. Tania Dempsey to uncover how Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) drives inflammation, disrupts mitochondria, and sabotages metabolism—and what you can do to switch it off.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Dr. Dempsey is internationally recognized for her work in functional medicine, biohacking, and chronic illness. She co-founded the AIM Center for Personalized Medicine, has published groundbreaking research on MCAS with Dr. Lawrence Afrin, and treats some of the most complex cases of immune dysregulation, autoimmune disease, and environmental illness. Her expertise helps you understand why mast cells are the missing link in allergies, long COVID, Lyme, mold toxicity, and even hormone disruption—and how to reclaim control of your biology.

Dave and Dr. Dempsey break down how mast cells interact with mitochondria, hormones, and the nervous system, showing how chronic inflammation accelerates aging and blocks human performance. You’ll discover why biohacking tools like fasting, ketosis, supplements, red light, cold therapy, sleep optimization, and smarter not harder lifestyle strategies all influence mast cell stability. They also explore why brain optimization, neuroplasticity, and nootropics are essential for calming inflammatory cascades, and how functional medicine provides practical solutions beyond conventional treatment.

You’ll Learn:

• Why mast cells are the hidden switch behind allergies, chronic inflammation, and brain fog

• How mitochondria and mast cells work together to drive human performance—or disease

• The connection between toxic mold, Lyme, long COVID, hormone imbalance, and MCAS

• How supplements, fasting, ketosis, and cold therapy stabilize mast cells and boost longevity

• Why functional medicine and biohacking are essential for complex chronic illness

• How mast cells impact metabolism, sleep optimization, and neuroplasticity

• The surprising link between mast cells, anxiety, and mental health symptoms

This episode is essential for anyone serious about hacking inflammation, protecting longevity, upgrading metabolism, and achieving high performance with resilience and clarity.

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (audio-only) where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.

Keywords: mast cell activation syndrome, MCAS, chronic inflammation, mitochondria dysfunction, histamine intolerance, functional medicine, biohacking, allergies, brain fog, long covid, mold toxicity, Bartonella, Lyme co-infections, oxalates, salicylates, mast cell stabilizers, immune dysregulation, neuroinflammation, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune triggers, personalized medicine, longevity supplements

Thank you to our sponsors!

Leela Quantum Tech | Head to https://leelaq.com/DAVE for 10% off.

LMNT | Free LMNT Sample Pack with any drink mix purchase by going to https://drinklmnt.com/DAVE.

Resources:

• Tania’s Website: https://drtaniadempsey.com/

• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/DAVE15

• Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com

• Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated

• Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com

• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com

• 40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com

Timestamps:

00:00 — Trailer

01:10 — Introduction

03:27 — Why So Sick Today?

05:57 — MCAS Explained

08:33 — Mold & Environment

11:36 — Spotting MCAS

13:43 — Personal Stories

15:15 — Research & Biohacking

16:35 — Managing Triggers

20:15 — Gut & Stomach Acid

22:42 — Reaction Timing

25:30 — Hormones & MCAS

28:39 — Thyroid & Mitochondria

32:28 — Chronic Illness Navigation

40:06 — Insurance Battles

44:44 — Cholesterol & Ethics

49:11 — Personalized Care

53:24 — Circadian & Stress

58:24 — Testing Approaches

01:01:35 — Collagen & Joints

01:04:34 — MMPs & Aging

01:09:12 — Access & Experimentation

01:13:14 — MCAS & Mental Health

01:17:46 — Benzos & Stigma

01:20:23 — Vaccines & Spike Protein

01:25:18 — Research & Treatments

01:26:12 — Nicotine & Focus

01:29:24 — Closing

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The only reason biohacking exists is because I was really sick with a chronic illness and no one could help in my early 20s.
0:08.5	I hit 300 pounds. I had arthritis in both news since I was 14 and this long list of things wrong that no doctor could fix.
0:16.4	There's something I became aware of about five years ago called MCAS or mass cell activation
0:22.6	syndrome. And it is a uniting element across many of the things that are wrong with people today.
0:29.2	That means if you're a mold person, you have the same thing as the person who had Epstein Barr
0:33.3	who had fibromyalgia or CFS. Dr. Tanya Dempsey is a world-renowned physician exposing the hidden epidemics of chronic illness
0:40.8	and mass cell activation syndrome.
0:43.2	She's giving a voice to patients who've been ignored for years and revealing the root causes that can make or break a life.
0:50.3	There was a study that showed that one in 17% of the population has MCAS.
0:55.6	I would argue that number is much higher now.
0:57.5	So one in five people or more have this disorder.
1:00.7	I can't see shades of gray.
1:02.0	My eyes are bugging out or I have a headache or I'm throwing up or my knees hurt.
1:05.7	Why do the symptoms vary so much with mass cell syndrome?
1:10.2	You're listening to The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey.
1:16.2	This is an episode that I've wanted to do for a while, and it's about what you might think is a complex topic, but it's not really.
1:25.4	And it's really personal for me.
1:27.3	It's personal because if you don't know my
1:31.1	story, stick with me for a second here. I was really sick as a late teen in my early 20s. I hit
1:39.3	300 pounds. I had arthritis in both knees since I was 14 and this long list of things wrong that no doctor could
1:46.3	fix. I ended up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars before I was 30, first on fixing it,
1:53.1	and then on extending human performance and cognition and consciousness and living longer, all that stuff.
	...

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