Melina Vicario, “La Biohacker”: How Understanding Her Body Through GlycanAge Changed Her Life

From what she calls “the end of the world” to becoming La Biohacker - a bestselling author and one of the most influential voices in Spanish-language biohacking and beyond - Melina Vicario has gone a long way. And when people ask her what her secret is, her answer is simple: she followed her heart - and consciously designed the life she wanted to live.

You’ve been deeply immersed in biohacking and longevity for years. How did you first come across GlycanAge, and what motivated you to test in the first place? What was your first GlycanAge result, what was your reaction to it?

During an event, I met Zorrie and Nikolina, and their energy was amazing. We instantly connected, we really hit it off. Later, we met again in London, in a beautiful place, and that’s when I did the test. It was fun, and it felt very natural. Of course, the test itself is also very interesting and unique, but the first thing that drew me in was really the energy of these two women.

After that, I thought, “Wow, this is very interesting and very helpful,” so I decided to test. At that time, I was living in Argentina, in Buenos Aires, and I have to say it’s a complicated country. I say this with a lot of love - I’m proud of being Argentinian, and it’s a beautiful place - but politically and socially, it can be very challenging. I was living in the city, where it was difficult to see sunlight, to ground, and the air wasn’t optimal. All of that was creating stress for me.

So when I received my first results, they weren’t that good - and honestly, it made sense. Even though I was already very into biohacking at the time, maybe even too much. I was in that phase where you’re constantly thinking, “I don’t eat this, I do this, I do that,” worrying all the time - and that can actually make things worse. I was doing many things “right,” but stress was still there, and some things were clearly missing.

It’s actually so nice to hear that - you’re not the first person we’ve interviewed who’s mentioned the energy of Zorrie and Nikolina. That first connection seems to really stay with people.

And so, after seeing what was going on with your body, what were some of the next steps you took? Did that experience lead you to change anything in how you were living and approaching your health?

After meeting with the specialist, we started looking at different options - what I could change and what might be driving the inflammation in my body - keeping in mind that I was already very into biohacking. At one point, she asked me a very simple question: “Can you move?” And that question really stayed with me.The idea of moving was already somewhere in my mind, but that conversation helped me take it seriously. 

After that, I started a process that eventually led me to move to Uruguay, where I live now.
I’m close to the sea, the air is fresh, I can see the sunrise and the sunset, and I can walk on the sand. I still work a lot, but people here are calmer, the environment feels stable, and I have wonderful friends. That change had a big impact. I lost 14 kilos, reduced my visceral fat, lost a lot of inflammation and body fat, and became very fit. I’m 44 now, and the difference compared to before is very visible - I was very inflamed then, and now I look and feel completely different.Looking back, my first results made sense.

Even though I was deeply into biohacking, my body wasn’t responding well, mainly because of stress and the environment I was living in. I tested again after moving, and the results did improve, but not as much as I expected. At that time, I was going through a very stressful period in my personal life. The specialist explained to me that stress is one of the main factors that can keep GlycanAge elevated - and that explanation made a lot of sense to me.

What this experience showed me is that progress isn’t linear. You can do many things right and still see the impact of stress. But overall, I was much less inflamed, and that improvement did show in my results. Meeting your team, doing the test, and having that consultation really pushed me to make a change I had already been dreaming about and it ended up changing my life.

Wow. This is such a powerful story. I’m genuinely inspired by how big a leap you took and also by the fact that GlycanAge could play a part in that journey.

You’re clearly an inspiration - not just to me, but to many people. You’re often referred to as the voice of biohacking in Latin America and have been named among the world’s top biohackers. Can you tell us more about that part of your life?

It’s actually very strange, because I’m a simple girl from a very simple neighborhood from the end of the world. None of this was planned. I think a lot of it happened by chance, maybe by God’s will, and also because of my own enthusiasm. Before all of this, I was a technology journalist. In 2017, I took a short intensive Stanford program for neuroscience. I learned a lot of theory there, but I kept asking, “Where is the practical side of this? What can I actually do?” And they told us there was still a gap between theory and practice.

At the same time, through my work as a journalist, I knew many CEOs, tech founders, and people from venture capital. Some of them were incredibly sharp, fit, and kind, and I started asking them what they did for their health. They all told me they were into biohacking. This was back in 2017. That’s when I realized there was something practical here. I went to Dave Asprey’s conference, that was before it became massive, and learned a lot there. He was very generous with us “the students”, and I connected with many people from the community at that early stage. I got very excited and started sharing what I was learning on Instagram, in a very playful and enthusiastic way - things that anyone could use.

At the beginning, biohacking felt like a game. We were all playing like children - wearing blue-light glasses, grounding, experimenting. It was beautiful. But I think over time it became too serious, even a bit maniac. This is my personal opinion, but I think we need to relax again - play more, hug more, be more flexible. People started calling me La Biohacker - “La” is the feminine version for “The” in Spanish - simply because I was sharing all this information in an accessible way. And then something unexpected happened: Planeta, the biggest publishing house in the Spanish-speaking world, the one that publishes Tony Robbins, contacted me to write the first-ever biohacking book in Spanish.

That was about five years ago. I wrote the book, which in English translates as something around “Biohacker: Mind Technology, Biohacking, and Practical Spirituality for Creating Your Best Self”, and it became a bestseller. It’s now in its sixth edition and has been endorsed by people like Dave Asprey, Richard Bandler, Mark Hyman - people I really love. I also shared content on YouTube, did interviews, and even - just for fun - created a biohacking song on Spotify. Everything really happened by chance.

I think biohacking, all around the world, is changing again. And honestly, I hope it goes back to being something more playful, more human, and more joyful.

You’ve written a whole book, you share content every day, and even turn these ideas into music. If you had to distill everything you’ve learned into just three core principles - things that truly worked for you and that you stand behind - what would those three be?

The first thing is a phrase that became a mantra for me: if you change the way you think, it changes how you feel - and that changes what you can do. I truly believe everything starts with our thoughts. None of the things that happened in my life would have happened if I hadn’t been able to imagine a different version of myself, to think about new possibilities - and to think about them on purpose. Almost like being artists and engineers of our own mental world.

We think we live in the world, but we actually live in our mental world. When we have a problem, it’s not just about changing the outside - it’s about improving our inner maps, our mental possibilities. Everything already exists, but our brain only captures a small part of reality. We confuse that with “this is how things are,” but it’s just a construct. When you improve your mental maps, you create more opportunities.

The other thing that was key for me was kindness. Every time I went to a conference or met someone curious, kind, and genuinely interested. That’s just who I am. And it made me memorable. Being kind, loving, enthusiastic, joyful, and transparent opened many doors for me. I was physically far from the biohacking community, but connecting from the heart made the distance irrelevant. Kindness, real connection, and being human - that’s what stayed with people.

The third thing is knowing that we are born with this incredible machine - the brain. If we learn how to use it on purpose, for our own benefit, and align it with what I’d call our designed destiny, we can do almost anything. It’s about staying connected to the desire of our heart and being clear about what we truly want in life. Because if we don’t choose what we want, someone else will choose it for us. And it’s also about cherishing what really matters - friendship, hugs, and human connection. For me, that’s essential.

If I can add one more thing, I’m very happy to have been a kind of catalyst for the Spanish-speaking community around health, wellness, and biohacking. It means a lot to me to connect with people and share this knowledge in our mother language.

That was beautifully said and you can really feel that everything you do comes from the heart. You get excited about these ideas, and that excitement spreads to others almost like a chain reaction.

At the same time, longevity and biohacking have become very mainstream. People are constantly exposed to new trends online - diets, hacks, extreme protocols. How would you advise people to distinguish between trends and what truly works?

That’s a great question, because honestly, I’ve been confused too, and sometimes I still am. I think we’re all learning.

When you feel confused, the first thing is to go back to the basics. Sleep well. Focus on human connection, like being with friends. Calm the mind using some method: meditation for some people, self-hypnosis for me. Managing your thoughts on purpose. Eating real food. Being in nature. Grounding. Going back to very, very simple things.

And then, from my experience, it also makes sense to find one good functional doctor who really understands you. Someone who sees you as a whole person and helps you align with your bio-individuality and even your neuro-individuality. One good doctor who understands your specific case can help you see clearly what you truly need.

These are super helpful indeed and as I can see you’re very good with tips, a final question I want to ask you is, for someone who wants to feel better, live a longer and healthier life, but honestly doesn’t know where to begin, what would you tell them?

I would start from one end of the spectrum and go all the way to the other.

The first thing is inner work. If you truly want to get better, sit down, turn your phone off, disconnect from everything, and write by hand: What is your desired destiny? What do you truly want for yourself?

Then write down the thoughts you think every day - about yourself, about the world, about other people, about health, about opportunities. And ask yourself: Are the thoughts I think every day aligned with my desired destiny? If the answer is no, then it’s time to start re-engineering your thoughts on purpose.

Have clarity about what your heart desires, or even what your unconscious mind desires, and consciously choose thoughts that are aligned with that. This is the first step.

Then I would go to the other end of the spectrum - the very practical side. If you want to feel more vital, one of the first things I learned when I entered the biohacking world was to remove what I call “kryptonite” - the toxic, chemical things we put on and into our bodies.

I remember being told to go back home and check everything in my bathroom. When I did, almost everything was full of chemicals - creams, shampoos, fragrances, products from the duty-free shop. I removed all of it and replaced it with very simple things, like organic jojoba oil. Even shampoo was hard to find, but I made the change - and my hair grew healthier, my body felt better.

What I love about this is that it’s easy. If you replace a chemical cream with jojoba oil, it feels the same on your skin. Unlike food, where habits and addiction can make change harder, here it’s just about knowledge and replacement. Once you remove that “kryptonite,” it’s gone and you never have to deal with it again.

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To learn more about Melina Vicario and her journey, you can explore her work and conversations on YouTube and follow her on Instagram, where she regularly shares insights on health, mindset, and practical biohacking.