u/mmiller9913

What's up everyone. Dr. Rhonda is back with a banger. New solo episode about the science of blueberries. Honestly let me tell you right now... there's just no reason not to have 1 cup per day. This is what I learned.

ok let's get into it

1. Blueberries are absolutely phenomenal for vascular function. Let me tell you. This was the biggest point of the episode. They help your arteries widen when tissues need more blood. 1 cup/day is what you want here. She talked about a study where half a cup/day didn't do nearly as much
2. Blueberries improve post meal-glucose control (so like 1-3 hours after the meal, your blood glucose is going to be lower had you eaten them with the meal)
3. They improve memory and something known as "cognitive flexibility" (basically task/rule switching if I recall). She also mentioned some data showing older women who regularly ate them were 1.5-2.5 years younger cognitively.
4. The data around dementia is pretty wild, something like upwards of a 33% lower risk of dementia if you regularly eat them (might even be higher depending on what study you look at)
5. One study found a 22% increase in insulin sensitivity (without any weight loss at all) in people who ate ~2 cups per day for 6 weeks - the data here is murkier, but overall the people who stand to benefit most from blueberries are those with already impaired glucose handling (people with poor metabolic health)
6. Of course she discussed the banana backlash a bit. It got technical lemme tell ya. But long story short... an enzyme in bananas degrades blueberry polyphenols, so if you're trying to maximize polyphenol absorption (and why wouldn't you be), just avoid consuming them at the same time (like in a smoothie). But listen, if you still have beef with this, listen to the timestamp. It sounds like the argument against "it was a small study" is these are enzymatic reactions and it happens no matter what
7. Blueberries actually don't really seem to improve exercise performance that much... BUT some solid signals for boosting recovery. So recovery more so than performance.
8. Alright so this is key to understanding all this. Blueberries are so much more than antioxidants. They contain a plethora of beneficial compounds (polyphenols, anthocyananins) that signal to the body to do all these beneficial things. I recommend you listen to this section if you want more info. She explains it best. She mentioned one study showing blueberries changed the activity of more than 600 genes in the body.
9. Other benefits discussed that I remember: improved HbA1c and triglycerides in type 2 diabetics (HbA1c is a market of long-term glucose)
10. Ok so they also have benefits for the microbiome. It sounded like they improve gut symptoms generally, like if you have a gastrointestinal disorder

Episode and timestamps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKdShZ2CDe4

What's up boys. New Rhonda pod out today. Here's what I learned. She interviewed this guy named Richard Davidson. Huberman had him on a while back too. Big into meditation and mental training.

1. Meditating for 5 minutes a day has benefits for inflammation. Lowers something called IL-6. 5 minutes... that's it. Everyone has 5 minutes. (timestamp)
2. 5 minutes per day of mediation also benefits the gut microbiome. They get into exactly how it does this during the episode. Something to do with "butyrate producing pathways". But I mean that's a pretty good deal. 5 minutes gets you lower IL-6, a healthier gut, and then obviously the mental benefits. (timestamp)
3. You don't have to choose between meditation and exercise. It's not one or the other. That's probably the most important point of this episode. You can do both at the same time. Just direct your mind where you want it to go rather than "being somewhere else" in the gym (timestamp)
4. More neuroplasticity isn't always better. It's all about what you do with it. He talks about in the episode how "neuroplasticity is neutral". So a simple example he gives... if you're in the gym working out increasing neuroplasticity, but you're filling your your mind with garbage (watching the news, scrolling between sets), that's not good. You're filling your plastic mind with crap (timestamp)
5. After age 70 or so, a purpose in life correlates with longevity. But the thing is you don't need some grand purpose. Find purpose in the little things. Maybe you walk the dogs, maybe you care for a sick family member. That's your purpose. It's all about viewing how what you do benefits someone else. (timestamp)
6. I thought this one was interesting... kinda niche but he talks about how asthma is a brain disease (or partly). Big idea is the brain and the body are connected more than people think. (timestamp)
7. Spending money on someone else will always make you happier. Do it more often (timestamp)
8. Meditation doesn't have to be done sitting still. Like I said a little bit ago, you can do it while hiking, walking, doesn't matter. Even heavy lifting is a form of meditation to a degree. It counts (timestamp)
9. Children absorb their parent's emotional state. The best thing you can do to help your kid is to fix your own problems, be calm, chill, and grounded. (timestamp)
10. This is kinda important, a lot of people start meditating and then stop because they get a little more anxious. That's supposed to happen. Or it can at least. Meditation can initially increase anxiety. It makes sense when you think about it. You're finally noticing all that crap in your mind you've been suppressing for so long. Of course you're gonna feel more anxious. (timestamp)

My biggest takeaways is there's just no reason not to meditate for 5 min/day, something you can do in a quiet sauna or before bed

Everyone has 5 minutes

What's up boys. New Rhonda Patrick episode out today. This is not one to miss. She interviewed Steve Horvath. This guy is a straight up legend in the field of aging. Created the Horvath Clock (biological age clock). These are my takeaways. The good stuff first. How to actually slow down aging.

1. Take the multivitamin. It's the easiest thing you can do. Rhonda takes ONE from Pure Encapsulation (not in the episode but she's mentioned it before). Over like 3 years it slows brain aging by a solid amount. (the study was 3 years in duration - so this compounds). There's just no reason not to do this. (timestamp)
2. Omega-3. This actually slows epigenetic aging. And you don't need a crazy amount (1g/day will do it). Now here's the thing... when you add vitamin D, it slows aging even more (something about the combo working together). But wait... there's more. Yeah boy. When you add resistance exercise, it slows aging even more. So that 1,2,3 combo right there is gold. (timestamp)
3. This was actually pretty mind-blowing. Eat your vegetables. They talked about one study in the episode where vegetable intake correlated with a lower biological age more strongly that exercise (-0.3 vs -0.1). Now I have no idea what those numbers really mean, maybe someone can elaborate. But regardless that's wild. Smoking is in the opposite direction (+0.4). Micronutrient smoothie every day. Spinach, blueberries, protein powder, raspberries, water, you're good to go. It's a massive lever to pull. (timestamp)
4. Vitamin D. If you're deficient, you are aging faster. And so many people are deficient. like more than half of you reading this. All it takes is a supplement. Then you remove that aging accelerator. (timestamp)
5. Ok so if you're super obese, and you lose a ton of weight (they talked about this one study that used GLP-1s for this), you will actually reverse your biological age. Kind of starting to believe there's no reason not to take a GLP-1 if you're obese and have been struggling to lose weight for a while. Positives of weight loss outweigh any possible negatives. (timestamp)
6. Alright so as I'm typing this out, I'm realizing it's really the simple things. That's where the data is. They talked about Bryan Johnson's claim that he reversed his age by 5 years in 7 months. Direct quote from Steve. "I would have the hardest time believing it." They obviously didn't call him out by name, but the logic is that all these anti-aging interventions, whatever it be, work best when you start from a bad baseline (you're obese, vitamin D deficient, don't exercise). You won't get reversal if you start from a healthy standpoint. You might slow your pace of aging, but you won't actually reverse your biological age. (timestamp)
7. Friends. Don't forget them. You can take all the supplements, never drink, exercise all you want, but there's legit data that friendships and social connections slow aging. Call your people. Hang out with them. (timestamp)
8. Exercise. 10,000 steps a day isn't going to slow your aging clock. Sorry. You need the hard stuff. Increase your VO2 max. Then you have a chance at slowing your pace of aging. (timestamp)
9. Ok so if you go get a biological age test, there are 4 primary clocks they use (Horvath, PhenoAge, GrimAhe, DunedinPACE). They all measure something different. But what to look for is something called "Illumina Array" (like make sure what you're purchasign is using that - then you're good). Honestly this doesn't interest me as much, but you can actually measure this stuff now. (timestamp)
10. Smoking, obesity. These are major aging accelerators. That's kind of a big point of this episode. The things that slow your aging most (and even reverse it) are removing the accelerators.

I recommend this one. the first part is kind of technical as they talk a whole lot about aging clocks- but an hour in is when they get into the interventions for slowing aging. And this is where the science is. No BS.

What's up boys. Brand new episode of Rhonda's pod out today with Kelly Starrett. This guy is a legend. I'm standing right now cus of him. Don't even have a desk chair. Here's what I learned. My top 10 takeaways

1. Sit on the floor. Yeah that's right. Sit on the floor. Especially as you get older. Getting up and off the ground becomes so important and a surprisingly large number of people have trouble. Also makes your hips way more mobile (and if you sit working all day, you have tight hips). Just do it at night for 10-20 minutes while watching TV - timestamp
2. Do the couch stretch. Ok this is pretty hard. I read about this in his book Deskbound a while back (he recommends doing it for 2 minutes for every hour you spend sitting - so quite a lot of time). Basically kneel facing a wall with your shin running straight up behind you, bring the other leg forward into a tall lunge, then try to stand your torso upright and squeeze the back-leg glute. Most people can't do it. Their hips are too tight from sitting. - timestamp
3. Pain doesn't mean you're injured. Everyone reading this right now probably has some sort of tweak. Mobilize, foam roll, stretch. The thing is we sit all day long, then try to hit the gym and go hard. It just doesn't match up. - timestamp
4. Stop sitting for 8 hours a day. If you sit for more than 6 hours a day, you're considered sedentary... and that's an independent risk factor for cancer (even if you exercise), You need a workstation that "invites movement". I have a standing desk. Got rid of my chair entirely after reading one of Kelly's books years ago. It's easy to stand all day because I have 2 footstools where I'm constantly shifting my feet (think how easy it is to stand at a bar where they have that thing to put your feet), and a desk mat too. Some people use a stool to kind of perch back on. - timestamp
5. One simple test to see how mobile you are: the sit and rise test. So lower yourself to the floor cross-legged, then basically reverse and get back up... all without using your hands or knees. You should be able to do this no problem. (it's actually kind of hard, try it right now) - timestamp
6. Most people warm up in the gym all wrong. He has this great framing... if you were about to fight someone, what would your warmup look like? Probably not chilling on the astroturf in the back of the gym scrolling your phone while you foam roll your back. You'd get sweaty, explore some end ranges, basically the complete opposite. That's how you should warm up. - timestamp
7. Your range of motion is the one part of your physiology that doesn't have to decline with age (but neglect almost guarantees that it will ... and everyone neglects it). Strength does, cardiorespiratory fitness does. But your range of motion doesn't have to. - timestamp
8. A big part of this pod focuses on kids sports. I don't have a kid. But in general... kids need way more sleep than they're getting, they need way more free play, and they should avoid specializing in one sport for as long as they have to. (highly recommend listening to this one if you have a kid - kelly is writing a book on it) - timestamp where they start talking about youth sports
9. Hang for 3 minutes a day. get a pull-up bar for your house and just hang as often as you can. If you don't wanna do that, just get into the downward dog yoga position. This basically counters that rounded shoulders forward position everyone is in all day at a desk - timestamp
10. Breath holds. Do them. Great for your nervous system before you start training. He explains it better than me but basically it improve CO2 tolerance. If you're on the Peloton or something warming up, just hold your breath for 10 seconds or so and repeat. - timestamp

All in all, solid pod.

Oh forgot one - do more "movement snacks", exercise snacks, whatever you want to call them. Just short bouts of vigorous movement. IIRC, Rhonda said just 9 minutes per day is assoc. with about a 50% lower all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular-related mortality. Like sprint up the stairs, chase your dog, stuff like that. This is even more important if you work at a desk all day. - timestamp