FoundMyFitness

Eric M. Verdin

Eric M. Verdin, M.D. is the fifth president and chief executive officer of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and is a professor of Medicine at UCSF.

Dr. Verdin's laboratory focuses on the role of epigenetic regulators in the aging process, the role of metabolism and diet in aging and on the chronic diseases of aging, including Alzheimer’s, proteins that play a central role in linking caloric restriction to increased healthspan, and more recently a topic near and dear to many of you, ketogenesis. He's held faculty positions at the University of Brussels, the NIH and the Picower Institute for Medical Research.

 In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (07:32) Interventions to prolong lifespan
  • (10:42) The role of insulin pathways in aging
  • (16:25) HDAC inhibition by ketones
  • (27:52) Protein activates mTOR & IGF-1
  • (30:28) PPAR-alpha activation facilitates benefits of a ketogenic diet
  • (35:28) What biomarkers can predict aging?
  • (39:38) Cellular NAD+ levels decrease with age 
  • (52:47) Ketogenic diet safety 
  • (56:07) Intermittent fasting as an alternative to a keto diet

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on ketogenic diet & longevity straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

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Direct download: eric_verdin_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:02am EDT

Dr. Satchin Panda

Dr. Satchidananda (Satchin) Panda is a professor in the Regulatory Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

We talk about dealing with shift work, black coffee when fasting, and some of the distinctions between Satchin's approach to time-restricted eating which is influenced by his deep background in circadian biology and more conventional protocols like 16:8 that many people are familiar with.

In addition to these important and very practical how-to tidbits, we dive into lots of interesting new territory as well, including...

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (05:36) What is time-restricted eating
  • (09:41) Circadian rhythm and eating times
  • (16:05) Dr. Panda's eating window
  • (20:52) Crowdsourced research uses mobile app to collect data
  • (24:34) TRE reduces inflammation 
  • (36:16) How to minimize the hazards of shift work
  • (48:03) Blood glucose control changes throughout the day
  • (54:15) Intermittent fasting vs time-restricted eating
  • (01:24:41) TRE improves exercise performance and muscle gain
  • (01:32:33) What starts the daily eating clock?
  • (01:37:32) Eating fewer meals is better
  • (01:48:12) TRE improves sleep and cognition
  • (01:52:41) Participate in Dr. Panda's research by visiting MyCircadianClock.org

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on time restricted eating straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

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Direct download: satchin_panda_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:51pm EDT

Dr. Guido Kroemer

Dr. Guido Kroemer is a professor at the University of Paris Descartes and an expert in immunology, cancer biology, aging, and autophagy.

He is one of the most highly cited authors in the field of cell biology and was the most highly cited cell biologist for the period between 2007 and 2013. Especially notable among his contributions: he was the first to discover that the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes is a concrete step towards apoptotic cell death.

In this episode, you’ll discover: 

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (09:09) The three main nutrient signals that activate autophagy
  • (20:55) The role of fasting and nutrient deprivation in autophagy
  • (28:52) Exercise induces autography 
  • (33:07) Autophagy cleans out damaged organelles
  • (35:14) Mitophagy keeps mitochondria healthy
  • (39:38) Autophagy clears away neurodegenerative proteins in the brain
  • (48:29) Autophagy in cancer is a double-edged sword
  • (54:52) Fasting mimetics (e.g., resveratrol, spermidine, hydroxycitrate) induce autophagy

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on fasting & caloric restriction straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: kroemer_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

Jari Laukkanen

This podcast features Jari Laukkanen, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and scientist at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio.

Dr. Laukkanen has been conducting long-term trials looking at the health effects of sauna use in a population of over 2,000 middle-aged men in Finland. 

In this episode, you’ll discover: 

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (01:50) Sauna use improves cardiovascular health and reduces risk of death
  • (06:42) How sauna use lowers blood pressure 
  • (08:07) Sauna use mimics aerobic exercise, increasing heart rate up to 150 beats/min
  • (09:40) How long should you stay in the sauna?
  • (11:59) Heat shock proteins help keep the brain healthy 
  • (14:52) Sauna use increases growth hormone and improves response to exercise
  • (17:43) The positive effects of sauna on mood may be due to endorphins
  • (20:58) Finnish sauna culture and adding cold-water immersion to the sauna experience

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on sauna use straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: laukkanen_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:52pm EDT

Dr. Judith Campisi is a professor of biogerentology at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and a co-editor in chief of the Aging Journal.

As an expert on cellular senescence, the discussion involves a lot of talk about aging and cancer, where senescence plays a very important fundamental role. What are some of the strategies we might use in the future to prevent senescent cells? What causes them in the first place? 

In this episode, you’ll discover: 

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (05:12) Fundamental molecular and cellular processes of aging
  • (13:19) What is senescence and why did we evolve this cellular function? 
  • (24:09) The difference between lifespan and healthspan
  • (30:32) DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction promote senescence 
  • (35:45) Prolonged fasting suppresses senescent cells and stimulates new cell growth
  • (47:30) Exercise extends healthspan, partially by lengthening telomeres
  • (54:03) Consumer tests for DNA damage and cellular senescence
  • (59:58) NAD+ boosters, fasting mimetics, and aging in non-human animals

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on cancer & aging straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: campisi_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:22pm EDT

Dr. Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging tells us about worms!

This unassuming scientific model has a lot of important advantages for science: they can be frozen and subsequently thawed and retain viability, they are extremely well understood down to the precise number of cells in their body and the wiring of their nervous system, known as the connectome. Additionally, they have a short lifespan and are cheap to work with. Why would that be advantageous, you may ask?

This is where Dr. Lithgow's work on the Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program comes in. Short-lived organisms give Dr. Lithgow and his colleagues the opportunity to see how their biology responds to compounds in different contexts and to do so cheaply and rapidly. Think a vitamin, pharmaceutical or one of any number of other compounds may have a broad effect on longevity? Try it on Caenorhabditis first! Taking this approach allows the broad screening of compounds that might not otherwise get its chance in the limelight if science were limited to only working with rodents, for example.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (03:30) What is C elegans and why do researchers use it?
  • (06:43) Proteostasis and its involvement in aging
  • (10:59) Shocking worms with heat extends their lifespan
  • (16:40) Sauna use activates human heat-shock proteins, improving health
  • (19:27) Excess dietary iron accelerates protein aggregation, promoting Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
  • (25:07) Vitamin D deficiency accelerates aging
  • (35:19) Using worms to search for compounds that extend life in humans

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

 

Direct download: lithgow_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:39pm EDT

If you're anything like me, having the facts straight can sometimes help you to push through the tough part of building new habits or breaking old bad ones. This podcast talks about the realities of what the science says surrounding the consumption of refined sugar.

Some of the facts may surprise you! In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (01:16) Excess sugar consumption is common and dangerous
  • (05:16) Sugar accelerates the aging process itself
  • (09:14) Refined sugar harms the brain 
  • (11:22) High fructose corn syrup is uniquely dangerous
  • (14:04) How to quit sugar

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: refined_sugar_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:41pm EDT

Today we try to answer or at least explore a big question in the world of health: does saturated fat cause heart disease?

This is not an unreasonable concern given the fact that there have been several associative studies that have found a link between saturated fat and heart disease, which is, no doubt, a fat that we find abundantly in the typical American diet since it is richly found in staples like fatty beef, pork, butter, cheese, and other dairy products.

And if you're in the United States and you're not at least a little concerned about heart disease, you may be asleep at the wheel since it's currently our leading cause of death.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Separating the effects of sugar and saturated fat in research
  • (04:23) Small dense LDL are the problem
  • (07:48) Interactions between genetics, fats, and carbohydrates
  • (16:37) Getting and using your genetic data
  • (18:07) Dangers of cutting out saturated fats

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on meat consumption causing cancer straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: saturated_fat_solocast_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:36pm EDT

Does meat consumption cause cancer? Or, put another way… does avoiding meat help prevent cancer?

If you aren't already savvy to the topic, this may sound more absurd than it should. Here's why: there have been many, many, many correlative studies that have found that higher meat consumption is associated with a significantly higher risk of cancer and cancer mortality.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (01:18) How cancer starts
  • (04:49) Growth factors make cancer thrive
  • (08:54) Applying the science to your needs
  • (11:33) Cycle prolonged fasting with recovery and protein

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on meat consumption causing cancer straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

 

Direct download: meat_solocast_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58pm EDT

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 350 million individuals of all ages have depression and approximately one-third of all patients with depression fail to respond to conventional antidepressant therapies like SSRI’s. The good news is that today, good science is starting to illuminate the underlying biological mechanisms of depression. This new understanding may soon help the clinical world develop new and more effective treatments. 

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) The scope of depression and SSRI use
  • (03:37) How inflammation can cause depression
  • (09:26) But what causes inflammation?
  • (12:03) Treating depression with diet 

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on depression and it's underlying causes straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: depression_solocast_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

Dr. Roland R. Griffiths

Dr. Roland R. Griffiths is a clinical pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins and has been researching mood-altering compounds for over 40 years.

As an unusually prolific scientist, having published over 360-times, he's also responsible for having started the psilocybin research program at Johns Hopkins nearly 2 decades ago.

In this podcast, you'll discover: 

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (04:05) Psilocybin produces meaningful mind-altering effects 
  • (12:52) Psilocybin can treat depression and anxiety in people with life-threatening cancer 1
  • (22:53) Psilocybin rewires the brain, preferentially breaking fear-based circuits 
  • (28:11) Meditation and psychedelics quiet neural activity of the default mode network
  • (34:09) "The hard problem of consciousness" may not be solved by neuroscience
  • (40:16) Psilocybin helps people quit smoking (80 percent abstinence at six months post-treatment) 2
  • (47:08) The risks of psilocybin include bad trips and psychiatric problems
  • (01:02:00) Meditation delivers similar benefits to psilocybin without the risks
  • (01:07:18) Sauna use improves mood Salvinorin A
  • (01:10:23) Salvinorin A, ayahuasca, and other psychedelics

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/roland-griffiths

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on psilocybin, psychedelic therapies & mystical experiences straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: griffiths_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:16am EDT

Dr. Jed Fahey is a multi-decade veteran of isothiocyanate research and is the director of the Cullman Chemoprotection Center at Johns Hopkins University.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • (00:00) Introduction
  • (03:44) What is sulforaphane?
  • (10:25) The NRF2 pathway, a master regulator of antioxidants
  • (14:22) Cruciferous vegetables are rich sources of sulforaphane
  • (20:39) Does cooking broccoli destroy sulforaphane? 
  • (26:00) Sulforaphane supplements vary widely in quality
  • (36:41) Antibiotics wipe out sulforaphane-producing bacteria in the gut
  • (46:44) Managing Helicobacter pylori growth with a sulforaphane-rich diet
  • (56:15) Sulforaphane reduces inflammation, but does it extend lifespan?
  • (01:11:31) The therapeutic potential of sulforaphane for autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia
  • (01:22:44) Research challenges and clinical trials
  • (01:30:51) Is sulforaphane an anti-depressant?
  • 01:34:50 - Moringin from moringa may be an alternative to sulforaphane with similar bioaction
  • (01:53:55) How to maximize sulforaphane conversion
  • (02:13:27) Testing the anticancer power of sulforaphane 

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter

Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor

Direct download: fahey_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:07pm EDT

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