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This episode challenges common perceptions about exercise, delving deep into the benefits of vigorous exercise for not just physical health but also brain function, aging, and even cancer prevention. It tackles fundamental questions, like what genetic and metabolic adaptations occur with vigorous exercise and how it can contribute to combating heart's age-related changes. We also unpack how these rigorous exercises affect glucose transport, mitochondrial health, and brain health at an intricate level. Lastly, it introduces practical applications like the Norwegian 4x4 interval training protocol, the benefits of "exercise snacks," and how to incorporate vigorous-intensity exercise into everyday life.

In this episode, I discuss:

(00:00) Introduction

(04:34) What differentiates "vigorous" from "zone 2" training

(08:34) Ties between VO2 max & life expectancy

(11:55) Why zone 2 training doesn't guarantee VO2 max improvements

(14:17) How to balance zone 2 training & vigorous-intensity workouts

(16:17) Why the Norwegian 4x4 protocol may improve your VO2 max

(19:35) Evidence-based methods to estimate VO2 max outside a lab.

(22:33) What it takes to reverse 20 years of heart aging: a two-year protocol

(28:24) HIIT and type 2 diabetes – how vigorous exercise can reduce risk.

(29:38) The mitochondria argument: HIIT vs. Zone 2 – which intensity is better?

(32:09) Rethinking the 80-20 rule for everyday exercisers (less zone 2, more effort)

(35:18) The role of high-intensity workouts in enhancing mitophagy

(38:03) Why lactate accumulation from higher training intensity benefits the brain

(40:28) Why the "glucose sparing" effect of lactate benefits brain injury and aging

(43:26) The unique BDNF benefits of high-intensity exercise: the lactate advantage

(44:42) The angiogenic effects of VEGF on the blood-brain barrier (in response to lactate)

(46:58) The greater the exercise intensity, the greater the myokine release

(49:48) How physical activity affects death risk in breast & colorectal cancer survivors

(50:56) How vigorous aerobic exercise kills circulating tumor cells

(52:36) Why exercise reduces depression and neurotoxicity (kynurenine mechanism)

(54:13) The surprising power of "exercise snacks" against mortality

(1:01:36) Download "The Cognitive Enhancement Blueprint" at bdnfprotocols.com

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This episode features Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D., and was originally recorded for the Institute for Functional Medicine's podcast, 'Pathways to Wellbeing.' This episode outlines a series of fundamental tactics you can start applying immediately to enhance cellular health, protect the nervous system, elevate mood, reduce inflammation, promote muscle and bone function, and help prevent chronic disease.

In this episode, I discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (01:04) Vitamin D deficiency — risks, why it's so common, & correcting with supplementation
• (08:20) Magnesium's critical role in DNA repair & synthesis
• (11:49) The best dietary sources of magnesium
• (13:05) Magnesium supplements: Glycinate, malate, dioxide, & citrate
• (14:14) Exercise staves off age-related disease
• (14:52) How genetic SNPs can affect vitamin D deficiency risk
• (20:09) Low omega-3 intake from seafood is a top-6 preventable cause of death
• (22:22) Why ALA's conversion into EPA & DHA is inefficient
• (25:15) Omega-3 index: Optimal levels & ties to increased life expectancy
• (28:27) How omega-3s reduce inflammation, a key driver of aging
• (30:39) Omega-3s protect against muscle disuse atrophy
• (31:38) Why avoiding fish during pregnancy is a huge mistake
• (34:02) Omega-3s are a low-hanging fruit for improving cardiovascular & brain health
• (35:46) What to look for when choosing an omega-3 supplement
• (39:57) Hormesis: Why intermittent stressors are beneficial
• (46:14) How to choose an exercise regimen
• (47:09) "Exercise snacks" reduce all-cause & cancer-related mortality
• (49:24) Brain benefits of lactate from vigorous exercise
• (52:23) How blood flow generated from aerobic exercise kills circulating tumor cells
• (54:30) Rhonda's workout regimen
• (55:38) HIIT ameliorates adverse effects of sleep deprivation
• (58:32) Exercise is the best longevity "drug"

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Dr. Martin Gibala is a muscle physiologist, professor, and kinesiology department chair at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is best known for pioneering research on the health benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and his profound understanding of HIIT's physiological mechanisms. He is a co-author of the book "The One-Minute Workout."

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (11:00) What is high-intensity training?
• (11:53) Zone 2 vs. HIIT for VO2 max — which is better?
• (13:22) The vital role of vigorous exercise
• (14:40) Why VO2 max matters for longevity
• (17:45) Why athletes vs. exercisers benefit from different intensity distributions
• (22:09) Measuring maximum heart rate and VO2 max
• (30:31) How the heart adapts to HIIT to increase VO2 max
• (35:47) Why vigorous exercise accelerates mitochondrial adaptation
• (40:06) Enhancing fat oxidation and mitochondrial growth with vigorous exercise
• (44:22) How intensive exercise boosts fat breakdown
• (45:56) Is high-intensity exercise better for autophagy than fasting?
• (55:15) Exercise snacks
• (57:55) Why 'choosing the stairs' reduces early death (VILPA study)
• (1:00:39) Protocol for VO2 max
• (1:05:50) The effect of HIIT on muscle fiber types
• (1:10:18) How aging effects muscle fibers
• (1:14:09) Does high-intensity training produce an "afterburn effect?"
• (1:16:13) Why vigorous workouts are better for BDNF and cognition
• (1:23:15) Anti-metastatic cancer effects
• (1:50:23) Wingate training vs. reHIIT — a comparison of protocols
• (1:55:38) Perceived exertion vs. HRmax
• (1:59:23) Interval walking for people with type 2 diabetes
• (2:01:06) Contraindications of HIIT
• (2:05:06) Why preconditioning reduces risks from exercise
• (2:10:44) Can resistance training be a type of aerobic exercise?
• (2:16:24) Does cardio and strength training interfere with each other?
• (2:18:45) How many minutes per week of high-intensity training?
• (2:26:58) Are there sex differences and misconceptions in high-intensity training, for women?
• (2:27:42) Should post-menopausal women do H.I.I.T.?
• (2:27:47) Does intense exercise raise cortisol?
• (2:34:16) Bone density and osteoarthritis
• (2:36:40) Atrial fibrillation risk
• (2:39:20) Hypoxic training and blood flow restriction
• (2:40:45) Tips for training with joint issues

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Dr. Chris McGlory is an assistant professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Known for his work in the field of muscle physiology and aging, Dr. McGlory's research focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle protein synthesis and degradation, with a particular emphasis on the roles that omega-3 fatty acids play in maintaining muscle health in older adults.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (05:50) Start of interview
• (13:03) Why atrophy is worse for the old than the young
• (15:23) Can dietary protein prevent atrophy?
• (17:35) Why reduced movement can insidiously mimic short-term immobilization
• (22:51) The disability threshold — when atrophy may actually be deadly
• (24:58) Does high-dose omega-3 hold the key to fighting atrophy? (5g/day)
• (28:35) Does omega-3 help muscle respond more optimally to low protein?
• (41:37) Why omega-3 must be preloaded for 4 to 6 weeks
• (44:20) Why omega-3 trials have conflicting results
• (50:16) Does omega-3 enhance strength?
• (52:42) Sex differences in gaining mass and strength
• (54:46) Improvements in gait speed and balance (muscle performance / physical performance battery)
• (55:49) How to act on mixed evidence — and should we?
• (58:17) Why omega-3 may reduce frailty in old age
• (1:01:59) Why the anabolic mechanisms are counterintuitive (going beyond the canonical anti-inflammatory role of omega-3)
• (1:07:42) Do omega-3s boost tired, dysfunctional mitochondria?
• (1:15:16) Why we need an "omega-3 index" for muscle
• (1:18:52) Why the inflammation from cancer wastes muscle
• (1:20:38) Does omega-3 reduce atrophy from cancer cachexia?

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Heat therapy, such as using a sauna or soaking in a hot bath, may significantly improve your slow wave sleep. My latest episode delves into the fascinating intersection between exercise and passive body heating and elucidates how high energy expenditure exercise and heat exposure share nuanced mechanisms in sleep regulation. Some key aspects explored include:

• The surprising role of the immune system in regulating sleep through somnogenic cytokines, immune signals like IL-1B and TNF-alpha, released in response to heat stress and exercise.
• The interconnected nature of thermoregulation and sleep, particularly in the brain, which highlights the importance of overlapping sleep regulation and heat loss processes. This involves warm-sensing preoptic area neurons in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus, a region known to play a crucial role in sleep regulation.
• The intricate, bidirectional relationship between growth hormone (GH) and slow-wave sleep (SWS). With the majority of daily GH secretion occurring during the initial phase of SWS, stimulants of SWS, such as heat exposure, can result in enhanced GH secretion, establishing a strong connection between GH and sleep regulation.
• The varying influence of heat on growth hormone, ranging from doubling after two 20-minute sauna sessions at 80°C, to increasing its circulation up to 16-fold after two one-hour sauna sessions at 80°C.

These findings highlight the potential for heat therapy and exercise with a high rate of energy expenditure to modulate slow wave sleep through the interconnected nature of thermoregulation, immunity, exercise, and hormones. By understanding and harnessing these links, individuals can potentially enhance their sleep quality and overall health and well-being.

In this episode, I discuss:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:06) - Increasing pre-sleep tiredness
• (02:06) - Effects of exercise
• (04:09) - How the immune system regulates sleep
• (05:07) - What heat and exercise have in common
• (06:39) - Hormonal effects of heat
• (06:59) - Growth hormone
• (09:26) - Prolactin and sleep onset
• (10:39) - Effect of sexual activity
• (12:08) - Overlap in the brain (thermoregulation vs. sleep)
• (12:46) - Heat protocols and tactics

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Dr. Axel Montagne is a chancellor's fellow and group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences. His group aims to understand how, when, and where critical components of the blood-brain barrier become dysfunctional preceding dementia and in the earliest stages of age-related cognitive decline. With this knowledge, they hope to develop precise treatments targeting brain vasculature to protect brain function.

More importantly his work, and that of his colleagues, provide a critical lens through which to view the contributions of vascular dysfunction (or, conversely, vascular health – if we choose to preserve it) as a critical common thread in dementia and neurodegeneration.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Axel Montagne
• (11:44) What dementias have in common
• (12:42) The importance of preserving small blood vessels (in the brain)
• (13:38) Changes in the blood-brain barrier in aging that cause "leaking"
• (15:11) Predicting cognitive decline early with biomarkers – an opportunity for intervention?
• (16:32) Why targeting amyloid isn't enough
• (18:54) The impact of the APOE4 genotype on brain vasculature
• (24:19) The cause of white matter damage in the brain
• (33:47) Why the loss of omega-3 transport affects pericytes
• (35:25) The role of exercise in prevention of blood-brain barrier dysfunction
• (35:45) Why high heart rates during exercise preserve brain function
• (36:49) The role of exercise in preserving vision health
• (40:17) Why leaky vessels damage myelin and the brain
• (45:31) Can you have more than one type of dementia?
• (47:54) Does the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier cause "type 3 diabetes"?
• (54:03) Why omega-3 may prevent detachment of pericytes
• (1:14:35) Why a hepatitis drug restored cognition in APOE4 mice
• (1:19:39) Why blood-brain barrier disruption results in the accumulation of amyloid-beta
• (1:25:14) Why lifetime hypertension increases dementia risk
• (1:37:13) Effects of obesity on blood-brain barrier leakage

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Dr. Brad Schoenfeld is a professor at Lehman College in the Bronx, in New York City. His research primarily focuses on muscle adaptations to strength training, muscle hypertrophy. Publishing over 300 studies in the field of exercise and sports nutrition as a scientist, Brad began his career as a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Brad Schoenfeld
• (05:26) Why should we lift weights?
• (06:56) Why building bone matters
• (11:33) How to lift in old age
• (13:45) Why to lift while young (especially women)
• (16:21) Should children lift weights?
• (17:05) Does lifting stunt growth?
• (19:48) How to change body composition
• (27:22) Protein requirements
• (29:19) How to calculate protein needs
• (36:54) Protein per meal - what's the right amount?
• (38:18) Does time-restricted eating undermine hypertrophy?
• (43:19) Anabolic window: myths vs. reality
• (46:15) Total daily protein intake
• (54:49) Why aging affects muscle power (loss of type II fibers)
• (57:52) Power training vs. strength
• (59:20) Benefits of explosive power training (fall prevention)
• (1:03:18) How to power train with plyometrics
• (1:03:58) Training to failure (is it important?)
• (1:09:59) Rest in between sets (is it needed?)
• (1:11:12) Number of sets per week
• (1:22:31) Tips for recovery
• (1:33:41) Should you get sore from exercise?
• (1:36:47) What can you do for soreness? (without blunting hypertrophy)
• (1:40:16) Does aerobic exercise undermine resistance training?
• (1:44:46) Resistance training for endurance athletes
• (1:46:33) Can stretching increase muscle growth?
• (1:51:06) Is yoga a type of resistance training?
• (1:53:37) Blood-flow restriction training
• (1:58:37) What is Brad's routine?

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George Church, Ph.D. is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and of health sciences and technology at both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Church played an instrumental role in the Human Genome Project and is widely recognized as one of the premier scientists in the fields of gene editing technology and synthetic biology.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction to Dr. George Church
• (07:13) History of the Human Genome Project
• (15:20) Manufacturing cell phones (with biology)
• (17:34) Genome Project-Write
• (20:03) Writing a human Y chromosome (from scratch)
• (20:48) What if you could eliminate viral disease?
• (22:51) De-extinction and reinstating lost traits and genes
• (27:06) The Vertebrate Genomes Project
• (29:47) AlphaFold and other AI tools
• (41:27) CRISPR vs. Base Editing (emerging tools of genetic engineering)
• (49:40) Why multiplex editing will change the world
• (52:18) Molecular flight recorder
• (53:31) Preventing viral spillover and enhancing livestock
• (57:40) PCSK9 gene therapy for cholesterol
• (1:00:30) Is aging an evolved program?
• (1:05:21) Treating aging with a combination gene treatment
• (1:09:04) Does animal research help us understand human aging?
• (1:11:40) Human organoids as a model and therapeutic
• (1:13:34) Could engineered transplant organs become better than the originals?
• (1:16:17) Embryo editing controversy
• (1:28:41) Gene editing for space travel
• (1:30:40) Can synthetic biology alleviate poverty?
• (1:34:07) Is in vitro fertilization and embryo selection practically similar to editing?
• (1:39:12) The occasional cost of brilliance
• (1:45:45) Eradicating disease with Gene Drive
• (1:48:55) Technologies to solve Lyme disease
• (1:51:57) Dr. Church's experience with narcolepsy as a bridge to creative insights
• (2:00:42) Why George encoded his book in DNA

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Stuart Phillips, PhD, is a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he also serves as the director of the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence. His research centers on the roles exercise and nutrition play in influencing human skeletal muscle protein turnover and how these lifestyle factors influence body composition, especially as we age.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Stuart Phillips
• (07:16) Why muscle is important for longevity
• (14:34) Is the importance of muscle mass (per se) overstated?
• (16:48) Is the RDA on protein too low?
• (19:03) Minimum vs. optimal protein intake (for athletes)
• (19:29) Why older adults need more protein
• (24:52) Caloric restriction vs. higher protein for aging
• (28:04) What is a catabolic crisis?
• (29:40) Effects of space flight on muscle
• (36:16) Practical tips for protein intake
• (39:34) Protein timing and the anabolic window
• (41:27) Most important factors for hypertrophy
• (43:57) Should we supplement leucine?
• (45:46) Does plant protein support hypertrophy?
• (56:30) Causes of anabolic resistance
• (58:22) What types of exercise and how much?
• (01:06:56) Protein and rest as tools for recovery
• (01:08:14) Mechanisms of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown
• (01:08:31) Does rapamycin inhibit hypertrophy?
• (01:13:07) What is Dr. Phillips doing to age well?
• (01:15:25) Hormonal responses to exercise
• (01:17:09) Sex differences in hypertrophy
• (01:19:38) Effect of menopause on muscle
• (01:20:03) Do testosterone boosters work?
• (01:21:56) Does growth hormone improve muscle?
• (01:26:30) Androgen replacement therapy (benefits vs. drawbacks)
• (01:31:17) Mental health benefits of exercise
• (01:31:54) Anti-catabolic effects of heat
• (01:38:19) Molecular causes of sarcopenia
• (01:42:35) Anti-catabolic effects of omega-3
• (01:48:57) Brain and muscle effects of creatine

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The intestinal barrier serves as a gatekeeper to the human body. The loss of the health and integrity of this barrier influences multiple aspects of human health – including cardiometabolic function, neurological health, behavior, and more – in surprising and unexpected ways. One of these ways involves lipopolysaccharide, or LPS, a bacterial product that arises in the intestine, and its interaction with far distal tissues and organs via the induction of immune mediators. Dr. Rhonda Patrick was the keynote speaker for the Metabolic Health Summit, held May 5 – 8, 2022, in Santa Barbara, California. Her presentation described the role that intestinal permeability and bacterial products play in aging, inflammation, and chronic disease.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (08:12) Atherosclerosis
• (13:49) Brain
• (16:07) Circulating LPS and behavior
• (19:05) Toll-like receptors and inflammation
• (24:00) Factors that affect intestinal permeability
• (30:10) Alcohol
• (32:07) Gluten
• (35:21) Butyrate and dietary fiber
• (37:48) Dietary fat
• (42:21) Biomarkers of intestinal permeability
• (43:11) Omega-3 fatty acids
• (50:02) Q&A

Show notes and video

LEARN MORE: Coinciding with this release, you can now find a variety of deep resources on the FoundMyFitness website for all of the topics covered in this episode. Learn about the blood-brain barrier Learn about intestinal permeability Learn about toll-like receptors Learn about cerebral small vessel disease

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