There's no doubt this is a time of uncertainty. COVID-19 has changed the way most of us live, and it's not clear when or if we'll be able to resume the activities we took for granted just a year ago. Rather than waiting for the government to figure it all out, our best defence against infectious disease is optimising metabolic health and immune function. For that, sleep is arguably the keystone behaviour.

Today I'm joined again by our resident sleep expert, Greg Potter, PhD to talk about the effects of sleep on the immune system. Greg explains how poor sleep and sleep disorders profoundly impact the body's ability to combat infections, including the common cold, pneumonia, and COVID-19. He also discusses the importance of getting enough sleep in the days leading up to vaccination and offers pandemic-specific tips for better sleep.

[00:02:01] Resilient Nutrition; Long Range Fuel.

[00:07:05] Changes in sleep since COVID.

[00:08:50] COVID dreams.

[00:11:19] Changes in sleep timing and patterns.

[00:11:45] Effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on sleep and activity; Study: Blume, Christine, Marlene H. Schmidt, and Christian Cajochen. "Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on human sleep and rest-activity rhythms." Current Biology 30.14 (2020): R795-R797.

[00:12:34] Changes in sleep behaviors amongst university students; Study: Wright Jr, Kenneth P., et al. "Sleep in university students prior to and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders." Current Biology 30.14 (2020): R797-R798.

[00:13:17] Sleep disorders; insomnia.

[00:13:36] Greg's previous podcasts on entraining circadian rhythm: How to Entrain Your Circadian Rhythm for Perfect Sleep and Metabolic Health and time cues: Morning Larks and Night Owls: the Biology of Chronotypes

[00:14:15] Sleep apnea.

[00:15:23] Sleep apnea associated with increased mortality due to COVID-19; Study: McSharry, David, Michael T. Lam, and Atul Malhotra. "OSA as a probable risk factor for severe COVID-19." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 16.9 (2020): 1649-1649.

[00:16:11] Sleep apnea treatment; continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

[00:21:13] How the immune system works.

[00:24:50] TNF-alpha blockers improve sleep in rheumatoid arthritis; Detert, Jacqueline, et al. "Effects of treatment with etanercept versus methotrexate on sleep quality, fatigue and selected immune parameters in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis." Clin Exp Rheumatol 34.5 (2016): 848-856.

[00:32:23] Cytokine storms.

[00:33:38] Mice more susceptible to infection administered during sleep hours; Study: Lundy, Stephanie R., et al. "Effect of time of day of infection on Chlamydia infectivity and pathogenesis." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-12.

[00:34:37] Better response to BCG vaccine when administered in the morning; Study: de Bree, L. Charlotte J., et al. "Circadian rhythm influences induction of trained immunity by BCG vaccination." The Journal of clinical investigation 130.10 (2020): 5603-5617.

[00:35:19] Different dimensions of sleep: SATED - satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, duration.

[00:37:58] Associations between sleep and chronic disease.

[00:39:20] People who report short sleep are at higher risk of metabolic syndrome; Meta analyses: 1. Xi, Bo, et al. "Short sleep duration predicts risk of metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Sleep medicine reviews 18.4 (2014): 293-297; 2. Iftikhar, Imran H., et al. "Sleep duration and metabolic syndrome. An updated dose–risk metaanalysis." Annals of the American Thoracic Society 12.9 (2015): 1364-1372; 3. Lian, Ying, et al. "Association between sleep quality and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis." Psychiatry research 274 (2019): 66-74.

[00:40:02] Sleep disturbance as a risk factor for type-2 diabetes; Meta analysis: Wang, Fei, et al. "Sleep duration and patterns in Chinese patients with diabetes: A meta‐analysis of comparative studies and epidemiological surveys." Perspectives in psychiatric care 55.2 (2019): 344-353.

[00:41:04] The brain's glymphatic system; Maiken Nedergaard, MD.

[00:41:53] Study: Fultz, Nina E., et al. "Coupled electrophysiological, hemodynamic, and cerebrospinal fluid oscillations in human sleep." Science 366.6465 (2019): 628-631.

[00:43:45] Obstructive sleep apnea - 40% higher risk of developing cancer.

[00:46:27] Research on sleep deprivation in dogs; Study: Bentivoglio, Marina, and Gigliola Grassi-Zucconi. "The pioneering experimental studies on sleep deprivation." Sleep 20.7 (1997): 570-576.

[00:47:01] Sleep deprivation research with rats; Study: Rechtschaffen, Allan, et al. "Sleep deprivation in the rat: I. Conceptual issues." Sleep 12.1 (1989): 1-4.

[00:47:33] Sleep restriction research on fruit flies; Study: Geissmann, Quentin, Esteban J. Beckwith, and Giorgio F. Gilestro. "Most sleep does not serve a vital function: Evidence from Drosophila melanogaster." Science advances 5.2 (2019): eaau9253.

[00:48:23] Sleep deprivation leads to ROS accumulation in the fly and mouse gut; Study: Vaccaro, Alexandra, et al. "Sleep loss can cause death through accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the gut." Cell 181.6 (2020): 1307-1328.

[00:50:25] Effects of circadian disruption on risk of dying in mice: Davidson, A. J., et al. "Chronic jet-lag increases mortality in aged mice." Current biology 16.21 (2006): R914-R916. Likely due to immune disruption; Study: Stowie, Adam, et al. "A reductionist, in vitro model of environmental circadian disruption demonstrates SCN-independent and tissue-specific dysregulation of inflammatory responses." Plos one 14.5 (2019): e0217368.

[00:51:20] Sleep deprivation associated with DNA damage; Study: Carroll, Judith E., et al. "Partial sleep deprivation activates the DNA damage response (DDR) and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in aged adult humans." Brain, behavior, and immunity 51 (2016): 223-229.

[00:52:50] Poor sleep increases pneumonia risk; Study: Patel, Sanjay R., et al. "A prospective study of sleep duration and pneumonia risk in women." Sleep 35.1 (2012): 97-101.

[00:53:55] Sleep habits and susceptibility to colds; Study: Prather, Aric A., and Cindy W. Leung. "Association of insufficient sleep with respiratory infection among adults in the United States." JAMA internal medicine 176.6 (2016): 850-852.

[00:54:26] Swedish study finds no relationship between sleep and cold susceptibility: Ghilotti, Francesca, et al. "Physical activity, sleep and risk of respiratory infections: A Swedish cohort study." PloS one 13.1 (2018): e0190270.

[00:54:47] Sleeping less associated with increased susceptibility to cold virus; Study: Cohen, Sheldon, et al. "Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold." Archives of internal medicine 169.1 (2009): 62-67.

[00:55:47] Sleep (assessed with wrist devices) and susceptibility to the common cold; Study: Prather, Aric A., et al. "Behaviorally assessed sleep and susceptibility to the common cold." Sleep 38.9 (2015): 1353-1359.

[00:56:13] Timing of physical activity and sleep and COVID-19 risk; Study: Rowlands AV, Kloecker DE, Chudasama Y, et al. "Association of Timing and Balance of Physical Activity and Rest/Sleep With Risk of COVID-19: A UK Biobank Study." Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2020.

[00:57:45] COVID-19 risk higher for shift workers; Study: Rizza, S., et al. "High body mass index and night shift work are associated with COVID-19 in health care workers." Journal of Endocrinological Investigation (2020): 1-5.

[00:58:37] Worse sleep in hospital associated with increased need for ICU (COVID-19); Study: Zhang, Jiancheng, et al. "Poor-sleep is associated with slow recovery from lymphopenia and an increased need for ICU care in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study." Brain, behavior, and immunity 88 (2020): 50-58.

[00:59:05] Accuracy of sleep monitoring devices.

[01:01:02] Sleep and response to vaccination.

[01:01:40] Antibody response to vaccination reduced with sleep deprivation; Study: Spiegel, Karine, John F. Sheridan, and Eve Van Cauter. "Effect of sleep deprivation on response to immunization." Jama 288.12 (2002): 1471-1472.

[01:02:31] Sleep-deprived men have lower antibody levels 5 days after H1N1 vaccine: Benedict, Christian, et al. "Acute sleep deprivation has no lasting effects on the human antibody titer response following a novel influenza A H1N1 virus vaccination." BMC immunology 13.1 (2012): 1-5.

[01:03:01] Sleep enhances antibody response to vaccination; Studies: 1. Lange, Tanja, et al. "Sleep enhances the human antibody response to hepatitis A vaccination." Psychosomatic medicine 65.5 (2003): 831-835; 2. Lange, Tanja, et al. "Sleep after vaccination boosts immunological memory." The Journal of Immunology 187.1 (2011): 283-290.

[01:0

Paul Laursen, PhD is an athlete, author, endurance coach, high-performance consultant and entrepreneur. He's published over 125 peer-reviewed papers in exercise and sports science journals, and his work has been cited more than 8,000 times. We've had Paul on the podcast before to talk about High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), as described in his book and brought to life in his online course.

On this podcast, Paul describes how he's taken HIIT training to a new level by creating the Athletica software, to help athletes train smarter, not harder. Using the principles in his book, this software can adapt a plan based on your current fitness levels, goals, training sessions and life. As an athlete and software developer, I couldn't resist asking Paul some tough questions about how it all works.

[00:02:56] Paul's previous podcasts: Why Do and How to High Intensity Interval Training and Science and Application of High Intensity Interval Training.

[00:03:08] Paul's Book: Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training: Solutions to the Programming Puzzle and video training course.

[00:03:22] High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - periods of exercise in your red zone.

[00:04:25] Why to do HIIT.

[00:05:41] Book: Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life, by Joe Friel.

[00:06:21] STEM Talk Podcast: Episode 116: Marcas Bamman on the many benefits of exercise and strength training.

[00:07:58] David Raichlen podcast: Wired to Run: Why Your Brain Needs Exercise.

[00:09:18] Athletica.ai.

[00:21:33] The role of the human coaching relationship.

[00:24:40] Figuring subjective experience into recommended training; Sentiment analysis.

[00:28:41] Integrating software.

[00:30:24] Strava 2020 Year in Sport report.

[00:31:42] Garmin ecosystem; Garmin Connect.

[00:35:04] Oura ring; HRV4Training app.

[00:41:13] Book: The Best Interface is No Interface, by Golden Krishna.

[00:41:54] Sports serviced by the software.

[00:47:14] HIIT science website.

[00:48:05] Ambassador program.

Over time we've seen an increasing number of clients come to us with symptoms of histamine intolerance, including seasonal allergies, headaches, skin issues and digestive problems. And although doctors would likely treat these as separate conditions, we believe common root causes are certainly at play. We've learned that histamine problems often originate in the gut, but environmental and lifestyle factors can definitely make them worse.

On this podcast, NBT Scientific Director and coach Megan Hall and I discuss histamine intolerance, including causes, symptoms, and potential treatments. We talk about why this condition is difficult to diagnose, and some of the signs that suggest your "histamine bucket" is overflowing. Megan describes the best options for fixing the problem at the source, including diet, supplements, and environmental changes.

Be sure to see the show notes to get the outline Megan wrote to prepare for this podcast. It's an excellent resource for anyone who has seasonal allergies or suspects they may have histamine intolerance.

[00:01:10] Chris's history with histamine.

[00:03:32] Methylation.

[00:03:59] What is histamine?

[00:05:55] Symptoms of histamine intolerance.

[00:07:21] Causes of histamine intolerance.

[00:08:19] Enzymes that break down histamine.

[00:09:41] Outline for this podcast.

[00:11:04] Lucy Mailing, PhD.; Podcasts: How to Optimise Your Gut Microbiome and Microbiome Myths and Misconceptions.

[00:11:16] Lucy Mailing's blog post: The oxygen-gut dysbiosis connection; Study: Schink, M., et al. "Microbial patterns in patients with histamine intolerance." J Physiol Pharmacol 69.4 (2018): 579-93.

[00:12:11] Effects of stress.

[00:13:49] The Coping Resilience and Mental Toughness Workshop with Simon Marshall, PhD and triathlete Lesley Paterson.

[00:14:05] Estrogen excess.

[00:15:59] Book: The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease, by Daniel Lieberman.

[00:16:41] Impact of genetic polymorphisms.

[00:17:37] The histamine "bucket" and individual tolerance.

[00:18:20] Testing for histamine intolerance.

[00:21:00] What to do if you're sensitive to histamine (or have allergies).

[00:21:28] Supplements: mast cell stabilizers, antihistamines, DAO enzyme; Study: Schnedl, Wolfgang J., et al. "Diamine oxidase supplementation improves symptoms in patients with histamine intolerance." Food science and biotechnology 28.6 (2019): 1779-1784.

[00:22:24] Thorne Quercetin Phytosome; Study: Riva, Antonella, et al. "Improved oral absorption of quercetin from quercetin phytosome®, a new delivery system based on food grade lecithin." European journal of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics 44.2 (2019): 169-177.

[00:23:05] Over the counter antihistamines.

[00:24:01] Dietary restriction (short term).

[00:24:33] No perfect food elimination list; Paper: Martin, I. San Mauro, S. Brachero, and E. Garicano Vilar. "Histamine intolerance and dietary management: A complete review." Allergologia et immunopathologia 44.5 (2016): 475-483.

[00:27:40] Stress; Study: Eutamene, Helene, et al. "Acute stress modulates the histamine content of mast cells in the gastrointestinal tract through interleukin‐1 and corticotropin‐releasing factor release in rats." The Journal of physiology 553.3 (2003): 959-966.

[00:29:08] High priority: fixing the gut.

[00:29:22] Paleo Diet; Book: The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat, by Loren Cordain.

[00:29:25] Autoimmune Protocol (AIP).

[00:29:44] Gut testing.

[00:30:10] Enteromend, GI-Revive, SBI Protect, herbal antimicrobials.

[00:31:41] What didn't work for Chris.

[00:34:22] Seasonal allergies.

[00:36:58] Review papers on histamine: Maintz, Laura, and Natalija Novak. "Histamine and histamine intolerance." The American journal of clinical nutrition 85.5 (2007): 1185-1196 and Comas-Basté, Oriol, et al. "Histamine intolerance: The current state of the art." Biomolecules 10.8 (2020): 1181.

[00:37:08] Book a free 15-minute starter session.

Eric Helms, PhD is a New Zealand-based coach, athlete, author, and educator. A trainer since the early 2000s, he coaches drug-free strength and physique competitors at all levels. Eric has competed since the mid-2000s and earned pro status as a natural bodybuilder in 2011 and competes at international level events as an unequipped powerlifter. Eric has also published multiple peer-reviewed articles in exercise science and nutrition journals and writes for commercial fitness publications.

On this podcast, Eric gives us a glimpse into the world of natural bodybuilding, including the cyclical weight loss and regain pattern required for competition in the sport, and the rigorous controls in place to prevent banned substance use amongst competitors. Eric explains why most people should probably not eat like a bodybuilder, and offers tips for athletes interested in optimizing body composition. He also describes the mindset needed to attain sustainable results in fitness and sport.

[00:00:29] Mikki Williden, PhD; NBT Podcast: Women Athletes: Nutrition, Supplementation, and Hormones; Mikki's podcast, Mikkipedia.

[00:00:31] Cliff Harvey, PhD; NBT Podcast: Finding a Carbohydrate-Appropriate Diet for Nutrition, Health, and Performance; Cliff's podcast, The Carb-Appropriate Podcast.

[00:00:59] Eric's podcast: Iron Culture Podcast; MASS Research Review: Train Smarter With Science.

[00:02:28] Natural bodybuilding.

[00:09:28] Doping violations; Study: Engelberg, Terry, Stephen Moston, and James Skinner. "The final frontier of anti-doping: A study of athletes who have committed doping violations." Sport Management Review 18.2 (2015): 268-279.

[00:12:23] Questions from Mike T Nelson, Megan Hall, and Zach Moore; Mike T Nelson's appearances on the podcast: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

[00:12:40] Lifting performance vs. physique.

[00:16:17] Nutrition and exercise for body building vs. healthy body composition.

[00:22:42] Simultaneously losing fat and building muscle.

[00:26:05] Reverse dieting and recovery.

[00:32:16] Eating according to internal cues vs. tracking macros and calories.

[00:37:22] Intuitive eating vs. mindful eating.

[00:38:05] How much to eat to maintain or lose weight to avoid low energy availability.

[00:38:40] Mark Sisson.

[00:42:15] Video: The BEST Home Workout To Prevent Muscle Loss (And Even Build Some!) ft. Eric Helms.

[00:45:30] Find Eric on Instagram and at 3D Muscle Journey.

These days it's easy to find yourself feeling tense or anxious. If social distancing and the threat of a global pandemic aren't enough, just add a dose of political mayhem or a strained relationship and you've got a recipe for stress. What I've learned from performance psychologist Simon Marshall is that your brain and nervous system manage everything about you, including your ability to cope and overcome the difficulties of life.

In this podcast, Simon and I are discussing some cutting edge ways to master your nervous system and manage stressful moments. Simon shares some evidence-based techniques that involve breathing, vocalization, and eye movement, to manage stress and help you avoid limbic system overwhelm. And as powerful as these practices are, I know they are just a few of the tools Simon has in his performance coaching arsenal.

If you enjoy this podcast, I hope you'll consider joining us in the upcoming Coping Resilience and Mental Toughness Workshop, with Simon and world champion triathlete Lesley Paterson. The workshop content is approximately five hours of prerecorded video and is largely self-paced, along with four 30-minute live group coaching sessions with Simon and Les to answer questions and help you navigate real-world situations.

[00:01:49] Strava 2020 Year in Sport report.

[00:03:23] Benefits of outdoor exercise.

[00:03:42] Neuroscience research: 1. Yilmaz, Melis, and Andrew D. Huberman. "Fear: It's All in Your Line of Sight." Current Biology 29.23 (2019): R1232-R1234; 2. González, Anabel, Lucía del Río-Casanova, and Ania Justo-Alonso. "Integrating neurobiology of emotion regulation and trauma therapy: Reflections on EMDR therapy." Reviews in the Neurosciences 28.4 (2017): 431-440.

[00:04:34] Self-generated optic flow.

[00:04:41] Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman; The Huberman Lab at Stanford.

[00:09:40] Physiologic sigh; Studies: 1. Li, Peng, et al. "The peptidergic control circuit for sighing." Nature 530.7590 (2016): 293-297; 2. Yackle, Kevin, et al. "Breathing control center neurons that promote arousal in mice." Science 355.6332 (2017): 1411-1415; 3. Salay, Lindsey D., Nao Ishiko, and Andrew D. Huberman. "A midline thalamic circuit determines reactions to visual threat." Nature 557.7704 (2018): 183-189.

[00:14:56] Podcast: The Neurophysiology of Safety and How to Feel Safe, with Stephen Porges.

[00:22:50] Chimp Purge; Study: Lieberman, Matthew D., et al. "Putting feelings into words." Psychological science 18.5 (2007): 421-428.

[00:28:41] Podcast: How to Have Intimacy With Ease, with Jessa Zimmerman.

[00:28:51] Podcast: NBT People: Mark Alexander.

[00:30:34] Podcast: A Guide to Flawed Studies with Richard Feinman.

[00:36:33] Stress management; Podcast: How to Manage Stress, with Simon Marshall, PhD.

[00:38:23] Values guided action exercise; Russ Harris.

[00:38:37] Habit formation, habit stacking.

[00:41:49] Dopamine + noradrenaline = motivated action.

[00:43:59] Leveraging physiology during unpleasant activities.

[00:44:27] Book: Radical Candor (Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott.

[00:44:50] Getting and giving feedback.

[00:46:41] Motivational interviewing; helping people change their behavior.

[00:48:26] Book: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It, by Chris Voss.

[00:49:24] Book: Thank You for Arguing, Fourth Edition (Revised and Updated): What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion, by Jay Heinrichs.

[00:49:50] Book: The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Jonathan Haidt.

[00:53:15] Sign up for the Coping Resilience and Mental Toughness Workshop.

[00:53:40] The Xterra Podcast.

Mikki Williden, PhD is a Registered Nutritionist and a Senior Lecturer at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. She runs an online nutrition coaching programme and has privately consulted with clients since 2006. Mikki co-hosts the Fitter Radio weekly endurance sports podcast and recently launched her own podcast, Mikkipedia, where she has conversations with experts in health and nutrition. She is also a runner and is passionate about health, longevity, nutrition, and activity.

On the podcast today, Mikki talks with Megan Hall about nutritional and training considerations for women athletes. They discuss the timing of meals and supplements around training and preparing for race nutrition, with consideration given to cyclical hormonal fluctuations. Mikki discusses current research on fueling before exercise, and the importance of adequate protein (and what that actually means!). They also discuss the common problem of under-eating and chronic low energy availability.

[00:00:21] Ancestral Health Symposium.

[00:00:57] Mikki's background.

[00:02:26] Menstrual cycle, athletic performance, and nutrition.

[00:08:26] Meta analysis: McNulty, Kelly Lee, et al. "The effects of menstrual cycle phase on exercise performance in eumenorrheic women: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Sports medicine (2020): 1-15.

[00:14:04] Nutritional factors impacting bloating, cramping and cyclical inflammation.

[00:17:13] Protein as a focus for female athletes.

[00:20:28] Stuart Phillips, Luc Van Loon.

[00:22:33] Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S); Podcast: How to Identify and Treat Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), with Nicky Keay.

[00:23:21] The importance of biomedical testing.

[00:26:03] Underfueling early in the day.

[00:27:36] Meal timing and hormones; Studies: 1. Fahrenholtz, Ida Lysdahl, et al. "Within‐day energy deficiency and reproductive function in female endurance athletes." Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports 28.3 (2018): 1139-1146; 2. Torstveit, Monica Klungland, et al. "Within-day energy deficiency and metabolic perturbation in male endurance athletes." International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 28.4 (2018): 419-427.

[00:28:36] Low carb/ketogenic diets and fasting.

[00:35:03] Sleep low, train low.

[00:35:53] Study: Impey, Samuel G., et al. "Fuel for the work required: a theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodization and the glycogen threshold hypothesis." Sports Medicine 48.5 (2018): 1031-1048.

[00:37:01] Study: Rothschild, Jeffrey A., Andrew E. Kilding, and Daniel J. Plews. "What Should I Eat before Exercise? Pre-Exercise Nutrition and the Response to Endurance Exercise: Current Prospective and Future Directions." Nutrients 12.11 (2020): 3473.

[00:38:16] Blog post: What to eat before training: a research update, by Mikki Williden, PhD.

[00:38:53] Fueling for training.

[00:41:08] Practicing for race nutrition.

[00:43:23] Timing of carbohydrate intake.

[00:47:19] Chronic/acute low energy availability.

[00:48:33] Eric Helms.

[00:54:21] Meeting an athlete's nutritional needs.

[01:01:48] Peri- and post-menopausal training and nutritional considerations.

[01:04:40] Protein needs in isolation vs mixed meal; Study: Kim, Il-Young, et al. "The anabolic response to a meal containing different amounts of protein is not limited by the maximal stimulation of protein synthesis in healthy young adults." American journal of physiology-endocrinology and metabolism 310.1 (2016): E73-E80.

[01:06:10] Hormonal fluctuations and gut health.

[01:07:07] Digestive enzymes.

[01:08:18] Branched-chain amino acids; Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.

[01:09:41] Where to find Mikki: mikkiwilliden.com; FITTER Radio Podcast; Consult with Mikki, meal plans; Facebook; Mikkipedia Podcast.

David Raichlen, PhD. is a Professor of Human And Evolutionary Biology at the University of Southern California. His work explores how physical activity drove key aspects of human evolution, helping to explain how and why inactivity underlies many chronic diseases today. Combining aspects of biomechanics, physiology and neuroscience with analysis of movement patterns of ancient humans, his work helps to explain how we can use an evolutionary context to improve modern-day health.

On the podcast today, David talks about the links between human evolution, physical activity, and health across the lifespan. He discusses the impact of exercise on brain health and neurogenesis and explains why an active lifestyle may be critical for those genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's disease. He also describes the biological mechanism behind the "runner's high" that suggests humans are "wired to run".

[00:00:11] Herman Pontzer, PhD; Book: Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy (coming out in March 2021).

[00:00:43] Paper: Pontzer, H., B. M. Wood, and David A. Raichlen. "Hunter‐gatherers as models in public health." Obesity Reviews 19 (2018): 24-35.

[00:01:27] Working with Hadza; Brian Wood, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UCLA.

[00:02:07] Exercise and brain health.

[00:03:24] Neurogenesis.

[00:04:08] Rodents in enriched environments; Study: Kempermann, Gerd, H. Georg Kuhn, and Fred H. Gage. "More hippocampal neurons in adult mice living in an enriched environment." Nature 386.6624 (1997): 493-495.

[00:05:10] Adaptive Capacity model; Paper: Raichlen, David A., and Gene E. Alexander. "Adaptive capacity: an evolutionary neuroscience model linking exercise, cognition, and brain health." Trends in neurosciences 40.7 (2017): 408-421.

[00:10:01] APOE4; Study: Raichlen, David A., and Gene E. Alexander. "Exercise, APOE genotype, and the evolution of the human lifespan." Trends in neurosciences 37.5 (2014): 247-255.

[00:12:20] Study: Trumble, Benjamin C., et al. "Apolipoprotein E4 is associated with improved cognitive function in Amazonian forager‐horticulturalists with a high parasite burden." The FASEB Journal 31.4 (2017): 1508-1515.

[00:13:34] Resistance training.

[00:14:20] Megan Hall; Study: Roberts, Megan N., et al. "A ketogenic diet extends longevity and healthspan in adult mice." Cell metabolism 26.3 (2017): 539-546.

[00:15:18] BDNF upregulation through exercise.

[00:16:28] Podcast: The Postmenopausal Longevity Paradox and the Evolutionary Advantage of Our Grandmothering Life History, with Kristin Hawkes.

[00:17:46] Structural associations of exercise in middle age. Study: Raichlen, David A., et al. "Differential associations of engagement in physical activity and estimated cardiorespiratory fitness with brain volume in middle-aged to older adults." Brain Imaging and Behavior (2019): 1-10.

[00:17:46] Brain connectivity associations among young athletes; Study: Raichlen, David A., et al. "Differences in resting state functional connectivity between young adult endurance athletes and healthy controls." Frontiers in human neuroscience 10 (2016): 610.

[00:21:30] Podcast: Air Pollution Is a Cause of Endothelial Injury, Systemic Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease, with Arden Pope, PhD.

[00:22:21] Optimal duration and intensity of exercise.

[00:23:38] Types of exercise that are most beneficial.

[00:25:32] Exercise-induced endocannabinoid system.

[00:27:20] Endocannabinoid upregulation following exercise in humans, dogs, and ferrets; Study: Raichlen, David A., et al. "Wired to run: exercise-induced endocannabinoid signaling in humans and cursorial mammals with implications for the 'runner's high'." Journal of Experimental Biology 215.8 (2012): 1331-1336.

[00:29:11] Self-generated optic flow; Articles: Yilmaz, Melis, and Andrew D. Huberman. "Fear: It's All in Your Line of Sight." Current Biology 29.23 (2019): R1232-R1234 and González, Anabel, Lucía del Río-Casanova, and Ania Justo-Alonso. "Integrating neurobiology of emotion regulation and trauma therapy: Reflections on EMDR therapy." Reviews in the Neurosciences 28.4 (2017): 431-440.

[00:30:23] Minimizing environmental mismatch.

[00:30:39] Sitting in hunter gatherers; Study: Raichlen, David A., et al. "Sitting, squatting, and the evolutionary biology of human inactivity." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117.13 (2020): 7115-7121.

[00:37:56] Exercise intensity and endocannabinoid signaling; Study: Raichlen, David A., et al. "Exercise-induced endocannabinoid signaling is modulated by intensity." European journal of applied physiology 113.4 (2013): 869-875.

[00:41:14] Book: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping, 3rd Edition, by Robert Sapolsky.

[00:42:40] Scientific American article: Why Your Brain Needs Exercise, by David A. Raichlen and Gene E. Alexander.

[00:43:00] New Scientist article: How changing the way you sit could add years to your life, by Herman Pontzer and David Raichlen.

[00:45:45] Find David at University of Southern California's Department of Biological Sciences.

Cliff Harvey, PhD, is a New Zealand-based author, nutritionist, researcher, and speaker. He is also a Qualified Naturopath, a strength and nutrition coach of 20 years, and an IAWA Weightlifting World Champion (2004 & 2007). Over the years he has consulted for all types of athletes, from champion fighters and cyclists to yacht teams and rugby unions. He currently works with clients and conducts research at Auckland University of Technology, while also growing his online collection of educational videos on nutrition, health, and performance.

On this podcast, Cliff talks about the diagnosis that propelled him into studying nutrition and the critical lessons he learned while recovering. He talks about his research on the ketogenic diet, including what actually causes "keto flu" and how best to overcome it quickly. We also discuss carbohydrate-appropriate diets, and how to figure out the carb intake that's right for you.

[00:00:38] Mikky Williden, PhD. Podcast featuring Mikki as interviewer: How I Used Ancestral Health to Boost My Energy and Start a Business.

[00:02:29] Diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.

[00:06:42] Studying nutrition.

[00:07:32] Crohn's in remission.

[00:08:31] Reducing stress and building a lifestyle conducive to health.

[00:13:22] Competitive weightlifting.

[00:18:43] Book: The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life, by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. Podcast with Brad Stulberg: How to Harness Productive Passion and Avoid Burnout.

[00:22:15] Protein first; Ketogenic and low-carb diets.

[00:26:51] Paperpile.

[00:27:01] "Keto flu"; Study: Harvey, Cliff J. D. C., Grant M. Schofield, and Micalla Williden. "The use of nutritional supplements to induce ketosis and reduce symptoms associated with keto-induction: a narrative review." PeerJ 6 (2018): e4488.

[00:29:44] Effects of 3 low-carb diets; Study: Harvey, Cliff J. D. C., et al. "Low-carbohydrate diets differing in carbohydrate restriction improve cardiometabolic and anthropometric markers in healthy adults: A randomised clinical trial." PeerJ 7 (2019): e6273.

[00:31:01] Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS); Podcast: How to Identify and Treat Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), with Nicky Keay.

[00:32:24] Lessening symptoms of keto flu.

[00:34:58] Eric Helms, PhD; outcomes based nutrition.

[00:37:24] Eric Helms on Cliff's podcast: The Bodybuilding Contest Prep Diet Debate.

[00:37:44] The Carb-Appropriate Podcast.

[00:39:48] Figuring out the carb intake that is appropriate for you.

[00:41:13] Book: The Carbohydrate Appropriate Diet: Go beyond low-carb diets to lose weight fast, and improve energy and performance, without counting calories, by Cliff Harvey; Other books by Cliff.

[00:45:03] Sami Inkinen, CEO and Founder of Virta Health.

[00:50:51] Cliff's courses: The Holistic Performance Institute.

[00:53:24] Autoregulation.

[00:57:40] COVID situation in New Zealand; Cliff's podcast with Simon Thornley, PhD: Are lockdowns effective for mitigating the effects of the COVID pandemic?

Abel Romero, DPT, TPI, RYT 200 is a licensed physical therapist and movement coach with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from UC San Francisco/San Francisco State University. He has worked with a wide range of clients, from high-performing athletes to women postpartum and seniors. He is fascinated not only with helping others achieve a high level of health and well-being, but also with the science and art of improving skill, preventing pain, and having fun through movement.

On this podcast, Abel and I discuss how humans evolved to move, and the role of pain in avoiding injury. Abel talks about some of the common issues that lead to pain in our culture and why moving harder and faster is critical for long-term fitness and healthspan. I'm excited to announce Abel has partnered with us to lead a group program in January 2021. He'll be working with us on how to avoid chronic pain, improve mobility and feel total confidence in lifting through mindful movement practice, functional training, and plyometric and power training. By the end of the program, you'll have greater control, ability to generate power, and awareness of how your body interacts with its environment.

[00:01:25] Early interest in movement and physical therapy.

[00:05:51] Book Free to Learn, by Peter Gray; Podcast: Free to Learn: Unleashing the Instinct to Play, with Peter Gray.

[00:07:29] Book: Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games, by Ian Bogost.

[00:11:24] Book: The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff.

[00:13:00] Pain.

[00:18:26] Herman Pontzer, PhD; Daniel Lieberman, PhD.

[00:19:32] Hadza of Tanzania squatting "better than a baby".

[00:22:30] Videos: Why Things Hurt and The Pain Revolution with Lorimer Moseley.

[00:26:15] Common issues that lead to pain in our culture.

[00:29:37] Exercise.

[00:30:38] Doing things harder, faster, with more precision.

[00:36:42] How movement changed during pandemic.

[00:38:50] Simon Marshall, PhD; Self-generated optic flow as the basis of EMDR therapy.

[00:41:54] Posture.

[00:47:08] Katy Bowman; Podcast: Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

[00:48:33] 4-quadrant model.

[00:50:12] Podcast: Movement Analysis and Breathing Strategies for Pain Relief and Improved Performance, with Zac Cupples.

[00:50:55] Remote coaching with Abel.

[00:52:36] The value of group programs; Podcast: The Community Cure: Transforming Health Outcomes Together, with James Maskell.

[00:56:55] Sign up for the group program with Abel, beginning in January 2021.

[00:57:04] Abel's website; [email protected]; Instagram.

Mikki Williden, PhD is a Registered Nutritionist in Auckland, New Zealand specializing in sports and performance nutrition. I met Mikki at the Ancestral Health Symposium in Boulder, Colorado in 2016, and she has recently launched a new podcast called Mikkipedia as an exploration of all things health, well being, fitness, food and nutrition. She kindly invited me on as a guest, which of course is a role reversal for me.

On this podcast, Mikki and I discuss my personal health journey and what motivated me to start NBT. We get into some detail, including what my life looked like before I knew anything about health and the specific steps that got me headed in the right direction. We talk about bike racing and business and how both have evolved for me, as well as the habits that I've built to maintain my current state of health and performance.

[00:00:19] Christopher Kelly on Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution podcast.

[00:01:50] Robb Wolf's podcast, The Healthy Rebellion.

[00:02:24] Chris's health journey.

[00:03:18] Mikki's interview with Greg Potter, on The Mikkipedia Podcast.

[00:04:21] Book: The Paleo Diet for Athletes: The Ancient Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance, by Loren Cordain and Joe Friel.

[00:05:38] Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet.

[00:06:45] Chris Kelly on Ben Greenfield's podcast.

[00:11:36] Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS); Podcast: How to Identify and Treat Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S); with Nicky Keay.

[00:14:51] Mickey Trescott's books on AIP.

[00:17:22] Framing interventions in terms of performance.

[00:20:43] Diet changes over time.

[00:20:59] Keto Summit; Jeremy and Louise Hendon.

[00:21:59] Dom D'Agostino, PhD.

[00:22:53] Problems with the Keto diet.

[00:24:15] Podcasts featuring Katie compton and Jeremy Powers.

[00:26:01] Racing and fueling.

[00:28:25] Changing goals: from performance to healthspan.

[00:30:51] Book: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, by BJ Fogg, PhD.

[00:31:04] B Strong blood flow restriction training; Podcast: Blood Flow Restriction Training for Improved Strength, Performance, and Healthspan, with Jim Stray-Gundersen, MD.

[00:35:33] NBT over time - changes in approach.

[00:37:44] Supervised machine learning; bloodsmart.ai.

[00:40:09] Stephen Genuis, PhD; Multiple studies on toxicants excreted in sweat.

[00:44:11] Identifying your values; Motivational interviewing, Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

[00:45:49] Services offered by NBT; book a free 15-minute starter session.

[00:46:54] Podcast: How to Manage Stress, with Simon Marshall, PhD.

[00:48:39] Intermountain Risk Score. Study: Horne BD, May HT, Muhlestein JB, Ronnow BS, Lappé DL, Renlund DG, et al. Exceptional mortality prediction by risk scores from common laboratory tests. Am J Med. 2009;122: 550–558.

[00:48:57] PhenoAge; Podcast: How to Measure Your Biological Age, with Megan Hall.

[00:52:32] Supplements: Thorne Multi-Vitamin Elite, Thorne Creatine.

[00:54:56] A day in the life of Chris Kelly.

[00:56:30] Podcast: Air Pollution Is a Cause of Endothelial Injury, Systemic Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease, with Arden Pope, PhD.

[00:59:49] California wildfires.

[01:02:28] Cliff Harvey.

[01:03:04] Influential podcast guests.

[01:03:41] Podcasts with Malcolm Kendrick: Why Cholesterol Levels Have No Effect on Cardiovascular Disease (And Things to Think about Instead) and A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-health World.

[01:04:38] Podcasts with Stephanie Welch: Disruptive Anthropology: An Ancestral Health Perspective on Barefooting and Male Circumcision and The Need for Tribal Living in a Modern World.

[01:04:48] Josh Turknett, MD, president of Physicians for Ancestral Health; Podcasts include The Migraine Miracle, How to Protect Your Brain from Decline, and How to Support Childhood Cognitive Development.

[01:05:51] Book: The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous, by Joe Henrich.

[01:06:44] My Migraine Miracle; Book: Migraine Miracle: A Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Ancestral Diet to Reduce Inflammation and Relieve Your Headaches for Good; Video: Migraine as the Hypothalamic Distress Signal — Joshua Turknett, M.D. (AHS14).

[01:08:44] How To Win At Angry Birds: The Ancestral Therapeutic Paradigm - AHS19. Podcast: How to Win at Angry Birds: The Ancestral Paradigm for a Therapeutic Revolution; 4-quadrant model.

[01:14:05] NBT's retainer program.