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wise athletes episodes
- Clip of Misfiring Mitochondria (shortened version)
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the "always on" discount)
Hemal H. Patel, PhD- Professor & Vice-Chair for Development and Advancement
Director, UCSD Cardiac/Neuro Protection LaboratoriesVA Research Career Scientist, VA San Diego Healthcare Systemss- Chief Scientific Advisor for Versea Discovery
MeScreen -- Why Measure Mitochondria?- Mitochondria live inside your cells and regulate energy, metabolism, and cellular signaling to drive your body’s physiology, endurance, and resilience. The function, dynamics, and efficiency of mitochondria correlate with either health and well-being or poor health and sickness.
- Normal aging, diet, exercise, exposure to stressors, and other variables have been proven to impact mitochondrial function (energetics) and dynamics (shape and size).¹⁻³ The maintenance of
- mitochondrial function and dynamics are essential to health.⁴ Individuals who have a disease, are sick, or are in poor health will have poorly functioning mitochondria and compromised dynamics. Individuals who eat properly, have good sleep hygiene, train, or exercise demonstrate improved mitochondrial function and dynamics.
- The mescreen™ is a mitochondrial efficiency screen that provides an energetic profile of your cells and ultimately of you. Establishing a baseline mescreen™ score and tracking it over time provides you with a tool to assess your mitochondrial function. mescreen™ is also part of an ongoing research project that will allow you to compare your mescreen™ score in the future against other populations that are sick, healthy, elite performance, and other to gauge where your cellular health and mitochondrial function are at.
Episode Resources- MeScreen.com (use "WiseAthletes" for a $100 discount on a mescreen test)
- @hemalpatelphd
Related episodes & links:- Episode 175 | Misfiring Mitochondria | Hemal Patel PhD
- Episode 168 | Mito Boosters | Healthspan
- Episode 161 | Omega 3 | Bill Harris PhD
- Episode 154 | Adaptive Range Expansion for Peak Performance | Mike T Nelson PhD
- Episode 144 | Muscle for Athletic Performance | Mark Tarnopolsky MD PhD
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
21 min - #175 | Misfiring Mitochondria | Hemal Patel PhD
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the "always on" discount)
Hemal H. Patel, PhD- Professor & Vice-Chair for Development and Advancement
Director, UCSD Cardiac/Neuro Protection LaboratoriesVA Research Career Scientist, VA San Diego Healthcare Systemss- Chief Scientific Advisor for Versea Discovery
MeScreen -- Why Measure Mitochondria?- Mitochondria live inside your cells and regulate energy, metabolism, and cellular signaling to drive your body’s physiology, endurance, and resilience. The function, dynamics, and efficiency of mitochondria correlate with either health and well-being or poor health and sickness.
- Normal aging, diet, exercise, exposure to stressors, and other variables have been proven to impact mitochondrial function (energetics) and dynamics (shape and size).¹⁻³ The maintenance of
- mitochondrial function and dynamics are essential to health.⁴ Individuals who have a disease, are sick, or are in poor health will have poorly functioning mitochondria and compromised dynamics. Individuals who eat properly, have good sleep hygiene, train, or exercise demonstrate improved mitochondrial function and dynamics.
- The mescreen™ is a mitochondrial efficiency screen that provides an energetic profile of your cells and ultimately of you. Establishing a baseline mescreen™ score and tracking it over time provides you with a tool to assess your mitochondrial function. mescreen™ is also part of an ongoing research project that will allow you to compare your mescreen™ score in the future against other populations that are sick, healthy, elite performance, and other to gauge where your cellular health and mitochondrial function are at.
Episode Resources- MeScreen.com (use "WiseAthletes" for a $100 discount on a mescreen test)
- @hemalpatelphd
Related episodes & links:- Episode 168 | Mito Boosters | Healthspan
- Episode 161 | Omega 3 | Bill Harris PhD
- Episode 154 | Adaptive Range Expansion for Peak Performance | Mike T Nelson PhD
- Episode 144 | Muscle for Athletic Performance | Mark Tarnopolsky MD PhD
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
59 min - #174 | Dodging Dementia in the Older Athlete | Amanda Wiggins, PhD
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
Amanda Wiggins, PhD- Amanda Wiggins completed a BSc(Hons) in Neuroscience at University of Otago in New Zealand. University of Otago
- She then earned a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Melbourne in Australia. University of Otago
- Her interest lies in turning neuroscience/brain research into useful products — especially given the rising prevalence of neurological conditions as populations age.
In our conversation.....- What “brain-fitness” means in the context of an athlete who’s been training for years and now faces the extra variable of aging and brain-health risk.
- How to measure risk.
- The research-based links between physical activity, vascular health, cognitive resilience, and how athletes might benefit—or in some cases put themselves at risk—if they don’t pay attention.
- Practical, actionable habits and interventions that older athletes can adopt today to sharpen their mind, and guard against memory loss, dementia or cognitive decline.
- And lastly: how to take all this science and apply it to training, recovery, lifestyle and mindset in a way that feels meaningful, sustainable and empowering.
cGP Supplement -- Why take it? (from cGP Health website)- From around the age of 50, IGF-1 activity naturally begins to decline, and this process can be accelerated by stress, poor lifestyle choices, or specific genetic conditions. When IGF-1 levels or function are reduced, the body’s demand for cGP increases, yet it becomes harder to produce enough. Without adequate cGP, IGF-1 cannot work effectively, which may affect brain health, cardiovascular wellbeing, and energy levels.
Episode Resources- Foodforthebrain.org
- www.cgp-health.com
- How to Order cGP: https://cgpmax.com/
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01296-0/abstract
Related episodes & links:- Episode 161 | Omega 3 Science vs Hype | Bill Harris PhD
- Episode 154 | Adaptive Range Expansion for Peak Performance | Mike T Nelson PhD
- Episode 147 | Solving Inflammaging | Dwayne Jackson PhD
- Episode 135 | What's Your Healthy Fat %? | Vyvyane Loh MD
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
1 hr 1 min - #173 | Optimizing Body Composition | Michael Ormsbee, PhD
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
Michael J. Ormsbee, PhD
- Michael J. Ormsbee is a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food & Exercise Sciences at FSU.
- He serves as the Graduate Program Director and is the Director for the FSU Institute of Sports Sciences & Medicine (ISSM).
- He holds the Margaret A. Sitton Endowed Professorship at FSU.
Professor Ormsbee’s work focuses on how exercise, nutrition, and supplementation interact to influence:
- Body composition, metabolism, and performance
- Pre-sleep (nighttime) feeding strategies and their effects on recovery, metabolism, and body composition
- The role of macronutrients (especially protein and types of carbohydrates) in fat metabolism, hormonal responses, and performance across both healthy and clinical populations
- Applications in athlete populations, as well as in metabolic disease, obesity, and clinical scenarios
Today I have the exact right person to talk about targeting optimal body composition. Mike Ormsbee PhD. Mike is a scientist athlete, researching health, body comp and human performance as the Director of the Florida State University’s Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine. Dr Ormsbee agreed to join me to help us Wise Athletes to understand how exercise, nutrition, and supplementation can be used to optimize metabolism, body composition and performance
Principals
- Speed of adaptation reflects health status and resilience: fuel switching speed, sugar tolerance, temperature tolerance, HR capacity (max vs. resting), endurance, mobility and strength provides headroom to recover from problems.
- Benefit stacking: getting multiple benefits from our actions and food
- Health maintenance is the real goal. Achieving goals is nice, but sustaining fitness and health is the real achievement. The key is fuel matching and non-linear calorie imbalance. (Practice maintenance)
- No suffering; stay within yourself but push a little most days.
- “Better is better”. Optimal is elusive but will slowly be achieved for each person
- Little things add up. Start with easy to gain momentum and motivation for harder change.
- Exercise doesn’t have to dominate your life; you just need to do enough of cardio/ endurance and HIIT/ strength work.
- More variability = better resilience
- Consistency of effort (we are forming new habits, need time to obtain positive feedback)
- Progressive overload (change is painful, but only a little and only some of the time, if done right)
- Modulated workload (for recovery, adaptation, mental health, and practice for maintenance mode)
Episode Resources- Mike's Body Composition training course ---Link to Amazon or Great Courses
Related episodes & links:- Episode 172 | Levers of (Food) Satiety | Ted Naiman MD
54 min - #172 | Levers of (Food) Satiety | Dr Ted Naiman
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
Dr Ted Naiman Bio:
Dr. Ted Naiman is a board-certified Family Medicine physician in the department of Primary Care at a leading major medical center in Seattle. Dr. Naiman holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, which influences his analytical approach to medicine. He earned his medical degree from Loma Linda University in 1997 . Initially raised in a near-vegetarian Seventh-day Adventist household, he experienced personal health challenges that led him to explore alternative nutritional strategies. This journey culminated in the development of the P:E Diet, focusing on the protein-to-energy ratio in foods, and now, Satiety per Calorie: Eating, solved, to promote fat loss and muscle gain.
For decades, diet books have focused on what to eat—low-carb, low-fat, paleo, keto, and everything in between. Today learn what really works for anyone who wants to improve health, body composition, athletic performance....longevity in sport.
What You’ll Learn Today:
✅ The four key factors that determine satiety per calorie
✅ Why protein and fiber are the ultimate weight-loss levers✅ How to structure your diet for maximum satiety and effortless fat lossEpisode Resources- Satiety per Calorie website -- SatietyperCalorie.com
- Dr Ted Naiman's personal website -- TedNaiman.com
Related episodes & links:- Episode 145 | Food for Thought | William Li MD
- Episode 142 | Fasting Mimicking Diet | Joseph Antoun MD PhD
- Episode 137 | The #1 Secret to Healthy Fat Loss | Vyvyane Loh MD
- Episode 135 | What's Your Healthy Fat %? | Vyvyane Loh MD
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.
51 min - #171 | Managing Glucose for Athletes | Hunter Allen, Peaks Coaching Group
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
Hunter Allen Bio:
Hunter Allen, ex-pro cyclist, coach and author has recently authored “Training and Competing with a Continuous Glucose Monitor”. Hunter is best known for his work with power meters and for developing the power training principles. He’s the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, along with “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon: Training with Power”. Hunter was one of the co-developers of TrainingPeaks WKO software and a co-founder of TrainingPeaks. He founded and currently operates The Peaks Coaching Group.
Key Ideas:
- Managing blood glucose is not only important for health and longevity, it impacts athletic performance in real time
- Wearing a CGM provides access to the raw data needed to manage glucose via diet, feed schedule, activity
- For athletic performance, keeping blood glucose in the high performance zone means no bonking or premature fatigue.
Episode Resources- Hunter's Coaching Website -- PeaksCoachingGroup.com
- CGM Book Website - TrainingandCompetingwithaCGM.com
Key Discussion Points:- Discover how and why seeing your continuous blood glucose with a CGM in real time will give you an edge in your sport with the ability to:
- Optimize the timing of nutrition intake (for exercise, for sleep…?)
- Determine the correct serving of foods to positively impact energy levels
- Understand the proper type of foods to use to “prime” your system before training or an event (“top off glycogen stores” without causing hypo-glycemic rebound?)
- Recognize patterns of poor nutrition and correct them (food combos, volume of fast carbs)
- Learn your blood glucose highs and lows throughout the day to correct them for better glucose stability (why correct them?)
- And so much more
Related episodes & links:- Episode 87 | Zeroing in on Fun AND Fitness part 2 of 2 | Hunter Allen
- Episode 86 | Make Training Fun for Better Performance part 1 of 2 Hunter Allen
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.
57 min - #170 | Sweat Equity: Fitness is a Good Start | Frank Schwartz, Nant’an of F3
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
About the guest: Frank Schwartz, Nant'an (CEO) of F3 NationFrank Schwartz, known in the F3 community by his nickname "Dark Helmet," serves as the CEO (referred to as "Nant’an") of F3 Nation. F3 Nation is a free, peer-led movement designed to help men get fit, build bonds of friendship, and learn how to join forces to serve the community. As Nant'an, Frank leads the strategic vision and cultural stewardship of F3, which has grown into a global network supporting thousands of men across the U.S. and internationally.
Frank’s F3 journey began like so many others: a early morning workout, a goofy nickname, and a gut-level recognition that something life-changing was underway. Since then, he’s become a guiding voice in shaping F3 Nation: 100's of independently operating chapters around the USA and the World. He’s all-in on helping men become what they always wanted to be.
Key Ideas:
- If you change a man, you change the world
- Leave no man behind; leave no man where you found him
- No rules; only principals to guide men remaking themselves
Episode ResourcesThe Starfish and The Spider -- Link to Amazon
Freed to Lead 2 - Link to Amazon
F3 Website -- F3Nation.com
Key Discussion Points:- Why is this happening…this lack of close friends among men?
- What is the effect of not having good friends?
- Is a close friend for a man the same as a close friend for a woman?
- How does F3 work? What are the rules and methods that have been stolen and honed to craft the experience that served men? Why does it work so well, and I speak from personal experience.
- What is to be gained from a men’s group like F3? Starting or joining one? What is the stair-step of benefits that are available to men who participate, who maybe are just looking for fitness, but if they want to change their lives more profoundly, they can get much more than mere fitness.
Related episodes & links:- Episode 122 | How to Stay Young or Die Laughing | Bill Gifford
- Episode 91 | Successful Aging | Dr Alan Castel
Help the show:3 ways to support our show:
- Leave a review (or share this episode)
- Check out our Fullscript site to save big on high quality supplements. Thank you!
- Email us your questions at [email protected].
*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.
1 hr 7 min - #169 | A Big Life | Adrian Kelly
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the always discount)
- Do you feel like you are drifting through life always waiting on something?
- Do you feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled?
- Is time flying by?
About the guest: Adrian Kelly, Author of The Success ComplexDrawing from his experiences as a solicitor, entrepreneur, and sports coach, Kelly examines the skills essential for overcoming challenges and achieving sustained success. Adrian joins me to discuss how to shift into living a big life, rather than merely a long one. Adrian says:
- Most of us don’t just want simple happiness; we want intensity. We want to feel that sense of existential urgency we get when we are engrossed in some meaningful project, when we know you are doing something important and good.
- Link to Amazon: Success Factor
Episode Summary:Adrian Kelly’s Success Complex explores the hidden emotional and psychological burdens that often accompany outward success, especially for men. It challenges the traditional view that success—defined by wealth, career, and achievements—automatically leads to happiness. Instead, Kelly argues that many high-performing individuals are silently struggling with stress, disconnection, and a lack of purpose.
Core Aspects of Spirituality- Connection: A feeling of being linked to a higher power, nature, or the collective human experience.
- Purpose and Meaning: An ongoing quest to understand one's role and significance in the world.
- Transcendence: Experiences that go beyond the ordinary, often described as profound or mystical
- Inner Peace: Cultivating a sense of calm and contentment through practices like meditation, mindfulness, or prayer.
Key Themes:- The Illusion of Success -- Success is often externally validated—money, titles, status—but it can mask deep dissatisfaction, anxiety, or emotional repression. Many men achieve success only to find it unfulfilling.
- Performance-Based Identity -- Men often tie their self-worth to performance. When they stop achieving or face setbacks, they feel worthless or lost.
- Emotional Suppression -- A major cost of the “success complex” is emotional disconnection. Men learn to suppress vulnerability, which leads to isolation and strained relationships.
- The Masculine Mask -- the “mask” successful men wear to appear confident, in control, and stoic. Behind it, many feel burned out or uncertain.
- Breaking the Pattern -- Healing begins by questioning the cultural narrative around masculinity and success. This includes:
- Reconnecting with emotions
- Seeking genuine relationships
- Redefining success through internal values rather than external metrics
- Authentic Living -- shift from achievement-driven living to values-driven living—embracing meaning, connection, and self-awareness.
The ABC Framework:- Activity (A): Engaging in purposeful actions…a means to an end
- Balance (B): Maintaining equilibrium between various life aspects.
- Congruence (C): Aligning actions and values to achieve a state where success is both sustained and sustaining
Prior46 min - #168 | Mito Boosters: Methylene Blue & Urolithin A | Richard LaFountain, Phd & Brandon Fell, MS
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the discount)
About the guests: Richard LaFountain, PhD & Brandon Fell, MSClinical Staff at Healthspan (gethealthspan.com)
Rich LaFountain, PhD - Health coach and science writer; his academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.
- Education: Ph.D. in Kinesiology from The Ohio State University; Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College at Brockport, State University of New York.
- Research: His academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.
- Current Role: Senior Scientist on Healthspan's clinical staff
Brandon Fell, MS - Wellness Coach, with expertise in keto nutrition, clinical research, and longevity science.
- Education: M.S. in Kinesiology (OSU, 2020); Dietetic Internship with rotations through Volek’s lab.
- Research: Graduate Research Associate in Dr. Jeff Volek’s ketogenic diet studies; major controlled trials.
- Current Role: Head of Metabolic Coaching at Healthspan
Episode Summary:In my followup chat with Healthspan, we talk about Methylene Blue and Urolithin A, the darlings of the mitochondrial boosting party set.
Healthspan offers both supplements as a part of its suite of longevity and healthspan offerings.
Methylene Blue is very edgy, so I wanted to understand how Healthspan came to believe it was safe for their clients/patients (I take Methylene Blue)
Urolithin A is very new and somewhat controversial. I wanted to know how Healthspan came to believe it was effective (I take Urolithin A).
Some important notes:
- Webinar for healthspan onboarding
- gethealthspan.com
- MB
- What is it, and how it is used in medicine?
- Why does Healthspan believe it is a useful supplement to use chronically?
- What are the targeted symptoms and effects of MB? Dosing? Take regularly or only when symptoms arise? How long to feel an effect?
- Does it help athletic performance? (I found it makes exercise feel harder)
- What are the side effects to be cautious of?
- Who should not take MB?
- Urolithin A
- What is it, and why do people need to supplement it?
- Why would a bacteria post biotic signal the mitochondria to scavenge old mitochondria? Is it similar to an internally made chemical used for the same purpose?
- I’ve heard a lot of marketing of Urolithin A by the company that patented its delivery mechanism, and I’ve heard scientists say there is no real proof it works.
- What did Healthspan uncover to prompt it to offer it?
- What are the targeted symptoms and effects of UA? Dosing? Take regularly or only when symptoms arise? How long to feel an effect?
- Does it help athletic performance?
- What are the side effects to be cautious of?
- Who should not take UA?
Related episodes & links:1 hr 4 min - #167 | Navigating Bloodwork | Richard LaFountain, PhD & Brandon Fell, MS of Healthspan
Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes (click to see the discount)
About the guests: Richard LaFountain, PhD & Brandon Fell, MSClinical Staff at Healthspan (gethealthspan.com)
Rich LaFountain, PhD - Health coach and science writer; his academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.
- Education: Ph.D. in Kinesiology from The Ohio State University; Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College at Brockport, State University of New York.
- Research: His academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.
- Current Role: Senior Scientist on Healthspan's clinical staff
Brandon Fell, MS - Wellness Coach, with expertise in keto nutrition, clinical research, and longevity science.
- Education: M.S. in Kinesiology (OSU, 2020); Dietetic Internship with rotations through Volek’s lab.
- Research: Graduate Research Associate in Dr. Jeff Volek’s ketogenic diet studies; major controlled trials.
- Current Role: Head of Metabolic Coaching at Healthspan
Episode Summary:Blood testing isn't perfect but it's one of the best tools available to shine a light into the black box of your personal physiology to see how your body is doing: compared to other healthy people and compared to yourself over time as you age and implement health and longevity interventions. Healthspan now offers an online Longevity Pro Panel blood testing and analysis service to provide expert guidance into lifestyle-based health enhance, and as a gateway into more aggressive interventions to recover lost athleticism, extend healthspan, and maybe even life a long healthy life.
Healthspan comprehensively analyzes pivotal longevity biomarkers to help you optimize your metabolic and cellular health. Examining over 100 biomarkers, Healthspan identifies health insights, enabling personalized recommendations for a successful longevity journey.
Some important notes:
- Webinar for healthspan onboarding
- gethealthspan.com
- What is Healthspan, and why does it offer the blood testing / evaluation service?
- Blood panel is a big part, but what else is needed to fully assess biological age status (identify areas for improvement)? BP, DEXA: bone, lean mass, visceral fat, VO2Max, grip strength (bar hang time), etc.
- Reliability of blood tests for identifying “optimal” vs. “problems”? wide ranges based on population “normal” (40% obesity rate), different labs/procedures, test result variability, time of day test taken, workouts / foods eating in proximity to testing, blood is only a proxy (not the same thing as organs)
- Personal trends vs. “vs. normal” vs. low ACM? Or centenarian typical blood marker ranges?
- Need to look at multiple blood markers and understand context to interpret blood test results
- Example of a blood panel review session (using Joe Lavelle's data)
Related episodes & links:- Episode 141 | You
1 hr 16 min
About wise athletes
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achieving peak performance for older athletes, with an eye for athletic longevity