Dr. Rhonda Patrick
@foundmyfitness • 1,529,262 subscribers
Ph.D in biomedical science interested in nutrition, brain & aging. Host of FoundMyFitness podcast https://t.co/rirQwqebxL
Videos
I don't add bananas to my smoothies. Why? Not because bananas are bad (I love bananas). They contain polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that can break down polyphenols. And studies suggest that when you add banana to a blueberry smoothie, you may absorb fewer of the beneficial polyphenols from the berries! So instead, I use avocado. It gives the smoothie the same creamy texture with the bonus of monounsaturated fat in avocado, which can increase absorption of carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin from kale - nutrients important for eye and brain health. I talked about this recently on my appearance on The Mel Robbins Podcast.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick1,896,720 Aufrufe • vor 11 Tagen
Sleep may be the most underrated performance enhancer in sports. And the simplest experiment is to get a little more. Move bedtime earlier by 15 minutes at a time and track what happens to your speed, strength, reaction time, and recovery. Before a major competition, bank sleep for a week or two. Do not place all the pressure on the night before. And do not panic over one bad night. The bigger problem is sleep loss accumulating across several days or weeks. More sleep. Added gradually. Banked before competition. No catastrophizing over one imperfect night. That's the strategy Dr. Michael Grandner outlined in our recent podcast discussion.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick110,818 Aufrufe • vor 2 Tagen
Could cancer become largely curable within the next decade? Cancer is not one disease, but hundreds, and one reason it's so difficult to treat is that cancer cells arise from our own tissues. Destroying them without harming healthy cells requires extraordinary precision. AI may help make that precision possible by integrating genetics, metabolism, immune function, and enormous biological datasets to identify the vulnerabilities unique to each tumor. We are already seeing the beginnings of this with targeted drugs designed around specific mutations and CAR-T therapies that engineer immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer. A provocative (and hopeful) forecast from Derya Unutmaz, MD. From the latest episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick154,873 Aufrufe • vor 3 Tagen
The next decade may be the most consequential longevity window of our lives. In a brand-new episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast, I sit down with immunologist and aging researcher Dr. Derya Unutmaz (Derya Unutmaz, MD) to explore a provocative possibility: AI may accelerate medicine fast enough to change what aging, cancer, and disease prevention look like within our lifetimes. Derya is not making these predictions from the sidelines. OpenAI has repeatedly featured his work as evidence that frontier models can contribute to real scientific discovery—including a case study in which GPT-5 helped his lab solve a three-year-old immunology mystery. We discuss how AI is already compressing months of biological analysis into hours, how digital twins could personalize treatment and shorten clinical trials, and whether disease could be predicted years before symptoms appear. We also get into: • Why he believes the next 10 years could add decades to human lifespan • Why cancer is so difficult to cure—and why he thinks that may change • When avoiding AI support could become medically irresponsible • What supercentenarians reveal about engineering greater resistance to aging • How cellular reprogramming might restore younger biological function • How to begin building a simple “mini digital twin” from your own health data You do not have to agree with every timeline to appreciate the stakes. This is one of the most ambitious conversations we have had about the future of biology and medicine. The episode is available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Links in the comments below. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:27 - Add 50 years to your life? 5:35 - Months of analysis in minutes 11:06 - Trials in weeks, not years 13:42 - How safe is safe enough? 17:57 - Have we hit AGI? 23:39 - The case for AI optimism 29:51 - Crossing the intuition threshold 36:32 - Is avoiding AI malpractice? 42:35 - Can AI catch cancer's next move? 46:09 - Which AI models to trust 51:45 - Claude vs. GPT in diagnosis 55:15 - Generalist vs. specialist AI 58:41 - Cancer's self-vs-self problem 1:02:35 - The end of cancer? 1:06:46 - A dog's custom cancer vaccine 1:08:47 - Can AI prevent overtreatment? 1:11:44 - Predicting disease years early 1:18:06 - Biology goes exponential 1:23:15 - Why prevention beats reversal 1:29:07 - Engineering aging resistance 1:34:23 - One gene, many outcomes 1:38:28 - Reverse-engineering the lucky 1:40:38 - From Dolly to Yamanaka factors 1:45:12 - Full-body rejuvenation 1:53:00 - What if AI thinks for a month? 1:55:42 - The biosecurity dilemma 2:00:28 - Limits of epigenetic clocks 2:06:51 - The cells that won't retire 2:09:38 - Can brain aging be reversed? 2:16:06 - The ultimate longevity prompt 2:18:06 - How to build a digital twin 2:27:42 - The personal health wiki 2:30:50 - When lab ranges mislead
Dr. Rhonda Patrick216,189 Aufrufe • vor 9 Tagen
This is why I swap a banana with avocado in my blueberry kale smoothie.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick72,187 Aufrufe • vor 6 Tagen
Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids slows biological aging. Combining omega-3s with vitamin D and exercise has an additive effect, translating to ~3 months of slowed biological aging. These were the results of the 3-year-long DO-HEALTH study, which Prof Steve Horvath believes is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that simple interventions (that also likely correct a deficiency) are powerful ways to slow or reverse the aging process. We discuss this study and more in the latest episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick486,338 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
People ask about my daily smoothie a lot, so here it is. I use it to make it easier to get a meaningful amount of leafy greens, berries, healthy fat, fiber, and protein in one meal. Mine usually has: - 3 cups kale - 2.5 cups blueberries - 1/2 avocado - 1 scoop protein powder - beta-glucan fiber Why these ingredients? Kale gives me lutein, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin K1. Blueberries provide anthocyanin-rich polyphenols. I use avocado instead of banana because banana contains polyphenol oxidase, which can reduce some of the beneficial polyphenols in berries (and the avocado fat also improves absorption of carotenoids from the kale). I add beta-glucan for extra prebiotic fiber, LDL support, and its potential to help increase excretion of PFAS or "forever chemicals." It’s just an easy way to build one meal around foods I know I want more of. I broke down my entire recipe on Mel Robbins podcast!
Dr. Rhonda Patrick276,853 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
“Try not to die for the next 10 years.” That’s the way Derya Unutmaz, MD frames what may be the most important period in human healthspan. Biotechnology is no longer moving linearly. AI, GLP-1 drugs, muscle-preserving therapies, immune rejuvenation, and regenerative medicine may compress decades of progress into the next 10–20 years. It sounds dramatic, but so would telling someone in 1900 that smallpox would be eradicated or tuberculosis would no longer be a common death sentence. The next decade may matter enormously. Protect your health now so you’re here for what’s coming next. From the latest episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast. You can find it on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick58,544 Aufrufe • vor 8 Tagen
At some point, not using AI in medicine may become irresponsible. Advanced AI models are now getting good enough to help physicians diagnose complex cases, generate treatment protocols, and reduce the enormous burden of misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Avoiding these powerful diagnostic tools because it feels like “too much technology” won't be acceptable, especially if it means missing something that might have been caught earlier. From the latest episode of the FoundMyFitness podcast with Derya Unutmaz, MD.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick47,409 Aufrufe • vor 7 Tagen
Using the sauna after aerobic exercise improves VO₂ max more than training alone. People who performed 30 minutes of cycling and then sat in a sauna for ~15 minutes afterward saw greater gains in their VO₂ max after 8 weeks of training compared to those who did the workout without sauna. There’s also emerging evidence for strength training, with studies showing greater increases in markers of anabolic signaling associated with muscle growth with post-exercise heat exposure. The sauna has several health benefits. But it's also a powerful tool to amplify the body's adaptations to both endurance and strength training. Clip from my recent appearance on Thomas DeLauer
Dr. Rhonda Patrick1,037,491 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
Fruits & vegetables likely account for a majority of people's dietary microplastic and PFAS intake. What’s frustrating is that this isn’t something you can just rinse off. In many cases, the contamination appears to be taken up into the food itself. Organic may reduce some of that exposure, but even organic farms can be affected when they’re near contaminated land or water. Should you stop eating produce? No. We should be much more upset about how widespread these chemicals have become, especially when children are being exposed through foods we otherwise consider healthy. One practical thing I think is worth considering is beta-glucan. There’s some evidence it may help support the excretion of PFAS, and given how unavoidable these exposures are becoming, that may be a useful tool, especially for families who can’t realistically eliminate every source.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick569,019 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
Coffee’s health impact depends on how you brew it. Filtered coffee is linked to a lower cancer risk, while unfiltered methods—like French press or boiled coffee—let oily compounds called diterpenes sneak into your cup. These compounds, particularly cafestol and kahweol, can raise LDL cholesterol by 10–30 mg/dL in just a few weeks. Long-term exposure to high levels of these diterpenes has been associated with a modest uptick in the risk for certain cancers, including pancreatic and respiratory tract cancers, as well as a higher risk of dementia (generally observed with very high levels of boiled coffee consumption in particular). What’s going on here? Diterpenes are fat-soluble, so they slip through metal filters or stay suspended in boiled brews. Filtered coffee contains undetectable levels of cholesterol-raising diterpenes. Polyphenols, on the other hand (like chlorogenic acids) are water-soluble antioxidants that pass through paper filters and deliver cellular benefits. If you’re drinking multiple cups per day, consider switching to filtered coffee. It preserves the antioxidants while minimizing cholesterol-raising compounds.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick2,101,229 Aufrufe • vor 1 Jahr
Plastic blenders are a source of microplastics that most people overlook. Those with plastic jars or pitchers release microplastics, and even nanoplastics, into blended food or drinks due to friction and mechanical abrasion during blending. A single 30-second blending cycle can release up to 1 billion (yes, with a "b") micro- and nanoplastic particles. BPA-free products are safer but can still release particles due to heavy use, heat, or abrasion. My advice is to switch to a completely stainless-steel blender. It's the only way to avoid contamination. Thanks to Steven Bartlett for allowing me to audit his kitchen! Check out the full episode.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick477,926 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
You don't need to lift heavy weights to gain muscle. As long as volume and effort are high, and you train to fatigue, you can build muscle mass (hypertrophy) with lower weights. Dr. Stuart Phillips (Stuart Phillips (he/him)) and colleagues recently showed that low-load (20–25 reps at ~30–40% 1RM) and high-load (8–12 reps at ~70–80% 1RM) resistance exercise led to similar gains in muscle hypertrophy and stimulation of myofibrillar protein synthesis in the upper and lower body over 10 weeks of training. Effort drives adaptations.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick711,364 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten
Most people get too much sodium and not enough potassium. My top source is Swiss chard. Just 1 cup raw has more than 900 mg (and cooked it’s even more concentrated). Other favorites - baked potatoes (with the skin), avocados, beans, squash, spinach, pistachios, and dried apricots. Potassium isn’t hard to get if you’re eating mostly whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and leafy greens are really the way to do it. But you need to eat plenty of them!
Dr. Rhonda Patrick134,402 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
People who age happier and healthier tend to do 7 things: They don’t smoke, exercise regularly (but not excessively), maintain a healthy weight, and are mindful with alcohol or other substances. But one of the most interesting ideas that Dr. Arthur Brooks underscores is that the "happy-well" also have 3 less obvious traits. They keep learning, they develop real skill in dealing with life’s problems, and they prioritize love—through a strong marriage, close friendships, or both.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick448,192 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
I recommend creatine to nearly everyone. But here are my caveats: 1. Make sure it's creatine monohydrate - this is the form that's most well-studied and effective. You don't need a "fancy" form. 2. Beware of gummies. If you use them, make sure you're getting one that's been third-party tested and contains the stated amount of creatine (many brands do not). 3. Look for an an NSF certification. This will help avoid heavy metals and other contaminants you don't want. Clip is from my recent appearance on Jordan Harbinger show!
Dr. Rhonda Patrick472,252 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
There’s a big debate about whether everyone should train fasted, and especially whether the answer is different for men and women. My view is pretty simple: start with how you feel. If you feel terrible exercising fasted, that matters. Listening to your body is important. There are absolutely times when I need to eat before a workout. The other big variable is the type and duration of the workout. A 30-minute run or lift is very different from a 2-hour run or lift. If you’re doing a long session, you might need fuel. From my recent appearance on DOAC with Steven Bartlett.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick101,186 Aufrufe • vor 29 Tagen
Insulin sensitivity and glucose handling are most effective in the morning. That’s one reason I’m a fan of early time-restricted eating and not a fan of eating large meals (especially carb-heavy ones) within about 3 hours of bed. You can eat the exact same meal, with the same calories and macros, and get a very different insulin response depending on when you eat it. One reason is melatonin. As melatonin rises in the last few hours before your natural bedtime, it’s signaling to organs, including the pancreas, that it’s time to shift into recovery mode. That means insulin secretion may be less efficient late at night. This is how I prefer to eat, and many people find it to be beneficial. From my discussion with Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. earlier this year.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick125,130 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Nattokinase isn’t high on my list for cardiovascular prevention. I don’t see convincing evidence that it should be a primary strategy for cardiovascular disease or stroke risk reduction. If the goal is cardiovascular prevention, there are options with much stronger support. Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA + DHA) have far better evidence. And if we’re talking specifically about atherosclerosis, berberine has a much more compelling evidence base—it’s been shown to reduce plaque formation, while also improving LDL, HbA1c, and glucose regulation. Nattokinase may be interesting mechanistically, but right now the clinical evidence just isn’t strong enough for me to view it as a serious front-line strategy.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick246,097 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten