Dr. Rhonda Patrick
@foundmyfitness • 1,853,030 subscribers
Ph.D in biomedical science interested in nutrition, brain & aging. Host of FoundMyFitness podcast https://t.co/rirQwqebxL
Videos
Four weeks of wall squats reduced systolic blood pressure by nearly 10 points in adults with high blood pressure. Researchers then compared continuing three sessions weekly with reducing to two, one, or none for another month. Systolic pressure remained roughly 7 mmHg below starting levels in the once- and twice-weekly groups. Continuing three sessions weekly produced the greatest reduction of about 14 mmHg. In those who stopped completely, blood pressure moved back toward baseline. This fits with a previous analysis of randomized trials that identified isometric exercise, which involves holding a muscle contraction, as an effective way to lower resting blood pressure. What interests me is the practical question - how much of an exercise benefit can we preserve when we temporarily have less time? This study suggests that reducing the frequency can retain part of the benefit for up to a month.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick330,675 views • 1 day ago
Sauna is my number one longevity intervention after exercise and diet. A lot of what happens in the sauna overlaps with what happens during exercise, and sauna can even add to the benefits you’re already getting from exercise, including bigger gains in aerobic fitness and reductions in blood pressure. Then there’s the long-term data - using the sauna 4 to 7 times weekly is associated with a 40% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 50% lower risk of cardiovascular-related death, and up to a 66% lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Combined evidence from the physiology, exercise trials, and long-term data is a big part of why I take deliberate heat exposure seriously (and why you should too).
Dr. Rhonda Patrick502,605 views • 10 days ago
If you haven't slept enough, should you still exercise? It depends. If you're severely sleep deprived, dial back the intensity and prioritize recovery. However, the occasional bad night doesn't automatically mean you should skip exercise. In fact, exercise helps with part of the metabolic disruption that follows acute sleep deprivation. Observationally, short sleep (less than 6 hours/night) is associated with higher mortality in people falling short of physical activity guidelines, but among those meeting the guidelines, that excess risk is absent or diminished. I'm not saying that exercise cancels out insufficient sleep. But the data suggest staying active may buffer some of its consequences. From my last appearance on Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D..
Dr. Rhonda Patrick75,849 views • 4 days ago
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 Patrick1,973,501 views • 3 months ago
I want you to eat blueberries, just not with bananas (unless you really want to). In my new episode, I examine the evidence for blueberries' benefits on blood flow, brain aging, glucose regulation, gut health, inflammation, and exercise recovery. Blueberries improve the ability of arteries to relax and deliver blood to the brain, heart, and working muscles. They can improve insulin sensitivity and buffer the blood-sugar response to a calorie-rich meal. Human interventions have also demonstrated improved aspects of memory and cognition in older adults, while observational data link regular blueberry intake to slower cognitive decline. This isn’t simply an antioxidant story. Blueberry polyphenols act like biological signals, influencing nitric oxide, inflammation, gene expression, and possibly neuronal plasticity. I also revisit the controversial banana-smoothie question, and explain why I take a cautious approach when my goal is maximizing blueberry-polyphenol exposure. The full episode is out now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - Beyond antioxidants 3:01 - The polyphenols that matter 5:18 - Three layers of brain evidence 6:30 - Memory & cognitive flexibility 9:05 - Slower cognitive aging 10:14 - Why dementia estimates diverge 13:33 - Brain benefits beyond blood flow 16:18 - Helping arteries widen on demand 21:22 - One cup vs. half a cup 24:09 - Vascular effects after menopause 24:32 - The cardiovascular evidence chain 27:09 - From nitric oxide to 600 genes 33:14 - Why insulin findings conflict 37:10 - A modest HbA1c improvement 37:54 - Post-meal glucose control 39:51 - Three cohorts, one pattern 40:16 - Metabolic benefits under strain 41:19 - Gut function vs. composition 45:10 - When poor absorption may help 46:44 - Exercise performance vs. recovery 49:53 - The blender as a reaction chamber 53:22 - How quinones degrade anthocyanins 56:38 - The 2023 banana smoothie study 1:02:28 - Why avocado over banana? 1:04:58 - The case for one cup daily
Dr. Rhonda Patrick384,924 views • 24 days ago
Bananas contain unusually high levels of polyphenol oxidase, or PPO, an enzyme responsible for browning that also degrades polyphenols. That's why, on the occasion I happen to make a smoothie, I usually use a lower-PPO ingredient such as avocado instead. A high-PPO banana smoothie reduced peak blood levels of epicatechin-derived metabolites by 84% in a small, crossover experiment. A low-PPO mixed-berry smoothie preserved exposure. This was primarily a cocoa-epicatechin experiment rather than a direct test of blueberry anthocyanins or health outcomes. But PPO can oxidize epicatechin and blueberry chlorogenic acid, and the resulting compounds indirectly degrade anthocyanins. Bananas are healthy. But I think leaving them out of a food combination where they can interact too directly with polyphenols is a sensible optimization.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick282,061 views • 22 days ago
Low omega-3 intake has been identified as a leading dietary contributor to preventable death. It's estimated that low seafood omega-3 intake accounted for 84,000 deaths in one Harvard-led U.S. analysis, compared with 82,000 attributed to trans fats. That’s a substantial estimated burden from something missing in the diet. And the intake gap is substantial. Nearly 90% of Americans aren't meeting seafood recommendations. We pay a lot of attention to ingredients we should avoid, but we should also ask whether we’re getting enough of the nutrients we need. For omega-3s, that means paying attention to EPA and DHA (the forms found in seafood). Fatty fish like salmon is a direct source. Omega-3 supplementation can also help fill any gap not being met through whole-food sources.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick67,382 views • 8 days ago
About one cup of whole blueberries per day is the dose that overlaps most consistently with the positive human evidence. The clearest benefit is vascular. Blueberries improve endothelial function, the ability of arteries to relax and deliver more blood when tissues need it. Studies also suggest selected memory benefits in older adults with cognitive vulnerability. Improvements in insulin sensitivity or post-meal glucose handling appear more likely when metabolism is already under strain. Findings for gut health and exercise recovery are promising but less consistent. Randomized trials have not shown that blueberries prevent dementia, diabetes, heart attacks, or strokes. But one cup (roughly 150 to 180 grams) of fresh or frozen blueberries per day is a practical, evidence-based target with benefits extending well beyond a simple “antioxidant” effect. I cover all of this and more in the latest episode of the podcast!
Dr. Rhonda Patrick114,546 views • 24 days ago
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 Patrick1,038,968 views • 7 months ago
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 Patrick2,103,903 views • 1 year ago
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 Patrick495,496 views • 4 months ago
Eating blueberries improves vascular function. One cup per day is effective, but half a cup does not not produce the same benefit. Adults with metabolic syndrome that ate one cup rather than only a half-cup or matched placebo improved flow-mediated dilation (FMD) by about 1.5 percentage points in a six-month randomized trial. FMD measures how effectively an artery widens when blood flow increases, essentially a "stress test" for the endothelium. It's relevant because studies have shown it is a strong predictor of future cardiovascular disease events. The one-cup dose is consistent with other studies showing cardiovascular, metabolic, and brain-health benefits of blueberries.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick60,366 views • 16 days ago
Drinking water can be a meaningful source of microplastics and associated chemicals, including BPA and PFAS, and reverse osmosis is one of the most effective ways to reduce them. I recently installed a reverse osmosis filter on my kitchen faucet. I wanted filtered water not only for drinking and cooking, but also for washing produce. Soil and water contamination can expose fruits and vegetables to persistent chemicals, so this gives me another practical way to reduce daily exposure. The most important thing is to look for an NSF certification that covers the contaminants you care about and review the system’s performance data. That should tell you what the filter has actually been tested to reduce, and by how much. It can also help address concerns about plastic particles being introduced by the filtration system itself. No filter eliminates every exposure. But because we use water every day, reverse osmosis can be a useful way to reduce the total burden from microplastics and persistent chemicals.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick63,484 views • 17 days ago
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 Patrick569,961 views • 5 months ago
I would not currently inject gray-market “research peptides.” The sourcing and quality-control risks are simply too high. The question isn’t whether peptides can work as signaling molecules (they can). It’s whether the vial contains the peptide it claims, at the stated dose, without microbial contamination, endotoxins, heavy metals, or peptide-related impurities. The FDA does not verify the safety, effectiveness, or quality of compounded drugs before marketing. Does that mean every compounded product is unsafe? No. But the safeguards are different. Until a specific research peptide has credible human evidence and a reliable source with transparent, independent testing, I would hold off.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick104,353 views • 1 month ago
The dirty little secret about magnesium supplements - 400 mg of magnesium citrate is not 400 mg of magnesium. Magnesium citrate contains both magnesium and citrate. A label listing only “magnesium citrate, 400 mg” gives the weight of the entire compound, not the elemental magnesium dose, and can make the dose look much larger than it is. A clear label should read something like: “Magnesium (as magnesium glycinate), 120 mg, 29% Daily Value.” Magnesium also has an established Daily Value. If the panel says otherwise, that’s another red flag, and a reason to check the labels on your other mineral supplements, too!
Dr. Rhonda Patrick92,396 views • 1 month ago
Regular blueberry intake has been linked to slower cognitive aging. Older women in the Nurses Health Study who ate at least half a cup of blueberries per week experienced slower cognitive decline than women who rarely ate them. The estimated difference was equivalent to being roughly 1.5 to 2.5 years younger cognitively. Furthermore, people who consume blueberries at least occasionally have been shown to experience a one-third lower risk of dementia than rare or non-consumers, and the highest blueberry consumption has been associated with up to a 50% lower risk. These studies are observational, so they can't prove that blueberries prevent dementia. But alongside shorter randomized trials showing modest improvements in aspects of memory and cognition with blueberry intake, the long-term signal is intriguing. I discuss the brain benefits of blueberries and more in the latest episode of the podcast.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick67,089 views • 23 days ago
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 Patrick712,493 views • 9 months ago
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 Patrick240,837 views • 3 months ago
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 Patrick478,710 views • 7 months ago