Get more Aliquots! Become an FMF Premium Member and get full access to our members-only podcast, The Aliquot , plus live Q&As with Rhonda, every-other-week Science Digest emails, and more. Learn more about The Aliquot podcast here Vitamins are substances that our bodies need to develop and function normally. When considering vitamins, we tend to think of the usual suspects – A, C, D, E, and K, plus the eight B vitamins. However, the body produces many molecules that fit the description of a vita...
Apr 30, 2024•35 min
Having a healthy body composition, with plenty of lean mass – in the form of muscle and bones – is essential for health throughout the lifespan. Achieving a healthy body composition requires a balanced approach that emphasizes resistance training – and calorie reduction where appropriate. In this Aliquot, Dr. Brad Schoenfeld describes a balanced approach to maximizing muscle growth and strength and dispels early myths about possible blunting effects of aerobic training, the need to train to fail...
Aug 11, 2023•37 min
Your skin is a crucial barrier to the outside world – the first line of defense against environmental exposures, and the primary means by which the body retains fluids necessary for survival. Consequently, maintaining a healthy skin barrier is important for your overall health. In this Aliquot, I describe some things you can do to protect your skin and possibly prevent wrinkles, too. (00:00) The role of UV exposure in skin aging (00:19) Strategies for reducing the effects of photoaging (00:40) P...
Apr 18, 2023•26 min
Incorporating resistance training into your exercise regimen presents a scheduling dilemma – there's simply not enough time. Performing time-efficient workouts that involve supersets, paired sets, drop sets, and multi-joint exercises decrease training time while providing the minimum effective dose necessary for muscle hypertrophy. In this Aliquot, experts Dr. Brad Schoenfeld and Dr. Stuart Philips provide tips for optimizing gym time and share the workout routines and healthy lifestyle behavior...
Jan 14, 2023•21 min
The progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging, referred to as sarcopenia, begins as early as our 30s or 40s. Many factors contribute to sarcopenia, including diet and inactivity. Building muscle mass in one's early years is essential for staving off the age-related loss of muscle mass and may promote longevity. In this Aliquot, Dr. Stuart Phillips discusses the importance of building muscle through resistance training and why starting early is important. (00:00...
Oct 22, 2022•32 min
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are among the most widely used drugs worldwide, available in both prescription and over-the-counter forms, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and others. Most NSAIDs, with the exception of aspirin, work by inhibiting the activity of a family of enzymes called cyclooxygenases, which drive inflammatory processes. But because these inflammatory processes can be beneficial in some contexts and because the drugs often elicit off-target effects, the...
Aug 31, 2022•27 min
Dietary fiber is a broad term that refers to the non-digestible components of fruits and vegetables. Gut microbes break down certain types of fiber, releasing micronutrients trapped in the fiber matrix and producing beneficial metabolic byproducts, such as short-chain fatty acids. Fiber exerts a wide array of beneficial health effects, influencing metabolic health, and may be an important, if overlooked, component of ketogenic diets. In this Aliquot, Dr. Michael Snyder, Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, a...
Jul 19, 2022•32 min
Alcohol, one of the most used drugs worldwide, is a controversial subject. Whereas some research suggests drinking alcohol improves health, an abundance of evidence indicates that drinking alcohol also harms health. Particularly, higher alcohol intake is associated with an increased risk of many cancers. Some of the deleterious effects of drinking may be due to alcohol's effects on sleep. Although alcohol may help us feel calm and ready to sleep, it has surprising effects on REM sleep and maybe ...
Jun 20, 2022•32 min
Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis occur when the immune system mistakes the body's own proteins for those released by invading pathogens. The immune system has strategies for filtering these autoimmune cells out of circulation; however, this filter can malfunction due to age, genetic predisposition, disruption of the gut barrier and gut microbiota, or other environmental exposures. In this episode of the Aliquot podcast, we'll discuss autoi...
Apr 04, 2022•30 min
Early studies of omega-3 fatty acid intake demonstrated dramatic biological effects. Since then, the body of research enumerating the profound anti-inflammatory and multi-system, generalized health-promoting qualities of omega-3s continues to grow; however, some studies fail to show any effects from omega-3 supplementation. This source of consternation may, by and large, boil down to low doses, raising the question: what is the right dose of omega-3 to use? In this Aliquot, Dr. Bill Harris share...
Feb 16, 2022•53 min
Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass as we age. Modulating protein intake via dietary intake or fasting can have variable effects on aging and muscle growth. Whereas fasting turns off multiple pathways associated with aging, such as mTOR, IGF-1, growth hormone, and others, eating for optimal fitness activates these important processes. In this aliquot, we discuss: (00:00) Introduction (02:57) Growth-longevity trade-off (Mike Maser discussion) (11:45) Role of IGF-1 in the aging proces...
Nov 30, 2021•34 min
“If you can not measure it, you can not improve it .” - William Thompson Getting regular checkups and undergoing blood tests are fundamental to maintaining good health. FMF guests with expertise ranging from lipid metabolism to Alzheimer's disease risk to micronutrient status have shared their recommendations regarding blood tests that a person should consider adding to their yearly checkup. This Aliquot brings many of those conversations together in one place. (00:00) Introduction (02:44) Self-...
Oct 18, 2021•18 min
Zinc is an essential nutrient that participates in many biological processes and plays critical roles in immune function, protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis, cell division, and brain health. Zinc deficiency puts a person at risk for a subtype of Alzheimer's disease and poor immune function. In this Aliquot, Drs. Dale Bredesen and Rhonda Patrick describe some of the many roles that zinc plays in human health. (00:00) Introduction (01:47) How serum copper-to-zinc ratios can help diffe...
Aug 31, 2021•19 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode features Dr. Rhonda Patrick and Dr. Valter Longo describe the roles that diet and fasting play in maintaining or restoring proper immune function. Diet plays essential roles in immune function . Consequently, deficiencies or insufficiencies in vitamins or minerals can impair immune function. The gut microbiota also modulates immune function, so maintaining a healthy gut is crucial . However, when the immune system becomes overactive, autoimmune disorders can ...
Jul 01, 2021•21 min
Having a healthy, robust immune system is crucial for our survival. Critical players in the body's antiviral immune response are interferons. Certain lifestyle behaviors can boost interferon production and immune function, including sleep, vitamin D, and hot hydrotherapy. This Aliquot segment features Dr. Roger Seheult, a quadruple board-certified physician serving on the frontlines of COVID-19 care and co-founder of MedCram. (00:00) Introduction (02:48) Failures of the interferon system underpi...
Jun 14, 2021•20 min
Traditional vaccines take many years to develop. A recent innovation in vaccine technology involves exploitation of messenger RNA, or mRNA, to facilitate rapid scaling of vaccines and expedite their modification if the virus mutates significantly. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines capitalize on this technology to induce antibody production against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this episode, we discuss: (00:00) Introduction (01:31) The difference between the mRNA and traditional vaccines (06:29...
Apr 30, 2021•11 min
Coffee consumption is associated with protection from several chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disease. Whereas some of the beneficial effects of coffee may stem from its ability to induce autophagy, other evidence points to the benefits of caffeine, which, when consumed early in the morning – resets the body's internal clocks and provides a mental boost that helps us start the day and may even protect telomeres. But the long half-life of caffeine...
Apr 01, 2021•26 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode is a special mashup episode features a compilation of supplement-related topics taken from many of my Q&A episodes over the last couple of years. This episode covers many supplement-related topics including: (00:00) Introduction (00:49) Personal supplementation routine as of October 2017 (08:04) Personal supplementation routine as of May 2019 (08:33) Personal supplementation routine as of December 2019 (10:39) Why I currently do not take NR or NMN. (13:59) Th...
Feb 25, 2021•20 min
Insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1 for short, is a protein that plays critical roles in major growth pathways in the human body. It influences nearly every tissue in the body, especially developmental growth, skeletal muscle and neurons. Emerging evidence suggests that IGF-1 also regulates the aging process. Overactivity of IGF-1 has been implicated in aging and age-related diseases, such as cancer. Balancing the beneficial and (sometimes) harmful effects of IGF-1 via exercise and fasting is...
Feb 25, 2021•36 min
Time-restricted eating, which involves taking in food within a small window of time during the day and fasting for the remainder, can improve certain biomarkers of health – even without weight loss – to improve overall health. In Part I of this two-part segment, Drs. Satchin Panda and Ruth Patterson describe how eating following the body's circadian clock – eating during the day and fasting at night – enables the body to focus on repair rather than on the digestion of food. In this episode, we d...
Feb 25, 2021•25 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode features Dr. Charles Raison , a professor of psychiatry. Various ancient practices, including meditation, hot yoga, and sauna , may aid in the treatment of depression . Whether the medical community will embrace these lifestyle interventions remains to be seen. In the meantime, most people with clinical depression are treated with antidepressants. These drugs have their advantages and disadvantages, and while they are helpful for a subset of depressed people,...
Feb 25, 2021•16 min
The single most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is a variant of apolipoprotein E, or APOE for short, a lipoprotein produced in the liver and brain. Roughly a quarter of all people living in the US – about 75 million people – carry a genetic variant of APOE called APOE4. Having APOE4 is associated with higher circulating levels of LDL cholesterol and an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease. But having APOE4 doesn't mean that Alzheimer's disease is inevitable. In fact, life...
Feb 25, 2021•19 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode is a collection of clips that covers a range of topics related to fasting , including associated mechanisms of healthspan and longevity, health benefits, and when and how to break the fast. In this episode, you'll discover: (00:00) Intermittent fasting caused an increase in bacterial richness in the gut microbiome that correlated with increased T-regulatory immune cells. (01:36) Fasting mimicking diet, the ketogenic diet and autoimmune diseases (02:58) Autoph...
Feb 25, 2021•28 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode is a collection of clips that covers some of the many health benefits associated with sauna use , including heat shock protein activation , cardiovascular health , muscle mass preservation , and more. In this episode, you'll discover: (00:00) Implications of sauna bathing on risk of pneumonia and respiratory illnesses (01:00) Sauna use and the common cold. (01:57) Sauna and improved lung function (02:30) Finnish sauna, humidity and the immune system (07:00) W...
Feb 25, 2021•19 min
This month’s Aliquot Preview episode is a collection of clips that covers a range of topics related to optimizing a child's development and growth, from pregnancy to toddlerhood. In this episode, you'll discover: (00:00) Common deficiencies in infants and toddlers and how Rhonda optimizes her son’s diet. (01:45) Low omega-3 fatty acid intake in toddlers (04:18) Low iron intake in toddlers (05:03) Vitamin D supplementation in toddlers (06:26) Low magnesium intake in toddlers (06:55) Low potassium...
Feb 25, 2021•23 min
