← The Peter Attia Drive
<p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/ama60/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed"> View the Show Notes Page for This Episode</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed"> Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed"> Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter</a></p> <p>In this "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) episode, Peter provides insights on a broad range of important topics. He delves into the prevention of cognitive decline, the link between cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, and methods to lower blood glucose, insulin, and apoB. He also addresses nutrition-related queries, exploring the impact of dietary habits on weight loss and longevity, how a person can identify the best diet for themselves, and common nutrition myths. Additional discussions include optimal blood pressure, daily step goals, the benefits of standing versus sitting desks, and much more.</p> <p>If you're not a subscriber and are listening on a podcast player, you'll only be able to hear a preview of the AMA. If you're a subscriber, you can now listen to this full episode on your <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/members/private-podcast-feed/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed">private RSS feed </a>or our website at the <a href="http://peterattiamd.com/ama60/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed">AMA #60 show notes page</a>. If you are not a subscriber, you can learn more about the subscriber benefits <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240617-pod-ama60&utm_content=240617-pod-ama60-podfeed">here</a>.</p> <p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Overview of topics and episode format [1:40];</li> <li>Preventing cognitive decline [5:00];</li> <li>How to lower blood glucose and insulin [13:30];</li> <li>The relationship between lipids, CVD, and Alzheimer's disease, and whether statins can increase the risk of neurodegenerative disorders and AD [23:15];</li> <li>Reducing apoB levels through exercise and diet [31:45];</li> <li>Pharmacological options for lowering apoB [38:00];</li> <li>How nutrition impacts longevity via metabolic health, muscle mass, BMD and more [40:15];</li> <li>How can someone determine the best diet for themselves? [43:45];</li> <li>Nutrition myth: All weight loss is good [46:45];</li> <li>Nutrition myth: Metabolic rates are dramatically different among individuals based on genetics [49:00];</li> <li>Nutrition myth: Losing weight after a brief period of overeating is impossible [53:45];</li> <li>Nutrition myth: GLP-1 agonists are a replacement for a healthy lifestyle [57:45];</li> <li>Nutrition myth: There is a single best diet for weight loss [1:03:00];</li> <li>Nutrition oversimplification: All calories are created equal [1:05:45];</li> <li>Daily step goals [1:06:45];</li> <li>The benefits of standing versus sitting throughout the day [1:10:45];</li> <li>How to identify the most impactful and easiest-to-implement ways to improve your health [1:12:30];</li> <li>The critical importance of emotional health [1:14:30];</li> <li>Why supplements should be considered as supportive aids rather than primary solutions in one's strategy to improve longevity [1:18:00];</li> <li>Strategies for reducing high blood pressure [1:20:45];</li> <li>Peter's biggest frustrations with "mainstream health advice" [1:28:00];</li> <li>Peter's chaotic, yet cherished, morning routine [1:31:00]; and</li> <li>More.</li> </ul> <p>Connect With Peter on <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/peterattiamd/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8kGsMa0LygSX9nkBcBH1Sg">YouTube</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Engage Both Strength & Cardio
To preserve cognitive function and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, engage in both strength and cardio forms of exercise, as both are crucial and should be integrated into your routine. This is considered the most powerful intervention in terms of magnitude of effect size.
Focus on achieving remarkable fuel partitioning, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic flexibility, as the brain’s enormous metabolic demand means these factors have an outsized impact on brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Metabolic inflexibility, as seen in type 2 diabetes, significantly increases Alzheimer’s risk.
3. Prioritize Adequate Sleep
Ensure you are sleeping for an appropriate length and achieving the necessary stages of sleep, as insufficient sleep increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Sleep is an active and crucial form of recovery for the brain.
4. Engage in Brain-Body Learning
To keep your brain sharp as you age, engage in complex activities that combine brain and body coordination and involve learning, such as dancing or learning a new language. These activities are more impactful than simpler cognitive puzzles like crossword puzzles.
5. Continuously Challenge Your Brain
Work on something that keeps your brain challenged throughout your entire life, even past traditional retirement age. This continuous mental engagement is important for maintaining brain health and cognitive function as you age.
6. Focus on Foundational Habits
Prioritize foundational behaviors like exercise, metabolic health, sleep, and brain-body activities for cognitive performance, as they provide enormous percentage swings in benefit. Supplements, in contrast, offer only a ‘rounding error’ of basis points compared to these core lifestyle changes.
Leverage exercise as a primary tool to increase metabolic flexibility, which means your body efficiently accesses both fatty acids and glucose for energy production. This is a key component of metabolic health, directly contributing to brain health and reducing cognitive decline risk.