<p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/qps3/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-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=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-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=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-podfeed"> Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter</a></p> <p>In this quarterly podcast summary (QPS) episode, Peter summarizes his biggest takeaways from the last three months of guest interviews on the podcast. Peter shares key insights from his discussions on diverse topics such as dopamine and addiction with Anna Lembke, the current state and exciting future of CRISPR-mediated gene editing with Feng Zhang, how to build and maintain strong bones from youth to old age with Belinda Beck, how calorie restriction may influence longevity and metabolic health with Eric Ravussin, and the role of testosterone and TRT in prostate cancer with Ted Schaeffer. Additionally, Peter shares any personal behavioral adjustments or modifications to his patient care practices that have arisen from these engaging discussions.</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=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-podfeed">private RSS feed </a>or our website at the <a href="http://peterattiamd.com/qps3/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-podfeed">episode #325 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=241111-pod-qps3&utm_content=241111-pod-qps3-podfeed">here</a>.</p> <p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Overview of topics to be covered [1:45];</li> <li>Anna Lembke episode: addiction, dopamine's role in pleasure and pain, and managing addictive behaviors [4:15];</li> <li>Follow-up questions about addiction: heritability, cold therapy, exercise, and strategies for breaking addictive behaviors [14:45];</li> <li>Feng Zhang episode: the potential of gene editing with CRISPR technology for treating diseases, and the challenges ahead [21:00];</li> <li>Feng Zhang's impactful education experience, and how early exposure and curiosity-driven learning can develop scientific interest for kids [28:30];</li> <li>The future of CRISPR: weighing the scientific potential to combat complex diseases against ethical considerations around genetic modification [33:45];</li> <li>Belinda Beck episode: how to build and maintain strong bones from youth to old age [37:30];</li> <li>How both nutrition and exercise are crucial for bone health at all ages, and why it's never too late to start [54:45];</li> <li>Eric Ravussin episode: calorie restriction, energy expenditure, exercise for weight maintenance, and more [59:00];</li> <li>Measuring energy intake and energy expenditure: techniques and challenges [1:09:45];</li> <li>ed Schaeffer episode: the nuance role of testosterone in prostate cancer, TRT, and the need for better cancer biomarkers [1:14:30];</li> <li>Peter's favorite bands [1:25:45]; 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. Try a Four-Week Dopamine Fast
If coping with an addiction, consider a four-week “dopamine fast” involving total abstinence from the problematic behavior, as 80% of Anna Lembke’s clients reported feeling better after this period. Medical assistance may be necessary for some transitions.
2. Minimize Digital Stimulation for Kids
Parents should actively minimize and avoid highly stimulating digital content like social media and pornography for their children to prevent their brains from being “hijacked” by excessive dopamine stimulation.
3. Modify Environment for Behavior Change
To reduce unwanted behaviors (e.g., excessive phone use), modify your “neighborhood” or environment by creating alternatives that make the desired behavior easier and the undesired behavior harder, such as using a “bat phone” with limited functionality.
4. Replace Phone Use with New Routines
To reduce phone use, especially before bed, integrate alternative activities into your routine that naturally displace phone use, rather than relying solely on willpower. For example, a sauna or cold plunge before bed makes it easier to not have your phone.
5. Change Environment to Break Habits
To break a bad habit, critically evaluate and potentially change your “neighborhood” or environment, including your social circle, as it’s very difficult to change behavior if your surroundings reinforce the habit.
6. Earn Dopamine Through Difficulty
Engage in difficult activities like cold immersion or exercise to stimulate endogenous dopamine production, which can lead to a lingering, physiologically balanced sense of heightened dopamine after the activity ceases.
7. Cold Plunge for Mood, Soreness
Consider cold plunging for potential benefits such as reducing inflammation, alleviating muscle soreness, and improving mood, but do not expect it to provide longevity or geroprotective benefits.
8. Exercise for Daily Well-being
Prioritize regular exercise, as its absence can lead to noticeable negative effects on mood and well-being within a short period.
9. Cold Face Dip for Quick Reset
To achieve a quick “reset” or calm the sympathetic nervous system, try dipping your face in a bowl of cold water to stimulate the mammalian dive reflex and upregulate the parasympathetic system via the vagus nerve.
10. Assess Coping Mechanisms’ True Impact
Be aware that a coping mechanism (e.g., substance use) for an issue like anxiety might actually be the root cause of the problem, and abstinence can reveal this underlying dynamic.
11. Genetics Don’t Seal Addiction Fate
Understand that while addiction has a significant heritable component (50-60%), genetic predisposition does not seal one’s fate, implying that environmental and behavioral factors play a crucial role and can be influenced.
12. Address Nature, Nurture, Neighborhood
Recognize that addiction is influenced by a combination of genetics (nature), upbringing (nurture), and environment (neighborhood), highlighting multiple avenues for intervention and prevention.
13. Include Addiction in Family History
Be more deliberate about including addiction history when taking a family history, as it provides valuable insight into potential genetic susceptibilities for both physical and mental health.
14. Review Learnings for Practice Changes
Regularly review past learning experiences (e.g., interviews, podcasts) to extract key insights and identify how they have changed or could change your practices.
15. Actively Note Key Takeaways
When consuming content, actively make notes on what you are taking away in real-time, focusing on the most interesting and personally relevant information, as this acts as a filter for capturing key insights.
16. Recognize Overstimulating Environment
Acknowledge that modern environments are excessively stimulating compared to our evolutionary past, which can overwhelm our brains’ natural dopamine regulation systems.
17. Seek Remote Tech-Free Experiences
Engage in activities that take you to remote areas without technology (e.g., camping, hunting) to experience the benefits of waking early, sleeping with the sun, and being free from constant digital inundation.
18. Test Tech-Free Periods
Engage in short periods away from technology to assess your relationship with devices; a lack of withdrawal symptoms can indicate a healthy, non-addictive relationship.