The Longevity Playbook with Rhonda Patrick

About This Episode

How do you live longer and better? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with biomedical scientist Rhonda Patrick to explore healthspan, fad diets, and how to exercise for longevity.

They start with the basics: what is a fatty acid and why omega-3s matter so much for health. Are there key nutrients vegans are missing out on? Then they look at what we actually die of, from heart disease and cancer to respiratory and neurodegenerative disease. Is cancer on the rise because of processed food and the environment, or because we’re living long enough to get it? Is inflammation as bad as it seems?

Next, exercise: what is the best workout for longevity? We discuss how the best workout is the one you’ll actually do consistently, how short vigorous bursts and “exercise snacks” like sprinting up stairs or chasing a new puppy are linked to big drops in cancer and cardiovascular mortality, and why exercising for weight loss isn’t the same as exercising for disease prevention. Is inflammation always bad? Finally, food as medicine: vitamin K and bone health, eating for your brain, getting your omega-3 levels tested, a nuanced look at diet fads from keto to raw meat to paleo, the COSMOS trial on multivitamins and brain aging.

Thanks to our Patrons Max Mandelbaum, Kevin Bridgewater, Curtis Preminger, Summer Nelson, Jan Kos, James Harrison, Sootgecko, GLEN PHELPS, Dachi., Charlie Pence, Xavier Nelson, Stacey Paré, Debra Davati, Tom Determan, Casey Saunders, bethie, marcus mitchell, Carl Perkins, AM23, OldGuy, Oona, and Mariana Vidal for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.