Diet and Healthspan - Uncertain but High Value

#373

@mccoy, thanks for posting this! I’ve seen many Longo interviews, but this might be the very best one.

I found it quite interesting to learn that glucose spikes (in moderation) can help prevent muscle loss.

It was also interesting in how glucose spikes were designed into Prolon. I always hear so many people saying they can copy the FMD on their own, and I imagine they don’t incorporate this. They just seem to think it’s about ketosis. I feel anyone interested in a DIY should watch this.

Unrelated, but at the very end of the video, I learned that Huberman is a partner in Attia’s protein bar. The podcast bros have become so incestuous with their cross promotions, it makes it hard for me to know when I should trust what they say. It’s a shame because they both have a lot to offer. I have learned I can’t listen to anything they say about nutrition because they have too much money on the line.

I was surprised to learn that if your main protein source is beans, you need to eat a ton more protein than .80 per kg. I do vary my sources, but I focus on beans, so now I will try harder.

No surprise but the protein topic is forever overwhelming. Valter thinks, in general, .80 per kg. He mentioned he is friends with Matt Kaeberlein, and MK is more in Attia’s camp of super high protein. I imagine he respects Longo, so I’d love to know why he feels so much protein is needed. Perhaps it’s because MK is also very protective of Attia (I could see why because Attia has given him a lot of exposure)? Or he might just disagree with VL. Either way, I’d love to hear his rationale why he feels VL is misguided about this. I respect MK, but I am not sure there is anyone I respect more than VL, so??

Now that I know Valter designed the protein powder, I’ll give it a try. I just assumed the company was putting out everything it could think of to profit off of Longo’s name. I’ll be more thrilled to try the protein bar that will soon be released.

On the fruit… My take on Longo is he is always concerned with what the average person might do, so him worrying about people taking that as permission to eat bananas all day tracks with me. He’s very practical in that way and sometimes doesn’t share the optimal options only because he’s trying to advise the masses. I don’t like this aspect, but I understand it.

The most important point Longo made was that he knows of no additional benefit of 100% chocolate over 85% (god bless him). JK, but only sorta.

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#374

When Longo first published his book on the “diet,” in Europe, he gave information on how to do the protocol by buying food at the grocery. He went 180 degrees pretty quickly as it was too easy for some people to get the required ratios etc incorrect. I found it pretty easy to do on my own. Recipes for a Fasting-Mimicking Diet And my markers like blood sugar were the same as when doing a water fast for the most part.

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#375

Regarding “grifters”, I think (just my opinion), clearly Huberman is a grifter, and - I’m being completely honest here - I never did learn anything from him, even though I listened to him a few times when he just started out, before he found his full grifter footing. It always struck me that his own research was long on theory and suppositions with a real lack of practical applicability - even if you fully bought his claims about the impact of light, it was just ridiculously impractical to apply a whole elaborate protocol daily… if you did that for all the recommendations by all the specialists (foot exercises anyone?), you’d neeed at least 250 hours in every 24 hours, and sadly here on earth we only have 24 hours in every 24 hours, so maybe good advice for folks living on planet Zorg, where I would be happy to send Huberman to. Meanwhile, he expanded his podcast to all health related topics, where I find him shallow and completely unreliable. Pushing garbage is the cherry on top. I consign Huberman to the “zero value, ignore forever” bin.

Peter Attia is a more complicated case. He sometimes has genuinely good guests, and I do learn from those deep dives (his “how can I make this about me” interviewing technique can get a bit grating though). He does however have his blind spots (diet, protein, exercise etc.), and given that he is a legitimately smart guy, it’s surprising that he’s unable to course correct - not exactly a stellar scientific attitude. The protein bars and jerky he’s endorsing are just terrible, but a lot of his economic activity I just chalk up to “this is the system we have, and he’s gotta make a livin’”. In my book he’s not a grifter as yet, though I can see how others may regard him as one. He’s edging it a bit, and maybe one day he’ll cross over into full on grifting, but for now I’m giving him the benefit of doubt. YMMV.

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#376

It is not easy to find reliable sources on nutrition, even in consideration of the highly individual variability in the physical and mental parameters governing the intake, digestion, and elimination of food. Presently, I find the epidemiological work of Walter Gillet (> 2000 articles published) and the clinical trials led by Christopher Gardner to be the most authoritative and actionable. I don’t know if you guys can suggest other researchers.
Of course the literature is based on statistical parameters not immediately applicable to our individual cases, but this is easily worked out by personal adjustments based on experience, inference and lab results.

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#377

Think about the positives, not the work.

So… the payoff from from the image.

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#378

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https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1953863189826839022#m

I’m pretty sure everyone knows twinkies and junk food is bad.
For some people (myself included) we can have normal BMI in our environment.

However for those overweight, good luck with them losing weight by telling them facts about food that hyperpalatable foods are easy to overeat over a day, because they already know it.

There must be a constant “craving”, and “wanting” for junk food that never goes away for many people, and for some that never gets satisfied. Stop eating for awhile and they’ll start to feel it too and with hunger. Or fast in the morning and eat calories later at night that most people do. Calories early suppress hunger for later in the day. But most people can’t do an early calorie window.

The answer for most people is Wegovy (Semaglutide - GLP-1 agonist), and they aren’t starting at 8% body fat as Bryan, and will have a net benefit over things that matter like weight and CVD risk (as shown in trials).

There is so much stigma around these drugs even the guy who takes 100 supplements and measures their night time erections have inhibitions towards them, maybe from his own experience? They’re lifesaving and a revolution for health and the obesity epidemic.

#379

Yes, I have often thought about the huge individual differences in body weight. Also, it is all too evident how for some people, like myself, it is very hard to gain weight (practically impossible by ordinary means), whereas for others, it’s almost impossible to lose it.
Even calorie by calorie, some people seem to have a system with a tenacious propensity to defend their excessive body weight.
These new drugs are at last moving the needle.

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#380

Just read today that those drugs may cause thyroid cancer and other cancers.

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#381

The most significant cancer-related worry is thyroid cancer.
Studies in rodents found that high doses of GLP-1 drugs caused thyroid tumors, although this hasn’t been definitively proven in humans.
Still, a large-scale French study did find a potential link between GLP-1 use and thyroid cancer, especially in patients who used the drug for more than a year. [Important to note here that this retrospective study only looked at diabetics taking a GLP1 agonist between 2006 and 2018, so neither Ozempic nor Mounjaro.]
As a precaution, these medications are not recommended for people with a personal or family history of thyroid cancer or specific genetic conditions that increase the risk of thyroid tumors.

There have also been concerns about pancreatic cancer, mostly because of early reports of pancreatitis: inflammation of the pancreas, which can, in some cases, be fatal.
However, current studies have not confirmed a direct link between GLP-1 drugs and pancreatic cancer.

Tirzepatide has not been associated with increased cancer risk in clinical trials so far.
However, like other GLP-1 drugs, it still carries the thyroid cancer warning based on earlier animal research.
Interestingly, preliminary studies in animals suggest tirzepatide might even shrink certain tumors, including breast cancer, but these findings are still very early and not yet applicable to humans.

It’s important to remember that obesity itself is a well established risk factor for several cancers, including breast, colon, liver and uterine cancers. By helping people lose significant amounts of weight and improve their metabolic health, GLP-1 drugs could indirectly reduce the risk of developing these conditions.
In fact, some population studies have found lower rates of obesity-related cancers in people using GLP-1 medications compared to those taking other treatments.

Overall this doesn’t change anything. If you have (family) history with thyroid cancers, talk to your doctor.

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#382

Back to the Harvard article on healthy ageing and diet, that we discussed previously. The big fly in the ointment there was the resulting positive correlation of fast and fried foods with the 5 domains of healthy aging. the article is overall very good and can be taken as an overall dietary guide for longevity, but that issue has been bugging me for a while.

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I asked the new ChatGPT-5 a logical explanation, I don’t know if in your opinion it’s acceptable.

Q.:Copilot, please examine the attached article and explain me by logic why in the heatmap at figure 4 fast and fried foods have been assigned a good rating (green color) notwithstanding the fact that they are commonly regarded as unhealty
A.
Great question—and you’re absolutely right to be puzzled. In the heatmap from Figure 4 of the Nature Medicine article, certain fast and fried foods (like pizza, snacks, and even French fries) appear with green shading, which typically indicates a positive association with healthy aging. Here’s a logical breakdown of why that might be:

:brain: 1. Domain-Specific Associations

The heatmap reflects associations with individual domains of healthy aging—not just overall health. For example:

  • Fast and fried foods were positively associated with surviving to age 70, but not necessarily with cognitive, physical, or mental health.
  • This means they might correlate with longevity, but not with quality of aging.

So the green color doesn’t mean these foods are “healthy” overall—it means they showed a statistically positive association with one specific outcome.

:jigsaw: 2. Social and Behavioral Context

The authors suggest a social explanation:

“The social aspect related to eating away from home may explain part of the association with living to the age of 70 years.”

  • Eating fast food or fried food away from home might reflect social engagement, which is known to support mental health and longevity.
  • Older adults who dine out may be more mobile, socially active, and less isolated—factors that contribute to survival.

:mag: 3. Statistical Nuance

  • The heatmap shows odds ratios (ORs) comparing the 90th to the 10th percentile of intake.
  • A green square means OR > 1.0, but that doesn’t imply causation or overall benefit.
  • Some foods may have neutral or context-dependent effects that show up as statistically positive in one domain.

:warning: Important Caveat

Despite these associations:

  • The study also confirms that higher intake of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), including fast and fried items, is associated with lower odds of healthy aging overall.
  • So the green color in the heatmap is not an endorsement, but a reflection of complex, domain-specific statistical relationships.

Would you like help interpreting another figure or exploring how these findings could influence dietary guidelines for older adults?

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#383

To tell the truth, Copilot correctly pointed out that fast and fried foods in figure 3 have not been assigned any positive outcome, rather one negative outcome.

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So, figure 4 shouldn’t be viewed as an infallible final result after all, I agree that the green color in the heatmap could be a ‘reflection of complex, domain-specific statistical relationships’.
In a few words, relationships so complex that they evidently resulted in an error.
The authors’ explanation that the green colour may be due to the social aspect of happily eating together seems ludicrous to me.

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#384

Damn, I’m glad pizza is still okay! :grin:

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