The Hidden Brain Risk Every Woman Over 30 Needs To Know | Max Lugavere

27:43and then also mental health you know ultra processed foods are associated with depression anxiety the direction of causality is i think probably it goes both ways you know when you're depressed you tend to reach for more ultra processed foods but you know in so far as these foods are you know very difficult to moderate you know in terms of our consumption of them They're highly calorie dense. They tend to be nutrient poor. They tend to also be Trojan horses for, you know, chemicals that you won't necessarily find on the nutrition facts label. But, you know, everything from PFAS to phthalates to, you know, bisphenols, endocrine disrupting chemicals.

28:28One of the major routes of ingestion for them are ultra processed foods today. So I would say you generally want to avoid those. Can you define what ultra-processed foods are in the context of this conversation? Because I don't know why anybody on the internet feels like they need to defend ultra-processed foods, but they sure do. And then they're like, well, if you eat whey protein, you're eating ultra-processed food. And I'm like, just hang on. That's not quite accurate. So for people listening, what exactly are ultra-processed foods? Yeah, so that idea that whey protein is an ultra-processed food, first of all, it's not.

29:05It's a processed food, of course, but it's not an ultra-processed food. The term ultra-processed food was coined by the NOVA food scoring system, which was devised in Latin America. And in broad strokes, the way that I would describe an ultra-processed food is something that you couldn't possibly make in your own kitchen if you tried. A good surrogate, you know, and here's another where like bone to pick that I have with these like online apologists for the food industry is like, you know, the longer the ingredients list, the more likely that food is to be ultra processed. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be bad for you.

29:46It doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be an ultra processed food, but it's a pretty good sort of surrogate screening tool that you might use to, you know, weed out foods that have gone through innumerable processing steps in order to arrive, you know, in your shopping cart. foods with, you know, ingredients that you can't pronounce. Look, I mean, most people can't pronounce quinoa, right? So does that mean that every food that you can't pronounce is going to be bad for you? Absolutely not. But again, a food that you couldn't create in your own kitchen, like generally it's a good, it's a good screening tool.

30:21You know, it's a good heuristic. Of course, you have to know a little bit about nutrition. You know, it's sort of like the, I liken it to the BMI. The BMI is a good screening tool, right? Like generally it's going to be accurate, but there are outliers. It's not a good diagnostic tool, but it's, you know, when you zoom out and look at the population level, look, not everybody's the rock. Not everybody's Joe Rogan, right? Who have BMIs that might, you know, put them in the category of obese, but clearly they're not obese, right? Same thing with the ultra-processed food designation. Long ingredients list, ingredients that you can't pronounce, doesn't necessarily make it an ultra-processed food, but you could almost like, you know, it's, it's a, the odds are good.

31:00And then all that being said, even within the bucket of ultra processed, say you've got an ultra processed food in front of you, it might not necessarily be unhealthy because we're now, our understanding of these foods is very low resolution. We're starting to understand that some are better than others. So sugar sweet and beverages are among the worst. But if you have an ultra processed food, that's been enriched with protein, maybe it doesn't have a ton of added sugar in it, maybe it's made with primarily healthful fats, for example, like that could actually be quite good for you, you know? So I think as we go further down this line of research, we're going to get a better understanding of, you know, the types of foods that are, you know, better or worse from us.

31:46There was a study that came out recently, actually, that found that it was a really cool study because you know i've i think it's smart to be critical of uh green washing and protein washing um you know every almost every ultra processed food today has like added protein and it's like high protein on the on the front of package labeling because now you know a lot of people are talking about protein and i think for good reason eczema is unpredictable but you can flare less with epglyss a once monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in ten people taking EBCLIS achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks.

32:27And most of those people maintained skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EBCLIS, LibriKizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBCLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBCLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe.

32:55Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBCLIS. Before starting EBCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Now, granted, a lot of ultra-processed foods will claim that they have high protein, that they are high protein when in fact they're not. But so you gotta, again, you gotta look at the nutrition facts label and learn how to understand nutrition needs to some degree. But what this study found was that high protein ultra processed foods compared to low protein ultra processed foods, people still tended to over consume the high protein ultra processed foods, but not to the same degree that they over consumed the low protein ultra processed foods.

33:42So adding protein to an ultra processed food actually made it less likely to be over-consumed. Interesting. Yeah, and it actually makes sense because we know that protein is the most satiating macronutrient. So who knows? High-protein, ultra-processed foods might not be nearly as bad as sugar, sweetened beverages, for example. Yeah, and I think this is the nuance that social media purposely tries to drive out of us when we're having these conversations. And you talked about the long list of ingredients and saying like, oh, well, if it's got a long list, odds are it's probably going to be ultra processed.

34:15You know, I've seen people hit back on that. And I've even seen people saying like, oh, they're trying to get people to like read nutrition labels and facts. Like that's just going to create this orthorexia. And I was studying nutrition 25 years ago and it was driven into us that we need to get everybody competent to read not just nutrition facts tables, but actually read the ingredients and these little things like the longer the list, like the likely the less nutrient dense this is unless they're adding back nutrients were things that were part of standard nutrition curriculum but now somehow 25 years later it is like this fringe crazy thing that you would even like try to talk to people about this and i'm like there's this idea of like it has to all be so perfect and scientifically accurate and people losing the plot, which is that we more are trying to get people first to pay attention, raise awareness, and it is a step that you take with people to get them to a place where they're completely literate to read these labels.

35:20But it starts with things like long list, red flag. That gets people to pause, look, and start to read and get curious. It's not saying long list, red flag, never eat it. And I think that's really important. I just want to underline what you say there because I know someone listening to this probably already misunderstanding and deciding to run with like no no you're fear-mongering or something like that definitely not no it's not fear-mongering in fact um i think the public is tired of being gaslit and um and you know there are very few nutrition experts on social media today uh who i would direct people to because you know i i don't think that you ought to need a PhD or to have, you know, achieved an advanced degree to know how to feed yourself and your loved ones and to know how to understand nutrition labels.

36:09You know, I think we have this, you know, culture of authority, of credentialism. And I think there's a time and place for credentials in the clinical setting, in the hospital setting, of course. I'm a fan of medicine. I'm the beneficiary of a surgery. You know, we were talking before we through surgery. Big fan of experts. Yeah. Big, big fan of experts. But, you know, on the other hand, there is this culture of muddying the waters to make them seem deep. And I don't think, you know, I think we need to get back to trusting our intuition on certain things. You know, we've long been kind of, you know, we're kind of taught, I think we're brought into society with this expectation that I'll just let the experts, you know, worry about it.

36:54Like, you know, your, your doctor is there for healthcare when in reality it's sick care, which of course, you know, we've, we will all benefit from at certain points in our lives. Um, and it's crucially important, but this idea that, yeah, that people should, you know, should, should somehow like not trust their instincts and should, you know, outsource their understanding of nutrition to the so-called experts. I mean, yeah, there's a time and a place for that, but, um, but I've benefited tremendously from my own studies in nutrition and, you know, my, the, whatever, you know, knowledge I've garnered has been, you know, circuitous to say the least.

37:33So. Yeah. Well, you can't tell me, and someone's going to call me a conspiracy theorist and I don't care because you can't tell me they didn't remove home ec and nutrition education and then put vending machines and ultra processed food on two kids, uh, you know, kids campuses. So from college all the way down to like preschool in some instances, and that wasn't all a design. Absolutely. Nobody should be unable to navigate our food system. And it's very interesting because as you talked about ultra-processed food coming from Latin America, they also have giant sugar warnings on their boxes. If there's excess sugar or excess fat, there's a huge label that you cannot miss.

38:16Children's sugary cereals, they don't get to have characters on them at all. It's nothing but facts right up front. You want to grab this? Like this has excess sugar. And it's so in a snapshot, like one instant, you can just make a decision. You have all these yogurts in front of you, right? Because we have so much variety in the grocery stores and you look at it and immediately you can see the big letters And you're like, none of those, okay, this is my only option. They have tried to start changing things to make it so it's even easier for consumers to make those decisions. But even like their cigarettes, I actually just posted this video on social media, how like Mexico doesn't mess around.

38:58The cigarette box says on the front of it, smoking kills, not, not Marlboro, not whatever the name is. It just says smoking kills. That's what you're purchasing. and then when you get the box there is like cancer tumors lungs like on there they're like if you don't even know how to read we want to make it so clear to you what you're consenting to and i'm like that's interesting what would that look like in the american food system if we applied that yeah i mean i think that those we should put warning labels on sugar sweetened beverages at the very least i mean there's no necessity for added sugar we don't need it in our diets It's not to say that a little bit is going to kill you.

39:38And for people, we're not talking about fruit. We're not talking about eating blueberries. Exactly. We're not talking about blueberries. We're not talking about fruit. Don't fear fruit, please. But no, but the sugar sweetened beverages, I mean, you know, those are huge problem. I mean, every so often there are studies that come out linking them directly, like those foods, if you want to call them that, directly to cardiovascular deaths, all cause mortality. They're just not good for you. We don't, there's no satiety value from sugar sweetened beverages. It's just purely empty calories. And, and yeah, so I mean, at the very least, we should have warning labels on those.

40:15You know, I think that there is this tendency to think in terms of black and white. And it is important to state like, you know, you can, you can have your indulgence now and then. Like, the problem is today, 60 % of the calories that your average adult consumes comes from these kinds of foods, ultra processed foods. and for children, it's even higher. It's about 70%. And for certain ethnic groups, it's even higher than that. So, you know, it's something that we definitely need to be educating around. And I think what gives me optimism about our current timeline is that it is something that more and more people seem to be talking about.

40:52So I am, you know, grateful there. At the end of the day, I think the more you can shop around the perimeter of the supermarket, which is where all the fresh perishable foods tend to be. I think that's great. And then the fear-mongering that you still see in some pockets around, you know, meat, eggs, dairy, I think all that, even fruit. I mean, you know, even plant foods. Like there are still influencers today fear-mongering the consumption of bananas and grapes and things like that. Yeah. And I just think it's hugely problematic. I mean, nobody out there, if you're following anybody who's fear-mongering a whole food, then you're following the wrong person.

41:29I think, you know, I had a man who's an influencer, like jump down my throat because I had the audacity to post my breakfast, which was like Greek yogurt. I sprinkle oats on there, psyllium husk, ground flax seeds, usually chia seeds, and then fruit. And he's like, oh, it's such a source of glyphosate. And like, you should never eat those. I'm like, I need you as a man to understand that my microbiome is more diverse than yours. So I need more diversity. And as I age and lose estrogen, I lose diversity. And one of the best things I can do to combat it is diversity of fiber in my diet. So what I'm doing here isn't just consuming glyphosate.

42:11I like to call it microdosing my microbiome with like, let's get like different fibers in and show it different things. And I just was like, if you think that oats or kale or tomato or beans are the problem, you have lost the plot. This is not the problem that people are eating whole foods. The majority of people in the United States who are dealing with chronic disease, it's not because they choose to have a bowl of oatmeal. That's not the problem that's going on here. And I think when people end up getting kind of in their own little health bubbles, right? And they're like, they lose touch with people and they're like, well like i've already cut out fast food ultra processed food like i've already done all these things and it's almost like there's oh they're always searching for like what more can i cut out to optimize and it's like well sometimes actually it's the opposite so what more can i add in like let's go to the asian market or the you know hispanic section of the store and let's look at things our microbiome's never seen in our life and try to eat those yeah i mean it is that's why, I mean, for example, in my first book, it's, you know, it's not a book that, that fear mongers, um, food products.

43:21It's a book that implores you to eat what I call the genius foods. And like for somebody who's just like starting out on their health journey, I mean, the, the approach that I would take is, is not necessarily to cut out anything other than perhaps sugar sweetened beverages. Cause I mean, again, just a huge source for Americans of completely empty calories and And completely unnecessary. And completely unnecessary, yeah. If you want pleasure, friends, have a piece of cake. Exactly, have a piece of cake. But yeah, I mean, I think like incrementally adding more protein to the diet is actually something that would benefit most people.

43:56I think with even an incremental increase in protein, you know, most people would tend to find their hunger more well-regulated. They would consume likely fewer calories from carbohydrates and fats, which were essentially just energy, and very few people today are wanting for energy. In fact, today is the first time in human history that not only do we have more people walking the earth that are overweight than underweight, but more children, more adolescents that are more overweight than underweight. This is something that just recently flipped. So we're not wanting for energy. Protein, on the other hand, in many ways, regulates our hunger mechanisms.

44:33This is owed to what's referred to as the protein leverage hypothesis. So add a little bit more protein. See how that makes you feel, especially for breakfast. I mean, there's a lot of good, there's a lot of data now on how valuable a high protein breakfast is. I used to scoff at this. This is actually an area where I've kind of changed my mind. I used to think breakfast was just completely non-essential. But, you know, front loading your day with a high protein meal, 25, 35 grams of protein, it's a great way to calibrate your hunger mechanisms in a way that's going to pay dividends over the course of the day.

45:11Studies show that when people eat high-protein breakfast, they eat fewer calories actually over the course of the day from carbohydrates and fats. And that's because, again, protein is the most satiating macronutrient. But also, you know, after a night of sleep, you're in muscle protein breakdown. So by consuming a bolus of protein of, you know, of 25 grams of protein, relatively soon after you wake up, you're pumping the brakes on muscle protein breakdown, you're stimulating muscle protein synthesis. It's going to keep you satiated. You're not going to be as inclined to hit the rec room for, you know, the granola bar or the, God forbid, the donut.

45:47And yeah, so it's addition often is, you know, my advice to people that are just starting out. What are the other genius foods people should consider putting on their plate? Yeah. So, I mean, I'm a big fan of dark leafy greens. I've gone to bat for them many times, as often as I sometimes get labeled as a carnivore advocate, which I'm absolutely not. I'm not a carnivore dieter. I thought you were going to say kale advocate. Kale, for a moment, was getting hate on by everyone. Oh, I love kale. I know. And I was like, yeah, I'm going to keep eating my kale. Yeah, no, kale's great. It's actually the top dietary source of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are, it's a mouthful, but they're, no pun intended, in terms of the chemical names.

46:33But they're carotenoids, they're plant pigments that directly benefit eye health and brain health. And you're getting, I believe it's like 25 milligrams of combined lutein and zeaxanthin in just like a bowl of kale. It's also a low oxalate food. I can't tell you how many nutrition experts I've heard online demonize kale because they say it's oxalate rich. when it's not. Yeah, I get questions for your kidneys if you're worried about that. Yeah. I mean, like spinach, like avoid raw spinach if you're prone to kidney stones, right? But no, I think kale is fantastic. So yeah, dark leafy greens. Actually, one of the studies that I stumbled on really early on came out of Rush University.

47:17And it was actually, the first author was Martha Claire Morris, who's done a lot of work in my space, the dementia prevention, nutrition, brain health space. She's the originator of the MIND diet. And she published a study a couple years ago that found that people who eat a bowl of dark leafy greens every day have brains that perform up to 11 years younger. Wow. Yeah. So dark leafy greens have a lot going for them. I mean, the carotenoids, the dietary fiber, they're also a fantastic source of inorganic nitrate, which is really good for cardiovascular health and supporting your nitric oxide pathway.

47:49We talked earlier about hypertension and how damaging that could be to the brain. Well, dark leafy greens are a great way to support healthy blood pressure. Good sleep is everything. That's why Oli's Science Back Support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli's sleep solutions for the whole family at Oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y.com. provided you're chewing them slowly because that conversion to nitrite occurs in the mouth and so yeah dark leafy greens are great i'm uh i'm just looking at the cover of my book but avocados um you know have a lot going for them super healthy fats fantastic source of potassium twice the potassium of a banana actually again you know great for your blood pressure good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, fiber for your gut microbiome.

48:49So I love avocados. There's actually, there was a study that found that avocado consumers across every cognitive domain measured seem to perform better than non-avocado consumers. And guacamole counted in this study. So, you know, when they remind you that it's extra at Chipotle for the guac, it's worth it. Yeah. It's funny because I have this thing I always say to my husband, if he makes a salad or has food, a lot of times then I'm like, missed avocado opportunity. If there's not avocado on my sandwich or avocado in the salad or avocado, I'm like, missed avocado opportunity. We want to make the most of this opportunity as often as possible.

49:33I'm curious about fruits because you're right. Fruits get villainized a lot. There's going to be people who are listening to this who are are probably going to say like, well, I'm pre-diabetic. I have insulin resistance. My doctor told me stop eating fruits. We know there's fruits that are beneficial. If you have blood sugar dysregulation, there's ways that you can pair them with other foods, but we also know there's certain fruits that really go the distance for brain health. Yeah. Yeah. And it is, I mean, fruit, you know, there's, there are tropical fruits that tend to be higher in sugar and there are low sugar fruits like berries.

50:06I probably would say that the lower sugar fruits are likely better to consume more regularly. But honestly, I don't want to fear monger anybody away from any fruit because they all contain minerals. And at the end of the day, fruit, one of the beautiful things about any fruit, whole fruit, I'm not talking about fruit juice, but whole fruit is self-limiting because of the whole food matrix of fiber, of water. fruit tends to be very hydrating. But all that being said, yeah, there are some fruits that have emerged in the literature as being particularly brain protective, and berries really kind of tick that box.

50:46In fact, the MIND diet, which I mentioned earlier, the only fruit that's recommended are berries, blueberries and strawberries. But I would actually say that But avocado, which is a fruit, is probably right up there with berries. I think avocado, I mean, from my estimation, avocados are very brain healthy. And then olives. So olives are also a fruit. And extra virgin olive oil is essentially a fruit juice. And there's a lot of data on extra virgin olive oil and how it might protect the brain. There's observational data. I think it's just, in fact, I know there was an observational study that came out recently.

51:23just eight grams a day of extra virgin olive oil, which I believe is a teaspoon, led to a 30 % risk reduction of Alzheimer's disease. Correlation isn't causation, but this study found that there was this risk reduction for people who regularly consume extra virgin olive oil. But then the broader body of literature supports that observation. There are meta-analyses of randomized control trials that show that extra virgin olive oil is broadly anti-inflammatory. It helps to reduce amyloid aggregation in the brain. We know this from in vitro studies, which may also hold true in vivo. So yeah, there's a lot of good data on olive oil, which is, olives are a fruit.

52:09So yeah, avocados, berries, and olives, I would say are probably, if I had to pick like three, my top three brain protective fruits. Mm-hmm. Going back to the protein, is there protein that you would say is more superior for, in terms of the research, supporting brain health compared to others? Yeah, it's not controversial that fish, fatty fish, is supportive of brain health. I mean, the omega-3s that it contains, you know, salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, all great from the standpoint of brain health and, you know, for quality sticklers in your audience, like I think, you know, the, the, the observational research really like it addresses commercial fish, like the consumption of, of fish that's widely available.

52:58So I don't think you have to be a quality stickler. I think just some fish is better than, better than none. Um, and there is a growing body of, of literature pointing to how red meat might actually be, be beneficial. Now, this is a controversial statement. Not everybody agrees with me on this. But if you actually look at the data, red meat has a lot going for it. I mean, it's one of the top sources of creatine, which, you know, we know is beneficial to the brain, especially at high doses. Beef, you know, contains a fraction of what you might get in a supplementary, you know, creatine dose, but it's also a great source of protein.

53:36It's a great source of vitamin E. There was a meta-analysis recently of studies looking at beef consumption and its impact on cardiometabolic health. And the only negative, it had no negative effect on blood pressure. It had no negative effect on triglycerides. The only conceivable negative effect that it had was a small bump in LDL cholesterol. But I think there's a lot of good, there's a lot more good going for beef than to be myopically fixated on that small bump in LDL cholesterol. And then there are observational studies showing that animal protein is linked to, for example, slowing of the atrophy rate of the hippocampus.

54:18It's, you know, for premenstrual women, it's a great source of iron, vitamin B12, zinc. So yeah, I'm happy to go to bat for red meat. I think it's a health food. Do you have to be a carnivore to get the benefits of red meat? Absolutely not. But I think, you know, I do, I do think it is, it is beneficial. Yeah. And you and I have been around long enough to watch eggs just, you know, whiplash back and forth. Eggs are the devil. They're killing everybody. No, eggs are back in. Everybody eat eggs. Nope. We're not eating eggs again. And it's like eggs are the new smoking. Oh, nope. Actually eggs are super healthy for you.

54:54And I'm like, look, your bet is, is that If it's whole foods and you're structuring your plate correctly, you're getting the variety, you're having protein, but you're also having lots of leafy greens, you're having all the produce as well, you don't really have to get stuck on, is the egg going to kill me or not? Or is the beef bad? If we look at the studies where it's like beef is causing all these problems, red meat is a problem, they're often looking at populations who have very low fiber diets. Well, I would argue you could just have a low fiber diet, period, full stop. You're going to have health issues.

55:29You're going to have problems developed from that. They're looking at people who are eating primarily meat. And maybe, you know, it's that like whole steak and potatoes, right? The French are going to come for me. They're like, don't get our steak and fruits, twisted lady. It's fine. But, you know, when you're eating that in conjunction with ultra processed foods. But I also think it's kind of a distraction from the ultra processed food conversation to be again. And this is where it's not just influencers, right? Literally anybody can be falling into this trap of saying this whole food is bad while ignoring all this ultra processed food, the added sugars, which we know are absolutely problematic.

56:07Yeah, totally. I think the fear mongering of any whole food is borderline criminal. I mean, and that goes for red meat as well. I think it's one of the most nutrient-dense foods that we have available to us. And I really do. I mean, you know, the early epidemiologic literature pointed to red meat as a boogeyman. It's easy to find links between red meat consumption and poor health outcomes. And this is attributed to something often referred to as healthy user bias. And what that basically implies is that people who tend to eat more red meat also tend to do things in their diets, with their diets and their lifestyles that might be contributing to those negative health outcomes.

56:55So there was a study looking at, it was, I think, from the NHS that looked at red meat consumption and found that people who consumed red meat were more likely to smoke. They were more likely to drink alcohol. They were more likely to have a high BMI, so higher risk for obesity. They were more likely to be of a lower socioeconomic status. uh and so you know researchers do try to account for all that stuff but there's no way to account for all the different variables that um you know that somebody who who smokes right like you're not gonna out diet either if you are smoking like you know 15 you know cigarettes a day and you're binge drinking most nights like your diet you're not gonna out diet that lifestyle impact exactly And then when we do see the risk that is affected, you know, that red meat imparts the increase in risk in those populations, I mean, they're typically very small.

57:51Like we see, you know, like 30 % is generally the average that I've seen of an increase in relative risk for, for example, type 2 diabetes or whatever. But again, like to, to assume that, that, that red meat is playing a causal role there with a 30 % increase in relative risk, you know, that's just, that would be, that would stretch credulity to, to put it lightly. And so, you know, but now that we're proceeding and we're getting, you know, randomized control trials and meta-analyses, meta-analytic data, you know, from those trials, like, to me, it's just, we never should have demonized, you know, it's almost as if nutrition researchers took the lens of red meat being guilty until proven innocent, as opposed to, you know, our approach should always be innocent until proven guilty when looking at a whole food, especially a food that's been in the human food supply.

58:40pesticides no whole foods yes yeah yeah exactly exactly that's where i'm like we've got it backwards here exactly like the precautionary principle shouldn't apply to whole foods whole minimally processed foods and so yeah and so now we're getting you know lots of new data you know different kinds of observational studies looking at different cohorts getting better at controlling for all these different variables and then also randomized control trials but at the end of the day, yeah, I think red meat is a health food. You know, I've gone on record many times saying that. Now, do you have to eat it?

59:14No, but I just think it's valuable. When it comes to Parkinson's disease, what's coming down the pipeline in terms of like research, developments that you're most excited about? With Parkinson's disease? You know, I think that if we can get better data on the environmental connections and then have that find its way into regulation. I mean, that would be amazing. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but I think that that's exciting. Understanding the role of gut health in Parkinsonism, I think is important to understand better because as we discussed earlier, you know, there is this sort of very clear occupational risk with being occupationally exposed to certain herbicides and pesticides.

59:59What we really don't know at this point is if chronic low levels of exposure through dietary exposure to synthetic herbicides and pesticides has any impact on our risk for Parkinsonism. It may. I mean, there is data suggesting that some of the proteinopathy that occurs in the brain in Parkinsonism might begin in the gut and then find a way to travel up the vagus nerve to the brain. And so I think that that's, you know, we need more data on that for sure. I think what we're being exposed to in terms of air pollution, I mean, that's, you know, something that is a little bit more actionable. I think, you know, making sure that we're breathing in clean air in our homes is crucially important.

1:00:44You know, the nose is actually the front door to the brain. And what we inhale through our nose can actually access the brain, bypasses the blood-brain barrier. and the loss of sense of smell is one of the earliest preclinical symptoms in cognitive decline and parkinsonism and so it's interesting to consider that you know what we inhale through our noses might actually poison the brain in some in some regard which i know sounds scary but it's also it's also empowering and you know i had a loved one with parkinsonism so it's something that's become really a concern for me so i try to be more cognizant of the air that i'm breathing And I also try to calibrate a diet that's rich in antioxidants and, you know, compounds that can help my body better detoxify itself.

1:01:31I mean, detox is sort of like a buzzword in the wellness industry that is often used to sell bogus laxative teas and whatnot. But, I mean, there is a role for our diet in terms of helping to facilitate our detox pathways. You know, consuming cruciferous vegetables, consuming, you know, sulfur-containing amino acids from eggs, from beef, again, even bone broth, collagenous tissue. You know, we tend to under-consume an amino acid called glycine today. Whereas ancestrally, I mean, we would consume glycine because it's richer in organ meats and also in bone broth. Today, we tend to consume primarily skeletal muscle, but when we consume collagenous tissue and bone broth, you know, we're getting collagen.

1:02:20One third of collagen is glycine, and glycine is rate limiting in the production of glutathione, which is our body's master antioxidant. So I know I'm tying together, you know, a lot of sort of trending topics right now, like collagen and whatever. But I mean, there is merit, I think, to including these in the diet. Yeah. And I'll add, so I have a family member close to me who has Parkinson's disease. I will not ever sleep in my home without an air filter. That's something that we can't control the environment, right? We can vote and we can try to drive less and we can do all this. But if you can try to control your home environment, especially research showing that when we sleep being such a crucial time, I think that's really important just for people who are like, wait a minute what about this air pollution you know my loved one lives on a highway and I think about this like probably once a week she's probably listening right now once a week I think about I wish you didn't live there like I wish that you would move but that's not realistic so there's home air filters going on in the house to make sure that where you're spending most of your time the air is being filtered and so I think when people sometimes hear like oh air pollution they think I can do nothing.

1:03:36We also know indoor air pollution is tremendously toxic in some people's homes because of Febreze and Glade plugins and Yankee candle season is coming. I'm always like, when Yankee candle season comes, like run, run away from that. Or, you know, even just if you walk by Bath and Body Works, like it's just that, like we don't need these things in our house. And And so there's a lot of modifiable things, too, when you talk about air pollution that the individual can control. Yeah, I mean, we've inherited a world that is, by and large, toxic. I mean, we've inherited a food supply that's 73 % ultra-processed foods.

1:04:15Depending on where you live, I mean, you're being exposed to pollutants. Depending on the water that you're drinking, you're being exposed to pollutants. So I don't think it's fear-mongering. I think it's raising awareness. And I think that you've got to do the best that you can. And even if you do the best that you can, there's still a component of luck. There's still a component of genetics. I'm not saying that we have all the answers, but, um, but, you know, we have brilliant people who are passionate people who are, you know, ushering in really actionable science. And I think, you know, if you do happen to live near, you know, a freeway or even a golf course, you know, there was a study recently that came out that found that people who lived less than a mile from golf courses were, you know, seemingly at higher risk for the development of Parkinson's disease with the thinking that they spray way more chemicals on golf courses than they do in the food supply and that those chemicals, that chemical runoff might make its way into well water, you know, depending on where the breeze is carrying these chemicals.

1:05:15And so I do think that, you know, for a very small investment to have air purifiers in your home, I think it's something that is well worth it. I mean, my brother lives in Las Vegas. I think he lives fairly close to a golf course for a couple hundred dollars. He got, I think it was literally a couple hundred dollars, not over a thousand dollars. He got a reverse osmosis system for his entire house, which removes everything from the water pretty much. So I definitely think it's worth it depending on where you live. Look, if you have low vitamin D levels, test for that, take a vitamin D supplement.

1:05:52If you live near a freeway or a golf course, maybe, you know, reverse osmosis purifier for your house, an air purifier. I think that, you know, you can look at this cynically, but you can also look at it as, oh, this is really empowering information to help me and my loved ones, you know, achieve better health, not just today, but in the long run. And at the end of the day, that's what we're here for, right? So awesome. Yeah, like if you don't want empowering information, why are you even listening to it? No, they're here for it. Yeah, of course. And they're here to also, you know, the great thing about my audience is, is that they're always up to have their thoughts, their mindset, their bias challenged.

1:06:32And I always really appreciate that. I definitely have times where people are like, I thought I was going to hate this. And then, I mean, I had one where I had Dr. Stacey Witten on, a dentist talking about fluoride issues. and a scientist actually wrote me in and she was like, when I saw this, I was like, I hate this. This is wrong. There's no way any of this is right. She's like, I listened to the whole show. I went in, I read through all the research papers and I've completely changed my mind. And I'm like, that's amazing. So I appreciate you taking the time to change some minds with me today.

1:07:05Of course. No, it's a, it's a pleasure. And, you know, for me, people arrive at their professions and what they do and their advocacy. You know, there are many reasons why one might engage with this topic. But for me, it comes from real trauma and real pain and having the person who meant the most to me in life ripped away from me because of chronic disease. And I'll never know what caused it for my mom. But, you know, it mobilized me in a really profound way because I saw how sick she was. And it's my hope that if, you know, one person at the very least can take something that I've got to offer away and use that to improve their lives and lower their risk to some degree for what it is that we had in my family, then, you know, then it's worth it.

1:07:57So, yeah, I'm just trying to do the best that I can. Well, I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. Your call has been forwarded to voicemail.

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