Category

Preventing Chronic Disease

One of the foundational lessons we can take away from studying centenarians — those who have lived to the age of 100+ — is that if you want to live longer, you have to live longer without chronic disease, not live longer with chronic disease. Unfortunately, our current healthcare system is primarily geared toward helping you live longer once you develop chronic disease. This, of course, is the opposite of the approach I take with my patients. 

Over 80% of deaths in people over 50 who do not smoke can be grouped into 4 main categories, what I like to call the four horsemen of chronic disease. These are: (1) atherosclerotic disease (comprised of cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease), (2) cancer, (3) neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s disease being the most common), and (4) metabolic disease (a spectrum of everything from hyperinsulinemia to insulin resistance to fatty liver disease to type 2 diabetes).

We have five main longevity tactics at our disposal to affect our longevity: (1) exercise, (2) sleep, (3) nutrition, (4) medications & supplements, and (5) distress tolerance. Below is a collection of podcasts and articles discussing how we can use these tactics to mitigate, prevent, and reverse chronic disease.

#185 – Allan Sniderman, M.D.: Cardiovascular disease and why we should change the way we assess risk

If we’re still saying the same things we said 30 years ago, it could be a problem because we should have learned how to say it better, more accurately.” —Allan Sniderman

Does fish oil cause cardiac arrhythmia in high-risk individuals?

Reports of increased risk of atrial fibrillation in high-risk patients taking fish oil

#181 – Robert Gatenby, M.D.: Viewing cancer through an evolutionary lens and why this offers a radically different approach to treatment

“For a century we’ve been looking for magic bullets, but maybe all we need is a series of pretty good bullets.” —Bob Gatenby

#180 – AMA #28: All things testosterone and testosterone replacement therapy

“There were countless other studies to look at, but they all basically point in the same direction, which is testosterone replacement therapy improves lean mass, reduces fat mass, improves strength.” —Peter Attia

#178 – Lance Armstrong: The rise, fall, and growth of a cycling legend

“That guy needed to die and a new guy needed to come around.” —Lance Armstrong

#177 – Steven Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D.: The development of cancer immunotherapy and its promise for treating advanced cancers

It’s the balance of the aggressive immune reaction against the inhibitory molecules that can prevent that immune reaction that is the holy grail of trying to find effective treatments.” —Steven Rosenberg

#173 – AMA #26: Continuous glucose monitors, zone 2 training, and a framework for interventions

Zone two is a metabolic state. It’s not determined by speed. It’s determined by which energy system you’re requiring and what the equilibrium is.” —Peter Attia

#170 – AMA #25: Navigating the complexities and nuances of cancer screening

We screen often, we screen early, and we screen aggressively.” —Peter Attia

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