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.

A pilot immunotherapy trial is one step on a long road toward curing cancer

“Remission in every patient” reads the New York Times headline about a study published earlier this month in the New…

Why you should stop drinking sugar

This video clip is taken from  Podcast #194 – How Fructose Drives Metabolic Disease with Rick Johnson, M.D., originally released on…

Peter’s approach to managing patients with high Lp(a)

This video is a clip from episode #210 – Lp(a) and its impact on heart disease with Benoît Arsenault, Ph.D.,…

#210 – Lp(a) and its impact on heart disease | Benoît Arsenault, Ph.D.

I think we should advise people to measure Lp(a); that would be a gigantic step.” —Benoît Arsenault

The metabolic benefits of exercise & muscle mass

This video clip is from episode #205 – Energy balance, nutrition, & building muscle with Layne Norton, Ph.D. (Pt.2), originally released…

For triglycerides, “normal” may not be “optimal”

How do triglyceride levels relate to cardiovascular risk?

Intro to lipids & lipoproteins: why there is no ‘bad’ or ‘good’ cholesterol

I recently posted on Twitter about my frustration with the way the press writes about “good” and “bad” cholesterol, and…

How to engage with your doctor

This audio clip is from ask me anything (AMA) episode #19, originally released on January 18, 2021. If you’re not…

Is cold exposure beneficial for metabolic health?

A look at whether activating brown fat through cold exposure therapy offers metabolic benefits.

Peter on the four horsemen of chronic disease

This audio clip is from AMA #14: What lab tests can (and cannot) inform us about our overall objective of…

Facebook icon Twitter icon Instagram icon Pinterest icon Google+ icon YouTube icon LinkedIn icon Contact icon