Dani GassnerHealth and fitness influencer Andrew Huberman made his debut on Hollywood Reporter‘s list of the 40 Most Powerful People In Podcasting this week.
The bushy-bearded Stanford neuroscientist is best known for deeper-than-deep dives into a variety of medical topics, with a popularity that’s remarkable given the scientific denseness of some of his content. Huberman’s ability to present complex ideas in a calm and comprehensible way, along tackling useful topics (improving your sleep, memory, energy levels, etc), has helped grow his podcast into a powerhouse in just three years. Huberman Lab consistently tops the Health and Fitness podcast charts and his episode “What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health” — which concluded that no amount of alcohol is truly good for you (sorry!) — ranked as Apple’s most-shared podcast episode for all of 2023.
In March, however, Huberman came under fire for a NY Mag article that criticized his treatment of six past girlfriends, which he reportedly secretly dated all at the same time. The podcaster has since acknowledged making mistakes and cheating in relationships (calling himself “replete with flaws”), and said he strives to do “the most amount of good and least amount of harm” in his life.
We all know the biggies we’re supposed to pay attention to — exercise, sleep, eating whole foods, social contact, managing stress, and avoiding toxic substances (alcohol, smoking, etc). But is there anything safe and effective to take that helps with the general aches, pains and sluggishness of aging? Aside from, say, hormone replacement therapy?
As simple as it seems, early day caffeine has a number of benefits. First of all, it increases energy and focus. Second, it improves gut motility in the morning—which is an often under-appreciated aspect of health. Third, as long as the dosages keep you from getting jittery, caffeine is one the most studied and most effective means to improve cognitive and physical ability.
There is also some evidence that compounds that increase dopamine and acetylcholine in the brain can improve certain forms of memory, such as working memory. Simply put, working memory is our ability to guide decisions and focus on the task at hand. This is the work of Mark D’Esposito at UC Berkeley. Non-carcinogenic forms of nicotine such as gums, mints, etc. (NOT smoking, vaping, dipping or snuffing!) consumed infrequently at low dosages are becoming more commonly used. Note these increase blood pressure and have strong addictive potential, but nonetheless have been shown to offset certain forms of cognitive decline and tend to increase physical energy. But be cautious in their use, if using at all.
