670: Why food quality matters more than calories | Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D.

“The food industry is experimenting on us without data and knowledge,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., DrPH. Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, and author of the book, Food is Medicine (Holt/Macmillan). He serves as Distinguished Professor, Dean Emeritus, and Jean Mayer Professor; and is clinically active in cardiology at Tufts Medical Center. His work aims to create the evidence and translation for a food system that is nutritious, equitable, and sustainable. He has authored nearly 700 scientific publications, and has served in numerous advisory roles. His work has been featured in leading media outlets, and Thomson Reuters has named him as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. Dr. Mozaffarian received his B.S. in biological sciences from Stanford, M.D. from Columbia, Doctorate in Public Health from Harvard, and clinical training in internal medicine at Stanford and in cardiology at the University of Washington. He is married, has three children, and actively trains as a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. 00:00 - The last century of nutrition science 07:03 - The single-nutrient mistake 10:50 - Pellagra & the birth of enriched flour 13:45 - Macros vs. food quality 17:05 - The 3 buckets of food 21:56 - What’s the deal with red meat 24:46 - Episode break 27:14 - Cholesterol absorbers & plant sterols 31:05 - How low-fat & Big Tobacco fueled ultra-processing 33:24 - The truth about seed oils 38:06 - Sweeteners & additives 41:41 - Flipping the script on the food system 47:28 - The problem with calorie counting 52:16 - Inside a cardiologist's shopping cart Referenced in the episode:  Buy Mozaffarian’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250394287  Visit the Food Is Medicine Institute website: https://tuftsfoodismedicine.org/  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"What we know for sure is that Alzheimer's is a preventable disease. It's not destiny,” says Kellyann Niotis, M.D. Niotis is the world’s first fellowship-trained preventive neurologist. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine, the Director of Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia Prevention Research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (IND) and runs a private preventive neurology practice in New York City focused on early detection and personalized risk reduction strategies for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Her research has been published in notable medical journals and presented at national and international conferences. Her expertise has been featured in media outlets such as CNN and NBC, and she has received numerous honors and awards recognizing her work. She is passionate about advancing the field of preventive neurology—not only through clinical care and research but also through advocacy for policy change and expanding access to education and treatment.  00:00 - Your genes are not your destiny 05:06 - Why prevention starts in your 30s 06:44 - Cholesterol management for brain health 11:06 - Explaining amyloid & p-tau 217 17:17 - How viruses & your cycle affect tau 19:37 - Dr. Niotis’s research 23:41 - What movement reveals about your brain 30:37 - Why motor reserve matters 34:47 - Why variety is key when exercising for brain health 37:38 - Elen’s story with two APOE4 copies 44:37 - ApoA1: the brain's cholesterol exception 47:42 - The future of Alzheimer's treatment 50:43 - The statin study she'd love to run Referenced in the episode:  Visit Niotis’s website: http://www.drkellyannniotis.com/ Visit Niotis’s practice: http://www.preventive-neuro.com/ For more about Beth Lewis: https://www.instagram.com/bethlewisfit/  Listen to our episode with Richard Isaacson: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4uW7V9qfeD2vj2m56MZlYB We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Youth sports has become a multi-billion-dollar industry built on one unspoken promise: specialize early, and your kid has a shot. In this solo episode, we dig into what the research really says about early specialization. We also looks at how Norway built a youth sports system around play instead of competition, and why it's keeping kids in the game at nearly triple the US rate. 00:00 - The myth of sports specialization 04:29 - How youth sports became a billion-dollar industry 05:10 - My own path to Division I basketball 06:52 - Higher risk of overuse injuries 09:42 - The weaker case for burnout 10:41 - Junior stars & adult pro athletes are different people 12:28 - Deliberate play & the sampling years 15:00 - 3 honest caveats 16:10 - How Norway keeps kids playing 20:29 - What every parent should actually do Referenced in the episode:  2022 meta-analysis from Jean Côté’, Ph.D.: https://doi.org/10.1177/19417381211056301  2015 study from Neeru Jayanthi, M.D.: .https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25646361/  Research from David Bell, Ph.D.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31633411/ Research from Tim McGuine, Ph.D: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28735552/  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I hope in 20 or 30 years time, a clinical diagnosis is something that's rarely given because most everything has been caught before it rises to that stage,” says Andrew Lacy. Lacy is the CEO and founder of Prenuvo, the company pioneering proactive whole-body imaging for the early detection of cancer and other diseases. Under Lacy’s leadership, the company has expanded across North America, establishing Prenuvo as a recognized and trusted proactive healthcare service to both patients and referring clinicians. A seasoned entrepreneur, he scaled transformative products (including Tapulous, acquired by Disney) and grew Prenuvo into a global leader. He actively serves as an advisor and investor across a diverse portfolio of startups. He received an MBA from Stanford University and a JD from the University of Melbourne. He is currently based in Los Angeles. This podcast was created in partnership with Prenuvo. Their whole-body MRI scans 33 organs for hundreds of conditions in as little as an hour, finding a potentially life-saving diagnosis in 1 in 20 people.* Prenuvo can help give you a broader understanding of what’s happening in your body–before symptoms appear.  Get a $300 discount on comprehensive and executive memberships, along with a standalone whole-body scan at prenuvo.com/MINDBODYGREEN. 00:00 - What's changed in the last two years of scanning 03:58 - The importance of establishing a baseline 06:15 - The average scan turns up nine findings 07:55 - Ageotypes: why everyone ages differently 09:19 - Inside the new body composition report 11:47 - 4 ways AI is changing medical imaging 15:44 - NeuroQuant & catching dementia decades early 18:07 - Building a comprehensive, preventative healthcare system 24:10 - Busy Philipps’s story & what people actually fear 25:17 - The case for peace of mind over avoidance 30:46 - Skin health as the next imaging frontier 37:27 - Why people worry most about the brain 39:21 - Changing the approach to healthcare  Referenced in the episode:  Read about Jason’s experience first Prenuvo scan here: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/full-body-mri-scan-review We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. *Based on our internal data analysis, 5% of Prenuvo scans have helped detect a potentially life-saving condition. This reflects in particular the combined prevalence of radiologically-suspected pre-cancerous/cancerous-findings or brain-aneurysms in our whole body MRI screening practice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"What is the lowest dose of intervention that can have the maximum effect to help the body heal itself?” asked Keshav Grover, D.O., M.S., IFMCP. Grover is the founder of Grover Health and Wellness, PLLC. He is a physician, keynote speaker, and champion of functional/integrative medicine and of eating a whole foods, plant-based diet. He holds a Doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Michigan State University College and a Master of Science from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He completed the prestigious Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine fellowship at the University of Arizona and is a certified functional medicine practitioner by the Institute for Functional Medicine. He has spoken to leading organizations about holistic health and has been featured on CBS and Fox News as a wellness expert. His first book, Wellness Bridge, was published this August.  00:00 - The "Wellness Bridge" 05:37 - Why medicine doesn't have to be either/or 08:55 - A simple at-home gut health check 11:21 - There’s no universal cure 13:37 - Peptides 101 19:30 - Who should avoid peptides entirely 22:21 - Smallest dose, maximum effect  24:27 - Grover’s approach to testing 30:29 - Where health testing is headed next 33:38 - The connection between glyphosate & cancer 40:38 - His brother's warts & a homeopathy win 44:37 - Why he stopped being the ingredient police 47:31 - Gut health & food sensitivity 49:55 - Why genetics isn't your destiny Referenced in the episode:  For more about Grover, visit: https://www.drkeshavgrover.com/ Buy Grover’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZMP5BQX/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I don't need to track it. I just listen to my body,” says Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., Ms.C.  Dr. Emanuel is an oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics. He is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds appointments in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Department of Health Care Management in the Wharton School. He is Special Advisor to the Director General of the WHO, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the NIH. He served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. In this role, he was instrumental in drafting the Affordable Care Act. He served on the Biden-Harris Transition Covid Advisory Board. Dr. Emanuel is the most widely cited bioethicist in history with over 350 publications. He has authored or edited 16 books. His newest book, Eat Your Ice Cream, is out now.  00:00 - When tracking our health goes overboard 06:19 - The health markers worth testing 08:03 - Daily nutrition habits 09:34 - What it means to “eat your ice cream” 14:15 - The importance of social connection 19:12 - Why willpower fails & habits win 24:47 - Everest, introverts, & grip strength 27:52 - How purpose is linked to health 31:06 - Why & how the Emanuel brothers succeeded  35:21 - Rethinking retirement for brain health 36:42 - Age-old health wins (& that’s a relief) 40:10 - Favorite ice cream shops Referenced in the episode:  For more about Emanuel, visit his website: https://www.ezekielemanuel.com/  Buy Eat Your Ice Cream here: https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Your-Ice-Cream-Healthy/dp/1324117532/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20  Find our episode on the rabbit cholesterol here: https://youtu.be/er3k40nlCh8?si=MxeG7IxEVnirxIoX We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The diet you'll stay on is a diet that's enjoyable and not too hard,” says Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, MA, RDN.  Bazilian is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist, and Doctor of Public Health. She's authored multiple bestselling books, as well as contributed to a New York Times bestseller and a James Beard-nominated cookbook. She’s a spokesperson for Avocados – Love One Today and a frequent nutrition expert cited in mindbodygreen articles.  00:00 - The value of the food we consume 03:06 - Why dietary fat was misunderstood for decades 07:47 - Nutrient density vs. calorie counting 09:56 - Why 94% of us fall short on fiber 14:26 - Heart health, satiety, & blood sugar control 16:48 - Why the best diet is one you enjoy 18:50 - Food synergy & nutrient absorption 21:51 - Unexpected ways to cook with avocados 26:58 - The glycemic load effect 31:28 - Serving size vs. portion size 35:41 - How to store avocados properly 40:06 - 3 rules for moving the needle on health Referenced in the episode:  The HAT trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34496276/  Glycemic load study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299126000557  For more about Bazilian, visit her website: https://www.wendybazilian.com/  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does driving a sports car actually do to your hormones? In this episode, we break down a surprisingly revealing 2009 study in which researchers had men drive a bright red sports car and a beige sedan and measured changes in their testosterone before and after. The results weren't what anyone expected. And the real finding had nothing to do with speed, horsepower, or even the car itself. We dig into the evolutionary biology behind status signaling, why social context drives hormonal responses, and what this study quietly reveals about how we chase external validation in modern life. Ever seen someone rev a Ferrari at a stoplight and thought "midlife crisis"? This one's for you. 00:00 - Introduction 00:53 - The Experiment 01:44 - The Results (And Why They're Surprising) 02:41 - The Evolutionary Biology Behind Status Signaling 03:34 - Why the Audience Mattered More Than the Car 04:26 - What "Borrowed Status" Costs Us 05:33 - What Actually Sustains Us Long-Term Read the study here: ⁠https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597809000442⁠ We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on ⁠YouTube⁠! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: ⁠[email protected]⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“As your time commitment goes down, the importance of intensity goes up,” says Kristi Storoshuk. Storoschuk is a PhD candidate in Muscle Physiology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her research focuses on the relationship between skeletal muscle metabolism and whole-body metabolism, with an emphasis on how nutrient–exercise timing influences physiological adaptations to exercise. Storoschuk has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and is passionate about translating complex scientific findings into practical, evidence-based recommendations. Outside of her academic work, Kristi is the founder of a women’s health coaching program focused on improving metabolic health through sustainable nutrition and exercise, particularly in the context of preconception health.  00:00 - What is Zone 2 training?  08:14 - The limitations of Zone 2 training 11:18 - Prioritizing intensity when time is limited 15:56 - All about interval training 19:16 - The truth about building your aerobic base 21:02 - We shouldn’t train cardio like elite athletes 24:48 - Fat burning & Zone 2 26:10 - Talking weekly cardio protocol 30:03 - Storoschuk’s habits 33:03 - Unpacking exercise culture & trends  37:22 - Recovery, wearables, & intuition  43:10 - HIIT above all else Referenced in the episode:  Read Storoschuk’s research about Zone 2: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-025-02261-y  For more about Storoschuk, visit her website: https://krististoroschuk.com/  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It's way better to pull yourself back from the brink of burnout before it hits than to let yourself fall all the way in,” says Elizabeth Svoboda. Svoboda is an award-winning science writer and contributor to Scientific American, Discover, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and other publications. Elizabeth is a winner of the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Writers, and her work has been anthologized in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series. She lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and young sons. Her new book, The Art of Pacing, is available now. 00:00 - Why high performers always push to 110% 05:58 - Physical signs of burnout 09:14 - Getting more comfortable with recovery 12:16 - Pacing & how to take advantage of energy rhythms  16:00 - What an Olympic runner taught her about rest 18:32 - Modulation & the importance of breathwork  28:30 - Why it’s so hard recover from burnout 31:48 - Boom-bust cycles 35:12 - Gold star culture & unsustainable achievement 40:34 - Why early sports specialization backfires 44:08 - How to pace yourself with rigid flexibility 50:32 - The next wise choice Referenced in the episode:  For more about Elizabeth Svoboda, visit her website: https://elizabethsvoboda.com/  Buy The Art Of Pacing here: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Pacing-Balancing-Short-Term-Long-Term/dp/1668022419/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20  Find the Maslach Burnout Inventory here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fecb650c2646617cb1e0599/t/6320f5325f757e4ad8bc0062/1663104306195/Maslach-Burnout-Inventory.pdf  For more about Joe Arpaia: https://www.centerfortransformativehealing.org/joseph Follow runner Ajeé Wilson: https://www.instagram.com/ajeelenee/?hl=en  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices