Episode #195: Can Coffee Really Make You Live Longer?

I just finished reading what I consider to be one of the best books of 2015: Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance. In the book, best-selling author Christopher McDougall, today's podcast guest and a guy who you may recognize as the same author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen travels to the Mediterranean, where he discovers that the secrets of ancient Greek heroes are still alive and well in the razor-sharp mountains on the island of Crete - ready to be unleashed in the muscles and minds of casual athletes and aspiring heroes everywhere. In the story, Chris recreates an amazing true tale of a band of Resistance fighters in World War II who plotted the daring abduction of a German general from the heart of the Nazi occupation. He  makes his way to the island to experience firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced, and on Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of amazing physical specimens such as Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the heroes, including skills such as natural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition, skills that are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughout the world today. If you want to be a modern-day athlete who can hone ancient skills to be ready for anything, then this podcast episode is for you.  Prepare to get inspired to leave the gym and take your fitness routine to nature—to climb, swim, skip, throw, and jump their way to your own heroic feats. So who is Christopher McDougall ? Trained as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, Chris covered wars in Rwanda and Angola before writing the international bestseller, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. His fascination with the limits of human potential also led him to create the Outside magazine web series, “Art of the Hero”, and then most recently, the book Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance. During this audio interview with Chris, you'll discover: -How Chris combines a life of immersive journalism and juggling family life with a study of extreme sports... -Why the tiny island of Crete was such an important part of World War II, and how the Cretans developed such amazing athleticism... -How to manipulate your body's own fascia to generate huge amounts of force, to run faster and to master natural movement... -The only form of hand-to-hand combat that you should learn if you really want to learn to fight as efficiently as possible... -Why Chris studied Parkour to prepare for his trip to Crete... -How the mighty Cretan runners ran dozens and dozens of miles on virtually no calories, and how you can learn to do it too... -Why it's a myth that running a marathon killed the first person that did it... -And much more! Resources from this episode: -ParkourGenerations.com -Wing Chun -My podcast with Barry Murray on becoming fat-adapted -Chris Mcdougall's Amazon author page -ChrisMcDougall.com Do you have questions, comments or feedback for me or Chris? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com and one of us with reply.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Jun 20151h 2min

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/320 June 17, 2015 Podcast: How To Do Your Workouts Using Biofeedback, Natural Remedies For Stomach Ulcers, How You Burn Ketones, Supplementing With Inositol, and How To Know If You're Getting Enough Micronutrients. Have a podcast question for Ben? Click the tab on the right (or go to SpeakPipe), use the Contact button on the app, call 1-877-209-9439, Skype “pacificfit” or use the “Ask Ben” form at the bottom of this page. ----------------------------------------------------- News Flashes: You can receive these News Flashes (and more) every single day, if you follow Ben on Twitter.com/BenGreenfield, Facebook.com/BGFitness and Google+. Kinda interesting that things like light diodes, infrared, vibration, etc. can warm you up pre exercise/pre race. Hyperbaric oxygen may not be a “cure all”, but a few different studies have shown it’s use for muscle fatigue/recovery. 7 old wives’ tales that *aren’t* utter nonsense. ----------------------------------------------------- Special Announcements: This episode is brought to you by Sheer Strength Labs, where you can get everything you need to enhance performance in both the bedroom and the gym – from nitric oxide, to creatine, to testosterone booster. Click here and get an automatic discount. Click here to make a donation to convert an entire classroom in California into a standing desk classroom! This is the pilot experiment that could change how schools worldwide are designed. Tim Ferriss, me and many others are joining forces with Kelly and Juliet Starrett, the brains behind this project and founders of StandUpKids. The goal is to get every public school student in the US at a standing desk within 10 years. This massive goal is achievable if the right snowballs are put in motion now, and this proof-of-concept school is the most important. Media coverage, national attention, political pressure/alliances, etc. can all stem from this. It’s super high leverage. The BenGreenfieldFitness Quarterly box has officially launched! When you sign-up, you'll get a Quarterly handpicked box jam-packed with Ben's favorite fitness gear, supplements, nutrients and research-proven biohacks. Grab this Official Ben Greenfield Fitness Gear package that comes with a tech shirt, a beanie and a water bottle. And of course, this week's top iTunes review - gets some BG Fitness swag straight from Ben - click here to leave your review for a chance to win some!  ----------------------------------------------------- Listener Q&A: As compiled, deciphered, edited and sometimes read by Brock Skywalker Armstrong, the Podcast Sidekick and Audio Ninja. How To Do Your Workouts Using Biofeedback Natcha says: She has been using an Autoregulatory Training approach (with bio feedback) in her strength training where she measures her body and nervous system response to a workout by going through a range of motion test. If she does the test, and the range of motion increases, then that indicates that her nervous system likes that particular exercise and they recommend that she continue doing the exercise until it becomes more difficult or until it no longer tests well. Is this a good way to increase strength and performance? What do you think of this approach?   Natural Remedies For Stomach Ulcers Anonymous Tummy says: He is looking for ways to treat his stomach ulcers. In my response, I recommend: -NatureCleanse -Allimax garlic-DGL Licorice How You Burn Ketones Chris says: A few episodes (Episode 318) ago you mentioned how Ketones can be used for energy but are unique because they bypass the Krebs Cycle. His limited understanding is that the breakdown of Ketones leads to the production of 2 acetyl-CoA molecules that then go into the Krebs Cycle and get oxidized like any other molecules. He would love to know more about how this works.   Supplementing With Inositol Holly says: She wanted to get your opinion of Inositol. Her naturopath has put her on it for long term management of polycystic ovarian syndrome. He naturopath said that it helps with the metabolic side of things and with shortening the menstrual cycle. She hasn't been able to find any information on long term side effects. Do you have any concerns with it? In my response, I recommend: -Inositol How To Know If You're Getting Enough Micronutrients Josh says: He currently eats mostly ketogenic and tracks everything he eats with a cronometer which has built in recommended values for micronutrients. He has heard that those RDA values are not necessarily "optimal" so he is wondering if you have any recommendations for micronutrient values. In my response, I recommend: -Cronometer app-The ION Profile w/40 Amino Acids-METAMETRIX KIT at DirectLabs -The EXOS multivitamin -The Micronutrient Miracle bookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Jun 20151h 4min

Australian HRV researcher Dr. James Heathers (pictured above) is one interesting dude. On a professional level, he is a Ph.D and an Endeavour Research Fellow in Electrocardiology at Poznan University of Medical Science, where his research revolves around measurement issues in heart rate and heart rate variability. On another level, he has an extremely interesting and thought-provoking blog, where he writes about health, science, medicine and bioethics, and has articles on topics such as medical sensors embedded in tattoos, how drinking affects sleep quality, how peptides are used for doping by professional athletes, and much more. In our discussion in this podcast, James and I take a deep dive into HRV, and our topics include: -How James went from being an experimental psychologist to instead being immersed in HRV research... -Very interesting ways to use HRV that tend to fly under the radar, including computer gaming and cognitive performance enhancement... -Whether HRV can really measure the things that the self-quantification industry often claims it can measure (e.g. sympathetic outflow, or blood lactate, or ‘readiness’)... -When a high HRV may not be a good thing... -Which supplements and medication affect HRV... -The main areas of research in HRV now that James is most excited about, including something called HRR and breathing ladders... -And much more! Warning: if you know nothing at all about HRV, you will probably need a good intro to HRV prior to listening in, because this particular podcast is a bit more advanced, and skips over the basics of HRV. The good news is that there is over three years of HRV articles and podcasts on BenGreenfieldFitness.com, and here are the most popular and useful: –The Do-It-Yourself Guide To Using Heart Rate Variability Testing to Track Your Stress and Nervous System Health (podcast) –Everything You Need To Know About Heart Rate Variability Testing (podcast) –What Is The Best Way To Track Your Heart Rate Variability (HRV)? (podcast) –25 Ways To Know With Laser-Like Accuracy If Your Body Is Truly Recovered And Ready To Train (article) –Do Professional Sports Teams Have It All Wrong When It Comes To Optimizing Performance & Recovery? (article) Other resources we discuss during this episode: -Article on metabolic breathing ladders -How HRV correlates to blood lactic acid -The effect of fish oil on HRV -Bitalino (a second-generation research grade ECG machine that you can buy for a few hundred dollars) -The SimBand (Samsung has released a research platform for developers called Simband, who can now use the platform to build their own software applications without having to build their own hardware) -Video magnification of HR using a webcam (a lab at MIT developed a method of pulling your heart rate straight out of a webcam picture) -GreenfieldFitnessSystems NatureBeat app for HRV Do you have questions, comments or feedback on HRV? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com and either myself or James will reply.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Jun 20151h 1min

http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/319 June 10, 2015 Podcast: How To Fix Golfer's Elbow / Climber's Elbow, How To Keep From Retaining Water With Creatine, Can Fascia Store Toxins, and Urinary Testing For Hormones. Have a podcast question for Ben? Click the tab on the right (or go to SpeakPipe), use the Contact button on the app, call 1-877-209-9439, Skype “pacificfit” or use the “Ask Ben” form at the bottom of this page. ----------------------------------------------------- News Flashes: You can receive these News Flashes (and more) every single day, if you follow Ben on Twitter.com/BenGreenfield, Facebook.com/BGFitness and Google+. Here’s a pretty cool little @flowerchecker app I’m now using to identify the native plants and wildlife on my property. Gluten intolerant? You may want to give this study a little golf clap…your problems may be fixed. This is the gluten digesting enzyme in the study above. Yet another reason to include “hypoxia” low oxygen workouts at some points in your exercise routine: fat loss. The latest two post popular posts at BGF..."Weed" and "Booze". ----------------------------------------------------- Special Announcements: This podcast is brought to you by AudiblePodcast.com/ben. Get any audiobook of your choice, free, with a 30-day trial. In this episode, we recommend "Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance" by Christopher McDougall. The BenGreenfieldFitness Quarterly box has officially launched! When you sign-up, you'll get a Quarterly handpicked box jam-packed with Ben's favorite fitness gear, supplements, nutrients and research-proven biohacks. Grab this Official Ben Greenfield Fitness Gear package that comes with a tech shirt, a beanie and a water bottle. And of course, this week's top iTunes review - gets some BG Fitness swag straight from Ben - leave your review for a chance to win some!  ----------------------------------------------------- Listener Q&A: As compiled, deciphered, edited and sometimes read by Brock Skywalker Armstrong, the Podcast Sidekick and Audio Ninja. How To Fix Golfer's Elbow / Climber's Elbow Eric says: He has developed soreness inside his elbow - Golfer's Elbow but more like Kettlebell Elbow. He thinks it if from doing the ketllebell clean. Any tips on how to get better? And also how to avoid this? In my response, I recommend: -ArmAid -Tennis Elbow & Golfers Elbow Cure - Unique Elbow Pain Program How To Keep From Retaining Water With Creatine Brandon says: He has been supplementing with Creatine Monohydrate for the cognitive enhancements (like we have been talking about) but he has noticed that he has put on some water weight. Do you know how to avoid that happening when supplementing with Creatine? In my response, I recommend: -CREO2 from Millennium Sports (use 50% discount code MSTBG09) Can Fascia Store Toxins? Mark asks: Most therapists I talk to believe that toxins are often trapped in myofascial adhesions. This comes up in post-treatment discussions ("drink a lot of water today"), but I never hear it discussed as a preventive measure. Does detoxification and avoidance of toxic substances help prevent the build up of adhesions? Is it an effective adjunct to the various myofascial release therapies? In my response, I recommend: -Becoming A Supple Leopard -Omega 3 Fatty Acids -NatureFlex -MetalFree Urinary Testing For Hormones Natalie says: She is wondering about the DUTCH test (Dry Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones). She understands that it is the gold standard for cortisol testing. Have you heard of it? It's by Precision Analytical. Do you feel that it is indeed worth getting? In my response, I recommend: -Complete Hormone Kit by Genova from DirectLabs -----------------------------------------------------See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Jun 20151h

A quick discussion at the starting line of a triathlon or other endurance race, a review of any forum devoted to endurance sports, or an article in any running, cycling or triathlon magazine tends to expose you to the same standard strength training advice over and over again... ...sport-specificity dictates that endurance athletes don't need to be lifting heavy stuff... ...do high reps, low resistance for endurance and low reps, high resistance for strength... ...strength training will make an endurance athlete bulky... ...there's no evidence that strength training makes you faster... ...show me one professional endurance athlete who lifts heavy weights and is successful... ...and a host of other comments that my podcast guests and I delve into on today's show. My first guest, Caleb Bazyler is one of the lead authors of the article Strength Training For Endurance Athletes: Theory To Practice. This up-to-date treatise of the latest, well, theories and practices, inspired me to get Caleb on the show, along with his sidekick Jacob Goodin, who helped create the plan in the article and edited some of the manuscript. Caleb is currently completing his PhD at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) with the Department of Exercise and Sport Science in conjunction with the Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education. Jacob designs and implements programs for middle and long distance runners and is finishing his master's degree at ETSU. Finally, my third guest on this show is Chris Taber, who is the strength and conditioning coach at ETSU. In our discussion, you'll discover: -Why there's so much conflict among coaches about the role of strength training for endurance athletes... -The exact mechanisms via which strength training could theoretically lead to enhanced endurance performance... -Was the length of endurance performance taken into account in the studies you found (e.g. Ironman vs. a 5K run)... -The important difference between two different types of strength training for endurance: HFLV and LFHV, and the effects of each on endurance training... -The kind of strength training that you should do if you don't want to get bulky or gain too much muscle mass... -What the ideal strength training workout scenario for an endurance athlete should look like... -And much more! Resources from this episode: -Weight Training For Triathlon: The Ultimate Guide (book by Ben Greenfield) -Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education Facebook page - a non-profit organization committed to service, research and coach education. We are also a designated Olympic Training Site. Do you have questions, comments or feedback about strength training for endurance athletes? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Jun 201551min

I'll always been a fan of gritty adventure, survival, wilderness exploring and even TV shows like Bear Grylls, Survivor Man, and yes, occasionally even Naked & Afraid. So after I returned from a week long wilderness survival immersion at Twin Eagles Wilderness School, I jumped at the chance to get adventurer Monty Halls on the podcast. Monty is a broadcaster, speaker, naturalist, formal Royal Marine, marine biologist, travel writer and leadership specialist with experience covering over two decades of leading teams in some of the most remote environments on earth for wildlife and adventure documentaries like Great Ocean Adventures and Lost Worlds (which is currently a new series on the Discovery Channel). He's also written adventure books like Dive: The Ultimate Guide to 60 of the World's Top Dive Locations (Ultimate Sports Guide), The Fisherman's Apprentice, Adventures On The Wild West Coast and Adventures On The Atlantic Coast. In today's episode you'll discover: -What Monty's life was like leading up to that point that got him head-hunted as a competitor in the flagship show Superhumans, a test of elite performers, competing in a series of challenges devised by the QinetiQ testing centre in the UK... -What it was like to dive with a giant squid... -Monty's philosophy on combining sleep with adventure... -What it means to be "seven meals away from a savage"... -When you first encounter a strange or new environment, how you can accelerate your learning process or chances of survival... -How Monty manages combining adventuring and survival trips with managing a family life... -Monty's take on exercise, dieting and biohacks... -And much more! Resources from this episode: -Diving and adventure books by Monty Halls Do you have questions, comments or feedback about Monty Halls's adventures or anything else in this episode? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Jun 201545min

A few months ago, I had a party at my house, and one of the guys in attendance - my friend James Sol Radina - handed me two capsules of something called "CBD", also known as cannabidiol. This was actually right before we left to go play a giant game of laser tag in America's largest laser tag arena, in which he and I came in first and second place.  But this podcast, in which I interview James, along with his Indian scientists sidekick Dr. Mewa about what CBD really is, isn't about how to get drugs at parties that help you win at laser tag. Instead, it's all about the science and the practical ways to use CBD, which is the completely legal extract of the cannabis plant that many, many people are now turning to for everything from enhanced focus, to decreased stress, to lower inflammation. So what is CBD exactly? CBD is an abbreviation for cannabidiol, a prominent naturally-occurring cannabinoid component found in cannabis that comprises up to 40% of the plant. After THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) – which is the psychoactive component of cannabis most often associated with marijuana – CBD is by far the most studied natural cannabinoid, especially when it comes to medical benefits and addressing issues such as insomnia and anxiety. According to many researchers, CBD may be the single most important cannabinoid ever discovered. Despite popular perceptions of marijuana, cannabidiol is a cannabinoid devoid of any type of strange psychoactive effect (although it can help with cognitive performance, memory, focus, etc.). In other words, unlike THC, CBD won’t get you “high”, CBD can actually help to counteract some of the psychoactive effects of THC (taking any paranoia edge off of marijuana) and it’s 100% legal everywhere in the world, which means you can order it online, you can carry it on airplanes, and you can use it anywhere you’d like. In today's episode, James, Dr. Mewa and I discuss: -The difference between THC and CBD... -Why you would want to use CBD by itself, without any THC... -How you can use CBD to "take the edge" off THC... -Whether CBD is addictive, unsafe or illegal... -The role that CBD plays in both acute and chronic inflammation... -How you can use CBD to decrease anxiety and stress and to improve sleep... -Why most CBD oil and CBD capsules are not actually absorbed... -How Dr. Mewa uses "hybrid nanotechnology" to make molecules more absorbable... -------------------------------------- Resources from this episode: -The Effects Of Weed On Exercise article -The Science Of Weed documentary -NatureCBD+ (use 10% discount code CBD10) -------------------------------------- About the guests: James Sol Radina, CEO & Chief Visionary Officer As Chief Visionary Officer, James is the driving force behind Bio Hemp CBD's socially responsible model of donating CBD products to those who cannot afford them, and he is the inspirational force behind the company’s beliefs and marketing strategy. After partnering with Dr. Mewa Singh, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Bio Hemp CBD, James has built the best team in the industry. James is passionate about improving the human experience and has been a long time contributor to a number of charitable organizations. James co-founded S.P.I.N. (Spreading Philanthropy Into Networking), and then went on to co-found another endeavor, SEVEN, which focused on bringing together leaders in the Greater San Diego Area focused on personal development and philanthropy. James acted as Marketing Director and an Advisor on the Strategic Partnerships Committee for the Jeans 4 Justice Charity, a nonprofit that provides education to raise awareness for the prevention of sexual assault. Dr. Mewa Singh, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Singh is responsible for leading all research, product development, and product testing. Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Singh is the inventor of Hybrid-Nanoengineering™, the technology and process behind nano-ized CBD* and Ayurvedic herbs. The discovery of Hybrid-Nanoengineering™ is possibly the single biggest advancement in nutraceuticals. An expert in the biotechnology and product development, Dr. Singh has spent almost 30 years successfully developing and launching products for diagnostics, vaccines, nutraceuticals and nanomedicines. He has previously served as Director of Research & Development, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief of Operations and Chief Executive Officer for companies such as Chembio Diagnostics, Medical Services International, J N International and Meda Biotech, LLC. Dr. Singh holds a Master’s of Science in Biochemistry, a Master’s of Philosophy in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Singh has worked to develop over 145 different nanomedicines for use as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and agrochemicals. Do you have questions, comments or feedback about CBD or cannabidiol? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com and either James, Dr. Mewa or myself will reply. You can click here to get NatureCBD (use 10% discount code CBD10).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Mai 20151h

Today I present to you a guy who is no stranger to the BenGreenfieldFitness podcast: Tim Ferriss. Three years ago, Tim appeared on this show with Ray Cronise in the episode "Tim Ferriss and Ray Cronise Explain How To Manipulate Your Body’s Temperature To Burn More Fat". Two years ago, he returned with the "Tim Ferriss Cold Thermogenesis Episode". And now Tim is back, because believe it or not, he knows how to do more than just freeze his balls off. As a matter of fact, the relentless self-experimenter, author and now TV star has just launched the highly entertaining Tim Ferriss Experiment, which you can get now on iTunes. So far, I've watched the tactical shooting episode and the rock n' roll drumming episode, and I've queued up the urban escape and evasion episode next. But Tim is also up to other things. Like eating copious amounts of cheese. And that's where we start in this discussion with Tim, in which you'll discover: -Why Tim is experimenting with ketosis... -How Tim recently put on 15 pounds of muscle...   -Why Tim isn't tracking variables like sleep or heart rate variability... -Which smart drugs Tim used to accelerate learning during the Tim Ferriss experiment... -Why Tim ensures there is some kind of potentially embarrassing outcome when he is learning something new... -Tim's biggest tip to learn to run up a wall Parkour style... -How to evade someone in an urban situation... -Why tactical shooting was one of Tim's favorite episodes... -How Tim is using cold thermogenesis... Resources from this episode: -The Tim Ferriss Experiment (TV Show on iTunes) -Tim Ferriss and Ray Cronise Explain How To Manipulate Your Body’s Temperature To Burn More Fat (podcast) -Tim Ferriss Cold Thermogenesis Episode (podcast) -Precision Xtra Blood Ketone Monitor (device) -CILTEP (smart drug) -Yerba Mate tea (drink) -Pue-r tea (drink) -Double Kong Parkour move (video) -OnPointTactical (urban escape and evasion course) Do you have questions, comments or feedback about the Tim Ferriss Experiment? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Mai 201544min