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Our genes have stayed the same, but the environment has changed dramatically, with 50,000 new chemicals of unknown toxicology introduced. Increased stress patterns, time urgency with social media, and climate changes are factors. The biosphere has changed, with a loss of diversity and simplification of our diet. We get 90% of our calories from less than eight foods. Our genes never knew they were gonna be exposed to these things over a short period. Genes can't mutate fast enough to keep up.

Dr. Alexis Cohen (Jasmine Cohen) and the host discuss a wide-ranging view of health, science, and society, centered on mitochondria, light biology, and decentralized approaches to knowledge and healing. - On science, health, and authority: - Cohen argues that “we really haven’t been doing science for about seventy years now” and that modern science has become scientism, with people looking to scientists and doctors as authority figures over personal health, even though no one can fully know another’s lived body experience. - She emphasizes that aging is a reflection of mitochondrial heteroplasmy and that there are ways to slow or speed that burden, but contemporary living habits harm mitochondrial health. She asserts there are incentives to promote lifestyle advice that is not monetizable (outdoor activity, barefoot grounding, seasonal eating, movement), which she says slows research and access to information. - The conversation asserts a need to reclaim personal authority over health and to recognize life as magical and miraculous. - Personal entry into Bitcoin and crypto curiosity: - Cohen notes she and her partner became interested in Bitcoin in 2018, with a continued engagement including taking a cryptography course to understand the underlying proofs rather than accepting information at face value. - Background and work: - The host introduces Cohen as a Princeton-trained molecular biologist, a PhD focusing on metabolism, gut health, and circadian biology, who shifted from academic research to helping people rebuild health through nutrition, movement, mitochondrial function, and light exposure. Cohen shares that her own childhood illnesses, weight issues, and colitis prompted a pivot from academia to health coaching, emphasizing ownership of wellbeing through science and practical lifestyle strategies. - Cohen highlights that she values rigorous science but seeks practical lifestyle strategies to empower clients to understand their biology and take ownership of their health. - Dance, embodiment, and biology: - Cohen describes taking up social dancing (salsa, bachata, merengue, fox trot, hustle) and training intensely. She explains dancing challenges the brain in novel ways, requires being guided by a partner, and expands neural connections. - The host shares similar experiences with dance, noting body memory across decades and the importance of movement, rhythm, and social connection for health. - Mitochondria, heteroplasmy, and light: - Cohen explains mitochondria as the battery of the cell, with their own circular DNA and multiple roles in ATP production, biosynthesis, and epigenetic regulation. Heteroplasmy, the mutation burden in mitochondrial DNA, reflects dysfunction that can lead to energy production deficits across tissues. - She notes three key mitochondrial outputs: - ATP production powers cellular processes and metabolism. - Metabolic water production (including deuterium-depleted metabolic water). - Biophotons, photons largely in the UV range, emitted by mitochondria and nucleus during electron transport; older, sicker individuals emit more light due to increased permeability of the system. - Cohen argues aging mirrors mitochondrial heteroplasmy and mutation accumulation, with higher mutation burdens in tissues like immune cells, gut, liver, and brain associated with disease. She also discusses that mitochondria contribute to energy, water, and biophotons, and that modern life elevates heteroplasmy by lifestyle choices. - She argues heteroplasmy can be slowed or sped, and that there are actionable interventions—though the exact list is not exhaustively enumerated in this segment. - Why mitochondrial health isn’t the central target: - Cohen says mitochondrial health research is less profitable because it emphasizes lifestyle and environmental changes rather than drugs, which affects funding and research direction. She describes a system where focusing on broad environmental and lifestyle changes could be financially less lucrative than drug-centered approaches. - She expands on historical dynamics in science, including siloing of scientists and the development of a paywalled academic publishing model, suggesting that the system discourages holistic, integrative approaches that would unify mitochondrial biology with systems biology. - Light, circadian biology, and UVA/UVB: - The discussion shifts to light as a regulator of mitochondria. Cohen divides the sun’s spectrum into ultraviolet (UVB and UVA), visible light, blue light, and near infrared (NIR). She emphasizes that near-infrared light penetrates deeply and stimulates mitochondria, while UVB promotes melanin production via POMC and MSH peptides, affecting energy balance, mood, and metabolism. - UVB light triggers alpha-MSH and beta-endorphin production, the latter contributing to mood and dopamine support, and helps regulate energy expenditure and appetite via POMC-derived pathways; UVB exposure supports melanin synthesis, redox balance, and photoreception across tissues. - UVA light activates Neuropsin receptors on eyes and skin, aiding circadian entrainment and nitric oxide production, which improves vasodilation and nutrient delivery. Neuropsin is present in skin and testes; its stimulation is linked to testosterone and fertility enhancements. UVA also helps anchor local circadian rhythms in tissues. - Cohen discusses the misperception that UV light is universally harmful and argues that melanin is not only protective but can facilitate energy capture from high-energy photons to support energy metabolism in humans. Melanin’s roles extend beyond protection to potential energy transduction, with POMC, MSH, and alpha-MSH linking light exposure to metabolic regulation. - The My Circadian app is recommended as a tool to track sunrise, UVA/UVB rise, and lux (brightness) to optimize exposure. Cohen notes indoor environments rarely exceed 1000 lux, while outdoor brightness can reach 60,000–60,200 lux, significantly impacting serotonin production, mood, and cognition. She emphasizes the importance of bright daytime light for circadian alignment and melatonin suppression at night. - Infrared, LEDs, and indoor lighting: - The conversation covers lighting technologies, noting fluorescent tubes and LEDs minimize near-infrared and maximize blue light, which disrupts circadian rhythms and flicker, stressing the eyes and sympathetic nervous system. Cohen argues that modern lighting deprives people of infrared and UV radiation, both critical for mitochondrial function and circadian health. - She criticizes the push for energy efficiency that reduces thermal and infrared energy, arguing it contributes to systemic health issues. She emphasizes the importance of incandescent and near-infrared-rich lighting for indoor environments and sun exposure to sustain metabolic health. - Grounding, EMF, and environmental exposure: - Grounding (direct contact with the earth) is presented as a way to discharge excess positive charge in tissues, reducing inflammatory burden and supporting mitochondrial function. Cohen shares practical grounding instructions—grounding directly to the earth when possible, wearing natural fibers, and using grounding footwear. - Non-native electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G, and other sources are discussed as contributors to mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation. Cohen cites Robert Becker’s historical work on non-thermal EMF effects and Havana syndrome as context for potential biological risks. She suggests practical mitigation, including reducing EMF exposure, using Ethernet where possible, and using tinfoil to shield exposure in certain situations. Plant life can absorb EMF, and grounding, sunlight, and strategic use of red and infrared light are recommended to compensate where exposure is high. - The discussion includes practical home strategies, EMF-blocking window panels, EMF-blocking paint, and even temporary shielding (e.g., tinfoil) as a do-it-yourself mitigation approach. - Travel, circadian disruption, and protocols: - Cohen outlines travel challenges: high altitude cosmic radiation exposure (non-AVMF exposure), cabin EMFs, circadian misalignment, and sedentary behavior. She suggests pre- and post-travel strategies such as grounding, sun exposure, hydration, lymphatic support, and blue-light management to ease time-zone transitions. - She promotes an ebook protocol focused on lymphatic support and circadian realignment, available for purchase, with a holiday discount code holydays. Blue-light blocking strategies and red-light strategies are included to facilitate adaptation to new time zones. - Health, mental health, and pediatric considerations: - The hosts discuss mental health concerns, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, emphasizing circadian regulation, light exposure, sleep hygiene, and reducing screen exposure. Cohen notes the importance of bright daytime light and a dark, cool sleeping environment for sleep quality and mood. She mentions a study showing even small nighttime light exposure can influence daytime metabolic markers, emphasizing the importance of darkness at night. - Birth, medications, and vaccines: - They touch on birth experiences, epidurals, and how early life interventions can influence long-term health and microbiome development. Cohen discusses pain as a portal to healing and critiques reliance on certain pharmaceutical approaches. - On vaccines, Cohen describes observed adverse effects post COVID-19 vaccination, including histamine issues, barrier permeability, and rapid cancer reports linked to vaccine exposure, while underscoring the lack of widespread funding to investigate these relationships. She mentions turbo cancers and batch variation as topics already discussed by researchers like Kevin McKernan and a need for independent inquiry. - Decentralization, science, and Bitcoin again: - Cohen envisions a decentralized health system in which multiple modalities (acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, allopathic medicine) can be tested for proof of work, with outcomes guiding what works best for individuals. She believes decentralization is necessary for genuine innovation, with a future vision of a decentralized, funded light research lab and a retreat model to study circadian biology, mitochondrial function, and nature-based health in diverse environments (North America and equatorial regions). - She sees Bitcoin as a tool that enables financial sovereignty and autonomy, providing an opportunity to fund decentralized science and publish findings on blockchain to protect against censorship. She highlights the potential for Bitcoin to support a lab through deflationary funding and to empower researchers and patients alike. - Closing: - The conversation closes with practical resources: Thinkific-hosted classes, an online book club, and a QuantumU course that reframes science education around decentralized, nature-based principles. Cohen emphasizes accessible contact options (Instagram and email) and a holiday discount for courses and ebooks. The participants express enthusiasm for ongoing collaboration, travel and events, and continued education in Bitcoin, science, and holistic health. Overall, the episode centers on mitochondria as a foundational health driver, the essential role of light and circadian biology in energy, mood, metabolism, and aging, and a call for decentralized, nature-aligned science, with Bitcoin framed as a funding and governance tool to empower individuals and researchers to pursue health innovation beyond centralized institutions.

A new study indicates that stress can shrink the brain. Research has found a link between high levels of the stress hormone cortisol and brain size and function. The study, which involved over 2,000 people, measured thinking skills and found that the outer layer of the brain was smaller in those who were more stressed. Doctors also state that stress can lead to memory loss and headaches.

Speaker 0 and Speaker 1 discuss how lifestyle and mental-emotional factors influence the gut microbiome, emphasizing the brain–gut connection and the role of trauma. - The key to the microbiome is peace. Speaker 1 uses a bottle analogy: shaking a bottle causes bubbling and pressure, but letting it settle leads to calm with no gas bubbles, paralleling how constant stress disrupts the body and a calmer state supports balance. - Lifestyle is critical. Constant travel, high stress, overwork, and relentless digital and real-world activity can exhaust the system. The idea is to avoid going from calm to high stress, or from high stress to calm abruptly; changes should be gradual to allow adaptation. - Personality and lifestyle fit matter. If someone is naturally calm and artistic (e.g., a yoga instructor) but moves into a high-stress lifestyle, they may not adapt well. Conversely, someone already in a high-go, fast-paced mode may have developed resilience, but further stress can push the system beyond what it can handle. - Emotional stress and mental health profoundly affect the gut. The brain controls the gut and the gut controls the brain. Even with good diet, probiotics, and nutrition, severe emotional stress can disrupt the gut microbiome. - Trauma’s long-lasting impact. Experiences such as rape, robbery, exposure to gangs, childhood trauma, bullying, and violence leave lasting stress that can manifest in gut issues. These stressors can keep someone in a low-threshold, anxious state and are difficult to fix solely through gut-focused interventions. - Epigenetics and intergenerational effects. The idea is raised that microbes might carry the suffering of previous generations, potentially influencing current gut-brain states across generations. - A multidisciplinary, team-based approach is essential. Speaker 1 suggests collaborating with psychotherapy, psychiatrists, nutritionists, yoga instructors, and meditation to reprogram both brain and gut. The speaker notes that gut work alone isn’t enough without addressing brain and emotional healing. He emphasizes that “I work with psychotherapy. I work with psychiatrists. I work with nutritionists. I work with yoga instructors, meditation sometimes, to reprogram,” underscoring the need for an integrated treatment strategy.

It's not only that stress makes us unhealthy and forgetful and maybe even demented and dead earlier, stress makes us tunnel visioned. If you've got a choice between more of a sense of control or more of a sense of outlets or more of a sense of predictability or more social support, social support is the way to do it every single One of the most interesting important things that stress does is it decreases our capacity for empathy.

The chronic stress causes your emotional brain to become hyperactive where now you're always watching for something bad to happen. So that's the negativity bias. So the more ACE score you have, the higher your ACE score, the more likely you are to notice the negative. And I actually had a positive training program to teach people to notice what's right. And my wife who has an ACE ACE score of eight, she's like, this is the dumbest game I've ever seen because she believed noticing the scary people protected her. Where I'm like, the chronic stress is gonna take you out early.

- So if we have this hormone called cortisol, cortisol does a couple of interesting things: increases the inflammation that we experience, it increases our heart rate, it increases our blood pressure, it makes us more mentally stressed, we feel more mentally stressed, and it floods our bloodstream with sugar. - Now since it does all of these different things, each of these things goes back and regulates cortisol. - So there's a really interesting set of studies that show that people who have been traumatized have high levels of cortisol. - And those high levels of cortisol increase their hypervigilance, make it hard for them to go to sleep, and the cortisol is doing that to your brain.

Cortisol, a hormone released during stress, suppresses the immune system, allowing pathogens and viruses to cause problems. Stress essentially puts the immune system to sleep, potentially causing viruses to emerge from remission, especially after major losses. In these situations, vitamins and good nutrition may be ineffective due to the overriding impact of stress.

Putting a human in isolation cuts their life expectancy in half. Broken heart or caregiver syndrome, where one partner dies shortly after the other, demonstrates this. The emotional state and frequency changes in the body, and when the mind surrenders, the body surrenders. There's emerging evidence that emotions can make us sick. Isolating human beings has a traumatic effect on life expectancy. Studying cells in isolation in a petri dish is flawed because cells behave differently in a community within the body. Cells exchange with their environment, eliminate waste, repair, and detoxify as a community. Community impacts even the cellular level.

Sustained stress shuts down the immune system. T cells, which normally protect and kill cancer cells and viruses, are put to sleep. This immunosuppression causes infections to last longer.

As we age, weakened mitochondria contribute to free radical damage and tissue destruction, accelerating aging. This manifests as fine lines and wrinkles, thinner skin, weaker hair, slower nail growth, poor exercise recovery, and loss of muscle and bone. This is a byproduct of oxidative stress within the body. Consuming fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices provides antioxidants. These antioxidants help with the oxidative process and restore the mitochondria.

Julianne Holt Lundstedt, an investigator who studies loneliness, has estimated that being lonely is as dangerous to your health as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day or being obese. This highlights the very real, concrete effects of social isolation and loneliness that damage us as we go through adult life. The discussion notes that there is a link with Alzheimer's as well. There is. The brain declines sooner and the onset of Alzheimer's is earlier in people who are lonely. You’re twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s if you’re lonely. I believe that was in the Marmalade Trust study. You’re twice as likely to develop. It could be

Too much stress can be deadly because it elevates stress hormones, leading to increased gut permeability and inflammation. Sources of stress include poor sleep, bad food, cigarettes, alcohol, and emotional or financial strain, including social media. The effects of stress accumulate over time, meaning habits tolerated in youth can contribute to health problems later in life. The speaker believes that unaddressed stress is a major health issue.

80% of our health in old age is due to our lifestyle and how we live. And only 20% is genetic. This is illustrated by studying twins who, you know, some smoke, some don't. Some live different lives. Your genes are not your destiny. That's the good news. These statements suggest that lifestyle and environment have a larger impact on aging health than genetic inheritance. The twin-study reference shows how individuals with shared genes can have different health trajectories based on choices and exposures. In other words, preventive measures and lifestyle decisions play a key role in shaping long-term health outcomes.

A recent large-scale vitamin D study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It was a four-year study involving 25,000 adults across the United States, conducted by 140 researchers. The study found that people who took vitamin D3, compared with omega-3 (which has other positive studies but not with telomere length in this study), had telomere length preservation. This new study follows a Canadian study from two years earlier, conducted over ten years with about 12,000 participants, which showed that vitamin D could reduce the risk of dementia by about forty percent. The earlier study was so convincing to the speaker that close family members, including the speaker’s wife and mom, began taking vitamin D3 regularly after that study, due to the goal of reducing dementia risk. According to the speaker, the current study’s findings suggest that vitamin D3 can help prevent dementia and also help maintain or preserve telomere length significantly, “only aging a year and four years.” The speaker notes that they did not say telomere length was reversed; to their knowledge, there’s no way to extend telomeres once they have shortened, so preservation is emphasized as important. The speaker urges starting vitamin D3 early, highlighting the implications of preserving telomere length and potentially reducing dementia risk as compelling reasons to take vitamin D3 regularly. The comparison to omega-3 is acknowledged, but the focal points are telomere length preservation and dementia risk reduction associated with vitamin D supplementation.

"Go back a 100 million years and some dinosaur is getting stressed because another one is trying to eat it." "it's secreting the exact same stress hormone, the same molecule as we do in a traffic jam." "When that hormone is mobilized, because you're running for your life, everything they're doing is saving your life." "It's sending energy to your thigh muscles." "It's making your heart beat faster." "But what do we do? We sit and we worry for thirty days each month about how we're going to pay the rent, and we're secreting the same hormones and making the same changes in our body and run for your life and your blood pressure goes through the roof." "That's good. That's saving your life." "Do the same thing when you're thinking about psychological stressors and do it chronically and you're going to get sick."

Stress is identified as the primary driver of low testosterone levels and can negatively impact the thyroid, adrenal function, and sex hormones. Men should prioritize stress relief, even if they don't perceive themselves as stressed, by incorporating relaxation activities into their daily routine.

Somebody in the family is mentally off or somebody in the family has gone to jail—these are adverse childhood experiences. They affect childhood and diseases later in life; most diseases in adulthood have started in childhood. It’s very important for parents to create a healthy environment for kids. Some young people are resilient and can overcome the bad effects if they have good mentors, religious people, or people who take them out into the country more, outdoor exercise and things. It’s a challenge to become friends with kids in high-risk situations, be good mentors, help them get into healthy environments, and you can prolong their lives. Understanding how the brain operates in early childhood is extremely important; that’s where public health needs to put its money to make sure these kids have good measures.