Dr. Rhonda Patrick

Regular exercise may help preserve the heart's flexibility as you age. In the long-term data discussed here, exercising 4 to 5 days a week was linked to more flexible hearts than 2 to 3 days. The exact threshold is uncertain, and very high training volumes bring some heart risks of their own.

Short, vigorous intervals may improve fitness about as much as longer moderate workouts, in much less time. Varying your pace, even during a walk, is a simple form of interval training. Most studies are small and short, so whether intervals beat steady exercise over years is not known.

Some biological-ageing measures estimate age-related changes in cells from patterns like DNA methylation. In a roughly three-year randomized trial, omega-3 modestly slowed changes in several of these measures, on the order of a few months, but we don't yet know whether that means people actually age more slowly or live longer. These ageing clocks are research tools, not a proven measure of a longer life. The strongest everyday advice for healthy ageing is still exercise, especially strength training.

Visceral fat, the fat deep around your organs, can be high even in lean-looking people and is linked to higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. The clearest levers to reduce it are regular exercise, enough sleep, a whole-food diet without constant overeating, and limiting alcohol. The episode's distinctive angle is everyday chemicals, BPA, phthalates, and PFAS in plastics, receipts, and non-stick pans, which may affect hormones over time; cutting exposure is low-risk and reasonable. It also covers supplements and weight-loss drugs, where the science is more mixed. Some claims are stated more strongly than the evidence, but the core levers are well-supported.