Should our efforts to extend life- and health-span consider the "best" way to die?
My father's life was saved by a bypass and other CVD interventions in his late 70s, but he went on to die a slow, hard death with Alzheimers in his late 80s. Given the choice, I am certain he would have preferred a fatal heart attack to the way he went out. Given we know the three likeliest causes of death, does it make sense for an individual's preference in cause of death to enter the calculus in terms of treatment decisions and personal behaviors? Sorry for morbid question!
Statins and mitochondria dysfunction
Hi Peter, Statins impact muscle mitochondria which can result muscle pain, etc.. What is your feeling on statins and mitochondrial dysfunction. Given the importance of mitochondrial function, do you have recommendations about how to mitigate these effects on the mitochondria? Use of Coenzymeq10? Change to Different statins? Thank you.
APOE genotype testing
As I was reminded in the Limitless series, Peter recommends testing for the APOE4 gene to predict your risk of Alzheimer's. I've heard him say before that it's worth doing so because we have good interventions like exercise and controlling blood pressure. However, as far as I know, none of the recommendations for those with APOE4 are really any different from those for any of his other patients who don't have any copies of APOE4. So why do you still think it's valuable to know someone's APOE4 status? My personal opinion is that it only serves to cause stress because everyone should already be taking the same steps to minimize their risk of Alzheimer's in the first place.
NMN and Cancer Risk
Your guest spoke about the possible risk of NMN increasing cancer growth. He conducted a study using a small sample size of 8 mice. I recently started taking NMN, but after hearing about his study, I am considering going off it. I have a dormant spinal schwannoma and I certainly don't want to poke the bear. I have had melanoma in the past and I don't want to take any chances in that department either. Have there been any recent studies done since his study? Can you elaborate on this topic? Thanks and I love your show!
Increased Baseline Blood Sugar Levels Post-Covid or Post Bivalent Vaccine?
Have you seen or heard about Covid or the bivalent booster causing huge increases in fasting blood glucose levels and/or causing increased carb sensitivity? I’m a health coach who wears a Levels CGM once a quarter to track my blood sugar and to refocus on maintaining good eating habits. My blood sugar levels have always baselined in the 80’s…70’s at night…and I tend to stay below 110-120 unless I eat something blatantly sugary or carby. This past month I was shocked when my CGM showed my baseline and waking BS at 100 and a much more severe carb sensitivity— hitting numbers like 200 from eating foods like roasted red peppers. I’ve been eating, sleeping and exercising the same for 15 years. The only thing that has been different is that I received my bivalent booster 2 months before wearing this CGM. I double checked the CGM with a Glucometer/finger stick 4 separate times and each time it came in accurate. I haven’t had covid as far as I know, but my friend who did (and has eaten the same for years) just had the same experience. Are you seeing any of this in your practice?