🎯 All Moments (48)
Click any moment to jump to that point in the video
The Detour Analogy: How Methylene Blue Affects Your Mitochondria
Chris Masterjohn uses a brilliant 'detour' analogy to explain how methylene blue works within your mitochondria, either helping to bypass blockages or creating chaos if no issues exist. This segment details the mechanism of action and highlights the importance of individualized use.
Debunking the Turkey Tryptophan Myth
Chris Masterjohn explains why the common belief that turkey makes you sleepy due to tryptophan is a myth, revealing its origins and the actual science behind it. This clip is valuable for anyone interested in nutrition facts and debunking popular misconceptions.
Creatine for Brain Injury & The Power of Mitochondrial Testing
This segment discusses creatine as a beneficial supplement for traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery, noting that studies often use 20g/day because muscles take priority for creatine uptake. Critically, it recommends mitochondrial testing during serious recovery periods (e.g., a six-month window post-TBI) to identify individual bottlenecks and optimize the healing process.
The Real Reason We Need Deep Sleep: Mitochondrial Rest
Chris Masterjohn connects the importance of deep sleep to mitochondrial function, explaining that mitochondria need rest to produce and distribute energy, maintain, and repair the body. This clip offers a unique perspective on the biological necessity of sleep.
Beyond Endurance: How Strength Training Benefits Liver Mitochondria
This moment explains how different types of exercise impact mitochondrial function, revealing that while endurance training directly boosts muscle mitochondria, strength training uniquely engages the liver's mitochondria by processing lactate, offering a broader perspective on exercise benefits.
Methylene Blue: Panacea or Problematic? The Nuanced View
Chris Masterjohn addresses the controversial supplement methylene blue, explaining why some people rave about it while others are skeptical. He highlights the selection bias in online testimonials and its pharmacological antidepressant effects at higher doses.
Optimizing Mitochondrial Health: The Crucial Role of Creatine
Chris Masterjohn shares one of his top five tips for mitochondrial health: optimizing creatine status. He explains how much meat you need to eat to get enough creatine naturally, and who should consider supplementing, including vegans.
The Comprehensive Checklist for Lifelong Physical & Cognitive Health
This moment outlines a holistic approach to exercise for longevity, emphasizing not just strength and endurance, but also mobility, agility, balance, proprioception, and reaction time. It highlights how engaging in diverse activities, including social sports, trains brain mitochondria and cognitive functions essential for long-term health.
The CoQ10 Sweet Spot: Why More Isn't Always Better (and Watch for Side Effects)
This moment delves into CoQ10 supplementation, revealing a dose-response curve where 100-200mg/day improves average glucose, insulin, and blood pressure. However, it warns that 400mg/day can worsen these metrics for the average person and highlights significant individual variability, with some experiencing negative side effects like insomnia, heart racing, or hypersensitivity even at lower doses.
The True Definition of Health: Energy, Adaptability, and Libido
The speaker provides a unique and comprehensive definition of health that goes beyond the absence of disease, focusing on abundant energy, adaptability, and specific indicators like energy-to-anxiety ratio and libido. This offers a fresh perspective on well-being.
The Hidden Cost of Anxiety: Losing Control of Your Energy
The speaker explains how losing the top percentage of your energy can lead to a loss of control over energy distribution, manifesting as anxiety and reduced productivity, even if you don't feel tired. It highlights the importance of energy management beyond just feeling tired.
Warren Buffett's Wisdom Applied to Nutrition: The 'Food First' Diversified Portfolio
The speaker uses Warren Buffett's quote about diversified portfolios to advocate for a 'food first' approach to nutrition, especially for those without deep biochemical expertise. He argues that whole foods act as a diversified portfolio, protecting against ignorance and the risks of mega-dosing individual supplements.
Why the Seed Oil Debate is Misleading: The Problem with Short-Term Studies
The speaker addresses the controversy surrounding seed oils, explaining that their negative effects (making tissues vulnerable to damage) take time to manifest and are more apparent in older, longer-term studies. He criticizes the reliance on short-term trials by seed oil defenders, highlighting how these studies fail to capture the long-term damage.
The Ancestral Problem with Seed Oils: It's More Than Just Processing
The speaker argues that the issue with seed oils extends beyond just their industrial processing to their high polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition, which was not traditionally consumed in large quantities in ancestral human diets. He explains that the difficulty of mechanically extracting oil from seeds like corn or rapeseed historically led to their absence in diets, highlighting the unnaturalness of their modern prevalence.
Cholesterol: A Sign of Slow Metabolism, Not Just a Cause of Heart Disease
Chris Masterjohn explains that high cholesterol isn't necessarily a direct cause of heart disease, but rather a reflection of sluggish metabolism and the body's inability to use cholesterol effectively for vital functions like hormone production and brain synapses. He notes that while high cholesterol in youth can predict later heart disease, it points to a metabolic issue rather than cholesterol itself being the culprit.
Mitochondrial Energy: The Key to Cholesterol Clearance and Hormonal Balance
Chris Masterjohn explains that the body's ability to clear cholesterol from the blood and maintain hormonal balance is fundamentally driven by mitochondrial energy production. When mitochondrial function is compromised, the brain doesn't perceive a state of 'abundance,' leading to cholesterol stagnation and a decline in essential hormones like sex hormones. This highlights the central role of mitochondria in overall metabolic health.
Boost Thyroid Function: Protein, Iodine, and Food First
Chris Masterjohn provides actionable advice for improving thyroid function, emphasizing a 'food first' approach. He explains that sufficient food intake, efficient mitochondrial ATP conversion, and adequate protein (for tyrosine) and iodine are fundamental. He highlights seafood as a reliable source of iodine due to varying soil mineral content.
Hidden Factors Increasing Your Iodine Needs
Chris Masterjohn reveals lesser-known factors that can significantly increase an individual's iodine requirements. He explains that women with larger breasts may need more iodine as breast tissue acts as a sink, and environmental toxins like bromine (from flame retardants and paints) and fluoride (in water and toothpaste) compete with iodine, leading to higher demands for this crucial mineral.
Selenium and Glutathione: Guardians of Thyroid Health
Chris Masterjohn explains the crucial role of selenium in protecting the thyroid gland. Selenium helps the body utilize glutathione to shield the thyroid from damage, which is particularly important during the 'messy process' of thyroid hormone production. He notes that trials show selenium can lower autoimmune antibodies in Hashimoto's thyroiditis and emphasizes that other antioxidants are equally vital for preventing tissue damage and immune system dysregulation in the thyroid.
Medical Diagnoses: Useful Lies for Treatment Decisions
Chris Masterjohn offers a provocative perspective on medical diagnoses, stating that 'all medical diagnoses are false but some are useful.' He explains that diagnoses are essentially 'reality distortion filters' or hypotheses designed to triage treatment decisions, not absolute truths. This approach allows practitioners to focus on what works, even if it means overlooking complex underlying details, as seen in how treatments for epilepsy or depression are rotated until efficacy is found.
Nattokinase & Natto: Preventing Heart Attacks by Degrading Blood Clots
Chris Masterjohn highlights the benefits of Nattokinase, an enzyme found in fermented Japanese natto, for preventing heart attacks and strokes. He explains that Nattokinase helps break down blood clots, which are the primary cause of most heart attacks. He also notes that natto is rich in Vitamin K2, further protecting against plaque rupture, and suggests that Nattokinase can be particularly beneficial for individuals with a predisposition to clotting or severe atherosclerosis.
Mitochondria First: The Food-First, Pharma-Last Approach
Chris Masterjohn advocates for a 'mitochondria first, food first pharma last' approach to health. He stresses the importance of optimizing mitochondrial energy production through natural foods before considering pharmaceuticals, explicitly stating that statins are mitochondrial toxins that are counterproductive to this foundational goal.
CoQ10 Miracle: Woman Regains Period After 10 Years of Amenorrhea
The speaker shares a powerful anecdote about a client named Jacqueline who, after 10 years of amenorrhea and trying various treatments, regained her period within two weeks of taking a high dose of CoQ10 based on specific mitochondrial testing. This highlights the potential of personalized nutrition and high-dose supplementation.
The Disgusting Truth About Seed Oil Manufacturing & The Canola "Con"
Joe Rogan and the speaker discuss the unappetizing manufacturing process of seed oils, particularly canola oil (originally rapeseed oil), contrasting it with natural fats like butter. They highlight the use of chemicals to remove rancid smells and the misleading branding, calling canola oil a 'con.'
The Underappreciated Link Between Functional Movement, Tissue Quality & Immune Health
This moment synthesizes research on stretching preventing tumor growth, T-cell activation mechanics, and Crohn's disease treatment to propose a groundbreaking hypothesis: the quality of your joint and connective tissue, maintained through diverse functional mechanical activity (like gymnastics), profoundly influences immune function and may be a key, underappreciated factor in preventing cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The 'Gymnast Lesson': Optimize for Diverse Movement, Not Just V2 Max
This clip challenges the narrow focus on metrics like V2 max for longevity, proposing instead to learn from gymnasts. The speaker advises assessing what gymnastic abilities you lack and integrating diverse, whole-body functional movements, coordination, and explosive actions into your routine, even sharing his personal journey of converting workouts to gymnastic versions.
Stop 'Reverse Engineering Aging': Build Peak Capacity When You're Young
This clip criticizes the common longevity mindset of 'reverse engineering aging' (trying to avoid loss) and advocates for building peak physical and cognitive function when young. Using bone mass and memory as examples, the speaker explains that maximizing your capacity at 25 provides a crucial buffer against natural decline later in life, setting a much higher bar for healthy aging.
Atherosclerosis: Immune Response to Seed Oil Damage, Not Just Cholesterol
Chris Masterjohn provides a clear, controversial explanation of atherosclerosis: it's not primarily caused by cholesterol, but by the immune system quarantining particles damaged by seed oils. He states that declining mitochondrial function weakens the body's defense against this damage, leading to progressive seed oil damage and subsequent plaque formation. He notes that this perspective differs from the common belief that cholesterol is the main culprit.
Statins: Mitochondrial Toxins and Backwards Medicine
Chris Masterjohn delivers a strong critique of statins, labeling them as mitochondrial toxins that inhibit CoQ10 synthesis and other vital energy production processes. He argues that the medical approach of prescribing statins without first optimizing mitochondrial function with natural foods is 'totally backwards,' highlighting how these drugs actively harm the very cellular processes crucial for health.
CoQ10 vs. Methylene Blue: Understanding Their Roles in Mitochondrial Energy
The speaker vividly explains the distinct mechanisms of CoQ10 and Methylene Blue in mitochondrial energy production, using analogies like ferries and shady taxis. He clarifies that CoQ10 is a transport pathway component, while Methylene Blue acts as a detour, and warns about the dangers of overdosing on CoQ10 by creating 'traffic jams' in the system.
Heart Attacks: Not Blocked Arteries, But Clots from Inflamed Plaque
Chris Masterjohn clarifies a common misconception about heart attacks, stating that 98% are not caused by plaque occluding blood vessels. Instead, they result from inflammatory processes within the plaque, often driven by oxidizing seed oils, which degrade collagen, cause micro-tears, and lead to a sudden blood clot blocking the artery. He then introduces Nattokinase as an enzyme that helps break down these clots.
The Shocking Results of the LA Veterans Study on Seed Oils and Cancer
The speaker details the findings of the crucial LA Veterans Administration hospital study (1969), which showed that while seed oils initially offered a slight heart disease benefit, it wore off, and crucially, long-term consumption (5-7 years) was associated with increased cancer and total mortality, especially in older populations. This highlights a significant historical study often ignored in current debates.
The 50-Year Failure to Study Seed Oils: Why We Still Don't Know Enough
The speaker laments the scientific community's failure to conduct long-term seed oil trials (well over 8 years) as recommended in 1969. He attributes this to current research incentives favoring short-term publications and grants, and explains the biological reasons (tissue saturation, vitamin E depletion) why seed oil damage takes years to manifest, making short studies useless.
Warning: The Hidden Chemicals in Your Grocery Store Pump Spray Oils
The speaker shares a personal experience from a lab where residual hexane and other unknown chemical solvents were found in grocery store foods, especially in pump spray oils. He warns listeners about the massive proportions of these solvents in such products, advising against their use.
The Bribed Science & Media Lies That Demonized Saturated Fats & Cholesterol
Joe Rogan and the speaker discuss the historical demonization of saturated fats and cholesterol, tracing it back to studies influenced by the sugar industry and amplified by mainstream media like Time magazine in 1984. They highlight how these narratives, despite being outdated or flawed, continue to misinform public perception about healthy eating, particularly regarding cholesterol's vital role.
Creatine's Surprising Role in Brain Function & Sleep Deprivation
Learn about a recent study showing how creatine supplementation can acutely prevent the brain from suffering during sleep deprivation and improve cognitive performance. Chris Masterjohn explains creatine's role as an energy distributor within cells.
The Hidden 'Tax' of Injury: Why Recovery Never Means 100%
This crucial moment stresses that injury prevention must be the number one consideration for both longevity and maximizing strength. It explains that every injury incurs a 'tax' on the body, diverting mitochondrial resources for healing. As a result, even after 'recovery,' you're not truly 100% back to baseline, but rather 100% with the added burden of having recovered, which accumulates over time.
Food First, Pharma Last: The Organ Meat Strategy for Optimal Health
This clip champions a 'food first, pharma last' philosophy, especially regarding supplements. Using CoQ10 as an example, the speaker recommends prioritizing organ meats like heart (the best natural source) before resorting to supplements. He emphasizes that supplements should be used strategically to fill nutritional gaps or stimulate healing, not as a replacement for a poor diet, and ideally from compounds naturally occurring in the body.
The Hidden Truth About Seed Oils and Atherosclerosis
Chris Masterjohn challenges the conventional understanding of atherosclerosis, explaining that the issue isn't cholesterol itself, but rather the damage caused by seed oils to the lipoproteins carrying cholesterol. He reveals that these damaged fats trigger an immune response, leading to plaque formation, and highlights how randomized controlled trials showed different outcomes when seed oils were used to lower cholesterol.
Why Morning Sunlight is Crucial for Mitochondrial Energy & Anti-Aging
Chris Masterjohn explains how morning sunlight acts as a vital signal to 'wake up' your mitochondria, initiating optimal energy metabolism and combating the vicious cycle of aging. He also highlights the benefits of red and infrared light from the sun.
The 'Try a New Sport' Challenge: Uncover Your Hidden Weaknesses
This clip encourages listeners to try a new sport once a year to discover neglected functional movements, like rotation or side bending, that might be missing from their regular workouts. The speaker shares his personal experience trying BJJ and boxing, which exposed deficits in footwork and balance, leading him to incorporate daily rolls and handstand training.
Unexpected Longevity: Why Gymnasts & Pole Vaulters Live Longest
This clip reveals surprising research findings: gymnasts and pole vaulters live an average of eight years longer than the general population. It contrasts this with other athletes like sumo wrestlers (10 years below average) and martial artists, whose injury rates often counteract the positive effects of their training.
The Cycling Longevity Myth: Why Cardiorespiratory Fitness Isn't Everything
This clip challenges the common notion in the longevity space that cycling is the ultimate exercise for a long life. It presents data showing cyclists only gain two extra years of life, significantly less than gymnasts and pole vaulters (eight years), suggesting that a narrow focus on cardiorespiratory fitness might be missing broader factors for longevity.
Daniel Steinberg's Hidden Truth: Seed Oils and the Mediterranean Diet's Origin
Chris Masterjohn unveils the untold story of Daniel Steinberg, the chair of the 1984 NIH consensus conference that blamed cholesterol for heart disease. He reveals that Steinberg's own lab discovered that seed oil fats (pufas) had to be damaged on LDL particles to trigger plaque formation. This inconvenient truth, combined with concerns about corn oil causing cancer, led to the strategic promotion of olive oil and the 'Mediterranean diet' as a 'happy middle ground' to avoid saturated fats without acknowledging the dangers of seed oils.
The Salt Myth: How Medical Advice Led to Resurgent Iodine Deficiency
Chris Masterjohn critiques the medical establishment for perpetuating myths about nutrition, specifically highlighting how advice to reduce salt intake inadvertently led to a resurgence of iodine deficiency. He explains that iodine was fortified in salt to solve deficiency decades ago, but doctors telling people to avoid salt eliminated this critical source, resulting in observable cases of goiter that are often overlooked.
Why Inconvenient Truths are Ignored in Medical Practice
Chris Masterjohn explains how the medical system's focus on 'triaging decisions' for treatment leads to the deliberate ignorance of historical threads and inconvenient truths. He argues that if a piece of information, like Daniel Steinberg's discovery about seed oils driving plaque, doesn't change the immediate treatment decision (e.g., prescribing a statin), then it's deemed irrelevant and often suppressed, highlighting a systemic issue in how medical knowledge is applied and filtered.
75% of Your Mitochondrial Aging is Under Your Control
Chris Masterjohn reveals that while mitochondrial function declines with age (1% per year on average), a significant 75% of this process is within your control. This clip offers an empowering perspective on slowing down aging and maintaining vitality.
The Buried Data: Minnesota Coronary Survey and Seed Oils
Chris Masterjohn recounts the shocking discovery of suppressed data from the Minnesota Coronary Survey, one of the key randomized controlled trials on seed oils. Decades after its initial publication, researchers found buried results showing that the seed oil group had double the atherosclerosis, and a drop in cholesterol was paradoxically associated with more heart disease. This highlights a significant controversy in nutritional science.