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Source Material for next Decoding Academia (Patreon)

Published:
2023-09-16 11:37:05
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

This is going to be something of a Decoding Academia / Decoding Guru crossover as we will be playing clips and discussing features of the presentation, etc. However, the topic of conversation between Attia and Huberman is a 'journal club' discussing two papers and giving advice on "how to read scientific papers". 

In many respects, this is a bit like a bizarro orld (better produced) decoding academia with two people who have academic expertise but rather different approaches and personalities than Matt and I.

If you want a preview of what I thought, see this thread: https://x.com/C_Kavanagh/status/1701852380638466159

The papers are linked in the descriptions on YouTube. 

Enjoy! 

P.S. We will also release this episode on the main feed but probably a week or two later.

Files

270 ‒ Journal club with Andrew Huberman: metformin, power of belief, & how to read scientific papers

Watch the full episode and view show notes here: https://bit.ly/3PylTGR Become a member to receive exclusive content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/ Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/ Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University and host of the Huberman Lab podcast, joins us in a special journal club episode. Peter and Andrew each present a recent paper that sparked their interests, delving into the findings, dissecting their significance, discussing potential confounders and limitations, and exploring remaining questions. Importantly, they share their methodologies for comprehending research studies, providing valuable insights for listeners to navigate this process independently. Peter presents an epidemiological study reevaluating a noteworthy metformin result that intrigued the anti-aging community, leading to discussions on metformin's geroprotective potential (or lack thereof) and the current lack of aging biomarkers. Andrew introduces a paper examining how our beliefs about the medications we take influence their biological effects, distinguishing the "belief effect" from a placebo effect and highlighting its exciting implications for the future. We discuss: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:00:10 - The motivation behind this journal club conversation 0:06:33 - Why Peter chose a paper on metformin, how metformin works, and why it generated excitement as a longevity-enhancing agent 0:13:45 - Defining insulin resistance and its underlying causes 0:19:28 - Metformin as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, and Peter’s evolving interest in metformin as a geroprotective drug 0:22:20 - Defining the term “geroprotection” 0:23:31 - The 2014 study that got the anti-aging community interested in metformin 0:30:43 - Peter presents the 2022 paper that repeats the analytical approach from the 2014 Bannister study 0:37:30 - Greater mortality in the metformin group: how results differed between the 2022 paper and the 2014 paper 0:49:20 - Understanding statistical significance, statistical power, sample size, and why epidemiology uses enormous cohorts 0:54:18 - Interpreting the hazard ratios from the 2022 metformin study, and the notable takeaways from the study 1:06:10 - Drugs that may extend lifespan, why Peter stopped taking metformin, and a discussion of caloric restriction 1:18:29 - Current thoughts on the use of metformin for longevity 1:20:05 - Could there be any longevity benefit to short periods of caloric restriction? 1:23:53 - Peter and Andrew’s process for reading scientific papers 1:30:05 - The biological effects of belief, and how “belief effects” differ from placebo effects 1:37:19 - The neurobiology of nicotine: a precursor conversation before delving into the paper Andrew chose 1:43:00 - Andrew presents a paper that demonstrates the impact of belief 1:52:02 - Analyzing the fascinating results of the Perl paper 2:00:45 - Exciting implications of the findings about “belief effects” -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 70 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan. Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor-patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and the materials linked to this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content on this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they have, and they should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. I take conflicts of interest very seriously. For all of my disclosures and the companies I invest in or advise, please visit my website where I keep an up-to-date and active list of such companies. For a full list of our registered and unregistered trademarks, trade names, and service marks, please review our Terms of Use: https://peterattiamd.com/terms-of-use/

Comments

Rakish Tilt 🎩

Huberman's dad is from Argentina? With a German sounding name? 🤔

Linda Sears

Can someone explain the discordant twins? Are they identical twins, one who is taking the metformin and the other is not, regardless of whether they are both diabetic or not? Or is one diabetic and the other one not? I didn't catch which it was and had difficulty seeing the data tables. I had a hard time with this one, most likely because I'm not the target audience. Getting through one day is enough; living long is just too much work, honestly.

Rakish Tilt 🎩

I found this full of fascinating information. The anti-aging and body fascist bias is evident, and I look forward to y'all decoding it.

Emma

I'm so torn on the anti aging stuff. On one hand it does seem to be a lot of rich gross right wingers who i definitely dont want sticking around longer! And there also seems to be a lot of grifters preying on a lot of anxious orthorexic types. But I also think some of it is real I had the annoying, but sadly not uncommon, experience of struggling through years of really bad health with no help from the mainstream medical establishment until this year and who previously branded me just a hysterical female! Turns out I actually do have a medical condition which is totally treatable. And in that long period of living with an undiagnosed illness I did get a lot of help from these longevity hacks. Particularly NMN and fasting and having a really low GI diet. But i mean obvs there's the placebo effect. And this stuff was only available to me as I am relatively ok off. I would much prefer that mainstream medicine worked better for both genders and health was not tied to money.

Daniel

These optimizer/anti-aging types really want there to be these Fountain of Youth things that will improve or extend their lives. So my sense is they start far from a place of scientific neutrality--the research to them is more about confirming what they want to believe about their pet elixir. The null hypothesis--that something like metformin doesn't have major health benefits for all--is less entertained. (Have only half-listened to half their podcast to so my take could be wrong.)

Ymirsdreams

My issue with 90% of the Huberman 'protocols' is the unstated major premise that humans are 99.9995% ideal, with that 0.0005% 'pug in download' all that is needed to boost up to the next level and live that additional 25 years with a ripped bod, perfect teeth, and irrepressible sex drive. It's exactly the same major premise that appears in so many spiritual practices (gnostic, yogic, etc) where humans are 'almost there'.... it just requires 30 years meditating in an ashram, or accepting Jesus, or practising 10 years of jiujitsu, chanting a bespoke sacred mantra, an all meat diet, etc, etc, etc, etc. I feel the roots of this impulse come from an understanding that we are temporal and physically and mentally bare the culmination of our micro choices, but the premise that within this truth lies the opportunity to 'ascend the very process itself' seems to be where cognisance shifts into imagination.