Are Supplements a Waste or a Longevity Opportunity? | Simon Hill on The Imperfects Podcast

Summary

In the latest episode of 'The Imperfects Podcast,' expert Simon Hill unravels the myths surrounding supplements, discussing their potential as a longevity opportunity rather than a pointless expense. Highlighting supplements like creatine, omega-3s, and multivitamins, Hill explores how these can benefit not just muscle strength but also cognitive function and bone health. He stresses the importance of context and personal dietary needs when considering supplementation, especially for individuals on plant-rich or vegan diets. The discussion also sheds light on the evolutionary perspective of our nutrient synthesis, emphasizing science's role in enhancing long-term health.

Highlights

• Creatine isn't just about biceps; it boosts brainpower too! 💪🧠
• Omega-3s are essential for non-fish eaters, supporting heart and brain health. 🐟❤️
• The safety profile of creatine makes it a top-choice supplement. No worries about any dangerous side effects! 👍
• Magnesium isn't the biggest buzz, but hey, it's great if you're not getting enough from your diet! 🌿
• Our body's natural production is about survival, not longevity. That's where science steps in for the win! 🏆🔬

Key Takeaways

• Supplements like creatine and omega-3 are not just for bodybuilders. 💪 They also support brain health and longevity! 🧠
• Creatine is a hero for sleep-deprived warriors, keeping your cognitive skills sharp during all-nighters. 🌙
• Vegetarians and vegans, consider algae-based omega-3 supplements since fish oil might swim away from your diet. 🐟
• Vitamin B12 and iodine are crucial for those on a plant-rich diet to avoid deficiencies. 🚫🥦
• Science backs the supplement talk, showing consistent benefits across studies. 🔬

Overview

In this eye-opening episode, Simon Hill challenges the notion that all supplements are a waste of money. Instead, he makes a strong case for a few select supplements that could hold the key to better health and longevity. He lists creatine, omega-3 fatty acids, and multivitamins as essential picks depending on individual diets and health goals. Beyond muscle building, creatine emerges as a frontrunner for cognitive benefits too—proving especially useful in sleep-deprivation scenarios!

Omega-3s from fish or algae oil are highlighted as vital, especially for those who don't consume fish regularly. For plant-based eaters, these fatty acids can significantly impact cardiovascular and brain health. Simon points out that while a plant-rich diet offers numerous advantages, it doesn’t always provide enough essential nutrients, making supplementation with vitamins like B12 and iodine crucial.

What makes this podcast special is the way Simon blends science with practical advice. He emphasizes how our bodies' natural production of nutrients evolved primarily for survival. However, to achieve longevity in good health, supplements play a pivotal role. These insights not only debunk myths but also offer a scientific basis for making informed dietary choices.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Supplements This chapter addresses the common myth that supplements are a waste of money. The speaker argues against this notion, suggesting there is context and nuance to consider. They mention having produced a video on the topic and propose that there are four or five supplements worth considering depending on individual needs, with creatine being at the top of the list.
• 00:30 - 04:00: Creatine Benefits and Research The chapter 'Creatine Benefits and Research' explores the versatile advantages of creatine beyond muscle building. Contrary to the common belief that creatine is solely for enhancing muscle strength, emerging research indicates its broader applications. It discusses how creatine is not only beneficial for building strength, which is crucial for longevity as we age, but also highlights ongoing research that aims to uncover additional health benefits.
• 04:30 - 10:00: Omega-3 and Diet Considerations The chapter discusses the potential cognitive benefits of omega-3 and other dietary considerations. It highlights a recent pilot study involving adults with depression, comparing the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) alone and CBT combined with 5 grams of creatine per day. Both treatments were beneficial, but the addition of creatine provided significant advantages over CBT alone.
• 10:00 - 14:00: Multivitamins and Micronutrients The chapter titled 'Multivitamins and Micronutrients' discusses a study that investigates the impact of an 8-week behavioral therapy on participants, highlighting the potential benefits observed in 100 participants. The study adds to the existing evidence, although the mechanisms are not fully comprehended. Additionally, the chapter mentions the evidence supporting the benefit of creatine supplementation, specifically at a dose of 10 grams per day, in enhancing bone health for post-menopausal women, which may help reduce the risk of osteopenia, osteoporosis, and fractures.
• 14:30 - 20:30: Creatine and Longevity The chapter discusses the potential benefits of creatine for longevity and overall health as people age, particularly focusing on women around the age of 60. It highlights a study involving sleep deprivation, where subjects were kept awake all night in a lab. The study was conducted as a randomized crossover trial, allowing for various measurements and observations to be made regarding the effects of sleep deprivation and the potential mitigating effects of creatine.

Are Supplements a Waste or a Longevity Opportunity? | Simon Hill on The Imperfects Podcast Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Myth number one, supplements are a waste of money. [Music] That's a myth. It's a myth. I think I mean there's a there's some context and nuance. You did not need thinking music. Can I can I extend? Um, so I think I think there are I did a video on this. I think there are kind of four or five good supplements for people to kind of consider broadly. Oh, please tell me depending on who they are. Uh, top of that list would be creatine. Oh,
• 00:30 - 01:00 yes. Thank you very much. Sorry, that's sorry, that's my wife's listening right now. I'm just saying that for her. I can I can see the biceps over there. I do have my creatine. And the funny thing about creatine is optical pink. Uh, I think I think people assume it's just for muscles. That's what I thought. There's some um I mean it certainly is helpful for building strength which is important as we age for longevity but it's also there's emerging research
• 01:00 - 01:30 showing it's beneficial for cognition. M there was a pilot study that just came out a couple months ago, so pretty hot off the press, where they took uh adults with depression and randomize them to cognitive behavioral therapy, which we know can be effective, and then cogn cognitive behavioral therapy plus 5 g of creatine per day. Both groups had significant benefits, but the group with the added creatine had significant benefits compared to just the cognitive
• 01:30 - 02:00 behavioral therapy. M that was only an 8we study so you know we'd like to see it go longer but there was 100 participants and it kind of builds on some other evidence in that space mechanism not fully understood. There's also some evidence showing creatine supplementation at about 10 grams a day can be beneficial for bone health in post-menopausal women and um risk of osteoporosis osteopenia osteoporosis and fractures becomes heightened after the
• 02:00 - 02:30 age of about 60 for women. So that's another kind of good in indication to use creatine. And then one that I thought was very helpful certainly for me as I travel, they these researchers looked at sleep deprivation and they somehow convinced people to come in and in in their lab keep them up all night. And this was a randomized crossover trial and they would measure throughout the night
• 02:30 - 03:00 different cognitive tasks when they're either taking a placebo or creatine. And it was high dose creatine. This was about 30 g of creatine, which is a very high dose. Mhm. And cognition was significantly improved after sleep deprivation when you were supplementing with creatine. Interesting. And the explanation for that is that at a high dose essentially the creatine initially as you're starting creatine it saturates muscle cells and then over time as you
• 03:00 - 03:30 increase the dose or take it for longer there's enough creatine left across the bloodb brain barrier and enter the the brain and it can affect sort of brain wow um metabolism. So this so I imagine it would be very good for people who are struggling to get proper sleep and need to operate on a daily basis. Yeah. And this was an acute study. So it was they were looking at sleep depriving people and then measuring cognition through the night and the next day. Um so I don't I don't know whether it's something you would want to be doing 30 grams every
• 03:30 - 04:00 day all the time. Yeah. That that evidence certainly doesn't speak to that. Um but the one thing and why creatine is at the top of my list is not only are these very consistent kind of benefits borne out in the evidence, but the safety profile is really good. So at worst people may experience some kind of GI nausea in the 15 20 minutes after having creatine. And one way around that is splitting the dose. So if you are doing a high dose like a 10 g or 20 grams over a day instead of just having
• 04:00 - 04:30 that all at once, you could split that morning and night and have it with food. Mhm. And and the great thing is you get them as like delicious gummies now. Either apple or raspberry. I didn't know those are a problem. I just Yeah, they're a problem in in the you want to have more. They're just too good. They're just too good. I actually have some in my bag now. You got to be careful about which gummies you bring into. Um I get my creatine gummies just at the corner of Smith Street from a guy called Warren. Um but that that that's creatine. Then I
• 04:30 - 05:00 just quickly off. Is anyone else just like praying that their supplements are on this list? I don't take I take zero supplements. So uh I'm confident. Go. Okay. So omega3 DHA EPA which can be found in a fish oil or an algae oil that really for someone who's not eating fatty fish two or three times a week which the average Australian's not. But if you are then you probably don't need to go out and buy that supplement. But if if you're not eating fatty fish two or three times a week, then you'll
• 05:00 - 05:30 likely benefit from that. Is that would that classify under a vegan diet if someone's vegan? A vegan diet would not they wouldn't be eating the fish. So they could supplement with the algae oil. So fish get the DHA and EPA omega3s either by eating a fish that essentially the EPA and DHA passes up the food chain from algae. Gotcha. So they can either eat it directly from the algae or from another fish that Okay. Gotcha. There's that. That's So that's second. Um I would say a
• 05:30 - 06:00 multivitamin depends this is this is dependent on on the person. Um, one of the things like as you as you move to a more plant-rich kind of high-fiber, less animal protein diet, you know, all all diets come with their limitations. The pros of that, I've explained before, is that you your cardioabolic health and risk risk factors for type two diabetes, etc. shifts in a favorable direction. One of
• 06:00 - 06:30 the downsides is that there are nutrients of focus and there is a potential to have inadequate intake of certain micronutrients. So if you're someone that is eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, I certainly recommend a multivitamin. Mhm. Um and which vitamins would be in that multi? So the key ones, so the key ones within that dietary pattern are going to be B12. Mhm. Uh iron. We're gonna have they're already taking their omega-3 fish oil. Um
• 06:30 - 07:00 selenium and zinc, right? Like the the big kind of five, right? Okay. Um so multivitamin and then I would say like a prebiotic. So I I've formulated a prebiotic called DMN, Daily Microbiome Nutrition. Um so I can flag that that I'm involved with this brand. I'm not saying everyone needs it. Um, it's by a company called 38 Terra and that has been formulated essentially as a multivitamin but for your microbiome.
• 07:00 - 07:30 Before I mentioned there's three classes of of umiber prebiotics. So you got prebiotic fiber, resistant starch, and polyphenols. Yeah. And so that product, Daily Microbiome Nutrition, contains those using ingredients that have been clinically studied in randomized control trials in the right dose to feed various species of bacteria that we know are beneficial. So to improve bowel movements, to improve the gut lining,
• 07:30 - 08:00 which kind of lowers kind permeability and inflammation. Um, those are those are at the top of my list. Correct. Now, they're not none of those, I would say, are absolutely essential for people. The essential the essential ones would be where someone's not getting a micronutrient in their diet, like a vegan diet, and you don't have DHA and EPA, the omega-3s, or you don't have B12, right? A lot of those other ones are more around optimizing and and nice
• 08:00 - 08:30 to haves. Yeah. Okay. Magnesium. Magnesium is that one. I I thought that was going to be in the top five, but no, it's not in my top five, but it's certainly if if someone's under consuming magnesium, it can be helpful in a plant-rich diet. If you're eating a very plant-rich diet, you're getting a lot of magnesium. It's one of the benefits of it. Can I ask a supplementary game show question? A supplementary supplement question? Yeah. So, yeah, it's good. Um the myth that I should be getting
• 08:30 - 09:00 that stuff in food as opposed to a pill. Mhm. Is that uh because I obviously if you're if you're have if you're vegan or you're having a restricted eating for whatever reason, you're not going to get them. But am I better to try and get it in food than in a pill? Let's take something like creatine. Yeah. So creatine is found in certain foods. It's found in your body makes about 1 gram of creatine a day and then the average omnivore gets about one gram okay of creatine through like red
• 09:00 - 09:30 meat some in eggs few different animal foods a little bit in dairy the problem is to get five to 10 grams of creatine a day out of animal foods you'd have to be consuming copious amounts of that and then what you're doing is you're getting increased exposure to saturated fat heem irion which we know is associated with cardiovascular disease Yeah. So, it's possible to get it through the diet, but it might not be optimal from a from a
• 09:30 - 10:00 longevity point of view. Okay. Um, and then certain micronutri micronutrients like B12. Yeah. I think if you can get it through diet and it fits within your dietary approach, I guess something that you can implement over a long course of time like like if someone's eating an omnivorous diet, they don't need to worry about supplementing with B12. B12 is really for that person who's eating a vegetarian or vegan diet. Maybe they've gone that way for planetary health or ethical reasons. We don't want that person to develop a B12 deficiency.
• 10:00 - 10:30 Yeah. Cuz that can have a number of negative consequences and it's easy for them to add it to their kind of daily regime in a form that we know is bioavailable. It will help them maintain healthy B12 status. Correct. The other one I didn't mention in the multi was iodine. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um just the a little like alarm bell goes off in my head when you when you say like okay well the body only creates with creatine the body only creates 1 milligram a day and uh through eating the foods that we
• 10:30 - 11:00 would naturally eat. We can only do another. So I kind of go well does the body need that much creatine or why does the body need that much creatine if it if it's never been something that we've had got before? I guess this brings us back to evolution and kind of the biology that we have in our genes are really shaped through evolution which is determined by what has helped us survive. Mhm. So evolution is all about getting to an age
• 11:00 - 11:30 to procreate. It's not necessarily the best genes for avoiding osteoporosis or cancer or living a long life, right? Because evolution essentially doesn't care about you too much on once you've already had children. Mhm. So there's been no selection pressure on our genetic makeup to give us these genes that help us live to 100. Gotcha. Our body and like the physi the our body's physiology and the nutrients that we're synthesizing and that we're not all of
• 11:30 - 12:00 that has been shaped over hundreds of thousands of years to get us to a point where we can have children. Mhm. It hasn't been shaped to get us to 70, 80, 90 in good health. Yeah. Sure. Does that make sense? So, so, so essentially what our body is just doing naturally, there is no reason to believe that is best also for for longterm health. That's that's it's logical. It makes sense. Like, I understand your point. It's called the naturalistic fallacy. Um, but
• 12:00 - 12:30 it just comes back to understanding what you know what evolution is. Mhm. And then appreciating that we can use science to go back and test some of those things, right? And in this case, we're we're seeing, you know, pretty consistent across the board benefits to supplementing with creatine above a level that your body would naturally produce every Okay.