#262 - AMA #49: Heart rate recovery, strength training, rucking, kidney function, and brain health

The Peter Attia Drive

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In this "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) episode, Peter goes into depth on the topic of brain health, starting with how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed, the significance of blood-based biomarkers in diagnosis, and what the various APOE gene variants mean in terms of a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Next, Peter discusses the various strategies for preventing Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration. He touches briefly on exercise as a potent tool, but focuses more on lesser-known factors that could impact brain health, such as nutrition supplementation, lipid management, brain games, sauna, oral health, hearing loss, and more.

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We discuss:

• Topics: exercise, kidneys, and brain health [1:30];
• Rucking: advice for beginners, proper load, packs, and shoes [4:30];
• Rucking for women, bone health, using a treadmill, zone 2, and more [11:45];
• Building vs. maintaining: when and how to transition from the goal of building muscle and strength to focusing on maintenance [16:00];
• Should you lift weights before or after a cardio session? [24:00];
• Heart rate recovery: defining heart rate recovery and how it relates to cardiovascular fitness [28:45];
• How to measure heart rate recovery, and what is considered a "good" heart rate recovery [33:15];
• How kidney health and function typically measured [42:30];
• Differentiating between creatine and creatinine [48:15];
• The cystatin C blood test as a practical way to assess kidney health [52:45];
• How kidney function impacts lifespan and the five stages of kidney disease [59:15];
• Slowing the decline of kidney function [1:08:15];
• The main drivers of kidney disease [1:11:15];
• The importance of managing homocysteine levels for brain health [1:14:00];
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and brain health [1:21:30]; and
• More.

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