Control Stress for Healthy Eating, Metabolism & Aging | Dr. Elissa Epel

Introduction

In this section, Andrew Huberman introduces the guest, Dr. Alyssa Eppel, and provides an overview of what will be discussed in the podcast.

Introducing Dr. Alyssa Eppel

• Dr. Alyssa Eppel is a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California San Francisco.

• Her laboratory focuses on stress and its impact on our brain and body.

• Specific forms of stress can change our telomeres which are a component of the genetic machinery that impacts how quickly we age.

• The podcast will discuss how stress impacts different aspects of biology and psychology as well as specific interventions to reduce negative effects.

Sponsorship Messages

• Links to Dr. Eppel's books can be found in the show note captions.

• Thesis makes custom nootropics that are customized to different types of mental operations.

• Eight Sleep makes Smart mattress covers with cooling Heating and sleep tracking capacity.

Stress & Telomeres

In this section, Dr. Eppel discusses her research on stress and its impact on telomeres.

Impact of Stress on Telomeres

• Specific forms of stress can change our telomeres which are a component of the genetic machinery that impacts how quickly we age.

Stress & Behavioral Choices

In this section, Dr. Eppel discusses her research on how stress impacts behavioral choices.

Impact of Stress on Food Choices

• Specific forms of stress can change our telomeres which are a component of the genetic machinery that impacts how quickly we age.

• Dr. Eppel's laboratory has explored how stress impacts our behavioral choices in particular which foods we elect to eat and how we experience those Foods.

Stress Interventions

In this section, Dr. Eppel discusses her research on stress interventions.

Meditation & Breath Work

• Specific stress interventions that Dr. Eppel's laboratory has explored include meditation and breath work.

• These interventions can profoundly influence the way that stress impacts your brain and body both for better or for worse.

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake

• Dr. Eppel's laboratory has explored how specific dietary interventions such as omega-3 fatty acid intake impact stress and our response to stress.

Effectiveness of Stress Interventions

• The effectiveness of stress interventions varies depending on whether or not the subjects in her experiments are male versus female and their social status.

Conclusion

In this section, Andrew Huberman summarizes what was discussed in the podcast.

Key Takeaways

• Stress impacts different aspects of biology and psychology.

• Stress can impact food choices.

• Meditation, breath work, and omega-3 fatty acid intake are effective stress interventions.

• The effectiveness of these interventions varies depending on gender and social status.

Optimizing Sleep and Managing Stress

In this section, the host talks about how he optimizes his sleep using Eight Sleep and Ketone IQ. He then interviews Dr. Alyssa Eppel on stress management.

Optimizing Sleep

• The host uses Eight Sleep to optimize his sleep by setting the temperature of his bed to get progressively cooler at the beginning of the night and warmer towards morning.

• To try Eight Sleep, go to eightsleep.com/huberman to save $150 off their Pod 3 cover.

• The host also uses Ketone IQ to increase blood ketones, which allows him to have elevated levels of focus for several hours afterwards.

Managing Stress

• Dr. Alyssa Eppel explains that there are good and bad stress, acute and chronic stress, and it really comes down to not the stressors but how we respond to them.

• Our thoughts are the most common form of stress. When overthinking or ruminating on stressful topics, we can manage those thoughts by rationalizing or understanding the basis of the stress or diverting our thinking.

Understanding Stress and Overthinking

In this section, the speaker discusses stress and overthinking. She explains that our tendency is to go towards whatever we think there's a threat or risk and to problem solve that, but we could just be stuck there all day in this kind of threat mode or red mind state.

Levels of Stress

• The majority of people feel an overwhelming amount of stress.

• Young adults, women, and people of color are targeted for marginalization and feel an extremely high amount of stress.

• Older people are less stressed period. If you're over 65, you have been through so much solved so much you just have a better perspective on life and on stressors.

• Our young adults have like four times the level of stress as our older adults.

Strategies for Dealing with Overthinking

Top-down strategies

• Awareness and things that we can say to ourselves since our beliefs and mindsets can really help us release stress view stress more positively.

Body-based strategies

• Working stress out of the body by metabolizing it, burning it up, getting relief changes in amygdala activity, moving us to more an experiential state where we're more in our somatosensory cortex.

Change the scene

• Getting away from all the stress triggers that we have in our office or in the city and being an environment that we find calming. Having things like comforting pets pictures smells music helps add up.

• Creating a small pre-designated physical space that represents a safe zone.

Understanding Stress and Its Forms

In this section, the speaker discusses stress and its different forms. They explain how stress affects the body and mind, and how it can be recognized.

Forms of Stress

• There are short-term, medium-term, and long-term stress.

• Measuring levels of the nervous system is another way to understand stress.

• Stress gets under the skin even if we don't report it.

• Vigilant stress response uses a lot of energy which makes us feel exhausted.

Coping with Stress

• We need to mount a big stress response to cope with things when we need extra energy but then we can actually let our body relax and turn it off.

• Breathing strategies are the most direct and fast path to reducing stress in the body period.

The Acute Stress Response

In this section, the speaker explains what happens during an acute stress response. They discuss how hormones help us reorient focus, problem solve, and increase our capacity to do things during stressful situations.

Acute Stress Response

• During an acute stress response every hormone and cell in our body has a stress response that allows us to reorient focus problem solve.

• Our nervous system goes up and down all day with daily stressors.

Coping with Chronic Stress

In this section, the speaker talks about chronic stressful situations that go on for years. They use caregiving as an example of such situations that cannot be changed.

Chronic Stress

• Chronic stressful situations go on for years and cannot be changed.

• Daily restoration is very important to cope with moderate stressful events that maybe take days or months to cope with.

Chronic Stress and Aging

In this section, the speaker discusses how chronic stress can accelerate cell aging and distinguishes between optimal aging, typical aging, and accelerated aging. The speaker also explains why some stress is better than no stress when it comes to aging.

Optimal Aging vs. Accelerated Aging

• There is a lot of variance between people in terms of how they age biologically.

• Toxic, chronically unmitigated stress accelerates aging.

• Underexposure to stress leads to more rapid aging than ideal amounts of stress.

• No stress is not the answer; having some stress is ideal for optimal aging.

Mechanisms Behind Optimal vs. Accelerated Aging

• Having no stress means we're not really living or engaging in the gifts of life.

• Elderly people who retired and engaged in challenging work experienced growth in their hippocampus.

• Hippocampal growth means improved well-being and cognitive function.

• Terminally ill people still generate new neurons, especially in the context of trying to learn and acquire new information.

Daily Stressors and Health

In this section, the speaker discusses how daily stressors can impact health outcomes.

Daily Stressors

• Dave Almeida measures daily hassles that people experience.

• People who experience more daily hassles have worse physical health outcomes.

• Daily hassles are associated with increased inflammation markers in the body.

• Daily hassles are also associated with increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

The Effects of Cognitive Health on Memory

In this section, the speakers discuss how cognitive health affects memory and cognition.

Shortcomings of a Sedentary Lifestyle

• A sedentary lifestyle can lead to lower levels of memory and cognition.

• The lack of neuroprogenerative cells in the hippocampus is not being stimulated.

Stress as a Form of Exercise

In this section, the speakers compare stress to exercise and explore whether short bouts of stress can be beneficial if managed well.

Physical Stressors vs. Psychological Stressors

• Physical stressors like high-intensity interval training promote aerobic fitness and stress fitness.

• Psychological stressors also have benefits when they are moderate and manageable.

• There are two types of psychological stress responses: feeling threatened or challenged.

• The challenge response is more activated and excited, leading to better problem-solving abilities.

Building Stress Resilience

• Moderate stressors can help build stress resilience by making individuals less threatened by them.

• Tilt people towards the challenge response to promote that type of response.

• Repeated manageable stress responses build the muscle of stress resilience.

The Challenge Response vs. Social Pain Response

In this section, the speakers delve deeper into the challenge response versus social pain response.

Biological Differences Between Responses

• The biological responses between challenge and social pain responses differ greatly.

• Thoughts associated with each type of response also differ greatly.

Recovery Time After Each Response

• Individuals recover much slower after experiencing a social pain response compared to a challenge response.

Conclusion

The speakers discussed how cognitive health affects memory and cognition, and how stress can be beneficial if managed well. They also explored the differences between the challenge response and social pain response, and how individuals recover differently after experiencing each type of response.

Probiotics and Athletic Greens for Gut Health

In this section, the speaker talks about the importance of gut health and how probiotics in Athletic Greens can help improve microbiotic health.

Gut Health and Probiotics

• Our gut is populated by gut microbiota that communicate with the brain, immune system, and all biological systems of our body.

• Probiotics are optimal and vital for microbiotic health.

• Athletic Greens contains probiotics, adaptogens, vitamins, and minerals that meet foundational nutritional needs.

Benefits of Athletic Greens

In this section, the speaker discusses the benefits of using Athletic Greens as a dietary supplement.

Benefits of Athletic Greens

• Contains adaptogens, vitamins, and minerals to meet foundational nutritional needs.

• Tastes great.

• Comes in travel packs for convenience while on-the-go.

• Offers a year's supply of vitamin D3 K2.

Shifting from Threatened Response to Challenge Response

In this section, the speaker talks about shifting from a threatened response to a challenge response during stressful situations.

Mental Pivot for Challenge Response

• Shift mindset from "why me" to "this is an opportunity for growth."

• Use strength statements or stress shields that fit personal beliefs.

• List resources before going into stressful situations (past successes or supportive people).

• Remind oneself to be like a lion instead of a gazelle (mount stress response).

Controlling Stress Response with Self-Awareness

In this section, the speaker discusses how self-awareness can help control stress responses during traumatic events.

Trauma Sensitizes Emotional Stress Response

• Some individuals have inherited exaggerated emotional responses due to epigenetics or early trauma.

• Trauma sensitizes emotional stress response, making individuals feel more threatened.

• Self-awareness and self-compassion can help control stress responses during traumatic events.

Tools for Shifting to Challenge Response

In this section, the speaker talks about specific tools that can be used to shift from a threatened response to a challenge response.

Using Strength Statements

• Use strength statements or stress shields that fit personal beliefs.

• List resources before going into stressful situations (past successes or supportive people).

• Remind oneself to be like a lion instead of a gazelle (mount stress response).

Stress Response and Opioid System

This section discusses the relationship between stress response and the opioid system. It also talks about how stress can affect eating habits.

Stress Response as Empowering

• The stress response is empowering and can help cope with stressful situations.

• Reframing stress as positive during stressful situations in the lab leads to better performance, more positive emotions, better problem-solving skills, and quicker recovery.

Opioid System

• The opioid system within us can release substances into our brain and body that make us feel less pain and sedated at a healthy level.

• Things besides drugs that can activate this opioid system include sex and food.

Relationship Between Stress and Eating

• Most people eat less when they are stressed due to their digestion being shut down.

• People who tend to overeat or binge eat when they are emotional or stressed have a larger body with a big stress-eating temperament.

Stress, Compulsive Eating, and Obesity

In this section, the speaker discusses how stress can exacerbate compulsive eating tendencies and lead to obesity. They also explore the relationship between stress, food addiction, and metabolic disease.

Stress and Compulsive Eating

• Stress can exacerbate compulsive eating tendencies.

• Lean people have better dietary control over their eating even though they think about food a lot.

• When stressed, people crave comfort foods high in fat, sugar, or salt depending on their temperament.

• Repeated bouts of stress can lead to weight gain, particularly in the intra-abdominal area.

Compulsive Eating and Metabolic Syndrome

• Mice develop binge eating when stressed and given Oreos.

• Chronic stress leads to storing abdominal fat as an immediate source of energy during stressful situations.

• People with obesity have a different reward response than lean people when stressed out. The more insulin resistant they are, the more their reward center lights up during stress.

• Compulsive eating leads to insulin insensitivity which cascades into metabolic syndrome.

Targeting Cravings for Intervention

• Obese individuals have a dysregulated stress response but not all obese individuals are compulsive eaters.

• Different sets of skills are needed to cope with stress and lose weight if someone is a compulsive eater.

• Naltrexone has been used in combination with Wellbutrin for binge eating disorder treatment. Early trials showed that it dampens down on compulsive eating.

Elon Musk's Weight Loss and the Toxic Food Environment

In this section, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the toxic food environment and how it affects people prone to obesity. She also talks about Elon Musk's weight loss journey and how he used a semi-glutamate agonist.

The Toxic Food Environment

• The toxic food environment is a major challenge for people prone to obesity.

• Refined sugar is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.

• Improved nutrition is the only way to solve this problem as a public health issue.

Elon Musk's Weight Loss Journey

• Elon Musk lost weight after taking a semi-glutamate agonist.

• Dr. Robert Lustig has been talking about sugars and hidden sugars for years, emphasizing that processed food and sugar are at the root of the problem.

• Mindful eating can help with compulsive eating by teaching calm self-regulation, checking in with hunger levels, increasing awareness of bodily sensations, and separating emotions from hunger.

Breaking the Compulsive Eating Cycle

In this section, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses ways to break the compulsive eating cycle through mindful eating practices and positive stress pathways.

Mindful Eating Practices

• Mindful eating can help those with compulsive eating habits by teaching calm self-regulation, checking in with hunger levels, increasing awareness of bodily sensations, and separating emotions from hunger.

• People who practice mindful eating have better insulin resistance, glucose levels, and long-term weight loss outcomes.

Positive Stress Pathways

• High-intensity interval training and other short-term stressors can help break the compulsive eating cycle by metabolizing stress in the body.

• Labeling emotions and hunger levels, checking in before eating, and surfing cravings can also help with compulsive eating.

Intervening in Thoughts and Behaviors

In this section, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how to intervene in thoughts and behaviors related to binge eating or using food to comfort or alleviate stress.

Top-Down Strategies

• Changing the scene, changing the body, and mindful check-ins are all top-down strategies that can help with compulsive eating.

Positive Stress Pathways

• Labeling emotions and hunger levels, checking in before eating, and surfing cravings can also help with compulsive eating.

• The compulsive drive to eat is one of our strongest impulses; therefore, it's important to train people on separating emotions from hunger.