#85 – Iñigo San Millán, Ph.D.: Mitochondria, exercise, and metabolic health

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 7, 2020

Duration

2h 53m

Channel

Peter Attia MD

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Original release date: 12/23/2019 In this episode, Dr. Iñigo San Millán, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, explains the crucial role of mitochondrial function in everything from metabolic health to elite exercise performance. Iñigo provides a masterclass into the many different energy system pathways, the various fuel sources (including the misunderstood lactate), the six zones of exercise training, and the parameters he uses to measure metabolic health. Additionally, he highlights the power of zone 2 training in its ability to act as a powerful diagnostic tool, and perhaps more importantly as a treatment for mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction. We discuss: -Iñigo’s background in sports and decision to focus on education [7:15]; -Explaining the various energy systems and fuels used during exercise [14:45]; -Iñigo qualifies energy systems into six training zones [23:00]; -Lactate is an important fuel source [33:00]; -Zone 2 training—physiologic characteristics, fuel sources, lactate, and the transition into zone 3 [40:30]; -Using blood lactate levels (and zone-2 threshold) to assess mitochondrial function [47:00]; -Accessing mitochondrial function by looking at one’s ability to utilize fat as fuel (with an RQ test) [55:00]; -Athletes vs. metabolically ill patients—mitochondria, fat oxidation, muscle glycogen capacity, “fat droplets”, and more [1:00:00]; -Physiologic characteristics of zone 3, zone 4, and the lactate threshold [1:20:00]; -Fueling exercise—dietary implications on glycolytic function [1:30:30]; -Relationship between exercise and insulin sensitivity (and what we can learn from studying patients with type 1 diabetes) [1:46:30]; -Metformin’s impact on mitochondrial function, lactate production, and how this affects the benefits of exercise [2:04:15]; -Raising awareness for risk of “double diabetes” [2:15:00]; -How to dose zone 2 training, and balancing exercise with nutrition [2:18:00]; -Proposed explanation of the Warburg Effect: Role of lactate in carcinogenesis [2:27:00]; -Doping in cycling, and the trend towards altitude training [2:39:15] and; -More. Show notes page: https://peterattiamd.com/inigosanmillan/ -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 30 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter 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

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Peter Attia

  host

  Physician and host of The Peter Attia Drive, focused on longevity and metabolic health.

• Dr. Iñigo San Millán

  guest

  Exercise physiologist and researcher at the University of Colorado studying mitochondria, lactate, and metabolic health.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Peter Attia MD, featuring Peter Attia and Dr. Iñigo San Millán, #85 – Iñigo San Millán, Ph.D.: Mitochondria, exercise, and metabolic health explores mitochondrial Function, Zone 2 Training, Lactate, and Metabolic Disease Explained San Millán explains his six-zone training framework tied to muscle fiber recruitment and fuel use, with zone 2 as the intensity where fat oxidation peaks and slow-twitch mitochondria are most stimulated.

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