Transform Your Mental Health With Diet & Lifestyle | Dr. Chris Palmer

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Chris Palmer. Dr. Chris Palmer is a psychiatrist and researcher at Harvard University. He focuses on how metabolic health, and mitochondrial health in particular, can be leveraged to treat, and in some cases cure, psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, autism, depression, bipolar, and ADHD. Today we discuss how metabolic health, something we hear a lot about nowadays, is really about mitochondrial health and the specific lifestyle and other factors that you can use to improve mitochondrial number and function. We talk about things like exercise, sleep, sunlight, which you've heard about before, but we talk about those from a different perspective, and we discuss some things that have never been discussed before on this podcast, at least in light of mitochondrial health, things such as creatine, methylene blue, nicotine. And we talk about the key role of specific B vitamins and iron in brain function. We also have a very direct discussion about vaccines and whether or not inflammation caused by vaccines can potentially damage mitochondria, which then leads to mental health challenges. And of course, in that context, we discuss the vaccine autism debate. We also discuss public health and what is needed to truly change the way people exercise and eat and the rapidly changing landscape of the National Institutes of Health and the CDC. As you'll soon hear, Dr. Palmer gives us a masterclass on mitochondrial function and how to improve this vital aspect of our health. If you've heard about metabolic health, you've heard about the obesity crisis, that's important, but looking at all of that and approaching it through the lens of mitochondrial health, you'll soon learn, is absolutely the way to go. It's a new perspective that will change the way that you think about mental and physical health and that no doubt will impact your health practices in very positive ways. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero-cost-to-consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, this episode does include sponsors. And now for my discussion with Dr. Chris Palmer. Dr. Chris Palmer, welcome back.

Thank you so much for having me back.

I credit you with leading the call to arms, the public awareness, and the implementation of what some people call metabolic psychiatry, but what we could easily just call the relationship between mental and physical health and the use of nutrition, supplementation, and, where appropriate, prescription drugs for the treatment of mental health. But what do you call this field that you've basically founded and that you're pioneering? There are others, right? But, uh, that you're pioneering. And how should the general public think about the relationship between, like, mitochondria and their mental health? For, for those that are not aware. Educate us.