#35 – Personalized Health & Athletic Performance with Gil Blander, PhD

The Science and Practice of Extending Healthspan and Athletic Performance Longevity for Older Athletes via Biomarker and DNA Analysis Today’s WiseAthletes episode is with one of the leading minds in the basic biology of aging and translating scientific discoveries into new ways of detecting and preventing age-related conditions. Gil Blander, PhD. Gil is the founder of InsideTracker, the only fitness program that analyzes a sample of blood and, in conjunction with your DNA and your wellness and lifestyle goals, provides a personalized diet, nutrition, exercise plan, which is best for your body and your goals. Outline of discussion In general, what are the things that older athletes can do to shift their trajectory toward better health and athletic performance, both now and for a healthy aging future? The discussion was broken into 3 buckets (with timestamp):   2:50 — Nutrition13:50 — Lifestyle27:32 — Movement (1) Nutrition (starts at 2:50) We'll start with what not to do. Packaged foods aren’t the best. In addition, too much sugar, too much fat, too much sodium in foods prepared in restaurants — make your own food to have more control over what goes into your foodAnd, don’t drink liquids full of chemicals..no sodas, etc.  Just drink water.USDA database has 8000 food items Average American in an average day eats only 20 food items, and the variation between people tends to be low.  Meaning there are only a small number of things nearly all of us actually eat.Eat more variety of foodsFind for each person the superfood that works for them.  Is it kale?  Is it a Paleo diet?  We can find out by looking at what is happening inside the bodyGeneral rules can get you 60% of the way there, but to refine e even more takes more personalized data.And it’s more than what you eat.  It’s also when you eat and how often you eat.Social pressures can be difficult, so one solution is to try to do these changes with your family.Oatmeal and blueberries are generally thought of as excellent food choices partly because they are high fiber foods which help us even out the rise in blood glucose (avoid spikes) and absorb some of the fats eaten at the same time.Glucose is one of the key biomarkers for longevity.Oatmeal and blueberries are some of Dr. Blander’s superfoods but other people’s could include: avocado, beans, kale.It’s a 60/40 rule.  60% of superfoods are good for all of us, but the other 40% is individual, which can only be discerned by looking at the body’s biomarkers. (2) Lifestyle (starts at 13:50) Sleep is so important and people are not paying close enough attention to it.The body is like a machine.  We have to maintain it at least as well as we maintain our car.  Sleep is like regular maintenance.  If you want to be healthy, let your body sleep more.Plus, we can look at your blood to see what is going on inside, just as the car technician can plug into the car computer to see what needs repair.In addition to getting enough sleep, consistent sleep is also important.Enable this by getting the technology out of your life when its time for bed.  For most of us, we can live without it for a few hours.Other factors:  temperature of room, light coming through windowsHave to manage stress as well.  So much of our stress is manufactur