Peter Attia Reveals His Top 10 List Of Pharmaceuticals and Supplements

Summary

The video covers a detailed discussion on top pharmaceuticals and supplements, particularly focusing on molecules worth understanding. Key drugs include statins, metformin, rapamycin, testosterone, and PCSK9 inhibitors, while supplements like EPA/DHA, vitamin D, magnesium, and ashwagandha are highlighted. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the risk-reward ratio and the mechanisms behind these compounds before usage. They also discuss their personal supplement stack, including fish oil, probiotics, and curcumin, while pointing out concerns about purity, efficacy, and safety in supplements.

Takeaways

• 💊 The speaker highlights top pharmaceutical drugs worth understanding, including statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, metformin, rapamycin, testosterone, HRT for women, ACE inhibitors, and ARBs.
• 🧠 On the supplement side, key supplements mentioned include EPA/DHA, vitamin D, ashwagandha, magnesium (L-threonate), B vitamins, creatine, and possibly phosphatidylserine.
• ⚖️ The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the risk/reward balance before taking any supplement, including safety, efficacy, and the type of data supporting it (human or animal studies).
• 🧪 The speaker takes several supplements themselves, including magnesium, omega-3 fish oil, and a greens powder from Athletic Greens (AG), as well as probiotics from Pendulum.
• 💚 For cardiovascular health, the speaker uses betaine, alopurinol, and rapamycin, noting that they don’t currently take a statin but did in the past.
• 🧬 The speaker believes magnesium deficiency is underappreciated, highlighting its role in blood pressure regulation and performance in athletes.
• 🌙 For sleep, the speaker regularly takes glycine, ashwagandha, magnesium (L-threonate), and occasionally melatonin and trazodone for jet lag.
• 🔬 While they’ve never taken nicotinamide riboside (NR) or NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), the speaker mentions their inclusion in discussions about geroprotective molecules but doesn’t find the data compelling for personal use.
• 🛡️ The speaker microdoses rapamycin weekly (8 mg) for longevity and stresses that it must be enteric-coated to avoid degradation in the stomach.
• 🧫 The speaker advises caution regarding over-the-counter supplements purchased online, warning about liver toxicity risks from unregulated products.

Q & A

What is the focus of the top 10 pharmaceutical drugs mentioned in the transcript?

The focus is on molecules that the speaker is frequently asked about, particularly in the context of disease-specific management and geroprotection. The speaker aims for readers to understand these drugs' nuanced details.

What are some of the top pharmaceutical drugs discussed?

The top pharmaceutical drugs include statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, metformin, rapamycin, SGLT2 inhibitors, testosterone, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women, growth hormone, allopurinol, ACE inhibitors, and ARBs.

What is the primary consideration when taking supplements, according to the speaker?

The speaker emphasizes understanding why one is taking a supplement, its health benefits (lifespan, healthspan, or both), its safety and efficacy based on human and animal data, and ensuring purity, especially for over-the-counter supplements.

Why is it important to evaluate supplements even if they are easily available?

The speaker highlights that just because a supplement is available on platforms like Amazon doesn’t guarantee its safety. There are instances where people have experienced serious health issues, like liver damage, from supplements bought online.

Which supplements does the speaker consider important to understand?

Key supplements mentioned include EPA, DHA, thiamine, vitamin D, ashwagandha, magnesium (specifically L-threonate), B vitamins, creatine, and NR (nicotinamide riboside) or NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide).

Which supplements does the speaker personally take regularly?

The speaker takes a variety of supplements, including fish oil (about 3 grams), vitamin D (targeting a blood level of 40-60 ng/mL), magnesium (up to 1 gram), AG1 (Athletic Greens), and probiotics from Pendulum.

How does the speaker ensure the quality of probiotics they consume?

The speaker uses probiotics from a company called Pendulum, which emphasizes rigorous quality control by analyzing the output of key microbes rather than relying on colony-forming units (CFUs) alone.

What is the speaker's stance on magnesium intake?

The speaker believes the RDA for magnesium (about 400 mg) is too low and advocates for a higher intake. They emphasize magnesium’s role in blood pressure modulation, exercise performance, and prevention of muscle cramps.

What is the speaker's opinion on rapamycin use for longevity?

The speaker uses rapamycin intermittently for longevity purposes, taking 8 mg once a week. They emphasize the importance of using enteric-coated rapamycin to ensure proper absorption.

Why doesn't the speaker take NR (nicotinamide riboside) or NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide)?

Despite frequently discussing these supplements, the speaker does not find the current data on NR or NMN compelling enough to personally use them.