Nora Khaldi: Plants, peptides and wallabies

The power of food - plants in particular - to help us optimize our health and potential longevity can not be underestimated. Indeed nature itself is arguably the most powerful tool we have to thwart disease and the ravages of the aging process.  Dr. Nora Khaldi is the founder of Nuritas, a Dublin based biotechnology company that's pursuing a theory that natural foods contain all the molecular tools people need to optimize their health and wellbeing.  Dr. Khaldi has an ambitious goal to make revolutionary discoveries, through the study of plants, that will allow people to live healthier for longer.  In this LLAMA podcast conversation with Peter Bowes she explains the remarkable potential of peptides discovered in the fava bean to supports muscle health in people. She also discusses the astonishing complexity and relevance of wallaby milk to the building blocks of the human body. 

Recorded: April 28, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

• Approaching life science with a diverse academic background, including pure mathematics.
• Bioinformatics, molecular evolution and comparative genomics. 
• Looking at a human bodies as a system of interactions
• Why do wallabies and their milk matter? 
• The importance of peptides - short strings of amino acids - and where they are found. 
• Harnessing the power of peptides discovered in the fava bean plant  to supports muscle health.
• Exploring the full potential of food and plants through Nuritas and Elio™.
• Translating the positive finding of science to benefit consumer needs.  
• Supplementation, do I really need it? 
• Starting conversations with health providers about precision supplementation. 
• Food as the problem, but also the solution.  
• Creating healthier versions of food without compromising on taste.
• Devising a lifestyle to achieve a good healthspan.
• Living longer but also being sicker for longer. 
• Is living to 120 a realistic goal?   

The Live Long and Master Aging podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice.  If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Jon Pearlman: Mission Lean

Finding the most effective workout and diet regime, with the goal of getting fit and lean, is, for many, the ultimate challenge.  Even elite athletes struggle as they strive to achieve their peak level of performance.  Jon Pearlman, a former #1 singles player for the Harvard tennis team, learned through personal experience that athletic prowess does not come easy.  The two time All-Ivy athlete and ATP-ranked touring professional, had performance setbacks as a young tennis player but he learned through his struggles and now advises others on the best way to build a healthy, lean body for life.  

In this episode of the LLAMA podcast, the author of The Lean Body Manual and co-founder of the fitness app, Mission Lean, discusses his mission to help people transform their bodies and defy their age. In conversation with Peter Bowes, Jon discusses the pros and cons of a 'strength and conditioning' approach to fitness training; explains why he prefers to workout on an empty stomach; and why he believes there's an "inner athlete" just waiting to be discovered in all of us. 

Recorded: April 27, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

• Jon's personal journey to peak physical fitness.
• Experimenting with different workout regimes. 
• Overcoming fitness obstacles by focussing on lean fitness methods.
• Obsession and determination to achieve peak physical fitness and a performance  edge.
• Questioning the value of weightlifting and a 'strength and conditioning' approach to fitness training. 
• The importance of muscle strength for older people.
• Achieving optimum fitness and finding the best workout to make it happen.
• Takeaway lessons from Jon's experience training with the world's top tennis players
• The Lean Body Manual
• Defining the fitness goal - physically and mentally - before setting out to achieve it.     
• Adapting to using an app as a fitness coach.
• Heart-rate zone training and a Mediterranean diet. 
• Lifestyle hacks and how, what and when to eat.  
• The age-old debate about the most important meal of the day.  
• Figuring out an "ideal harmony" between working out and eating. 
• Exercising with an app and developing the right mindset to achieve success. 
• The impact of Covid on at-home workouts 
• Personal longevity aspirations and latching on to the inner athlete.  
• Prolonging healthspan through a commitment to a structured fitness program

This LLAMA podcast episode is co-produced in association with Mission Lean, the fitness app that offers more than 150 on-demand workouts, specifically designed and curated to get you lean. 

The Live Long and Master Aging podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice.  If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.

Jenny Etnier: University of North Carolina

Making exercise a daily routine, from childhood, could be the key to preventing or slowing down some of the diseases of old age. Multiple studies have demonstrated the efficacy of physical activity, in improving cognitive health, throughout the human lifespan. Jenny Etnier is a professor of sport and exercise psychology in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina. Working with children and older adults she is an advocate for exercise to nurture the mind and stimulate a healthy brain. In this LLAMA podcast episode, with Peter Bowes, Dr. Etnier explains the lifetime benefits of physical education in schools; the meaning of mental toughness; and the reason why we should all enjoy a few minutes of "pure joy" every day. 

Recorded: May 4, 2021 | Read a transcript and show notes at the LLAMA podcast website.

Topics covered in this interview include:

• Helping children have a more positive youth sport experience
• Taking a lifetime approach to physical activity for all ages, for mental health
• Making exercise a lifetime habit
• The value of physical education in schools. 
• Jenny's exposure to exercise leading to a lifetime of sport and coaching. 
• Parents' priorities and goals for their children and sports. 
• Learning how to self reference for personal joy and improvement. 
• Walking basketball - why not?
• The mental health benefits of physical activity, movement and exercise. 
• How our lives have changed, for the better, during Covid, emphasizing exercise.
• Quantifying the cognitive benefits of physical activity.    
• Mental toughness and the notion that it also applies to how we live our daily lives - time management and stress.  
• Physical activity to delay   the onset of symptoms for people at risk from Alzheimer's.  
• Making a regular commitment  to sport with a partner. 
• Setting aside a few minutes for pure joy every day. 
• Future studies: the timing of a single session of exercise for better memory the next day.

This episode is brought to you in association with Clinique La Prairie, the award-winning spa-clinic and pioneering health and wellness destination - nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland. Combining preventative medicine with bespoke lifestyle and nutrition plans, Clinique La Prairie offers a holistic approach to living fuller, healthier and longer lives.

The Live Long and Master Aging podcast, a HealthSpan Media LLC production, shares ideas but does not offer medical advice.  If you have health concerns of any kind, or you are considering adopting a new diet or exercise regime, you should consult your doctor.