What Huberman Gets Wrong About Health

Andrew Huberman has the most popular health podcast in the world, but like many health and wellness influencers, he promotes a fundamental misconception.
I can't predict what the comments section will look like on this video, but be aware my comments are moderated. Respectful critical comments are fine, but anything profane, inflammatory, or just irrelevant will be removed. And as always, comments with links are automatically blocked because the vast majority of them are spam.

[@StrongMed]

I know many of you have been waiting for new physical exam videos. There are 10 more than have been recorded - it's just taking a while to edit them. I expect to be rolling a few more out in the upcoming weeks, starting next Sunday. In the meantime, I've been getting occasional suggestions to talk about Andrew Huberman. Coincidentally, I had seen a couple of tweets of his last week that seemed like a learning opportunity, so here we are. (EDIT: To be clear, as I say in the video, this is only a discussion of these 2 tweets. It is not a discussion or a critique of anything beyond that.)

[@drkpk384]

i love both of you and your videos are more academic and benefitial for med students and drs prepareing for exams and huberman touches every topic specialy exericse sunlight seep and preventive side of med ,thanks to both of you

[@drkpk384]

yes and discuss a bit about his opinion about dopamine serotonin and how how nootpics increases it and help depression

[@INounCf]

I discovered your channel through this video but little did I know that I landed on a gem of a channel, your medical education videos are superb, straight to the point and comprehensive. I am using them now to prepare for my internship. I would love to donate as much as I can to your channel, but the collapsing economy of Egypt is getting in the way, so I guess voicing my appreciation for your efforts is what I can do for now. Thank you and keep it up ❤

[@drkpk384]

thanks for educating in free

[@fjs1111]

Dr. Strong, I really enjoy your videos on medicine.. Let's see more disease and med topics, maybe less politics and talk? Appreciate it 🙂

[@fmleverynameistakenx]

Thank you so much for this. As a med student with rheumathoid arthritis, i have faced criticism regarding my skills because i apparently can't keep myself healthy. It also saddens me how much people underestimate social issues' influences on your health. People usually try to make the best choices in the context of their own skills, resources, support systems and limitations.

[@therabbithat]

Assuming you are the same age as the average med student in my country, when I was your age all I ate was cake. Huberman would tell people to take my advice over yours because I looked very healthy and my joints weren't sore!? Cake! breakfast lunch and dinner! Variety meant different types of cake! Sometimes a cookie!

[@MedlifeCrisis]

Ha, my planned thumbnail and opening sentence are almost identical to yours! Oh no I’ll have to make some edits! 😂 But great points here, I share your distaste with the first tweet, and I would add that it’s a clear demonstration of how medical personalities on social media are as much (if not more) influencers first, medical professionals/scientists second. By all means follow someone you perceive to be healthy and vital on instagram, but let’s not confuse that with the real world where expertise is more than just who opts to go onto testosterone (eg Huberman - as he’s confirmed) to get bigger muscles. And totally agreed about the myth of control, which is a hallmark to so many social media medics, not just when claiming our health problems are wholly under our conscious control, but also offering certainty and control in situations where they don’t exist, and conventional medics cannot provide definitive statements.

[@StrongMed]

Sorry to have preempted your thumbnail! Feel free to still use your original idea if you want - I do not mind at all. Agree with your points here. I will say one thing about him and the use testosterone - I appreciate that he's disclosed it when many other influencers don't.

[@victorcotu]

Over several decades conventional medics called smoking as provenly healthy, and called all the illness produced by it as something that was out of our control.

[@jeffb.140]

Problem with him is he is talking a lot outside of his area of expertise

[@peybak]

He seems to do a lot of "bro research" which is something I do, involving looking at publications on pubmed etc. That certainly doesn't make me an expert and when my friends ask me for advice, I tell them to see a doctor and not listen to the internet or people around them (including me).

[@jjjjjjjyang]

Dr. Hubrisman

[@chrisc.1005]

You know he has experts on all the time right?

[@JohnODonovan1987]

@@chrisc.1005That doesn’t change that he talks a lot outside his field in solo episodes eg. The Cold and Flu episode and also doesn’t do proper critical analysis of what his guests are saying eg. Robert Lustig

[@jackandrews7821]

He has said on numerous occasions that he will cross check his episodes with colleges who are experts in the particular field before publishing them.

[@therabbithat]

another thing he gets wrong is thinking that reading the name of a study and reading the whole study are the same thing

[@victorcotu]

Specially important when the title and the data contained in the study doesn't match up at all.

[@cfuenza4106]

Thanks for your support for young doctors like me Dr. Strong. I recently got a job at a very complex ER in Santiago de Chile. To this day, i keep reviewing the clinical medicine concepts in your videos just because of your style and clarity. This is university class education and i hope to see more and more hands-on emergency medicine videos from you!

[@yazzam]

I’m a primary care physician and I loved this message. Thank you

[@fmd8249]

The thing I don't like about western modern era medicine is how achievement-focused and competitive everyone is. I think the biggest misconception is in the relationship between motives, knowledge, intelligence and critical thought. But luckily the management of the pandemic made it obvious that MDs are not gods and they make mistakes like the rest of the humans. I respect you Dr. Strong, not only for your educational videos, but also for your understanding and sympathetic personality.

[@dottieland7061]

I totally agree. Just because you look at someone doesn’t mean that they are fit and healthy internally even externally you can hide, as a nurse I have seen everything. Sometimes you just need to ask the simple question are you ok? Can make the external/internal walls come crashing around you. As you may think you are ok but in reality you may not be. Sometimes you have decisions that are out of our own control or we have lost control of along the way.

[@armanozer9335]

I'm sure he's a great doctor but when your career and thus financial success is tied to how motivating you are, it's easy to overlook the unsexy stuff and reduce health to "just do it" sorta thing. It's the same with people who have a political platform. A right wing podcaster can't share the mildest leftist sentiment because they would be jeopardizing their career. Gotta give the people what they want. I humbly find it all to be very disgusting. Anyways, thank you Dr. Strong. Your videos are always informative.

[@anniekate76]

He’s not a doctor in the sense of physician, he is an academic who studies the brain and the eyes

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

Why are you "sure" that he is?

[@casev799]

Why?

[@wildpatagoniafilms16]

he is not... he is a grifter

[@magnesium_subsoil_94]

I do appreciate Huberman’s interest in bringing science information for free, he generally seems like he’s trying to do the right thing as far as keeping things focused on science. It’s better that he gets to the top of the podcast charts than the charlatan Joe Rogan. But it is clear that he often speaks way outside his area of expertise and the droning on of ads about AG1 really turn me off for sure. I do wish we had a medical podcast of this type from someone who actually works as a “real” primary care physician or hospitalist. Huberman isn’t a physician. Peter Attia is the closest we have and is pretty good imo, but he appears to do concierge medicine and what he recommends is not practical in real life for like 99.9% of patients

[@MerchantsOfMisery]

Thank you for this video, especially the last bit about smoking. I found that very helpful/encouraging. Your channel is one of the best I've seen.

[@surrealistidealist]

It's wonderful to finally see a critic of Huberman who has a measured response instead of a sensationalistic one. I suspect that Huberman himself would actually be very receptive to all of your pushback here. I'd love to see the two of you in discussion together.

[@kenhaze5230]

I must admit-and I hope I'm still allowed to watch your videos-I'm a neuro PhD, not an MD, DO, or med student, and (or perhaps, therefore) I've never clicked on a video faster. I have substantial reservations about the enterprise of making health and lifestyle suggestions with apparent certainty, or at least high confidence, based on small numbers of animal studies with non-analogous doses, methods of administration, outcome measurements, and so on. And such recommendations are popular among the certain podcast crowds. That of course doesn't mean any podcaster doesn't have legitimate expertise in various areas.

[@StrongMed]

Of course neuro PhD's are welcome! =) I too have strong reservations about influencers exaggerating health claims from studies that are small or non-randomized or with other poor methodology, or even worse, are animal studies. I haven't yet had the time to do a deep dive on any of Huberman's podcasts to examine claims related to specific studies he cites, but I have it on good authority that another, more popular medical KZbinr may be tackling this issue soon.

[@StrongMed]

@@AnalyticalSentientI suspect you and I have very different ideas as to what qualifies as "sufficiently verified".

[@sshine1234]

Is Huberman’s 8 pillars more like “ 8 modifiable risk factors that can help promote healthy mental and physical well being?”

[@StrongMed]

Absolutely, and I would happily endorse them if he characterized it in that way. (though as joked about in the video, oral health seems not quite on par with the other pillars) (EDIT: a missing word)

[@kitefan1]

If you are reading the popular stuff there have been a lot of articles about bad dental health leading to an increase of bad bacteria in the circulatory system, leading to heart disease. Since I have a bunch of pins in my arm (broken humerus, anatomical neck) I had a go a round with my dentist about him wanting a letter saying I didn't need antibiotics before teeth cleaning. @@StrongMed

[@deidrabay]

@@StrongMedYes, also Huberman’s 8 pillars are nothing original, except maybe the fact that he labeled them “8 Pillars.”

[@didisaythankyou]

@@StrongMed As a dentist (and now medical student), I'm going to have to disagree with you about oral health haha - you still rock Dr. Strong

[@dumarudolf3976]

I am soon to be forty; I lived in poverty for most of my life (up until the age of 32) - in Eastern Europe. At times, I lived in extreme poverty missing most of the criteria mentioned by Dr Strong. I never heard of Huberman until this video, but I feel he talks about responsibility, which tends to be conveniently "forgotten" in the West. Especially in The UK, where I live. Healthy food is not expensive; it just requires a bit more time. I am healthy, or at least not aware of being ill. I feel that Dr Strong confuses wealth with education and luck with choice, and I think he does not understand odds in statistical terms and what influence your own discipline has in staying healthy by making the right choice. I wonder how many genetically obese are living in Venezuela right now. On an additional note, I do remember seeing a cardiac nurse speciality website in The UK back in 2021, and on the first page, there was a picture in a conference room with overweight nurses.... all of them. Talking about quitting smoking and not addressing the obesity epidemics shows in my opinion some level of disconnect.

[@deepdark795]

Wonderful and insight video as always, Dr. Strong. I couldn't agree more with most (if not all) of the points you have made. You've verbalized almost exactly how I feel about our modern day's health/wellness influencers, and I'm glad you've taken the time to make this video. The ability to critically think seems to be rare, and the ability to combine critical thinking with strong articulation (sorry, couldn't help it!) is rarer still, and frequently among health professionals. I hope you have a wonderful day.

[@maxgiesken9488]

Dr. Strong, med student here. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but some of this sounds like your personal opinion. I don’t disagree that a portion of someone’s health is determined by factors outside of their control, but the WHO itself claims that 60% of a person’s health is related to lifestyle factors. Of course there’s overlap between lifestyle choices and things outside of their control (social determinants of health), but I don’t know that it’s fair to say that the majority of someone’s health is predetermined based on factors like their parental income. Of course that is probably true for a number of folks in the US, but I’m not so sure that a claim like that would apply to the majority of patients in the US. I’m a pretty open minded guy, but I find it hard to believe that the average US resident’s health is truly predetermined to this degree. I think a claim like this truly discourages patients to take ownership of their health (to the best of their ability with the hand they’ve been dealt) which we need more of in this country

[@StrongMed]

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I hope you'll forgive the length of this response. Regarding the 60% figure, I think that figure may be made up. If you just Google the claim to find an original source, the top result was this 2015 paper from the Iranian Journal of Public Health, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703222/, that cites another paper for this claim. But the primary paper cited is this one, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15468523/ ("The WHO cross-national study of health behavior in school-aged children from 35 countries: findings from 2001-2002") which only looked at children ages 11-15, and also makes no such 60% claim. This 2022 paper from the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9254835/) cites the exact same irrelevant paper for the 60% claim, likely from inappropriately copying and pasting the inaccurate reference from the previous mentioned Iranian paper. This 2020 paper in the Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7171063/, makes the WHO 60% claim as well, but doesn't offer any reference at all. This other 2022 paper, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10396514/ , also repeats the claim with no citation. Etc... This kind of thing - making up facts and references in "peer-reviewed" journals - is more common than most people realize. But if you know of an actual source to the 60% figure, please share it. I'm not able to find it. However, even if that 60% figure were "accurate", it doesn't invalidate my argument. For one thing, many "lifestyle choices" are not as much a choice as we think. Our diets as adults are dependent on how much money we have (healthy food is more expensive than ultraprocessed "junk food"), where we live (i.e. do we live in a so-called food desert), and the eating habits that were taught to us as kids by our own parents. Whether we can afford to take the time to exercise depends on socioeconomic factors too. I exercise regularly, but I can only do so because our family's income allows me to work "part-time" (75% FTE), have a housecleaner, buy a lot of (generally healthy) takeout to save time otherwise spent on meal prep, and I can afford gym membership. I know that you don't need a gym to exercise, and almost everyone can squeeze out an 15 minutes a day for exercise if they absolutely needed to, but every bit of socioeconomic hardship makes that decision harder. Even the ability to be exposed to and to understand arguments in favor of healthy lifestyle choices is partially dependent on where we live, our education level, and access to healthcare. For example, if you don't have health insurance, you're never going to get to meet with a doctor or dietitian to help make some of these choices. But beyond that, in any study that compares epidemiological risk factors for a certain health outcome (e.g. smoking vs. obesity vs. salt intake vs. family history vs. exercise vs. alcohol consumption for the development of hypertension), the one factor that is *never* explicitly quantified is luck. So it's not so much that "the average US resident’s health is truly predetermined to this degree" but rather that hard health outcomes (e.g. life expectancy) are predominantly outside our control. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to control what we can - a point which I tried to convey in the video - but rather that we need to be realistic in our expectations of what the benefit will be. And also that we shouldn't be critical of people who *look* like they made bad lifestyle choices, like whether we should see a doctor who doesn't look "healthy and vital". (That's different than seeing a smoking doctor - that crosses the line into being a fair target of criticism.) Lastly, regarding: >I think a claim like this truly discourages patients to take ownership of their health (to the best of their ability with the hand they’ve been dealt) which we need more of in this country This is the mindset I was referring to when I said that I didn't think it's ok to knowingly exaggerate the benefit of a lifestyle choice to convince otherwise relatively unmotivated people to make beneficial changes in their life. As an analogy, imagine you are seeing a patient with new onset a-fib with a high CHA2DS2-VASc score (i.e. the a-fib is putting them at an unusually high stroke risk and they would have the most benefit of anyone from anticoagulation), but they seem hesitant to take anticoagulation because of an excessive fear of side effects. Is it ok to deliberately exaggerate the benefit of the medication (whose Number Needed to Treat in reality might be in the neighborhood of 15-20) by saying things like "If you don't take Eliquis, you're going to get a stroke"? I'd say that even if the intention is good, and even if the outcome of misleading the patient would be better for their health, it's still not an ok thing to do. Instead, we need to treat people like adults with agency. We provide the reasons for our recommendations, and address their concerns and hesitations, but ultimately we must allow them to make their own decisions using accurate and truthful information. I see what health and wellness influencers imply (or sometimes say outright) about the benefit of lifestyle choices as analogous to this. Even if the intention is good, it just feels dishonest to me.

[@maxgiesken9488]

@@StrongMed excellent points, Sir. Thanks for the elaboration & thank you for the intellectual conversation! The nuances are always important to consider & are all too often forgotten about nowadays in medicine or never learned in the first place.

[@jonahansen]

I am always suspicious of any person claiming to know what can improve my health without knowing me and my specific physiological status. Not only because that makes sense from fundamental principles, but also because if one looks, it's possible to find someone claiming practically anything. Plus, there is a big component of ego involved, where people who have become well viewed on media platforms start to exceed their areas of expertise, and simply like to see and hear themselves talk. Be skeptical; most proposed courses of improving health later are changed or reversed. The literature is rife with non-replicable studies...

[@jaycarver4886]

​​@@AnalyticalSentientIf only doctors could write a prescription for common sense and critical thinking. Most people are lacking both! Btw, you might be interested in fasting in addition to the things you've mentioned. Look up "Fasting For Survival Lecture"... it is both informative and entertaining.

[@zanadizeyi9302]

You made me love medicine, Dr. Strong.

[@janecee5499]

I respect your 'pillar' list. You have considered issues across the range of human experiences rather than a narrow, privileged experience... Keep doing what you're doing...🙏🏽

[@ratunkuuu]

I haven't heard all of AH podcasts but i think he's doubg a ton of good by showing people they can take more control for their health and that's a good contribution isnt it?

[@HealthspanHandyman]

Absolutely. Lol a sane comment

[@jackandrews7821]

I dont think Huberman would dissagree with anything you said, the problem isnt huberman perspective but the limitations of communicating things via twitter. Hubermans podcast is about digging through literature for actionable protocols, thats going to fall out of realm of "here are things you have no control over". Moreover a lot of his content cintain actionalble items to help you better overcome and integrate the thing's in life you have no control over.

[@giventofly76]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

But it's still misinformation. He still uses weak studies and non RCTs most of the time. Don't blame the limitations of twitter when he has a whole ass podcast.

[@joaquinyoung4568]

You are such a great, lucid man. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Greetings from a MD from Chile.

[@DiLLZGFX]

I agree with you so much! He keeps referencing papers, doesn't state if it's a systematic review, and most of the recommendations are never practical. I remember one episode he said he mediates for 13 minutes exactly or something ridiculous.

[@DiLLZGFX]

@@AnalyticalSentient bro why would I waste my time going through all his content. I'm not making any money from this unlike him. I think you think about the purpose of people's messages before commenting

[@sa1utethedead]

I loved this and thought it was a reasonable, compassionate and practical argument that I wish more people would consider and that I certainly hadn't

[@phantomexpress]

Appreciate your perspective doctor, what you say makes a lot of sense.

[@GoPumuckel]

Thanks for this Video Dr Strong. Pretty sure most of his succes is comming from giving people what they want! The feeling of having control!

[@Theonewhospoke]

What does Dr Strong think about Dr. Robert Lustig?

[@StrongMed]

What I know about him is only from hearing other people talk or write about him. I haven't seen any of his talks or read anything he's written himself, so I'm going to reserve judgment for now.

[@graze4461]

Dr. Strong I have a request for you. Can you please make a video (Explaining, review, analysis) on the movie Oppenheimer ? Thanks

[@graze4461]

I know there are several videos on youtube on this subject, but I am curious to understand this movie from your perspective

[@StrongMed]

I haven't seen it. (yet)

[@shiplesp]

I think the mistake people make about the content coming from Huberman and others in the same arena is not recognizing that they are primarily money making platforms that use health as a lever for that endeavor. While I am sure he wishes to do good by presenting his information, that is not the primary goal. The thing that happens to those in the business of providing biohacking information is that they inevitably dilute the useful information they are able to provide. Research simply doesn't proceed at such a pace as to accommodate the frequency of their presentations while also providing useful and well- researched information. So they are pushed into more fringe areas of the science and toward manufacturing controversy/interest (those tweets). This type of content appeals to those who are comforted by the idea that they can control their health by their choices - as you point out - but also those who are struggling to understand problems they are having that have not been satisfactorily addressed by their doctors. And my guess is that if we were to look at the history of his channel, the earlier videos might be more helpful to a general audience that the more recent. I know that over time, I stopped following him.

[@cornelbacauanu1544]

Well said Dr Strong. Everyone should become aware of how to consume media.

[@Anna-ww4pv]

100% agree. People can’t help illness from environmental poisoning or inappropriate doses of medication prescribed by well intentioned doctors. Medicine is multifaceted and theories develop and change over time. There are so many things that are Unknown. Thank you for the video.

[@johnkodhek1]

Your pillars for mental and physical health are the realest things I have seen today. Thank you for this video

[@Shaushkaa]

I've spondylitis, and BPD. I chose to heal but...hey...it's not working ! What a surprise! I've been sick for 25 years. I actually have a 4/10 pain, who is my basic usual pain. I can't run. Or even walk too long. I can't even stand more than 3 mn without ankylosis. The sunlight and sleep will NOT help me. Neither do yoga (and I do yoga). It's a really capacitist/validist thing to say. I'm really angry. I'm french, I don't know this Doctor. But he sounds like the docs I've seen 11 years until my diagnosis. "You're mentally ill, your physical pain is only linked to PTSD and stress". 11 years without treatment. Thanks for this video. I'm really angry but you're soothing, it's cool.

[@bitterbaubles7829]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO! Everyone on the planet needs to watch this. Seriously! Many of my women friends are OBSESSED with their health to the point that I have trouble being around them. They think they can control EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of their health. Totally unrealistic and DELUSIONAL!

[@panicbuyflax3461]

Love the thumbnail Eric, haha!

[@StrongMed]

Thanks!

[@sunving]

Thank you Dr Strong :)

[@Yeeeeeehaw]

Thank you Dr 👍

[@17-akrammohd20]

It was a much needed video,I was always skeptic about many things he claimed.

[@pattube]

I think what Dr. Huberman has said and what Dr. Strong has said can complement each other. I don't think they're necessarily mututally exclusive. It's not either/or, but both/and. I think there is wisdom in finding the right balance of their advice with one another.

[@whateverimake9350]

As a Huberman fan i love this video. This is what science outght to be about. Discussion, critique and good points. Unfortunately (yes, as a fan i think this is bad) we lack valid criticism and examination in response to podcast's claims.

[@r0ky_M]

Maybe Prof Strong can do a piece on Jordan Peterson (and his quack influencer daughter) "all meat diet" road to good health..😂

[@StrongMed]

I appreciate the suggestion, but the problem with doing a critical piece on someone like Peterson is that it will bring the trolls out in droves. I went through this during 2020 and 2021 when I was posting videos on COVID. Just moderating the comments and deleting offensive emails was soul-sucking, which I'm all too aware is the trolls' primary goal. I've actually been pleasantly surprised that this video has drawn fewer than I was expecting.

[@Bmarker299]

Yes I wish someone would do take down of Jordan Peterson. But spare yourself for the excellent topics you already cover. Your sincerity and truthfulness is much appreciated - this coming from a fellow Stanford clinician. I like many, look forward to your videos and have learned a lot from you.

[@chirurgeon]

The reason why I'm subscribed to Dr. Strong Med and not Mr Huberman. At least as an academician he should have refrained from making such subjective suggestions on social media. As a surgeon what I was taught was, a surgeon teaching how to fly a plane would sound no better than a Jester. So always talk about the things in which you are an expert in. Although I'm a surgeon,:whenever I'm in need , my go to resource for brushing up my knowledge is uptodate and to get a crystal clear understanding of concepts, Dr. Strong Med has been the subject expert of my liking.

[@MoukhlesDerbal]

He is allowed to talk about whatever he wants on his personal social media. And he always ends his tweets with questions on how he can improve or change his opinion, do you not see that?

[@HealthspanHandyman]

Stay limited 👍

[@qwerty-rh6ht]

@@MoukhlesDerbal sure, and people are allowed to critcize him for being a hack

[@canererbay8842]

"I am not going to be disrespecting Dr. Huberman" My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined...

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

big pillar to health is just knowledge and education to an extent

[@bharadwajmr5928]

Great video! As Medlife crisis said Dr. Strong is like Poseidon guiding us through storms of medicine topics and social media medicine influencers!! Thank you.

[@jazznroll5]

There is a whole philosophy that says: "Focus and work on what you CAN control". So you are basically saying that there are also things that affect you mental and physical and are out of your control. You are correct. But what is the point to focus on them if you can not do anything to change it ?

[@Sophie-dd7rx]

Dude said quit smoking just as I lit a cigarette. I’m going to take this as my final sign that I need to quit. Any advice welcome!

[@mousethefoo1230]

I have Trigeminal Neuralgia with severe tic's along V1, V2, and V3. I also have spinal problems that will require surgery in both my neck and lower back. The lower back is causing bladder problems and the neck is causing tic's in my arms. Meaning that all of Dr. Huberman's list is very difficult to manage with the intractable pain on top this is disability will only pay me $771 per month which is a non starter for me. Meaning that I will have to go back to work as living in poverty from 30 till I die does not sound fun. On top of this is have to manage the medical insurance so I can't get a job as I would then be making to much money for medicaid which means no surgery to fix all the problems as I would then be on employer insurance. That list of his would a walk in the park compared to what I have to do now.

[@AllergicToMakeBelieve]

I wish you good luck with all of your challenges. Your comment should give many of us pause to think about what others face.

[@user-tw1cx4zc7d]

This video seriously needs to go viral. All these KZbinrs need to be held accountable. No matter if it is huberman or anyman

[@MoukhlesDerbal]

Accountable for what ?

[@victorcotu]

What about all the tens of thousands of doctors that prescribed fentanyl like lollipops.

[@davorinrusevljan6440]

I Like his broad take that lets non professionals like me opportunity to learn something. Comically thing that seem most important to him "micro protocols" mostly seems laughable to me, they just seem like extrapolating something that was to weak in the first place, way, way to far. Like fidgeting is going to make me loose some significant amount of weight. That does not subtract from the fact I really like and benefit from his videos.

[@dityacivilizacii]

Also, what is health? If someone lost a limb, but otherwise has no medical issues, are they more “healthy” than someone with heartburn? Is someone with bad teeth less healthy than someone with diagnosed general anxiety? What is less healthy, skin cancer or Alzheimers? Health is multifaceted, and some aspects of it may be luck or genetics, some a result of hard work. I’m talking as a person with near perfect teeth just by brushing them twice a day and occasionally flossing. At the same time, as a person taking a bunch of pills and working with psychotherapist for more than 5 years to overcome my cPTSD.

[@user-ld9dk6nd4m]

Truth sometimes hurt, but it's necessary to it

[@albertoandrade9807]

Hey! When Dr strong got buffed? Man he looks so good

[@ShelbyTomov]

Spoken with such clarity and perspective. Thank you so much for this, professor. Cheers.

[@purlfox]

Lowkey reminds me my sister. She has type 1 diabetes and cluster b personality disordered thinking. She decided for about a month once that she "wasn't diabetic anymore". And stopped taking her insulin because she went through a traumatic breakup. She ended up in a coma... Yeah... Willing and deluding herself into not having type one diabetes didn't go so well 😐...

[@intro...101]

Thank you for this!

[@matthewhanks8620]

Very interesting take. I really appreciate your pillars of health list. People who are in a position of privilege are likely to have much more control of their health. Income inequality is probably the most damaging factor to people’s health and wellness in our country and Huberman is most certainly among the privileged and he is also linked to some very wealthy/powerful people. I think for the most part his content is positive and helpful. But there is definitely something underneath and maybe control is a key word. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes increasingly more controversial.

[@matiitpl]

That's a great critique! Thank you for this video

[@SaiyaniPal]

Lastly you said about smoking...yes It is so bad for health..but how to get rid of that addiction??....there was psychological part dominated in any type of addiction.....how to get rid of that psychological part???I think this is a common problem.. please make vedio for that

[@Vidyut_Gore]

I'm amazed he didn't mention a flourishing KZbin career for an income. Or any other rewarding work would to. My mental health would be in the garbage bin if I wasn't doing a job I enjoyed. As far as I know, it is among major factors in having peace of mind and day-to-day enjoyment. I'm astonished it doesn't feature on his list. Perhaps its been a while since he got time to go to work.

[@samhiscocks3089]

In the modern day, our healthcare professional's time is too valuable to be paying attention to, and making videos about, social media. Dr. Huberman's gestalt message is one that swings the narrative on health in a positive direction, that is what should be focused on. Getting too zoomed in on the minutia of another person's message, or any trivial matter, is an abuse of the amazing faculties of our brains.

[@kowalskiplota634]

Also the science in his podcasts is veeeeery superficial. Thank you Dr. Strong ❤

[@umgrandepino]

Why would you consider oral health not as important as the other "pillars"? I mean, brushing one's teeth correctly and consistently is one of those kind of interventions where the benefit is significant for the little amount of effort one puts it. Or is there evidence telling otherwise?

[@StrongMed]

If someone says [y] is a pillar of [x], they mean [y] is of central importance to [x][, not that it's "low-hanging fruit". How much death and morbidity comes from poor dental hygiene compared to poor exercise, poor diet, poverty, inadequate access to healthcare, or unlucky genetics?

[@didisaythankyou]

I 100% agree, luck is the most important factor (for everything) As an aside, Dr Strong >> Huberman Also, oral health is important its just probably not an area you know a lot about (Dr Strong).

[@jawi499]

You nailed it…luck is the major factor in life.

[@SarahMaywalt]

This goes double for mental health.

[@g-mannG]

What about Dr. Peter Attila ?

[@StrongMed]

I don't know his stuff well enough to have an informed opinion.

[@ledrecording]

Can I like this a thousand times??? So well said.

[@sanamed2]

Thank's a lot, that was a good video and a wise opinion to me 👏🏻

[@ledrecording]

I have the same heart model on my desk! ❤

[@krisvette5874]

Very wise...

[@wiktormazur7027]

Good video!

[@caliguy1260]

Financial incentives that come from heavy involvement with the wellness industry and social media sphere will often motivate academicians to veer into advocating more sensationalistic principles to cater to an expanding audience base. Heterodoxy generates a larger viewer base. Just look at Joe Rogan.

[@StrongMed]

Just today I just received an offer to promote a fitness product for a couple grand, and it's tempting to take that first step on the slippery slope.

[@caliguy1260]

Yes! That is the start of a journey that may be tempting, but eventually leads to compromising your own integrity.

[@caliguy1260]

I thin that he is also trying to walk that fine line of maintaining his academic reputation and appease his follower base. If you parse out his rhetoric on vaccines, especially w/r/t SARS-CoV-2, he never outright denies efficacy, but he does implicitly downplay the importance of their role in mitigating the probability of severe disease and hospitalization.

[@alirezazakaie1106]

Your last physical exam video isn't accessible...it is private

[@StrongMed]

Sorry, it's a scheduled release for Sunday morning. I do this so I don't need to worry about uploading it and entering in all of the information (including references) Saturday night. This also allows colleagues to vet them ahead of time if it's something that I'd like more feedback on.

[@Septimus2014]

Dr. Strong commented that the most important factor in determining how wealthy you are in the future is your parents' wealth. I'm curious to see if there's a seminal science paper that I can review. There are many, but wondering if he's citing one in particular

[@StrongMed]

My statement about parental wealth was referring to the relative lack of economic mobility, specifically in the US. I don't know of any particular "seminal" papers per se, but here is some data: www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022_FMCI_IntragenerationalWealthMobility_FINAL.pdf www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2015/07/fsm-irs-report_artfinal.pdf docs.iza.org/dp1993.pdf Parental wealth, zip code, race, and the level and quality of education are all so intertwined that it's hard to formally separate the independent contributions of each from the others on the question of what will be someone's wealth as an adult. But all of these remain factors over which the individual has little or no control.

[@uEffects123]

I very much appreciate the point about individual control, yet I think you would have to concede that eg the obesity epidemic is as man made as the climate crisis. Recognizing this let's us enter the realm of responsibilities and collective action.

[@MissMovies29]

Im no huberman fan but I don't think the oral health point was out of left field. Your oral health can have a big impact on the rest of your health and people often overlook that. But I have bad teeth so huberman probably wouldn't care what I have to say on the matter anyway lolol

[@alirezazakaie1106]

I think this argument is just between being 100% good or 99% But if you live in a country in which gealthcare system is controlled by mafia and corruption is widespred then you find yourself so unfamiliar to this argument Thanks Dr.Strong for your excellent videos but sorry my opinion was tragic Wish you the best my best professor💗

[@mohamedosama3605]

Never liked the guy. Always seemed like a grifter.

[@StrongMed]

I understand where that feeling comes from, but I wouldn't characterize him as a grifter. When I think of a grifter, I think of someone who is deliberately misleading others for monetary gain. I've only listened to a tiny fraction of his material, so I can't say how much of it is pseudoscientific broscience vs. legit conclusions from solid research. But even if there is a lot of the former, if he's a true believer in it, it's not grifting. In short, to say a health influencer is grifting, you would need to both look over their claims in detail, and would need to know the person in real life in order to understand how much they themselves believe in what they're promoting.

[@peterz53]

Huberman recently let the cat of the bag about his own lipid profile having a high ApoB which he seemed ignorant of until educated by Peter Attia. Missing something basic like not dialing in biochemistry to prevent heart disease was very disappointing. I only listen to his podcast when he has a true expert on.

[@manymoms920]

Its because you cant sell luck, fate, the roll of the dice. My daughter has some hereditary conditions, not her fault, we didnt know either these were going to pop up.

[@crimson4066]

When professionals speak outside their area of expertise, they become a beacon of ignorance and misinformation

[@erf2324]

do I have to have a degree in geography to talk about other countries? Do I have to obtain a degree in English to correct someone"s grammatical mistakes (of course, if appropriate)? Do I need a medical degree to discuss the difference between a spleen and a hippocampus?

[@crimson4066]

@@erf2324 No, you do not need a degree to talk about anything. But you should definitely have a degree in the field you're talking about if it's a public presentation where you're casting yourself as an expert.

[@peybak]

All his advice should be taken with a grain of salt. His advice on diet is sometimes baffling to me.

[@traceygratch95]

I would agree with you, however, if we have many of the others, genetics may be overcome, to a degree, meaning that through lifestyle choices we may have the ability to switch on and off our genes or genetic predispositions. You are correct, Andrew Huberman is a privledged white male with no family or children. It seems he has little to worry about outside of his vocations, which seem pretty physically untaxing, leaving him ample time to workout, hike, exercise, and he certainly has the financial resources to buy and eat nutritious foods and supplements.

[@StrongMed]

Lifestyle choices can certainly mitigate genetic predispositions, but I wouldn't say that these choices literally "switch on and off" your genes. Epigenetics - the study of how external factors may influence how the body uses your genetic code without actually altering that code - is a legitimate field, but one that is in its infancy. I totally agree with your point that Huberman has all of the advantages that would allow him to focus on optimizing his own health using strategies that are just not practical for most people.

[@Pashinator1]

You need a new chair Dr Strong.

[@StrongMed]

Yes, but this one is soooo comfortable! ;)

[@matthewzaloudek]

It feels very strange that of ALL the things Huberman has said, you criticize the most basic, obvious advice he gives. Watching this almost makes me think that you are in favor of people not exercising and eating whatever processed foods they want, since they apparently have little impact compared to all the things outside of our control. Huberman makes plenty of claims about supplements and things that you could criticize, but instead you go after his advice to eat healthy, sleep well, exercise, etc? I'm very much NOT a fan of Huberman, but this is a weird angle to take.

[@StrongMed]

I appreciate the comment. I know that some folks have issue with what they perceive to be him promoting supplements on incomplete or unconvincing evidence. Unfortunately, one shouldn't post a formal criticism (including a KZbin video) of his interpretation of the research he cites without doing a deep dive on it oneself, including not just reading the handful of papers he refers to, but also looking into the additional refuting or supporting evidence. That takes a lot of time to do well. I've heard him say things that *sound* like complete bullshit, but I don't *know* they're bullshit. The history of medicine is full of ideas that sound wacky, but which were later shown to be true (e.g. beta-blockers for heart failure, early peanut exposure to reduce risk of peanut allergy, post-MI antiarrhythmics increasing risk of death, activated protein C worsening sepsis, etc...). Doing the research properly to critique just one of Huberman's multihour podcasts could easily take 10-20+ hours. I don't have that kind of time to commit to something which is a bit tangential to the primary goal of my channel. The reason I focused on these two tweets is because they were general statements that didn't cite specific literature that needed to be reviewed, but instead provided a window into how he see or frames health. And because they showed up in my Twitter feed without me needing to seek them out. Of course I want my patients to exercise regularly and eat well, but not at the expense of misleading them into thinking that their health is totally under their control, or into thinking that some behavioral change is going to add years to their life, or prevent a heart attack they would otherwise have had. Imagine a patient developed new-onset atrial fibrillation (i.e. an abnormal heart rhythm) that was increasing their risk of stroke, for whom all of the data and guidelines strongly supported taking an anticoagulant medication to reduce that stroke risk, but the patient was hesitant to take it for some reason. If I was the patient's doctor, would it be ok to knowingly exaggerate the expected benefit of the medication (i.e. risk reduction in annual risk of stroke) in order to convince them to take it? I think most doctors and patients alike would say that doing so would be unethical, even if it would benefit the patient's health. Instead, we need to lay out our reasons for a particular recommendation, discuss alternatives, and address patient concerns and questions; but at the end of the day, their decision should still be based on accurate information, even if that decision is one with which we disagree. It is absolutely the same with lifestyle changes. Also, the degree of causality between health decisions and health outcomes that his tweets implied disrespects the experience of many patients (and many doctors) whose chronic medical illnesses are completely outside their control. The suggestion that he disregards the medical advice of doctors and scientists who don't look "healthy and vital" based on some arbitrary subjective criteria of his is absurd.

[@stargazerbird]

I imagine doctors are well off and come from the same as it so expensive to qualify. So we are left with genetics. If a doctor is obese and sick he or she clearly doesn’t have good advice to give or their advice, while correct, is too hard to implement.

[@gamesinfoprofile]

Doctors aren't always well off. I guess this depends on which part of the world you're from.

[@gamesinfoprofile]

"... with the implication that if you aren't healthy, you've probably made bad choices along the way". The way society truly and blindly believes this, and attacks and blames people with health issues, destroys so much of the little good that sick people have going for them. Thank you for saying this. Sure, we have a lot of decisions that we can make regarding our health but the chunk that's out of our hands still impacts our lives in big ways.

[@Saturnreturn123]

I don’t understand why people look to a NEUROSCIENTIST for medical or health advice. He’s not even an MD! He speaks outside his expertise all the time and people just eat it up! I’m sorry but he’s honestly just hype at this point.

[@MoukhlesDerbal]

I'm an MD and i follow Dr Huberman and i think he offers good advice at least 50% of the time. Our training is about prevention and diagnosis and treatment of a limited set of diseases, if you are a specialist then that it is even more limited, Dr Huberman is not running a scheme or a clinic for you to be saying this. He just has social media presence and people can choose wether to follow him or not.

[@squamish4244]

Well, now we know that Andrew Huberman has serious issues with control. This video seems much different in light of this.

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

why this guy "hate" or aversion to oral health calling it "out of the field"

[@StrongMed]

"Out in left field" is an American idiom meaning unexpected or out-of-place. It's not an "aversion" to oral health but merely surprise over it being placed at the same level of importance as nutrition, sleep, and exercise.

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

oh OK. thanks. it's an idiom, thought field was in relation to medical and health

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

but overall I actually think Huberman is overrated and he pumps out content, literally attempting to optimize every little thing. Like he'll have a whole podcast on hydration, to best time to pee, etc. Sure, the science and nuance gets complex. but dude is just straight up milking people's time. Also, from a mental health podcast and in relation to this theme of, "how much is in our control" there's people telling people they can Achieve anything and magical thinking and stuff, just using power of mind, it's all in your control. to opposite end of spectrum, saying nothing is in your control and outside influences and system and stuff that your mental health is subject to. Which of course really it's somewhere in the middle. But even for mental health, apparently Poverty is the biggest or one of the biggest in terms of factors for mental health. and poverty and income-- well, it's only in control and Luck/opportunity to varying degrees. Ultimately, people do have to Accept and not ignore things in life that we aren't in control over, and actually sometimes this can lead us to having less blame and more self compassion when things go wrong. it's unfortunate, we should have an inner locus of control but of course we cannot just become "trans-human" robots where all of us have money and time to optimize every single routine and minute of our Health and life.

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

​@@StrongMed There's a saying, "do as I say, not as I do." Some people may have brilliant advice, that they don't follow themselves. Or coaching that they don't do. Or sometimes they do follow their own advice, but since they aren't super successful in x area, apparently some people choose to ignore sound-advice. Like I told my sister some basic financial advice, and she said she only takes advice from rich people. Umm, but the advice is still sound. Sometimes it's a matter of practice vs theory. An athlete may feel their body and live it, but not know physio and anatomy, vice versa.

[@lxMaDnEsSxl]

YT censoring this comment I made first: the thing is, completely ignoring dental health- hygiene and checkups, can K**l you. whilst doing the bare minimum vs optimizing it, won't exactly result in huge health gains (if an infection causing d***h being avoided is minimum. and optimal being; thorough and healthy oral microbiome for Nitric Oxide). Also, the pillars do overlap. A healthy diet for some, for obesity, menral health, and in general, has been low carb, keto, and carnivore. Yet following diet and nutrition like this, does result in a by-product of having greatly less cavities and gum disease. Also, nitric oxide is greatly underrated, but the paradox is, some people who take great care for their oral hygiene, may actually be depleting is nitric oxide by destroying good oral microbiome. Cardiovascular problems like heart attacks double from having low nitric oxide and mouthwash use...

[@nonehandle688]

While I would say "may not be their fault," I would not say "probably not their fault." I think that most of our physical health is within our control despite genetics and financial means being beyond our control. That said, I would not judge a doctor on what he looks like (even a dentist with bad teeth). You have a good point. I WOULD, however, judge my doctor if I saw him smoking. I don't know that I would believe that everything he says is incorrect advice, but I would question it far more than a doctor who is a non-smoker.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

Why? What evidence do you have that MOST of physical health is within our control? Maybe most of YOURS but can you say that to a poor family in a third world country? Such a privileged mindset. I wouldn't question a doctor who smokes if he or she acknowledges it's not healthy. We are there to listen to their professional recommendations, not to mimic their lives.

[@ATA-wi2lh]

Huberman is a grifter, period. A real scientist would know to stay in their own lane. Huberman persistently and confidently steps out of his lane.

[@NRNF1776]

Huberman's appearance tricked us all apparently... Just see at how unhealthy his private life it... 😅

[@FlawlessNJ]

He gets everything wrong tbh...

[@StrongMed]

I am very far from a Huberman scholar, and have only listened to a tiny fraction of actual podcast, but I am nevertheless very certain that he does not get *everything* wrong.

[@glennjennifer7095]

😝 *Promo SM*

[@antonw-uw4ov]

The argument made here is basically: "It is impossible to judge if someone is healthy or unhealthy by looking at them." It is an absurd position but one that is very much in vouge in the 2020s. It's just silly.

[@StrongMed]

That's not my stated position at all, but strawmen are also very much in vogue in the 2020s.

[@antonw-uw4ov]

@@StrongMed well, is it not what you are saying in the first part of the video? You are saying we should not gerneralize and then state a bunch of very unusual situations like people being fat solely due to their genetics. That is basically saying that you cannot learn general truths and apply them as experience since there might be a very small chanse of you being incorrect due to some anomali.

[@andrewmorosky4697]

Don’t like this take at all. Any chance for people to be interested in science, health, and medicine is fantastic. As a current medical student, the best doctor you’re going to have is good food and exercise. I want my patients to know they’re in control of their health.