Health blogs

[MoseyingAlong]

Hi, all,

Can you recommend a blog about personal health, not disease-focused?
Something informative, encouraging, well-written, motivating.

I'm looking for something like MMM but for health. I was well-informed about personal finance before reading MMM but have found the content and community energizing. Likewise with health, I am reasonably well-informed but go thru waves of motivation so looking for a source of communal energy.

Ideally, something with a focus on middle-aged women or, at least, an acknowledgment of the challenges of various life stages.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Morning Glory]

Nerd fitness has some good content, if you can get past the advertising pitch. It mainly focuses on strength training but there is stuff about diet, motivation, etc. It seems fairly well-reasearched and doesn't preach about one diet being better than the other.

[Metalcat]

It really depends on what you mean in terms of "health".

I have yet to find a pop culture "health" outlet that doesn't have some kind of angle, doesn't ridiculously overstate the importance of various things, or isn't trying to sell you something expensive.

[MoseyingAlong]

Nerd fitness has some good content, if you can get past the advertising pitch. It mainly focuses on strength training but there is stuff about diet, motivation, etc. It seems fairly well-reasearched and doesn't preach about one diet being better than the other.

Thanks @Aunt Petunia I'll take a look there.

[MissPeach]

It's not a blog but I really like the podcast Peak Human. There are interviews of a lot of different specialists so you see a lot of angles and start seeing some trends.

If you're into fitness I really like Mike Matthews' site called Legion Athletics. He sells supplements but used to have the blog and company website different. They also have a facebook group. He's a bit skeptical and tried to analyze what is effective. He's made a lot of the changes and has a great physique.

There is another fittness person name Sohee Lee and she runs a blog called SoheeFit bit I think is mstly posting to Instagram lately. She sells coaching but I like that she focuses on the mental part of fittness. She also has her body building pro card and competed as a power lifter at one point.

[englishteacheralex]

Posting to follow

[Goldendog777]

Dr. Peter Attia has an awesome podcast called The Drive.  His focus is on health and longevity.  Aside from being very intelligent and a great interviewer, he has some really great experts in their field on his show.  It’s the only podcast or media that I actually subscribe to.  You can listen to most of his podcasts for free, just not the AMAs and you don’t get the show notes.  Highly recommend

[SuseB]

I am a big fan of both Mark's Daily Apple and Katy Bowman.

[jamesbond007]

FoundMyFitness by Dr. Rhonda Patrick.

[Posthumane]

I'm going to second Goldendog's recommendation for Peter Attia. It has become my number one go to podcast in recent times.

[MoseyingAlong]

Thanks for the recommendations.
I've started exploring. Until now, podcasts have not been my thing but I'm going to try listening to them on my walks.

[MoseyingAlong]

Quick update.

Thanks to @Goldendog777  and @Posthumane for the Peter Attia Drive recommendation. I first listened to the cute intro with his daughter Olivia. Glad I did because his first podcast episode was long (2.5 hours) and I felt like I was listening to a couple adolescent males talking about their exploits. (Name-dropping and "I did So Much mind-altering substance. More than anyone should do. But I did So much.")

When I thought past the presentation to the info, it was interesting. So a few more books and podcasts added to the list. And I'm looking forward to his second episode because it is with Rhonda Patrick of FoundMyFitness, recommended by @jamesbond007.

I watched her talk with Satchin Panda. That was fascinating, informative and, to use the Bogleheads' keyword, actionable. The pancreas has melatonin receptors! Crazy.

And Nerd Fitness had some short posts that might help with motivation. Thanks @Aunt Petunia

So, interesting avenues to continue down. And I haven't looked at the others yet. This is such a helpful community.

[Posthumane]

I've listened to a few discussions with Rhona Patrick and I found her to be very informative. Peter Attia does sometimes come across as being so far down the medical research rabbit hole that I can see how it would occasionally make him unrelatable - some of his episodes get very technical, and at other times he spends way too much time reminiscing about doctors or hospitals that he and his guest have in common. However, I find the info he has on his podcast is always backed up with studies, and he is humble enough to not rest on his expertise and to allow himself to be surprised when the research does not coincide with his preconceptions.

I seem to recall watching one of the earlier episodes of Rhoda Patrick's podcast where she interviewed Attia, and there seemed to be a lot of tension between them. They have very different opinions on the significance of the gut biome.

[Metalcat]

I've listened to a few discussions with Rhona Patrick and I found her to be very informative. Peter Attia does sometimes come across as being so far down the medical research rabbit hole that I can see how it would occasionally make him unrelatable - some of his episodes get very technical, and at other times he spends way too much time reminiscing about doctors or hospitals that he and his guest have in common. However, I find the info he has on his podcast is always backed up with studies, and he is humble enough to not rest on his expertise and to allow himself to be surprised when the research does not coincide with his preconceptions.

I seem to recall watching one of the earlier episodes of Rhoda Patrick's podcast where she interviewed Attia, and there seemed to be a lot of tension between them. They have very different opinions on the significance of the gut biome.

The issue I have with a lot of the more "researchy" type pop-science health gurus is that they cloak themselves in a thick layer of scienscism to lend more credibility to their theories, which are only thinly more scientific than the rest. Attia had made a huge deal of research only for the research from his own institute to not support his theories.

Now legitimately, he has stated that that is just preliminary research and doesn't rule out what he's saying, which is fair, but it also doesn't mean that he's got more scientific support than others.

The thing is, it's so incredibly difficult to study nutrition in an effective AND ethical way, which is why there's so little definitive science on it.

That's why any pop culture "guru" who claims to possess some special "truth" about health and nutrition gets a solid side eye from me and other medical professionals/scientists.

Besides, it's not really scientific factual support that people need to eat better, it's psychological support. People generally know when their diet is crappy, and that doesn't stop them from eating crappy diets. Everyone knows that exercise is beneficial and yet almost nobody does enough of it.

Knowing more about nutrition and fitness only does so much, but understanding the basis of habit formation, motivation, and stress management are critical.

I've always said that the best diet is a good therapist.

We all generally know how to take care of ourselves, but we generally don't. Understanding the basis of that is fundamental.