the mindbodygreen podcast

The housekeepers who didn’t know they were athletes

373 views · 7h ago · 12:05

Hotel housekeepers who were simply told their daily work counted as exercise saw real changes in their bodies within four weeks. Same work. Different belief. In this solo episode, Jason Wachob breaks down Alia Crum and Ellen Langer's famous "chambermaid study," plus Crum's milkshake study, to show how mindset shapes the way your body responds to movement and food. Then: the honest limitations, and three ways to use this today.

Topics: The hotel housekeeper study · What changed after four weeks · The milkshake study: belief vs. biology · The honest caveats · 3 ways to use the mindset effect today

Why the happiest people stop trying to be the best | Matt Bloom, Ph.D.

1.5K views · 1w ago · 45:23

Why do the happiest people stop trying to be the best? Matt Bloom, Ph.D., spent nearly 30 years studying the well-being of people in high-stress helping professions — and found that small, steady habits beat big overhauls every time.

Topics: Why small habits beat big overhauls · The 5-minute worry window · Lessons from high-stress professions · Radical acceptance & psychological flexibility · An exercise for hard experiences · When pushing through becomes self-destructive

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Why food quality matters more than calories | Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D.

4.9K views · 2w ago · 49:06

Cardiologist Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian explains what a century of nutrition science got wrong, and what he actually eats. We cover seed oils, red meat, ultra-processed food, calorie counting, and why “the food industry is experimenting on us without data and knowledge.”

Topics: What a century of nutrition science got wrong · The single-nutrient mistake · Pellagra & the birth of enriched flour · Macros vs. food quality · The 3 buckets of food · Is red meat bad for you?

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

How to prevent Alzheimer’s starting in your 30s | Kellyann Niotis, M.D.

2.9K views · 3w ago · 47:53

Alzheimer's isn't destiny. Preventive neurologist Kellyann Niotis, M.D., explains how to lower your Alzheimer's and dementia risk, starting in your 30s, even if you carry the APOE4 gene. "What we know for sure is that Alzheimer's is a preventable disease. It's not destiny."

Topics: Is Alzheimer's genetic? Why genes aren't destiny · Why Alzheimer's prevention starts in your 30s · Cholesterol and brain health · Amyloid & p-tau 217, explained · How viruses & your menstrual cycle affect tau · Dr. Niotis' research

The youth sports myth that’s costing kids, from a former D1 athlete

2.1K views · 1mo ago · 19:45

Should your kid specialize in one sport? Youth sports, from travel teams to club leagues, is now a multi-billion-dollar industry built on one unspoken promise: specialize early, and your kid has a shot. In this solo episode, a former Division I basketball player digs into what the research says about early sports specialization, overuse injuries, and burnout in young athletes, and why multi-sport kids often go further.

Topics: The myth of early sports specialization · How youth sports became a billion-dollar industry · My own path to Division I basketball · Early specialization & overuse injuries in kids · Does specialization cause burnout? · Junior stars & adult pro athletes are different people

How a 1-hour scan can replace a 5-day physical | Andrew Lacy, Prenuvo founder & CEO

1.8K views · 1mo ago · 40:22

"I hope in 20 or 30 years time, a clinical diagnosis is something that's rarely given because most everything has been caught before it rises to that stage,” says Andrew Lacy. Lacy is the CEO and founder of Prenuvo, the company pioneering proactive whole-body imaging for the early detection of cancer and other diseases.

Topics: What's changed in the last two years of scanning · The importance of establishing a baseline · The average scan turns up nine findings · Ageotypes: why everyone ages differently · Inside the new body composition report · 4 ways AI is changing medical imaging

Why this doctor stopped fearing sugar, ice cream, & alcohol | Keshav Grover, D.O, M.S.

3.6K views · 1mo ago · 45:56

"What is the lowest dose of intervention that can have the maximum effect to help the body heal itself?” asked Keshav Grover, D.O., M.S., IFMCP. Grover is the founder of Grover Health and Wellness, PLLC. He is a physician, keynote speaker, and champion of functional/integrative medicine and of eating a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Topics: The "Wellness Bridge" · Why medicine doesn't have to be either/or · A simple at-home gut health check · There’s no universal cure · Peptides 101 · Who should avoid peptides entirely

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Is wellness culture making us less healthy? | Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, MsC

2.6K views · 1mo ago · 37:54

“I don't need to track it. I just listen to my body,” says Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D.,, PhD, Ms.C. Dr. Emanuel is an oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics. He is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds appointments in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Department of Health Care Management in the Wharton School.

Topics: When tracking our health goes overboard · The health markers worth testing · Daily nutrition habits · What it means to “eat your ice cream” · The importance of social connection · Why willpower fails & habits win

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Status, Sex, & Sports Cars: What Science Says

1.5K views · 1mo ago · 7:24

What does driving a sports car actually do to your hormones? In this episode, we break down a surprisingly revealing 2009 study in which researchers had men drive a bright red sports car and a beige sedan and measured changes in their testosterone before and after.

Is Zone 2 training a waste of your workout time? | Kristi Storoschuk, exercise scientist

7.7K views · 2mo ago · 41:19

“As your time commitment goes down, the importance of intensity goes up,” says Kristi Storoshuk. Storoschuk is a PhD candidate in Muscle Physiology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her research focuses on the relationship between skeletal muscle metabolism and whole-body metabolism, with an emphasis on how nutrient–exercise timing influences physiological adaptations to exercise.

Topics: What is Zone 2 training? · The limitations of Zone 2 training · Prioritizing intensity when time is limited · All about interval training · The truth about building your aerobic base · We shouldn’t train cardio like elite athletes

Why high-achievers are heading for burnout | science writer Elizabeth Svoboda

1.3K views · 2mo ago · 47:28

"It's way better to pull yourself back from the brink of burnout before it hits than to let yourself fall all the way in,” says Elizabeth Svoboda. Referenced in the episode Find the Maslach Burnout Inventory here For more about Joe Arpaia

Topics: Why high performers always push to 110% · Physical signs of burnout · Getting more comfortable with recovery · Pacing & how to take advantage of energy rhythms · What an Olympic runner taught her about rest · Modulation & the importance of breathwork

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book