#142 Genius Foods for the Brain with Max Lugavere

Teemu Arina (0:00)

Do you want to know what it is?

Siim Land (0:03)

Body, mind and powerment. Get stronger, faster, smarter, quicker, friendlier, more helpful, more driven.

Max Lugavere (0:11)

Everything the body needs.

Teemu Arina (0:13)

Control your mind.

Welcome to the BiHackers live show. My name is Teemu Arina, and yeah, we're gonna continue today with Max Lugavere, who is one of our actually opening keynotes at BiHackers Summit on 1st and 2nd of November. Max Lugavere is an American television personality, health and science journalist, author and musician also. He resides in Los Angeles, California and New York City. And yeah, he's really someone to look after if you are interested in optimizing your brain and cognitive capability as well as longevity with the help of food. So he's someone who is a proponent of using whole foods and nutrient-dense foods, perhaps over supplements.

So a well-rounded diet is definitely something that is going to be the foundation of a well-functioning brain. So with that, welcome to the show, Max.

Max Lugavere (1:15)

Thanks for having me, Teemu. This is, I'm super honored to be here with you.

Teemu Arina (1:19)

Wonderful. So we met in Stockholm. You were a previous speaker at Biker Summit previously. And I remember that you were really stoked about all the wild plants that we were foraging there together.

Remember that moment?

Max Lugavere (1:34)

I do remember that moment. You single-handedly have converted me into being a lifelong fan of foraging, which is something that now I look forward to having the opportunity to do whenever it arises. And I'm looking forward to doing it with you again at the upcoming Biohacker Summit.

Teemu Arina (1:52)

Yeah. This time of the year, it's gonna be definitely mushroom season and we might be able to find still some roots.

So that's where a lot of the, you could say the life force really grows or goes and also grows at this time of the year. And that's where most of the active compounds are located is on the root system. It's kind of the plant upside down on the summertime. It's on the flowers, it's on the tops on the new growth shoots. And in the winter time, it kind of diverge, it kind of goes back to the root system. And yeah, that's the time to do all kinds of cool tinctures and so on for supporting your, I guess your body in so many different levels.

Is there some specific plant that is your favorite when it comes to the kind of wild plant kingdom?

Max Lugavere (2:45)

Oh man, what a good question.

You know, I don't, I can't say that I have a favorite necessarily, but I do value the vigor that consuming wild plants imparts onto you, onto your own body. And I think that we discussed this a little bit when you were on my podcast, The Genius Life, just a few months back. But yeah, I think that that's one of the reasons why people generally should try to opt for organic produce whenever they can, and why those wild plants are so valuable to health in ways that we have yet to even scientifically describe. But a wild plant has to fend for itself. It's out there in the wilderness, literally having to fend off from rodents, pests, fungi, and infections and the like. And so it develops all kinds of bitter, good for you compounds. And I think the irony is that the modern food supply is being essentially bleached of these compounds because, you know, bitter is not a flavor that the human palate tends to favor.

Teemu Arina (3:58)

Yeah, and bitter tends to be also where, bitter tends to be where most of the more complex compounds are, most of the medicinal compounds are, which are not on the food label. So when you look at the shop, you see minerals, you see macronutrient distribution, you maybe see a few trace minerals in their vitamins and so on, but many of the more complex chemistry is not really on the label. And I think we are shopping labels and not really looking at the complexity of what a true plant can really be.

So is this something that has come up across in your research when it comes to, you know, looking at, for example, organic produce or wild produce compared to completely lab grown stuff that people are accustomed to consuming?

Max Lugavere (4:48)

Yeah, I mean, I would say insofar as polyphenols and other phytochemicals have come up in the literature in terms of their broad sweeping protection over our cardiovascular system and our brain and certain compounds like anthocyanins, which are found in blueberries and bilberries and even more concentrated source, which you brought up actually on my podcast, has actually been specifically mentioned in the literature as being particularly strong neuroprotective potential.