Q&A #16 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (10/3/2020)
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In this Q&A, Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses hot yoga, lion's mane, green coffee bean extract, whole grains, and more!
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What are the benefits of hot yoga? Are they comparable to the sauna?
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What does the latest research on Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) show?
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What is the science behind whole fruit coffee extract?
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Why Rhonda avoids whole-grains in her diet
How does coffee consumption affect our health?
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and has attracted considerable scientific interest for its complex bioactive composition and potential health benefits in areas such as cardiometabolic health, neuroprotection, and cancer prevention.
The chart illustrates the average daily consumption of various beverages in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020. Each dot represents a specific type of beverage, with the size indicating the relative consumption volume. In the coffee category, the four largest dots represent regular coffee, instant coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and iced coffee. CC BY-SA 4.0
A key factor in coffee's potential health benefits is thougha to be its high polyphenol content. Polyphenols account for up to 10 percent of the dry weight of green coffee beans—the raw, unroasted seeds of the Coffea plant—with Robusta beans generally containing higher levels than Arabica beans. The main class of polyphenols in coffee beans is chlorogenic acids (CGAs), with caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) being particularly abundant. However, brewing and especially roasting can reduce the chlorogenic acids (CGA) content by up to 95 percent. A 1 percent reduction in dry weight results in an 8 to 10 percent reduction in CGAs. While this leads to some loss of bioactive compounds, CGAs are also chemically altered into different structural forms (isomers) or broken down into smaller molecules, such as quinic acid and cinnamic acids. These can further react to form new compounds–contributing to coffee's overall bioactive profile.[1]
"A key factor in the potential health benefits of coffee is thought to be its high polyphenol content. Polyphenols account for up to 10 percent of the dry weight of green coffee beans—the raw, unroasted seeds of the Coffea plant—with Robusta beans generally containing higher levels than Arabica beans."- Dr. Rhonda Patrick Click To Tweet
- ^ Ludwig, Iziar A; Clifford, M.N; Lean, Michael E. J.; Ashihara, Hiroshi; Crozier, Alan (2014). Coffee: Biochemistry And Potential Impact On Health Food & Function 5, 8.
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Are there any studies showing benefits of hot yoga? Are they comparable to the sauna?
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What does the latest research on Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) show?
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What is the science behind whole fruit coffee extract?
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Green coffee extract has been shown to improve blood cholesterol levels in humans. 1
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One of the active ingredients of coffee, chlorogenic acid, significantly lowered blood pressure in a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. 1
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The process of roasting coffee beans decreases chlorogenic acid content. 1
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Whole coffee fruit concentrate powder, green coffee fruit extract, coffee and BDNF. 1
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Are there times statins could be contraindicated for a person with APOE3/4? Or is a statin important to take for an APOE 3/4 with an over 200 LDL (but low Triglycerides and HDL at 97) to reduce the LDL as a way to help prevent cognitive decline? CoQ10?
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Lipophilic statins have been associated with increased risk of cognitive dysfunction in phase 4 clinical studies. 1
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Rhonda explains why, for those taking statins, supplementing with CoQ10 could be beneficial.
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Genetic risk factors that increase likelihood of more severe infection of COVID-19.
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Transient spikes in blood glucose can lead to long term health consequences by activating AKT pathway and inhibiting FOXO3 pathway.
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Rhonda talks about how specific foods affect her blood glucose levels.
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Rhonda explains why she doesn't eat rice.
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Can overnight sixteen-hour fasting followed by (fasted) exercise induce short-term ketosis, and in that way protect the brain?
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Are there differences between benign in a ketogenic diet and fasting-induced ketosis?
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What are the health benefits of supplementing with ketones?
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Rhonda discusses why she avoids whole-grains in her diet.
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Nocebo effect in non-celiacs eating gluten free bread. 1
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Rice can be contaminated with arsenic depending on the source.
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Rapidfire questions
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Rhonda's thoughts on cows milk for babies.
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Why Rhonda removed certain ingredients from her smoothie protocol.
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How much vitamin D should be taken to sustain adequate vitamin D levels?
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Rhonda's personal probiotic regimen.
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Is there a probiotic that can lower blood glucose levels?
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HEPA air filters for your personal home.
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Rhonda's thoughts on using Viome to analyze your microbiome.
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Rhonda distinguishes food fortified with iron vs food supplemented with iron.
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Xylitol gum does not alter the microbiome in a measurable way.
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Watch previously recorded Q&As with Dr. Rhonda Patrick
Q&A #75 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (11/01/25)
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses joint aging prevention, avoiding heavy metals in protein, reducing migraines, nicotinamide for skin, and minimizing jet lag.
Q&A #74 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (10/11/25)
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses stroke risk, eczema, immune resilience, her new smoothie recipe, and whether everyone should cut out gluten.
Q&A #73 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (8/16/25)
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses iron imbalances, urolithin A, NAD+ boosters, vitamin K2 and hormone replacement therapy in women.
Q&A #72 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (7/19/25)
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses fragmented sleep, lipid biomarkers including ApoB and LP(a), coffee makers and bean quality, and choline supplementation.
Q&A #71 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (6/7/25)
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses her supplement routine, Neu5Gc risks, Repatha and diabetes, heat stress, osteoporosis in men, and plyometrics.