An Expert Warns: Too Much Time Indoors May Be Raising Your Risk of Heart Attack & Stroke — Here’s How to Overcome Our Indoor Epidemic with Dr. John La Puma

Dhru Purohit Show

Dhru Purohit

Alternative Health, Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2026

⏱️ 105 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is brought to you by BiOptimizers, Puori, Branch Basics, and LMNT. Most people are doing their best to stay healthy in a world their biology doesn’t recognize. They’re following modern advice, stacking routines, and trying to keep up, while their body is quietly asking for something much more basic. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with physician and author Dr. John La Puma to unpack the hidden health consequences of modern indoor living and why he calls it an “Indoor Epidemic.” Dr. La Puma explains how spending the majority of our time indoors disrupts our circadian rhythm, accelerates aging, and increases the risk of chronic disease. He also breaks down the powerful role of light as a biological signal influencing mood, energy, and sleep, and explains why even small doses can significantly impact our health. Dr. John La Puma is a two-time New York Times bestselling author, board-certified internist, and professionally trained chef who pioneered Culinary Medicine. He now pioneers EcoMedicine from his small regenerative teaching farm. His upcoming book, Indoor Epidemic, reveals a clinically validated intervention, presenting nature as foundational medicine, an essential component of health, and the missing pillar in optimizing longevity and healthspan. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. La Puma dive into: (0:00) Intro (00:10) How indoor living impacts our health (01:29) More time indoors increases chronic disease risk (04:30) What the data really reveals (08:20) “Digital obesity” and resetting brain signals (10:58) The benefits of spending time outdoors (22:48) Light as a natural antidepressant (27:48) Indoor living and accelerated aging (36:30) Dr. La Puma’s origin story and mission (47:27) Small habits that drive long-term change (59:22) Simple ways to improve your diet (1:00:49) How gardening supports overall health (1:14:22) Staying productive in a busy world (1:21:45) How schools can support children’s health (1:28:37) Social connection and community (1:36:17) The health benefits of nature (1:40:33) Where to find Dr. La Puma’s work Also mentioned in this episode: Indoor Epidemic: 93% Inside Steals Sleep, Focus & Years--7% Outdoor Rx Restores Them La Puma Farms For more on Dr. La Puma, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or visit his Website. This episode is brought to you by BiOptimizers, Puori, Branch Basics, and LMNT. Upgrade your digestion with enzymes! Go to bioptimizers.com/dhru now and enter promo code DHRU to get 15% off any MassZymes order and all BiOptimizers products. Quality protein matters. Get 32% off Puori Grass-Fed Whey Protein and a free shaker when you start a subscription at puori.com/DHRU and use code DHRU at checkout. Right now, Branch Basics is offering 15% off the Premium Starter Kit; just go to branchbasics.com and use the coupon code DHRU. Make 2026 your cleanest, healthiest year yet with Branch Basics! Right now, LMNT is offering my listeners a free sample pack with any purchase. Head over to drinkLMNT.com/dhru today. Sign up for Dhru’s Try This Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	John, a pleasure to have you here and a pleasure to meet you.
0:03.5	And you too. We have lots in common.
0:05.2	We have lots in common and my audience cares so much about this topic.
0:09.6	But interestingly enough, if you go to the average person on the street and you say,
0:13.3	hey, are we increasingly spending more time indoors?
0:17.3	Most people would say, yeah, I think so.
0:19.7	I think generally we're spending more time indoors. But the thing that most people would say, yeah, I think so. I think generally we're spending more time indoors.
0:22.7	But the thing that most people have no idea about,
0:27.5	even I polled a few friends in anticipation of this interview,
0:31.0	friends that think that they're very healthy.
0:33.3	And I said, did you know we're spending 93% of our time indoors as human beings?
0:41.3	And not only that, it's taking an incredible toll on our physical and mental health.
0:48.7	Let's start off.
0:49.7	What's the cost of this 93% of our time that we're spending indoors?
0:55.0	Isolation, immune deficiency, insomnia, attention fatigue, cognitive deficits, myopia,
1:05.0	increased sedentariness, obesity.
1:09.0	It's just kind of the list goes on. And it's actually, I think, a root cause of a lot of
1:16.3	those chronic diseases that we simply have not been able to identify. And there really hasn't been
1:22.7	a prescription until now. That's a pretty bold statement coming from a physician. Do you think that a lot of your
1:29.8	colleagues in this space, you know, we're here recording in Santa Monica, you did your residency at
1:36.0	UCLA, if we went to them, your peers that went to medical school with you and said, hey,
1:42.0	is a root cause of a lot of the chronic diseases
	...

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