The Hidden Common Link Between Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer and Alzheimer’s with Michael Joseph Gross

Dhru Purohit Show

Dhru Purohit

Medicine, Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.7 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 87 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is brought to you by LMNT, Cozy Earth, Fatty15, and Maui Nui. We all know muscle is important, but today’s guest takes it a step further, showing why it can truly be a life-changing, even life-saving, part of our health. He shares what his deep-dive research uncovered about the history of muscle and strength training, how our relationship with it has evolved, and what those shifts can teach us about building a stronger, more resilient population today. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Michael Gross to explore the profound impact of muscle and strength training on health, longevity, and identity. They discuss the importance of muscle mass in preventing chronic diseases, the role of strength in shaping personal identity, and share inspiring stories of transformation. Michael emphasizes that it's never too late to start strength training and highlights the need for a shift in the medical community to recognize exercise as a vital component of health care. Michael Joseph Gross began his career as a political speechwriter before moving into journalism, writing for major newspapers and magazines. As a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair, he covered culture, politics, religion, crime, business, technology, and national security, and appeared on programs such as CBS Mornings, Morning Joe, and NPR. He is the author of Starstruck: When A Fan Gets Close to Fame and Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives, which explores the central role of muscle in human health and history. In this episode, Dhru and Michael dive into: How muscle impacts cancer and diabetes risk (5:46) Muscle mass as the body’s glucose-disposal engine (9:49) The link between muscle strength and cognitive health (14:36) Why the medical system overlooks muscle and why it matters (19:42) Jan Todd’s story and what it teaches us about self-efficacy (30:04) Why it’s never too late to start strength training (47:34) Ancient Greek wisdom on strength and vitality (52:41) How strength and community shape each other (57:26) The future: prescribing strength training as medicine (1:01:54) Strength training as a deeper life practice (1:11:10) Breakthrough research on strength training for seniors (1:15:06) Michael’s personal stories on strength and quality of life (1:23:45) Final thoughts and key takeaways (1:28:15) Also mentioned in this episode: STRONGER: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives Oldest Female Ninja Warrior: A Longevity Protocol To Stop Decline, Stay Young & Build Muscle! 7 Ways I'm Helping My Parents Stay Healthy As They Get Older For more on Michael, follow him on Instagram or visit his Website. This episode is brought to you by LMNT, Cozy Earth, Fatty15, and Maui Nui. Right now, LMNT is offering my listeners a free sample pack with any purchase. Head over to drinkLMNT.com/dhru today. Right now, get 20% off your Cozy Earth sheets and sleepwear. Just head over to cozyearth.com/dhru and use code DHRUP. Fatty15 is offering an additional 15% off its 90-day subscription Starter Kit. Go to fatty15.com/dhru and use code DHRU to replenish your C15 levels for long-term health. Right now, Maui Nui is giving my listeners early access to their Holiday Gift Sets—and when you buy four, you get a fifth free. Just go to mauinuivenison.com/DHRU to claim yours. Quantities are limited, so don’t wait! Sign up for Dhru’s Try This Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Michael, excited to have you here on the podcast. You've spent almost a decade working on this
0:06.4	fantastic book, Stronger, the untold story of muscle in our lives. And I'm excited to have you
0:13.7	here. If you have context for the history and the science around muscle, you'll be more excited
0:20.6	to dedicate time to this craft.
0:24.0	So thank you again for being here on the podcast.
0:26.5	Thank you for having me.
0:27.7	We got a lot to get into, so I'm excited to get into it.
0:30.5	You know, as I mentioned, you spent almost a decade working on this incredible book that's out
0:35.2	there.
0:35.5	And your book is built around these key stories,
0:40.4	around three amazing individuals, and how their quest for strength shaped their life and work
0:46.8	and inspired a lot of people, whether people know about it or not. One of them is a professor
0:51.2	from the University of Sydney, and I hope I'm pronouncing her name right, but it's Maria Fiaturoni Singh,
0:57.8	Fiaturoni, a little Italian, a little bit of Indian inside of there as well.
1:02.2	And as I mentioned, she was at the University of Sydney Medical School.
1:07.0	And she's one of the world's leading researchers on strength training and chronic disease.
1:12.4	You spent a month in Australia reporting on her work and a full year studying her research.
1:19.0	So based on everything you learned about her, I want to ask you a big question to start off on the podcast.
1:24.8	If we look at the leading causes of death and disability in America
1:29.2	today, hard disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease, which one of these is
1:36.8	most directly and urgently tied into the lack of muscle mass in the body? Muscle really is a matter of life and death and heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer,
1:54.4	Alzheimer's disease, these are all urgently tied to muscle mass and strength.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dhru Purohit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dhru Purohit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.