The Real Reason You Age (And How to Slow It Down) | Dr. Eric Verdin

The Dr. Hyman Show

Dr. Mark Hyman

Medicine, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.5 • 9.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2026

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We tend to think of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s as separate problems. But what if they all stem from the same underlying process? On this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, I sit down with Dr. Eric Verdin, whose research, including work on compounds like urolithin A, is helping reshape how we think about aging and long-term health. We explore why aging may be the biggest driver of chronic disease and what that means for how you approach your health. Watch the full conversation on YouTube, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. We unpack: • How your immune system becomes both overactive and less effective over time • What chronic inflammation is doing inside your body and how to start bringing it back into balance • Why cellular energy and mitochondrial health are key to repair and recovery • How your microbiome shapes inflammation, immunity, and long-term health • The daily habits that impact longevity most and where people get it wrong This conversation reflects a shift in how we think about health, moving beyond treating disease to understanding what’s driving it in the first place. View Show Notes From This Episode Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman https://drhyman.com/pages/picks?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal https://drhyman.com/pages/longevity?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Join the 10-Day Detox to Reset Your Health https://drhyman.com/pages/10-day-detox Join the Hyman Hive for Expert Support and Real Results https://drhyman.com/pages/hyman-hive This episode is brought to you by Timeline, Seed, BIOptimizers, BON CHARGE, Paleovalley and Big Bold Health. Visit timeline.com/drhyman for 20% off a subscription on top of the new starting price of $79. Go to seed.com/hyman and use code 20HYMAN to get 20% off your first month. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use promo code HYMAN at checkout to save 15%. Head to boncharge.com/hyman and use code HYMAN for 15% off. Head to paleovalley.com/hyman to save 15% off your first order today. Go to bigboldhealth.com/drhyman and use code HYMAN15 to save 15% on your first order. (0:00) Biological age vs. cholesterol in heart disease and chronic disease risk (0:50) Introduction of Dr. Eric Verdin and his work (1:23) Sponsor: Brain Shaping Academy (1:51) Sponsor: Mitopure (2:54) Sponsor: Seed (3:48) Welcoming Dr. Eric Verdin and longevity framing (5:42) The geoscience hypothesis and modifying age as a risk factor (8:21) Early-stage interventions in aging and potential for life extension (9:56) Longevity skepticism and practical steps for today (11:20) Mitochondria, inflammation, and hallmarks of aging (17:20) Mitochondrial DNA, inflammation, and immune system aging (22:17) Innate vs. adaptive immunity and immune aging (28:47) Strategies to combat immune aging (33:07) Gut health, inflammation, and foundational elements of longevity medicine (38:20) Social connections, sociogenomics, and cellular energy in aging (46:29) Cellular repair systems and postbiotics (50:33) Sponsor: Paleo Valley (52:34) Sponsor: Big Bold Health (53:23) Urolithin A, immune rejuvenation, and longevity interventions (59:08) Longevity and functional medicine approaches (1:02:27) Big data, AI, and the evolution of medicine (1:04:26) Microbiome, diet, and gut health (1:06:14) Measuring biological age and biological clocks (1:09:37) Future of health monitoring and closing remarks

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if brain fog, anxiety, and mood swings aren't simply all in your head?
0:04.7	What if the health of your mind actually starts deeper in your body, in your gut,
0:09.7	and your hormones, metabolism, and your immune system?
0:12.3	Well, let me tell you, the connection is real, and it affects how you think and you feel
0:16.4	every single day.
0:17.3	And that's why I created Brain Shaping Academy, a six-week program that shows you how
0:22.1	healing your body can help you heal your mind. Brain Shaping Academy relies on the same targeted
0:27.6	nutrition and lifestyle strategies that I've used for 30 years to help my patients improve their
0:31.9	mental, emotional, and cognitive health. So if you want to feel calmer, clear, and more in control,
0:37.4	and stay sharp and
0:38.3	protect your brain as you age, check out Brain Shaping Academy at Dr.hyman.com for slash brain shaping.
0:45.0	That's Dr.heimen.com or slash brain shaping. What really has changed in the last 20 years is that
0:50.9	we can change your biological age to some degree. Your cholesterol level is seven times less important than your age.
0:57.0	So imagine now that we're targeting aging what it's going to do in terms of impact on your risk for heart disease.
1:03.0	You say that the phenomena that drive aging is primary. The diseases are secondary.
1:08.0	Aging is the biggest risk factor for a whole series of conditions that we call heart attack,
1:13.6	stroke, therosclerosis, many forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, all of these diseases.
1:21.6	And so it really changes the paradigm of the way we've been taught medicine, which is to respond to all of these emergencies that occur, what I call Waccamol medicine. If we targeted the underlying mechanisms of aging, we could extend like by 30 or 40 years. So what do you do for helping your immune system age well? That's really the way medicine is going to change. Dr. Eric Burden is president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and a globally recognized leader
1:44.3	in aging in science, a physician scientist with over 300 publications. He studies the intersection
1:49.5	of metabolism, immunity, and longevity, helping shape the future of how we understand and treat
1:54.4	aging.
1:58.0	Have you been dealing with anxiety, low energy, or trouble focusing, and still feel like
	...

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