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Health

Rhonda Patrick's Secret to a Long Life? A Bunch of (Legit) Pills and Powders

The cell biologist takes eight supplements for brain health, sleep, and longevity.

Building a supplement stack that supports your overall health and helps extend your lifespan can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be.

While Andrew Huberman’s 27-supplement stack is a thing of legend, cell biologist and FoundMyFitness podcast host Dr. Rhonda Patrick has a more measured approach. She focuses on just eight key supplements to achieve many of the same goals as Huberman.

We gathered every supplement in Patrick’s arsenal—plus the science on how they can benefit you, too.

For Brain Health and Cognitive Function

Fish Oil

Patrick has been taking fish oil for brain health and aging for almost a decade. She told Tim Ferriss that she takes two grams of EPA in the morning and two grams of DHA at night, referring to the two main omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.

Fish oil is one of the “most powerful anti-inflammatory, dietary lifestyle things we can get relatively easily that is going to powerfully modulate the way you think, the way you feel, and the way you age,” she told Huberman on an episode of his Huberman Lab podcast.

She knows what she’s talking about. Research suggests that omega-3s may help improve cognitive function and brain health. They also help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, factors that can increase your risk for age-related diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s (1,2,3).

Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ)

Patrick told Joe Rogan that she supplements with 20 mg of PQQ, citing the antioxidant’s potential to improve mitochondrial function, increase cognition, and reduce inflammation.

PQQ may help reduce ischemia (restricted blood flow) damage, and, according to one review, may improve cognition (4). Another study found PQQ decreased levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6—two markers for inflammation—while enhancing mitochondrial-related function (5).

BRAIN HEALTH

For Better Sleep

Magnesium

While Patrick doesn’t take Huberman’s entire sleep cocktail—a mix of magnesium threonate, apigenin, L-theanine, and inositol—she does take a magnesium-based supplement to help her sleep.

She told Huberman that she takes Magnesi-Om by Moon Juice several hours before bed. Primarily, a mix of magnesium and L-theanine, this supplement is designed to promote relaxation and the sleep that may help your cells and tissues recover from the wear of daily life.

Some research has found magnesium may help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality. And one study published in 2021 found magnesium improved sleep quality and sleep duration in adult participants (6).

For Stronger Bones and Joints

Collagen 

As you age, your joints become stiffer and less flexible. Patrick sees promise in collagen research on many fronts, including joint pain due to arthritis or athletic injury. According to a recent Instagram post, she takes a collagen supplement from Great Lakes.

One study found supplementing with collagen peptides—combined with chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, L-carnitine, and other vitamins and minerals— improved joint health. In the study, this also helped with skin aging. Researchers concluded that this combination may be effective in slowing down some of the hallmarks of aging (7). 

A review published in the journal Current Rheumatology Reports found collagen hydrolyzates—a group of peptides, that research suggests may help reduce inflammation and improve gut and bone health—may help people with early osteoarthritis and may also help prevent osteoarthritis in healthy adults (8).

Vitamin D

Vitamin D regulates your immune system and blood pressure and helps build strong bones, Patrick said on the Huberman Lab podcast.

How? The sunshine vitamin may also help reduce inflammation and help your body absorb calcium and phosphorus, nutrients critical for maintaining bone strength. Patrick told Huberman she takes 5,000 IUs a day for these purposes. (For men, it may also increase testosterone levels.)

In a Q&A with Goop, she also hinted at another perk: an improved mood, thanks to vitamin D’s role in serotonin production. “Serotonin regulates a broad range of cognitive functions and behaviors,” she said. “It regulates social behavior, impulse control, decision making, anxiety, memory, impulse aggression, so-called ‘sensory gating,’ and more.”

Research suggests that vitamin D helps synthesize serotonin from an essential amino acid called tryptophan and that vitamin D may increase serotonin in people with depression (9,10).

Vitamin K2

Patrick says that she supplements with vitamin K2 a couple of times a week, although doesn’t specify exactly why.

Our guess: protecting her bones and improving bone strength. One study found a higher intake of K2 was associated with a lower risk of heart disease (11).

EXPERT HEALTH HABITS

For Overall Health

Multivitamin 

Patrick calls a daily multivitamin “great insurance” for your health.

“There are 40 essential micronutrients which are vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids and amino acids we have to get from our diet and they’re important for not only helping us not die, for example, scurvy, but also long term function, the way we age [and] preventing insidious damage,” she said on The School of Greatness podcast.

On her FoundMyFitness chatroom, Patrick shared that she takes the multi O.N.E. by Pure Encapsulations because she likes most of its ratios of vitamins and minerals.

Moringa

On the Huberman Lab , Patrick said she supplements with a plant called moringa, which she says acts “like a cousin” to a phytochemical called sulforaphane. Both activate the Nrf2 pathway, which may contribute to controlling symptoms of inflammation (12), and regulate genes related to glutathione production and detoxification, Patrick said.

Nicknamed the “master antioxidant,” glutathione plays a role in neutralizing free radicals, detoxifying your body, and strengthening your immune system. Indirectly, glutathione is also vital to energy production. She adds a “big, heaping tablespoon” of Kuli Kuli Moringa Powder to her smoothies.

1. Derbyshire, E. (2018). Brain Health across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review on the Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements.

2. Satizabal, C.; et al. (2022). Association of Red Blood Cell Omega-3 Fatty Acids With MRI Markers and Cognitive Function in Midlife.

3. Kiecolt-Glaser, J.; et al. (2012). Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation in healthy middle-aged and older adults: A randomized controlled trial.

4. Jonscher, K.; et al. (2021). Pyrroloquinoline-Quinone Is More Than an Antioxidant: A Vitamin-like Accessory Factor Important in Health and Disease Prevention.

5. Harris, C.; et al. (2013). Dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) alters indicators of inflammation and mitochondrial-related metabolism in human subjects.

6. Zhang, Y.; et al. (2021). Association of Magnesium Intake With Sleep Duration and Sleep Quality: Findings From the CARDIA Study.

7. Czajka, A.; et al. (2018). Daily oral supplementation with collagen peptides combined with vitamins and other bioactive compounds improves skin elasticity and has a beneficial effect on joint and general wellbeing.

8. Mobasheri, A.; et al. (2021). A White Paper on Collagen Hydrolyzates and Ultrahydrolyzates: Potential Supplements to Support Joint Health in Osteoarthritis?
9. Patrick, R. and Ames, B. (2015). Vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: relevance for ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior.
10. Kouba, B.; et al. (2022). Molecular Basis Underlying the Therapeutic Potential of Vitamin D for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety.
11. Haugsgjerd, T.; et al. (2020). Association of dietary vitamin K and risk of coronary heart disease in middle-age adults: the Hordaland Health Study Cohort.
12. Ahmed, S.; et al. (2017). Nrf2 signaling pathway: Pivotal roles in inflammation.

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