"Midlife is a perfect time for you to think about where you've been & where you want to go,” says Margie Lachman, PhD. 

Lachman is professor of psychology at Brandeis University and director of the Lifespan Lab. A leading expert on adult development and aging, Lachman is one of a small group of scholars who study midlife from a lifespan developmental perspective. Her honors include research awards from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Gerontological Society of America. Lachman was a member of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development, which launched the landmark Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. She is a coinvestigator on MIDUS and several other projects exploring cognition, health, and well-being in midlife and later adulthood. 

00:00 - Why midlife is actually prime time

04:37 - The hinge moment & the pivot point

08:08 - Looking back vs. looking ahead

11:16 - The midlife crisis myth, explained

14:24 - Stability, identity, & personality change

18:42 - Traits of people who thrive in midlife

22:55 - What to do in retirement

26:53 - No one wants to look older

29:00 - Emotional regulation gets better with age

31:20 - Resilience, optimism, and sense of control

35:52 - Giving vs receiving in midlife relationships

38:36 - The U-shaped happiness curve is overstated

41:32 - Cognitive peak in midlife

40:36 - How your mindset can be anti-inflammatory

44:30 - Exercise as a panacea for health 

Referenced in the episode: 

Buy Lachman’s book here:

For more about the MIDUS study, visit: https://midus.wisc.edu/

Patent holder study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733322001500 

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"There is no one magic test for brain health,” says Richard Isaacson, MD.

Isaacson is a Harvard-trained neurologist who directs the Precision Prevention Program at Atria Health and Research Institute and founded the world's first Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian. A leader in precision-medicine approaches to Alzheimer's risk reduction, he has served as principal investigator for multiple research initiatives focused on individualized care. He recently led an NIH-funded clinical trial showing that a free online tool (RetainYourBrain.com) reduced Alzheimer's risk by 16% in six months, and is working to democratize brain health testing through an at-home, lower-cost blood biomarker test (AlzLabs.org).

Show notes:

00:00 - What we don’t know about Alzheimer’s

04:49 - Where to start with Alzheimer’s risk

06:55 - Lifestyle first: optimizing what you can control

10:39 - Using wearables & health tech for brain health

16:19 – Why there's no perfect blood test for the brain

29:06 - Cutting through the information noise

31:10 - Steps to take when symptoms appear

35:37 - Is it actually memory loss?

38:54 - The future of Alzheimer’s testing

Referenced in the episode: 

Free cognitive risk & assessment tools: retainyourbrain.com

Free information about blood biomarkers: ind.org/bloodtest  

Free information about home testing: alzlabs.org 
We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"You shouldn't be spending more than five minutes in there at a time,” says Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH.

A graduate of Harvard College, Pasricha earned her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her training includes an internal medicine residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and gastroenterology and motility fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently, Pasricha is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Institute for Gut-Brain Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an NIH-funded research laboratory at the forefront of gut-brain science. Her book, You've Been Pooping All Wrong, is out now. 

00:00 - What actually makes a bowel movement healthy

07:55 - The Bristol Stool Chart explained

10:50 - The case for bidets

14:49 - What hemorrhoids actually are

17:44 - The smartphone-hemorrhoid study

20:33 - Fiber timing & psyllium husk

24:03 - The rise in early-onset colorectal cancer

27:43 - Microbiome testing

30:03 - The future of gut health

32:33 - Why we can't poop when traveling

35:40 - How much gas is actually normal

38:01 - Runners with the runs

41:10 - How to overhaul your gut in 30 days

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Pasricha, visit her website: https://www.trishapasricha.com/ 

Buy Pasricha’s book here: https://a.co/d/0gZZImBR 

Smartphone usage on the toilet study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12407481/ 

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"Almost all of the interventions that make us happier work because they make us feel more connected and more loved,’ says Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D.

Lyubomirsky is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the bestselling author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness—and her latest, How to Feel Loved (Harper Collins, 2026), paired with a mainstage TED talk. A Harvard and Stanford-trained scientist whose research has been featured in the New York Times, on podcasts, and in documentaries worldwide, she is one of the world's leading experts on the science of happiness

00:00 - What connects every happiness practice

03:24 - Why you should talk to strangers

04:41 - Kindness changes your DNA

08:32 - Money, power, & fame are overrated

10:36 - The case for reaching out to old friends

13:49 - Why 70% don't feel loved enough

17:03 - The walls we walk around with

18:52 - The radical curiosity mindset

23:55 - How to really listen 

28:19 - AI as a companion

31:05 - The relationship SEAsaw

39:00 - When introverts act extroverted

43:40 - The conversation to have tomorrow

Referenced in the episode: 

For more about Lyubomirsky & her research, visit her website: https://sonjalyubomirsky.com/ 

Buy her new book: https://a.co/d/04sCyQSj 

Listen to her mainstage TED talk: https://youtu.be/pdRWeK9f02w?si=1vV8cwwsSHeCMZ3y 

For more about Nicholas Epley’s research & upcoming book, visit his website: https://www.nicholasepley.com/ 
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“Placebo effects are real and mind-body effects are real, and there's a fairly large scientific literature on these things,” says Joshua W. Brown, Ph.D.

Brown is a professor of Psychological and Brain Science at Indiana University, where he directs the Cognitive Control Lab. He also co-founded the Global Medical Research Institute With decades of experience in computational neuroscience and over 79 peer-reviewed publications, he brings the same rigorous scientific methodology to extraordinary claims of healing that he applies to understanding the brain.

00:00 - A neuroscientist's brain tumor diagnosis

07:29 - Prayer with expectation

10:43 - The biology of belief

12:13 - Inside the Global Medical Research Institute

17:14 - Even known placebos still work

20:27 - The science of miracles 

24:10 - Conversion disorders & the mind-body line

32:02 - The brain is a prediction machine

38:02 - How chronic stress writes itself into the body

41:18 - Why "just believe" doesn't work

43:22 - Healing happens in community

47:16 - When neuroscience met the Dalai Lama

50:26 - The morning practice that grounds his day

Referenced in the episode: 

To learn more about Brown, visit his website: https://joshbrownneuro.com/ 

Buy Brown’s book here: https://a.co/d/07qL3LKj 

To learn more Brown’s research, or to report your own miracle, visit the Global Medical Research Institute website: https://www.globalmri.org/ 
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"What we don't know CAN really hurt us, " says Florence Comite, M.D. 

Comite is a Yale University School of Medicine and National Institutes of Medicine trained physician-scientist, endocrinologist, and the leading voice in the field of precision medicine and healthy longevity. She was founder of the first global women only health center at Yale three decades ago and is founder of the Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity in 2005, in New York, with satellite offices in Palo Alto and Miami Beach. Her new book, Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better, Longer, was published by Little, Brown Spark in April 2026. 

Catch this week’s episode of mindbodygreen podcast, created in sponsorship with Toyota. For vehicles designed for all that life has to offer, check out the 2026 RAV4, Sienna, Highlander, and Grand Highlander. Hop in, turn on the episode, and enjoy every mile. 

00:00 - Aging starts in your thirties

01:55 - The decline of testosterone

07:29 - How genetics dictate aging

10:08 - Increasing testosterone 

12:30 - Hormone therapy

17:59 - A DHEA story

20:37 - Metabolic markers

26:11 - Using a continuous glucose monitor

33:13 - Heart medication & testing

36:06 - Personalized medicine & prevention

39:56 - The Alzheimer's spectrum

42:38 - Genetic variables & testing

49:00 - The trouble with AI in medicine

For more about Comite, visit her website: https://florencecomite.com/ 

Buy her book here: https://a.co/d/0cnOvaH8 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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"I want people to start thinking of walking as a physiological necessity, not simply as a form of exercise,” explains Courtney Conley, D.C.

Conley is a renowned foot and gait specialist, chiropractic physician, and founder of Gait Happens and Total Health Solutions clinic and Total Health Performance gym in Lakewood, She is a founding member of the Healthy Foot Alliance and coauthor of Walk, a new book about the power of walking.

0:00 - Walking is fundamental

03:34 - Debunking 10,000 steps

05:37 - The power of a microwalk

08:15 - Steps vs heart rate

09:46 - Weighted vests & step counters

13:26 - Walking to reset the nervous system

16:07 - The 15-minute post-meal walk

19:53 - How walking unlocks teenagers 

22:41 - Why uneven terrain matters 

26:55 - The mechanics of good walking 

32:15 - Calluses are good for you

34:00 - Conley’s favorite footwear

37:08 - Why you should lift barefoot

Referenced in the episode: 

• Find Conley at her website: ⁠https://www.drcourtneyconley.com/⁠ 

• Buy her book here: ⁠https://a.co/d/0eEvaiGi⁠

• Study on how brisk walking reduces cancer risk (2025): ⁠https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12885-025-14258-x⁠ 

• Study on how 5,000 steps a day reduces depression (2024): ⁠https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828073⁠ 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on ⁠YouTube⁠! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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“The awareness of how lifestyle, diet, and exercise affect us is mind-blowing.”

Dr. Giovanni Campanile and Dr. Sandra Cammarata are the founders of CorAeon, the only functional medicine practice founded and led by a husband-and-wife team. Campanile is a Harvard-trained functional cardiologist, Associate Professor of Medicine at Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, and former cardiologist for the President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. Cammarata is a Tufts-trained functional psychiatrist with 36 years of experience and multiple Castle Connolly Top Doctor honors. Together, they treat cardiovascular health and mental well-being as one inseparable system. They are co-authors of The Sicilian Secret Diet Plan and hosts of the podcast The Rest is Health.

00:00 - The mind-body approach to heart health

03:01 - How relationships predict lifespan

05:18 - The Monday morning heart attack

09:13 - Where healthy people get tripped up

13:02 - Visceral fat & body composition testing

15:28 - Biomarkers beyond cholesterol

23:25 - The problem with a zero CAC score

25:09 - Medications for heart disease risk

28:22 - When stress is the real driver

31:46 - EXO Mind & magnetic brain stimulation

35:34 - The problems with traditional cardiology

41:00 - The benefits of sauna therapy

44:46 - The hidden epidemic: insulin resistance

47:57 - The future of heart health

Referenced in the episode: 

Harvard longevity study: https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/ 

This podcast is sponsored by CorAeon, the only functional medicine practice created by a functional cardiologist and functional psychiatrist team for a true mind-body approach. Learn more at coraeon.com. 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

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“Every single lifestyle choice we make can either drive inflammation up or drive it down.”

Cynthia Thurlow, NP, is a perimenopause and menopause expert, nutrition educator, and nurse practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience in the ER and clinical cardiology. Now, she works to help women live vibrant and healthy lives. Her new book, the Menopause Gut, comes out on April 28. 

This podcast was created in partnership with CocoaVia. Their 500 mg Cocoa Flavanols Capsules and Powder include the most studied and clinically proven extract in the market—at levels shown to support cardiovascular health.* Use code MBG2026 for 20% at cocoavia.com. Valid on all products: Single, bulk, or subscription of CocoaVia excluding stick packs. New customers only.

00:00 - Why women chronically undereat protein 

03:19 - Fiber: the missing link in gut health

09:00 - Healthy fats & targeted nutrients

13:08 - The importance of healthy blood flow

17:52 - 5 metabolic markers you need to track

21:47 - The Boston Heart test

26:19 - The genetic aspect of cholesterol

28:50 - Advancements in cardio testing

33:25 - AI in medicine

35:17 - Hormones, inflammation, & your diet

39:42 - Discussing her new book

You can find Thurlow at her website: https://www.cynthiathurlow.com/ 

And get her new book, The Menopause Gut, here: https://a.co/d/01BKJHc8 

We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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“It should be possible to maintain stable cognitive function into your eighth and ninth decades. But we don't really internalize that. We expect decline, and because we expect decline, we're less likely to engage in those things.”

Dr. Tommy Wood is a neuroscientist, Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and author of The Stimulated Mind. With degrees from Cambridge and Oxford, he has published more than 100 scientific papers and lectured worldwide on brain health, metabolism, and human performance. He also serves as a performance consultant to world-class athletes, including Olympians and Formula 1 drivers, and co-founded the British Society for Lifestyle Medicine.

00:00 - What we know about brain biomarkers

03:59 - Dementia risk is modifiable

06:29 - Why you should get your steps in

08:52 - The effect of exercise on the hippocampus

15:05 - Muscle is a brain organ

20:42 - Give your brain the fuel it needs

25:12 - Creatine & brain health

27:22 - The convenience crisis

29:54 - The importance of making mistakes

31:30 - How to stimulate your brain enough

33:31 - Social connection = medicine

35:45 - Tommy’s dream study

38:12 - The optimization trap

Referenced in the episode: 

Buy Tommy’s book here: https://a.co/d/0aUGHI9s 

Find Tommy on his website: https://www.drtommywood.com/ 

The Pointer Study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2837046

The Lancet Study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01296-0/abstract 

London Cab Driver Study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.070039597

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In the 1960s, a small Pennsylvania town called Roseto had half the national rate of heart disease — and zero recorded heart attack deaths for men under 55. They smoked, ate pasta and sausages, and drank wine. Scientists were baffled.

What they found changed everything we thought we knew about health.

Link to the study: ⁠https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1636828/⁠ 

Chapters

00:00 Meet Roseto: the town that shouldn't have been healthy
01:49 The shocking discovery: heart disease stats that defied logic
02:11 What scientists found when they investigated
02:33 The real answer: it was culture all along
03:35 When the community unraveled, so did the health advantage
04:05 What the Roseto Effect means for us today

Watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mindbodygreen

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