Dr. David Perlmutter | Mitochondria, Memory, & the Choices That Determine Your Brain's Destiny

About this episode

Dr. David Perlmutter discusses the impact of beliefs and daily choices on brain health and cognitive resilience.

Your beliefs aren't abstract. They're wiring your brain in real time, and according to Dr. David Perlmutter, they're also determining whether your mitochondria thrives or fails. In this conversation, we move past the idea that modern medicine will catch you when you fall and into the harder truth: your daily choices are either building cognitive resilience or feeding a cycle of inflammation that cuts you off from your own prefrontal cortex. A board-certified neurologist, six-time New York Times bestselling author, and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, Dr. Perlmutter brings decades of clinical and research experience to this discussion, bridging neuroscience, nutrition, and preventive medicine in a way that challenges conventional thinking. He walks us through the neuroscience of agency, the role of microglial cells in brain health, and why ultra-processed foods don't just make you gain weight but can disconnect you from the part of your brain that helps you make better decisions. This is about understanding that neuroplasticity, mitochondrial health, and even compassion are trainable, and the time to start is before the diagnosis arrives. We also confront what most…

People in this episode

Host: Fleet Maull

Guest: Dr. David Perlmutter

Topics covered

• neuroscience
• nutrition
• preventive medicine
• cognitive resilience
• mitochondrial health
• neuroplasticity

Keywords

• mitochondria
• memory
• brain health
• inflammation
• ultra-processed foods
• neuroplasticity
• preventive medicine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American College of Nutrition

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