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I’ve listened to Huberman for a few dozen hours and think he has useful info. But his supplement talk triggered my spidey sense, especially with his sponsors. I
by prepend 4y ago
I’ve listened to Huberman for a few dozen hours and think he has useful info. But his supplement talk triggered my spidey sense, especially with his sponsors. I remember he was talking about how ashwaganda (or something like that) wasn’t good to take long term because of cortisol suppression and then added that the amount found in athletic greens is ok as it’s not high enough. I thought that was an odd comment and then later in the episode heard an add for athletic greens.
I think he means well, but I don’t think I can trust his advice because of all his supplement advertisers.
I had a loved one with a rare condition and would talk with their doctor about lots of different things to try as I was desperate, the doctor said something that sticks with me “look, these aren’t harmful unless you consider the cost of spending hundreds or thousands per month for supplements harmful.”
Athletic greens is $100/month/person. It’s not bad for you, but that’s a lot of money. Couple it with fancy fish oil, lots of resvetrol, NAD, and all the other stuff and you’re looking at a high bill. Huberman isn’t a doctor, but it’s expensive to experiment with all the stuff he talks about.
All that being said, he’s still in my podcast feed and I listen to an episode every once in a while. So I think he had good info, but just requires lots of confirmation and research.
I think it’s tough for podcasters in this space to make money because naturally supplement people want to advertise. And the targeted ads for Huberman listeners are super frequent and full of all sorts of bio hacks.
- digdugdirk 4y agoI honestly think your last two paragraphs nail it. From my experience he's quite clear about the marginal benefits from supplementation, and as long as he doesn't cross that line I'm perfectly happy to have him serving as a sort of one man literature review. I also get the impression that his audience is a fairly affluent one, so I don't even have an issue with the price level of the supplements he's advertising. So far they seem legitimate (again, even if they're wildly expensive for any associated benefits) so as long as they don't cross into snake oil territory, I see zero issue with any of it.