In this episode of The Joe Cohen Show, Joe sits down with Chief Scientific Officer of MitoQ, Dr. Siobhan Mitchell. Siobhan shares her impressive academic and industry experience and knowledge to explore mood, cognitive function, and mitochondrial health.
Her industry experience includes giants like Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo, and Noom, where she worked on the fascinating effects of nutrition on mood and cognition.
Siobhan and Joe do a deep dive into the serotonin-mood connection, helping us understand the genetic risk factors for depression and anxiety.
Siobhan also shines a light on the underestimated significance of brain energy to mood and how mitochondrial strength plays a key role in this context. Siobhan also demystifies oxidative stress misconceptions and explains the impact of targeted antioxidants such as COQ10 and MitoQ.
Finally, we delve into the ‘Ozempic’ effect of fiber on our gut health and how it could suppress your appetite naturally.
Siobhan illustrates her firm belief that understanding the food we consume can prevent numerous diseases – truly, food is our medicine.
Explore these topics and much more as we discuss the human brain, mood, and the pioneering research in the field of mitochondrial health.
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*Socials & Websites:*
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• The Joe Cohen Show: https://thejoecohenshow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrbiohacker/
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*Siobhan Mitchell:*
• Website: https://www.mitoq.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/siobhanmitchell
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Timestamps:
(0:00) – Intro
(1:31) – Serotonin & Mood
(12:56) – Brain Energy and mood
(16:53) – Oxidative Stress & Muscle Growth
(23:14) – Supplements that reach the brain
(28:51) – CBT, physiology, and mood
(32:00) – What are isoflavones?
(38:43) – Difference between SSRIs and Tryptophan or 5HTP
(50:04) – Brain energy and mitochondria health
(56:15) – Fiber, Butyrate, and the Ozempic Effect
(1:02:53) – Favorite probiotics
(1:04:14) – Deep dive into fish oils
(1:09:16) – Siobhan’s supplement stack
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Serotonin does effect mood , it's a neurotransmitter, it doesn't tend to be a positive effect tho , generally it's a negative one high serotonin linked to fear response , disassociation (numbing effect) , high in autism, defeat
When you inhibit mao-a in rodents and their serotonin spikes , they get stressed out and aggressive
When you induce a stressor , higher serotonin release in the cortex = they give up into helplessness quicker
How often do you hear of other neurotransmitters causing death like serotonin syndrome? Not often
In autopsies of suicide , when you control for factors that reduce serotonin measures post mortem, it shows there's higher serotonin in the brain compared to non suicide deaths
SSRIs warn that they can increase suicidal tendencies .. (because they flood serotonin)
Chlorophyll might be a good one for mitochondria. Looks like there's becoming more and more focus on mitochondria for boosting health
7:35 it's not surprising Siobhan's study with tryptophan didn't work as expected (it wasn't just that tryptophan was largely going into other pathways like it usually does also , likely actually her experiment showed serotonins typical effect – the other part of the tryptophan increased serotonin , which increased fear response , serotonin is known for this)
(I bet a lot of researchers personally find opposite results to the narrative , then they're like wtf , well our results must be wrong what could be the cause? When actually like in this case , they proved the correct outcome)
45:40 love = low serotonin state , very interesting
it's too simplistic to put it down to one thing , but generalising by this alone as a thought experiment , if we want to live life in an opposite state of love for whatever reason (fear & hatred) – we'd want high serotonin?
48:00 mdma isn't just serotonin , you get a flood of a bunch of stuff dopamine included.
If you've ever felt that intense anxiety come up in the initial phase, i would bet thats the part where serotonin release is outweighing
35:00 there's a lack of focus on progesterone in menopause , it balances the negative effects of estrogen. And goes down a lot post menopause
Great show! Just a few short comments from the old farts. I believe the flavenol fisetin crosses the blood brain barrier. I have Rem Sleep Behavior Disorder. I'm careful of supplements that increase REM sleep. I believe L=Theanine increases REM sleep. SSRI's are one of the suspected causes or triggers of RBD. I have some genetic issues with my anti-oxidant systems. I've stopped taking NAC and take sulforaphane instead. It crosses the BBB and in some ways, self regulates my antioxidant defenses. I take PQQ on an as needed basis. Taking it too often seems to lower its effects. But, when I need it, it works great. Took it the other day, after breathing in the smoke from the wild fires. Slept like a rock. Also take glycine every day, but not collagen peptides. Glycine helps with deep sleep. Good info on fish oil. Happy my freezer is filled with salmon and trout. Caught a rainbow trout fresh this morning. New stocked rainbow trout have pale flesh but give them a few weeks on natural lake foods, their flesh darkens up nicely. Even trout don't do well on hatchery processed foods. I don't believe any two people will react exactly the same to a supplement. Too many genetic variables. Just learned yesterday I won't be dying from the Bubonic Plague. My incredible Hulk immune system won't allow it.