In previous posts on Dr Rhonda Patrick I’ve been able to cover what supplements she takes, the diet she eats, exercise she does + more.
However, sometimes there’s a topic that doesn’t neatly into one of these posts. That’s where this post comes in – I’ll be using it to cover other topics that may be of interest.
Table of Contents
Supplements Previously Recommended to family members
- Beet Powder – Rhonda has recommended to family members with high blood pressure
- Methylated B Vitamins – Rhonda has recommended to family with MTHFR mutation
Beet Powder
Whilst Rhonda doesn’t supplement beet powder herself, she did use it successfully to lower her mother and mother-in-law’s blood pressure, and thus avoid them getting on blood pressure medication (see Rhonda’s Instagram post on this topic for more info).
Additionally, she talks about the many studies that have shown positive effects of beets on blood pressure, endothelial function, heart health, improved blood flow to the brain, and endurance performance. Beets are apparently one of the highest sources of nitrate (which then gets converted into nitric oxide) and is thought to increase blood flow to the brain. Beets are also high in vitamin C, which prevents the conversion of nitrates into nitrosamines (those carcinogens that are formed from the nitrites which are used as preservatives).
The Activz Organic Beet Powder Rhonda used for her family has the equivalent of 1 cup of beet juice per 9 gram scoop (~3 teaspoons). Her Mum was taking 9g per day for 2 weeks before she got her blood pressure re-tested.
Unfortunately Activz Organic Beet Powder appears to be out of stock everywhere, so have listed some potential alternatives below:
| Beet Powder | Price per 100g | Organic? | Beets Origin |
| Kos | $6.76 | Yes | USA |
| Antler Farms | $18.50 | Yes | New Zealand |
| Micro Ingredients | $5.94 | Yes | India |
Vitamin B Complex
Rhonda doesn’t take B vitamins in addition to the B vitamins in her multivitamin. In part, because Rhonda does not have 677CT or 677TT MTHFR mutations that indicate poor vitamin B absorption.
However, for those like her mum who are T-homozygous the MTHFR gene (SNP = rs1801133), which leads to poor uptake of folate, they may benefit from up to 800 micrograms supplementation of 5 methylfolate. If you were to take O.N.E multivitamin, which contains 400mcg, you would need an additional source such as Swansons B-Complex, which has 400 micrograms per capsule. Other B vitamins that may be of benefit for this issue are B6 and B12.
Swanson’s B-Complex is the B vitamin Rhonda took previously (source), before she cut back on B vitamins, and its particularly useful because it contains methylated versions of the B vitamins. Which is an exception, rather than the rule for vitamin B complex supplements.
To understand your own bodies ability to absorb vitamin B, you need to sequence your SNPs. The cheapest way to do that is to use 23andMe’s $99 service (you don’t need their $199 service) or Ancestry’s $99 service. Once that’s done you can export your SNP data to services like Promethease ($12) and/or Rhonda’s genetics tool ($25).
Rapamycin
Does Rhonda currently take it? No.
Rhonda’s current opinion on Rapamycin is that she’s interested in it, and eagerly awaiting results from the first human trials (see PEARL trial).
She notes that rapamycin increases the mean (and sometimes maximum) lifespan of a wide range of animal models. There hasn’t however been a lifespan or healthspan study in humans yet.
She mentions some of Rapamycin’s affects are:
- mTOR inhibition. With mTOR being a nutrient sensing enzyme in cells that modulates growth.
- It has immmune system modulating capability – it inhibits IL2 transcription – which blocks T-cell activation (this is key to its function in preventing organ rejection in transplant patients)
- It’s a strong anti-inflammatory
- It increases autophagy (via mTOR inhibition)
- It’s an NRF2 pathway activator
Rhonda then points to other ways to achieve some of these functions:
- She uses high doses of fish oils to decrease inflammation
- Sulforaphane is an NRF2 activator – which she takes – see post on sulforaphane
- Intermittent fasting can increase autophagy – which she practices.
^ This image illustrates how both mTOR complexes use nutrient status as inputs for their downstream actions – source