Live Long and Well with Dr. Bobby

Sign up for my free newsletter and get 1-page action plans (Dr. Bobby's 1-page Prescriptions A birthday can sneak up on you and suddenly you’re asking a blunt question: what am I actually doing for my health, and am I focused on the right things? As I near 70, I share the health plan I actually follow, not as a template for you to copy, but as a clear way to think about your own evidence-base...

Sign-up for Newsletter (and get 1-page action summary) Episode Summary: In this episode, I explore whether it’s ever “too late” to change your health future—and why the science suggests that earlier is better, but later still matters.  Can you still change your future? The answer is hopeful, but nuanced. Younger listeners may assume they have plenty of time, while older listeners may wonder whethe...

Get my Newsletter and 1-page action sheets Explore whether emotions like grief, fear, anger, loneliness, and chronic stress can truly affect the heart — and what the evidence suggests we can do to protect ourselves. Can you really die of a broken heart? Rarely, yes. The clearest medical example is Takotsubo syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or “broken heart syndrome.” It can occur afte...

I’m joined by Dr. Jeffrey Sankoff to talk about three exercise “rules” you may be allowed to break: you don’t always need to spread workouts across the week, intensity doesn’t have to come from a formal interval session, and most short workouts don’t require a complicated hydration or fueling plan. The Exercise Rules You’re Allowed to Break Have you ever skipped a workout because you couldn’t do t...

After 70 episodes, I've noticed a pattern that keeps showing up in every corner of longevity, wellness, and medicine: people don’t fail because they “don’t care.” They fail because the signal is buried under hype, and because perfectionism makes the basics feel impossible to sustain. So I step back and share a simple framework  for living long and well: treat evidence like a compass, treat hy...

Episode Summary: In this episode, I look at diet soda, artificial sweeteners, and the real-world question that matters most: compared with what, at what dose, for whom, and at what tradeoff? Diet Coke, Twinkies, and the Questions That Matter I start with a memory from medical training: a cardiology professor walking around with a Diet Coke in one hand and a Twinkie in his pocket. Was he making a s...

In this episode, I explore where AI can genuinely help with health questions, where it can fall dangerously short, and how to use it more wisely before trusting it with decisions that really matter. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini can be useful for understanding lab results, summarizing a doctor’s visit, preparing questions before an appointment, or making sense of complicated medi...

In this episode, I explore a difficult but important idea: when it comes to depression, anxiety, fear, and emotional suffering, changing physiology often works better than understanding the story behind the pain.  I begin with a simple question: why do we assume insight should heal us? As human beings, we naturally look for patterns and explanations, but explanation is not the same as relief. I sh...

This episode explores what massage and acupuncture can genuinely help with, where the benefits appear to be mostly short term, and where the evidence simply does not support the bigger claims. Massage and acupuncture are widely used, and many people spend real time, money, and hope on them. I walk through an important distinction: feeling better is not the same as changing the underlying problem o...

“All natural.” “Doctor recommended.” “Used for 5,000 years.” If you’ve ever felt your hand reach for a product before your brain finishes thinking, you’re not alone and you’re not broken. We dig into why health hype works even on people who know better, and how to build a simple mental pause that protects your everyday health decisions. We start with a personal story from the vet’s office that exp...

Stress is everywhere and so is the marketing. Nearly half of US adults say they feel stressed often, and the wellness world is ready with a supplement, a lab panel, or a pricey device for every symptom. We wanted a cleaner answer: what is stress, what can we measure at home, and what actually reduces stress in a way that’s grounded in real studies rather than hype. We start by defining stress in a...

Visit my website Bold claims make great headlines; clear evidence makes better habits. We take a hard look at the widely shared study suggesting two to three cups of coffee cut dementia risk by 20 percent and unpack what those numbers really mean for your brain and your daily routine. First, we break down the Harvard JAMA research: massive cohorts of nurses and physicians, decades of follow-up, an...

You read everywhere that you “should” cut salt—especially if your blood pressure is up. But salt also makes food enjoyable. In this episode, I walk through the human evidence (not animal studies) and frame salt as a risk–benefit tradeoff: when does sodium meaningfully matter, for whom, and how can you test your sensitivity? Big questions we answer If you have high blood pressure: does lowering sal...

Can you predict when “bad things” will happen to your health—and more importantly, can you do anything about it? In this episode, I break down which prediction tools actually help you live long and well (because you can act on them), and which ones are mostly expensive fortune-telling. Joined by cardiologist Dr. Anthony Pearson (author of The Skeptical Cardiologist ), we dig into heart-risk calcul...

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A medicine that quiets food noise, trims 15 to 20 percent of body weight, and even lowers the risk of heart events sounds like a fantasy—until you meet GLP-1 drugs. We dig into what makes semaglutide and tirzepatide so different, how they rewire satiety signals, and why their impact extends beyond the scale to blood sugar, blood pressure, and cardiovascular outcomes. Along the way, we get candid a...

More of us are being seen by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician associates/assistants (PAs); for routine care outcomes look similar to physician visits, but for complex, new, or worsening problems you should push to see the doctor and ask for clear oversight. Key topics Why this is happening: Longer waits and rising demand meet a physician shortfall, so systems lean on NPs/PAs to expand acces...

Madrone Springs Ranch and Bed and Breakfast Website Summary: I share five lessons that shaped an unexpected path—from physician-scientist to entrepreneur, Ironman triathlete, podcaster, and ranch/inn owner—and how you can use the same principles to build a life you didn’t plan but absolutely love. What you’ll learn: Why it’s smart to seek counsel—but essential to trust your own judgment. How pairi...

Summary: I separate cold-season fact from folklore so you know what truly prevents colds, what (slightly) shortens them, what eases symptoms—and what to skip. Save money, feel better, and keep it simple. What we cover How common colds are and how long they last (2–3 per year on average; usually 5–7 days; cough can linger). Prevention audit:  Vitamin C doesn’t prevent colds in the general populatio...

Sign up for free newsletter here Summary: I walk you through the proposed shift away from universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination at birth, why it matters, what the evidence shows, and how parents can make a calm, informed choice—without reigniting every vaccine debate. Episode highlights I explain why hepatitis B is uniquely risky for babies: if infected early, up to 90% develop lifelong infect...

Summary: Microplastics are showing up in our water, food, air—and in human tissues. In this episode, I unpack what the best studies actually show (and don’t), why risk is plausible but not proven, and the realistic steps you can take today without panic.  In this episode, I cover: What microplastics are and why they’re everywhere—from packaging and clothing to tire dust—and why production is still...

Exercise is the most powerful longevity tool we have, but after 50 the recovery curve, injury risk, and bone/muscle changes mean the smartest plan blends strength, power, impact, and slightly more recovery—so you can train hard without derailing progress. What we cover Why this matters now: record-setting older endurance athletes (and I’m racing at 69) show what’s possible—if we train wisely. The...

Be honest—have you ever rescued a French fry from the floor? In this bite-size myth episode, I test the famous “5-second rule.” I walk through what actually transfers to your food (fast), when that matters, and why a little microbial exposure isn’t always the villain—while drawing a hard line for high-risk settings and situations. Key Topics & Takeaways The verdict meter: The 5-second rule is...

Summary: I unpack why medicine sometimes reverses course—and how you can tell sound evidence from shiny anecdotes—with physician-author Dr. Adam Cifu of the University of Chicago and co-author of Ending Medical Reversal . Key topics & takeaways Why medicine “flips” : Plausible theories + observational data → premature guidelines; true answers require randomized trials. Classic examples: menopa...

I unpack what “ultra-processed” really means, why these foods are so easy to overeat, what the best evidence shows (including metabolic-ward studies), and how I personally navigate them without fear or perfectionism.  Key topics & evidence (in plain English): What counts as “ultra-processed”? I walk through the NOVA system—useful, not perfect—and where borderline items (frozen meals, boxed mix...