Should You STILL Be Eating Algae in 2025? (Longevity Update)

Dave Asprey

Sep 25, 2025

Episode description

Your mitochondria are the power plants of your cells, and when they break down, you lose energy, brain sharpness, and resilience against aging. In this episode, you’ll learn how to hack your mitochondria to supercharge human performance, prevent decline, and extend longevity with tools that are natural, effective, and backed by decades of research.

Watch the condensed video highlight version of this episode (and much more!) on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Catherine Arnston, founder of ENERGYbits, recent PhD graduate, and one of the world’s top experts on algae and functional medicine. Entering her 70th year without medications, with the cognition to finish a doctorate, and the health markers of someone decades younger, Catherine is living proof of how mitochondria and nutrition shape aging, brain optimization, and resilience.

Together they break down why mitochondria fail after age 30, how algae works as a master supplement to restore superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione, and what happens when you give your cells the nutrients they’re wired to need. They uncover how mitochondria connect to energy, inflammation, metabolism, and cellular resilience. This is a masterclass in hacking energy and longevity, built for people who want to upgrade every system of the body and mind.

You’ll learn:

• Why mitochondria decline after age 30 and how to stop it

• The role of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione in preventing cellular “rust”

• How spirulina and chlorella outperform most supplements for detox and energy

• The connection between mitochondria and brain optimization

• Why men’s higher iron levels accelerate aging and how algae helps balance it

• The real link between metabolism, inflammation, and longevity

• How to build a mitochondria-first biohacking stack that actually works

This is essential listening for fans of biohacking, hacking human performance, functional medicine, and longevity who want actionable tools from Host Dave Asprey and a guest who embodies what it means to age with energy, clarity, and vitality.

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (audio-only), and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Simplify supplement stack for optimal health at 70

A 70-year-old longevity researcher with no illnesses or medications takes only spirulina and chlorella as supplements, forgoing even fish oil and vitamin D.

#longevity

#supplement

Choose traditional chlorella for effective detoxification

Modern 'fermented' chlorella may be less effective at detoxification because its softer cell wall doesn't bind to toxins as well as traditionally grown chlorella.

#chlorella

#detox

Ensure adequate manganese to prevent internal rusting

Without enough manganese, a key mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme grabs iron instead, becoming pro-inflammatory and causing you to effectively 'rust from the inside out.'.

#mitochondria

#oxidative-stress

Choose Energybits for effective spirulina with preserved enzymes

Most commercial spirulina is ineffective because high-heat processing destroys critical enzymes like Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), which is why the brand Energybits is recommended.

#enzyme

#spirulina

Protect mitochondria with Superoxide Dismutase before age 50

The antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) acts like a 'golf umbrella' protecting mitochondria from free radical damage, but our bodies stop producing it by age 50.

#antioxidants

#mitochondria

Utilize spirulina's phycocyanin to target cancer cells

The blue pigment in spirulina, phycocyanin, acts as an 'intelligent food' that can selectively kill cancer cells by triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death).