658. This Is Your Brain on Supplements

We all want to stay sharp, and forestall the cognitive effects of aging. But do brain supplements actually work? Are they safe? And why doesn’t the F.D.A. even know what’s in them? (Part one of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”)

 

• SOURCES:
  • Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
  • Peter Attia, physician, author, and host of The Peter Attia Drive.
  • Pieter Cohen, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead," by Paris Martineau (Consumer Reports, 2025).
  • "Accuracy of Labeling of Galantamine Generic Drugs and Dietary Supplements," by Pieter Cohen, Bram Jacobs, Koenraad Van Hoorde, and Céline Vanhee (JAMA, 2024).
  • Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health, by Marty Makary (2024).
  • Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Petter Attia (2023).
  • "Revealing the hidden dangers of dietary supplements," by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel (Science, 2015).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers." by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare," by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

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