Live Longer World

#21 Selenium's Dual Role in Health & Aging in the Womb | Dr. Vadim Gladyshev

Live Longer World

Show Notes

All platforms / Episode Show Notes: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/vgladyshev

Dr. Vadim Gladyshev is a professor at Harvard Medical school and a Director of redox medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital, where he runs his own lab. We had a brilliant discussion which started off by talking about his work on selenium. Selenium is found is Brazil nuts and we discussed its connection to aging and cancer prevention, and also some of the harmful effects it can have. Dr. Gladyshev calls it the good, the bad, the ugly nature of selenium.

Then, we discussed a fair bit on his theory of aging before and after development. Most people believe that the germline which is the reproductive cells do not age, but his lab’s work has shown how the germline does in fact age. On this point, his lab also has interesting results on how rapamycin during development extended lifespan in mice.

It’s important to understand the basic science and understand more on the aging process in order to crack it. Dr. Gladyshev shares his views on this too and his research is certainly a step towards cracking the aging code. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Find the previous podcast episodes & subscribe to be notified: https://www.livelongerworld.com/podcast

Sign up for Premium Subscriber Transcripts: https://www.livelongerworld.com/premium

Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livelongerworldOne-Time support: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/livelongerworld

Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/livelongerworld

VADIM GLADYSHEV LINKS:

Website: https://gladyshevlab.bwh.harvard.edu/2022

Rapamycin During Development extends Lifespan: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.18.481092v1

LIVE LONGER WORLD LINKS:

Website: https://www.livelongerworld.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/livelongerworld

Newsletter: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longevityfuture/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/livelongerworld

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LiveLongerWorld

Premium Subscriber: https://www.livelongerworld.com/premium

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Vadim Gladyshev Intro

1:28 Live Longer World

2:17 Selenium’s dual role in aging (the good, the bad, the ugly)

11:27 Antagonistic Pleiotropy

13:53 Selenium & Cancer

15:58 Selenium Dosage (don’t get too much!)

18:30 Reactive Oxygen Species, Antioxidants & Aging

22:30 Fundamental basis of Aging

24:09 Aging is damage

29:20 Single cell Epigenetic Clocks

34:22 Aging in the Womb

42:16 Parent’s lifestyle for aging in embryo

44:14 Rapamycin during development

49:06 Other compounds

51:53 Slowing Aging vs. Rejuvenation

56:08 New projects being worked on

57:17 Confidence level in extending lifespan within 30 years

59:17 Support Live Longer World

Episode Show Notes: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/vgladyshev

Live Longer World Season 1 Recap: https://livelongerworld.substack.com/p/season1

Thanks for watching & if you enjoy the episode, let's spread the message on longevity.

You can support my work by sharing, liking, subscribing, leaving a review on Apple podcasts, donating on Patreon, or signing up as a premium member.

Aging is universal. Let's unite in this fight. Stay in good health - Aastha.

More from Live Longer World

Oct 16, 2026

What if cancer isn't the enemy? What if tumors are actually the body's defense mechanism against toxins, hoarding harmful substances so they don't spread to vital organs? Almost like the body's garbage collector.But cancer kills so many people. How could it possibly be protective? Dr. Patrick Coles argues that the body has different layers of defense against toxins. First, the liver, kidneys and fat. As toxins accumulate, he believes the body creates skin growths, cysts and nodules, and eventually tumors as the last toxin storage vaults. He calls this Toxin Sequestration Theory. Patrick is a physicist and former Staff Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he led the near-term quantum computing group. His theory builds on the work of Stephanie Seneff, who's also been on this podcast.

Sep 25, 2026

Our brains run on infrared light. Mitochondria in the brain absorb red and near-infrared light and use it to boost cognition and energy. And mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and depression. John Mitrofanis has spent 20 years on the question: If infrared light restores the mitochondria, can it save the brain cells that die in Parkinson's? John Mitrofanis is a neuroanatomist and Scientific Director of Fonds Clinatec in Grenoble, France, the research center founded by Alim-Louis Benabid, the father of deep brain stimulation. He is also an honorary Professor at University College London's Institute of Ophthalmology, and was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Sydney for over a decade. He is the author of Run in the Light: Exploring Exercise and Photobiomodulation in Parkinson's Disease.

Sep 11, 2026

Most biology textbooks treat the water in our body as background, a solvent that DNA and proteins float around in. But what if a large portion of the energy in our body is actually coming from the water in our cells? And what if a disturbance to the structure of that water is a hallmark of cancer and other diseases? Dr. Gerald Pollack is a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington and one of the few scientists studying what water is actually doing inside our cells. He says water is not the background, it is doing the work. It is a battery, and it is supplying us energy. Episode show notes + some bonus clips from this episode I only released for premium subscribers, find them: https://livelongerworld.com/p/gpollackHe explains: ◼️ How 99% of the molecules in our body are water molecules, and how water is not just a background solvent ◼️ How water is a battery and gives us energy ◼️ Why every cancer cell is dehydrated with low electrical potential ◼️ The role of infrared light and sunlight on water in our cells ◼️ What builds EZ water: sun, sauna, red light, grounding, juicing, deuterium depleted water, turmeric, holy basil and ghee ◼️ The effect of Hyperbaric oxygen, PEMF and magnets on EZ water ◼️ The link between dementia and EZ water

Aug 12, 2026

Oxford physiologist Denis Noble reveals why your genes are not the blueprint for life, why evolution itself works nothing like the selfish gene made us believe, and why the failed promise to cure disease by reading our DNA points to a completely different understanding of health and aging!

Jul 19, 2026

Circadian scientist Dr. Martin Moore-Ede reveals why the LED bulbs in nearly every home may be driving a rise in breast and prostate cancer, why he calls the light we now live under the tobacco of our time, and why the modern fear of the sun may be shortening our lives instead of protecting them!

See all episodes →