Health & Fitness

I recently had the opportunity to interview Tony Robbins — likely the most successful personal development coach in modern history — about what he’s been up to during the last couple of years, and the release of his new book, “Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life and Those You Love.”

During his career, Robbins has coached more than 10 million people through group events, and more than 100 million digitally. Pre-COVID, he would visit, on average, 125 cities in more than a dozen countries each year. The pandemic put a firm stop to all those mass gatherings so, in the end, he innovated and developed virtual interactive multiday seminars that reached millions of people around the world during the global pandemic.

“I'm used to a stadium, and the energy,” Robbins says. “So, I said, ‘This is what we're going to do. We're going to build a studio with 50-foot ceilings, 20-foot LEDs, .67 highest resolution ...

I'm going to go to the guys at Zoom and see if I can get them to go from 1,000 to 25,000,’ (now 200,0000), and then [we] made software so that people could communicate — like clapping, [by] shaking their phone. If one person does it, you don't hear it, but when 10,000 people do it, its thunderous. It's like being at a real event.

I would normally go see a quarter of a million people over most years, some years a million people, but now, we had one the other day for six days; 800,000 people signed up, and then there are people joining them because it's in their home.

We had over a million people for this one program. Technology has allowed us to touch people's lives when they need it most. I'm just grateful that we found a way to adapt to make it happen.”

Robbins Impact

When asked what drives him to maintain such a rigorous schedule, all while being more than successful, so much so that he doesn’t actually need to work, Robbins replies:

“I've been driven by impact my whole life. I don't have to work, fortunately, but you feel a sense of responsibility when you know what's available. That's why I was so frustrated at the beginning [of the pandemic], because if there was ever a time people needed help, it was during this [pandemic].

Stanford studied my work and that study just came out in a psychiatric journal. It's mind-boggling. The most you ever see when they do meta studies on depression, in people who get treated, about 40% improve, 60% don't.

They approached me because, using drugs and everything else, that's the best they've seen. There was one study done by Johns Hopkins two years ago where they used hallucinogenics, magic mushrooms, along with therapy, and they had a four times greater result than anything they'd ever seen, meaning 53% of the people, four weeks later, had no symptoms whatsoever of depression.

They put people through one of my five-and-a-half day ‘Date With Destiny’ programs. People can see it if they go to Netflix — a version of one. ‘Tony Robbins: I'm Not Your Guru,’ compresses it. It’s an hour and 45 minutes. But they followed up with the people. At the end, 30 days later, zero people had any symptoms of clinical depression.

Now I'm working on being able to expand, and none of this would have happened except so many people got depressed over COVID and Stanford said, ‘We got to find some better solutions.’ I'm really grateful for the researchers there and it's opening up all kinds of doors to help people in a new way.

I'm driven by impact. I'm driven to see people's lives change. What else are you going to do with your life? Sit around and do nothing? I'm a kid. I'm 62 years old. I got a lot of life in me.”

Overcoming Injury and Pain

His latest book, “Life Force,” grew out of his experience with a physical injury, a severely torn rotator cuff. It was so severe he thought his career might be over. He was also diagnosed with spinal stenosis. Four different doctors told him surgery was the only option, but Robbins was curious about stem cells. Might that help?

“I work with some of the greatest athletes in the world and I remember Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest soccer player, he was supposed to be out three months. He did stem cells [and was] back in three weeks,” Robbins says.

His doctors said no, but Robbins got hooked up with Dr. Bob Hariri, a neuroscientist and stem cell specialist. Hariri explained that the key to stem cells is using four-day old stem cells, as they contain the “life force.” Fetal (embryonic) stem cells are commercially outlawed in most places, and were out of the question from an ethical perspective.

But these stem cells can also be derived from the placenta and umbilical cord. So, Robbins received intravenous stem cells at a clinic in Panama, three days in a row. “I woke up the third morning with no pain in my shoulder, the MRI is perfect, and no pain in my spine for the first time in 14 years. That made me an evangelist,” he says.

The Stem Cell Phenomenon

This experience inspired Robbins to learn all he could about stem cells, and the book is the product of interviews with numerous experts in the field. Interestingly, Pope Francis invited Robbins to speak at his biannual regenerative medicine conference, which is the largest in the world. There, he met experts and patients alike.

“I met a kid that was supposed to die at 5. He got his sister's stem cells and he's now 11 and totally healthy. I met the greatest golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus, and he said he couldn't stand for 10 minutes, he was in such pain.

They were going to fuse his spine, which works about 50% of the time and even then, it restricts you. He did stem cells instead and he's now 82 playing golf and playing tennis ... I met this kid who was on America's Got Talent. He was blind and he's had gene therapy and he can see now. I mean, things that sound like science fiction [are] now happening ...

I did a book on finance where I interviewed 50 of the smartest financial people in the world ... I thought, what if I did this with 100 or 150 of the greatest scientists, Nobel Laureates, greatest regenerative medicine doctors? It was a three-year project in the middle of COVID, and it was a passion project. It all came together.”

There are many different types of stem cells and some are more effective than others. Robbins is particularly impressed with the research from a group called Biosplice, which is working on WNT stem cells.

However, my favorite stem cells are Vsels (very small embryonic stem cells), which are taken from your own peripheral blood rather than your bone marrow or fat. Since they are your own cells, they have virtually no chance of causing long term complications to you. They are very similar to PRP (platelet rich plasma) only profoundly more effective.

Your DNA Is Not Your Destiny

While your genes were for a time believed to be the final determinant of your health, we now know this simply isn’t true. As noted by Robbins, “DNA is not destiny.” Epigenetic factors are far more important.

“Think of it as your DNA or your genome is the keyboard on a piano. The epigenome, epi being above, is the player turning on or off the keys, and that's what makes the music of your life.

What most people don't understand is that epigenome could be affected by diet, exercise — all the things you teach and that I teach. They're so simple and critical, they don't cost anything, and then there's exposure to radiation, chemicals and things of that nature.

All that plays a role, but in order for us to have that epigenome function at its ideal, there are seven master genes called sirtuins. They do four things, primarily. No. 1, they help the epigenome turn off the right genes. If they don't do that, you start to break down, your body starts to age, you can have disease.

Secondly, they reduce inflammation, which is the basis of most breakdown in the body. The third thing they do is they affect the mitochondria's ability to produce ATP, which is the source of energy for everything. Then, the fourth thing they do, is they clean up our DNA, because as we live longer, we get exposed to more radiation, more exposures, and that DNA starts to break down.

The problem is, all this needs a source of fuel for work ... Some people do infusions of NAD, but there's no solid research that I can find that those large molecules are fully absorbed. You can feel like it for a while but it doesn't seem to be sustainable. The better approach is to give the precursor for [NAD], which is NMN.”

How to Boost Your NAD Level

According to Robbins, NMN has been shown to be very effective in mice, and effects appear to be even greater in humans. The problem is that NMN is highly perishable, and tests have shown most commercially available products have no NMN in them at all.

MIB 626 or NAD3, a product that is still under development, contains a more stable form of NAD, along with coenzymes that act as catalysts to activate more of the NAD in your body. NAD3 is currently on the fast-track to approval thanks to the fact that the U.S. military wants it.

“Imagine you can go to your doctor and get prescribed something that used to be in your body anyway, or at least a co-enzyme of it, and suddenly have all those four things working your best,” Robbins says.

“The more energy your cells can have throughout the whole body means the organ systems, everything will work better, the cleanup of your DNA, the right genes turning on and off, and inflammation reducing. To me, that's the part that excites me about where things are going. Everything in the book is either now or within 36 months, so you're prepared for it.”

That said, you can also raise your NAD level naturally. The enzyme for forming NAD is NAMPT, and you can radically upregulate NAMPT through exercise, time-restricted eating (which mimics the effects of calorie restriction) and sauna. NAMPT basically converts nicotinamide — the breakdown product of NAD — into NMN, which in turn reforms into NAD. You can also add 50 mg (1/64 of a teaspoon) of niacinamide powder three times a day for even greater improvement.

Start With the Fundamentals

So, what are the best interventions Robbins has come across in his search for optimal health?

“I think the first thing you have to do is [start] where you are. I can plot a course where I want to go, but if I have a map and I don't know where I am, it's worthless. So, you need to do some of the most fundamental blood tests. You've got to do heavy metals testing. You can do a hormone test.

If your hormones are off, your body is off ... Today, hormone optimization therapy is available with smaller inserts and huge changes, in men and in women. Once you know where you are and you know what your issues are, then you measure those things. You don't have to measure everything, because you have a base to know where you stand.

Now what are the interventions? For me, you've got to include some form of exercise, and for some people, that's just beyond their scope. That's why the sauna is so valuable, because I can put somebody in a sauna for 20 minutes ... and you're going to see these heat shock proteins in your body.

There's a transformation that occurs. Studies show 50% reduction in heart attacks, 60% reduction in stroke, and overall reduction of death at early age is down by 70%.

Then what happens is people feel better and now they can do some simple exercises ... I believe in cold also. I use cryotherapy ... I think that's a place to start for people. The other thing I tell people to do is cut 300 calories [a day]. Cut one bagel, and research shows that over two years, a person will usually lose between 17 and 20 pounds, if they’re overweight ...

Supplementing, obviously, with the right supplements, to me, is critical. So, figure out where you are, decide where you want to go. Once you know where you are, address what's there. It might be diabetes, it might be weight loss; whatever it is, address it.

Get yourself the core nutrients, and have a diet that matches your metabolism and a place for your body to have a little bit of a rest with intermittent fasting or the equivalent of intermittent fasting. To me, those are fundamentals.”

For more information on the benefits of sauna, be sure to listen to the full interview. For additional details, you can also review my previous article, “The Stunning Health Benefits of Sauna Therapy.”

More Information

To go along with the book, “Life Force,” Robbins has co-founded two companies to help make precision medicine breakthroughs available to the public. The first one is Fountain Life, which works with doctors around the world to provide testing and regenerative and peak performance medicine.

This includes CCTA testing, which can predict a heart attack up to five years in advance, and Release, which uses ultrasound to scan your body for connective tissue that has tightened or hardened around nerves or blood vessels. A fluid is then injected into the affected area, instantly releasing that restriction.

At present, Fountain Life has nine health centers located in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, the United Arab Emirates, India and Canada. “About 12% to 14% of people find something through the scans that's serious, and they’re able to deal with it,” Robbins says. The second company is MyLifeForce.com, from which you can also order a variety of tests at minimal cost.

“What normally costs about $700 ... they'll do it for $350. We make no money on the tests,” Robbins says. “Then it gives you products like the NAD3 — it can recommend what's available ...

So, I have both those groups. One is so you can have basically telemedicine, the other is if you want to do something direct; like the CCAT test, you can order it, your doctor can order it.”

And, last but certainly not least, to learn about the breakthroughs in precision medicine that are already available, or soon will be, be sure to pick up a copy of “Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life and Those You Love.”

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In the After Skool video above, Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., a leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist and professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn school of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, examines the role of environmental toxins in reproductive health.

In 1992, researchers published data showing the quality of sperm counts in men had been cut nearly in half over the previous 50 years. According to this study:¹

“Linear regression of data weighted by number of men in each study showed a significant decrease in mean sperm count from 113 x 10(6)/ml in 1940 to 66 x 10(6)/ml in 1990 and in seminal volume from 3.40 ml to 2.75 ml, indicating an even more pronounced decrease in sperm production than expressed by the decline in sperm density ...

As male fertility is to some extent correlated with sperm count the results may reflect an overall reduction in male fertility. The biological significance of these changes is emphasized by a concomitant increase in the incidence of genitourinary abnormalities such as testicular cancer and possibly also cryptorchidism and hypospadias, suggesting a growing impact of factors with serious effects on male gonadal function.”

Are Humans Going Extinct?

Swan was initially skeptical, but she decided to look into it some more. To her amazement, after reviewing each of the 60 studies included in that 1992 analysis, she could find nothing to indicate that the finding was a fluke. It was the most stable trend she’d ever come across, and she spent the next 20 years investigating why human reproduction is plummeting.

In 2017, she published a systematic review and meta-regression analysis² showing a 50% to 60% drop in total sperm count among men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand between 1973 and 2011. Overall, men in these countries had a 52.4% decline in sperm concentration and a 59.3% decline in total sperm count (sperm concentration multiplied by the total volume of an ejaculate).

Swan refers to this shocking 39-year decline as “the 1% effect,” meaning the cumulative effect that an annual change of just 1% has over time. Testosterone has also declined in tandem with lower sperm counts, while miscarriage rates among women and erectile dysfunction among men have been steadily rising.

If these trends continue, and there’s no indication that they won’t, in the not-so-distant future, we’ll be looking at a male population that is completely infertile. At that point, the human population will become extinct. Along the way, however, we’ll be facing a number of other pressing problems.

How Will We Care for Aging Baby Boomers?

Historically, the age distribution of the population has looked like a pyramid. The bottom largest section was children, the middle, slightly smaller section was working adults, and the top of the pyramid was seniors. This worked out well, because the younger population was able to financially support and care for the much smaller older segment.

We no longer have that pyramid. In most countries, the population distribution now looks like a light bulb, with a narrow base of children, a bulbous segment of adults, and a narrowing but still very large segment of older adults.

Part of the equation is the fact that life spans have gotten longer, which is wonderful. But the funds to support this aging population — through social security and Medicare in the U.S., for example — are dwindling, as the payer base is shrinking so dramatically.

Another problem is the fact that we won’t have the labor force required to keep the economy afloat. There aren’t enough children to fill all the jobs after the adult population retires.

What’s the Cause?

According to Swan, there are likely a whole host of factors contributing to this reproductive calamity. We can, however, rule out genetics, because the decline in sperm count is simply too rapid. A 50% decline in just two generations cannot be explained by genetics.

That leaves us with environmental causes. Environmental causes can be broadly divided into two broad categories: Lifestyle and chemicals. Lifestyle factors that negatively impact fertility include:

• Obesity
• Smoking
• Binge drinking
• Stress

On the chemical side, we know that a great number of chemicals can impact fertility either directly or indirectly, but the most concerning class are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).³ EDCs disrupt hormones, including sex hormones necessary for reproductive function.

Many EDCs will mimic hormones, effectively taking their place. But, of course, the chemical doesn’t function the way the natural hormone does, so whatever that hormone controls won’t function well either. As explained in the 2019 report, “Male Infertility and Environmental Factors”:⁴

“Classically the EDCs bind to the androgen or estrogen receptor triggering an agonist or antagonist action. These in turn lead to increased or decreased gene expression of sex-specific genes.

In addition, EDCs act on steroidogenic enzymes and the metabolism of hormones, for example, inhibit the activity of 5-α reductase, which is the most important enzyme in the production of dihydrotestosterone and hence the regulation of the masculinization of the external genitalia and the prostate.

Furthermore, P450 enzymes in the liver that metabolize steroid hormones may be affected. In animal models EDCs affect hormone receptor levels. In addition to the effect on hormone action, animal experiments suggest that EDCs may also result in epigenetic changes and miRNA levels.”

Shaw suspects EDCs are a primary culprit in infertility, in part because we’re surrounded by them every day of our lives. We’re exposed to them through our food, water, personal care products, furniture, building materials, plastics and much more.

In Utero Exposure to EDCs Can Drive Down Fertility

The most vulnerable time of a person’s life is in utero. This is when the building blocks for your reproductive system are laid down, and exposure to EDCs at this time can wreak havoc with a child’s adult reproductive capacity. Since the fetus shares the mother’s body, everything the mother is exposed to, the fetus is exposed to.

As explained in the video, a boy’s reproductive system is dependent on a certain level of testosterone for proper development. If the testosterone level is too low, his reproductive system will be impaired to some degree. In short, without sufficient testosterone, the boy’s reproductive system will “default” to female. He will be feminized, or as Shaw describes it, “incompletely masculinized.”

Phthalates Are in Everybody

Shaw was tipped off to investigate phthalates by a chemist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who noted that these EDCs have been found in everybody, including pregnant women.

Specifically, phthalates have been shown to disrupt the reproductive development of males, because they lower testosterone levels and incomplete male development in animals has now become so prevalent, there’s even a name for it: phthalate syndrome.

Animal studies have shown that when a pregnant mother is fed phthalates in early pregnancy, her male offspring will have smaller and less developed reproductive organs. His testicles may not be descended, his penis may be smaller, and his anogenital distance (the distance between the anus and the genitals) tends to be shorter.

Shaw was the first to study the anogenital distance in human male infants, and was able to confirm phthalate syndrome is occurring in humans as well. Boys born of women with high levels of phthalic metabolites in their urine — specifically those that lower testosterone — had phthalate syndrome, and the severity was dose-dependent.

Shaw then replicated the study with another set of mothers and their babies, and found the same result. The next question then is, does a shorter anogenital distance result in lower sperm count?

According to Shaw, boys with a short anogenital distance are more likely to have reproductive defects such as undescended testicles and defects of the penis. He’s also more likely to develop testicular cancer at an earlier age than normal, and he’s more likely to be sub-fertile.

So, it is her professional conclusion that phthalate exposure in utero is “undoubtedly part of the explanation of the decrease in sperm count and fertility.” Phthalates and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have also been linked to reduced bone mineral density in male teens,⁵ which could have significant implications later in life.

Common Sources of Phthalate Exposure

Phthalates are found in plastics. They’re what make the plastic soft and flexible, so wherever you find soft and pliable plastic, you find phthalates. Examples include:

• Vinyl clothing, such as raincoats and rubber boots
• Plastic shower curtains
• Plastic tubing of all kinds
• Foods that have been processed through plastic tubing, such as dairy products (the milking machines have plastic tubing)

Phthalates also increase absorption and help retain scent and color, so you’ll find them in:

• Cosmetics, perfumes and personal care products
• Scented household products such as laundry soap and air fresheners
• Pesticides

As noted by Shaw, phthalates are only one class of EDCs. There are several others, including phytoestrogens, dioxins, flame retardants, phenols, PCBs and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Phthalates, however, are among the most hazardous for male reproductive health due to their ability to block testosterone.

Joe Rogan also recently interviewed Shaw about this. An excerpt is included below. The full interview is available on Spotify.

Phenols Increase Female Sex Hormones

The phenols, such as bisphenol-A (BPA), have the opposite effect in that they make plastic more rigid and hard. In the human body, they increase the female hormone estrogen, resulting in breast development and a flabby midsection. BPA also damages the DNA in sperm.⁶ Like phthalates, BPA and other bisphenols are extremely pervasive. They’re found in:

The lining of tin cans	Dental sealants
Nonstick food wrappers (food wrappers also contain PFAS)	Hard plastic sippy cups and bottles
Carpeting	Personal care products such as shampoos and lotions

The Good News

The good news here is that many of the chemicals that are most harmful to reproduction are not persistent, and your body can eliminate them in four to six hours.

Sperm production take about 70 days from start to finish, so over time, a man may be able to reverse some of the damage, provided it’s not congenital. The problem, of course, is that most people are exposed to multiple sources 24/7, so successful detox means you have to stop taking them in.

Another piece of good news is that researchers have shown that if you clean up the environment of the offspring from a toxic, unhealthy rat, normal reproductive capacity is restored after three generations of clean living.

While this is a relatively quick fix for rats, the life span of which is only two years, it’s not quite as simple for humans. Three generations in human terms is about 75 years, “but we can start in that direction,” Shaw says, by making sure we a) don’t expose children to EDCs in utero, and b) eliminate further exposure during childhood if the child was exposed in utero.

Forever Chemicals in Our Food and Water

While phthalates and bisphenols are nonpersistent, PFAS — a class of chemicals that are pervasive in soil, water, and human bodies — are so persistent they’re known as “forever chemicals.” In Maine, farmers are now blowing the whistle, warning that PFAS on farmland are a “slow-motion disaster.”⁷

How do the chemicals get there? While spills and seepage from industrial sites are part of the problem in some areas, the most prevalent source of the contamination is biosolids — toxic human waste sludge — which is being marketed as an affordable fertilizer.

In 2019, I wrote about how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to adequately regulate the biosolids industry, thereby allowing massive quantities of toxic materials to be introduced into our food supply.

You can learn more about this in the Natural News documentary “Biosludged,” above. PFAS accumulate in the soil and is transferred into your food. Proof of this can be seen in food testing, which in 2017 found PFAS chemicals in 10 of the 91 foods tested.

Chocolate cake had the highest amount — 250 times above the advisory limit for drinking water. (There’s currently no limit for food.) Nearly half of the meat and fish tested also contained double the advisory limit for water. Leafy greens grown within 10 miles of a PFAS plant also contained very high amounts. As you might expect, PFAS also accumulate in your body.

Maine Takes Action

In Maine, PFAS contaminated water wells have sparked both outrage and action. A March 2022 article in The Maine Monitor spells out the game plan:⁸

“Maine is the first state to comprehensively test for the impacts of forever chemicals from sludge spreading on farmland, a practice occurring nationwide where fully half of wastewater sludge is land-applied. Consequently, Maine has had to pioneer policy actions, moving to implement recommendations of a year-long PFAS task force.

The next policy step must be passage of LD 1911, which would ban land application of sludge and the land application or sale of compost derived from sludge. Two dozen companies and municipalities are licensed to convert sludge into compost, despite the state’s own finding that 89% of finished compost samples exceeded the screening level for PFOA, a common PFAS compound.

Adam Nordell, co-owner of Songbird Farm in Unity — another site of high PFAS contamination — summarized the importance of LD 1911 this way: ‘No one can undo the historic contamination of our land. But we know enough now to turn off the tap.’

A second bill before the Legislature, LD 1639, would prevent the state-owned Juniper Ridge landfill, managed by Casella Waste Systems, from accepting construction and demolition debris that originated out of state and is laden with PFAS and other toxics, increasing the contaminated leachate entering the Penobscot River.”

Toxic Pesticides

Communities in Maryland and Massachusetts have also confirmed that pesticides used against mosquitoes were contaminated with PFAS, even though they’re not supposed to contain such chemicals. In April 2022, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) reported:⁹

“EPA claimed that there were no PFAS chemicals used in this way, but independent testing¹⁰ revealed that there was PFAS contamination in pesticides being used by mosquito control districts — of 14 mosquito control products tested, half were found to contain PFAS. These products are heavily applied across communities, often weekly, from Spring through Fall.

In response to these concerns, EPA claimed that the PFAS contamination was due to leaching from fluorinated plastic HDPE storage containers. While this explanation has been touted by many as proof that PFAS contamination of pesticides is not a serious concern, the testing in Maryland and Massachusetts revealed that three products were contaminated from another source than the containers.

Beyond this kind of contamination, PFAS are active ingredients in at least 40 pesticide products used worldwide. And this only accounts for pesticides that include PFAS as an active ingredient.

PFAS products are a popular surfactant (helps spray more easily) so PFAS may also be used as inert ingredients in pesticides, which unfortunately don’t have to be reported since chemical composition falls under ‘trade secret’ jurisdiction.

It is clear that PFAS are present in a variety of commonly-used pesticide products, regardless of storage conditions. No research has been done on the synergistic effects of PFAS and pesticides — which we know pose their own set of human and environmental health risks.”

Again and again, the EPA has failed in its duty to protect public health from chemicals that wreak havoc on human health, fetal development and fertility. As noted by PAN, “EPA has engaged in a regulatory stalling tactic — changing the definition of what is considered to be a PFAS to shirk responsibility.”

The new “working definition” of PFAS has been considerably narrowed from what it was, thereby excluding many chemicals used in drugs and pesticides. To counter the EPA’s deliberate shortcomings, the U.S. Congress has also introduced a bill (HR.5987 — the PFAS Definition Improvement Act¹¹) that would require the EPA to use the widest and most comprehensive definition of PFAS.

I join PAN in urging you to call on your representatives to co-sponsor this bill. Maine and Maryland have also proposed bills to prevent PFAS contamination in pesticides specifically.

It’s hard to be optimistic when faced with such dire statistics as a 1% reduction in male fertility per year. But if we care about life, we must at least try to turn things around. One step in the right direction would be to eliminate EDCs from common use. In the meantime, men and women of childbearing age would be wise to take precautions and clear out anything that might expose them to these chemicals in their day-to-day lives, before they try to conceive.

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