Vegan Longevity: Supergreens, Mushrooms, and Algae with Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Michael T. Murray, ND

Added: 2026-05-03

[00:00:00]Also, I don't recommend taking calcium magnesium at the same time. They do compete with each other.

[00:00:08]So, I recommend taking it at different times. I don't really recommend very much calcium. People get enough of it.

[00:00:18]Um, but magnesium needs to be taken separately in in that way.

[00:00:24]I want to uh make a point of cumin is another supplement because it's anti-inflammatory and it's really anti-aging.

[00:00:36]So, I'm I'm putting that in because you're asking for extra little little things. Um it does help to get some guidelines. Uh because heavy metals are an issue and we need to uh like a hair test is very accurate for heavy metals. Maybe not for everything else but for heavy metals for sure. So we need to also think about some level of chelation intake. we're exposed to so much toxicity in the environment.

[00:01:13]So I think that that's another I think important thing in in this bigger picture.

[00:01:21]Um in terms of longevity, I just want to make one little point is that uh a vegan diet uh increases the lifespan of women about 3.6 years and for uh men it's 7.28 to eight years. Now that's interesting statistic I've seen in a variety of places. So you can increase the lifespan by staying away from meat, fish, chicken, and dairy. But you got to do things like take get your omega-3s, which are essential for brain function, IQ, and and so forth, you know, from the yellow algae. So there isn't really a problem getting everything you need.

[00:02:06]Okay. The body can be programmed and activated by our intake to produce like what we need like the carnosine is an example of that. It comes from meat but you can get it by bringing certain things into the the the uh your diet that will stimulate production.

[00:02:29]>> Okay. Let me let me ask you a couple of bunch of things and kind of just tell me yes or no if you want to add this to the list. B12 >> I think for vegans they absolute must no question um I I would take methylcobalamine one to two uh milligrams a day um it's just too important uh um so for you know there's special needs based upon uh uh you know dietary practices um and and that that's one of them vegans definitely need to supplement with vitamin B12 I recommend the methylcobalamine the more natural more more active form and I also recommend uh if they're a good algae source of EPA and DHA >> um I'm in agreement with that for for sure in fact we've been basically agreement all along right so it's good um so >> I'm not much into dancing but I'm into I'm definitely into moving >> okay Um the one of the key things is to stimulate mitochondria production because that's your energy factory in each cell. Okay. So the nitrous oxide type there's supplements that support that. Um, we want to decrease the free radicals.

[00:04:02]SOD sodium oxide dismutates is another protective thing to take in that way. Um, so I'm just bringing those kind of to a little bit because we've covered so many things. So I'm giving a few details here.

[00:04:21]>> Okay. So, >> okay. So, continuing to our list, do you want to add chlorella, spirulina, or blue green algae is to the master list for everyone?

[00:04:33]>> I do.

[00:04:35]I take blue green algae every day. E3 live. I know we're not supposed to say brand numbers, but I've been involved since 1982 in doing research at Clamoth Lake, where you can get it.

[00:04:49]There's no question it increases your mental abilities.

[00:04:55]It increases your IQ and increases your overall function. Um, and they've done these tests with kids all over the world. A teaspoon of blue green algae uh in kids I think it was in Nicaragua took kids that were the bottom of the class and they became the upper third of the class.

[00:05:18]So now spirulina and chlorella I use as protein sources along with the blue green algae um in people who have a higher need for protein.

[00:05:35]It's uh they run about 60% protein, which is much higher than meat, fish, chicken, you know, which is 17 uh 16 17 18% we're talking 60% and 95% assimilation.

[00:05:54]So for people who need protein and people vegetarians generally do vegans do everybody needs protein um I recommend those uh the the spirulina and chloro okay the blue green alga I use for brain function it it's again uh 60% absorbed uh 60% protein and up to 90 95% absorbed so they play a role But it's not the same for everybody.

[00:06:29]And I think that's the point I'm I'm trying to make is that we are unique individuals. We're not a bunch of cows that just eat grass.

[00:06:39]I agree that we're unique individuals and we have our own biochemical individuality.

[00:06:45]Uh there are uh some essential nutrients that everyone requires uh to get from our diet. we don't get those nutrients, uh, we're we're our health is in peril.

[00:06:57]And so that's I think that's what what Stephen's trying to get here is what are what are some of these these key nutrients and and uh you know what are good sources of them. Uh I I think uh adding a some sort of super greens drink uh on a on a regular basis is really important. Uh that's for me it's it's kind of a daily routine. I I mix them up and and and it might be matcha, it might be spiralina, might be floral, might be blue green algae, it might be barley grass juice. Uh you know, I've got I use these these dehydrated uh super greens and and um I kind of I kind of rotate them. I think uh I think that's what we should be doing with most of our foods.

[00:07:44]Most people are eating the same foods over and over and over again. And we know that variety is very important for the microbiome and very important for our health. If we eat the same nuts every day, uh not not as good as eating a variety. Uh if we eat the same berry every day, it's not the same as eating a variety. And I think it's it's true for eating the same greens every day. Uh we need a variety of these foods. The greater your variety, the better your health is going to be.

[00:08:15]Um, I'm going to add tea here. Green tea.

[00:08:19]>> Yeah. Yeah, I said matcha, but yeah, for for I don't add green tea to my my protein shakes, but I will add matcha.

[00:08:27]>> But it's it's a good drink. It decreases dementia, risk of dementia. Um, and it has theineine in it, which uh >> I got a good I've got a good uh brain twister for for most people out there, and that is which what food what food has shown the most promise uh as a longevity aid? And what what I'm talking about a type of food. Uh what what type of food? If we look globally uh intake may explain why people live longer in certain geographical areas than others.

[00:09:18]I'll give you a hint. It contains what's uh Bruce Ames referred to as the longevity vitamin which is ergoionine.

[00:09:27]So m I'm talking about mushrooms and mushrooms are in the news. Uh there's a lot of popularity increase with uh mushrooms. Uh mushrooms are something that we need to consume in our diet and and uh we may also want to cons consider taking mushroom supplements. All mushrooms contain this ergoionine and this compound exerts some of the same effects in our cells as glutathione. The difference is glutathione is composed of three amino acids. Ergoionine is a single sulfur containing amino acid and it's involved in in helping to protect mitochondria, helping to improve energy production and it also has an ability to help us get rid of some of these forever compounds in our body. If we look globally, those areas where people are eating the most mushrooms are also associated with longer life. So, uh, there there's some some, uh, evidence to support the idea that ergoionine truly is a longevity vitamin.

[00:10:41]>> I really go, really agree with the mushrooms. I have mushrooms almost every day, actually.

[00:10:48]>> Yeah, they're really easy to include in your diet now. I mean, gosh, you can go to the stores and you get organic mushrooms and and you sauté them in some olive oil and let them really break down a lot. They're they're a fabulous side dish. Easy to prepare. No excuse for people not toh bring them into their diet unless they don't like them. But who doesn't like mushrooms? They're fabulous.

[00:11:10]>> And from a supplement standpoint, are we talking about medicinal mushrooms like reishi and quarteps? Is that what you >> Yeah, they all have uh they all have uh the the erggoanine. You can also get erggoanine as a as a as a dietary supplement. If we look at what is a reasonable intake for promoting longevity, it looks to be about 10 milligrams.

[00:11:34]Uh so you'll see ergoionine and 5 to 10 milligram capsules.

[00:11:40]I think that's a that's a good uh uh goal for for both diet and supplementation. in terms of where you get it from your diet. If you're having a a six to eight ounce serving of of mushrooms uh three or four times a week, you're probably at that same level.

[00:12:00]>> Okay. I'm going to ask you both to try to answer the next 25 questions with a yes or a no so that I can get your opinion on 25 different things that we would like your expertise on. So, this list we've been making, what about vitamin C? Does that make the list?

[00:12:17]>> Let me see. Yes.

[00:12:21]>> In terms of what what what is the list supposed to be?

[00:12:25]>> This is the general >> super all recommended for >> the yes no list >> that everyone should basically have be taking.

[00:12:32]>> I I don't take much vitamin C beyond the the RDA. So um you know I I I I really um I I haven't taken mega doses of vitamin C in a long time. So, I wouldn't I do not take a separate vitamin C supplement. So, and and I take 27 different supplements. If people are interested, they can go to my website, drm murray.com, and I have my personalized supplement list there. And you you won't see vitamin C. I don't take vitamin C.

[00:13:04]>> I take a vitamin C complex, not high doses, about 400 milligrams.

[00:13:10]That's very low. But it has rotten and hesperin which protects your veins and and and uh it's a it's a complex rather than vitamin C ascorbic acid which tends to make your body acid.

[00:13:25]And I just want to make one other point.

[00:13:27]Alkalinity is extremely important. Um we can easily check our acid alkaline balance by checking our midstream first urine in the morning. It should be between 6.4 and 7.2.

[00:13:44]And if you're doing that, that means that that's the optimum measure of really where your blood should be. So, I'm mentioning that because uh we you got to be careful about things too acid, but also too alkaline.

[00:14:00]Uh >> continuing with the list, um what about digestive enzymes?

[00:14:09]Again, it's a yes, no. But what I have uh noted in people is uh usually by the time they're in their 40s, their digestive power tends to go down.

[00:14:24]And you can take enzymes uh which for many people is the easiest and and a good thing like a half hour to an hour after eating when you're you're it's time to really digest after eating.

[00:14:38]And by stimulating your digestive forces, you don't need to necessarily take dig digestive enzymes.

[00:14:49]>> Okay. Uh next question.

[00:14:51]>> Wait, Michael didn't get in.

[00:14:54]Oh, you didn't answer on digest. Sorry.

[00:14:55]Go ahead. Digestive.

[00:14:56]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:14:58]I'm fine. I'm fine with that. That's good. Let's go to the next one. We got to get You got 25 of them. We've done We've We've done two.

[00:15:05]>> Yeah. So, the big big big one.

[00:15:07]Probiotics.

[00:15:11]>> Well, I tend to we tend to make our own like kimchi. I like it a little spicy because I'm more cafa in my So, I think it's good, but I think taking it more naturally rather than as a a supplement is a better way to go because it's more alive and has more energy.

[00:15:32]>> Okay. Um, how about wait, >> sorry, I'm sorry, Rox. Go ahead.

[00:15:37]>> Yeah. uh I think I think they have some specific uses but for for general uh recommendation for for I I agree that that it may not be necessary that uh if we eat a varied diet the biggest uh we get caught up with these probiotics but the ones that are out there are commercialized because they're easy to grow and they're not so important in our body. So, we're starting to see newer versions of probiotics that really have some significance, but right now, you know, focusing on Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria and some of these lactic acid bacteria, it may not be all that important for us. We can get more by by focusing on diet.

[00:16:20]>> Okay. What about the people um like David Wolf who promotes charcoal chiligit zeolytes for like I guess bind I don't want to misexplain it but binding to start >> I I'll jump in on that. Uh um so I I'm not I'm not a fan bentonite that was way back and it's coming back as well. Bentonite's high in aluminum.

[00:16:45]Chiligit is problematic. Lots of different heavy metals in there. uh charcoal. Yeah, it it's um it has some benefits in binding gas and and helping perhaps with poisoning, but in terms of helping us really improve our health, uh I I I don't take it. I you know, I take nearly 30 things every day. That's not one of them.

[00:17:08]>> Okay. So, I happen to be the same uh except for Sheillegit. Now, Sheillegit is problematic. I have found one I've tested about 30 different shields on the market and I have found one sheillejit. So having lived in India, Sheila's a really big deal. Okay.

[00:17:29]Uh it all seems to be contaminated and it mostly comes from the Himalayas but there is one uh you know people keep writing notes what is the one what is the name? We're not doing products here as far as I understand. But it's possible to get a good chilleit.

[00:17:48]>> You could say if there's a chilleit that you like. Go ahead.

[00:17:51]>> Yeah, it's high mountain chilleit and uh >> Okay.

[00:17:59]>> It's from a competing company, you know, that's Ron Tea Gardens company, you know.

[00:18:04]>> Okay.

[00:18:06]>> But it's it is important. It is called the mountain power.

[00:18:11]So when you take as the power of the mountain different ways of thinking about herbs but that would be a way of understanding >> what what would you say to women in terms of we made this whole list we've gone through but specifically for women um and let's say women over 50. What?

[00:18:31]>> Well, let's let's first talk about um women in general. The the the the most common nutrient deficiency in the world is iron deficiency. And uh we were talking about special nutrients for for uh for vegans. This is another nutrient that they should really consider supplementing particularly if they're a woman of childbearing age because they're losing they're losing a lot of of iron. So iron is really really really critical. uh over the age of 50 um you know we we we don't need usually need the iron but I think women in general they should get a test called the serum feritin test and that will measure your body iron stores and the way that a any person feels when their feritin level is uh 20 or below is much different than when it's 50 and above. You want that 50 and above ferotin level because that means your your body is saturated with the sufficient amount of iron it needs to deliver oxygen to your cells and take away that carbon dioxide. So, uh I encourage women to to get a an annual serum feritin level and make sure that you're in that 50 plus range. And now the downside to iron is it can accumulate in your brain and cause uh cognitive decline.

[00:20:01]So and that's more a danger for women once they stopped menrating.

[00:20:08]>> Yeah. It's it has to do more with the influence of uh some uh some factors uh related to iron metabolism versus iron intake. You can have people that are severely iron deficient but they are depositing iron in their brain because of uh various uh factors.

[00:20:29]For example, uh fatty liver disease leads to disruptions of our main uh balancer of iron and as a result we see iron accumulating in soft tissues instead of being delivered for red blood cell production. and more of an issue again after men after menopause.

[00:20:52]>> For people that are very concerned about their bones, osteoporosis, maybe other bone issues, they don't want to have a hip fracture. What exactly should they do? Um, aside from lifting weights?

[00:21:08]>> Well, you don't say aside from lifting weights. That's the key. Anti-gravity exercises. They did a study with uh women in their 90s and they found when they were doing anti-gravity exercises, which includes weights, um there was a 1% increase in their bone density um per month.

[00:21:34]That's a pretty big statement.

[00:21:37]>> So I think that that is one of the most important things we can do. I mean, you can walk, you can do this, but actually walking with weights in your hand is a a very a powerful way to protect against osteoporosis.

[00:21:52]>> And and one of the fundamentals of good medicine is eliminating obstacles to a cure. And with bone health, uh we know what those obstacles are. uh beyond physical activity and weightbearing exercise, a a diet that is too high in sugar uh and too high in acid ash and and and too high in phosphates from soft drinks and and and whatever. These are some of the real uh culprits that lead to osteoporosis. So that that's uh that that has to be addressed. But we're learning more and more how complex bone is. We we think of bone as just being kind of dead tissue because we're see we see these skeletons but bone is dynamic.

[00:22:40]It's dynamic living tissue and it requires a a steady stream of virtually every known nutrient and a a deficiency of any of a number of nutrients can can lead to to osteoporosis.

[00:22:53]uh collagen which is the main protein of the body serves as the scaffolding of bone not just connective tissue like ligaments and cartilage and and the the health of the skin. Collagen is very important to the health of the bone and vitamin K2 it anchors calcium into bone. it it. So, we're learning more and more just just how important good nutrition is. And virtually all these essential nutrients are involved in bone health. It's not just calcium. It's all these other nutrients as well. All the B vitamins, all the various minerals and trace minerals. Everything's involved in bone health. So, if you want to have healthy bones, you've got to have a healthy diet. You got to be on a strong nutritional supplementation program.

[00:23:48]You've got to exercise. You know, I always get asked the question, what's the single most important thing to do about X, Y, and Z? What's the most important supplement to take for X, Y, and Z? And I'm always re reminded to a patient of mine, Dean. Dean had a very very severe uh genetic defect. And he was the oldest living person with ever with this with with this defect. He went through three kidney transplants before he was 21 years old. And his life was full of pain and suffering. And I asked him once why he was doing all this. And and uh his answer uh both inspired me and broke my heart. He said, "Dr. Murray, all I can do is all I can do. So why wouldn't I do all that I can do?" And and In most cases, people's health are is in their hands. So, whatever we're talking about, do everything you possibly can to be as healthy as you possibly can. Uh, and and and live like like this inspiration that I had, Dean.

[00:24:56]>> Okay. One, we're out of time, so just answer this in 10 seconds. Um, this 10 this five hour question I'm about to ask ask you. What do you do to keep your memory good?

[00:25:09]Well, we we suffer from with age increasing brain inflammation.

[00:25:18]Okay. And one of the things that I think is important and there are a lot of things that can help you know memory go to cola and gobaloba.

[00:25:28]Um ludolan and what's ludolan? It's it's specific for brain inflammation.

[00:25:42]That's the point I'm making. So with age, we need to do everything we can. A vegan diet will decrease brain inflammation.

[00:25:51]Okay? Uh exercising will increase it. Um vitamin C, green tea helps with brain inflammation.

[00:26:02]Accuratin.

[00:26:04]And they're all kind of antioxidants at different levels, but the the most important and the one that's least talked about ludolin, which is extremely potent for decreasing brain inflammation. When you decrease brain inflammation, you improve memory, all your your mental functioning. Now the blue green algae is also extremely good for dealing with uh memory and clarity of mind. So blue green algae actually is a bigger player from Clamoth Lake. Um so those are the simple little uh suggestions. The lid and we don't mention much. So >> in a nutshell what's good for your heart is also good for your brain. So all the things that you've heard over the years that are good for your heart are also very good for your brain. Everything that you've heard about that is good for mitochondrial function, co-enzyme Q10, PQQ uh is good for your brain. Spices are very good for your your brain. Curcumin is the only substance studied to date that's been shown to protect the specific areas of the brain that get affected with Alzheimer's disease. So um uh you know it's a 5h hour answer to give to give you in 10 seconds but those would be my my recommendation.

[00:27:33]>> I just want to mention one more thing is iodine.

[00:27:36]The research really shows that and iodine improves brain fun brain function but also heart function and really all the mitochondria in the whole system need it. So I I mention that as something to consider.

[00:27:53]uh many people I think we're looking at 95% of the population is iodine deficient and so that would be definitely a supplement for brain function and I've seen it work because I use it a lot for people.

[00:28:08]>> Okay. Um Dr. Cousins will be speaking again. Um so look on this calendar to see when he's speaking again. Uh Dr. Murray, if people want to stay in touch with you, what's the best way? Do you do private consultations? Do you um do would go to your website. What's the best way to keep up with you?

[00:28:25]>> Yeah, the the the best way to uh is to get to my website, drm murray.com. I I put out a a weekly newsletter. I also put together this program called Thrive, which is a crystallization of 21 lessons that uh I'm going to give you five minute video, five minute worksheet that I hope will change your life. These are the the tools and tricks and and bio hacks that I've used to uh to to live a life full of passion and joy, peace and happiness.

[00:29:00]>> Fantastic. Dr. Cousins, how do they follow up with you?

[00:29:04]>> Well, they can go to drcousins.com or uh treeoflife.mn.co.

[00:29:13]Um, easy for people drcousins.com.

[00:29:16]That's the easiest way to go about that.

[00:29:19]Well, I really appreciate it. This information is not easy to get. Um, it's not easy to get from regular doctors.

[00:29:26]It's not easy to get from anyone. And the fact that you guys have put in so much time to figure this out for yourselves and you're sharing it for free with us, um, I consider this invaluable. So, thank you very much. And if we could unmute everyone else, that would be great. Michael, >> Michael, it's good to see you and to work with you. Very nice.

[00:29:44]>> Thank you. It's a pleasure. It was an honor.

[00:29:51]unmute everyone so everybody general is the ones that were in the box.

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