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A content creator was left stunned when a doctor explained the bizarre link between heavy smokers and people who live the longest.
This shock came during a conversation between YouTuber Dr Mike and his podcast guests retired heart surgeon Steven Gundry and cardiologist Danielle Belardo.
During their discussion, the trio debated diet culture, disease prevention and longevity research.
Gundry, who is known online for promoting controversial nutritional theories, argued that researchers may have been looking at smoking ‘through the wrong lens’ when studying certain long-living populations around the world.
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Dr Mike challenged Gundry’s methods, questioning why one unusual patient case had influenced so much of his thinking around prevention and diet.
That prompted the surgeon to make a claim that immediately stopped the conversation in its tracks.
“Probably it’s because he smoked that he’s doing so well,” Gundry said, referring to people who smoke heavily but still appear healthy later in life.
The comment seemed to surprise Dr Mike, who asked: “Okay, we need to back up. How do we get there?”
This prompted the surgeon to point out so-called ‘Blue Zones’, which are regions of the world often associated with exceptional longevity, claiming many male residents are regular smokers.
According to the expert, nicotine acts as a ‘mitochondrial uncoupler’, which he claimed could have potential benefits under certain dietary conditions.
Gundry claimed diets that are rich in vitamin C and antioxidant-heavy foods may help offset oxidative stress linked to smoking.
He also referenced products such as olive oil and fermented dairy while talking about communities in places such as Sardinia, going on to argue that lifestyle and diet could play a major role in reducing smoking-related harm.
However, Dr Mike and Belardo weren’t as convinced, with Belardo pointing out that smoking is one of the leading risk factors for peripheral arterial disease and questioned whether there was any strong scientific evidence proving that dietary changes can negate smoking risks.
Dr Mike also argued that longevity research involves countless variables and that isolating smoking as a positive factor would be extremely difficult.
This conversation prompted many people to share their own reactions in the YouTube comment section, with one user writing: “When he came out the gate saying actually you live longer if you smoke I was like alright. Let’s buckle our seatbelts this is gonna be wild.”
And another joked: “Can confirm this works. I've been eating cigarettes, smoking cheese, and inhaling fermented beans all my life and I am currently over 200 years old.”
