Content Library Podcasts Episode 1019

The Newly Discovered Nutrient That Could Slow Aging with Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson

March 26, 2025 Episode 1019 1 hr 9 min

Transcript Sponsors Resources Overview

Overview

What if the key to aging well had been hiding in plain sight—inside our cells, our food, and even… dolphins? That’s exactly what Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, a veterinary epidemiologist, discovered while studying dolphins in the U.S. Navy’s marine mammal program. She found that some dolphins were aging significantly slower than others, leading to the discovery of C15:0—a newly recognized essential fatty acid that supports cellular health, fights inflammation, and may even slow the aging process. In this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, we dive into:

How studying dolphins led to the discovery of C15:0 as the first essential fatty acid found in 90 years.
Why a deficiency in this nutrient could be accelerating aging and chronic disease.
How C15:0 strengthens cell membranes, reduces inflammation, and promotes longevity.
The connection between diet, metabolic health, and optimal aging.
What you can do to ensure you’re getting enough of this essential fatty acid.

This groundbreaking discovery could change how we think about nutrition and longevity.

Resources Mentioned

www.discoverc15.com The Longevity Nutrient Book Journal of Nutrition: Pentadecanoic Acid Supplementation in Young Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial Metabolites: 1-in-3 suffers from C15:0 nutritional deficiencies Nutrients: C15:0 has more clinically relevant cellular benefits than leading longevity-enhancing compounds Rapamycin, Metformin and Acarbose Nature’s Scientific Reports: C15:0 activates new endocannabinoid

Host & Guests

Transcript

Automatically generated. Please forgive any typos or errors in the following transcript. It was generated by a third party and has not been subsequently reviewed by our team.

Dr. Mark Hyman
Stephanie, it's great to have you back on The Doctor Hyman Show. Yeah. And, your work continues to astound me and discoveries that I think are going to hopefully make us all live a little bit longer, feel a little bit better, prevent some of the disease of aging. And we're talking about today, the work you've done as a veterinary epidemiologist working with the Navy SEALs I mean, the Navy Dolphins.

Stephanie Venn-Watson
We're gonna help the Navy SEALs too.

Dr. Mark Hyman
Oh, man. I feel like a Navy SEAL right now. I'm, like, I'm, like, trying to not shiver to death, and I'm not in freezing cold water, but I'm I'm wearing a thick coat because we're in Austin, Texas, and it is freezing out. With the..