As a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Andrew Huberman is an expert on the neuroscience of human performance, behavior, and health. His extensive research explores how diet, lifestyle habits, and targeted supplementation can optimize brain function and transform mental clarity.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down Andrew Huberman’s personal diet and supplement routine for promoting optimal neurological performance. We’ll analyze the science and real-world results behind his methodology to extract actionable tips you can incorporate into your own regimen.
Andrew Huberman’s Philosophy on Diet & Supplements
Rather than extreme or unsustainable interventions, Huberman prioritizes daily lifestyle habits and evidence-based nutrition strategies shown to benefit long-term mental acuity.
He experiments extensively with different dietary approaches, fasting protocols, and targeted supplements – continuously self-assessing and modifying his regimen over time.
"I try different things, I check myself, I check my biology, and I see what works best for my situation” – Andrew Huberman
Huberman recognizes that a one-size fits all approach doesn’t work. We each require a customized regimen tailored to our unique biology, lifestyle factors, and health goals.
However, by analyzing the common themes of his methodology, we can extract beneficial principles to inform our own diet and supplementation routine.
Base Dietary Pattern
The foundation of Huberman’s diet emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods with abundant protein and healthy fats:
- Grass-fed beef – For B vitamins, iron, zinc and protein. Prioritizes ribeye for higher fat content.
- Pasture-raised eggs – For choline and protein. Aims for 6-8 eggs per day.
- Wild-caught fish – For omega-3s. Anchovies and sardines for higher EPA/DHA density.
- Organ meats – For bioavailable nutrients like B12, iron, choline. Prefers bison or beef liver.
- Vegetables – For fiber, vitamins, minerals. Favors green leafy vegetables and cruciferous options.
- Fruits – For antioxidants and phytonutrients. Berries and citrus fruits preferred.
- Tubers – For carbohydrates. Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams.
- Nuts & seeds – For healthy fats, protein and fiber. Emphasizes almonds and Brazil nuts.
He minimizes sugar, processed grains, legumes, dairy, and factory farmed meat.
This ancestral-inspired, low-inflammatory template provides abundant micronutrients to nourish neurological function while stabilizing blood sugar levels.
Intermittent Fasting Protocol
Huberman follows a 16:8 intermittent fasting protocol – condensing his daily food intake into an 8-hour window, generally from 12pm to 8pm.
He fasts for 16 hours outside this window, consuming only non-caloric fluids like water, black coffee and herbal tea.
Limiting eating duration gives the digestive system an extended break while upregulating autophagy – the process of cellular renewal. Fasting may also enhance insulin sensitivity and spur fat loss.
By condensing calories later in the day, Huberman can exercise in a fasted state during mornings – an approach shown to boost endurance, speed fat burning during training, and amplify growth hormone release.
Carbohydrate Timing Strategies
Within his eating window, Huberman utilizes carbohydrate timing around activity to regulate energy levels.
He emphasizes low-sugar carb sources like fruits, tubers and some whole grains. On workout days, the majority of carbohydrates are consumed post-exercise to optimize recovery and anabolism.
On less active rest days, his carbohydrate intake remains lower to facilitate fat burning – though not extremely low-carb.
This allows him to target ketosis during appropriate periods without an inflexible, sustained ketogenic diet.
Supplement Regimen
Alongside diet and lifestyle optimization, Huberman supplements with a range of bioactive compounds shown to benefit physiology and mental performance:
Daily Staples
- Vitamin D – 5,000 IU pill with breakfast. Boosts immunity, testosterone and mood.
- Magnesium Glycinate – 400-800mg before bed. Improves sleep quality and metabolic health.
- Krill Oil – 2-3g supplying 1-1.5g combined EPA/DHA. Protects brain, enhances cognition.
- Creatine Monohydrate – 5g per day. Augments cellular energy, physical performance, cognitive processing speed.
Rotational Supplements
- NMN – 250mg sublingually, 2-3 days per week. Mimics effects of calorie restriction for longevity.
- Nicotinamide Riboside – 300mg per day, 1 week per month. Boosts NAD+ levels for mitochondrial support.
- Glutathione – 500-1000mg, in either liposomal or acetylated form, for 2 weeks every 2 months. Master internal antioxidant.
The combination checks multiple boxes – vitamins and minerals to hit adequate intake levels, omega-3s for mental clarity, creatine for energetic performance, and targeted cofactors to spurLong cellular repair pathways.
Modulating Testosterone
Huberman emphasizes the far-reaching impact optimized testosterone levels can have on mental performance – citing focus, drive, confidence, learning ability, and sense of well-being as key benefits.
Through implementing the lifestyle strategies above, he increased his total T from ~400 ng/dL into the 800 ng/dL range within 6 months.
He has maintained these elevated levels for over 2 years simply via consistent diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management – no exogenous hormones required.
However, more recently Huberman began a low-dose testosterone regimen under medical supervision, which further enhanced his physical and mental vigor.
The key distinction is that this exogenous dose (140mg/week) acts as a boost for him rather than a corrective measure, as his natural production remains robust.
Fitness Regimen
Alongside optimized nutrition, Huberman prioritizes regular movement and high intensity functional training to stimulate neurogenesis and bolster bodily control.
His weekly training program consists of:
- Resistance Training – 3 days per week emphasizing compound barbell lifts like squats, deadlifts and overhead pressing patterns. Aims for brief, intense sessions in the 5 to 8 rep range per set.
- High Intensity Interval Training – 2 sessions per week. Includes hill sprints, sled drags, battle ropes, rowing, cycling etc.
- Low-Intensity Steady-State Cardio – 2 to 3 days for 30-45 minutes. Usually easy outdoor cycling.
- Yoga & Mobility Work– Daily practice to enhance mindfulness, breathwork and range of motion.
This blend provides strength development, anaerobic power, mitochondrial density from LISS training, and recovery/regeneration support through mobility work.
Optimizing Sleep & Stress Management
Huberman is a leading expert on sleep, circadian biology and stress resilience. He emphasizes prioritizing these pillars alongside diet and training.
Key techniques include:
- Blocking blue light and minimizing LED screens before bed
- Maintaining an evening wind-down routine
- Managing room temperature
- Supplementing magnesium, glycine, theanine and Apigenin
- Using amber blue-light blocking glasses before bed
- Practicing gratitude journaling, box breathing, cold exposure, and other methods to cultivate mindfulness while regulating nervous system arousal
Real-World Results
Through this comprehensive performance optimization program spanning diet, lifestyle, supplementation and biohacking techniques – Huberman reports:
- Radically enhanced mental clarity, vigilance, learning ability and working memory
- An abundant sense of energy and motivation
- Greater confidence, assertiveness and decisiveness
- Improved body composition with more lean mass and vascularity
- All-day appetite control and absence of cravings
- Deeper, more restorative sleep
- Sense of resilience against stressors
- Lifelong gains – as after 2+ years, he continues progressing across all metrics
Critically, what underpins his success is consistency over years – not radical short-term interventions. Huberman views optimization as a lifelong journey rooted in daily practice and incremental improvement.
While some components like testosterone modulation require medical oversight, much of the framework is accessible and realistic to integrate for most readers.
Here are 5 top takeaways to apply from Huberman’s routine:
1. Adopt Time-Restricted Feeding
Experiment with condensing your daily food intake into an 8 to 10 hour window, while fasting for the remainder.
For example, try stopping eating at 8pm and delaying breakfast until 10am the next morning. This 14 hour daily fast can stimulate cellular recycling, improve insulin sensitivity and spur fat burning.
2. Increase Omega-3 Intake
Aim for a combined 2 to 3 grams daily from seafood or supplements like krill oil. Omega-3s demonstrably boost cognition, mood and cardiovascular health.
If opting for fish oil supplements, choose a reputable brand validated by IFOS or GOED that provides both EPA and DHA forms.
3. Strategically Time Carbohydrates
Prioritize fruits, tubers and non-gluten grains as carb sources while minimizing sugar. Cluster most carbs around workout windows, emphasizing protein and healthy fats otherwise.
This trains metabolic flexibility versus sustained keto, while optimizing performance and body composition based on your activity patterns.
4. Begin Resistance Training
Lift weights at least twice weekly, even if training at home. Strength training provides unmatched functional benefits spanning musculoskeletal health, hormone balance, neurogenesis, and longevity.
Squats, deadlifts, presses, pull-ups and lunges are excellent starter movements. Focus on progressive overload by adding weight or reps monthly.
5. Optimize Your Sleep
Sleep may be the most crucial pillar of peak mental performance. Try establishing a relaxing pre-bed routine by limiting LED light after dark, setting cooler room temperatures, avoiding late meals, and potentially supplementing magnesium, glycine or theanine.
Track metrics like sleep duration, heart rate variability and waking temperature using Oura or Whoop data. Continuously experiment to find what enhances your restfulness.
In summary, Andrew Huberman’s methodology leverages multiple evidence-based nutrition, training and lifestyle techniques in a complementary fashion to promote mental clarity and overall thriving.
He recognizes that finding your unique path requires personalization and consistency over time by relentlessly tracking metrics and progress.
While certain components like exogenous testosterone or advanced biohacking technology remain inaccessible or impractical for most, this overview highlights realistic, sustainable tactics you can leverage based on your personal needs and interests.
What resonates with you from Huberman’s approach? Which strategies seem most viable for you to adopt currently? Let me know in the comments!