Longevity doctor Peter Attia faces backlash over comments in Epstein files

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Dr. Peter Attia, the famous doctor who helped popularize the longevity craze, has publicly apologized as he faces growing backlash following the publication of email exchanges he had with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Attia’s name appears frequently in the latest batch of Epstein files, released Friday by the Justice Department. The two exchanged jokes, set up dates and discussed Epstein’s health via email in the mid-2010s, with Epstein saying at one point that he could pay to be Attia’s client.

“Are you the biggest problem in becoming friends with you?” Attia wrote in June 2015. “The life you lead is so scandalous, and yet I can’t tell anyone…”

In a February 2016 post, Attia made a crude joke that female genitals were “low carb.”

The revelation that Attia and Epstein were friends came just days after CBS News announced that she had hired Attia as a contributor. The network did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it intended to keep him in that role. CBS News aired a rebroadcast of a “60 Minutes” segment featuring Attia that was scheduled to air Sunday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

It’s Monday, Attia written the that his interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with Epstein’s patterns of sexual abuse or exploitation. Attia said he had not been involved in any criminal activity and had never visited Epstein’s island. Authorities have not charged Attia with any crime.

“I apologize and regret having put myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, distasteful and indefensible, are now public, and it is my fault. I accept this reality and the humiliation that accompanies it,” he wrote.

Attia said his remark about not being able to tell others about Epstein’s “scandalous” life was a reference to the exercise of discretion in powerful social circles, not an awareness of wrongdoing. He added that he had not been Epstein’s doctor, “although I repeatedly answered general medical questions and recommended other providers to him.”

Attia did not respond to a request for comment.

Attia is one of the biggest names in the field of longevity, a medical philosophy rooted in the idea that people can improve and prolong their quality of life and avoid chronic disease through a combination of exercise, sleep and a good diet and by taking care of their emotional health. He is the author of the bestselling book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and host of the popular podcast “The Peter Attia Drive.” His company, Early Medical, offers a program that teaches people how to live healthier, longer lives.

In recent days, Attia has separated from at least two companies.

He had been a scientific advisor to AG1, the maker of a powdered supplement billed as a way to fill “nutritional deficiencies” in people’s diets.

An AG1 spokesperson said in an emailed statement that “as of this week, Dr. Attia is no longer an advisor to the company.”

Some doctors and longevity practitioners have recently questioned whether AG1 has any significant benefit. The spokesperson said several trials showed the product had positive effects, such as improving gut health.

Until Monday, Attia was also an investor and scientific director of David, a protein bar company that capitalized on the growing popularity of high-protein diets.

David’s CEO, Peter Rahal, announced on that Attia had “resigned from his role”. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Attia holds active medical licenses in Texas, California and New York, but does not have certification and has not completed his residency, which he began at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Some doctors had already accused Attia of promoting unproven remedies and charging patients exorbitant amounts.

Now, some proponents of longevity medicine have expressed concern that Attia’s recently revealed relationship with Epstein could undermine confidence in their fieldwhich has attracted a mix of evidence-based and pseudoscientific approaches.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges against him of soliciting prostitution, including from a minor. He was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 and found dead in his jail cell about a month later.

In In an April 2016 email exchange with Epstein, Attia mentioned “LSJ” — likely a reference to Little Saint James, Epstein’s private island, which was allegedly a place where women and girls were abused — saying, “I have to visit there sometime…” The email correspondence also revealed that Attia had planned to visit Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico in August 2015, but that the timing hadn’t worked.