5 Healthyish Things, including Erewhon and the Vatican

In a world that glamorizes over-the-top and unrealistic morning routines 🙄, I’m all for the new “opening shift” trend on TikTok. Basically, an opening shift is about starting your day like you’re opening up shop—knocking out tasks that make you feel like you’re ready for business. Think: opening windows, brewing coffee, fluffing pillows.

What I love about this trend is it takes the pressure off having a perfect morning routine and turns it into a functional reset. It’s not about optimization—it’s about starting the day with a clean slate.

My morning shift starts at 5am (but yours definitely doesn’t have to)! For me, it includes back exercises (a must), a 10-minute meditation, and journaling. Since I have young kiddos, it has to happen before they’re awake otherwise it never will. 

Okay, so an opening shift is yours to create—and you can (and should) build it  based on your goals. Want a slow, calm start? Light a candle, make breakfast, and ease in. Want to feel organized? Make a checklist—unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, and start laundry. 

And definitely tell me about your opening shift if you choose to make one! (I’ll share my faves next week).

Fun fact: back at Ness (my previous company), we were early partners with Andrew Lacy & Prenuvo a couple years ago to help people skip their waitlist. Since then, full-body MRI scans have become infinitely more popular (and I think we’re only at the very beginning). And this week Prenuvo announced $120 million in fresh funding, sharing that they made $100M last year and they’re already profitable (!).

With this new funding, Prenuvo is looking to invest in new products like blood tests and GRAIL-type diagnostics, which makes a lot of sense. The long-term vision is taking all the data their AI is collecting to not only provide better scans and personalized reports, but real medical breakthroughs.

We’ve talked about Prenuvo before, but now I can finally share my own experience getting a scan in Dallas! If you’re new here, you may not know I did an Ezra scan last year. And Prenuvo was… 100x better.

Why? Well Ezra partners with existing clinics with MRI machines and applies their very cool unique scan, but the experience is totally dependent on the place you’re at and there’s barely any Ezra touch. At Prenuvo, you’re greeted at the door at a nicely decorated facility fully Prenuvo-branded, made to feel like a VIP, and led to a beautiful changing area (not just a puny bathroom) where food and drinks await you afterward. Plus, you can watch Netflix inside the MRI machine! 

I was inside for 50 minutes, completely (mostly?) relaxed, watching the first episode of Bodyguard (fine?) instead of trying to survive inside the machine. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delightful, seamless, and exactly how healthcare should feel. I badly want this to be the future of medicine.

Another health flex: shopping at Erewhon. My favorite thing about this video is that no one thinks they're this person shopping at Erewhon, and yet everyone shopping at Erewhon is actually this person (including me). 

I’ve been working to lose some weight, which means upping my protein intake—but hitting my daily goal of 150-200g (!) has been a struggle. So when a friend mentioned bone broth has great macros (your solid balance of protein, fat, and carbs—in this case, basically just 15-20g of protein per serving), I dug into where the protein came from. The answer? Collagen.

Maybe you’ve heard of it? Collagen has exploded into a $9B industry—by basically turning “meat garbage into gold.” 🤣 Now, collagen does have legit benefits for skin and joint health—both with pretty compelling evidence. But when it comes to counting it as a protein source, it’s a bit controversial. 

Why? Well, collagen is technically an incomplete protein, meaning it lacks some essential amino acids. (Especially some key ones for muscle building, FYI). But just like pairing beans with rice makes a complete protein, you can eat collagen and fill in the gaps with other protein sources. (One interesting startup I’ve been supporting is soon bringing to market “healthier” (healthyish?) candy—with 25g of protein per serving, all in the form of collagen.)

My take: Counting collagen intake toward your daily protein quota is definitely fine, but it probably shouldn’t be the bulk of your protein. So… what should?

My fave protein sources right now (besides, like grilled chicken and steak), in case you’re curious: 

• Turkey bacon

• Brodo Organic Chicken Broth

• Mauinui Peppered Venison Stick 

• Momentous Essential Grass-Fed Whey Protein Powder

• Costco’s Kirkland Liquid Egg Whites (plus real eggs if I can find some)

• David Salted Peanut Butter Protein Bar (their new peanut butter flavors have grown on me)

• Magic Spoon Peanut Butter Cereal, and 

• Protein shakes from Pioneer Pastures 

Have any recommendations for getting more protein in? I’ll take ‘em!

Longevity is healthcare's “it girl” and even The Pope thinks so? I recently learned the Vatican is hosting its “first-ever summit on longevity” on March 24, bringing together scientists, Nobel laureates, and global leaders to talk about the science and ethics of living longer, healthier lives. It’s not just about if we can extend life, but who benefits and how we get there. (They don’t mention Bryan Johnson, but I’d bet you 10 green banana flours he goes.)

I bring this up (again) because I don’t think people realize how massive longevity is becoming. When even the Pope is weighing in, you know it’s officially more than a Silicon Valley fixation. While it might feel like a trend now, I think we’re watching longevity cross over into the mainstream—where it’ll stay for a very long time.

• Abridge just secured $250M in funding to expand its AI capabilities to streamline clinical conversations further. Just further proof of how big scribing can be–and increasing pressure to build something more horizontal. Nice!

• Kids’ treadmills are a thing, but they almost certainly should not be? 🤨 

• Microplastics are the next seed oils—and probably even bigger. I mean yeesh. (I’m planning a special edition on this soon). 

• My friend Joanne (CEO of Oula) shared her hot take on "becoming woo," a shift I see a lot as people turn to alternatives after feeling dismissed or let down by doctors. Subscribe to her email and journey!

• The fastest-growing brand at Coca-Cola is… Fairlife Milk? TBF my vote is still for Pioneer Pastures! (Disclaimer: Very minor investor.)