5 Healthyish Things, including moderate drinking and a basic supplement stack

If you missed it, the FDA banned Red Dye #3 in food—35 years after banning it in cosmetics and more than 30 years since Europe banned it. (So much for Pinterest’s prediction that 2025 will be cherry-coated.) It will be interesting to see what’s next. 

My bets are on Red 40 and Yellow 5.👀

In a past episode of Derek Thompson’s Plain English (a podcast I dig from my 2nd favorite Derek), Euan Ashley, a genomics and cardiovascular medicine professor and chair of the Stanford Department of Medicine, told Thompson that one hour of exercise can increase your life expectancy by five minutes. Pretty cool, right?

This way of thinking came back to Thompson’s podcast regarding moderate drinking. (Shout out to everyone holding the line for Dry January!) Now, there have been a lot of inconsistencies about whether moderate drinking is good for you or not. Let’s call it what it is: Moderate drinking is probably not good for you, but HOW not good for you is the question. 

In last week’s episode, Thompson ultimately concludes that every drink takes five minutes off your life. It stuck with me since I heard it, and it really helps quantify the risk. If it was five years or even five months off your life, you might think differently, but five minutes? That crisp glass of wine may sometimes be worth the pour, especially if it’s a way to connect with others…and you worked out earlier that day. Net gain! 💪

I mention this guy a lot in this newsletter, but, to be fair, he does a lot worth mentioning. (And in case you’re new here and like, “Who the heck is that dude?” he’s the guy who’s doing everything he can to live forever.) I listened to yet another podcast—an interview with him from Bari Weiss—and came away with two thought-provoking ideas:

First, Johnson described what he’s doing as turning longevity into a competitive sport, calling it the “Rejuvenation Olympics.” (The title could use some work, TBH.) Johnson believes he has the best health biomarkers on the planet, and he's challenging people to join and try to beat his—and each other's—biomarkers with online leaderboards that rank participants by "pace of aging." This feels like a very cool way to approach this—make it an extreme sport! Would I enter? Probably not. Would I read about (and learn from) those who do? For sure. 😆

Similarly, he also claims in the podcast that he’s like a modern-day Lewis & Clark or Ferdinand Magellan in the sense that he’s exploring the far reaches and depths and unknowns of longevity. I kind of get that! Like I’m not planning to do a plasma transfusion with my child, but I’m glad someone is to report back.

For the last decade, my wife and I have been getting Sparklett’s Bottled Spring Water delivered in five-gallon plastic jugs. The goal was simple: Get fresh spring water and skip the tap. It was convenient, cold, and a better alternative to having filters on all of our stuff. But recently, we decided to switch to Sparklett’s Mountain Valley Spring Water five-gallon glass jugs. Why? Microplastics, a growing concern (and one I’ve called out here before). 

Recently, Plasticlist, a study led by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, made waves AND made the issue of microplastics harder to ignore. This consumer-driven research analyzed 705 samples from 296 food products, testing for plastic-related chemicals. As you can probably guess, there was a lot. How much is a lot? Eighty-six percent of food samples—everything from baby food to farm-fresh beef—showed detectable levels of these chemicals.

Should we panic? IDKID. On one hand, a key takeaway from the study is that detecting a chemical in food doesn’t necessarily mean it poses a health risk. Like, read that again: This may not actually be a real problem. Anyway, obviously, more research is needed, and IMO the study does a good job of highlighting the needs while building awareness of the issue. For now, I’d rather play it safe as opposed to taking a risk, so glass jugs it is.

I’ve had enough people ask me, “I don’t take any supplements—where should I start?”  I figured it was time to share my take. Quick disclaimer: Most people don’t need supplements, and I’m not a doctor, so consider this friendly advice vs. medical advice. 

First step? Get a blood test. It’s the simplest way to better understand your deficiencies. (Guessing is fun, but precision is better.) Companies like Function and Parsley (a company I work closely with) can help out of pocket– and the basic tests are usually paid for by insurance if prescribed by your primary care physician. 

Buuut for the sake of this exercise, let’s guess and assume you’re eating the average American diet and mostly trying to eat healthy, but still feel concerned about getting enough vitamins. 

In that case (and after years of being obsessed with Examine.com), I’d most recommend the following:

1. Vitamin D: Almost everyone could use more Vitamin D—nearly half of U.S. adults (42%!) are deficient. We don’t get as much sun as we used to, and a Vitamin D deficiency can affect everything from your mood to muscle pain. Aim for 1,000-2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. Personally, I’ve used Thorne's Vitamin D-1,000, but I recently got Costco's and will switch to that because, well, it’s cheaper.

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3s are essential for heart health and brain function. Unless you’re eating fatty fish the recommended 2-3 times a week (spoiler: most of us aren’t), you’re probably not getting enough. Look for a supplement with EPA and DHA combined. I take Thorne Super EPA Pro.

3. Probiotics: Probiotics are great for digestion and immune support (and to offset all the crap we’re exposed to, including drugs, junk food, etc.), but what some people don’t know is that it’s not about how many strains—it’s about the right strains. Look for a multi-strain formula with 10-50 billion CFUs per serving and a delayed release. I use Seed’s DS-01 and highly recommend it.

Up next, I’d probably consider B12 and Magnesium. B12 is the MVP for energy and cognitive function, and I suggest just taking a B-complex like Nootropic Depot’s Infini-B to cover your bases. Magnesium supports essential functions like muscle recovery, brain health, and energy production. I've been taking Nootropic Depot’s Cognizin Citicoline before bed each night. 

From there, I’d look to Iron, Calcium, Iodine, Zinc, and fiber supplements, but those are especially hard to know if you're deficient unless you’ve taken a blood test!

• I previously mentioned Slingshot AI's vision of building a foundational psychology model—well, now they've raised $40M from Andreessen Horowitz.

• Neat to see an article version of the HSA special edition newsletter I wrote a month or so ago as a "Staff Pick" on Medium! Plus, it got 500+ claps (no clue).

• FDA authorized ZYN to market their nicotine pouches (right after I warned about them, awkward 😬), saying an "extensive scientific review" showed it to be less dangerous than cigarettes.

• Does anyone use the Seed Oil Scout app? Have some questions, if so! (Or if you immediately downloaded it after hearing this, I want to ask you questions, too.)

• And thanks to OGC for recommending this newsletter last week!