Try This community, walking might be the most underrated health tool we have.

Want to keep weight off for good? There’s a magic number for daily step count. 

Want fewer arguments with your spouse? Lace up your shoes because walking can help. 

Worried about your parents slowing down with age? There's a walking stat that is important for you to know. 

After my recent podcast with Dr. Courtney Conley, hundreds of you wrote in saying you were inspired to double down on your daily steps, and so am I! 

Today's newsletter is dedicated to continuing the conversation on walking. We’ve got some fascinating and breaking research that will help you and your family stay consistent with walking because not walking is not an option if you want to stave off modern diseases. 

Let's get into it!

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Number 1: Hot off the Press: The Step Count That Stops Weight Regain

A brand-new meta-analysis presented at the European Congress on Obesity analyzed 14 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 4,000 adults and landed on a surprisingly specific number: About 8,500 steps per day may be the sweet spot for keeping weight off long-term.

And honestly, this is the part of weight loss we don’t talk about enough.

Most people can lose weight in the short term. The real challenge is maintenance. Research consistently shows that roughly 80 percent of people regain some or all of the weight within 3–5 years. But in this new analysis, participants who increased their activity to around 8,500 daily steps during the weight-loss phase—and then kept that habit going—were able to maintain most of their results long after the diet ended.

What’s especially interesting is that more walking didn’t seem to dramatically increase weight loss during the active dieting phase itself. That work was largely being driven by calorie restriction. Walking’s real superpower showed up later: helping prevent the slow creep of weight regain over time.

This feels especially relevant right now for people using GLP-1 medications—or coming off them—because we know that sustainable weight loss is the goal. 

Send this to anyone whose goal is to lose weight. They might really want to be on top of that 8,500-step-count number! 

Number 2: Pedometer++ Step-Tracking App

Right now, I'm not wearing an Apple Watch or anything to track my steps during the day, so I default to using my iPhone. And being a new father, I pretty much always have my phone in hand, even during walks.

But one mildly annoying thing about the iPhone is that the default step counter in the Health app is often delayed. It can take several minutes for it to update your current step count, which isn’t ideal when I’m shooting for a step goal on a quick walking break.

A few months ago, I came across the Pedometer++ app, and not only does the free version have a real-time pedometer, but it also has a bunch of other great features that make it more fun and likely that you’ll hit your step count—things like a snapshot of your weekly progress and a badges page to track your consistency.

They have a paid version, but honestly, the free version is so good that I haven’t upgraded.

Number 3: Walking = Less Fighting

There's actually a wild body of research on how walking reduces conflict, especially between couples.

A 2017 paper in American Psychologist synthesized decades of work, and the premise is striking: When two people walk side by side, their steps unconsciously sync up. That synchrony has been shown to boost empathy and make it easier to take your partner's perspective.

The position matters too. Face-to-face conversations over hard topics ramp up dominance behavior and pressure tactics. Walking puts you shoulder to shoulder, both facing the same direction. Add in the stress reduction and creativity boost walking gives you, and you have a powerful, low-cost tool sitting right there.

One more layer worth noting: As I've shared in past newsletters, the late Dr. Francine Shapiro developed EMDR therapy after a walk in the park, where she noticed her own distressing thoughts lost their grip as her eyes naturally scanned back and forth. Walking outdoors and letting your gaze sweep the horizon does something similar, calming the nervous system through that same bilateral eye movement. Hat tip to her foundational work.

So next time you and your spouse are stuck on something, get off the couch. Put on your shoes. Walk it out.

Number 4: Keeping Your Parents Healthy: Hearing Loss and Walking Speed

If you've been reading for a while, you know I think a lot about my parents' health and how to keep them sharp and strong as they age. When I came across this Wall Street Journal piece (subscription needed) from three days ago, I knew I had to share it, because I know many of you are in the same boat with your own folks.

Apple just published a massive new study with the University of Michigan, analyzing data from 57,183 iPhone users, and here’s the main finding: Hearing loss is linked to slower walking speeds, with the correlation strongest in adults 60 and older.

As Dr. Conley explained in our interview, walking speed is what researchers now call the "sixth vital sign," and it’s as telling about your overall health as heart rate or blood pressure. Slower gait has already been tied to higher dementia risk, more falls, depression, and earlier mortality. And hearing loss appears to drag walking speed down through several pathways at once. Your brain works harder to hear, which steals resources from other functions. Inner ear problems affect balance. People who can't hear well move more cautiously and withdraw socially.

The encouraging part: A separate three-year Johns Hopkins trial found that hearing aids significantly reduced cognitive decline AND the risk of falls in older adults at risk of dementia. So this is fixable.

If your parents are over 60 and you've noticed them slowing down, the answer might not be their knees. It might be their ears. Encourage them to get tested to see if they need hearing aids. There’s no shame in this; even younger people need hearing aids. It’s all about making your experience as joyful and easy as possible. 

That’s it for now. See you next week. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, sometimes wellness can feel so serious, so my goal today is to lighten it up with three fun/cool shares for you.

I hope you enjoy!

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Bon Charge Who Help Keep This Newsletter Free

Modern life isn’t exactly helping our hair. Stress, poor sleep, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, and constant overload can all impact the health of our scalp and follicles over time, leading to hair loss. 

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#1 It’s Mother’s Day This Weekend

I got a chuckle from this post and of course immediately shared it with my wife Yasmin, who's celebrating her first Mother's Day this weekend.

Consider this your reminder to put some effort into a thoughtful gift for all the amazing moms in your life.

Thank you, honey, for every sacrifice you've made on our journey to becoming parents. I see all of it, and I love you more for it every single day.

#2 Direct to Consumer Labwork

Found this one through Russell Shaw on X and thought it was cool!

LabHackr is a free site that matches identical direct-to-consumer lab tests across 52 retailers, so you can find the cheapest version of the exact same panel.

You can browse tests by category (hormones, thyroid, gut health, vitamins and minerals, autoimmune markers, cardiovascular health, and more). Instead of bouncing between websites trying to figure out where to order an ApoB test, ferritin panel, magnesium test, or hormone workup, LabHackr organizes everything in a surprisingly easy-to-use way.

Of course, more testing isn’t always better, and labs are best understood when interpreted with guidance from a healthcare professional. But if you’re curious about understanding your body a little more deeply—or you’ve ever fallen down a rabbit hole trying to compare tests—this site is pretty helpful.

#3 Heartwarming TV Show I’m Watching

I'm not watching a lot of TV these days, but when my wife and I have 30 minutes in the evening, we love catching up on the latest episode of Love on the Spectrum Season 4.

If you haven't followed the series, it's a Netflix docuseries that follows young adults on the autism spectrum as they navigate dating and the search for real connection.

Here's the thing. So much of reality TV right now is completely fake. Producers manufacture drama, contestants get coached on what to say, and edits are stitched together to invent fights and love triangles that never actually happened.

Love on the Spectrum is the rare show that's not only 100% real but totally genuine. Nobody is performing for a brand deal. Nobody is auditioning for the spinoff. It's just real people being real. You walk away feeling better about humanity than you did 30 minutes earlier and with a ton of empathy for everyone on the spectrum and for the families doing their best to help their loved ones live and experience life fully. Highly recommend.

Alright, that’s it for this week!  

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Today, we're highlighting some wild data that's been out there for years but that so many people still haven't acted on.

This includes my own mom, who called me last week super excited because she listened to our episode with Bill Gifford on the power of sauna and, in particular, got really excited about the Alzheimer's data.

She'd been using the sauna here and there over the years, but seeing this data has her motivated to make it a regular practice.

Now, I've talked about it before, but I carry a copy of the APOE4 gene, which means that at least one of my parents likely carries this risk factor as well. We also have some family history of dementia on my mom’s side.

So dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk reduction is not only on my mind, it's 100 percent on my mom's mind as well.

The truth is, we still do not have a drug proven to reliably prevent Alzheimer's disease in otherwise healthy people. But we do have data on something powerful that keeps showing effect sizes our pharmaceuticals cannot touch.

It's the power of sauna.

In today's newsletter, we're going to get into the data on it.

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The 65 Percent Number

A long-running, population-based Finnish cohort study of middle-aged Finnish men found that more frequent sauna bathing was strongly associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, even after accounting for known risk factors. 

This study found that men who used a traditional sauna 4 to 7 times per week had a 65 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease compared with men who used the sauna once per week.

The researchers believe this is biologically plausible because sauna use improves vascular function, reduces inflammation, and lowers blood pressure—all of which are linked to dementia risk.

In 2020, a separate Finnish research team studied nearly 14,000 men and women. Over the first 20 years of follow-up, people who used the sauna 9 to 12 times per month had about half the dementia risk compared with those who used it rarely or not at all.

The association was seen in both men and women.

What These Studies Did and Didn't Show

These were not randomized trials. Healthy-user bias is real. People who sauna regularly may also do other things that protect their brain.

The 2020 data also suggested that very high sauna temperatures, above 212°F, were associated with higher dementia risk, not lower risk.

And the heaviest users did not appear to get extra benefit.

So the takeaway is not “more heat is always better.”

The takeaway is consistency, in a reasonable range.

Why It Probably Works

Researchers have a few theories on why sauna seems to be so protective.

One is that heat stress activates heat shock proteins, which Bill calls "mommy proteins." These proteins help cells manage damaged and misfolded proteins, breaking up clumps and keeping cellular machinery functioning. That matters here because the amyloid plaques and tau tangles you've heard about in Alzheimer's are exactly that: aggregates of misfolded proteins, the kind of cellular debris that heat shock proteins help clean up.

The second theory is vascular. Dementia is increasingly understood as a disease of the brain's blood vessels as much as the brain's neurons. Stiff, inflamed arteries reduce blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain. Sauna can raise your heart rate into the 120 to 150 range, similar to a moderate workout. Frequent sauna users have lower blood pressure, more flexible arteries, and better endothelial function. These are the same cardiovascular improvements you'd get from exercise.

Heart health and brain health are deeply linked. Sauna seems to act on both at the same time.

What I'm Telling My Mom and Dad

Two to three sessions per week, 15 to 20 minutes each, around 160 to 195°F.

No flight to Finland required. Even regular hot baths show meaningful and similar benefits, which you can read about here. 

Start lower and shorter if you're new. Hydrate. Avoid alcohol. And check with your doctor if you're pregnant, prone to fainting, on blood-pressure medication, or dealing with heart disease.

The point is consistency.

I cannot promise this will prevent Alzheimer's. The disease is too complex.

What I can tell you is this: as far as low-cost, accessible habits go, sauna belongs in the conversation.

Thank you to Bill Gifford for the work he poured into Hotwired. Listen to our full conversation on The Dhru Purohit Show.

Here's to your health.
Dhru Purohit

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’m diving into two important breaking studies. 

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how cancer rates are higher than ever among young people. The question is why?

While we might not have all the answers yet, there’s something we really need to pay attention to: pesticides.

Let’s get into it.

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Study #1: Are Pesticides Driving an Increase in Colon Cancer?

Colorectal cancer rates in adults under 50 have doubled since the late 1980s. Today, about one in five diagnoses happens in someone under 55. We already know part of the story—ultra-processed foods, poor sleep, metabolic dysfunction. But those factors may not explain the full story.

A new study published in Nature Medicine points to something else worth paying attention to: an herbicide called picloram.

Hat tip to agronomy consultant Sam Knowlton, whose X thread is what put this paper on my radar and whose breakdown of the data is better than anything I could write. A lot of what follows is a summary of his breakdown. 

In the study, researchers looked at DNA methylation patterns—think of them as molecular “fingerprints” of lifetime exposure—in tumor samples. They found that younger colorectal cancer patients had a significantly stronger picloram signature than older patients. This pattern held across multiple patient groups.

One wild detail worth pausing on: The younger patients in this study were actually less likely to be obese than the older ones, not more. That cuts against the assumption that early-onset cancer is mostly a metabolic story. Something else is going on in these younger cases.

They also zoomed out and looked at real-world data. Over two decades, US counties with higher picloram use had higher rates of early-onset colorectal cancer, even after adjusting for income, education, and other pesticides.

What makes this particularly compelling is the timing. Picloram came into widespread use in the 1960s. Today’s younger patients were exposed during childhood, when our biology is more sensitive to environmental inputs.

And here's where it gets unsettling.

The researchers used a separate molecular signature to estimate how old each tumor actually was, independent of how old the patient was at diagnosis. When they sorted patients by tumor age instead of patient age, the picloram link got stronger, not weaker. The implication is that some of these "early-onset" cancers in 40-year-olds are actually old tumors that started growing decades earlier. A 45-year-old getting diagnosed today may have started this disease at 22, which flips the whole framing. There may be no such thing as early-onset cancer. Just late-detected cancer that started young.

And here's the part that should concern everyone, not just farmers: Picloram is among the most persistent and mobile pesticides currently registered. It's been detected in groundwater in at least 10 states, and once it reaches aquifers, it resists degradation. Communities drawing well water downstream may have been exposed for decades, often without knowing it.

This is just one study, but it’s the first time molecular, ecological, and temporal evidence have all pointed to the same potential environmental driver of one of the steepest cancer trends in modern epidemiology.

Important caveat: This is correlation, not causation. What makes it worth paying attention to is that the researchers triangulated three different lines of evidence that all pointed in the same direction.

I’ll share more tips on reducing our risk later, but it’s worth mentioning that a reverse osmosis water filter has been shown to dramatically reduce the levels of pesticides in drinking water.

Study #2: Pesticide Exposure Linked to 150% Higher Cancer Risk in Major Study

Another new study just put a number on what happens when "safe" pesticides combine in the real world: an average 152 percent higher cancer risk in the most exposed areas, even when none of the individual chemicals is classified as a carcinogen.

The study, covered by ScienceDaily and published in Nature Health, looked at 31 commonly used pesticides across Peru. Individually, none of these chemicals is classified as a carcinogen. They’ve all passed traditional safety standards.

But instead of studying them one by one, researchers mapped where these chemicals showed up together in soil, water, and air—and compared that to over 150,000 cancer cases.

What they found was striking.

Their map revealed 436 pesticide-associated cancer hot spots. The relative risk of cancer in these hot spots averaged 2.52, with some areas climbing as high as 9.38.

Translation: People living in the most exposed regions had between two and nine times the cancer risk of the general population.

Then they went deeper. They took liver tissue from people living in these hot spots and compared it to liver tissue from patients in France, Taiwan, and Turkey. The Peruvian samples carried a distinct molecular signature pointing to non-genotoxic carcinogenesis.

That phrase matters.

It means these chemicals are not directly damaging DNA. They are disrupting the regulatory programs that keep liver cells acting like liver cells, which over time pushes those cells toward an unstable state where cancer becomes more likely.

Here's the part that should change how we think about chemical safety. The standard regulatory approach tests one ingredient at a time. This study suggests that approach systematically misses what happens when multiple "safe" chemicals show up in the same body, in the same water supply, on the same food, year after year. Individual safety thresholds may not mean much when real-world exposure is a cocktail.

Important caveat: Just like the above study, this study shows correlation, not causation, and the geographic context involves specific indigenous and peasant communities with overlapping risk factors. The authors are up front about this. But the molecular signature they found in liver tissue gives the geography a mechanistic backbone, which is what makes the study worth paying attention to.

I definitely don’t want today’s newsletter to feel like doom and gloom. Rather, I hope it’s a call to raise awareness around what could be driving cancer rates in our modern world. 

The more people know, the more they speak up, and the more we can change policy around toxins in our environment. 

In the meantime, here are what I believe to be five high-impact ways to reduce pesticide exposure: 

1. Use a reverse osmosis water filter, which has been shown to actually reduce your exposure to things like pesticides.
   

2. Buy organic when you can. You don’t always have to buy organic produce, but when possible, it can make a difference. Some foods carry higher residue than others, such as strawberries, apples, grapes, spinach, cherries, and berries. You can find more about what foods to buy organic here. Frozen organic food is also a great option if you can’t find fresh.
   

3. Also, wash your produce thoroughly. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but if you have the time, wash your produce in water and baking soda, and then rinse.
   

4. Be mindful of what you use in your yard and garden. Avoid lawn pesticides or herbicides near your home when possible. And take your shoes off to prevent tracking chemicals into the house.
   

5. Don’t ignore dust. It’s a hidden source of exposure. Pesticides don’t just stay on food. They build up in household dust and quietly increase your exposure over time. The fix is simple. Use a HEPA vacuum, wet mop floors, and wipe down surfaces regularly, especially in the kitchen and anywhere kids spend time.

That’s it. Small changes can make a big impact.

See you next week for more shares. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, I’ve got some really good shares for you this week. 

High level: 

1. If you use a red-light device, check this out!

2. The connection between this vitamin and Alzheimer’s. 

3. If you’re worried about plastics in your body, I’ve got good news for you. 

4. Why your oral health is critical for your brain.

Let’s get into it.

Shout Out to Our Sponsors BON CHARGE Who Help Keep This Newsletter Free

Skincare has gotten complicated. Serums, layers, steps… and somehow, more effort doesn’t always mean better results.

That’s one of the reasons I like the BON CHARGE Red Light Face Mask. It’s simple, and that’s exactly why it works.

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Number 1: Red-Light Therapy Calculator

Ever wonder why some people swear by red light therapy and others say it did nothing for them?

A big part of the answer is simple: most people are using their devices wrong. They're too far from the device, not using it long enough, or guessing the dose instead of measuring it.

That's why I love this free website I came across recently called Red Light Timer.

It’s a simple website where you plug in a few key details: your device’s light strength (irradiance), how far you are from the device, and what you’re trying to improve—whether that’s skin health, recovery, pain, or something else.

From there, it gives you a personalized protocol based on the existing research, including exactly how long you should be using your device.

This is one of those tools that helps you get more out of something you’re already doing, without spending more money or adding complexity.

If you’re investing time into red-light therapy, it’s probably worth spending two minutes making sure you’re actually doing it right.

Note: Almost all manufacturers list the device’s light strength on their website. If you can't find it, just shoot them an email and ask.

Number 2: Midlife Vitamin D Levels Linked to Lower Brain Tau Decades Later

Speaking of light and health, here’s a super interesting study I came across recently!

A new study out of the University of Galway followed nearly 800 people for 16 years, and the findings are worth paying attention to.

People who had higher vitamin D levels in their 30s and 40s showed measurably lower deposits of tau proteins later in life. FYI, tau is one of the two key proteins at the center of Alzheimer's disease pathology.

This is exactly the kind of data point that fits the bigger picture we keep coming back to: dementia isn't a disease you suddenly develop in your 70s. It's something your brain has been building—or resisting—for decades.

Important to note that we've had experts like Dr. Roger Seheult on to talk about how vitamin D isn't just about supplementation. It's often a proxy for how much sunlight someone is actually getting.

Another interesting question came up in our conversation: Could healthy, regular sun exposure help people lower their Alzheimer's risk through multiple mechanisms at once—vitamin D being just one of them?

I’m definitely curious what later research will show. 

Number 3: Reduce Plastic Exposure in Seven Days

We've talked a lot about the long-term dangers of plastic chemicals in the body. But how often do we get real-world data showing that simple swaps can actually move the needle? A new Australian study published in Nature Medicine just gave us some.

Researchers ran a seven-day randomized trial with 60 adults, swapping out food, kitchenware, and personal care products for low-plastic alternatives. The results were striking. 

In just one week, the groups who changed their food and kitchenware saw urinary BPA fall by nearly 60 percent, with other common phthalates dropping by 37–53 percent. Total bisphenols were down roughly half across the food intervention groups.

One honest caveat: DEHP metabolites didn't budge—they actually trended upward. Researchers suspect DEHP (widely used, toxic plasticizer added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products to increase flexibility) bioaccumulates in fat tissue and releases slowly, meaning a week isn't enough to clear it out. Not every plastic chemical flushes out quickly.

But the bigger message is encouraging. For many of the most common plastic chemicals we're all carrying around, your body can clear a meaningful amount in a single week if you change what your food is stored in and cooked with. Canned goods and plastic-packaged foods drove the strongest signals, so that's the easiest place to start. Oh, and get rid of your plastic cutting boards too!

Number 4: Another Study Connecting Gum Health to Alzheimer’s Risk

Your mouth and your brain are more connected than you think.

A new paper in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease adds another data point to something we've been talking about on the podcast for years: What's happening in your mouth may be influencing what happens in your brain decades later.

The study is observational, meaning it can't prove cause and effect, but the direction of the signal is consistent. Chronic gum disease appears to meaningfully raise Alzheimer's risk, and the mechanism researchers keep pointing to is inflammation.

Gum disease isn't just a dental inconvenience. It's a chronic bacterial infection. When bacteria like Porphyromonas gingivalis take hold under your gumline, the inflammatory response doesn't stay local. Inflammatory molecules travel through the bloodstream, and P. gingivalis and its toxic byproducts have actually been found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The working theory is that chronic oral inflammation is one more input feeding the neuroinflammatory cascade that drives dementia.

The reason this keeps coming up is that the intervention is almost absurdly simple. Brush, floss, and get regular cleanings. Treat bleeding gums as a signal worth acting on, not ignoring.

If you've been putting off your next dental visit, consider this your nudge. And if you are in the LA area or looking for a second opinion from an amazing dentist, I recommend Dr. Rouzita Rashtian. If you aren’t in LA you might find a great dentist here.

That’s it for now. See you next week for more shares. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

P.S. If you’re in the LA or SoCal area, join me for a conversation with Cynthia Li, MD, to discuss her new book, The Medicine of Flow: Harmonizing Your Inner State for Effortless Healing.

Most of us have been taught that better health requires more effort — more discipline, optimization, and willpower. In The Medicine of Flow, Dr. Li offers a different path.

Drawing from her own healing journey, modern science, and ancient wisdom, she reveals how embodied flow — a state of deep internal coherence — allows the body to restore itself, as if effortlessly. I’m excited to host a conversation about this book with Dr. Li at DIESEL bookstore in Brentwood, and I would love to meet you, too. Learn more here. 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’m sharing some truths about fluoride in our water, PFAs and bone health, and why our bedtime matters so much more than we think. 

Let’s get into it.

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No Link Between Fluoride and IQ? Not so fast!

Some of you might have seen the headlines this week claiming a major new study proves fluoride in drinking water has zero impact on IQ or brain function. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tracked over 10,000 people from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and found no link between community water fluoridation and cognition from adolescence all the way to age 80. 

I've always been interested in this topic, but as a father now, I'm even more concerned about fluoride's impact on brain health and IQ in babies, especially boys.

The NBC article headline sounds definitive, right?

“Fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ or brain function, long-term study shows!”

Not so fast. I've covered fluoride concerns on the podcast before, including with functional dentist Dr. Mark Burhenne, and the existing data on fluoride's developmental risks to kids is much stronger than these headlines suggest.

Here’s one problem with the study: The study population was born in 1940, five years before any U.S. community began fluoridating water. The critical window for fluoride's cognitive effects is in utero and infancy, when the brain develops rapidly.

Another issue: the authors didn’t have fluoride measurements from the 1940s, so they had to make inferences about fluoride levels and exposures based on this 2020 publication. The study basically tested roughly 2 wells per county in Wisconsin for natural fluoride levels. If the well test resulted in ‘optimal’ fluoride levels, the authors assumed every child in that county was historically ‘exposed’ to fluoridated water. 

Fluoride lawyer and advocate Michael Connett put it bluntly: it's like trying to determine if prenatal Tylenol exposure causes autism by measuring the neighbor's Tylenol use instead of the mother's.

The earlier studies showing IQ effects in children of mothers with higher fluoride exposure during pregnancy haven't been overturned. They've just been overshadowed by an incomplete, potentially misleading headline.

Dr. Mark Burhenne put it best on our past podcast: There's enough evidence to take a precautionary approach to fluoride, especially for kids under 2. Since babies don't have teeth until 6 to 12 months, fluoride offers no benefit during that critical window. You might as well play it safe and filter your water with a high-quality reverse osmosis filter.

Forever Chemicals Might Be Weakening Bones

Speaking of toxins and kids…

Last week, we covered how a new study published in The Lancet found phthalates contribute to preterm births globally. This week, another piece of the forever chemicals puzzle.

A new study tracked 218 children from birth to age 12, looking at PFAS and bone density measurements. Higher PFOA levels were consistently linked to weaker forearm bones at age 12. Those with the highest PFA exposure had a 30% higher chance of bone fractures than those with the lowest. 

Adolescence is one of the most important periods for building lifelong bone strength (almost 40% of total bone mineral is acquired during adolescence). Anything that disrupts that process could potentially increase the risk of fractures, osteoporosis, and long-term skeletal issues later in life.

There are also plausible biological mechanisms here. PFAS may interfere with vitamin D signaling, hormone regulation, and bone-building pathways.

This doesn’t mean we need to panic. But it does reinforce a bigger point:

The everyday environmental exposures we barely think about may be shaping our health in ways we’re only beginning to understand, and anything we can do to minimize kids’ exposure can help. 

Some easy ways to reduce exposure are:

• Drink filtered water

• Replace non-stick (Teflon) cookware

• Reduce consumption of packaged and ultraprocessed foods

Small swaps can have a huge impact.

Your Bedtime Schedule Might Matter More Than How Long You Sleep

A massive new study from Finland tracked over 3,000 middle-aged adults for more than 10 years, monitoring their sleep patterns using wearable devices.

The finding that caught my attention and re-emphasized something we've talked about before: irregular bedtimes can double the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death.

But here's the twist. This only applied to people sleeping less than 8 hours per night.

If you are getting enough sleep, bedtime irregularity doesn’t seem to matter much. But if you are one of those people burning the candle at both ends with shorter sleep, going to bed at wildly different times each night can become a major cardiovascular risk factor.

In the study, researchers split participants into three groups based on how much their bedtime varied night to night. The "irregular" sleepers had bedtimes that swung by nearly 2 hours from night to night. Sometimes 9 PM, sometimes 1 AM. Compare that to "regular" sleepers whose heads hit the pillow within a 33-minute window each night.

What really struck me was that wake-up time variability didn't predict heart disease risk at all. It was specifically the consistency of when sleep was initiated that mattered.

This makes biological sense. When bedtime bounces around, you're repeatedly forcing your cardiovascular and endocrine systems to enter sleep at different circadian times, which can ultimately be damaging. 

Brady Holmer (who’s awesome) talked about this study in his Substack, Physiologically Speaking, and called this, "one of the most important studies on sleep in the last decade." That sounds about right!

The practical takeaway: If you're not getting a full 8 hours, your bedtime consistency becomes critical. It's not just about sleep quantity anymore. It's about sleep rhythm.

Alright, that’s it for this week! 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’m sharing some things you need to know about our plastics/microplastics problem and two things that I’ve been using to help reduce my exposure to their harms.

Let’s get into it.

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Momentous Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

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Number 1: Plastics Contribute to Nearly Two Million Premature Births in a Single Year

This is pretty wild.

A new study published in The Lancet is the first-ever to look at the global estimate of preterm births tied to phthalates, the plasticizer chemicals found in food packaging, personal care products, and plastic wrap. 

In 2018 alone, exposure to one of the most widely used phthalates, DEHP, was linked to 1.97 million preterm births and over 74,000 newborn deaths. That’s nearly 9 percent of all preterm births worldwide.

And preterm birth isn’t just about arriving a little early. Babies born before 37 weeks face a much higher risk of respiratory complications, neurological issues, and long-term developmental challenges. It’s also the leading cause of death in children under five globally.

By the way, as pressure mounted to phase out DEHP, manufacturers replaced it with a different chemical called DiNP. But this study found that DiNP may be associated with nearly identical risks.

Different name…similar outcome.

Plastics are life-saving in so many ways (especially in healthcare), but we urgently need to find alternatives that don’t cause as much damage. I’m not sure how it will work out, but the EPA and HHS did just declare plastics and microplastics a top priority.

Number 2:  The Problem with Plastic Blenders

I love my Vitamix—it’s a total workhorse, and I use it almost every day. But if you’ve had one for a while, you’ve probably noticed the same thing I did: Over time, that clear plastic pitcher starts to get foggy and worn down.

Between the heat from the dishwasher and the constant abrasion from blending, that plastic is slowly degrading. And research suggests that regular use can release microplastics and associated chemicals into whatever you’re blending. I recently watched a clip of Rhonda Patrick and Steven Bartlett talking about this, and it really drove the point home for a lot of people.

A few years ago, when the data around plastics started coming out, I made the switch to a metal pitcher—and it’s been a no-brainer. I use my blender sometimes twice a day, so reducing that daily exposure felt like an easy win.

You can find stainless steel pitchers online pretty easily. Here is a link to some on Amazon. 

One pro tip: When you switch to a metal pitcher, the blending becomes even louder than with a plastic pitcher. I measured the metal pitcher at around 90 decibels (dB), which is loud—not extreme, but definitely at a level where long exposure can start to damage hearing.

This may sound crazy, but I always take the extra step of just covering my ears with my fingers or hands to dampen the sound and protect my ears.

Number 3: The Boujie Plastic-Free Coffee Maker I’m Loving

One upgrade I’ve made recently that I’m really excited about is switching to a plastic-free coffee maker.

Most people don’t think twice about their coffee machine, but it turns out your morning cup might be exposing you to more than just caffeine. It's estimated that your morning cup of coffee in a traditional coffee maker could contribute around 400–500 microplastics per liter, but more importantly, over the course of a lifetime, you’re also getting exposed to all the other plasticizers used to make the coffee. 

In the past, I've talked about how I switched to an Aeropress glass coffee maker, but the limitation of the Aeropress is that you can only make one cup of coffee at a time, which is just not practical for couples and families. 

So when I found out about The Brewer by Simply Good Coffee, I was pumped because not only is it designed so that no plastic or aluminum ever touches the water, but it also makes multiple cups at a time (eight cups at once)! 

Now, fair warning—this is a total splurge at around $430. But my thinking is that a high-quality coffee maker, if you take care of it, can easily last 10+ years.

Downside: There is no timer on the coffee machine, so that’s kind of a bummer, but if it means less exposure to plastic, I’m good with it!

Hopefully more companies will get into this space and bring the cost down, I’d love to see a $100 plastic free coffee maker accessible to the masses.

See you next week for more shares. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

IS VISCERAL FAT SHRINKING OUR BRAINS? 

If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know I've been sounding the alarm on visceral fat for years. I went deep on it with Sal DiStefano in our recent episode. We covered why this fat is in a completely different danger category than anything else stored on your body.

But a new study just took the conversation somewhere we haven't fully gone yet.

We've known visceral fat damages your heart, your metabolic health, and your longevity. Now we have some of the strongest long-term evidence yet that it is actively shrinking your brain. And it's doing it independently of how much you weigh. 

Here’s a little background: Subcutaneous fat is the kind you can pinch. Relatively inert. Visceral fat, on the other hand, wraps around your organs. It sits deep in your abdominal cavity, where you can't see or feel it. And it is metabolically active, constantly pumping pro-inflammatory molecules like IL-6, TNF-alpha, and CRP directly into your bloodstream.

The most dangerous part? You can have a normal BMI and still carry dangerous levels of it. 

That creates a slow-burning inflammatory fire that feeds heart disease, insulin resistance, certain cancers, and, as we're about to see, brain degeneration.

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Here's what the new science shows.

A study just published in Nature Communications assessed MRI and Montreal-Cognitive-Assessment (MoCA) test results from 533 adults who had previously participated in Follow-Interventions-Trial (FIT) randomized clinical trials. 

Researchers specifically set out to understand:

Does long-term exposure to visceral fat (the fat around your organs) impact brain health and cognition later in life, and does losing that fat actually protect the brain?

Here’s how they did it and what made this study super interesting: 

• They weren’t just looking at weight loss.
  They wanted to isolate the role of visceral fat (VAT) specifically, which is metabolically more harmful than subcutaneous fat.

• They looked at long-term effects (5–16 years later).
  Most studies are short-term. This one asked: Do changes in visceral fat today affect your brain years down the line?

• They combined advanced measurements:

  • MRI scans of the brain (to assess brain volume and atrophy)

  • MRI scans of fat distribution

  • Cognitive testing (MoCA scores)

• They tracked “exposure over time,” not just snapshots.
  Instead of a single measurement, they calculated cumulative visceral fat exposure across years, giving a much more realistic picture of metabolic health.

Here’s what they found: 

The more cumulative visceral fat someone carried, the lower their cognitive scores, even after adjusting for age, BMI, and diet.

Visceral fat loss during the original 18-month intervention predicted higher brain volumes 5 to 10 years later, including better gray matter and hippocampal volume, slower rates of brain atrophy, and better performance on cognitive tests like memory and attention. 

Higher long-term visceral fat was directly associated with a faster rate of brain atrophy across multiple brain regions.

And the one that hit me hardest: BMI showed no significant association with brain structural outcomes. Only visceral fat did. Subcutaneous fat showed nothing either. It is visceral fat, specifically.

What This Study Did and Didn't Show

The cohort was 86 percent male, which doesn’t adequately represent or account for women’s biology and distinct hormonal dynamics around fat storage. This also wasn't a randomized follow-up, so we can't claim causation outright. And without Alzheimer's biomarker data, we can't say whether the atrophy reflects early AD pathology specifically.

What we can say: sustained visceral fat loss was independently tied to preserved brain structure and better cognition, in a way that weight loss alone was not.

So what do you do with this?

Get a DEXA scan if you can. It gives you precise measurements of your visceral fat, lean mass, and subcutaneous fat that you can actually track. The reason I love it is simple: seeing a real number motivates people in a way a scale never does.

If a DEXA isn't accessible, use your waist circumference. Research supports 37 inches or more for men and 31.5 inches or more for women as a signal of elevated visceral fat risk, even with a normal BMI. It’s free, takes thirty seconds, and gives you something real to track.

On reducing it: a sustained calorie deficit works regardless of diet style. Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who covered this same study recently, highlighted that losing just 5 to 10% of body weight can reduce visceral fat by 10 to 30%. A modest effort produces an outsized result.

In this study, the authors call out that visceral fat reduction seemed to be most impacted by blood sugar regulation, not cholesterol reduction or inflammation markers, but glycemic control. 

In addition to blood sugar regulation, I personally am focusing on the following when it comes to visceral fat: Aerobic exercise and HIIT are the most potent tools. I’m prioritizing sleep since sleep deprivation specifically drives visceral fat storage by spiking cortisol and disrupting hunger hormones. Plus, I’m continuing to limit ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and endocrine disruptors like BPA, which can all contribute to visceral fat. 

All of these interventions will not only target this dangerous belly fat but also help to save our brains. 

Here's to your health.
Dhru Purohit

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I have some great shares for you. 

High level:

1. A product I’m loving (if you’re picky about water, you’ll love this one!)

2. This popular biohack is catching the attention of scientists 

3. Simple health advice (for a wellness-confused world)

4. A powerful way to support a lower heart rate at night

Let’s get into it. 

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Number 1: Product I’m Loving: A Better Bottled Water

A friend of mine, Ari, recently told me about this new water brand (Loonen), and I got a chance to try it. I have to say, I’m impressed. Even though I use a reverse osmosis filter at home, I still keep bottled water in my office for podcast guests, and I’ve been on the hunt for something I actually feel good about serving. That search really picked up after I came across some questionable data around the quality of certain legacy spring-water brands (like Mountain Valley Water) that I used to trust.

Loonen’s level of transparency and testing is really awesome. They source from protected mountain springs in California, and they test every single batch for over 300 contaminants, including forever chemicals, heavy metals, and even microplastics, with third-party verification and results you can actually access.

They also bottle exclusively in glass, which matters more than most people realize when it comes to limiting plastic exposure. 

Right now, they’re mostly available on Amazon, and price-wise it’s pretty comparable to other premium glass-bottled spring waters—maybe a little more, but for the added testing and peace of mind, I think it’s worth it.

Big bonus: They also have a sparkling version with the same purity standards. If you’re picky about water, this is a really cool brand to check out. (FYI, I have no affiliation with this company.) 

Number 2:  Is Red-Light Therapy Worth the Hype?

I just came across this article, and it caught my attention because publications like Nature don’t talk about things like red-light therapy or “trending” biohacks.

I personally use a lot of red-light therapy devices in my life, and both my wife and I have noticed a difference after experimenting with red light. But I know there’s also a lot of skepticism about it out there. 

But it seems like science is finally starting to catch up.

The authors of this article explain that red and near-infrared light appear to interact with your mitochondria, helping support ATP production, circulation, and cellular repair.

That might help explain why researchers are now seeing benefits in areas like wound healing, nerve health, eye health, and even certain neurological conditions. Some of these applications are already being used in clinical settings, which is a big shift from where this conversation was just a few years ago.

But here’s the nuance: These devices are not a cure-all. Not every at-home device has been rigorously tested, and not every claim you see on social media is backed by strong evidence.

What is clear is that light (especially wavelengths we historically got from the sun) isn’t just something we see. It’s something our biology responds to. And in today’s indoor, screen-heavy world, we’re likely getting less of those beneficial wavelengths than ever before.

So while red-light therapy isn’t a magic bullet, it’s an area of research I’m paying closer attention to and will continue to personally use.

Number 3: Simple Health Advice That Makes the Biggest Difference

There’s so much noise in the health space right now—new protocols, new supplements, new “must-do” routines every week. That’s why I loved this recent thread from author Bill Gifford. It’s such a powerful reminder to come back to the basics.

Bill lays out five core ideas that really stuck with me.

I got a chance to talk about some of this with Bill—specifically, the power of sauna and his new book, Hotwired—on my podcast, and I can’t wait to share that episode with you. Stay tuned.

Number 4: Can Sauna Use Help Lower Nighttime Heart Rate?

Speaking of sauna, I’ve been doubling down on my own routine lately, especially because the gym I go to has this beautiful barrel sauna on the rooftop. I’ve started using it as a way to catch up with friends, too, which has been such a simple upgrade: heat, conversation, and connection all in one.

What’s interesting is that we’re starting to get more real-world data on what sauna is actually doing in the body.

The team at Terra recently analyzed tens of thousands of days of wearable data across 256 users, comparing sauna days vs. non-sauna days. And what they found was pretty remarkable: On sauna days, nighttime heart rate dropped by about three beats per minute—roughly a 5 percent decrease.

That’s not trivial. Lower nighttime heart rate is generally a sign that your body is shifting into a more parasympathetic, recovery-focused state.

Even more interesting, this effect held even after accounting for exercise, meaning it wasn’t just because people worked out harder on sauna days.

There was also a nuance for women: The benefit was strongest during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, which is great because it’s an extra tool women can use during what can sometimes be a more challenging time of the menstrual cycle.

Turns out, sauna use could be super powerful for nervous system recovery. 

See you next week for more shares. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Last week, I shared research on the minimum effective dose of exercise. How doing a little less than you think is still enough to dramatically change your health outcomes.

This week, I want to stay on that thread because I just finished recording one of the most powerful conversations I've had in a while, with Dr. Courtney Conley, on the underrated science of walking. Stay tuned for that episode.

It reminded me of a study I've been sitting on. And when I reread it, I knew I had to share it.

Not just for you. For someone in your life.

Maybe it's a parent. A sibling. A close friend who has been more sedentary since the pandemic, or retirement, or just the slow creep of a busy life that doesn't leave much room for movement.

My own parents are a perfect example of this dynamic. My dad is a natural mover. He has a walking group in his community that he's incredibly active with, and on any given day, he's logging somewhere between 12,000 and 18,000 steps without even thinking about it. Movement is just part of who he is.

My mom is a different story. She needs a nudge. And what I've learned is that when I tell her to "exercise more," it doesn't land. But when I tell her that 500 extra steps today is a great goal, something shifts. It feels real. It feels doable. It doesn't feel like another thing she's failing at.

That's exactly what today's newsletter is about.

If you have someone like that in your life, this one is for them.

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One of the Biggest Walking Studies Ever Done

Researchers analyzed data from 226,889 people across 17 different studies around the world. They tracked participants for a median of seven years and looked at one simple question: does the number of steps you walk each day affect how long you live?

The answer was unambiguous.

The more you walk, the lower your risk of dying. From anything.

The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found that you don't need to hit some big ambitious number to start seeing the benefits. Benefits began at just 3,867 steps a day for all-cause mortality. For cardiovascular mortality specifically, the number was even lower: 2,337 steps.

That's less than a mile and a half of walking.

And then it gets even more interesting.

Every additional 1,000 steps was associated with a 15% lower risk of dying from any cause. Every additional 500 steps was associated with a 7% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Think about what that means in practice. If someone you love is currently at 3,000 steps a day and they get to 4,000, that's already meaningful. If they go from 4,000 to 5,000, that's another 15% drop in risk. Each step up the ladder matters.

The researchers looked at up to 20,000 steps a day and still didn't find a ceiling. More kept being better. But the biggest gains, the sharpest drop in the curve, came right at the bottom. That's where the people in your life who are least active have the most to gain.

What This Means If You're Over 60

The study also broke things down by age. For adults 60 and older, walking between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day was associated with a 42% reduction in risk of death. For younger adults under 60, walking between 7,000 and 13,000 steps a day was associated with a 49% reduction.

For an older parent or family member who feels like it's too late or too hard, this data tells a different story. The bar is much lower than they think. And the payoff is enormous.

The lead researcher put it well: don't worry about where you're starting. Whether it's 3,000 or 4,000 steps, just try to improve. Every extra 500 or 1,000 steps is already working in your favor.

That's the message I share with my mom. Not a program. Not a goal that feels out of reach. Just 500 more steps than yesterday.

One Thing Worth Doing Today

Forward this to someone who needs it.

Not as a guilt trip. Not as pressure. Just as a quiet reminder that the gap between where they are and where the research says is "enough" might be much smaller than they think. A short walk around the block. A loop through the grocery store. Parking a little farther away.

It all counts.

Here's to your health.
Dhru Purohit

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I have some good shares for you. We’re talking about colon cancer, thymus health, and the connection between memory and gut health.

Let’s get into it.

Shout Out to Our Sponsor LMNT Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

That mid-day craving for something cold and fizzy? Most people grab a sparkling drink that looks healthy… but it’s loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners, or ingredients they wouldn’t normally choose. If you’re going sparkling mid-day, make it something that actually hydrates you.

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Number 1: Colon Cancer and Immunotherapy Drugs

Colon and rectal cancer keep coming up in my world. It's now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50, and I've personally known too many young, healthy people who've gotten this diagnosis.

So I was moved by the story of Mrinali Dhembla, a 26-year-old who was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer, only to have it completely wiped out in four months with a dual-immunotherapy regimen—no surgery, no chemo, no radiation. It's a good reminder that a lot of us in the wellness world, myself included, can have a bias against big pharma, but stories like this make you genuinely grateful for modern medicine and more motivated than ever to double down on the basics like exercise, fiber, and reducing toxins.

Number 2:  Everyone’s Talking About Thymus Health

I've been noticing thymus health come up more and more in longevity and immune health conversations lately, and there's good reason for it.

Two landmark studies just published in Nature used AI to analyze the thymus scans of over 25,000 people and found that people with healthier thymus glands had dramatically lower rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. For context, your thymus is the gland responsible for producing and training your T cells, the core of your immune defense, and it naturally shrinks and loses function as you age.

One of the most underappreciated drivers of thymus decline is poor sleep. Research shows that during deep sleep, your body releases growth hormone and key restorative signals that support thymic tissue repair and T cell production.

The thymus actually follows its own circadian rhythm, meaning T cell development and output are timed to the sleep-wake cycle. When that rhythm gets disrupted by late-night screen time, circadian misalignment, chronic caffeine use, or sleep apnea, cortisol levels rise and thymus activity is suppressed, accelerating the very shrinkage we want to avoid.

Protecting your sleep isn't just about energy or mood. It may be one of the most direct things you can do to keep your immune system (especially your Thymus) from aging you. 

Number 3: Gut-brain communication can reverse memory problems

I know this is a mouse study, but it's pretty wild. A new Stanford study just published in Nature found that your memory decline may not actually be starting in your brain. It may be starting in your gut.

As we age, our gut microbiome shifts in ways that trigger inflammation, which disrupts the vagus nerve's ability to signal the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory. When researchers gave young mice the gut microbiomes of old mice, the young mice started performing on memory tests like old animals.

Then things got really interesting. When they stimulated the vagus nerve in the older animals, the cognitive decline reversed!

We tend to assume memory decline is just a brain problem. Turns out it may be a gut problem. It's a powerful reminder that everything we talk about for gut health in this newsletter, more fiber, fermented foods, less processed food, and reducing our toxic load, is also one of the most direct investments we can make in our brains.

See you next week for more shares. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Heart disease is still the number one killer in the world. And a well-done study that's been on my radar has some findings on exercise and heart protection that I think more people should know about.

When I came across it, the first people I thought about weren't strangers. They were the people I love who are over the age of 60. My mom. Other people in my life who I know aren't getting much consistent exercise right now, but who have a lot of years ahead of them worth protecting.

That's exactly who this newsletter is for.

The study looked at the least amount of vigorous activity per week that is still associated with a meaningful reduction in cardiovascular disease risk. The number is lower than most people expect. And for anyone who hasn't found their way into a consistent exercise routine, it's genuinely encouraging.

Before we get into it: forward this to someone you love who has a family history of heart disease but isn't working out right now. A parent. A sibling. A friend. A mom or sister. Send it before you even finish reading it yourself.

Because this newsletter is specifically for the people who don't think of themselves as exercisers. The ones who've tried and stopped. The ones who feel too far behind to start. The ones who think that if they can't do it "right," they might as well not do it at all.

The number is smaller than you'd think. I'll give it to you right after a quick word from our sponsor.

Shout Out to Our Sponsor LMNT Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

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Still here? Good. Because the number I'm about to share is one I think a lot of people need to hear right now.

Here's What the Research Actually Shows

Many people assume (like my mom) that to get real heart protection from exercise, you need to work out vigorously every single day.

Some new research tells a different story.

A well-designed prospective study tracked nearly 72,000 adults using wrist-worn accelerometers over almost six years. Not questionnaires where people estimate how much they moved. Actual devices. Actual data. Published in the European Heart Journal.

What they found was this: Just 20 minutes of vigorous activity per week was associated with a 40 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Not 20 minutes a day. Twenty minutes. Per week.

That's less than three minutes a day.

The researchers also identified what they called the "optimal dose," the point where protective benefits really max out. That number lands at around 50–57 minutes per week. Which works out to roughly eight minutes a day.

This is meaningful data for anyone trying to understand what level of movement actually makes a difference for their heart. It doesn't mean that more exercise isn't better (it often is). It means the floor is a lot lower than most people realize, which is so important when it comes to long-term motivation and consistency.

Why Having a Real Number Matters

Something happens when people set a clear, achievable target.

They hit it. And then, having hit it, they often get excited to do more.

For people without a history of regular exercise, a minimum bar that feels winnable is more valuable than any ambitious program that they’ll eventually quit.

Twenty minutes a week says: you can do this. And once you prove that to yourself, the next week you go a little longer. The week after, a little harder. Your identity starts to shift. Not because you forced it, but because you already proved you could.

I want to say something specific here, because it still doesn't get said loudly enough.

Most people think of heart disease as a man's problem. It's not. It's the number one killer of women in the United States, too.

Not breast cancer. Heart disease. Women are often diagnosed later, have subtler symptoms, and have been historically underrepresented in this kind of research. So the fact that this study's findings held equally across age, sex, and health history matters. Twenty minutes a week protects women just as meaningfully as it protects men.

This is as much a conversation for the women in your life as anyone else. Forward it to them, too.

What Vigorous Actually Looks Like

"Vigorous activity" can sound more demanding than it needs to be.

Here's a simple way to think about it: Vigorous means you can feel it. Your breathing picks up. You couldn't easily hold a long conversation. Your heart is working.

Examples that count: brisk walking uphill, a fast-paced bike ride, dancing hard enough to break a sweat, climbing stairs with real effort, swimming laps, a short jog, a high-energy pickleball game, jumping jacks before a meeting, or chasing your kids around the backyard at full effort—no backyard necessary. 

One more finding worth knowing: You don't have to do it all at once. The protection builds even in short bursts of two minutes or less spread across the day. Four two-minute pushes of real effort throughout your day are enough to start.

What Getting Started Could Look Like

If you want a simple structure to hit the 20-minute minimum and build toward the optimal 50–57 minutes, here's what three days a week could look like.

Monday: A 10-minute brisk walk on an incline, or two five-minute stair-climbing sessions split across your morning and afternoon.

Wednesday: Ten minutes of vigorous movement in whatever form you enjoy most. A dance session in your kitchen, a fast bike ride around the block, a swim, or a jog.

Friday or Saturday: Same as above, adding a few extra minutes if it feels good.

Three sessions. Twenty-plus minutes. Minimum bar hit.

As confidence builds, extend each session a little. Move to four days a week. Find something you actually look forward to. The point is to start small enough that there's no reason not to show up. Then let momentum do the rest.

Your Move

Heart disease is largely preventable. The research on this continues to grow. But for years, the exercise conversation has been dominated by goals that feel out of reach for a huge percentage of people. When the bar feels impossible, people don't try.

What this research adds to that conversation is a realistic starting point. Twenty minutes a week. A meaningful, measurable reduction in cardiovascular risk. A target that most people, regardless of their history with exercise, can actually hit.

Twenty minutes. You've got this.

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’m sharing a product I’ve been loving, research on why women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, and a tip for anyone who has been waking up at two or three in the morning.

Let's get into it. 

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Bon Charge Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Most people think hair loss is cosmetic. But it’s often a signaling issue. 

Instead of adding more pills or complicated routines, I look for ways to improve the signal. That’s why the BON CHARGE Red Light Cap has earned a spot in my routine.

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Number 1: Why Women Are More at Risk for Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

My friend and past podcast guest, Dr. Lisa Mosconi, just published a major review in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that every woman in midlife needs to know about.

Here is the finding: Women do not get Alzheimer's more than men just because they live longer. That has been the default explanation for decades, and it turns out to be wrong.

Women have their own unique biological risk factors, and the biggest one is something nearly every woman goes through: menopause. It turns out estrogen does a lot more than regulate your cycle. It actively protects your brain, helping to clear out the toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer's. 

When estrogen drops at menopause, that protection fades. And here is the part that really got me: This is happening silently, up to 20 years before any memory problems show up.

There are specific risk factors in this paper that most women have never been told about. 

• Going through menopause before age 45 raises dementia risk by 37 percent.
  

• Having both ovaries surgically removed nearly doubles the long-term risk.
  

• And persistent hot flashes that wake you up at night, or ongoing brain fog that keeps getting worse? Researchers are now recognizing those as potential early warning signs for the brain, not just routine symptoms to push through. Bottom line, your brain will go through changes throughout life, but if your symptoms are persistent and getting worse, getting evaluated is super important. 

On hormone therapy, Lisa makes a correction that I think is really important. The famous study that scared an entire generation of women and doctors away from HRT (hormone replacement therapy) enrolled women who were an average age of 71, which means they were already decades past the window where it can actually help. 

Newer research suggests that estrogen therapy started closer to menopause—within about 10 years and before age 60—may lower Alzheimer's risk by 11–30 percent. 

This is not a blanket recommendation for every woman to go on HRT. What it is is a clear signal that midlife is the window that matters most for brain protection, and that conversation with your doctor should not wait.

Number 2: A Product I’m Using to Support My Circadian Rhythm

I recently bought a few of these circadian-friendly LED lightbulbs for my home, and I’ve been impressed. They are flicker- and dirty-electricity-free and have low-EMF output, with the whole idea being that traditional LEDs are a constant stress on your mitochondria.

My wife laughs because I’m always trying out different lightbulbs. But I’m constantly trying to find the best low-effort lightbulb for day and night. Most of the time, I have to switch out the lightbulb every night, which is super annoying.

But these bulbs are great because they have three light settings on each bulb (daylight, sunset, and campfire) that can be easily toggled through by turning the existing light switch off and on.

And when you combine them with a dimmer, they are by far one of the best solutions I’ve seen to indoor lighting where LEDs are required. I’m a big fan of Edison-style lightbulbs for my lamps, but in my condo, I often can't use them because they give off too much heat for recessed lighting. I have to use LED lights, and these are the best all-around solution I’ve come across so far.

At $26 per bulb, they aren’t cheap (although I ordered in bulk and saved 10 percent), but remember, a good LED bulb can last five to ten years depending on care. And these bulbs are three-in-one, so that’s a huge plus. Also, the company has a 10 percent code that anyone can use: WELCOME10HH.

Pro Tip: Here’s something I learned from past podcast guest Jonathan Jarecki: Adding a 60 W incandescent (Edison-style) lightbulb to your desk while working can dramatically improve color contrast or serve as a proxy for color vision. Based on Jonathan's recommendation, I ended up getting a Stainless Light and Stand to put on my desk in the office, as well as my wife's desk at home.

Pro Pro Tip: Just a reminder, the best thing you can do for your mitochondria is to spend more time outside. Catch 20 minutes of morning light, eat lunch outside, and catch 20 minutes of evening light. No need to buy any fancy lights. If you want more details on that, check out my past episode with Jonathan here.

Number 3: Waking Up at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Every Night? Here’s a Tip That Could Help.

I saw a post on X (pictured below) the other day about how someone kept waking up at 3:00 a.m. for a week without knowing why. After doing some digging using AI, he discovered the culprit: low blood sugar.

My sister went through the same thing during her pregnancy. She wore a continuous glucose monitor and found that her blood sugar was dropping pretty low around 3:00 a.m., and she was waking up around that time consistently. 

It turns out a drop in blood sugar could be a possibility for why some people might keep waking up in the middle of the night or way too early. 

If you’re someone who wakes up in the middle of the night with your heart racing or are unable to fall back asleep, here’s a tip worth trying: Eat a protein- and fat-rich snack before bed to keep your blood sugar steady. Try something like Greek yogurt with berries or sourdough toast with nut butter. My sister, my mom, and even some coworkers have reported that they sleep better when they have a small snack before bed. 

Now, I know this goes against eating in alignment with our natural circadian rhythm, but sleep is so important that if you need a little support to keep your blood sugar steady through the night and prevent nighttime wake-ups, you should 100 percent try to have a little something to eat before bed.

An observation that I’ve personally made is that people who don’t eat enough during the day or prioritize protein, fat, and carbs at each meal seem to struggle a bit more with nighttime waking. The good news is that working on eating blood sugar-balancing meals during the day should also help with nighttime sleep.

That’s it for now. See you next week.  

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

PS. If you or anyone you know is dealing with IBS or suspects IBS, I have the perfect resource for you. My dear friend Izabella Wentz, PharmD, wrote a comprehensive guide for anyone struggling with their digestive health.

Unfortunately, conventional medicine doesn’t always look at the many pathways through which gut imbalances occur, but Izabella and her husband both went through the trenches of IBS themselves and have researched the root causes, how to address them, the tests that can help, and protocols worth considering. You can grab Finding and Treating the Root Cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome here.

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Most of society has absorbed a pretty grim picture of what aging looks like.

Memory starts to go. The body slows down. You manage the decline as best you can.

It is so deeply baked into our culture that, get this...

80% of lay people and 65% of healthcare professionals believe all older adults eventually develop dementia.

A separate survey found 77% of Americans over 40 expect their own cognition to slip.

Most people do not just fear aging. They expect decline. And society calls that "facing reality."

But a new 12-year study out of Yale just put a massive dent in that story.

Here is the sneak peek.

Nearly half of older adults in this groundbreaking study did not decline at all.

They got better.

What did they do, and what can we learn from them?

More after a word from today's sponsor.

Shout Out to Our Sponsor BiOptimizers Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Bloating, heaviness, or that “food just sitting there” feeling isn’t always about what you ate; it’s often about what your body can’t fully break down.

You can eat clean, organic, high-protein meals… and still struggle with digestion.

Here’s why: as we age, our natural production of digestive enzymes can decline, especially protease, the enzyme responsible for breaking down protein. When enzymes are low, food doesn’t break down efficiently, which can lead to discomfort and reduced nutrient absorption over time.

That’s why MassZymes from BIOptimizers have been a staple in my routine for years. 

MassZymes is in a class of its own:

🌱 Full-spectrum blend with 18 enzymes to break down proteins, carbs, fats, starches, and fiber
💪 High levels of protease to support protein digestion and muscle recovery
⚡ Supports better nutrient absorption for energy and metabolism
😌 Helps reduce bloating and that heavy post-meal feeling

If you’re investing in high-quality food and strength training, it makes sense to support the system that processes it. And the best part? BIOptimizers backs it with a 365-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it completely risk-free.

BiOptimizers is offering my community 15% off select products and bundles by using the code DHRU at checkout. Just CLICK HERE and use promo code DHRU to get your digestion back on track with MassZymes.

The Problem with Research on Aging

For decades, aging research has operated on a pretty fixed assumption.

Older adults decline. The only question is how fast. That belief is so embedded in science that even the WHO's standard assessment tool for measuring cognitive and physical health in later life does not include improvement as a possible outcome. If an older adult gets better, the tool literally cannot capture it.

Dr. Becca Levy at Yale thought that was a problem.

After years of research showing that what people believe about aging shapes their health outcomes, she wanted to ask a question the field had largely ignored: what if a meaningful number of older adults actually improve over time? And what if we have been missing it because we were not looking for it?

So her team designed a study that could actually measure improvement.

They followed more than 11,000 Americans aged 65 and older for up to 12 years, tracking two straightforward things: how well they could think and how well they could move.

And the data confirmed what she suspected.

Nearly half of participants had not declined at all. They had actually improved.

Not held steady. Not declined more slowly than average. Improved.

About 1 in 3 were sharper cognitively than when they started. About 1 in 4 were physically faster and more capable. Most of those gains were large enough to be considered clinically meaningful, not just statistical noise.

And these were not extraordinary people. No special programs, no elite backgrounds. Regular older Americans from a nationally representative study.

Which immediately raises the obvious question: what predicted who improved?

So, What Predicted Who Got Better?

The researchers dug into this carefully. They looked at a wide range of factors: health status, age, education, depression, and chronic disease.

But one factor rose clearly above the rest.

It was their beliefs about aging.

People who held more positive beliefs about getting older were significantly more likely to improve in both cognitive and physical function, compared to those who held more negative views.

In other words, people who believed that aging could still include growth, learning, and vitality were more likely to actually experience those outcomes.

This was not a surprise to Dr. Levy. It was exactly what her decades of prior research had been pointing toward. This study was built to confirm it at scale.

Why Does a Belief Change Your Biology?

This is the part that might feel surprising. So let me walk through how it actually works.

Dr. Levy's framework is called Stereotype Embodiment Theory.

The core idea is this: from a very young age, we absorb messages about what aging looks like. Through advertisements. Through the way older people are portrayed in movies and TV. Through the casual way people talk about getting old.

And when we enter later life, those absorbed beliefs become self-relevant. They stop being about other people and start being about us. That shift is when they begin to affect our biology.

Her previous research had already found that negative age beliefs predicted poorer memory, slower walking speed, higher cardiovascular risk, and even biological markers associated with Alzheimer's disease.

This new study shows the other side. Positive age beliefs actively predict improvement.

This Is Not Just About Mindset

I want to be careful here, because "think positive about aging" can sound like wellness fluff.

This is not that.

Our beliefs shape our behaviors. People who view aging positively are more likely to stay active, engage socially, keep learning, and keep investing in their health. Those behaviors compound over time into measurably better outcomes.

And beliefs can also influence physiology directly. Previous research has linked positive age beliefs to lower stress responses, healthier cardiovascular profiles, and better recovery from illness.

The researchers call this a self-fulfilling biology.

Expect decline, and your behaviors and stress responses slowly move you in that direction. Expect growth and adaptation, and your lifestyle and biology can move differently.

Negative age beliefs do not just make people feel worse. They make people give up on things that actually work.

This is why I am a huge fan of actively seeking out examples of people thriving in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Not as rare exceptions. As a realistic template for what is actually possible.

Pay attention to how you talk about getting older, to yourself, and to others.

Language shapes belief. And belief, it turns out, shapes biology.

One last thing. We have so much to learn from older folks, but they also have a lot to gain from spending time with younger people: a youthful mindset, more physical activity, etc. If you have aging parents, encourage them to spend time with younger people since this will help shift how they view their own aging. In other words, spend time with people who “keep you young!” 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’m sharing a few things that have been on my mind this week.

High level:

1. Another reason to stick to the basics and ignore sensational news

2. The connection between PFAS and rapid aging

3. The case for colonoscopies

4. People aren’t drinking alcohol anymore, and that’s a good thing
   
   

Shout Out to Our Sponsor BIOPTIMIZERS Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Bloating, heaviness, or that “food just sitting there” feeling isn’t always about what you ate; it’s often about what your body can’t fully break down.

You can eat clean, organic, high-protein meals… and still struggle with digestion.

Here’s why: as we age, our natural production of digestive enzymes can decline, especially protease, the enzyme responsible for breaking down protein. When enzymes are low, food doesn’t break down efficiently, which can lead to discomfort and reduced nutrient absorption over time.

That’s why MassZymes from BIOptimizers have been a staple in my routine for years. 

MassZymes is in a class of its own:

🌱 Full-spectrum blend with 18 enzymes to break down proteins, carbs, fats, starches, and fiber
💪 High levels of protease to support protein digestion and muscle recovery
⚡ Supports better nutrient absorption for energy and metabolism
😌 Helps reduce bloating and that heavy post-meal feeling

If you’re investing in high-quality food and strength training, it makes sense to support the system that processes it. And the best part? BIOptimizers backs it with a 365-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it completely risk-free.

BiOptimizers is offering my community 15% off select products and bundles by using the code DHRU at checkout. Just CLICK HERE and use promo code DHRU to get your digestion back on track with MassZymes.

Number 1: Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Earlier this week, a study on sleep and physical activity went viral.

Here was the conclusion drawn by some experts: Exercise is only beneficial if you sleep more than six hours a night. If you sleep less than that, exercise can be harmful. 🤔

The study definitely raised a few eyebrows on my team. One minute we’re being told that exercise can help us recover from sleep deprivation, and the next we’re basically being told that we should only exercise if we get a perfect night’s sleep. 

Turns out, there were some issues with the way this data was interpreted. 

In fact, when you zoom out and look at the total body of evidence that's out there, it's clear that physical activity dramatically impacts the body for the better, even when sleep isn't perfect.

The reason I’m highlighting this is because its a crazy world out there when it comes to health science. Now I’m the first person to say I have zero formal training in this space, which is why it's important to listen to a lot of different voices, especially ones that help balance out viral hot takes.

One voice I follow when it comes to exercise science is Brady Holmer. He’s an elite runner who has an incredible grasp of the evidence. Here are his thoughts on the viral study and why it's so important to prioritize movement:

Via @Brady_H on X

Number 2: PFAS, aka “Forever Chemicals,” Might Be Making Us Age Faster, Especially Men

Here’s another reason why it matters that we filter our air and water and avoid plastic as much as possible.

PFAS, aka “forever chemicals,” are used in everything from nonstick cookware and food packaging to stain-resistant fabrics and waterproof clothing. The reason they’re called “forever chemicals” is because they don’t break down easily. Once they’re in the environment (or our bodies), they tend to stick around.

A new study looked at blood samples and biological aging markers from 326 adults in the US and found that two PFAS compounds were present in about 95 percent of participants.

What caught researchers’ attention was that people with higher levels of certain PFAS (specifically PFNA and PFOSA) also showed signs of accelerated biological aging. This was particularly true in men aged 50–64.

Biological age reflects how old your body appears at the cellular level, which doesn’t always match the number of birthdays you’ve had. Faster biological aging has previously been linked to higher risks of chronic disease and earlier mortality.

This study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that environmental toxins may influence how fast our bodies age.

Look, I know we can’t avoid these chemicals entirely. And I know that sometimes it feels really annoying to go out of your way to bring your own coffee cup or water bottle, spend money on low-tox cookware, turn on your air filter, or maintain your water filter, but all of that stuff is SO important. Exposure adds up over time, so the small choices you make today can make a huge impact on the way your body ages. 

Number 3: Colonoscopies Save Lives

For anyone who is 45 and older or who has a family history of colorectal cancer, listen up. Here’s a good thread on the importance of colonoscopies.

Image via SeanLangenfeld on X

Colorectal cancer is rising at an alarming rate in adults under 50, and unfortunately, it’s something I’ve seen in my own community. I’ve known a couple of people—healthy people—who were diagnosed with colon cancer, and one of them didn’t survive because it was caught too late.

If you care about aging well, a big part of that is catching chronic disease early, and cancer screening is at the top of the list. 

The good news is that when colon cancer is detected early, treatment success rates are very high. That’s why screening matters.

In fact, the guidelines have changed: Everyone should now have their first colonoscopy at age 45. If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, it’s recommended to start even earlier: either at age 40 or 10 years before the age your relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. It’s not the most exciting thing to schedule, but it’s one of the most powerful preventive steps you can take for your long-term health.

Number 4: $25 Poison, Not as Popular

I saw this post the other day, and it really resonated with me (and honestly, most of my friends too). People are drinking less and less, and that’s a good thing.

Image via @MurrayHillGuy1 on X

I started noticing this in my own circles over the last five years or so. Friends who used to have a drink most nights are now choosing alcohol-free options, saving it for special occasions, or skipping it altogether. 

And the data backs this up: Alcohol consumption has been steadily declining among younger generations, especially Gen Z, many of whom are choosing moderation or sobriety as part of a broader focus on long-term health. That’s encouraging, because alcohol affects almost every system in the body, from sleep quality and metabolic health to brain aging and cancer risk. Even modest reductions can make a meaningful difference in how you feel day to day. 

So if you’re someone who has been experimenting with drinking less (or not drinking at all), you’re definitely not alone. In many ways, it’s becoming one of the quiet health shifts of this generation, and I personally am on board.

See you next week.

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Today, I want to highlight a new study that caught my attention (and frankly, what felt like the whole internet) because it made a pretty astounding suggestion: just 3-4 minutes of vigorous exercise a day can lower cancer risk.

Most of us know that movement matters for cancer prevention. But here are the questions this study actually asks:

1. How little movement is enough to make a real difference?

2. Does it have to be structured exercise, or can everyday bursts of intensity count?

A large study just published in JAMA Oncology has some answers worth sitting with and also begs a few questions…

Shout Out to Our Sponsor AquaTru Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Let’s talk about water. Plastic bottles? Packed with microplastics and nanoplastics. Tap water? Not much better. Studies show it can contain everything from chemical pollutants to traces of prescription drugs (yes, even birth control residue).

That’s why I’ve been such a big advocate for filtering your water—and why I’ve been using the same system for years: AquaTru.

AquaTru is a countertop reverse osmosis purifier with a 4-stage filtration system that removes up to 15x more contaminants than the leading filters. It’s built with BPA- and BPS-free plastics, it’s easy to use, and honestly—the water tastes incredible.

AquaTru is offering my community $100 off an AquaTru Reverse Osmosis filter when you CLICK THIS LINK. 

Protect your health. Protect your family. And enjoy water the way it’s supposed to taste: pure and clean.

Researchers from the UK Biobank, one of the most rigorous health datasets in the world, tracked over 22,000 adults who reported doing no leisure-time exercise at all.

Instead of measuring gym sessions, they used wrist-worn accelerometers to capture something called VILPA: Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity.

Think of it as the accidental intensity that sneaks into a normal day. Sprinting to catch a train. Carrying groceries up a flight of stairs. Walking to your next appointment at a pace that actually gets your heart going.

Not exercise. Just life, moved through with some urgency.

Participants were followed for nearly seven years. Researchers tracked who developed cancer overall, and specifically a group of 13 cancer types already known to be sensitive to physical activity levels, including breast, colon, and endometrial cancers.

What did they find?

Compared to people who got zero VILPA, those who accumulated just 3.4 minutes per day saw a 17 to 18% reduction in total cancer risk.

For physical activity-sensitive cancers specifically, the effect was even sharper.

The study's median daily VILPA of 4.5 minutes was associated with a 31 to 32% reduction in risk for those specific cancer types.

The dose-response was nearly linear, meaning more was generally better. But the steepest gains came at the lowest end of the curve.

And nearly all of this, 92% to be exact, was accumulated in bouts of intense movement for one minute or less.

Ok, that seems exciting, but let’s break down what this does and doesn’t mean. 

What This Study Did and Didn't Show

First of all, this was an observational study, not a clinical trial. It shows association, not causation. The researchers can't say with certainty that the VILPA caused the lower cancer rates.

While the study was carefully adjusted for age, sex, diet, sleep, smoking, alcohol, and family history of cancer, here are a few questions we need to ask ourselves:

1) Could it be that generally healthier people are more capable of vigorous activity? Yes, probably. 

2) Does this mean that we should only focus on short amounts of vigorous activity and forget about doing longer, structured, or slower workouts? No. 

We know that any movement done consistently is going to lower our disease risk, especially cancer. And there’s a chance that if you’re able to perform shorter bouts of vigorous movement throughout the day, you are probably in physically better shape than someone who is sedentary or cannot move “vigorously.”

The reason I do find this research a bit exciting is that if you’re short on time and physically capable, know that short bursts of exercise are actually meaningful. 

Many people over 40 are not getting regular structured exercise. Not because they don't care, but because life is full, and it's easy to assume that if you can't do it right, there's no point doing it at all.

This study is a direct challenge to that thinking. Something is definitely better than nothing. 

And there are some really simple ways to accumulate your daily VILPA:

• Take the stairs at a challenging pace, not a stroll

• Walk to your next meeting or errand fast enough to actually feel it

• Carry your groceries instead of rolling them (bonus points for doing some grocery bag curls)

• Take the long way, at full speed

• Do a quick bout of push-ups or squats between calls or meetings

But don’t let this excuse you from more structured workouts. In fact, if you want to be able to perform VILPA into your 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and beyond, those more structured workouts probably hold the key. 

The more movement, the better!

And remember, when it comes to avoiding cancer, exercise is one of the surest bets for lowering your risk. Remember this post from our friend Satchin Panda?

Dr. Satchin Panda X/Twitter

Here's to more Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity : )

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This community, today I’ve got some really good shares.

High level:

1. A great blood sugar tip my parents have started implementing

2. Another potential benefit of semaglutides like Ozempic

3. New data on strength and longevity
   
   

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Maui Nui Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Most protein snacks? They’re filler ingredients wrapped around mediocre meat. That’s not the case with Maui Nui venison jerky sticks.

I keep going back to them. Not because they’re trendy. Not because they say “high protein” on the label. Because they actually taste good and they’re built on real quality. They’re tender and clean, not dry, not gamey. They actually taste like real food.

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Number 1: Eating Outside Is Great for Your Blood Sugar

Here’s why: Exposure to long-wavelength light (including natural sunlight) before a meal may help lower blood glucose levels.

A fascinating study in the Journal of Biophotonics found that long-wavelength light can significantly reduce blood glucose levels after eating in healthy people. Researchers exposed study participants to 670 nm red light for 15 minutes before a glucose tolerance test and compared their blood sugar responses to a control group that didn’t receive the light.

The results were striking: Average blood glucose elevations after a sugary drink were reduced by nearly 28 percent in the red-light group compared with controls, and peak glucose spikes were also meaningfully lower. 

Watch on Instagram or Watch on X

In the video above, Jonathan Jarecki breaks down why light is so powerful for blood sugar. Our mitochondria (the energy factories inside your cells) absorb red and near-infrared light. This stimulates ATP production, and making ATP requires fuel. That fuel is glucose. When mitochondria ramp up energy production, they pull more glucose out of the bloodstream, which may help blunt post-meal spikes.

In practical terms, something as simple as eating outside in natural daylight or getting light exposure before a meal could support healthier glucose metabolism.

On the flip side, chronic exposure to high amounts of blue-heavy artificial light (from screens, LEDs, and indoor lighting) may impair mitochondrial function and disrupt glucose regulation over time.

I loved this tip so much that I sent it to my parents, who immediately took their breakfast outside. It’s a super-simple tip that honestly feels like a great excuse to get outside and enjoy the sun.

Number 2: Do Semaglutides Like Ozempic Improve Osteoarthritis?

Here’s some fascinating new data on semaglutide (the drug behind diabetes and weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy): They may have benefits for osteoarthritis that go beyond simply helping people lose weight. In a paper published in Cell Metabolism, scientists found that semaglutide appears to protect and even partially restore joint cartilage through mechanisms that aren’t just about reducing body weight.

Osteoarthritis isn’t just “wear and tear.” It involves a mix of inflammation, metabolic changes, and cartilage breakdown that leads to pain, stiffness, and loss of mobility. In mouse models of obesity-related osteoarthritis, semaglutide reduced key signs of joint degeneration, including reduced cartilage breakdown, fewer bone spurs, fewer lesions, and lower pain-related behavior, even after controlling for weight loss. 

That points to a weight-loss-independent effect on the joint itself.

The drug seems to reprogram how cartilage-maintaining cells generate energy, shifting them toward more efficient metabolism and giving these cells better capacity to survive and repair damage. 

Now, that was an animal model, but a small human trial (about 20 people with knee osteoarthritis and obesity) also showed improved knee function, less pain, and thicker cartilage on MRIs after semaglutide treatment compared with standard therapy, hinting that similar effects may occur in people too.

This research is early, and the human data is limited, but it opens a fascinating possibility: A medication known for metabolic and weight-loss effects might directly influence joint biology and help slow or even reverse structural damage in osteoarthritis.

Shout-out to Dr. Robert Lufkin on X for sharing this and offering the thought that maybe osteoarthritis is a metabolic issue and not a structural one. 

Number 3: New data on strength and longevity

Here’s some great news. Working on your strength can have a massive impact on longevity.

Image via Washington Post

Researchers analyzed data from 5,472 women aged 63 to 99 participating in the Women’s Health Initiative. They measured muscle strength using two simple tests: handgrip strength and a “sit-to-stand” test, which measures how quickly someone can rise from a chair multiple times. Participants were then followed for about eight years to track survival outcomes.

Here’s what they found: women with higher muscle strength had a significantly lower risk of early death (about one-third lower) than those with weaker muscles. What surprised researchers most was that the association held even after adjusting for aerobic fitness, physical activity levels, age, health conditions, and lifestyle factors. 

In other words, strength itself—not just being active—matters. 

This adds to a growing body of research suggesting that muscle strength functions almost like a “vital sign” of aging, reflecting our overall health from metabolism to our nervous system and more. 

But don’t just forget about cardio. The data suggest that combining aerobic activity with resistance or strength training may offer the biggest longevity payoff. 

Who else is determined to get super strong? Let’s go! 

See you next week.

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Today I'm highlighting a new study that I think is worth paying attention to, especially if you care about protecting your brain for the long haul.

Most of us know microplastics are everywhere. In the ocean. In our food. In the air we breathe.

But here are the questions researchers are now starting to ask:

1. What are they doing inside our brains?

2. How are they connected to Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline?

A new study sheds some important light on this topic!

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Sunlighten Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

I’m all about doing the daily things that are evidence-based and actually make a difference in my health. And one that I have been so consistent about because the evidence is undeniable for both men and women is sauna. 

And I’ve specifically been using Sunlighten Sauna for about 15 years. 

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A research team published a paper in the journal Molecular Neurobiology looking at whether polystyrene microplastics (the tiny particles that break off from foam cups, food packaging, and countless everyday products) could accelerate cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

They used mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's-like disease, and exposed them to polystyrene microspheres about 2.5 microns in diameter—well within the definition of microplastics.

What did they find?

Mice exposed to microplastics showed significantly worse cognitive performance on maze tests compared to Alzheimer's mice who weren't exposed.

When the researchers looked at what was happening in the brain, they found that microplastics were triggering something called pyroptosis in microglial cells.

Here's why that matters.

Microglia are the immune cells of your central nervous system and your brain's first line of defense. Pyroptosis is a particularly inflammatory form of cell death where cells essentially burst, flooding the surrounding tissue with pro-inflammatory molecules.

In a brain already dealing with Alzheimer's pathology, this is like throwing gasoline on a fire.

The researchers measured elevated levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α (key inflammatory markers) in the brains of exposed mice. And the effect was dose-dependent.

More plastic, more inflammation, worse cognition.

They then tested whether blocking the key protein responsible for pyroptosis (called GSDMD) could reduce the damage. It did, significantly.

This tells us something important: there appears to be a specific biological pathway through which microplastics amplify neuroinflammation—it's not just random toxicity.

What This Study Did and Didn't Show

This was a mouse study. The doses were delivered directly into the bloodstream, which isn't exactly how we encounter microplastics day to day.

It did not prove that microplastics cause Alzheimer's in people. It did not show that reducing exposure will prevent or reverse the disease in humans.

But what it does show is a plausible and frankly concerning mechanism by which microplastic exposure could worsen neuroinflammation in a brain that's already vulnerable.

And we already know that microplastics have been detected in human blood, breast milk, placentas, the heart, and brain tissue.

The question of what they're doing once they get there is no longer hypothetical.

Be Proactive, But Don’t Freak Out

We can't avoid microplastics entirely. But a basic precautionary approach to reducing your daily exposure is low-effort, low-cost, and the potential upside for your brain over decades is significant.

Simple swaps can have a huge impact:

• Swap plastic food storage containers for glass or stainless steel, especially for hot foods. Heat dramatically increases how much plastic leaches.

• Replace plastic cutting boards with wood or bamboo.

• Stop microwaving food in plastic containers.

• Filter your drinking water with a high-quality carbon or reverse osmosis filter, since microplastics pass easily through standard filters.

• Get a high-quality HEPA air filter for the home.

You may not be able to eliminate every source of microplastics in your life. But you can meaningfully reduce your daily load, and your brain is worth it.

Much love,
Dhru

P.S. Sauna is a practice I’ve consistently used for years to reduce overall toxic burden. While we still need more robust human research, especially around microplastics, early data and individual case experiments (like one Bryan Johnson recently shared) suggest sauna may play a role in supporting the body’s natural elimination of microplastics. Beyond that, the cardiovascular, metabolic, and longevity benefits of regular sauna use are so powerful. If you’ve been considering adding a sauna to your routine, check out today’s sponsor and my personal go-to brand, Sunlighten. They’re offering special perks for our community. You can find the details here.

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Try This family, today I have three great shares for you.

High level:

1. A dinner tip that could protect your heart

2. If you’re a hothead, have anxiety, or are stressed, work on this! 

3. Health-obsessed folks, you’ll love this post
   
   

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Our Place Who Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

Your kitchen is one of the most used spaces in your home. It’s where mornings begin. Where dinners bring everyone together. Where conversations happen.

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Number 1: Want to Protect Your Heart? Eat at Least 3 Hours Before Bed.

Here’s a pretty simple way to support your blood pressure and your blood sugar.

Shout-out to @foundmyfitness on X for this share

In a trial published this month, middle-aged and older adults were encouraged to finish eating at least three hours before bedtime and to match their fasting window with the time they naturally sleep. The research showed that this circadian-aligned fasting approach (without reducing calories) led to improvements in key heart health indicators overnight and during the day. 

Participants had better nighttime blood pressure dipping, meaning their hearts got deeper rest while sleeping. Other benefits included lower nighttime heart rate, improved heart rate variability (a marker of autonomic balance), lower nighttime cortisol, and better glucose regulation, suggesting that coordinating eating with your body clock helps your cardiometabolic systems recover more effectively each night.

These findings point to a simple but powerful truth: timing matters. Eating earlier and allowing your body to complete digestion well before sleep gives your cardiovascular system a better opportunity to reset and repair during rest. 

Number 2: Want to Be Happy and Less Angry? Work On Your Cardio.

If you or anyone you know has a short fuse, is angry, or gets stressed out, send them this.

via @medical_xpress on X

Regular aerobic fitness doesn’t just strengthen your heart; it also helps you stay cooler under emotional pressure. 

A brand-new study found that people with higher cardiorespiratory fitness (think: better endurance from activities like brisk walking, running, cycling, or consistent aerobic workouts) showed much lower anxiety and anger responses when exposed to stressful or upsetting stimuli compared to less fit individuals.

Researchers had 40 healthy young adults view unpleasant images designed to trigger stress and measured changes in their anxiety and anger responses. Those with higher predicted VO₂max (a key measure of fitness) not only started with lower baseline anxiety and anger but also showed smaller spikes in these emotions after exposure to stressful scenes.

In contrast, participants with below-average fitness were much more likely (up to 775 percent!) to shift from moderate to high anxiety in response to stress. 

This suggests that better aerobic fitness doesn’t just improve your body; it may help buffer your emotional reactions to real-world stressors.

Importantly, cardiorespiratory fitness was also linked with lower trait anxiety overall, meaning fitter individuals tend to feel less anxious in general, not just in stressful moments. 

As with most healthy habits, they don’t just serve one part of your body; they benefit the entire system! 

Number 3:  Being a Health Enthusiast Makes You Resilient.

Via @hubermanlab on X

I loved this post from Andrew Huberman. I used to get “made fun of” for being really into health and being careful about what I eat and my daily inputs. But in fact, when you take good care of yourself, you’re able to really sink into moments of joy and pleasure without completely falling off the wagon or feeling like crap for days. This is the goal: to be resilient! 

See you next week.

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.

Last week, I shared a study about how coffee consumption could be a powerful tool in dementia prevention. Now we have some crazy data around heart disease that's worth paying attention to!

Researchers measured coronary artery calcium in over 4,400 people to assess their cardiovascular health. 

Coronary calcium accumulation is one of the best predictors we have for future heart disease risk; it literally shows you the calcification building up in your arteries years before symptoms appear.

Here's what they found!

People who drank more than three cups of coffee per day had 67 percent lower odds of having significant coronary calcification.

That's a massive protective effect. But as always with nutrition research, the details matter. 

Let’s get into it.

Shout Out to Our Sponsor Bon ChargeWho Helps Keep This Newsletter Free

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Key Findings of the Coffee Study

The Brazilian research team looked at coffee consumption patterns and coronary artery calcium scores across their population. They controlled for all the usual suspects: age, sex, education, physical activity, diet quality, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and more. 

The dose-response relationship: 

• ≤1 cup/day: 15 percent lower odds of calcification (not statistically significant) 

• 1–3 cups/day: 27 percent lower odds of calcification 

• 3+ cups/day: 67 percent lower odds of calcification (highly significant) 

But here's the critical nuance: This protective effect was only seen in people who had never smoked. 

Among current and former smokers, coffee consumption showed no association with coronary calcification, positive or negative. The damage from smoking appears to overwhelm any cardiovascular benefit coffee might offer, which, of course, makes sense.

Why Coffee Protects Your Arteries 

The researchers point to several mechanisms: 

Powerful antioxidants. Coffee is loaded with chlorogenic acids and other polyphenolic compounds. These aren't just theoretical antioxidants; they've been shown in human studies to reduce inflammation markers (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP), prevent LDL cholesterol oxidation, improve endothelial function and nitric oxide availability, and reduce platelet aggregation and clotting risk. 

Here are some other benefits of coffee consumption: 

• Improved insulin sensitivity. Regular coffee consumption is consistently associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk. Better glucose control means less glycation damage to arterial walls. 

• Reduced systemic inflammation. Despite caffeine's acute effects on blood pressure, habitual coffee drinkers show lower chronic inflammation—a key driver of atherosclerosis. 

• Important caveat: Most of these benefits come from filtered coffee. Unfiltered coffee (French press, espresso, Turkish coffee) contains diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) that actually raise LDL cholesterol. The paper filter removes these while keeping the beneficial polyphenols. 

How I Personalized This Research for Myself

When I saw this study, my first thought was: "This is population-level data. What does it mean for ME specifically?" 

I recently uploaded my raw 23andMe genetic data to Claude AI (similar to ChatGPT) and asked it to analyze variants related to caffeine metabolism and cardiovascular health. Within minutes, it reminded me that I'm a slow caffeine metabolizer and I should be mindful of over consuming coffee.

I have the CC variant of the CYP1A2 gene, meaning my liver breaks down caffeine at about 40 percent the speed of fast metabolizers.

This matters because in slow metabolizers, the same coffee that protects fast metabolizers can increase cardiovascular risk.

Studies show that at 2–3 cups per day, slow metabolizers have 36 percent higher heart attack risk, not lower. 

The caffeine circulates for 6–8+ hours instead of 3–4, creating prolonged blood pressure elevation, sustained cortisol (which increases cholesterol production), and elevated homocysteine levels. 

Combined with other genetic factors—I'm a cholesterol hyper-absorber, I have one APOE ε4 allele, and I carry an MTHFR variant—excess caffeine most likely works against my cardiovascular health goals.

So while the Brazilian study shows benefits at >3 cups/day for the general population, my personal protocol is 1–2 cups maximum, always before 10:00 a.m., and mostly filtered to remove excess diterpenes. 

Intuitively, I've always known that too much coffee doesn't feel good for me. I didn't drink coffee growing up or even in college. I only got into it about 12-14 years ago when I moved to LA, and even then, one cup (sometimes two) was plenty to give me that extra feel-good boost. Any more, and I'd always feel a little unfocused and anxious, and my sleep wouldn't be great.

You know your body best, so always pay attention to the feedback it gives you. 

Do you get anxious or jittery after drinking coffee? Does your heart rate stay elevated for hours? Does coffee destroy your sleep? If so, limit it or skip it! 

Here are some other general rules that have helped me around coffee consumption: 

1. I mostly drink filtered coffee, especially because my LDL is high. Paper filters remove the cholesterol-raising compounds while keeping beneficial antioxidants. 

2. I cut myself off after 12 noon. Anything that disrupts sleep comes with its own cardiovascular risk. 

3. Use AI to understand more about your body’s response to coffee. If you have 23andMe, AncestryDNA, or other genetic testing data, you can upload your raw data file to ChatGPT or Claude and ask: "What can you tell me about my caffeine metabolism genes (CYP1A2)?" Yes, I know AI isn't perfect, and sometimes it hallucinates, but it's getting so much better.

The Bottom Line

Now this is a well-done study, but it is important to remember that this study shows association, not causation. Coffee drinkers had healthier arteries, but we can't be 100 percent certain it was the coffee. 

The good news? Coffee is enjoyable, it’s widely consumed, it's the largest source of polyphenols in the American diet (a little saddening), and it now has even more evidence supporting its safety and potential benefits. 

But the foundation of cardiovascular health remains: 

• Regular exercise (especially zone 2 cardio) 

• Sleep quality (7–9 hours/night) 

• Stress management 

• Whole-food nutrition 

• Not smoking (obviously) 

• Maintaining a healthy weight and metabolic markers 

Coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but it's not a substitute for the fundamentals. 

Individual responses vary based on genetics, existing health conditions, and how you metabolize caffeine. 

The key is paying attention to how YOUR body responds and adjusting accordingly. 

Population averages are a starting point. Personalization is where real optimization happens. 

Here's to your health,
Dhru

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.