5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including new dietary guidelines and Huberman’s favorite breath exercise

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New dietary guidelines just dropped, annnd I’m genuinely excited! 🇺🇸

Between the renewed focus on nutrient-dense foods, clearer limits on added sugar, more direct criticism of processed foods, and an emphasis on gut health, these are seismic (and overdue) changes.  I also love that they kept the pyramid—but flipped it upside down. Doing so makes the case that the old pyramid was so wildly backwards. It’s part tragic comedy, part troll job, and emphasis that what we had before was genuinely embarrassing. (Fun fact: the co-founder of Airbnb helped design the new version—the website, in particular, is a beaut.)

I feel this is an extraordinary step forward, but of course, it’s bound to get pushback. Some people will be upset about saturated fat and beef tallow making the list. Others will argue the protein intake expectations are too high. Any broad nutrition guidance will draw criticism. But it’s telling that support is coming from across the health spectrum (see Andrew Huberman, the president of the American Medical Association, and even Emily Oster)—and I’m firmly in that camp too.

One of my predictions for this year was a rise in food certifications, and this is almost perfectly on-the-nose about why centralized standards are so critical. It’s also exactly the kind of outcome I was hoping the MAHA movement would produce. I’m impressed they went through with it—without getting too caught up in lobbying. (Though dairy and beef is having a great week, I'm sure.) 

Zooming out: Getting people to understand what healthy food looks like and increased access to GLP-1s makes me think we may actually start bending our frightening cost curve in healthcare. Overall, I’m stoked about how this will shape the discourse around healthy food in the future. As formerly the biggest kid in school, I really do hope there’ll be posters of this in every classroom.

I got a text recently from a 5HT reader, Allison J., who was about to splurge on an EMF protector for her phone and wanted my take.

Short answer: Don't do it. 

There’s no credible evidence that slapping a shield on your phone actually blocks electromagnetic fields. In fact, research suggests some materials used—and marketed as “protective”—don’t make sense and may even be risky. That, and the FTC has even gone as far as to call it a scam.

While the drama around EMF is a bit overhyped (especially when organizations like the WHO found no evidence that mobile phone use causes brain cancer), I’m open to EMF being an issue worth exploring further. For instance, many people are concerned about potential effects like sleep disruption and headaches. There’s also those—especially men—who are concerned about how EMF exposure may affect sperm morphology (still one of my favorite words).

Buuut my sense is brands selling EMF blockers are capitalizing on anxiety, when there are simpler solutions. I’ve recently talked about the changes we made after doing Lightwork’s home health assessment—like installing a no-EMF power strip in my office, where the evidence felt much more convincing.

But ultimately, if you are worried about EMF exposure, distance is a low-cost, low-risk precaution option. Think: ❌ no phone in your pocket if possible, ❌ not on your lap while driving, and ❌ not next to your head at night. (I’ve actually been sleeping with my phone in the closet for the last five years.) And if you want to invest in anything, invest in hands-off accessories to make distance a breeze.

And, look, I’m open to being wrong. Buuut, until then, my advice is save your money. 

But in brands doing it right: I saw this on LinkedIn and had to share it here. 👇

Bobbie turned subscription cancellation into a celebration and I’m, er, obsessed. 

Parents, celebrate your endings. Health marketers, take notes.

(Worth saying our family used Bobbie for both our kiddos, too—I’m a big fan and a very minor investor.)

Most 5HT readers know I’m constantly evolving my supplement stack. I cycle between trying a lot and cutting back to just the essentials. Ideally, we’d get everything from food. Buuut we live in an era where food is less nutrient-dense than it used to be. The way I see it, supplementation can help fill the gaps that matter. One of those gaps for me: Healthy aging.

And lately I’ve been focused on mitochondrial health to help fill it—an underrated player in the longevity game. Quick biology refresher 🤓: Mitochondria are the powerhouse of your cells… and essentially a volume knob for aging.

Here’s how it works:

This matters for brain aging, too. Research increasingly points to mitochondrial dysfunction as an early spark in Alzheimer’s—where I have a genetic predisposition. 

So, what supports happy mitochondria 🤗? Research suggests: 

And one supplement that’s been helping me—with 4️⃣& 5️⃣—is Timeline’s Mitopure® Softgels. Mitopure is clinically-backed and designed to support mitochondrial renewal using a patented form of Urolithin A. In one clinical study, Mitopure was shown to increase mitochondrial renewal by 39% (!) after 16 weeks vs. placebo. Nbd.

I’ve been taking two softgels (500 mg) as part of my evening supplement stack since last March—and I’m pumped to have them as our first sponsor of the year 🥳. I’ve also been looking at switching to their Mitopure Gummies. Same amount of Urolithin A, but more fun (and tasty 🍓) format. Yep, the gummy trend continues!

If healthy aging is also important to you this year, consider putting your mitochondrial health in focus. Plus, Timeline is making it easy for you by giving 5HT readers a FREE 3-day starter kit of Timeline’s Mitopure Gummies.

Speaking of things you can do to feel better fast: Breathwork is a lever you can pull right now and feel the effects almost immediately. I shared my thoughts on breathwork last month—and how box breathing has helped me manage my PVCs. But another technique I’m intrigued by (and I’ve been hearing more about lately) is something called cyclic sighing.

Also known as "the physiological sigh" or "double inhale", cyclic sighing is a simple breathing pattern that activates your parasympathetic nervous system—aka your body’s chill switch.

Here’s how it works:

Huberman (yes, same Huberman) actually led a study on cyclic sighing with Stanford Medicine, which found it outperformed other breathing techniques (including box breathing!) in improving mood and lowering the resting respiratory rate. Huberman isn’t the only one backing the practice, either. My good friend, Dr. Robin Berzin of RDMD Off Script, also uses cyclic sighing in her protocols. So does Mel Robbins, along with plenty of other health experts. 

If you haven’t yet, consider this your reminder to breathe today. With it being the first week back at work, it may just be the most underrated productivity tool you use all week.

I’m playing around with how to make 5HT more useful and tangible for you. Tbh, I wasn’t quite feeling Neural Signals anymore 🫣 (the section with search trends) and was looking to switch things up. Then I got inspired by this recent report showing 40 MILLION (!) people use ChatGPT for healthcare. Plus, last week they launched ChatGPT Health (get on the waitlist here), a pretty seismic event in the space. Sooo, why not help you use it better? 

Neural signals ➡️ Neural hacks. Moving forward, each week you’ll get a custom prompt you can pop into ChatGPT (or your platform of choice) and get insights into your health in seconds. It’s a healthyish dream come true! Okay, maybe not 😂, but give it a shot, and tell me what you find out. Hack away 👇

Note: It’s been a VERY big week in health. Aside from a new food pyramid and ChatGPT Health, lots of companies decided the first week of January is a great week to launch health stuff. I wonder why 😆. Anyway, embarrassment of health riches below:

👋 Who are you again? I’m Derek Flanzraich—founder of two venture-backed startups in Greatist (👍) and Ness (👎). I’ve worked with brands like GoodRx, Parsley, Midi, Ro, NOCD, and Peloton. I now run Healthyish Content, a premium health content & SEO agency (among other things).

Every Thursday, I share 5 health things I feel strongly about so you can live healthyish. (Disclaimer: I’m more your friend with health benefits. None of this is medical advice.) 

And oh, you also feel strongly about some health things? Hit reply—I’d love to hear it.