Hey 5HTers 👋! Between my heart ablation and my functional rhinoplasty, it’s been hard to keep moving. I did 20 pushups this week annnd got a nose bleed 😅. So embarrassing. (In better news, Apple Face ID recognized me again for the first time this week.) Anyway, I’m working on getting back on track (see below how I’m using ChatGPT to help) and will share more on that soon.

#1 Semaglutide going off patent

Big GLP-1 news: Semaglutide—the molecule behind Ozempic—is going off patent in India next week (!). 

You probably know this already, but patents give inventors the exclusive right to market their invention for a defined period of time. Eventually, they expire. Whichhhh is what’s happening to Novo Nordisk’s patent in India this month. 

And what that means: Generics will flood the market and prices will drop dramatically. Some reports suggest a price war could drive costs down by as much as 90% (!!) in India. 👀

GLP-1s clearly work. But a big part of what's preventing everyone from being on them is price. If costs fall significantly in India, we could be about to witness a massive real-world metabolic experiment as more people gain access to these drugs. We may even get answers to questions like:

👉 Do diabetes rates fall faster?
👉 Does obesity prevalence decline?
👉 Do long-term cardiovascular events drop?
👉 Do people stay on these drugs long-term?
👉 Does demand still overwhelm supply?

Whether you believe GLP-1s are a miracle pill (like I increasingly do with all the data coming in) or not—either way—there’ll be a looot we can learn from this.

It’s also hard to imagine a world in which this shift doesn’t eventually put pressure on U.S. prices. My prediction is older GLP-1s become broadly accessible globally, while next-gen molecules—like GLP-3s—become “a trillion dollar drug” in western markets (where payers are more willing to pay OOP) with heavy restrictions on compounding. 

Ultimately, I'm giddy to see this play out at scale in one of the largest countries in the world 🍿 (plus a country I visited 2x and super freaking love).

#2 ZBiotics, part III

Earlier this year, I set four general resolutions. One of them: Prioritize quality time with family and friends because it’s healthy, fulfilling, and fun.

Here’s what that looks like:

  • Biweekly date nights with my wife, Sara

  • 1–2 trips, just us (we recently did a weekend in Myakoba, Mexico!)

  • Building a circle of fellow builders and thinkers

  • Making 1–2 new close male friends

Staying socially engaged isn’t optional for me. It keeps me feeling happy, present, and sharp—and it’s one of the most tangible ways to support long-term cognitive health. 

Sometimes, those moments of connection include alcohol. I’ve considered not drinking at all—I have—but ultimately enjoy things like the following too much:

🍷 Wine with steak at a nice dinner with Sara.
🍻 A beer after an exhausting weekend rock climbing sesh.
🥃 A scotch with a fellow entrepreneur. (Fun fact: I used to host something called “Scotchrepreneur” with founders sharing their biggest challenges over good scotch. Basically group therapy.)

These touchpoints aren’t about the alcohol (though a good scotch is 🤌), but the alcohol helps! Unfortunately, if I have more than a drink or two, I pay for it the next morning 🥴. That’s why I’ve been loving having ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink on hand. 

ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol is the world’s first genetically engineered probiotic invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. (I broke the science down here.) Essentially, the goal isn’t to drink more—it’s to regret less. Since trying it, I’ve adopted a simple rule: If I think there’s a chance I’ll have 2+ drinks, I drink this probiotic first. It’s helped me optimize my evenings without compromising my mornings. 

I legit love this product (plan to buy 12 more right after this email hits) and, if you haven’t tried it yet, I think you will too. Luckily, ZBiotics is giving 5HT readers one more chance to get 15% off your first order. Use “5HT” at checkout to keep your mornings as strong as your evenings.

SAVE 15% ON ZBIOTICS

#3 Plogging

Last year, we had rucking. This year, we have plogging. 

Okay, technically this eco-friendly running trend has been around, but because litter keeps littering—and because I predict microplastics awareness will only become more of a thing—it’s worth re-popularizing.

Basically, the idea behind plogging is simple: jog while picking up trash. It was started by a Swedish environmentalist (because ofc he’s Swedish) named Erik Ahlström in 2016, and it's since gotten so big even PMs and Presidents have joined in. 

It's also inspired other variations like playaking (aka kayaking 🚣), which I may just try at Lady Bird Lake here in Austin next weekend. 😂

#4 Expo West

Last week, I was at Expo West—the Mecca of consumer CPG and one of my fave conferences of the year. I got to catch up with friends and try a bunchhh of awesome products. I did a shot of Slapp’s Extra Ginger Tumeric and only cried about it for a few minutes. 😭😂 Here are four trends that particularly stood out:

1️⃣ Protein-palooza

No surprise here: Protein was everywhere—and in everything. I’m talking protein jello, protein donuts, protein pretzels, and even protein boba tea. There were many clear protein drinks (which I wrote about here) and even protein coffee. But the most interesting finds were Juicybite’s fully cooked chicken breast (yes, exactly what the name says), Magos Whole Egg Chips (packing 12g of protein), and Protein Inc’s Protein Shot (25g and just built for TikTok).

2️⃣ Better-for-you indulgence

Just like protein alternatives, brands are continuing to create “healthier” swaps for classic indulgences. Healthier fruit snacks—like Froobies and SmartSweets—caught my eye for my kiddos, but there were even “healthier” cinnamon buns! 

3️⃣ Immunity enters the chat 

Interestingly, immunity emerged as an unexpected theme in CPG. There were new propolis products (which I wrote about here) like BEE&YOU, BITTE’s Immune Soursop Bitter Bottle, URVI’s Immune Support, and Grüns brought Immün, too. Whichhh brings me to… 

4️⃣ Gummies galore 

Last year might have been the year of gummies, but I suspect we’re really just entering the gummy era. There were Grateful Dead Gummies (why?) and yummy gummy vitamins from Jugo Superfoods. Creatine-infused gummies, Beast Bites, were trending on TikTok Shop (shouts to Create, the OG here). But by far the most popular product was Grüns Kids. They ran out of samples because demand was so high. 😳

Other trends worth mentioning: 

  • Dates! Have you heard these are nature’s candy? Well with brands like Daddl, Smood Sweets, and Joolies—these (and the very cool sour flavors) are going to be everywhere.

  • Fiber fixation. While fiber (which some think could be the next protein) showed up across the expo, there was actually less than I expected 🤷‍♂️. Fiber did have great branding though. That's It promoted their fruit snacks with "This is how we FIBER” and FiberBliss used the tagline #itsafibe, which I love. (More on branding below.) 

  • Chips, remixed. Beyond Whole Egg Chips, there were also egg white chips, beef tallow chips (so many of these, including Norse Roots and Vaca Chips), and freeze-dried broccoli & zucchini chips (sadly not good).

  • Cognitive expansion. Nootropic brands like Neuro & Magic Mind both seem to be exploding and expanding their product lines into mints & Maxx. (Good news for Fixie Dust!)

  • Clean(er) wipes. An unexpectedly popular category was better-for-you wipes. Not just Dude Wipes (though they had an epic booth), but also Raan’s 100% cotton baby wipes and Biom’s natural disinfecting wipes.

Of everything I tried, though, these were my hands down favorite finds:

🏆 Good Grains (organic cereal brand I fell in love with)
🏆 Little Latke (delicious potato crisps, I mean come on)
🏆 Wise Bar (superfood, low-ingredient bar I loved featuring adaptogens from Four Sigmatic)
🏆 Long Weekend (premium instant soups like Cup Noodles Ramen but better)
🏆 Lentiful (instant lentils, love lentils!)
🏆 Maïzly (found this cornmilk really interesting and could see it catching on as a non-crappy alternative to oat milk!)

Finally, a note on branding. There are a few areas where this matters more than in CPG. This year felt like a BIG step forward for the space—so many great looking brands! I’m a long-time, very proud advisor to Herman-Scheer, and have been lucky to work with them many times. I’m very biased in thinking they’re the absolute best at design, brand, and digital experience in the health space. If you’re building a brand of any kind in health, hire someone like them (happy to intro).

#5 Boundaries with Melissa Urban, part I

After my tease on this in last week’s edition, I’m suuuper excited to welcome my friend Melissa Urban to 5HT. I’ve known Melissa for more than a decade since we spoke together on a panel at SXSW and have long admired her. Melissa is the co-founder and CEO of Whole30 (ever heard of it?), a 7x best-selling author (including The Book of Boundaries), annnd one of my favorite newsletter writers.

Obviously, I was pumped when she agreed to do a short residency with us to talk #boundaries. For the rest of the month, she’ll be answering questions submitted by the 5HT+ community. Take it away, Melissa! 🎤

Q: How do you set boundaries as a people pleaser—the fear around potential disappointment or pushback from others?

MU: I can frame this a few different ways. Choose the one that resonates with you, or pick all three to really hammer in the concept:

  1. You have two choices: disappoint yourself to make someone else happy, or disappoint them by setting perfectly reasonable boundaries to protect your time, energy, capacity, money, mental health, and/or relationship. Why should you always be the disappointed one, especially when they demonstrate little interest in your well-being? 

  2. Setting and holding healthy boundaries is the best thing you can do for your relationships. You can be “nice,” consistently run yourself into the ground to meet their demands, and show up cranky, resentful, angry, or frustrated. That hurts your relationship long-term. Or, you can set boundaries so when you can, you’ll show up in an authentic, enthusiastic way. This helps your relationship. Boundaries are a kindness to yourself and them, whether they view it that way or not.

  3. How other people choose to respond to your healthy boundaries is not your responsibility. They are grown-ups in charge of their own emotions. If your boundary is going to protect your time, energy, or capacity and will prevent resentment, burnout, anxiety, and anger, their response is not your business (even if they try to make it your problem). Remember, someone responding poorly to your boundary usually means you’re taking away a privilege they were never meant to have.

Finally, I’ll say this… have you tried setting a healthy boundary here? Very often we’re scared to even try, assuming the other person is going to blow up. Much of the time, however, they just say, “Oh, I didn’t know. No problem.” Don’t anticipate a battle. Give them the benefit of the doubt, assume they just didn’t know you had a limit and would be happy to respect it—and deal with the pushback if it happens. (See my first three points.)

Summary: Boundaries are a kindness, and how other people choose to respond isn’t your responsibility.

⚡ Neural hacks

Directions: Copy, paste, and fill in the prompt below to generate your own healthyish workout protocol.

Act as an evidence-based fitness coach and exercise physiologist.

Your job is to design a personalized weekly workout protocol based on my age, goals, lifestyle, and constraints.

Ask me the following to create a well-balanced plan:

  • Age: __

  • Sex: Male / Female / Non-binary / Prefer not to say

  • Current activity level: Sedentary / Lightly active / Exercise 1–2x per week / Exercise 3–4x per week / Exercise 5+ days per week

  • Training experience: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

  • Primary goal: Fat loss / Muscle gain / Longevity / Metabolic health / Athletic performance / General fitness / Stress reduction

  • Secondary goals (choose up to two): Mobility / Cardiovascular fitness / Strength / Energy / Injury prevention / Sleep / Bone density

  • Injuries or limitations: None / Minor issues / Ongoing injury (describe)

  • Equipment available: Full gym / Dumbbells or kettlebells / Resistance bands / Bodyweight only / Cardio machines

  • Time per workout: 20–30 min / 30–45 min / 45–60 min / 60+ min

  • Days per week available for training: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+

  • Preferred activities (optional): Running / Walking / Cycling / Strength training / Yoga / Pilates / Hiking / Other

After I answer, create a simple weekly workout plan with the right mix of cardio, strength, and mobility, plus a sample schedule and progression tips.

Keep the protocol clear, practical, and evidence-based, with explanations for why each component is included.

Avoid unnecessary complexity and prioritize long-term health, sustainability, and injury prevention.

🍿 Brain snacks

Shoutout to Kelsey Z, Nicole B, Brian F, Jessica L, Jeremey D, John C, Webb K, Shaun C, Amy M, and Cristina V for sending emails or contributing to 5HT+ Slack community!

Want in on 5HT+? Two referrals get you in. Share your unique code, and join the chat. → {{ rp_refer_url }}

👋 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.

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