5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including Serena Williams and my ER visit

After the Taylor Swift + Travis Kelce engagement, the biggest news of the week was Serena Williams 🎾 opening up about her journey with GLP-1s. 

This is a seismic moment 💥 for weight management. The greatest female athlete of all time (arguably just greatest athlete of all time)—whose motivation, discipline, and willpower no one questions—shared that she struggled with her weight after her last child and turned to GLP-1s to help. She also announced her partnership with Ro (who I’ve worked with before, plus their CEO Z is a friend) and revealed she lost 31lbs on the medication.

It takes real courage to talk about this publicly, especially as a public figure associated with being at the top of their game. Because when figures like Serena speak up, it chips away at the stigma surrounding GLP-1s and weight loss in general. The moment feels akin to when Michael Phelps, another tremendous athlete, partnered with TalkSpace to destigmatize mental health and moved that whole space in a very different, powerful direction.

And just like therapy isn’t a shortcut, neither are GLP-1s—something both Serena and Ro have emphasized. You don’t just take the meds and watch weight fall off. They’re like not steroids. You have to pair them with a healthy diet and lifestyle changes. My own experience microdosing GLP-1s involved adjusting my workouts, increasing my protein intake, and prioritizing fermented foods, among other steps.

GLP-1s aren’t a miracle cure (even if I think they’re pretty miraculous ✨). But if Serena Williams needs them, maybe it’s time to rethink who could benefit. Yes, this is an ad from her. And yes, I’m still impressed. I think Serena is awesome, and I think Ro is smart in how they’re talking about it. This is 💯 a powerful watershed moment for a space on the edge of going mainstream.

Sooo, last Friday I went in for what I thought would be a victory lap wellness checkup 🏃. I hadn’t seen my doctor since January, and, since then, I’ve lost nearly 40lbs. Here’s what I was expecting: “Wow, you look amazing! Your blood markers are 👌!” And to be fair, it started that way!  

Buuut, before I could leave with my gold star ⭐, she asked to listen to my heart. Next thing I know: “Have you ever been told you have an arrhythmia?” → an EKG → “You need to head to the ER.” I told her I really just wanted to drop off my Spectrum router (and finally say goodbye forever). She wasn’t having it, so off to the hospital I went (reluctantly ☹️).

They ushered me right in at the hospital and seemed equally concerned. I learned I was experiencing what’s called pre-ventricular contractions (or PVCs), which is basically an irregular heartbeat and can feel like an “extra” heartbeat. I started to notice it myself (though, tbh, it could very well have been anxiety at this point).

When I finally got in front of the ER doc, he explained PVCs are usually benign. Some people get them all the time, they’re not typically life-threatening, and they often don’t require treatment. He even said if I were in the Olympics that day, he’d let me compete.

Which left me feeling…a little silly 😕. I’d just taken up a hospital bed, stressed myself out, and, tbh, got pretty scared over something relatively common. (Apparently, three in four people experience them—three in four!) Moving forward, I plan to ease up on my protein and caffeine intake (two factors that can contribute to an irregular heartbeat) and continue to double down on sleep (which can help prevent PVCs). And I feel fine.

Still, the experience was humbling. Here I was feeling great, feeling healthy, expecting a gold star and maybe a parade, buuut there's always something that can happen.

To me, it was a reminder that there is no finish line. Health isn’t a final exam you ace once and then frame the results forever. Instead, it’s a living, breathing thing. Some days it whispers. Other days, it taps you on the shoulder with an irregular heartbeat and says, “Hey, still paying attention?”

No one ever really arrives at health, right? You practice it. You adjust it. You keep showing up for it, even when you’d rather be turning in your Spectrum modem. And if you’re lucky, you get to keep learning from it, heartbeat by heartbeat.

I’ve been using Levels for funsies this past month because I’ve been curious to learn more about my blood glucose. Annnd one thing I've learned so far is: Nothing spikes my blood sugar more than Rice Krispies Treats 🤣.

Which sucks, because I think I love Rice Krispie Treats? In my defense, I haven’t had the store-bought kind in a looong time. But I got one from the iconic Home Slice Pizza in Austin, where the ingredients are just rice, butter, and marshmallow—and yep, my Levels basically overheated. (I still dream about the cereal, but it was discontinued and I’m not alone in missing it 🥲.) 

Anyway, what’s the solution to avoid this? Well, I’ve been veryyy pleasantly surprised to discover during my healthy protein bar challenge 🙌 (more to come on this soon) that Rice Krispie-style protein bars are an entire genre! One of them is the Promix Protein Puff Bar—150 calories, 15g of protein, okay ingredients. A solid 5/10. 

The other is Legion Protein Crispy Treat—190 calories, 15g protein, just 4g of sugar, and a shockingly clean list of ingredients. No rice, just cashews?? 🤤 Also worth shouting out my friends at Magic Spoon, which is how I first heard the concept of a Rice Krispies-like protein snack.)

And you know who else likes Rice Krispies treats? Elite athletes. Turns out, the world’s best cyclists and runners are now using these sticky treats to carb-load before a race. At this year’s Tour de France, some racers were even spotted strapping Rice Krispies treats directly to their handlebars with hair ties!

And while this hype for a nostalgic treat is all fine for adults, protein-packed Rice Krispies for kids is probablyyy where I draw the line. (Because neither your nor my 2-year-old likely needs that much protein.)

Sometimes when something’s not sitting right with you, you just need to turn around. So that’s what we’re doing at 5HT. Some news:

🆓 First: Special reports are now free.

I’ve decided to nix our premium membership because, ultimately, my goal is to make healthyish more accessible, and something about having a paywall never sat well with me. Which meannns you’ve got some new reading material for your holiday weekend. Two special reports—Alzheimer’s Prevention and The Sun—are now unlocked! 🙌 I put a ton of time into them and, IMO, they’re worth a read.

💬 Second: The group chat is open.

The best part of the membership has been access to our 5HT+ Slack—which is where all this content comes from. And now it’s easy for everyone to get an invite. To see and chat about all the latest health news and trends with me and others in the community, just:

I finallyyy get to share more formally that my first CPG business is officially launching this fall.

✨ Introducing: Fixie Dust! ✨

Fixie Dust is like a Pixy Stick for your brain (remember those?). It’s a nootropic powder blend designed to give you that lucrative afternoon cognitive boost. It’s basically made for lift the fog in moments like:

The idea is just toss a stick in your bag, rip it open, and pour it straight into your mouth... No water, no shaker bottle, no fuss. Same nostalgic sweet and sour taste (but healthier, of course). Just simple, effective, and fun.

Creating a CPG brand—especially as a side hobby—from scratch has been extremelyyy fun (but also really different from other companies I’ve built). I plan to share a lot more behind-the-scenes updates as we roll out Fixie Dust—some here, some on LinkedIn. (Follow me there if you can’t resist getting all the details.) 

In the meantime, check out some of the content we’re already starting to generate—like this banger on what brain fog feels like.

Oh, and the name? If you know me, you know I’m a little obsessed with mythical creatures (my last company was called Ness 😆), so a nod to pixies was irresistible.

Okay, you know what I’m curious about—but here’s what everyone else is Googling, according to a few trusty platforms.

👋 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.