5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including top health trends and Dick Van Dyke turning 100

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This month, Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years young. 

I’ve always been so impressed by him. From dancing in Mary Poppins to dancing barefoot for a Coldplay video, this guy just seems to be doing life right. He’s lived a full life in so many different decades (literally born in the ‘20s!). So I wasn’t at all surprised to see the NYT interviewing him about his health habits and getting to 100. It’s a great read, but what really stuck with me was his idea of not taking your health so seriously—and how doing that might actually help you live longer. 

Look, part of my personal mission has always been to make getting healthier more accessible, and, ultimately, more fun. But between a growing healthcare gap, endless new health tools with two-day shipping, and waves of alarming statistics, that gets freakin’ tough to do sometimes. It has even made me forget my own mission sometimes—getting lost in the weeds of my protocols rather than enjoying playing tennis with my wife on Saturdays. 

There’s a certain seriousness placed on our health, and sure, a good bit is warranted. But there’s also something powerful about letting go of some of that seriousness—and accepting you can’t control everything. I’ve never been healthier. I’m down to my college weight. My biomarkers are better than ever. I feel stronger. I’m on the other side of what has arguably been my biggest health transformation yet, and I could still be rushed to the hospital. My ER scare earlier this year reminded me of that, and how fragile health can be even if you’re doing all the “right” things. 

With the year wrapping up, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting, and I keep coming back to the reminder that the real priority is the life in your years—not just the years in your life. Because, eventually, my time will come (as it does for us all), and I would much rather go out dancing like Dick 🕺than optimizing my supplement stack. 

And, yeah, I’m allowed to mess up. I’m allowed to eat a slice of pumpkin pie (or two!). The key is to not beat myself up after it. To not take all this health stuff too seriously. To have some levity (which is why I always try to embed humor into these emails!). And to not just leave room for improvement, but also to leave room for play. 

I think Dick captures this beautifully. And, in some ways, this guy who just reached 100 is kinda the anti-Bryan Johnson. The way Johnson approaches living is so serious. Longevity is a game to him, where you have to eke out every little extra thing. And while I’m often captivated by Johnson’s experiments, if I were to choose a way of living, I’d go with Dick’s, hands down. 💯

Ultimately, I think one of the best things we can do for our health (and ourselves) is to not take it all so seriously—and to laugh and dance as much as possible. 💃

If you didn’t know already, I'm a big fan of scooping things into my smoothies (and drinking straight out of my Vitamix 😎). This year, I scooped up Supergut GLP1 Daily Support (affiliate link, but not sponsored), a supplement designed to promote GLP-1 activity and help control cravings naturally. In case you missed this edition about the wave of brands launching GLP-1 supportive supplements, GLP-1 is actually a naturally occurring hormone, and some supplements can help turn the volume up. ⬆️

That’s the idea with Supergut, which I started up when I stopped microdosing GLP-1s and went cold turkey. I’ve since  returned to microdosing an even smaller amount (nano-dosing?), but kept this as a complement primarily for the fiber.

It’s worth saying I don’t like the product’s name. 😬 Calling something “GLP1 Daily Support” feels scammy and a little, er, thirsty?🥤. Honestly, anything with “GLP1” slapped on it gives me the ick. (I think I’m using this right but if not, then 6-7 amiright?.)

What I do like, though, are the ingredients. They include a proprietary Solnul® Resistant Potato Starch, oat beta-glucan, unripe green banana, and soluble vegetable fiber. Each serving gives you 6g of dietary fiber—which is a lot—and helps you inch toward the 30g/day we should all be aiming for. I’m bullish on fiber (deeply underrated, imo) and, yes, there’s real clinical evidence that shows this type of fiber increases GLP-1, which is a nice bonus… but not really the reason it’s earned a stable place in my stack.

Note: Fiber supplements can take a bit for your body to adjust to. I got a little scoop-happy at one point and jumped to two scoops a day for a bit 😆, but wouldn’t recommend unless you love.

I got a bit nerdy 🤓 and analyzed alllll 5HT sends from this year to figure out what got your attention. After crunching the numbers like a bag of protein chips, here are the top 5 healthyish trends of the year.

🖥️ Extra credit: The optimized desk. Making the most of your work space was top of mind this year for many of you, with a surprisingy amount of interest in the gadgets and accessories I use to spice up my at-home office. You all loved my walking pad (still sold out ☹️, but this alternative is available), Costco standing desk, Herman Miller chair, this vertical mouse, and my sun lamp. 

Oh—and, fun fact, the highest clicked link of the year (!) was this mindblowing video on how to correctly store cake. 🍰

Tis such a killer ad from sustainable toilet paper brand Plant Paper featuring Alicia Silverstone. Why isn’t more advertising like this?? As if!

Fun fact: I almost started a company like this back in 2019 that was going to be called Butter. It was going to plant trees (not kill them), automagically re-order toilet paper rolls for you when you needed more of them, and provide the absolute best on-the-toilet entertainment (articles and videos) in its app. Think Sir Kensington’s meets Aesop. Ah, what could have been. Maybe I could have even met Alicia Silverstone! 😂 

I always thought grounding (also known as earthing) was woo-woo junk. Basically, it’s this notion that it’s healthy to connect your body directly to the Earth’s surface 🌎. Or, as some might say:

Bust because something isn’t scientifically proven doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Science is slow, and science is skeptical. So lately, I’ve been opening up to the idea that maybeee there is something beneficial about connecting your body to the earth’s electrical charges. I mean, just watch this baby.

But the type of grounding that really has my attention lately is in the electrical sense. 🔌

One of the recs from Lightwork’s Home Health Assessment (I’m sharing a full debrief on what changes I’ve made next week, based on these findings, btw) was to get a no-EMF power strip for my office.

Now, like with earthing, my initial reaction was an eyebrow raise 🤨, buuut the science behind this type of grounding is very real. There’s a reason plugs have a third prong: It’s a literal safety hatch for stray current. A properly grounded outlet reduces electrical noise, prevents shocks, protects your gear, and keeps your household from performing an unexpected fire drill. That's not woo-woo, that’s physics. 

Turns out, a lot of Lightwork’s recommendations fall into the category of emerging science around EMFs and magnetic radiation—things I’m researching and wrapping my head around. And while I might not be walking around Austin barefoot (yet), adding this no-EMF power strip (I purchased this one fyi) feels like a no-brainer. To me, it’s a perfect example of a “sure, why not” upgrade that makes your environment a little safer… without needing to believe the earth is whispering electrons into your feet. (It might be, though.) 🤷‍♂️

Okay, you now 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.