Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 1st.

In today’s email:

• Learn: 2025 Dietary Guidelines (USDA)

• Try: Make Eating Personal

• Explore / Laugh: Bologna Sandwich - Dirty

• In the News: How Cancer Works

Stat of the Day

The percentage of calories that we eat from minimally processed food (fruits, vegetables, meat and fish). Now not all processing is bad - but c’mon we aren’t really eating any “real food”. (Johns Hopkins)

Learn

2025 Dietary Guidelines (USDA)

The US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and US Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) just put out updated Dietary Guidelines for how we should eat - here’s what you should do:

Do NOT read the report.

It’s a complete waste of time and money.

The recommendations don’t do anything to address the urgency of the public health crisis in this country (93% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy) or help individuals know how and what they should eat to optimize their health and longevity.

Here are a few examples from the report…

“Snacks contribute to 23% of total daily energy (calories) and 43% of daily added sugars.”

Then wait for it:

“Snacking in adults may not be associated with outcomes related to body composition and risk of obesity.” (link)

You know what else (based on the report) doesn’t affect body composition or risk of obesity:

• Portion size

• Juice (or any beverage we drink really)

• Ultra-processed food

• Alcohol

These are literally the drivers of today’s American diet that are making us metabolically unhealthy and giving us chronic disease.

Nutrition is Personal (not Online)

So what should you do instead?

1. Set Your Goal

• Maintain health

• Lose weight

• More energy

• Build strength

2. Track Your Biomarkers

Nutrition is personalized - I can’t sit here and tell you what to eat. No one can.

If you’ve got high HbA1c and Fasting Glucose or Insulin - then you’ve got to cut out the simple carbs, especially sugar drinks (no matter what the USDA says).

If you’ve got high Apo B - then you should eat less saturated fat. Grass-fed, organic meat isn’t inherently bad - but maybe sub this out for poultry, fish and beans to get protein and get this key biomarker for heart disease back in optimal range.

If you’ve got high Uric Acid - then stop drinking beer. It has way more purines than red or white wine.

And a full nutrient panel will help you identify gaps you need to fill based on actual data - not what some influencer says.

3. Pay Attention to Your Gut

People talk about nightshades, lectins, and cruciferous veggies as being bad for your gut.

Are they?

Maybe - we have 38 trillion bacteria in our body and most of those are in our gut.

Everyone is different.

That’s why it’s critical to take the time to figure out when/if you feel bloated, pain or just plain tired after you eat certain foods.

Commons foods in these categories:

• Nightshades: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers

• Lectins: beans, chickpeas, lentils, peanuts, cashews (always soak beans before eating them)

• Cruciferous Veggies: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, kale, watercress (cook them to make ‘em easier to digest)

Listen to your body and avoid what it doesn’t want.

Note: That’s not the same thing as listening to your body when it wants the late night ice cream or morning donut.

We are designed to consume as much energy as possible when it’s available - because we didn’t know when we’d find our next meal. But our brains haven’t caught up with portions from the Cheesecake Factory (which is apparently still crushing it - its stock is up 33% in the last 12 months).

Try

Make Eating Personal

Don’t listen to all the noise out there on nutrition - whether from the government or social media.

Just do this:

1. Eat real food

2. Drink plenty of water (not calories)

3. Target foods based on your goals, biomarkers, and gut

Want to figure out how to make this work for you?

Reach out to us ([email protected]) and we can help you put together a plan.

Or

Want to really make sense of your biomarkers?

👉 Sign up for Thrive25 Early Access and get the best Personal Biomarker Report - complete with custom Quick Wins and AI to help you optimize all your results.

Thrive25 Partner Spotlight

TMAC has 20-min workouts for you to do at home - each ending with a mind-right meditation. Say goodbye to equipment and hello to an invigorating routine that combines fitness and meditation in the comfort of your own home.

This is Max’s go-to morning workout - because he can sneak it in between the kids morning routine. Take the first step towards a fitter, more balanced you! Get 10 days of FREE access to the workout library by clicking HERE!

Laugh

Bologna Sandwich - Dirty

Here’s 100% processed something…

H&L in the News

Crooked Teeth, Deeper Voice?: From shrinking height to shifting smiles and changing voices, aging brings surprising changes. Experts weigh in on what’s normal, what’s not—and how to age well through it all. (NYTimes)

DNA For Sale - Delete Yours Now!: 23andMe’s bankruptcy puts your genetic data at risk. Here’s how to download your info and permanently delete it before new ownership changes the rules. (WIRED)

How Cancer Cells Conquer: Cancer’s spread is a brutal feat of survival. From hijacking nutrients to hacking organs, metastasis reveals surprising vulnerabilities—offering fresh hope for new, targeted treatments. (Knowable)

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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

To health!