Good morning. It’s Tuesday, July 1st.

In today’s email:

• Learn: New Thoughts on Fasting

• Measure: Prostate Screening

• In the News: Going #1

Happy 8th birthday to my daughter Olivia!

Stat of the Day

The percentage of Americans that have done intermittent fasting in the last 12 months. (International Food Information Council)

Learn

New Thoughts on Fasting

I wrote about my 4-day fast way back in January 2023. This was just after the “peak-fasting” hype.

Chris Hemsworth had just done a fast with Dr. Peter Attia on the show Limitless and fasting was still all the rage for our longevity.

Two weeks ago Dr. Attia just said this at the end of his podcast:

So what changed?

It would be easy to say - “well another fad that doesn’t work.” That’s why we keep losing trust in science and in this concept of longevity.

But the nuance is a little more complicated.

Here’s the reality:

• ✅ Fasting can help with longevity, especially in cancer treatment

• ✅ Autophagy (removal of zombie cells) does increase after 16+ hours

• ✅ It can help control calorie intake and insulin sensitivity

The key though is that fasting is a tool, not a cure-all in making this happen:

• 🚫 Most of the benefits come from eating less overall

• 🚫 Weight loss from fasting is often temporary

• 🚫 50-66% of that weight loss is muscle

• 🚫 If you fast 16 hours, then crush bagels and sit all day - it does nothing

Fasting is like meditation.

The point isn’t to meditate - you do it to be more calm and focused in life.

The point isn’t to fast - you do it to eat less and to eat better.

Who Should Fast?

First - let’s start with who should NOT fast.

Anyone with low muscle mass - because much of the weight that’s lost is lean muscle mass (similar to a GLP-1) there is additional risk for anyone with already low muscle.

Some women - fasting can affect hormone levels and women in general should be more careful about not eating for prolonged periods of time. NOTE: This should be obvious - but definitely not good for women who are pregnant or nursing - you need all the energy and nutrients you can get!!

Men with low free testosterone - this might make it worse. While fasting might also lower cortisol (a good thing for testosterone production), check with a trusted healthcare partner first.

Anyone with Type 1 Diabetes - this can increase ketones and without the sufficient insulin create massive health risks.

Anyone under 18 - keep getting the fuel and nutrients to grow! (Any pre-diabetic kids should talk to a trusted healthcare partner on ways to adjust diet, sleep, activity).

Ok - so if you’re not in those categories, how can fasting potentially help you?

There are three general buckets and then one specific objective.

Fasting is great if:

• It helps you eat fewer total calories

• You can still focus on building muscle and strength

• It empowers you to control food instead of the other way around

The real goal is to eat less.

I used to fast until at least 11am. But I would be hungry and justify eating more in my 8 hour window because I hadn’t put anything in my stomach yet. This negates the point of the fast.

It’s like cleaning your kids’ playroom only to see the same mess 2 hours later (sorry - sore spot right now).

Instead, my ideal schedule is finishing dinner by 6:30pm and then having some protein at 9am (normally post-workout). This way I get great sleep, eat in the AM, and don’t feel the need to eat a lot throughout the day.

Now the other benefit for some people is the feeling of “control” over food. But again, this is personal. For some, fasting makes you think even more about food. For others, it’s the opposite. So it’s up to the individual if this is a positive or negative for you.

The other case is that fasting shows promise to help manage cancer treatments (chemotherapy and radiation).

Basically when we don’t have enough nutrients, our cells focus on repair, not growth. So we are better able to fight damage from the treatment and the horrible side effects (while also not fueling cancer cells).

Fasting can be an effective tool against the modern American diet of too many calories and too much junk - but just know it’s a tool, not a silver bullet and you need to figure out how/if it works for you.

👉 Want to talk more and get personalized suggestions on fasting? Send us an email at [email protected]. Happy to get into more detail if you are interested in fasting.

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Measure

Prostate Screening

This matters…

All guys over 45 (maybe even 40) should be getting screened.

Even if your doctor won’t order the PSA (prostate-specific antigen test to be covered), it’s not a big expense - it should be less than $30.

PSA is a protein that keeps semen as a liquid to help sperm swim. The more of this protein that gets into our blood, the higher likelihood of potential prostate problems - namely cancer.

Advocate for yourself. That’s the best advice we can tell you for how to get in front of common cancers with a standard screening that you should be getting.

Why are we telling everyone about this? Because women are often the ones nudging guys to get this test - and maybe save their life.

No - the PSA test isn’t perfect, but it’s available and directionally very helpful.

Here’s how to interpret your results - 

• If results less than 1 ng/mL, then test every 2 years.

• If results less than 3 ng/mL, then test every year.

If PSA is greater than 4 ng/mL, then you can look at “Percent-free PSA” (free PSA divided by total PSA). If this number is less than 25%, then a biopsy is recommended.

If you get a biopsy, the results are measured in Gleason Scores. 

The tissue taken from a biopsy is given a grade (1-5) and then two tissue samples are added together to create a score (range 6-10).

6 is low-grade cancer and 10 is high-grade cancer.

Based on your score, make sure to ask your doctor about the right recommendations for how to manage your result and protect yourself before the cancer spreads to other parts of your body.

It should be noted that 20% of men develop prostate cancer with normal PSA levels. So if you have any family history or other risk factors, go ahead and schedule a biopsy to confirm you are in the clear.

Pro Tip: Don’t stop getting screened at 70 or 75. You have plenty of good years ahead and should still be thinking long-term, not just the next 3-5 years!

👉 Track your screenings with Thrive25 - check out Membership HERE!

H&L in the News

Proactive Peeing: Constant “just in case” peeing trains your bladder to signal early, shrinking capacity and fueling overactive bladder. Break the cycle with habits, pelvic floor therapy, and smart hydration. (NYTimes)

Heat Hacks for Mind and Body: Beat the summer heat - prevent heatstroke with smart cooling, watch for summer depression signs, and tap nature’s power to boost mood and focus - your essential guide to thriving in the heat. (Washington Post)

Brain Hackers: Scientists engineered microglia to bypass the blood-brain barrier and clear Alzheimer’s plaques - doubling effectiveness and slashing brain inflammation in early models. A bold leap for brain-targeted longevity therapies. (Lifespan.io)

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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.

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To health!