Good morning. It’s Tuesday, October 14th.

In today’s email:

• Learn: We’re Aging Faster

• Try: 3 Small Wins to Slow Down the Clock

• Eat: Lentils

• In the News: Striking a Pose

• Brain Games: Calcudoku

Stat of the Day

The accelerated rate of aging for people born in the U.S. after 1965 - compared to those born in the 1950s. (American Association for Cancer Research)

Learn

We’re Aging Faster

Check out the Stat of the Day.

We’ve never had more tools and technology for longevity - but we’re racing against a clock that’s moving faster. So all this innovation might be a way just to keep us at the status quo.

And it’s not just “aging” that’s going up - it’s everything that comes with it. Cancer rates are climbing for people under 50.

Research from a study of 150,000 found that the people aging more quickly had a dramatically higher risk of early-onset cancers. Specifically:

• 42% higher risk of lung cancer

• 36% higher risk of uterine cancer

• 22% higher risk of digestive cancers

It’s why it’s increasingly recommended to start screens like colonoscopies at younger ages - 45 or even 40.

What Is “Biological Age”?

In general, we’re skeptical of biological age tests - but this study was different. The lead scientists considered a critical list of blood biomarkers to determine biological age:

🩸 Albumin (how well your liver and cells are functioning)
🩸 Alkaline phosphatase (tied to bone and liver health)
🩸 Creatinine (muscle and kidney function)
🩸 C-reactive protein (your body’s inflammation signal)
🩸 Glucose (how efficiently you handle energy)
🩸 Red and white blood cell counts
🩸 Lymphocyte ratio (immune health)

When these results start to drift in the wrong direction, your “cellular age” ticks up - along with your risk of cancer.

A single standard deviation of faster biological aging (think: your body functioning like it’s 45 when you’re actually 40) can dramatically increase the odds of early disease.

What’s Happening?

Why are we aging faster than before? There are a number of lifestyle and environmental culprits (that won’t be surprising to you).

🍟 Ultra-Processed Food

A major BMJ study found that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) - the packaged, shelf-stable stuff in those middle aisles that make up 70% of the grocery store SKUs - are driving cancer risk independent of weight.

Additives and emulsifiers (like xanthan gum and guar gum) inflame the gut, artificial sweeteners (like sucralose) mess with insulin, and high-heat industrial processing forms carcinogenic compounds (toxins).

Basically we’re eating things that we think are fine (it’s at the store), but our biology isn’t built to use. We’ve become pretty good at managing it - but it takes a toll over the long-run.

🌙 Circadian Rhythm (or Lack Thereof)

Andrew Huberman was right. Light and wake/sleep schedule really do matter.

When you stay up past midnight staring at a blue-lit screen, you’re not just tired - you’re messing up the internal clock for every cell in your body.

The World Health Organization now classifies shift work that disrupts circadian rhythm as a probable carcinogen. Why? Because your body’s repair systems run on schedule. If your sleep, light, and eating cycles are off, your DNA repair is too.

Your mitochondria can’t fix what’s broken when you never power down.

♻️ Plastics Everywhere

0.5% of the weight of our brain is now plastic - that’s nuts.

And they’re found all over our body. The fragments are so small (microplastics) they pass through our lungs and gut, lodging inside our tissues. Stanford scientists have found they can damage DNA and trigger inflammation - two of the main drivers of aging and cancer.

We honestly don’t know all the implications of plastic right now - but I think we can agree that our cells aren’t sure what to do - they’re not supposed to be in our body.

⚡ Stress - The Silent Accelerator

This one hits home for me. I think about it every time I look or feel closer to my actual age.

As a founder and a father, there are days when it feels like I’m always behind - inbox overflowing, kids’ schedules colliding with work calls, days where I skip the workout.

Sometimes I never “catch up” and life is more of a treadmill than a journey.

Here’s what’s happening: our cortisol spikes, inflammation rises, and your cells start wearing down faster. The research is pretty clear - chronic stress accelerates biological aging.

Not hitting pause can matter more than how times we go around the sun.

Bottom Line

We’re chasing longevity like it’s something we can buy - supplements, peptides, devices, injections.

But you can’t out-hack a bad lifestyle or environment.

Longevity doesn’t come from adding more - it’s the result of removing what we don’t need.

Try

3 Small Wins to Slow Down the Clock

This can sound like a bummer - the point of the newsletter isn’t to be a total downer. Yes, we’re going uphill to optimize our health - but it’s possible and even the smallest changes make a massive impact on our longevity!

1️⃣ One Thing For You

Here’s the challenge: pick one morning or afternoon each week and block it like a meeting - with yourself. No calls. No screens. No back-to-back anything.

Use it to walk outside, lift, journal, or just let your brain wander. Give your body a chance to lower the cortisol and restore your dopamine balance.

If you can’t take half a day, start with a “no meeting” hour after lunch. But make it feel like you’ve got enough time in your day to stop chasing.

2️⃣ Processed Food Audit

Pick just one ultra-processed food you eat regularly - that energy bar (guilty!), the sweetened creamer, the “healthy” wrap from the airport. Replace it with a whole-food version for one week.

Inflammation markers like CRP can start dropping within days.

3️⃣ De-Plastic Your Routine

• Swap your plastic water bottle for stainless steel or glass.

• Ditch the plastic food containers for stainless or glass.

• Never microwave or heat food in plastic.

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Eat

Lentils

One of the most overlooked healthy foods to add to your weekly diet.

Lentils are one of the most powerful foods for our metabolic and cardiovascular health. Just a half a cup of cooked lentils packs 9g of protein and 8g of fiber, making it one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.

Not sure how to get them? Make the substitute of rice for lentils at CAVA 💪.

Health Benefits

💪 Protein Without the Fat: Lentils have more protein than chickpeas and none of the saturated fat found in meat or dairy (a potential issue if you’ve got high Apo B). Swapping them in a few times a week supports muscle and heart health.

🌾 Fiber for Gut & Heart: All of us are low on fiber. But lentils give us almost 30% of what we need in a day - stabilizing our blood sugar and protecting our heart.

🦠 Prebiotic Power: Lentils feed your good gut bacteria, producing short-chain fatty acids that lower inflammation and support immunity (most of our immune cells are in our gut) - leading to lower risk of disease.

⚡ Steady Energy: That same protein + fiber combo slows digestion, keeping you full and preventing energy crashes. Researchers even call it the “second meal effect” - better blood sugar not just for this meal, but the next one too.

❤️ Nutrient Density: Lentils are loaded with iron, potassium (273mg per ½ cup), magnesium, zinc, and folate. In fact, they have the most folate of any plant food. Potassium balances out sodium and lowers blood pressure naturally.

How to Lentil

🥣 Serving Size: ½ cup cooked (115 calories, 9g protein, 8g fiber).
🍲 Anytime Meal: Add to soups, toss into salads, or use instead of meat in tacos or curry.
🧑‍🍳 Pro Tip: Always soak (at least 1 hour, ideally overnight) and pressure cook lentils to reduce lectins and potential gut issues.
🍋 Flavor Boost: Pair with olive oil, lemon, or turmeric to boost absorption and flavor.

Bonus: Try this simple Lentil Soup from the Angiogenesis Foundation - nutrient-dense, easy to make, and perfect for fall.

H&L in the News

Decide Faster, Live Lighter: Stuck in decision paralysis? Harvard experts say clarity comes from action, not time. Use these 5 science-backed steps to move forward, stop overthinking, and solve almost any problem with momentum. (NYTimes)

9 Stretches for Back Pain and Posture: Inspired by yoga poses, here are 9 things you can do right now to release tension and improve how you stand (and show) up. (Outside)

Why AI Can’t Wake Up: AI can think fast but not feel time. Neuroscientist Anil Seth explains why living minds, bound by entropy and awareness, escape endless loops - and why true AI consciousness may never arrive. (Big Think)

Brain Games

Calcudoku

The objective is to fill in the grid with the correct digit in each cell, between 1 and 5:

• Each row contains exactly one of each digit

• Each column contains exactly one of each digit

• Each bold-outlined group (with same color) must equate the result with the numerical operation - addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*) and division (/)

It’s go time -  this one is kinda tough, solve this in under three minutes. Ready…set…go!

Credit: Brainzilla

** For answer, scroll to the bottom of the email

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Brain Games Answer

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!