Practical Tips to Fight Anxiety

I have been prone to anxiety since I was a teenager.

This has manifested in everything from low-grade general anxiety to full-blown panic attacks.

I’m now in my early 40s and over the years have developed a toolbox of tactics to manage anxiety. Below are the most effective strategies I’ve found to keep anxiety at bay:

Limit Caffeine

I love coffee — for me, it’s a great way to start the day and a potent concentration and performance enhancer. But I’ve realized that anything more than 2 cups per day can increase my anxiety, so 2 cups is my daily limit. Additionally, if there is anything specific I’m anxious about — for example, a job interview, work presentation, or sports competition, I avoid caffeine for at least a few hours beforehand. My anxiety will get me in ‘game mode’ all on its own, without needing an additional boost from caffeine.

Exercise

Arguably the most powerful anxiety-reducer in my life has been exercise. Specifically, cardio exercise that causes a good sweat has shown to lower my anxiety and improve my mood for many hours afterward. For me, that has come in the form of running — either outside or on the treadmill — but presumably any higher-intensity exercise would yield similar results. Weightlifting can be effective too, especially for body composition and overall confidence, but I’ve found that nothing compares to cardio exercise for anxiety reduction. Thirty minutes in the morning seems to do the trick.

Eat a Low-Glycemic Diet

Sugar can cause my heart rate to spike, mimicking feelings of anxiety. I’ve found that other foods that increase my blood sugar can have the same effect — including white bread and other starchy carbs, as well as salty packaged snacks. The foods that seem to make me the calmest are lean forms of protein (e.g. turkey and chicken) — and non-starchy vegetables (e.g. leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, tomatoes, asparagus, etc.). Foods that contain healthy fats — such as avocado, extra virgin olive oil, and nuts — also don’t seem to be a problem.

Eat Less

I’ve found that restricting calories lowers my body temperature and creates feelings of calmness. Digesting food, especially big meals, can cause my body to work in overdrive, which also can mimic feelings of anxiety. I prefer to feel light, with my body and mind able to focus on the task at hand instead of digesting excessive food.

Obviously adequate nutrition is critical for good health, but overdoing it is not a good thing for anxiety. Eating a low-glycemic diet has caused me to naturally eat less, without consciously trying to do so. Similar to caffeine, I typically don’t eat much at least a couple hours before something specific I’m anxious about. This calms my body down going into a higher-stress environment.

Limit Alcohol

I enjoy a glass of red wine and find it to be a great way to downshift at the end of a long day. But the reality is alcohol feels good in the moment, but it spikes anxiety hours afterward and seems to increase anxiety the next day as well. Zero alcohol is probably the best for anxiety, but certainly anything more than 1–2 glasses per day can be especially detrimental. Alcoholic drinks that contain sugar (e.g. mixed drinks) or a lot of carbs (e.g. beer) are probably the worst for anxiety.

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Those are my top 5 tips to reduce anxiety. If I implement these 5 things daily, I can reliably manage my anxiety. On the flip side, when I am less disciplined in any area, my anxiety typically rises.

For many people, myself included, eliminating anxiety is not possible. But effectively managing anxiety is critical to maintaining a high quality of life.

If you struggle with anxiety, I hope these tips help you as well.

If you have other effective strategies for managing anxiety, I’d love to know about them in the comments!

How to Get Your Best Night's Sleep

I have been sleeping great recently, waking up naturally at 6am, ready to go for the day.

I wanted to share what’s working for me, in case it’s helpful for you, too.

Here are my top tips for a great night’s sleep:

Limit Caffeine and Stop Early in the Day

I used to drink 3–4 cups of coffee per day, including one around 2pm to get me through the afternoon. Recently I’ve limited myself to 2 cups first thing in the morning, stopping by 8am. This ensures the caffeine is out of my system by bedtime.

Stay Active During the Day

I normally get at least 30 minutes of dedicated exercise in the morning — usually in the form of running outside — and try to stay as active as possible throughout the day. This activity leaves my body feeling tired when the day is done.

Stop Eating at Least an Hour Before Bedtime

If I eat too close to bedtime, my body is still working hard digesting food instead of focusing on sleep. I try to stop eating at least 1–2 hours before bed to allow my body to be in a fully rested state at bedtime.

Limit Sweets

I’ve learned that my body doesn’t respond well to a lot of sugar. If I eat an indulgent dessert even relatively close to bedtime, my stomach gets upset and that will keep me up during the night. I’ve found its a lot better for sleep if I satisfy my sweet tooth with fruit instead of cookies or ice cream.

Limit Alcohol

I love a glass of red wine at night — for me, it’s one of life’s simple pleasures. I can still sleep pretty well with 1–2 glasses, but any more than that and I’ll be up for an hour or more in the middle of the night. Alcohol can feel good in the moment, but not so much in the middle of the night or the next day. If you find it difficult to cut down your alcohol consumption, then visit https://www.woburnaddictiontreatment.com/alcohol-detox-drug-detox-massachusetts/ to get help. You’ll find that it helps improve much more than just your sleep.

Stick to a Consistent Bedtime

I normally get into bed by 9 or 9:30 p.m. Sticking to a consistent bedtime allows me to stick with a consistent wake time, naturally. This ensures I give myself at least 7–8 hours of sleep, which is what I’ve found my body needs.

Read a Real Book Before Bed

I read a real, physical book for about 20 minutes after getting into bed (or for as long as it takes to feel tired and ready for sleep). This is a great way to wind down and tire my brain out for sleeping.

Go to the Bathroom Right Before Sleep

I always go to the bathroom one last time right before sleep. This ensures I’ll be able to sleep through the night without having to get up at all. I also don’t drink much water in the hour before bed, for the same reason.

Keep Your Room Cool, Dark, and Quiet

I try to keep my room around 68 degrees, as dark as possible, and will use a fan or sound machine to block any outside noise. This setup seems optimal for sleep and allows me to wake naturally when the sun comes up.

Put Your Phone on Airplane Mode

I do sleep with my phone in my bedroom, but I don’t check email before bed (which would rev up my brain) and I put it on airplane mode for sleep. This means I won’t be woken up by any calls or texts in the night.

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That’s it — following these 10 habits has produced some of the best sleep of my life. Hopefully these tips can help you get a great night sleep, too!

How to Select Truly High-Protein Foods

Many people are prioritizing protein these days, and for good reason.

Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, helping you feel more full with less food. Protein also notoriously supports muscle recovery and growth, which is especially important as we age.

But a lot of people think they are eating high-protein foods when they are really not.

Certain foods, like almonds, contain a moderate amount of protein (6g of protein per 1 oz. serving), but they are actually dominant in another macronutrient (that same 1 oz. serving of almonds contains 14g of fat).

Almonds are a healthy food, but they should be viewed as a better source of monounsaturated fat than protein. All nuts fall into this category.

Beans would be another similar example. Black beans have a decent amount of protein (15g of protein per 1 cup serving), but they are more dominant in carbohydrates (41g of carbs in that same 1 cup serving). Beans are a healthy food, and a great source of complex carbs, but they are not a protein powerhouse.

The key to choosing a truly high-protein food is to ensure it contains at least 40% protein. There is a trick to determine if a food passes the 40% protein test:

1. Find protein grams per serving on the nutrition label and multiply by 10.

2. Compare the protein times 10 value to total calories per serving.

3. If protein x 10 is equal to or more than calories, the food is at least 40% protein and should be considered a high-protein food.

4. If protein x 10 is lower than calories, the food is less than 40% protein and should not be considered a high-protein food.

Credit: Ted Naiman, Instagram

You can use this trick at the grocery store by quickly running the numbers based on the nutrition label.

All sources of lean protein will easily pass the test, including chicken breast, turkey, shrimp, and fish.

You’ll need to select lean beef to qualify. Most fattier cuts of meat, as well as processed meat such as bacon and sausage, will be higher in fat than protein and won’t pass the 40% test.

Whole eggs actually contain slightly lower than 40% protein (6g of protein in a 70+ calorie egg), but egg whites easily pass the test (4g of protein and only 18 calories per egg white).

Most forms of full-fat Greek yogurt will fall below the 40% threshold, and the same can be said for yogurt with lots of added sugar.

However, non-fat Greek yogurt without added sugar easily passes the test. That variety of yogurt contains 16g of protein and only 90 calories per serving, making it a terrific high-protein choice.

Although most of the high-protein foods mentioned so far are animal products, fear not if you are a vegan — there are plant-based options that pass the test including seitan (21g protein, 104 calories per serving), tofu (17g protein, 144 calories per serving), lupin beans (26g protein, 198 calories per serving), textured vegetable protein (9g protein, 56 calories per serving), nutritional yeast (3g protein, 20 calories per serving), and certain forms of bean-based pasta (24g protein, 180 calories per serving).

There are plenty of options from which to choose.

Whether you are a vegetarian or an omnivore, if you are trying to prioritize protein in your diet, make sure your high-protein foods pass the 40% test.

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Sign up for my new online course Top 10 Habits for Living Well. The course is based upon a decade of research, expert insight, and personal experimentation. Apply the most proven tactics to become happier, healthier, & more successful.

Launch of My New Course — The Top 10 Habits for Living Well

If you have been reading my articles for a while, you know I am fascinated with the best habits for living well.

I believe living well is the ultimate goal in life and it is achieved through the perfect blend of happiness, health, productivity, and success.

I read everything I can get my hands on related to this topic and continuously experiment with new tactics to see what works in my own life.

After a decade of research and personal experimentation, I have distilled my learnings into a new online course — The Top 10 Habits for Living Well.

The course is live now and open for enrollment here: https://10habitsforlivingwell.thinkific.com/

In the course, each habit is structured as its own chapter. For each chapter, there is a short reading assignment, quiz, and action items to apply to your life.

There is also a printable 1-page version of all action items for easy reference.

The entire course is estimated to take between 2–3 hours to complete.

My sincere hope is that everyone who enrolls in this course will learn actionable and practical tips to improve their life.

The first 10 people who sign up will receive a free 1-hour coaching session with me ($250 value) to help put the principles of the course into action.

I appreciate all the support and loyalty from my readers over the years and I can’t wait to hear what you think about this new course!

Sincerely,

Andrew

World’s Oldest Doctor Has a Prescription for a Long Life

Dr. Howard Tucker is the world’s oldest practicing doctor. The 100-year-old neurologist has been working in medicine for 75 years.

As a centenarian with extensive medical expertise, Dr. Tucker is uniquely qualified to share what leads to a long life.

Of course good genes help (his mother lived to 84 and his father to 96), but Tucker has adhered to several lifestyle practices we can all follow.

Exercise

Tucker has exercised throughout his life, regularly swimming, running, and skiing. He no longer skis after breaking his neck skiing in his late 80s, but he has turned to snowshoeing and uses an old-fashioned NordicTrack in his home gym which is similar to skiing. He also uses a treadmill and stationary bike in his home gym.

Enjoy Food and Alcohol in Moderation

Tucker enjoys all types of food in moderation. He drinks alcohol socially and is even known to have a martini on Friday nights. He has never been a smoker.

Don’t Retire and Keep Learning

“I look upon retirement as the enemy of longevity,” Tucker said. He has always enjoyed his work, aiming to learn something new every day. If you do decide to retire, he says you “should at least do something as a hobby, whether it be communal work or self-hobbies… you need a stimulus for the brain daily.”

In addition to still working as a doctor, Tucker makes it a point to keep up with technology (he has a computer and smartphone), he passed the Ohio Bar Exam at age 67 because he was interested in law, and he keeps up with the medical field by studying and reading. He has stimulated and challenged his mind throughout his life.

Cultivate Happiness

“You have to be happy in your job and in your domestic life,” Tucker has said. His happiness has stemmed from his wife and 4 children (all college graduates and professionals — 3 attorneys and 1 physician). He also derives great happiness from his work.

“Lastly, I carry with me no hate for any ethnic group, religious affiliation, or race,” he said.

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Dr. Tucker has a refreshing outlook on life which has certainly supported his longevity.

“I would tell my teenage self to learn each day as if I were to live forever, and to live each day as if I were to die tomorrow.”

That’s terrific advice for us all to follow.

5 Things You Can Do To Live 14 Years Longer

Harvard researchers conducted a huge study to determine how lifestyle habits influence life expectancy. The research analyzed data from more than 120,000 people over 34 years.

The findings revealed that 5 specific lifestyle habits help you live much longer. Incorporating all 5 of the habits at age 50 was associated with living 14 years longer for women and 12 years longer for men. Here are the 5 habits:

1. Eat a Healthy Diet

Defined as eating more foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, healthy fats (from foods like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and seeds), and omega-3 fats (i.e. from fish), and less unhealthy foods such as processed meats, sugar-sweetened drinks, trans fat, and added salt.

2. Do Regular Physical Activity

This one is pretty simple — defined as doing an average of 30+ minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day.

3. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Defined as having a normal body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9. Calculate your BMI here.

4. Don’t Smoke

This means you have never been a smoker.

5. Moderate Alcohol Intake

This one is a bit more nuanced. It is measured as between 5–15 grams per day for women and 5–30 grams per day for men. A typical drink contains about 14 grams of alcohol (e.g. 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits). So it equates to up to 1 drink per day for women, 2 for men.

If you find yourself becoming too heavily reliant on alcohol each day then it may be time to give it up completely. This can take a long time and a lot of willpower, you have to be totally ready to give up alcohol. If you need a hand with this from experts then take a look at addiction treatment for men. Here you will find programmes to join where other people are in a similar boat. You never know you might make a friend for life.

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If you maintain all 5 of these habits by age 50, you can expect to live to 93 if you’re a woman and 88 if you’re a man.

However, if you do none of these habits, the data shows you’re far more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.

But it isn’t all or nothing. Just one healthy habit — and it didn’t matter which one — extended life expectancy by 2 years in men and women.

These 5 habits are actionable and practical to implement. If you have never smoked, you’re already 1/5 of the way there.

Make it a goal to check off all 5 boxes — ideally by the time you’re 50 — and you can look forward to living over a decade longer.

The 1 Habit That Has Improved My Life More Than Anything Else

Exercise is the single habit that has improved my life more than anything else.

Specifically a 30-minute run first thing in the morning.

This habit, which takes up just 3% of my waking hours, has delivered an incredible return on investment.

Exercise helped me overcome anxiety when I was in college and it has been a competitive advantage throughout my professional career.

I have worked in many high-pressure environments, working for billion-dollar companies including New Balance, Clif Bar, Red Bull, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox.

Throughout my career, I’ve never gone into a big day without running first thing in the morning.

Any time I need to attend an important meeting or give a high-stakes presentation, you can be sure I’ve gotten my run in first.

Just a 30-minute run at a moderate pace (9–10 minute mile) has consistently proven to improve my mood and heighten my productivity for hours afterward.

This makes me better with my relationships and better at business.

Now that I have a family of my own, including 2 children, my morning run is the me time I need to then be there for my family.

My morning run makes me more patient and focused with my loved ones.

The benefits of my morning run are felt immediately and persist throughout the rest of the day. That immediate feedback is what I have needed to stick with this habit for more than 20 years now.

Remarkably, the long-term health benefits have not been a primary driver to maintain this habit, although it is a nice bonus.

I’ve often wondered throughout my professional career why more people don’t exercise first thing in the morning.

Perhaps they have tried and it doesn’t produce the same results as it does for me, or maybe it’s just hard to resist the urge to sleep in a bit more.

I need sleep as much as anyone else, but knowing how much my day will be improved is all the motivation I need to put on my running shoes and get out the door.

Whatever exercise you enjoy, I encourage you to give it a try first thing in the morning, before your obligations for the day begin.

If you’re like me, you’ll notice the rest of the day goes much smoother in all aspects of your life — mental health, relationships, and business.

The Oldest Person in the World Eats Chocolate and Drinks Wine Every Day

If you want to live to 100 and beyond, perhaps you should follow the routine of the world’s oldest person.

That title currently belongs to 118-year-old Sister André (Born as Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904), a nun living in southern France. Sister André is the 4th-oldest human of all-time and the oldest survivor of COVID-19, overcoming the virus around the time of her 117th birthday.

How has she achieved such incredible immunity and longevity?

It could be the result of her daily indulgences. Specifically, she enjoys chocolate and drinks a glass of wine every single day.

In case you think this is just a coincidence and Sister André is an outlier, consider that the oldest person in recorded history — Jeanne Louise Calment who lived to be 122 years old — also ate chocolate and drank wine every day.

In fact, we know that drinking wine daily is one of the common denominators in the Blue Zones, the places around the world where people live the longest.

There is science behind why these treats actually produce health benefits.

People who drink moderate amounts of alcohol, including red wine, seem to have a lower risk of heart disease. This can be explained by the antioxidants in red wine, especially the polyphenol called resveratrol, which might help prevent damage to blood vessels, reduce LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol), and prevent blood clots.

Chocolate is also a powerful source of antioxidants, including polyphenols that lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and reduce heart disease risk. Some research has even shown that cocoa and dark chocolate have more antioxidant activity than common “superfoods” including blueberries.

Whatever the mechanism, chocolate and wine certainly aren’t hurting the longevity of the world’s longest-lived people.

If chocolate and wine are part of their daily habits, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be a part of ours, too.

Why You Should Eat (a High-Fiber) Breakfast

Skipping breakfast is common in many intermittent fasting protocols, but research suggests this practice could shorten your life.

Numerous studies show the benefits of eating breakfast, including reduced heart disease, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, less inflammation, and substantially lower all-cause mortality.

Eating breakfast is beneficial, but what you consume for breakfast matters a lot as well.

A large study from July 2021, published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, found that regularly eating breakfast is associated with lower overall and cardiovascular mortality, particularly when consuming more than 25 grams of fiber per day.

Eating breakfast and consuming more than 25g of fiber per day corresponded with having 21% lower all-cause mortality than people who ate breakfast but had lower fiber intake.

That could lead you to believe fiber is responsible for all the health benefits, but there was no association found between fiber intake and mortality in non-breakfast eaters.

All breakfast eaters fared better than non-breakfast eaters, but the combination of breakfast and high fiber was most protective.

Based on this research, it would be smart to start your day with a high-fiber breakfast. Good options include oatmeal, whole grain cereal, fruit, nuts, and seeds.

I personally eat oat bran every morning, topped with mixed berries, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.

If you choose to practice intermittent fasting, it is advised to shift your eating window earlier in the day, as opposed to skipping breakfast.

Eating breakfast — in combination with high fiber intake — appears to play a key role in overall health and longevity.

These 5 Healthy Habits Can Add Nearly 15 Years of Life Expectancy

The United States spends the most money on health care per capita (over $12,000), yet has one of the lowest life expectancies (79.1 years) of all developed countries (rank: #46).

Perhaps this is because we focus so much of our effort on treating diseases instead of preventing them in the first place.

While potent life-extending drugs may be on the horizon, there is a lot we can do today to prolong healthy lifespan.

Researchers from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a massive study to determine the impact of healthy habits on life expectancy, drawing upon data from more than 120,000 people over a span of 34 years.

The findings showed that 5 specific healthy lifestyle habits produce significantly longer lives. Meeting the criteria for all 5 of these habits at age 50 correlated with living 14 years longer for women and 12 years longer for men. That would mean over $100 trillion in health-care savings, according to Harvard biologist David Sinclair. Here are the 5 habits:

1. Eating a Healthy Diet

Characterized by eating more healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids, and less unhealthy foods like red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fat, and sodium.

2. Regular Physical Activity

Doing at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day.

3. Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight

Defined as having a normal body mass index (BMI), which is between 18.5 and 24.9.

4. Not Smoking

Defined as never having smoked.

5. Moderate Alcohol Intake

Measured as between 5–15 grams per day for women and 5–30 grams per day for men. A typical drink contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol (e.g. 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits).

Based on the data, if you check the box for all 5 of these habits by age 50, you can expect to live to about 93 if you’re a woman and 88 if you’re a man.

Conversely, people with none of these habits are far more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.

The more healthy habits people had the better, but anything is better than nothing. The researchers found that just one healthy habit — and it didn’t matter which one — extended life expectancy by 2 years in men and women.

These findings are consistent with previous research. A 2017 study showed that people 50 and older who had a normal weight, never smoked, and drank alcohol in moderation lived on average 7 years longer. And a 2012 large-scale analysis of over 500,000 people found that more than half of premature deaths were due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking.

A drug rehab can also help kick this addiction.

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If you want to live as long and healthy a life as possible, don’t wait until you have a disease.

Start incorporating these 5 healthy habits into your life now.

True longevity drugs seem to be coming, but that will only matter if you live long enough to see them.

11 Foods and Drinks to Consume Every Day

Certain foods and drinks deliver outsized benefits when included in your daily diet. Here are 11 to consume every day:

1. Coffee

If you can tolerate caffeine, starting your day with coffee can power up your mind and body. Drinking 3–5 cups of coffee daily has been associated with a decreased risk of dementia by 65% and Alzheimer’s disease by 64%.

2. Green Tea

I like to say coffee in the am + green tea in the pm = recipe for health. Green tea has lower caffeine content than coffee, so it’s a better option for later in the day. EGCG, the most abundant and powerful antioxidant in green tea, has been shown to protect against cancer.

3. Honey

Add a small spoonful of honey to your green tea for additional health benefits. Honey is considered one of the top longevity foods in the Blue Zones, used throughout history for its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties.

4. Oat Bran

Oat bran is a terrific breakfast option. Loaded with fiber, oat bran has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve the gut microbiome after just 3 months of daily consumption.

5. Blueberries

If you want to double your benefits, add a cup of blueberries to your oat bran in the morning. Blueberries have also been shown to lower blood pressure and enhance arterial function.

6. Walnuts

Triple your benefits by topping your breakfast bowl with a handful of walnuts. Eating walnuts is associated with living longer, in particular reducing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

7. Leafy Greens

For lunch, make it a big salad loaded with leafy greens. Consuming a big salad every day is associated with the brain being 11 years younger.

8. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Top your salad with EVOO, which has been proven to lower blood pressure while improving absorption of carotenoids and other fat-soluble vitamins found in the salad.

9. Turmeric

Sprinkle a small amount of turmeric root powder into your salad to dial up the nutrition even more. Less than a teaspoon of turmeric a day appears to significantly lower the DNA-mutating ability of cancer-causing substances.

10. Dark Chocolate

For a healthy mid-afternoon snack that also indulges your sweet tooth, reach for a square of dark chocolate. The flavonols in dark chocolate have been shown to increase blood flow, prevent blood clots, and even protect against memory decline.

11. Beet Juice

Wash your dark chocolate down with a glass of beet juice, which is another product on this list proven to lower blood pressure. If you are an athlete, beet juice can help even further — it has been shown to improve exercise stamina and increase physical performance.

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There you have it — 11 foods and drinks to incorporate into your daily diet. As shown above, many of these can be combined for synergistic effects. If you follow the combinations outlined in this article, you’ll power through all 11 by mid-afternoon.

Do that, and you’re playing with the house’s money for the rest of the day!

This is How Much Coffee to Drink to Protect Your Brain

It is well known that coffee causes energy and alertness, but coffee can also be a potent cognitive enhancer.

Coffee seems to strongly protect against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia — but there is a sweet spot consumption range to keep in mind.

In the CAIDE study (Cardiovascular risk factors, Aging and Dementia), drinking 3–5 cups of coffee per day at midlife (average age 50.4 years) was associated with a decreased risk of dementia by 65% and Alzheimer’s disease by 64% after a 21-year follow-up.

That finding is consistent with another study — the FINE study (Finland, Italy and the Netherlands Elderly) — which found that elderly men who drank 3 cups of coffee per day had the lowest amount of cognitive decline over the following 10 years.

Zooming out a bit further, a large systematic review conducted last year looked at 61 different studies between 1990 and 2020, examining the link between caffeine consumption and dementia risk. The analysis found that moderate caffeine intake (100–400 mg/day) was associated with improved cognitive function, whereas low (<100 mg/day) and high (>400 mg/day) caffeine intake generally had no impact on risk of dementia or cognitive performance.

And then just a couple months ago, another large study was published that analyzed data from nearly 400,000 people in the UK — also looking at the relationship between caffeine and brain function. The results showed increased risk for dementia among non-coffee and decaffeinated coffee drinkers, as well as those drinking more than 6 cups per day, but moderate coffee drinkers were protected.

As with many things, the dose makes the poison. That study found that drinking more than 6 cups per day was associated with 53% higher odds of dementia compared to moderate coffee drinkers.

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Looking at all of the data — if you can tolerate caffeine and enjoy drinking coffee — it’s best to keep your consumption to 3–4 cups per day (assuming each cup contains roughly 80–100mg of caffeine).

That amount appears to offer optimal cognitive benefits without the risks of excessive consumption.

Andrew Merle is a certified Nutritionist who writes about simple, evidence-based health tips that can improve your life.

Eat Walnuts and Almonds to Improve Your Health

Nuts can have a powerful impact on your health.

Nuts are the most common snack among centenarians in the Blue Zones — the places around the world where people live the longest — where they eat two handfuls of nuts per day.

Recently a couple of studies have pointed to two types of nuts with especially potent health benefits.

The first study, published last week in the journal Nutrients, analyzed data from 67,014 women and 26,326 men over a period of 20 years. The study found that eating walnuts was associated with a longer life expectancy. Specifically, a greater life expectancy at age 60 (1.30 years in women and 1.26 years in men) was observed among people who ate more than 5 servings a week of walnuts compared to those who did not eat any walnuts. A serving size was defined as 28 grams (1 ounce).

Eating walnuts was shown to reduce all-cause mortality, especially the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Consuming walnuts more than 5 times per week cut the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 25%, relative to non-consumers. This could be explained because walnuts contain a high amount of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), compared to other nuts. ALA is a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid, which has been shown to improve blood lipids and endothelial function. Walnuts have also been proven to protect against obesity and oxidative stress.

Another recent study, published in June in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, points to the health benefits of almonds. Among 219 adolescents and young adults ages 16–25, eating 56 grams of almonds daily — roughly two handfuls, approximately 50 total almonds — significantly decreased blood sugar, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol in just 90 days. The benefits of almonds could be attributed to their high quantity of monounsaturated fat and antioxidant content. Other studies have shown beneficial health effects from eating just 20 grams of almonds.

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Taken together, when looking at the Blue Zones data plus the results of these two studies, it would be advised to consume two handfuls of nuts per day. While all nuts likely have health benefits, walnuts and almonds are two of the best.

More is not necessarily better. A 1-ounce serving of walnuts contains 185 calories and the same size serving of almonds has 170 calories. That means two servings adds up to 355 calories, roughly 15% of a typical daily diet.

For optimal health benefits, choose raw or dry-roasted nuts, without added sugar, salt, or oil.

Andrew Merle is a certified Nutritionist who writes about simple, evidence-based health tips that will improve your life.

Why You Should Eat Chocolate in the Morning

It turns out that eating chocolate first thing in the morning has some impressive health benefits.

A recent randomized controlled trial showed that eating a large amount of milk chocolate (100 grams) within 1 hour of waking up in the morning actually helps to burn body fat and lower blood sugar levels.

You probably associate chocolate with weight gain, but this study will make you think again. In the study, 19 women were assigned to eat 100 grams of milk chocolate either in the morning with breakfast (within 1 hour of waking up) or in the evening (within 1 hour of going to sleep) for a period of 2 weeks.

100 grams of milk chocolate packs a whopping 31 grams of fat, 58.4 grams of carbohydrates, 57.5 grams of sugar, and 542 calories! Despite all of these extra calories — and being able to eat as much as they wanted throughout the day in addition to the chocolate — the women did not gain any body weight.

In fact, the women who ate chocolate in the morning actually reduced their waist circumference by 1.7% and spontaneously cut back on their daily calorie intake by 16%. Specifically, they had less desire for other forms of sweets.

Eating chocolate at night didn’t have any impact on waist circumference and caused only slight reductions in calorie intake.

The morning chocolate eaters also burned fat 25.6% more than the evening chocolate group (the evening chocolate eaters were predominantly burning sugar).

Additionally, eating chocolate in the morning decreased fasting glucose by 4.4% compared to eating no chocolate, whereas eating chocolate at night increased fasting glucose by 4.9% compared to morning chocolate.

Daily levels of cortisol — the body’s primary stress hormone — were also lower when eating chocolate in the morning than at night, helping to boost mood and lower stress (while reducing stress-related eating).

Eating chocolate — regardless of timing — also had a beneficial impact on the gut microbiome, increasing microbial diversity and beneficial bacteria while inhibiting potentially harmful bacteria. This could be due in part to the modest fiber content in chocolate (1.8 grams of fiber in 100 grams of milk chocolate).

100 grams of milk chocolate also delivered 854.3 mg of extra polyphenols (mainly epicatechin and catechin) per day, yielding powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

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Overall these results show that you can feel perfectly fine about satisfying your sweet tooth with some chocolate.

In fact, eating a large chocolate bar with breakfast might just be the ideal way to start your day.

Andrew Merle is a Certified Nutritionist who writes about simple, evidence-based health tips that will improve your life.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables, Slow the Aging Process

We now have evidence that eating more fruits and vegetables is directly related to having longer telomeres — which helps to slow the aging process.

Telomeres are the DNA protein caps that provide stability and shield the ends of chromosomes, often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces.

When shoelace tips break down, the laces become frayed until they can no longer do their job. The same is true for telomeres — when they erode, DNA strands become damaged and our cells can’t do their job.

Telomere length is maximum at birth and decreases progressively with age, influenced by oxidative stress, inflammation, and repeated cell replication over the course of your life. Shorter telomeres are associated with higher incidence of chronic disease and all-cause mortality.

If you want to slow the aging process, you need to keep your telomeres intact.

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A recent large study showed that the more servings of fruits and vegetables you consume, the longer your telomeres tend to be.

The study looked at a random sample of 5448 US adults (average age of 46.5 years old) and found that telomeres were 27.8 base pairs longer for each 100g (3.5 ounces) of fruits and vegetables consumed per day. That equates to 1.9 years less biological aging, according to the researchers.

When comparing people who consumed the most fruits and vegetables per day (in this study, that was at least 264g/day, or roughly 3.5 servings per day) to those who consumed virtually none, the difference was 4.4 years of cellular aging.

These results were found even after factoring in age, gender, race, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity.

The findings mentioned were for men and women combined, but there were some notable differences for men vs. women. For women, fruits and vegetables were each associated with improved biological aging. Whereas for men, vegetable intake was related to increased telomere length, but fruit consumption was not. The reason for this isn’t clear, but for both sexes vegetable intake had a more robust relationship with telomere length than fruit.

Additionally, for both genders, intake of potatoes and legumes was not related to telomere length, when analyzed separately from other vegetables.

The exact mechanism of how fruits and vegetables preserve telomeres isn’t known, but it is likely through reducing inflammation and oxidative stress and strengthening immune function.

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This is the latest study to show that what you eat directly relates to telomere length and cellular aging. Previous studies have shown that nuts and seeds and dietary fiber are both associated with longer telomeres and decreased biological aging. Sugar-sweetened soda, on the other hand, is predictive of shorter telomeres.

This current study only looked at fruit and vegetable consumption — both including and excluding potatoes and legumes — but did not factor in other foods. It should be noted that people who eat large amounts of fruits and vegetables typically also consume other ‘healthy’ foods such as whole grains, nuts, and seeds, which could explain some of the positive results.

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Overall these findings support increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption, with a specific emphasis on vegetables.

The World Health Organization recommends eating at least 400g (equivalent to 5 portions of 80g each) of fruit and vegetables per day, excluding potatoes and other starchy roots.

Studies have shown that all-cause mortality drops 5–6% for each daily serving of fruits and vegetables, with a threshold of about 5 servings per day.

Other research has demonstrated that the highest risk reduction is seen with 7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, more seems to be better.

In terms of which fruits and vegetables to eat, aim for a wide and colorful variety, but in general favor low-glycemic and non-starchy options. Dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and berries are some of the best.

I like to hit my daily fruit and vegetable goal by eating a bowl of mixed berries in the morning (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) followed by a big salad for lunch. That fills my daily quota before even getting to dinner (although I usually have another serving of veggies with dinner as well).

If you want to slow the biological clock, find the fruits and vegetables you like most and incorporate them frequently into your daily diet.

Andrew Merle is a Certified Nutritionist who writes about simple, evidence-based health tips that will improve your life. Subscribe to his email list at andrewmerle.com.

How to Have Your Wine and Drink it Too

I love wine.

One of my favorite things is to unwind at the end of a long day with a glass of good wine.

But I don’t love the negative effects of wine. I experience lower-quality sleep after just a glass or two. And I am concerned about the possible long-term health consequences. 

I lead a very healthy lifestyle overall, but it is hard to determine the right approach to alcohol. Certain studies show moderate drinking has health benefits, while other reports say no amount of alcohol is safe.

Ultimately, since wine is one of the great joys in my life, I want to continue enjoying it while finding the healthiest way to do so.

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As I started researching the healthiest wines, I came upon a “Clean-Crafted” wine company called Scout & Cellar.

Scout & Cellar was founded by a woman named Sarah Shadonix, an attorney-turned-sommelier who set out to solve the same issue I’ve been facing.

While studying to become a sommelier, Sarah found that even a single glass of wine would lead to a headache the next day.  She knew something was off, so she began doing research into why wine was having this effect on her, consulting everyone from naturopathic physicians to vintners. 

Eventually, she discovered the source of the headaches: the up-to 300 chemical pesticides and 250 chemical additives loaded into nearly all mass-produced wine. 

It turns out that there are some dirty secrets about the wine industry. 

Mass-produced wine typically contains GMO ingredients, up to 350 parts per million of sulfites, as much as 16 grams of added sugar, and other additives such as ammonium phosphate and copper sulfate. 

We have a pretty good sense about what is in our food these days, but we have no idea what is in our wine. 

That’s because the wine industry has spent millions of dollars lobbying to keep ingredients and contents labeling off of wine. And the US wine industry is powerful, with just a handful of major corporations dominating the bulk of wine production.

All of the pesticides, chemicals, and sugars are added to make wine that tastes the same, bottle after bottle, year after year.  Winemaking is inherently unpredictable, but these additives help to maintain consistency and sameness over time, while covering up bacteria and other flaws in the wine.

This means chemically altered, unnatural wine has become the norm.  

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Learning about these truths led Sarah to find a cleaner, healthier wine option. 

She spent years scouring the world to discover the best and purest wines – establishing a whole new set of requirements for what she calls “clean-crafted wine.”  She studied growing methods, walked the vineyards, and scientifically tested wines. 

Now her company, Scout & Cellar, is on a mission to bring back good, clean wine.

Scout & Cellar requires organic, sustainable, or biodynamic farming, and their wines are always tended by actual people and not mass produced by industrial agricultural methods.  Their wines are grown naturally without any synthetic pesticides or GMO ingredients, no chemical additives, and zero grams of added sugar (each wine goes through two rounds of independent lab testing to ensure this is the case).

Additionally, Scout & Cellar only sells wine that is low in sulfites (always less than 100ppm of sulfites and usually less than 50ppm), vinified by hand, and slow crafted to extract the naturally occurring antioxidants. 

This means that Scout & Cellar wine might taste different from season to season and bottle to bottle, but that’s what gives wine it’s character and distinctiveness, and it’s what nature intended.  

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I recently started drinking Scout & Cellar wine and I’ve been blown away – there is a wide selection of different styles, the wine is delicious, and I can honestly tell the difference in terms of the way I feel. 

I have tried other natural wines in the past, but the quality was so hit-or-miss that I abandoned them quickly.  Scout & Cellar has delivered the first wines that I actually enjoy drinking, without sacrificing my healthy lifestyle.   

I have now started to exclusively drink Scout & Cellar wines.  I believe in their mission so much that I have become an Independent Consultant for the company to help spread the good word. 

If you are like me and you love wine but also care about what you put in your body, I’d suggest giving Scout & Cellar wine a try.    

Andrew Merle is a Certified Nutritionist and Independent Wine Consultant for Scout & Cellar. Contact Andrew to learn more and purchase clean-crafted wine, or visit scoutandcellar.com/andrewmerle.

The Benefits of Simply Getting Outside

Americans now spend an alarming 93 percent of their time indoors.

We have become an indoor species, which is having consequences on our physical and mental health.

Staying inside is detrimental on its own, especially since indoor air can be 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. We’re also often sedentary and tethered to a digital device while inside.

But the bigger issue is we’re not reaping the powerful benefits of the great outdoors.

Spending time in nature helps protect against a wide range of diseases, including depression, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Getting outside has also been shown to make us happier and less anxious.

Although controversial, one of the biggest benefits of getting outside is the sun. In excess, UV rays cause sunburn and skin cancer, but small doses provide beneficial vitamin D — which could help explain why sunbathers actually live longer.

Healthy levels of vitamin D are essential for overall health, with profound benefits for the cardiovascular system, cognitive functioning, and for reducing inflammation.

Unfortunately our modern lifestyle has resulted in about 42% of Americans being deficient in vitamin D (a deficiency that impacts about 1 billion people worldwide).

The sun also has benefits beyond vitamin D. For example, the sun’s rays help create nitric oxide, which is beneficial to the cardiovascular system by increasing blood flow and decreasing blood pressure. Getting sunlight during the day also helps to regulate our circadian rhythm and leads to better sleep at night. A little bit of sun goes a long way, but for prolonged exposure it’s best to apply a mineral-based sunscreen to prevent sun damage.

Getting outside also helps to beat back the constant stress in our lives. Stress runs rampant in Japan, where they’ve turned to forest bathing — which simply means getting outside in nature — to restore a sense of peace and calm. Being outside in nature has been shown to alleviate obsessive thought patterns and decrease rumination. In fact, even just smelling the trees and plants outside might help boost immune function and protect your brain. If you can’t get outside as much as you’d like to, then look at buying b+ spores and grow fungi indoors. Nature really does clear your mind.

By now, hopefully you are convinced to build some outdoor time into your daily routine. It doesn’t take much — just 20 minutes in nature has been proven to reduce stress. But the more time you can spend outside the better.

It could be going outdoors for a daily walk — an activity that could cut the risk of developing dementia by 40%. Or go for a hike or bike ride. Or just read a book under a tree for a while. It doesn’t matter what you do, just get out there.

Getting outside appears to be on the rise in our current work-from-home culture, and that is one bright spot amidst this pandemic that will hopefully last longer-term.

After all, life wasn’t meant to be spent indoors. Get outside and soak up the benefits for your body and mind.

Why You Should Eat Your Carbs Last

You might be surprised to know that the order in which you consume foods can have an impact on your health and body weight goals.

Specifically, it is recommended to prioritize protein first, followed by fibrous vegetables, and save your carbs for last.

This method of eating has been proven to reduce post-meal hunger, which means you are less likely to snack shortly after your meal. Saving your carbs for last has been shown to help maintain satiety more effectively than eating carbs first or eating all meal components together.

The reason this works is because protein is the most satiating macronutrient, so you start to fill up your stomach by eating protein first. Vegetables come next because they are high in fiber — absorbing water and expanding in your stomach — further helping to achieve a sense of fullness. Carbs come at the end to take whatever remains of your hunger.

Of course certain types of carbs are healthier than others, but eating in this manner ensures you will sufficiently nourish your body without binging on refined carbs or sugary sweets.

So if you are eating a balanced meal of fish, broccoli, and rice, it would make sense to eat the meal in exactly that order. Same thing if your meal consists of chicken, Brussels sprouts, and potatoes. This approach also allows for occasionally finishing your meal with some dessert.

Whatever you do, don’t fill up on bread at the beginning of your meal. If you want to indulge in some bread, save it for last!

Take More Steps, Live Longer

Most of us have heard we should be logging 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy and fit. 

That guidance originated decades ago with a marketing campaign in Japan designed to promote a pedometer. 

The 10,000 number has since caught on around the world and is often the default daily goal setting in smartphone apps and fitness trackers. 

But the original basis for the number was not scientifically determined.

Now more recent research has given us a better understanding of the relationship between daily steps and overall health. New findings on this topic were just published in March 2020 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging, as well as from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that the number of steps a person takes each day does indeed have a strong association with mortality.

For the study, the researchers tracked nearly 5,000 U.S. adults aged 40 and over who wore accelerometers between 2003 and 2006, and then followed their mortality status through 2015 via the National Death Index. 

The investigators were able to isolate the association between mortality and step number by adjusting for demographic and behavioral risk factors, body mass index, and health status at the beginning of the study.

The findings revealed that a greater number of daily steps was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality. 

More specifically, taking at least 8,000 steps per day was associated with a 51% lower risk for death from all causes compared with taking 4,000 steps per day or less. 

Going up to 12,000 steps per day was associated with a 65% lower risk of dying compared with taking 4,000 steps.

Although correlation does not necessarily mean causation, based on this new data everyone should aim to tally at least 8,000 steps per day, and going beyond that is even better (presumably there is a point at which it becomes too much activity, but that isn’t a meaningful risk for most people).  

If 8,000 steps sounds daunting, note that this recent research found no association between step intensity and risk of death after accounting for the total number of steps taken per day. 

This is consistent with data from the world’s Blue Zones where people live the longest — they engage in routine natural movement throughout the day, but don’t pump iron, run marathons, or join gyms. 

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This new research proves once again that our bodies were designed to move. 

Take more steps, live longer. 

But you can take those steps on your own terms, without suffering through dreaded workouts. 

The key is to be consistent and to stay active every day.

A Practical Guide to Time-Restricted Eating

Time-restricted eating produces remarkable health benefits.

The latest science shows time-restricted eating (TRE) increases lifespan and decreases the incidence of major diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.

TRE means consuming all your calories — whether from food or drink — within a specific time frame each day.

You can greatly impact your health just by limiting your daily eating window. The quality of your diet still matters, but TRE lends credence to the idea that when you eat is even more important than what you eat.

Dr. Satchin Panda is arguably the world’s top expert on TRE. Dr. Panda is a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and author of the excellent book The Circadian Code. He has also analyzed the daily eating, sleeping, and activity patterns of thousands of people as part of his ongoing research study called myCircadianClock.

Dr. Panda says setting an eating window and sticking to it is one of the most important things we can do for health and longevity. This is because every time we eat — even just a bite of food — it triggers a process of digestion, absorption, and metabolism that takes a couple of hours to complete. And when your body is processing food, it can’t repair and restore.

You need to go at least 12 hours without consuming calories for it to qualify as TRE (for example, an overnight fast from 8pm — 8am). But it appears as though the smaller the window the better.

“While the science at 12 hours is impressive, lowering your window to as few as 8 hours is significantly advantageous,” according to Dr. Panda. “This is because the health benefits that you get from eating within a 12-hour window double at 11 hours, and double again at 10, and so on, until you reach an 8-hour window.”

Hugh Jackman’s famous Wolverine Diet is an example of an 8-hour TRE. Recent research shows going down to a 6-hour eating window can be a worthy goal, but it can take a while to get to that point and might not be sustainable over time.

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Regardless of the duration of your eating window, what’s most important is that you remain consistent. TRE isn’t a short-term fad diet — it is a routine to follow for the rest of your life. According to Dr. Panda, “If you eat three times a week outside a 12-hour window, you are not adhering to TRE.” But his data shows that 50 percent of adults in the US regularly eat for 15 hours or longer.

It is much better to set an achievable schedule than to be overly restrictive from the get-go. Dr. Panda advises starting with a 12-hour TRE and working your way down over time.

Is there an optimal window to choose?

“I can’t predict what 12-hour window you should start with,” says Dr. Panda. Some people love breakfast foods and need them to jump start their day. Others wait until noon and can more easily handle a shorter TRE. Only you can make that decision.”

What about breakfast being the most important meal of the day? “Your brain really doesn’t need breakfast to provide extra energy,” asserts Dr. Panda.

However, he does point out there is an increased benefit to starting your window earlier in the day, primarily because you don’t want to eat too close to bedtime.

“Eating late at night is by far the worst choice you can make,” says Dr. Panda. He advises to give yourself at least three hours between your last bite or sip and the time you go to sleep, eating your last meal around 6 or 7pm. Your body needs that digestion time in order to have restorative sleep.

“Sleep is when most of the cleanup of damaged cell proteins occurs, “says Dr. Panda. “When you get more sleep, your brain naturally has more time to repair and cleanse its waste.” This helps prevent against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia.

That means no nightcap before bed either. If you like to wind down with a glass of wine or cocktail, Dr. Panda says a better habit is to have your drinks before dinner, or during dinner, if it’s at least a couple hours before bed.

Does it matter what and how much you consume during your eating window?

For the best overall health results, Dr. Panda recommends following a balanced diet centered around fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. You don’t need to count calories on a TRE, but you still want to limit junk food (he gives common-sense advice to stay away from soda, juice, breakfast cereals, energy/protein bars, processed foods with corn syrup/fructose/sucrose, fried food, and commercially-processed nut butters).

“What about a low-carb, sugar-free, Paleo, vegan, Mediterranean, Blue Zones, Atkins, or Warrior Diet? What about critical supplements like fish oil or green tea? You no longer have to worry about them,” says Dr. Panda.

You can eat whatever makes you feel best, if you confine it to a condensed period. If you’ve had good results with any of those diets, feel free to stick with it and now you’ll further boost the benefits by combining it with a smaller eating window.

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Dr. Panda personally adheres to an 11-hour TRE. He eats his first meal of the day around 8am and finishes dinner by 7pm, which is several hours before his 10:30pm bedtime. He acknowledges that not every day goes perfectly according to that schedule — he just does his best to stick to the routine. Even if he winds up eating a later dinner, he still tries to give his stomach at least 12–13 hours of rest before his next meal.

As for me, I like an 8-hour TRE window from about 12–8pm each day (commonly referred to as 16:8 Intermittent Fasting). I still consume black coffee and tea during my fasting window, which helps immeasurably.

There is some debate about whether tea and black coffee are technically allowed. Purists like Dr. Panda say anything you eat or drink besides water breaks a fast. However, other experts say coffee or tea (without cream or sugar) is okay and may actually amplify the benefits of fasting. Whatever you choose, just stay away from anything with calories during your fasting window.

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Time-restricted eating is a simple tool available to everyone — and it doesn’t require any significant changes to what or how much you eat. 

The takeaway message is clear: Shorten your eating window, prolong your life. 

Andrew Merle writes about living well. Read more and subscribe to his email list at andrewmerle.com.