A few of my favorite things
A post-holiday shopping list - for yourself
👋🎄Hello, my friend. Merry Christmas a day late (and Happy Boxing Day to my friends in the U.K.). Just in case Santa didn’t quite nail your presents this year, I wanted to share a list of some of my favorite things from 2024 that I thought you may enjoy - the theme is very much Health & Wellness. Some of my regular favorites like Whoop, Athletic Brewing N/A beer, & Eight Sleep are not on here but that’s just because you probably already know I love all of them… I’m trying to mix it up a bit and share some new things I’m excited about. Let’s get into it!
Peloton Tread+ — I went all-in on Peloton and got the Tread+ this year. The downside: There’s no way around it: It’s expensive - coming in around $6k - but you may be able to get it cheaper depending on promos they run. The upside: It’s really good. I’ve been doing a series of runs, walks, hikes, and bootcamps (where you get on & off the Tread and work in weights). I’m not a huge runner but this thing has gotten me running a lot more this year and the hikes (with incline) are surprisingly good workouts. The biggest surprise? My wife, who hates running, is using it multiple times per week. If you can make the numbers work, the Tread+ is a great addition to a home gym. Here’s my referral link for $100 off Peloton hardware or merch if helpful.
Function Health — If you haven’t heard of Function yet, it’s basically a much more expansive set of bloodwork than your doctor will ever order. The deal is this: You pay $500/year. You get your blood drawn twice in a week at first and then 6 months later. They show you 100 biomarkers - everything from extensive measures on heart health to metabolic health to organ functionality to hormone health, to metals exposure, vitamin levels, etc. etc. It’s really quite extensive. Then, they analyze it and tell you what’s in-range, what’s out-of-range and what you should do about it. I’m becoming a huge proponent of this idea of functional medicine (basically finding underlying causes vs. treating symptoms) and Function is one of the first companies providing access to this level of detail about what’s happening inside your body. Products like this are only going to get more prevalent as consumers increasingly realize the technology has gotten to a place (and price) where you can take your health intoyour own hands inside of relying on a healthcare system that is set to only really help once sickness or disease has already arrived. This is about prevention. And getting ahead of bad stuff before it becomes really bad stuff. Here’s my referral link that may get you a deal and/or help you skip the waiting list.
Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means
This is the book that impacted me the most in 2024. Dr. Means makes the very strong case that our food is making us sick. The American food supply is packed with so many chemicals and additives that calling it food is actually a bit of a stretch. There is a direct line from consuming so many additives, seed oils, etc. to suffering from everything from heart disease to depression to almost every other disease or disorder skyrocketing in prevalence in our population. Dr. Means’ solution is pretty simple: Eat real food. If there are ingredients you can’t pronounce or oils or additives you don’t see occurring naturally on Earth, don’t put them in your mouth. The results she discusses in book on treating everything from sinus infections to mental illness are astounding. I am a true believer that food is both medicine and what is making us sick. The takeaway: Eat real food. Check labels. Be kind of psycho about it. It’s literally life or death. Health or disease.
Stelo by Dexcom (continuous glucose monitor)
I’ve seen enough to convince me at this point that one’s blood sugar - or glucose levels - are an absolutely critical metric to both measure and to understand. Some insane number like 80% of the U.S. population is metabolically unhealthy — meaning they have Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes or are trending that way — even kids. Why? See entry above on the food we are eating. I’ve been messing around with CGM’s for a couple of years now and I found Stelo by Dexcom this year. It’s specifically made for non-diabetics. I’ve been wearing one pretty consistently for several months and I really like it. My blood sugar levels (I’ve learned) are higher than I want and I can see a correlation with it when I’m sick, when I’m stressed or when I put on a few extra pounds. Most interesting though is seeing how my body reacts to different foods. For me, straight refined carbs will shoot my blood sugar to the moon. But if I mix carbs in a more complex meal (with fats and proteins) and/or go for a walk after a meal, it’s much more under control. Blood sugar levels are increasingly seen as being correlated with disease and aging and keeping them under control is important. I expect at some point, this will be something your Apple Watch measures for you… but for now Stelo does a nice job. It’s about $100 for 2 sensors (which will last you a month).
Pickleball — Nothing to buy here (except maybe a paddle and some balls) but I just wanted to put a quick plug in for this sport. I’ve been playing almost weekly over the last several months and really enjoying it. It’s a sneaky good little cardio workout. And it’s insanely fun. Every study of ageing will tell you the more you can move your body, focus on getting better at a skill, and cultivate friends and community, the more likely you are to live a long, healthy life. For me, pickleball is ticking all of those boxes at the moment and it’s less time away from the family than my other true love (that doesn’t love me back): golf. Yes, there is injury risk with pickleball so I’d recommend wearing actual tennis or pickleball shoes (Nike makes some good ones); stretching and regular strength training also help. If you can make it happen, I’d recommend getting in some pickle in 2025. And if you live near me, invite me to play, too.
Snipd (AI podcast note-taking app)
Okay, this one is super new so I was conflicted about including it but it looks promising so far. It’s a podcast player that takes notes for you. I listen to tons of podcasts and I often want to remember the insights I’m hearing but I’m usually driving so it’s not convenient. Snipd does two things: 1. it automatically takes notes on the podcast that you can refer to afterwards, 2. It allows you to click a button to take a “Snip” of a section of the conversation that it then saves and automatically summarizes for you. The stats on how much we retain from the podcasts we listen to are pretty depressing and this seems like a great solution. I’m psyched to capture all of this info more systematically so I can use it in my own life and to help others. The cost is ~$80/year. If it works as advertised, it will be worth it for me. Will keep you posted.
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
One of my favorite mental health habits is reading history or fiction before bed. Erik Larson books, just like those written by Candice Millard (who I interviewed on the IW podcast) are those rare works of history that actually read like fiction. The Demon of Unrest is no exception. It tells the story of the run-up to the Civil War in typical page-turning Larson style. The story focuses on developments at Charleston’s Fort Sumter and in Washington, DC where Lincoln sneaks into town in the middle of the night fearing assassination before his inauguration. Be entertained and learn some history along the way.
Honorable mention goes to Hampton Sides’ The Wide Wide Sea - the story of Captain Cook’s epic round-the-world journey in the late-1700’s and his quest to find a northern route from Alaska to Europe. Reminiscent of Shackleton’s Endurance. Highly recommend.
Thorne supplements
Rather than recommending specific supplements, I'll put in a plug for Thorne, overall. The stats are pretty scary on supplements, generally speaking — something like 80% of the time, what’s in the bottle doesn’t match the label. So quality is insanely important. Thorne is widely accepted as among the highest quality, most reputable brands in the industry. From multivitamins to fish oil to supplements for things like heart health (I've been experimenting with red yeast rice and berberine), Thorne’s stuff is grade A, and I trust it completely. Bonus: If you do Function Health (mentioned above), they’ll recommend supplements for you based on your bloodwork.
IQ bars
This is a lately entry as I’ve literally just started trying them but so far, so good with these protein bars. Based on Casey Means’ philosophy above (focusing on foods without lots of fake ingredients, chemicals and additives), it’s REALLY hard to find protein bars that aren’t major offenders. I also don’t want a lot of sugar or carbs. Enter IQ. Their bars have pretty simple ingredient lists, are low sugar, low carb, and include decent fiber and protein. I like all of that. Try the sampler on Amazon to see which flavor is right for you.
I could go on but Substack is already telling me this post is too long to fit in an email so I’ll leave it here.
This is the last IW post of 2024. Thanks for following along this year. I wasn’t as consistent as I was hoping to be this year but I’m aiming to improve that in 2025. More to come in January, but I’m cooking up plans to make Intentional Wisdom more focused, more frequent (and shorter and snappier).
Stay tuned for more. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some downtime this holiday season with your friends and family. I’m doing the same and trying to recharge ahead of 2025 where I’m planning on big things…. Including maybe a chance to work with you, personally… 👀
Thanks again for reading. See you next year!
Greg