Clarity on staying healthy and happy arrives every day, from all corners of the globe. The Plunge brings you the information you always wanted: current, clear-cut answers from the world's leading scientists and creators.

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TECH

Endel

The modern world presents an overwhelming cacophony of inputs, more than we're prepared to consume. Endel is taking on the challenge through stress-reducing, personalized soundscapes. The company's manifesto shows just how serious they are. These aren't simply beats for your morning commute, but a highly scientific approach to help you relax, improve focus, and sleep well.

Endel fuses science, art, and technology into a cohesive experience that complements your life. I, for one, welcome the ambition of such a product. The technology is trying to improve our presence and create optimal environments by synthesizing inputs from outside and within. This is perfect for the twenty-first-century stoics among us, a chance to push back against the dopamine loops that have poisoned much of today's world.

​Endel​

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RESEARCH

Cook These Veggies

Cooking changes our food, breaks down some aspects while enhancing others. Raw veggies may 'feel' healthier, but many vegetables flourish when cooked. Just remember, how they're cooked matters. Avoid high temperatures, long cooking times, and excess water. Steaming and roasting is usually best. Here are nine veggies to pop into the steamer and why it beats eating them raw:

1. Asparagus: Cooking breaks down cell walls, enhancing the absorption of vitamins A, B9, C, and E, crucial for immune health and skin.
2. Mushrooms: Cooking releases the antioxidant ergothioneine, combating cell-damaging free radicals and aiding in anti-aging and disease prevention.
3. Spinach: Cooking reduces oxalic acid, improving the absorption of iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc, essential for bone and muscle health.
4. Tomatoes: Heat increases antioxidant lycopene, linked to reduced risk of heart disease and cancer, despite a slight loss in vitamin C.
5. Carrots: Cooking boosts beta-carotene levels, which the body converts into vitamin A, supporting vision, bone growth, and the immune system.
6. Bell Peppers: Cooking enhances the absorption of carotenoids like beta-carotene, crucial for eye health and immune support.
7. Brassica (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts): Steaming preserves cancer-fighting glucosinolates and myrosinase enzyme, enhancing their anti-cancer properties.
8. Green Beans: Baking, microwaving, or griddling increases antioxidant levels, protecting against oxidative stress and inflammation.
9. Kale: Light steaming deactivates enzymes that hinder iodine absorption, essential for thyroid and metabolic health.

​The Conversation​

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Extending Care with Pharmacists

A Virginia Commonwealth University study has shown that expanding pharmacists' role in hypertension management could be a boon for healthcare, and the economy. The study looked at the impact of allowing pharmacists to prescribe blood pressure medications and found that this single change could prevent over 15 million heart attacks, 8 million strokes, and millions of cases of angina and heart failure in the U.S. over a 30 year period. Beyond the health impact, this would reduce healthcare costs by over $1 trillion in that time.

Hypertension-related health emergencies have seen a 23.1% increase in mortality from 2010-19, and pharmacists could potentially play a big role is this fight. Over 95% of Americans live within 5 miles of a pharmacy and frequent these locations far more than their primary care providers, where there's already a massive shortage. Pharmacists are currently prohibited from receiving reimbursement for clinical services even though they have prescribing privileges in 49 states and D.C. Policy changes are needed, but it's this type of continued research that can help bring healthcare closer to home.

​PubMed - EurekaAlert​

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THE PLUNGE + AI

The Plunge + AI explores the use of AI in our healthspan journeys.

How bad is tap water?

This video came across my Youtube feed over the weekend. Unfortunately, Huberman can get a little too in the weeds for me, and I shrugged at the 18 minute runtime. That said, I drink a lot (~6L) of tap water each day and it's probably (definitely) something I should look into.

You may have noticed by now, I have a ChatGPT Plus membership. For $20/month, it's definitely worth it, both for the answers to these kinds of questions and the way it helps me understand what's possible with AI.

Using the Eightify YouTube Summaries plugin, I got a summary of the video in less than a minute.

Best of all, Eightify gives me a full readout of the summary which includes important timestamps and relevant Q&A. (I'd be surprised if they didn't do these in batch when the video is published to YouTube, perhaps just for the most popular videos.)

I took it a step further by asking for an ever smaller summary of the video, which you can see below. You can view the GPT chat here.

Most important, it sounds like I'll need to start filtering my water.

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