feels good to wake up without a hangover.

Mark Hyman, MD

There are things I’ve stopped chasing, because I’ve seen what they actually do to the human body — and I can’t unsee it.

Here’s what I willingly go without:

1. Ultra-processed food. This is the one that matters most. 73% of the American food supply is ultra-processed. These products are engineered by food scientists to override your hunger signals, hijack your dopamine system, and keep you eating past the point of fullness. I don’t eat them because I’ve watched what they do to my patients — and what they were quietly doing to me.

2. Skipping movement. Exercise is mitochondrial medicine. It’s the single most powerful intervention we have for insulin sensitivity, neurogenesis, mood regulation, and longevity. At 66, I am in the best shape of my life and that did not happen by accident.

3. Neglecting my brain. Cognitive decline is not inevitable. It is largely driven by lifestyle — blood sugar dysregulation, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, sedentary behavior, nutritional deficiencies. What you do in your 40s, 50s, and 60s determines what your brain looks like in your 80s.

4. Alcohol. I’m not rigid about it. A glass of wine with good friends, good food, good conversation — sometimes that’s medicine too. But the one-off drink that fragments my sleep, tanks my HRV, and clouds my thinking the next morning is a trade that stopped making sense a long time ago.

5. Chronic stress. I’m not immune to it. At 66, I’m still writing, seeing patients, traveling, building. Stress is part of the job. The difference is I no longer let it sit in my body unchecked. Chronic, unmanaged stress raises cortisol, suppresses immune function, shrinks the hippocampus, disrupts sleep, and accelerates aging at the cellular level.

After 30 years in functional medicine, I’ve made these trades because the return is undeniable — energy, clarity, strength, sleep, resilience, and a body that functions the way it was designed to.

You don’t have to give up everything. But you do have to get honest about what things are actually costing you.

Optimizer Crew checking in.

I don't wake up as early as Big Daddy, but been up for a couple hours.

-Morning coffee and updated NW spreadsheet per every Sunday AM.
-Lift in
-second cup of coffee on my back deck.
- gotta meet the hbb in ~2 hours for church.

Life is Promising