The End of These Health Trends (what to do instead)

Read along: Cold Plunge (0:10): Rated 4/10. Primarily beneficial for mental resilience rather than significant physiological changes like mitochondrial health or brown fat stimulation in acute settings. Prolonged exposure to moderately cool temperatures is more effective. Sauna (1:02): Rated 9/10. High heat saunas offer substantial benefits for heat shock proteins, mitochondrial resilience, and lymphatic drainage for the brain. Infrared saunas are good, but high heat provides the most significant advantages. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) (1:57): Rated 10/10. Provides metabolic benefits of both resistance training and aerobic conditioning. However, it's easy to overdo, leading to increased cortisol and sleep disruption. Keep sessions under 15 minutes of total work time, a few times per week. Zone 2 Training (2:50): Rated 7.5/10. Excellent for building the "floor" of metabolic health and improving mitochondrial efficiency, making the body more resilient and enhancing recovery. Detoxing (3:45): Rated 5/10. True detoxification happens internally by supporting the body's natural processes with tools like soluble fiber and antioxidants. External detoxes are largely ineffective. Fasting (4:43): Rated 8/10. Effective for fat loss, mental clarity, autophagy, and cellular cleanup. The key is not to overdo it, as it can become mere caloric restriction. Wearables (5:56): Rated 6/10. While providing valuable metrics and data, they can cause users to lose touch with their own body's signals. Resistance Training (7:04): Rated 10/10. Highly beneficial for brain health, metabolism, detoxification, and overall bodily function. Creatine (7:18): Rated 9/10. Research increasingly shows its benefits extend to anti-inflammatory pathways, helping control inflammation at systemic, brain, muscular, and joint levels. Personalized Supplements & Gene Testing (7:59): Rated 4/10. Often expensive and not always necessary, as many people need similar basic supplements. Genetic testing can be useful for specific mutations but doesn't provide a complete health picture. Blue Light Blocking Glasses (9:11): Rated 6/10. While blue light at night isn't ideal, reducing overall brightness and avoiding LED flicker (by switching to incandescent lights) are more crucial for brain health and sleep. Kiwi for Sleep (10:09): Rated 3/10. Despite containing melatonin-boosting properties, kiwis are high in glucose, which can disrupt sleep for many, counteracting any potential benefits. Raw Milk (11:02): Rated 6/10. While potentially beneficial in its purest form, mass production and lack of standardization make it risky due to potential contamination. A2 variety milk is a safer and good quality alternative. Protein Everything (12:18): Rated 6/10. Protein-spiked foods can be good if they use quality protein sources like whey or milk protein. However, many products use minimal or less effective proteins for marketing purposes, so reading labels is essential. Methylene Blue (13:04): Rated 8/10. Highly effective for strategic, low-dose use during periods of stress, high altitude, or increased training volume, aiding mitochondrial function and recovery. Not recommended for daily use. Peptides (13:59): Rated 5/10. Some peptides like BPC 157 and TB500 are highly beneficial, but many others are ineffective or carry more risk than reward. Thorough research is advised. Long-Term Keto (14:55): Rated 7/10. Can lead to oxidative stress if sustained for too long. Intermittent Keto (15:05): Rated 9.5/10. Cyclical keto (e.g., seasonal) is highly effective for brain signaling, anti-inflammatory pathways, mitochondrial biogenesis, and autophagy, making the body more resilient. Limiting Seed Oils (15:44): Rated 7/10. Avoiding or limiting industrialized, highly processed seed oils is beneficial due to their oxidative and chemical nature. Natural sources of mono and polyunsaturated fats are fine.

I stayed at a resort with a dry and a wet sauna. Did a bit of both every evening, took a shower and slept better than I had in years.

I would never buy mass production raw milk. I found a farm 20 miles from me that sells on farm. Very small volume. You literally pull it out of a refrigerator and put cash in a box. Fixed all of my dairy issues instantly. Also you’re too harsh on peptides. I agree that a lot of them are on the margains in terms of efficacy but bpc-157/tb-500 and glp’s have literally saved my life. Glp’s in particular. I suffered a heart attack last year at 46. I wasn’t crazy fat, thought I was like 20-30 pounds overweight. Turns out I was 50 lbs overweight. Glp’s helped me breakthrough the wall I hit everytime I would try to lose weight. I went from pre-diabetic, elevated cholesterol, elevated bp to perfect across the board and all I changed was adding a glp. Glp’s will eventually end worldwide obesity which we are now learning is literally the cause of almost all comorbidities. And I notice you didn’t even mention them.

I put together a meal plan for insulin resistance using Whole Foods, here it is for free: http://www.thomasdelauer.com/eatrealfood - The best way to adhere to something is just have a plan. This is a thank you for joining my newsletter and subscribing

Damn bro I got a cold plunge and infared sauna in 2025 RIP

Electrolyte ad in a trend debunk vid, exactly my humour.

This was very informative. Especially the blue light-blocking glasses part.

Disagree on the cold plunge. My gym acquired one and I did a month of it this summer. It was monumentally helpful for stress.

Thank you. You've been my go-to guy I trust with many health decisions after sifting through a few charlatans.

For the “All It’s Worth Department” - Cold exposure might be a wee bit underrated in the review posted. Prior to cancer surgery I was advised that arm weakness was common and could be permanent. 5 weeks after my operation and prior to 6 weeks of radiation l could hardly raise my left arm above my shoulder and I had no feeling in my neck or left side of my head. My surgical team at MGH were extremely supportive but had no answer. So, I started cold plunging up to my ears every day. I went as cold and long as I could. Followed that protocol with cyclic water fasting and constant ketosis > 6 mos and I’m back to full mobility. My cold water experience was both mentally and physically therapeutic for me. The feeling in my neck and face is nearly 100% restored. Not a doctor or scientist and I can’t say to what extent of my recovery was caused by cold exposure but I know it helped me. Thanks for all the great content. Always a big fan of your work. Ciao