4 Minute Fridays: 11 Ways To Remove Microplastics From Your Life, A 20 Minute Hack For A Bigger Brain & The Breakfast I Eat Every Day
Aug 30, 2024
Read time: 3.8 minutes
Welcome to 4 Minute Fridays, my weekly newsletter where I reveal cutting-edge tips to help you get lean, boost energy, and live longer.
What's In Store For Today:
- 11 ways to remove microplastics from your life
- The 20-minute lazy hack for a bigger brain
- My favorite breakfast I eat every day
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Hey friend,
Ever since childhood, I thought having a big belly was due to my genetics.
My dad had a belly, and my brothers had bellies, so it seemed right that I'd have one, too.
As I got my body in shape, I realized that I actually had average genetics. The culprit was eating fast foods, binge drinking on weekends, I wasn't working out, and I was getting less than 4000 steps a day.
Blaming my genetics was easy. Getting real with myself was not.
The reality was that my habits were horrible and this is the case with many people who say they have "bad genetics."
They blame their weight gain problems on things outside of their control because it's an easy out.
It's easier to blame something you can't change than to take a hard look in the mirror and see how we're complicit in our outcome.
What you were born with is only 10% of the equation. Your lifestyle is the other 90%.
Put the focus on what matters most.
That said...
Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:
1. Eleven Ways To Remove Microplastics From Your Life
Microplastics are like those annoying little specks of dirt you can’t shake off. It’s like having a bunch of tiny saboteurs run loose inside you.
They sneak into your body through food, water, and even the air you breathe, and once inside, they mess with your hormones, screw up your cells, and cause inflammation.
It's estimated that the average person inhales an entire credit card's worth of plastics into our bodies every month.
While it may not be realistic to remove them entirely from our system, it is possible to prevent them from entering in the first place.
Here's a list of 11 ways to avoid microplastics borrowed from the Ryker Clothing X account:
- Stop using plastic water bottles. Get stainless steel instead.
- Switch to plastic-free kitchen equipment.
- Only use stainless steel/cast iron pans
- NEVER microwave plastic containers
- Ditch plastic coffee makers
- Switch to natural fiber bed sheets & pillows
- Get a high-quality water filter.
- Minimize hyper-processed food consumption
- Stop wearing polyester clothing
- Choose plastic-free personal care products
- Get a high-quality air purifier
You can see the original thread by clicking here:
A lot of talk about microplastics on the timeline.
— Ryker | Polyester-Free Activewear (@RykerClothing) August 22, 2024
Many think “it’s impossible to avoid them, there’s nothing I can do”
WRONG.
Here’s 11 ways to mitigate your microplastic exposure (WITHOUT being too neurotic) 🧵
2. The 20-Minute Lazy Trick For A Bigger Brain
As we age, our brains start to atrophy.
Neurons die, connections between them weaken, and the overall brain volume decreases.
But the good news? There's a cool way to stop the brain shrinkage and protect our minds from disease.
It's called taking a nice 20-minute nap.
Researchers at University College London analyzed data from 378,932 UK Biobank participants, using advanced genetic tools to track brain volume.
They found that regular daytime nappers have brains biologically younger by 2.6 to 6.5 years compared to non-nappers.
Most importantly, the nappers were able to avoid age-related brain shrinkage.
So, if you need an excuse for a nap, science just gave you a damn good one.
❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week
I consume at least 40-60 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking each day.
One of the meals I've been eating for breakfast every day is what I like to call protein dessert.
It consists of...
- 400 grams of 0% Greek yogurt
- 100 grams of blueberries
- One scoop of protein powder
- 30-40 grams of nuts
- Allulose sweetener
Greek yogurt provides me with protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Protein powder provides flavor and extra protein. Blueberries give me antioxidants and anthocyanins, which are considered to be brain food.
The nuts are optional. I take them to provide good fats and some extra satiety.
This recipe contains around 60 grams of total protein at 600+ calories. You can modify this based on your caloric needs.
It tastes delicious while filling me with everything I need to carry on with my day.
Client Of The Week - Kris Flammang, Entrepreneur
He was suffering from low energy and found it hard to get rid of his belly.
In 12 weeks, we lost 33 lbs and 6 inches from his waistline. He's jumping out of bed in the morning and is more confident in his body than ever before.
Our Strategy:
- Learning how to eat pizza with his kids while getting lean
- Emphasizing getting on a meal schedule to put hunger on autopilot
- Fixing his sleeping habits so he could have more energy & appetite control
- Focus on strength training over cardio so he could lose fat, not just weight.
The best part is that his sons have joined him and started learning to lift weights, and his wife has started to get her body in shape.
One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong
You grow old when you lose interest in life, when you cease to dream, to hunger after new truths, and to search for new worlds to conquer.
- Joseph Murphy from the book The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
One thing I do to keep myself young is to always work on something bigger than me. Regardless of the mission, your mind needs to be given a direction, or the direction will be given to you.
Have a great weekend!
- Dan
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References
- Raffaele Marfella, M.D., Ph.D. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3960-9270, Francesco Prattichizzo, Ph.D., Celestino Sardu, M.D., Ph.D., Gianluca Fulgenzi, Ph.D., Laura Graciotti, Ph.D., Tatiana Spadoni, Ph.D., Nunzia D’Onofrio, Ph.D., +35, and Giuseppe Paolisso, Published March 6, 2024N Engl J Med 2024;390:900-910DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2309822VOL. 390 NO. 10
- Paz V, Dashti HS, Garfield V. Is there an association between daytime napping, cognitive function, and brain volume? A Mendelian randomization study in the UK Biobank. Sleep Health. 2023 Oct;9(5):786-793. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.05.002. Epub 2023 Jun 20. PMID: 37344293.