Issue #28: What's Really in Our Water? 🚰
Good morning. It’s Thursday, September 22nd - the Autumnal Equinox (latin for equal and night - and a high-end gym some of you might have heard of). We don't think you can balance an egg on it's side today - but send us a picture if we're wrong!
“Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine.”
Our homes supply us with the majority of the water we drink today.
But…can we trust the water from our tap?
Losing 1-2% of your body's water mass impacts our ability to think, focus, and concentrate (our brain actually shrinks!). Every cell in our body needs adequate water to perform optimally.
History of Drinking Water
The size of ancient human settlements depended on the access to water.
Remnants of early water wells dates back to 6500 BC. The ancient Greeks - led by Hippocrates - focused on the source of clean water, rather than the purification of dirty water. The advanced Roman aqueduct system is an early example of importing clean water into a city-center.
Paisley, Scotland has the honor of being the first municipality with a water plant serving filtered water to the entire town (1804). Two years later, Paris (France, not Texas), become the first major city with such a system.
By the 1920’s, in one of the greatest achievements in modern public health, the U.S. mostly eliminated typhoid fever and cholera with chlorinated water treatment plants all over the country - ending with the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974.
Our Water Today
2B people globally still lack access to clean drinking water.
Most of us are more fortunate - our modern water filtration system is one of the greatest achievements in modern public health. But there are still 25M people right here in the U.S. of A drinking contaminated water. And this probably significantly underestimates the real number.
A report from the Guardian showed that the EPA’s form of measurement isn’t accurately capturing what’s really in our water - the more in-depth tests show a much higher level of PFAs (forever chemicals) in our water across many U.S. cities:
Maybe this is why the EPA just announced an Advisory for PFAs in drinking water??
It isn’t just the unfortunate cities like Flint, MI and Jackson, MS that are affected by aging infrastructure and dirty water - it's most of us.
*Monsanto has settled 100,000+ lawsuits worth over $10B for the heath affects of glyphosate in Roundup - which amazingly is still the most common pesticide found on the shelves of Lowe's and Home Depot. 🤢
The Clean Water Plan
We're making our own plan for clean water:
1. Check Your Local Water Quality
You can get a full assessment of what's in your water right now (see below what I found out about my water in Tampa). Just type in your zip, select your utility and find out your water quality.
2. Get an In-Home Water Filter
There are three (3) primary types of filters (you can decide based on your budget and the results from what's in your water):
Activated Carbon (cheaper) - bonds with contaminants (like chlorine - which isn’t good in high levels) and other metals (lead, mercury). It doesn’t capture inorganic toxins like arsenic, fluoride, nitrate.
Reverse Osmosis - in addition to having a carbon filter, these filters block all particles larger than an H2O molecule.
Ion Exchange (water softener) - reduces the calcium and magnesium build-up in aging pipes and replaces it with sodium.
Pro Tip: If you use a water filter, you take out some of the good stuff too. Make sure to put back the electrolytes you take out - two recommended brands from Dhru Purohit: AquaTru Perfect Minerals or e-Lyte by BodyBio.
Product Recs
Zero Water Pitcher Filter - If you’re just going with a pitcher try this brand that seems to be more effective than a Brita.
AquaTru Countertop Filter - this is what we use in our home. I’ll admit, constantly refilling the tank is kind of a pain, but the water is clean and you can actually taste the difference (they have an under the sink option now and I think we’ll upgrade to that).
Berkey Filter - this is a highly rated option that is stainless steel with a quality filter, beware it’s not cheap (apparently - not even clean water is free anymore).
*Thrive25 is not currently affiliated with any of the above brands mentioned in this issue
Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Getting Toned: Tonal is raising more money that would value the company at around $1.9B. Similar to Peloton and other at-home fitness options, it has been a wild ride at Tonal the last 2+ years - 800% growth in 2020 to laying off 35% of its workforce in 2022, per Fitt Insider. What’s next for the company? Only time...and money...will tell.
It Takes Two Baby: Vendors at IFA 2022, Europe's big tech showcase in Berlin, showcased a series of dual-purpose devices - which of these actually make sense to you - a mood fridge, flexing TV or a phone-charging water bottle? Maybe the water bottle with a Thrive25 logo on it??
No More Yo-Yo: Dieting is extremely difficult. It’s hard to get started, hard to make it last, and when it doesn’t work you can feel depressed. You can quickly regress into Yo-Yo dieting. 25 is in our name because we want to shift our frame of thinking to a longer-term (25+ years) strategy for our health & longevity - not just 3 months from now. Make small, sustainable changes (e.g., to your diet) that set a foundation and enable equally sticky changes over time to reap the greatest benefits. For fun, check out Evan Nagao - U.S. National Yo-Yo Champion - are you not entertained? 🪀
Thursday Night In
Hello fall! Ring in the new season with this healthy transition out of summer. Max had this with his family last week and everyone enjoyed it - even his 3-year old.
Pro Tips: 1) Start the wild rice 20-25 min before you're ready to cook the chicken. 2) The recipe suggests cooking chicken 8-min per side. If you cook chicken on the stove frequently, go with your preferred timing (also take into account that the chicken will continue to cook in the oven)
Answer to Yesterday's (Issue #27) Logic Puzzle
6 + 4 = 210
9 + 2 = 711
5 + 2 = 37
9 + 8 = 117
15 + 3 = 1,218
?? + ?? = 1,234
It's all about pattern recognition. Split the resulting number into two parts: 12, 34. "12" is the result of the first number minus the second, and 34 is the result of adding the two numbers together.
Answer: 23 + 11. 23 - 11 = 12. 23 + 11 = 34
Thanks for joining us today! We're looking forward to tomorrow as we share a glimpse into the home of the future.
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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.