The Wellness Brew - Issue 15

In honor of Father’s Day, today’s issue is for the dads. We want our dads around for a long time, so this week's Deep Dive covers the five highest-leverage things men can do for long-term health. It’s not as complicated as it may seem, but we’ll walk through each one.

Before we do that, we filtered the noise — here's what's worth knowing this week.

A peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Environmental Health in May 2026 by Environmental Working Group scientists reviewed 47 prior studies covering 23 produce items and 79 pesticides to determine which washing methods most effectively remove pesticide residues. Vinegar (acetic acid) soaking was the most effective, reducing residues by a median of 54 percent. Baking soda was second. Both meaningfully outperformed plain water. A simple rinse under the tap was the least effective. The practical takeaway: a 10-minute soak in water with a tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water removes more pesticide residue than most people realize. Washing does not get everything, which is why prioritizing organic for the Dirty Dozen items remains the higher-leverage move where the budget allows. — Environmental Working Group, Frontiers in Environmental Health, 2026.

A study published June 9 in Nature Metabolism analyzed health records from approximately 65,000 patients and found that people with mild cognitive impairment who took glucosamine (a popular joint supplement) were 25 percent more likely to progress to full Alzheimer's than those who did not. Patients already diagnosed with Alzheimer's were 25 percent more likely to die within five years. The caveat matters. The same research team noted that earlier studies have linked glucosamine to a lower dementia risk in cognitively healthy adults. The risk appears specific to brains already showing decline. The practical takeaway: if you or a parent is taking glucosamine for joint pain and showing any signs of cognitive change, ask your doctor if it’s worth making a change. For everyone else, the data does not yet support a blanket recommendation to stop. — Lago et al., Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2026. 

A case report published in Frontiers in Neuroscience in June 2026 followed an 80-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer's who received a single supervised dose of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Before treatment she could barely speak, was incontinent, and needed help walking. Within 19 hours of the dose she held an hour-long conversation about her life. Over the following weeks she regained urinary continence, walked unassisted, dressed herself, and engaged emotionally with family. The improvements were temporary but striking. The honest framing: this is a single-patient case report, not a clinical trial. Her Alzheimer's diagnosis was not confirmed with modern biomarkers, and other neurodegenerative conditions could not be ruled out. The improvements may have reflected natural fluctuation rather than the drug. Regardless, it is worth knowing as one of several recent signals that psychedelics may have therapeutic potential in neurological disease. — Lago et al., Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2026.

Dads do a lot. They show up for their kids, their partners, their parents, their work, their communities. What they often do not do is take time for themselves. The guilt around taking that time is real and it is common. But today, on a day for dads, let’s reframe things – taking care of yourself is not selfish. Prioritizing your health and well-being is what makes you available for the long run, to be mentally and physically present for your family for years to come.

The science on what actually matters most for long-term health is clearer than the marketing makes it look, and the list is shorter than you have been told. This issue covers the five things the evidence supports as the highest-leverage decisions men can make for their long-term health.

The single strongest predictor of how long you live.

VO2 max, the measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen under exertion, is consistently cited in the longevity literature as one of the most powerful predictors of all-cause mortality ever studied. A 2018 study published in JAMA Network Open followed more than 122,000 patients and found that low cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with a higher mortality risk than smoking, hypertension, or diabetes.[1] Each one-unit increase in VO2 max was associated with a roughly 12 percent reduction in all-cause mortality risk. Moving from "low" to "above average" cardiovascular fitness roughly halves mortality risk over the following decade.

This is not a marginal effect. It is the largest single mortality lever in the entire health literature, and the protocol that produces it is well-documented.

Research supports a combination of two types of training:

What counts: walking briskly, cycling, rowing, rucking, swimming, hiking, recreational sport. You do not need a gym, a heart rate monitor, or elite programming. You just need consistency.

While the science calls for roughly four cardio sessions per week at the low end, this may seem daunting to some. It’s important to note that the biggest mortality gains come from moving out of the lowest VO2 max ranges. So do not view this as 4 days minimum. 4 days is the goal, but 1 or 2 days if you are starting from zero will carry benefits. 

The most direct intervention against the muscle loss that drives late-life decline.

A 30-year Harvard study published in British Journal of Sports Medicine in June 2026 followed 147,000 adults and quantified the exact dose-response relationship between strength training and longevity. The finding: 90 to 120 minutes of strength training per week was associated with a 13 percent lower all-cause mortality, a 19 percent lower cardiovascular disease mortality, and a 27 percent lower risk of death from neurological diseases.[2] Combining strength training with aerobic exercise produced the largest mortality reduction of any single intervention examined.

The issue is sarcopenia. Muscle mass declines with age unless you actively train against it. By 70, most untrained adults have lost 30 to 40 percent of the muscle mass they had at 40. That loss drives frailty, falls, hospitalizations, and loss of independence. Strength training prevents it.

The protocol the evidence supports:

Similarly to cardio, do not view the 2-3 sessions as the minimum to whether you start or not. If you are not currently strength training at all, one day a week is still going to produce benefits. 

The most overlooked input to long-term health, and the one most men underdeliver on.

Multiple large cohort studies have established a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and mortality, with the lowest risk landing at approximately 7 hours per night. A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, covering studies of more than two million people, found that sleep durations below 7 hours were associated with a 6 percent increase in all-cause mortality risk per hour of lost sleep.[3] Sleep duration above 9 hours carried elevated risk as well, but the short-sleep side is where most men live.

Short sleep is linked to elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, and impaired testosterone production. A 2011 study published in JAMA found that one week of sleep restricted to 5 hours per night reduced testosterone in healthy young men by 10 to 15 percent. Think about this in the context of new parents going years with too little sleep, and the impact adds up. 

Two practical priorities:

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

Most men get an annual physical with a basic lipid panel and call it done. The standard panel misses some of the most important biomarkers for cardiovascular and metabolic health. Below are five numbers worth asking your doctor for specifically if your annual physical does not already include them:

Once a year, ask your doctor for all five. If your annual physical does not include ApoB or hsCRP, ask for them specifically or order them through a direct-to-consumer service like Function Health. The results give you a baseline, and the baseline lets you identify if anything needs to be addressed or if anything worsens over time.

The most underrated input to long-term health, and the one men in particular tend to neglect.

A landmark 2015 meta-analysis by Holt-Lunstad and colleagues, covering more than 3.4 million participants, found that social isolation was associated with a 29 percent increase in mortality risk and loneliness with a 26 percent increase.[4] The US Surgeon General's 2023 advisory put the mortality risk of social disconnection at the level of smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day, exceeding the risks associated with obesity.

The 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest continuous studies of human life ever conducted, found that the quality of close relationships at age 50 was a stronger predictor of physical health at age 80 than cholesterol levels, income, or social class.

The challenge specifically for men: research consistently shows that men in their 30s and 40s lose close friendships at higher rates than women and reinvest in maintaining them less aggressively. Work, kids, marriage, and geographic moves all impact the friendships built in earlier life, and most men do not actively defend against the loss. By 50, a meaningful portion of men report having no close friends at all.

What the evidence supports:

One thing worth acknowledging directly. This issue does not include a dedicated section on nutrition, and that is not because nutrition does not matter. The 2025 meta-analysis of 18 cohort studies covering 1.1 million people found that the highest consumers of ultra-processed food had a 15 percent higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to the lowest.

The reality is that the right top-five list looks different for different people. If your starting point is a diet heavy in ultra-processed food, that is the a good first lever to pull. The framework above is the highest-leverage list on average. Your version of it depends on where you are starting from.

Nothing we’ve discussed will produce dramatic results in a week. They produce dramatic results over a decade.

Cardiovascular fitness at 40 determines cardiovascular fitness at 60. Muscle mass at 45 determines mobility at 75. Sleep at 50 affects cognitive health at 70. The friendships you maintain in your 40s are the ones available to you in your 60s. Each of these is a long-term investment that compounds, and the cost of not investing is paid years later.

Five things you can do this week:

1. Get a real cardiovascular workout three to four times per week.
Two or three 45 minute sessions of Zone 2 cardio at a conversational pace, plus one or two harder sessions per week. Walk briskly, cycle, row, ruck, swim, hike. Whatever you will actually do consistently. The impact this has on long-term mortality is bigger than any other single intervention. 

2. Lift weights two to three times per week.
Compound movements if possible. Squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, pull-up or row. The June 2026 Harvard study put the sweet spot precisely: 90 to 119 minutes per week reduces all-cause mortality by 13 percent.

3. Protect 7 hours of sleep, every night.
Same time every day, including weekends. If you snore loudly or wake up tired despite a full night in bed, get tested for sleep apnea. Roughly 1 in 4 men over 30 has it and most do not know. Treating it changes everything from cardiovascular risk to energy to testosterone.

4. Get your numbers measured this year.
Ask your doctor for ApoB, hsCRP, HbA1c, blood pressure, and resting heart rate. If your annual physical does not include the first two, ask your doctor to order them for you. You cannot manage what you do not measure.

5. Reach out to a friend this week.
Pick one person you have lost touch with and send a text, schedule a call, or set a date to grab coffee or a beer. Long friendships do not maintain themselves through inertia. Reinvestment is the protocol, and the work is unglamorous and compounds. The mortality data on social connection is comparable to anything else covered above. One conversation this week is a real start.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads reading this, especially mine. 

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Wellness, filtered.

Anthony - The Wellness Brew

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Disclaimer: The Wellness Brew is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content published here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet, supplement routine, or lifestyle.