Keep Your Hands To Yourself: Stay Healthy In Yuck Season 😝🤮

A potpourri of P's and Q's and eww's

Jan 24, 2025

WELL READ

Like most of the country this week, you may be curled up in your hamster hole consuming more content than usual ‘cuz blizzards. If you need a time-out from screens and you’re not feeling fiction, it’s a great time for books that are taking a user-friendly approach to some very heady topics in health. Literally everyone can benefit from understanding the basic pillars of metabolic health, so here are my picks if you want to join my wellness book club (which isn’t actually a thing, yet...):

Outlive, Dr. Peter Attia. In 30 years we will likely look at this as our bible on improving healthspan (and we may not even need glasses to see it!)
Good Energy, Calley and Dr. Casey Means. Expect to see these siblings’ names a lot more in the new era of RFK, Jr. Whatever your politics, they make a powerful case for how good health begins at the cellular level.
Sleep, Drink, Breathe, Dr Michael Breus. If you can get these three “dominoes of health” lined up, you’re off to a fantastic start.

And if you have the interest but can’t commit the time, Blinkist is a great tool to get detailed summaries of all the books that are still on your Want to Read list.

WELL, RED

The Yay: it’s official- artificial food dye Red #3 has been banned and companies currently using it have until 2027 to reformulate. Or else! 💪🏻 (As if consequences are still a thing…) The Boo: Red #3 is unequivocally the evilest of the dyes but banning it still leaves plenty of room for the rest of the toxic rainbow to party like it’s 1999. Here’s where you’ll find them, ranked in order of shock value.

Duh: Skittles, M&Ms and Starburst include Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, and Blue 1. Taste the rainbow! 🌈
One raised eyebrow: certain brands of mustard, mayo, and ketchup. Get to know your condiments.
Jaw on floor: SMOKED SALMON. PICKLES. (Yellow + Blue = 🤢)

Better news: Kraft Mac & Cheese actually abandoned dyes for spices a while ago. 👏🏻

If you don’t wanna read my health books, at least read your labels, friends.

UNDUE PROCESS

Speaking of those not-so-hidden culprits, you are now likely familiar with harms of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), linked to diabetes, depression, obesity and more, but when over 70% of products in the supermarket are classified as UPFs, we got trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Processed. Enter GoCoCo, a food-scanning app that uses a simple scoring system based on nutritional value and degree of ultra-processing, to help consumers make more informed choices. Their mantra is nudge, don’t judge, which rings all my bells. (Next up, perhaps a sponsorship for Miss Gauff? 🎾 She needs all the cheering she can get.)

Stay tuned for an upcoming pod interview but in the meantime, check it out for yourself and enjoy 90 days free with the code ALLTOOWELL

HERE’S A TIP, MAKE THE CHANGE

It’s been a head-spinning cycle of news these past two weeks, but before we turn the page completely, let’s not forget the recent surge of Norovirus, because it hasn’t forgotten you. Fun facts you may not know:

People with Norovirus can shed the virus for up to two weeks after their symptoms are gone. 🤮
It is resistant to most disinfectants and hand sanitizers, and can stay on food, countertops and utensils for up to two weeks, even at freezing temperatures and until heated to above 140º. 🤮🤮

Some easy strategies to reduce your exposure:

🙅🏻‍♀️ DO NOT TOUCH the escalator handrail - this is a big one. It’s one of the filthiest surfaces in public, and I often have an impulse to swat peoples’ hand off of it at airports etc, but these are just things we do not do.
👊🏻 Use your knuckles: ATM buttons, elevator buttons, any keypads at all
Also: