Lifestyle Underwriting

Human Lab Rats

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America’s Poison Centers logged 862 exposures to retatrutide in the three months ending in September, up from 460 in the prior three months and 249 in the first three months of 2026, CBS News reported. The FDA has also received two reports of people who died after taking products sold as retatrutide, an experimental Eli Lilly obesity drug that no regulator has approved. Poison Center Exposures to Bootleg Retatrutide Nearly Double in Three Months as FDA Logs Two Death Reports – https://www.medicaldaily.com/retatrutide-poison-center-exposures-fda-death-reports-479901

Meanwhile in Australia…

The medicines regulator has revealed a patient suffered a torn oesophagus after using an unapproved weight-loss peptide labelled as retatrutide. Laboratory testing found the product contained no retatrutide, but instead a high dose of undeclared weight-loss drug semaglutide. Retatrutide is currently undergoing clinical trials in humans and has not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Patient suffers torn oesophagus after using unapproved peptide, prompting fresh warnings – https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-14/tga-peptide-warning-retatrutide-torn-oesophagus/107143510

The department has been notified of six cases of acute liver toxicity associated with an unapproved peptide product in Australia, labelled Retatrutide. Toxicity linked to unapproved peptide product labelled Retatrutide – https://www.health.vic.gov.au/health-alerts/toxicity-linked-to-unapproved-peptide-retatrutide

Emergency visits linked to peptide use in Australia surged 4,240%, from five in July 2025 to 217 in September 2026. Social media influencers promote peptides for weight loss, muscle growth, injury recovery and anti-aging, but unapproved products may pose risks due to uncertain composition, quality and safety. Retatrutide Driving Peptide-Linked Emergency Hospital Admissions In Australia: What Are The Risks? – https://www.healthandme.com/health-news/retatrutide-driving-peptide-linked-emergency-hospital-visits-in-australia-what-are-the-risks-article-156365185

In Silicon Valley, devotees have gathered at peptide parties to drink, dance and inject themselves with these chemicals—all in pursuit of sharper minds and more sculpted bodies. But within the last few years, peptides have become a much broader phenomenon, not just taken for self-optimization but for treating chronic pain and various other conditions…“We’re seeing a new rival or parallel health system emerge,” says Daniel Carpenter, chair of the government department at Harvard University and an expert in FDA regulation, “built on self-diagnosis and easy access to a wide range of treatments.” Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here? – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/peptides-are-all-the-rage-promising-miracle-cures-and-makeovers-delivered-by-injection-how-did-we-get-here-180989454/

Source article for the post title – The Human Lab Rats Injecting Themselves with Peptides https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/human-lab-rats-injecting-themselves-peptides

The lack of critical thinking and absence of common sense astounds me.

Yikes.

Improve Your Child’s Mental Health and Academic Performance!

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Results  This study included 5515 adolescent participants (2640 [47.9%] female; mean [SD] age 11.93 [0.65] years) using step counters. Higher step count was associated with lower total mental health problems (B [SE], −0.080 [0.015]; t = −5.497; P < .001) and greater cortical thickness in the paracentral (B [SE], 0.057 [0.016]; t = 3.621; P < .001) and rostral anterior cingulate (B[SE], 0.052 [0.016]; t = 3.319; P = .001) regions. Further analyses showed a significant dose-response association, with progressively lower mental health problems across higher step categories compared with the under 5000-step group. Mediation analyses revealed that greater paracentral thickness statistically mediated the association between higher daily step count and fewer mental health problems 1 year later.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this cohort study, higher daily step counts were associated with structural differences in the brains of adolescents, which were in turn associated with better mental outcomes prospectively. Beneficial associations for mental health appeared to accrue continuously across the observed range, with no evidence of a threshold or plateau, highlighting that every step counts and the potential value of promoting daily steps in adolescents. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2854698

Li Q, Paluch A, Rakesh D. Physical Activity and Adolescent Brain Structure, Mental Health, and Academic Outcomes. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(10):e2636973. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.36973

Greater cortical thickness too!

WOOHOO.

Resistance is NOT Futile (in DM risk)

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In this prospective cohort study, resistance training among US adult health care professionals was associated with substantially lower T2D risk, particularly when performed consistently over midlife and combined with adequate aerobic activity and limited sedentary television viewing. These findings support the inclusion of resistance training as a key component of lifestyle recommendations for diabetes prevention. Long-Term Resistance Training and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2850563

The Best Resistance Training Program

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A key takeaway from the updated guidelines is that the biggest benefits often come from a simple starting point. Transitioning from no resistance training to any regular activity can lead to meaningful improvements. While factors such as load, volume, and frequency can be adjusted, experts say the main priority for most adults should be building a routine they can follow consistently.

Another important shift in the recommendations is the recognition that effective resistance training does not require access to a gym. Exercises using elastic bands, bodyweight movements, or simple at home routines can still produce measurable gains in strength, muscle size, and daily function. McMaster University. “The best strength training plan might be simpler than you think.” ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260319074552.htm

Source: https://acsm.org/resistance-training-guidelines-update-2026/

Resistance is not futile.

Keep Moving

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Physical activity consistently emerges as the most important factor influencing both absolute physical capacity and the rate of age-related decline. Our longitudinal data are consistent with previous studies showing that regular physical activity can attenuate the decline in physical performance [17, 32–37]. Individuals who were physically active in their leisure time at age 16 maintained higher aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and muscle power throughout the observation period. This emphasizes the importance of early intervention to establish positive exercise habits in adolescence and early adulthood, as these patterns appear to have long-term benefits for physical function. Encouragingly, our results show that transitioning from physical inactivity to activity at any age significantly improves performance in all fitness modalities studied. These findings contradict the assumption that early inactivity irreversibly impairs physical performance. Rather, taking up regular physical activity leads to measurable improvements in performance even in later decades of life. This finding is of particular importance for clinical practice, as physical activity is still the only evidence-based intervention to reduce the risk of sarcopenia [2, 38]. Recent large population studies also show that an active lifestyle is beneficial at any age [13, 39, 40]. Rise and Fall of Physical Capacity in a General Population: A 47-Year Longitudinal Study – https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcsm.70134

Text above in bold are my highlights.

Despite the documented limitations this is a very strong study.

I’ve been doing my home based virtual physical therapy for nearly a year. I’m trying to get to the gym at least twice a week. I don’t walk as much as I used to but…

Keep moving.

Remote Work – Not The Norm

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Nearly One in Five Americans Works From Home Regularly – https://www.statista.com/chart/35389/regular-remote-and-home-office-work/

I started writing my journal in 2005. One of the best things about keeping a journal is the ability to verify if memories from the past are accurate or the made up, mashups your brain creates as memories. Here’s my entry on Monday July 24 2006:

A 4:00 PM meeting with the Division head with an HR rep present is never a good thing. I immediately thought to myself:

“This is gonna suck.”

And it did, big time. I got whacked today.

And that’s how my WFH life began. When my work from home situation arises in conversation most are surprised to learn I’ve been WFH this long. I’m surprised how long I’ve been working from home!

I am convinced due to having a low stress working environment, better diet (NO office snacks/free food/lunches out), no commute, along with a host of other variables I just might be increasing my lifespan. I do know I get plenty of sleep on a regular routine basis.

Short sleep duration (< 7 h per night) was associated with a 14% increase in mortality risk compared to the reference of 7–8 h, with a pooled hazard ratio of 1.14 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.18). Conversely, long sleep duration (≥ 9 h per night) was associated with a 34% higher risk of mortality, with a hazard ratio of 1.34 (95% CI 1.26 to 1.42). Sex-specific analyses indicated that both short and long sleep durations significantly elevated mortality risk in men and women, although the effect was more pronounced for long sleep duration in women. Both short and long sleep durations are associated with increased all-cause mortality, though the degree of risk varies by sex. Imbalanced sleep increases mortality risk by 14–34%: a meta-analysis – Ungvari, Z., Fekete, M., Varga, P. et al. Imbalanced sleep increases mortality risk by 14–34%: a meta-analysis. GeroScience 47, 4545–4566 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-025-01592-y

Would You Pay $700.00 a Month to Live in One of These?

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Brownstone, by virtue of renting cheaply in a city with sky-high prices and a dearth of new housing, has received thousands of applications for its $700-a-month pods over the past few years, Stallworth said. He thinks there’s at least “10,000 people probably interested in being in San Francisco at any time” and pointed to the tens of thousands of applications that Y Combinator, a local startup incubator, has received in recent years.(Startup founders make up a sizable share of the Mint Plaza building’s residents, Stallworth said.) Startup behind $700-a-month bed ‘pods’ wants to put 10,000 more in San Francisco – https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/startup-bed-pods-san-francisco-21029460.php

I keep telling The Boss all I’m trying to do is to make our retirement income last as long as we last.

Rejected. Again.

How To Reduce Your Risk of Developing Diabetes

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The researchers, from 23 universities in Spain and Harvard Chan School, split 4,746 PREDIMED-Plus participants into an intervention group and a control group and followed their health outcomes for six years. The intervention group adhered to a Mediterranean diet; reduced their caloric intake by about 600 calories per day; engaged in moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking and strength and balance exercises; and received professional support for weight loss control. The control group adhered to a Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction, exercise guidance, or professional support. Participants ranged from age 55 to 75, were overweight or obese, and had metabolic syndrome, but were free of T2D at baseline.

The study found that those in the intervention group had a 31% lower risk of developing T2D compared to those in the control group. Additionally, the intervention group lost an average of 3.3 kilograms and reduced their waist circumference by 3.6 centimeters, compared to 0.6 kilograms and 0.3 centimeters in the control group. Scientists found 3 simple tweaks that cut diabetes risk by 31% – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm (accessed August 29, 2025).

Guess I’ll cut out beer.

One Toke Over the Line

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A wave of recent research points to reasons for concern for older users, with cannabis-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations rising, and a Canadian study finding an association between such acute care and subsequent dementia. Older people are more apt than younger ones to try cannabis for therapeutic reasons: to relieve chronic pain, insomnia, or mental health issues, though evidence of its effectiveness in addressing those conditions remains thin, experts said. As Cannabis Users Age, Health Risks Appear To Grow – https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cannabis-medical-use-older-adults-health-risks/

Then…

And now…

“Our brains are more sensitive to psychoactive substances as we age.” Dr. Benjamin Han

Don’t you know I’m just waiting for the train that goes home, sweet Mary.