- Andrew's Apples 🍎
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- The last 10 years
Fly, my pretties, fly.
Good morning 🦁 This is Andrew's Apples, the health newsletter that puts the HEAL in HEALTH. Lol! Gimme 2 min. Let's go.
🥬 Eat more sauerkraut, soldier. This living fermented food contains beneficial microbes, fiber, and phytochemicals that support gut and metabolic health. It is traditionally made by combining shredded cabbage with salt and allowing the mixture to undergo fermentation by the naturally occurring bacteria present on the cabbage leaves and in the surrounding air. Think of how milk is turned into yogurt. Good gut health = good overall metabolic health. Throw in some kimchi, kvass, and kefir to round it all out. A preponderance of supporting evidence here, here, and here.
🍎 Andrew's Take. Fermentation is older than time itself, which is partly why it works. The standard American "diet" is so limp, sad, and ineffective that we need foods like this more than ever. Your body knows what's good, so in the same way that electrolyte drink mixes will at first taste salty if you're electrolyte-deficient (most are btw), fermented foods will taste quite tangy since most guts are not used to the good bacteria. It's but one piece of a bigger puzzle, but in this case I implore you to go with your gut.
⏳ The last 10 years. Big banger from Jonathan Haidt from a few months back. In sum, something "happened to America in the 2010s [...] the fractured country we now inhabit. Something went terribly wrong, very suddenly. We are disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same truth. We are cut off from one another and from the past." There is a red country, a blue country, and a country (bigger than the media would admit) inhabited by those who don't sit in either camp with both feet. Tribalism is here but people forget that's always been here. What's new, Haidt argues, is the "fragmentation of everything." It used to be far more likely that you go to a party, ask someone what they've been doing/watching/eating/reading/listening to and their answer would overlap with yours in some way. Now: binging an obscure show on Hulu? Yeah, never heard of it. So, uh... what else is new? This is where we're at.
🍎 Andrew's Take. And it's affecting our health. With fragmentation comes an increasing sense that the only way to tap into community - a basic human need - is to cling onto old friends (ones you should have moved on from by now) and/or join a nicher-than-niche group (which most do not even do anyways, out of laziness/the excuse machine/etc.). As community fades, BMI and a bevy of other bad metabolic measures go up. Instead, the soup de jour in America is to sear political orientations into our hearts, letting them bleed all over 'friends' and strangers on the internet. We have crossed the Rubicon and - like it or not - the only way out is in. No, statistically in 2022, you are not going to meet your spouse or your ideal business partner/associate in real life, at a downtown bar, or in the dog park. Maybe! But probably not. You'll meet them on the internet. But sharpen your scythe, because the grass in the digital jungle is tall, tricky, and thick.
🌯 Chowing at Chipotle. The fast-casual Mexican food concept was the best thing to happen to fast food since Subway hit the scene. Remember when Subway convinced most of us that submarine sandwiches were wayyy healthier than cheeseburgers? Lmao! But, like everything on a long enough timeline, the menu options revert to the mean, and the "mean" in the West is sedentary, huge, and alone. Luckily, fitness brand Levels has you covered on how to eat clean and low-sugar at Chipotle: choose a salad over a burrito/bowl; pass on tortilla and white rice; double up on beans; always add vegetables; any protein other than brisket and sofritas; no corn; add guac; extra lettuce; and skip the dressing. Some nuance is required if you have dietary restrictions (see "fragmentation" point in #2 Apple).
🍎 Andrew's Take. Nobody wants to eat a salad every day, so this is your best bet if you're working like a dog and need something fast. All we have is our time and our dollars are going less far every day with the current macro outlook. Until the economy dusts itself off and/or new innovations hit the QSR segment, this is it.
🕊️ Tweet of the Day. Someone hire this cartoon Ox! His cartoon brain work gooder than human brain at USDA helm rn.
How about them Apples? Hit me with any comments or questions. Love hearing from y'all.
Your friend,
Andrew🍎
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