Health Tracking Updates
I’m on a quest to improve my health, and I had two fascinating takeaways the past two weeks that I wanted to mention:
ChatGPT Health Advice:
I recently uploaded my Ancestry DNA file and most recent set of 100+ lab tests from Function Health to ChatGPT and asked it to analyze what areas I should be focusing on based on both my genetics and my actual results from these recent lab tests.
[Note: I know there are some privacy concerns with uploading this data, but I felt it was worth the minimal risk.]
ChatGPT pointed out that I was quite low on my Omega-3 index, my vitamin D was low and I likely had a MTHFR variant that was impacting how I process certain vitamins.
This data, along with some information I gleaned from the single best health podcast I’ve ever heard, Tim Ferriss Episode 819 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (I’ve seriously listened to the 2.5 hour show three times already) on taking creatine for brain health and sulforaphane for oxidative stress and inflammation reduction have transformed the supplements I’m taking.
I’ve added high-quality Vitamin D3, Omega-3, sulforaphane, methylated folate and B vitamins, plus a little more creatine every day.
I’m obviously not a health professional and I’m certainly not recommending these supplements for you, but I found it fascinating to put my real-life data into ChatGPT and get recommendations, and I have to say this:
I have never felt better. They have made a dramatic difference both in increasing energy levels and interestingly in reducing anxiety.
The results have been better than I could have possibly predicted when I thought to ask the AI to analyze my data.
Whoop for Health, Sleep and Fitness Tracking:
Three months ago, I bought the Whoop band to help track my sleep, steps, and health metrics. It’s a top-quality product, but I honestly haven’t had a ton of truly actionable takeaways thus far.
That changed this past week while I was on a trip.
I essentially drink zero alcohol at this point in my life, but we had a ‘going away party’ for a friend and I had two alcoholic beverages over a four-hour period.
There was never a time where I was even remotely ‘buzzed’ or drunk, and I fell asleep normally that night around 10:30pm.
When I looked at my health metrics in the morning, I was blown away to see just how much havoc those two seemingly innocent drinks caused.
My Whoop “recovery score” was a 20 out of 100 (lowest I’d ever seen was 50 previously), my resting heart rate was 10% higher than normal and my HRV (a metric that shows how your Autonomic Nervous System handles stress) was almost half its normal level.
These are catastrophic results and helps me realize in a clear way just how destructive even low-level alcohol consumption can be on my body.
This type of data will absolutely impact my decision-making in the future, and that’s the kind of actionable takeaway I was hoping for when I bought the Whoop band.