A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

It seems like probiotics are all the rage right now – they're taking over health food stores, social media, and even restaurant menus. But what exactly are probiotics, and what can they do for your health? Here's a round-up of the latest research.

You hear about it, you read about it, you even talk about it, but for some reason you ignore it… it’s the health advice you know you should follow but choose not to. It's easier and, at times, more gratifying to dismiss it, but have you thought of the long-term implications of continuously ignoring it? In honor of National Nutrition Month this March, we’re reigniting the conversation on the health advice you continue to overlook. In this article, we provide you with the research behind the advice and present tips to help you implement it once and for all.

When Joe Rogan speaks, people listen. But when Joe Rogan's guests speak, people sit up and take note. The renowned comedian and MMA commentator is perhaps best known these days for his wildly popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience – which boasts over 4.6 million subscribers and features guests ranging from celeb astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson to global icons like SpaceX and Tesla founding tycoon Elon Musk. That's why we were thrilled when David Sinclair, PhD, Chairman of the InsideTracker Scientific Advisory Board, appeared as a guest on Rogan's show a few weeks ago to dish on why he tests his blood regularly in an effort to optimize his own healthspan.

In a productivity-centric world, it can be hard to relinquish working hours to fit in time for things we know are good for us – like home-cooking! So hard, in fact, that Americans recently began spending more on restaurant and fast food than on meals they make at home – a first in US history. In other words, we're buying our meals, rather than cooking them, more than ever before. Why does this matter? Well, research shows that restaurant food is higher in unhealthy nutrients like saturated fat and sodium than the meals we cook.¹ Of course, cooking daily can be quite a commitment. So how can we save time and eat health-promoting foods? The answer for many is meal prepping.

While it’s not a new concept, meal prepping (bulk-preparing food in advance) has just recently filtered into mainstream habits – including those of the InsideTracker team. So we've curated some of our favorite meal prep hacks that help us save time and still make enjoyable eats. 

As a consumer in our health-conscious world, you may have come across a current fad: the alkaline diet (which may also be referred to using a combination of the terms acid or ash). Fancy name, but what does it mean?

The alkaline diet holds the assumption that, if we only eat optimal pH foods, the pH level of the fluids in our bodies will optimize in response, thereby protecting our organs and systems from damage and disease and improving our general health.⁴ But how realistic can that be?  Is there evidence that this strategy works, or should we have left the alkaline diet in 2018?

Everyone loves a big news flash, and this one takes the cake! InsideTracker is thrilled to announce that our very first scientific paper has been published in a peer-reviewed journal – and not just any journal, but a prestigious one: Scientific Reports, from the Nature Publishing Group. The paper, titled “Longitudinal analysis of biomarker data from a personalized nutrition platform in healthy subjects”, has been nine years in the making, thanks to contributions from our entire scientific team, staff, and scientific advisory board.

At InsideTracker, we strive to create a truly personalized approach to health and wellness through the use of blood-based biomarker testing. The best thing about blood biomarkers is that they are dynamic. Unlike genetics, blood biomarkers change over time and often can be influenced by specific diet, activity, and lifestyle habits. ^1,2,3 This also means that your blood test offers a snapshot of your current nutrition and exercise needs. 

In case you missed it, we’re doing a two-part series - Nutrition and Lifestyle - on ways to mentally and physically prepare yourself for the school year ahead. In last week’s edition, we examined the best ways to improve your cognitive ability through diet and nutrition. This week, we’re discussing lifestyle practices you can build into your routine to help you overcome the unexpected curveballs of a hectic ‘back to school’ schedule.

School’s back in session so we did a little studying ourselves. Whether you’re in college, grad school, or just affected by a student’s schedule – hello moms and dads – improving certain aspects of your life can better equip you for those unexpected late nights, missed meals, and undue pressures of a hectic routine. 

Science is constantly changing. One day something can be healthy and the next day it’s not. It can certainly be frustrating, but that is why InsideTracker is here to dig through the science and present you with the most up-to-date research. Not surprisingly, one of these big swings in scientific knowledge recently happened with one of our most tested biomarkers, HDL cholesterol. It was previously thought, and still widely believed, that the more HDL cholesterol, or the often-termed “good cholesterol”, you have, the better. But recent research is showing that you can have too much of this good thing. Numerous new cohort studies are showing an unexpected association: a high level of HDL carries the same risk as having a low level of HDL-cholesterol.