Thread by @emigal

1/10: I turn 35 this year, so I’ve been researching what I should do in order to minimize risk of death at 35, while optimizing for longevity - aka do things now that will have a positive impact on my health for when I'm 65 years old. A thread on my learnings:

2/10: First off - disclaimer: This post summarizes my opinion on the topic, backed by research papers with large effects on (mostly) large sample sizes. That said, I am not a medical professional, and this post is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

3/10: Things you should do every day:
- Sleep 7-8 hours
- Exercise
- Practice meditation or yoga
- Eat healthy food, not too much, mostly veggies
- Do intermittent fasting (skip breakfast or dinner)
- Get a cold shower in the morning
- Spend time with people you love

4/10: Things you should 1x / week:
- Eat meat sparingly
- Alcohol, no more than 1-2 glasses
- Measure your weight to see trends
- Do a 24-hr water fast

5/10: Things you should do 1x / month:
- Measure blood pressure. I have an Omron wireless blood pressure monitor that uploads the data to my Apple Health, and I have a monthly reminder to take my blood pressure on the last Sunday morning of the month, before having coffee.

6/10: 1x / quarter:
- Get a blood test. At the bare minimum, a good panel will include cholesterol, fasting insulin, testosterone (for guys), inflammation markers, iron, and vitamins.
- Do a multi-day fast.

7/10: Every 6-12 months:
- Get an @ezrainc full-body MRI for cancer and other disease screening (disclaimer: I’m the co-founder / CEO of Ezra)
- Get a DEXA scan for bone density / body fat (MRI might be able to do this in the future)
- Get a pap smear
- Get a mammogram

8/10: Every 6-12 months, continued:
- Get a skin check
- See your dentist & ophthalmologist
- For guys: donate blood to reduce iron stores

9/10: Every 5 years:
- Get a low-dose chest CT with calcium scoring for lung cancer screening and coronary heart disease assessment
- Get a colonoscopy (if over 40)

10/10: I’ve written a longer essay about all these recommendations, together with references to ~40 research papers: emigal.com/2021/01/26/a-r…. Thanks @edyson @balajis @kimballscott for reading drafts of this.