The Daily Valet. - 4/1/22, Friday

✔️ This Is Not a Joke

April 01, 2022

Friday, April 1st Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

April Fools’ Day has been celebrated for centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

We’re All Eating Too Much Plastic

You’re digesting a credit card’s worth of plastic a week

This is not an April Fools’ joke, unfortunately. New research suggests that humans consume about five grams of small plastic particles every week, which is about the weight of a credit card.

Apparently, they enter the digestive system through the water we drink. One report found that one to two liters of water daily from plastic water bottles can introduce over 90,000 plastic particles into our bodies (tap water is about half that, at 40,000 particles). Seafood and sea salt are also hosts to microplastics.

According to InsideHook, people with chronic illnesses are particularly at risk, as one of the co-authors of the study explained: “A healthy gut is more likely to ward off the health risk, but local changes in the gastrointestinal tract, such as those present in chronic disease or even negative stress, could make them susceptible to the harmful effects of [micro and nanoplastics].”

The microscopic plastic particles have the ability to change the gut microbiome composition. And changes in the gastrointestinal tract from plastic are now being linked to metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes and chronic liver disease.

These ubiquitous pollutants are now found almost everywhere on Earth. Scientists have detected microplastics near the peak of Mount Everest, in the deepest depths of the oceans and even in baby poop. But it was just this week that they were discovered in human blood. In a paper published in Environment International, researchers found plastic in almost 80% of the people tested.

The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. But the impact on health is not yet known. But researchers are concerned. “The particles are there and are transported throughout the body,” one of the study’s authors told The Guardian. “The big question is what is happening in our body?”

↦ Dig Deeper: Want to know more about microplastics? National Geographic goes deep on all the problems they cause humans and the environment.

Government Will Tap Oil Reserve

An unprecedented release of 1 million barrels a day over the next six months

President Joe Biden said he will release a million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for about six months in an effort to drive down record oil prices in what he called a “wartime bridge.”

According to the Washington Post, the release—the biggest withdrawal in the reserve's half century history—is an indication that the White House anticipates a prolonged conflict in Ukraine.

The move could free up as much as 180 million barrels of oil, with the first barrels coming on the market in May. But the move will most likely have only a modest impact because it cannot make up for all the oil, diesel and other fuels that Russia used to sell to the world but is no longer able to. The U.S. consumes more than 7 billion barrels of oil a year.

Saying some U.S. oil companies are putting profits over production, Biden called on Congress to impose fees on companies that do not take full advantage of the leases allowing them to extract oil from federal land. The oil industry has said it isn't actively producing oil on all of its federal land leases because projects can take years to develop and some land ends up not being viable to drill on.

↦ FYI: The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $4.22, according to AAA, up from $3.60 per gallon last month and $2.90 per gallon last year.

Partner

Want to be healthier without gimmicks? This service offers a personalized game plan based on what your body really needs.

Nostalgia Can Relieve Pain

Take two good memories, every four hours

Listening to the music you loved in high school. Rewatching that one movie you've seen a hundred times. Or ordering that trash pizza from a national chain that shall remain nameless ... it's all in the name of nostalgia and it turns out, it does a body good.

Scientists have found evidence that nostalgia can reduce our perception of pain. In a recent study, they exposed participants to heat stimulation, and people reported it felt more intense when looking at modern photos vs. pics of old cartoons, childhood games and candy from their youth.

And this isn't the first time that reflecting on fond memories went a step beyond making you feel warm and fuzzy—in 2020, researchers demonstrated the psychological and emotional benefits by showing that nostalgia (triggered by a writing task) decreased the perception of pain intensity among people suffering from chronic pain.

“It's cool to find more and more research bridging the overlap between these psychological and emotional constructs that we're studying, and these biological and behavioral responses,” a respected psychologist told CNN. So the next time you're hurting, try flicking through the depths of your camera roll or washing down an Advil with the sugary cereal your mom never let you eat.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Kotaro Lives Alone’ + a Highball Mizuwari

Kotaro Lives Alone is a beloved Japanese manga collection that was just adapted as an anime series on Netflix. The plot is fairly simple: A polite and quirky young boy moves into an apartment building by himself. The eccentric people living around him try to look after him as he slowly begins influencing their lives for the better. The first few episodes are charming with meaningful messages of being kind to others while viewing the world through the eyes of a child. But there's a lot more under the surface.

The deeper into the season you go, you realize the little guy is so peculiar because of some serious trauma that he's trying to overcome. Despite it all, Kotaro has a habit of bringing out the best in people. The show reminds me of the Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid—just with more sophisticated plotlines and jokes to keep my attention now. And I'm not alone. The show's being praised for “shining a humorous light on empathy,” while Decider called it “refreshingly honest and endearing.”

↦ Your Pairing:The Japanese Highball is not your average Whiskey Soda. It's made with a fastidious attention to detail and the highest quality ingredients. The cocktail is refreshing, and the ritual is fun while offering a glimpse into the wonderfully meticulous nature of Japan.

In Other News

↦ Scientists Finally Finish Decoding Entire Human Genome

↦ Positive Drug Tests for U.S. Workers Hit Highest Level Since 2001

↦ Who Will Win (and Who Should Win) at the 2022 Grammys

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Patrick Demarchelier

What readers bought in March

This fried egg technique

Partner

Get a Handle on Your Health

This personalized nutrition and performance system provides all the info you need

If we know anything about getting healthy, it's that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for me might not be what you need (and vice versa). Which is why so many of us fall for the gimmicks that promise any and everything. But InsideTracker wants to put a stop to that.

Extreme personalization is clearly the future of health and fitness, but in order to drill down, you need to first know where you're starting and what you're working with. InsideTracker was founded by experts in aging, genetics and biometric data, from Harvard and MIT—they analyze your blood, DNA and fitness tracking data to identify where you're optimized, and where you're not. Then they provide you with a personalized plan to build strength, speed recovery and optimize your health for the long haul.

Their best-selling “Ultimate Plan” is a detailed head-to-toe analysis that tests up to 43 blood biomarkers for a complete and holistic look at your health. It's ideal for anyone looking to improve athletic performance, extend longevity, or simply feel better. Once you're analyzed, the plan provides meaningful insights along with a customized action plan of science-backed nutrition, fitness and lifestyle recommendations. And right now, you can get 20% off your order with our exclusive link.

↦ Get It: $589 / $478.40 at InsideTracker

What We’re Eyeing

When spring rolls around, you get some new white sneakers. We don't make the rules, we just know the law. But these are not your average classic canvas sneakers. These new reimagined Air Max 90s are a whole lot cooler (and way more comfortable). With a “city meets outdoors” aesthetic, it's got an easy slip-on comfort collar with rip-stop nylon uppers and a new outsole design that uses speckles made from Nike Grind—which is recycled waste (i.e., the scraps) from the footwear manufacturing process.

↦ Get It: Air Max Terrascape 90 sneakers, $140 by Nike