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These cooking oils can add a decade to your life
The Sunday Upgrade - A smarter start to the week
Diego Carrete
May 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Today’s playbook:
Happy Sunday amigo,
I’m writing this after taking my daily anti anxiety medication. I’m always open about it because every time I try to taper off, my anxiety spikes beyond what I can manage.
For me, anxiety used to feel like a constant loop, an unrelenting whisper of worry that wouldn’t quiet down. These days, I handle it better, but it’s still there.
For years, I didn’t realize my anxiety was connected to something deeper: emotional pain from my past that my mind never fully processed.
Discovering Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) made a real difference.
It helped me change how my brain reacts to stress and begin to break free from that exhausting cycle.
I want to share this science backed approach because it offers a new way forward for anyone dealing with anxiety tied to deeper emotional wounds.
I’ve been there, and i’m still working through it, but there is hope.
Let’s dive in.
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy against anxiety
MBCT reduces hyperactivity in the amygdala, the brain’s anxiety alarm, while strengthening prefrontal control centers that regulate emotional responses.
Controlled trials demonstrate up to 40% reduction in generalized anxiety symptoms with only 10 minutes of daily practice over 8 weeks.
Anxiety is not a transient feeling; it’s a persistent neural pattern that hijacks focus and drains executive function.
Without intervention, this rewiring entrenches chronic stress, increasing risk for cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
Step 1: Breath as a neural anchor (2 minutes daily)
Goal: Stimulate the vagus nerve to lower stress hormones and balance your nervous system.
How to do it:
Find a quiet moment: Sit comfortably with a straight spine—can be at your desk or anywhere calm.
Cue: Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
Technique: Inhale deeply through your nose for 4 seconds, feeling your belly rise (not your chest).
Hold the breath gently for 2 seconds.
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 seconds, feeling your belly fall.
Repeat this cycle for 2–3 minutes.
Implementation Cue:
Do this first thing after waking up or before starting your workday—set a phone timer or reminder labeled “Reset Breath.”
Step 2: Cognitive defusion (3 minutes daily)
Goal: Reduce anxiety power by observing thoughts without judgment or attachment.
How to do it:
Find a quiet spot: Sit or lie down comfortably, eyes open or closed.
Cue: Imagine your thoughts as leaves floating down a stream or clouds passing in the sky.
Technique: When an anxious or negative thought arises, silently note, “There’s a thought,” or “That’s a worry.” Avoid engaging or arguing with it.
Focus on observing thoughts as passing mental events, not facts.
Continue this for 3–5 minutes, gently returning attention to observation if distracted.
Implementation Cue:
Link this to a daily habit—after brushing your teeth or before lunch—use that moment as a trigger to practice cognitive defusion.
Step 3: Intentional Pause Before Triggers (2 times/day)
Goal: Interrupt automatic anxiety responses and engage rational brain centers.
How to do it:
Identify triggers: Before known stressors—meetings, calls, difficult conversations—prepare to pause.
Cue: As you approach the trigger, take 3 deep diaphragmatic breaths (see Step 1).
Mentally say to yourself, “Pause. I’m choosing my response.”
Notice any immediate anxious feelings or tension.
Allow a brief moment (5–10 seconds) to reset your focus on what you control—your breath and reaction.
Implementation Cue:
Set calendar reminders 5 minutes before key meetings or create a visual cue at your workspace (sticky note or phone wallpaper) that says “Pause.”
4 daily defences against toxic load and heavy metals
Tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics easily grab onto harmful heavy metals like lead and cadmium.
These plastic-metal combos can enter your body’s cells and build up in organs, causing inflammation and damage to your nervous system.
3 things to remember:
1. Studies have found these nanoplastics in human blood, lungs, brain, and placenta.
2. Chronic exposure accelerates DNA damage, disrupts endocrine function, and increases cancer and neurodegenerative disease risk.
3. Toxic load is a silent driver of biological aging and performance decline.
Heavy metals aren’t just an industrial hazard; the plastics in your kitchen and home create a constant Trojan horse for metal exposure, even in “clean” environments.
Cooking oils that can add a decade to your life
Monounsaturated fats and polyphenol-rich oils like extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), avocado, and walnut oils:
* Modulate inflammation
* Improve endothelial function
* Promote mitochondrial efficiency.
EVOO alone is linked to a 30% reduction in cardiovascular mortality and cognitive decline.
Inflammation underpins nearly every chronic disease and accelerates cellular aging.
The fats you consume directly influence systemic inflammation and hormone balance critical for healthspan.
“All fats are bad” is a pervasive myth. The type and quality of fats, not just quantity, dictate metabolic health and aging trajectories
Important updates
In a world rapidly reshaped by AI and automation, the true advantage isn’t just in what you know or what tools you use, it’s in who you connect with.
That’s why I am building something different, a space where executives and parents support, challenge, and elevate each other in ways no LinkedIn or social platform can replicate.
To better serve this vision, we’re moving our home to Substack. As a subscriber, you’ll continue to get practical strategies to boost energy, build muscle, and lose fat without overwhelm.
But here is what’s new:
* Insider access to building thriving wellness programs inside organizations
* Early insights on leveraging AI tools to optimize your health and career
No action needed on your end, just keep an eye out for emails from our new sender next week. You’ll get the same trusted content, plus new formats like podcasts and exclusive premium insights.
Together, this community is your edge, your source of resilience, and your launchpad for thriving in the future that’s already here.
Hasta la vista, amigo.
References
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Anxiety
Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 169–183.
Gu, J., Strauss, C., Bond, R., & Cavanagh, K. (2015). How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 37, 1-12.
Nanoplastics and Heavy Metals Toxicity
Li, J., Liu, H., & Paul Chen, J. (2020). Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Environment: Aggregation, Toxicity, and Human Health Risks. Science of The Total Environment, 715, 136896.
Recent studies identifying nanoplastics in human tissues: Leslie, H. A., et al. (2022). Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood. Environment International, 163, 107199.
Cooking Oils and Longevity
Schwingshackl, L., & Hoffmann, G. (2014). Monounsaturated fatty acids and risk of cardiovascular disease: synopsis of the evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Nutrients, 6(12), 5675-5701.
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