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Daily Edition • Wednesday, Aug 26

Your Genes May Decide If Caffeine Actually Boosts Your Workout

A glass jar with a straw filled with coffee sits on a leather surface, alongside a person’s legs in workout attire.

Karla Kyzar/Unsplash

Rise and Grind: Lots of gym goers swear by caffeine to give their workouts an extra boost, while others drink a cup of coffee before lifting and feel nothing. Research has shown that caffeine can improve athletic performance and focus, but if you’re not seeing much of a difference, it may not be all in your head. A new study looked into why caffeine affects people differently during workouts and suggests the answer may trace back to genetics.

The Study: Researchers ran a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial with 94 resistance-trained men and women, sorted into three groups based on which version of the CYP1A2 gene they carried, which influences how quickly the liver metabolizes caffeine. Each participant then took three milligrams per kilogram of caffeine or a placebo before bench press and squat tests, and researchers measured how fast they moved the weight. Caffeine improved strength and endurance performance overall, but those with the fast-metabolizing version of the gene saw the biggest gains.

The Takeaway: If your coffee never seems to hit before a workout, that might be your biology talking, not a lack of effort.

Keep in Mind: This research focused on one specific caffeine dose and two specific lifts, so results could look different for endurance sports like running or cycling.

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The GLP-1 Providers Forbes Health Rated Highest

A weighing scale with a measurement dial, next to a pink measuring tape laid out in a spiral.

Courtesy: Forbes Health

Choosing a GLP-1 provider isn’t simply about picking the first option you find. With more choices available, it’s worth taking a closer look at how different providers compare.

Forbes Health has evaluated leading GLP-1 providers and highlighted its top-rated options, along with exclusive offers. If you’re considering a GLP-1, this list can help you explore the providers worth knowing about before deciding where to start.

Explore The List

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Mindfulness

On the Road? Here’s How to Prevent Motion Sickness

A person sits by a window on a bus, gazing out at rolling green hills and distant mountains under a cloudy sky.

Giulia Squillace/Unsplash

Feeling Queasy: Whether it’s happened while riding in a car or on a boat, or even playing a virtual reality game, most people have experienced motion sickness and the nausea, sweating, dizziness, and vomiting it causes. It happens because of a disconnect between what we see and what we feel when we’re in motion and how the brain registers this movement. Children are more susceptible to it, as are people who get vestibular migraines. Plenty of medications and products promise to quell the queasiness, but is it possible to prevent motion sickness all together?

How to Do It: Yes, with some planning. Antihistamines (like Dramamine) are effective, but they must be taken ahead of time to work and can cause drowsiness. Driving yourself or riding shotgun can help prevent motion sickness in a car. On a boat, plane, or train, choose a seat where you can see the horizon — like the middle of a boat, over the wing of a plane, or facing forward on a train. Or try prescription scopolamine patches, which can be worn behind the ear for several days.

The Benefits: Motion sickness can keep people from doing activities they either want or need to do. When you know potentially triggering activities are on the agenda, a little planning can keep you functional.

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SPOTLIGHT

Can We Actually Outsmart Aging?

Smiling man in a dark blazer stands indoors, looking at the camera with a blurred background of a modern space.

DAVID SINCLAIR
Longevity Researcher, Professor, Author

Courtesy: David Sinclair

David Sinclair thinks we don’t have to get older — at least, not in the way that most of us expect to. Aging is fact. We all get older, and we all die. But Sinclair, in his best-selling book Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To, posits that aging is a treatable disease, and we can not only double our lifespans but also live happily and healthily up to the very end.

A Harvard genetics professor, Sinclair’s career has focused on the molecular machinery of aging, including sirtuins, NAD+ metabolism, and epigenetics, the biological systems that help determine how our cells function.

In Lifespan, Sinclair argues that aging happens partly because cells gradually lose the epigenetic information that tells them what to do. Critics have challenged some of Sinclair’s claims about how close we are to reversing human aging, and point out that he is an investor in companies like InsideTracker which, while potentially useful for understanding one’s health profile, profits off of anti-aging lore.

The practical takeaway from Sinclair’s work is considerably less sci-fi than it seems when he appears on podcasts or TV: exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, and avoiding smoking and alcohol remain among the most evidence-backed ways to extend healthspan.

FOLLOW | READ | WATCH

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Quick Picks

Just One Thing — This singular habit could drastically improve your health and wellbeing.

Coverage Check — A few quick questions could reveal insurers that may better fit your needs.*

Clean Sweep — You shouldn’t skip these 9 fall cleaning tasks for a healthier home.

Slow Is Fast — Largest review of its kind confirms benefits of Tai Chi and other gentle strength-training exercises.

Not One and the Same — “Low-calorie” and “high-protein” don’t necessarily mean “healthy.”

^*Indicates a brand partnership

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What We're Cooking

Chicken Shawarma Sheet-Pan Dinner

A bowl of spiced chicken topped with creamy sauce, served over rice with chickpeas and colorful bell peppers.

Courtesy: Serious Eats

Serves: 4-6 | Cook Time: 45 minutes

This easy sheet-pan dinner pairs spice-rubbed chicken thighs with crisp chickpeas, roasted red onion, and sweet bell peppers over rice. Staggering the vegetables allows the chicken, onion, and chickpeas to get a head start in the oven, while the peppers are added later so they brown without becoming too soft. A warm blend of coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, and black pepper seasons the entire dish, while a lemony tahini-yogurt sauce adds a cool, tangy contrast.

Get The Full Recipe

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All Healthy x Case Kenny

You Don’t Need Another Five-Year Plan. You Need Five Minutes.

A person holds a white card with the word "MANTRA" written in red, surrounded by greenery and a road in the background.

Courtesy: Case Kenny

When you’re trying to figure out what comes next, it’s easy to assume clarity has to come before action. We’ve partnered with Case Kenny to offer All Healthy readers a free 7-Day Mantra Challenge that takes the opposite approach: start by putting what you want into your own words. Each day brings one short prompt and one sentence to finish — no lengthy journaling required. The first begins: “It’s my turn to _____.”

Sometimes one honest line is enough to help you see the next step differently.

Try The Free Challenge

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What Makes a GLP-1 Provider Stand Out?

With so many GLP-1 options available, choosing a provider can take some research. Forbes Health has rated leading providers to help you compare your options and see which may fit your needs. Take a closer look at the providers making the list and available offers.

Start Now

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HEALTHY HABIT

Do a Midday Jaw Check

Stress has a funny way of moving into your face without asking. Once a day, check in: unclench your jaw, relax your tongue, lower your shoulders, and take one slow breath. It’s a tiny reset, but it can help interrupt the “why am I bracing for impact while answering email?” posture.

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Final Thought

A scenic view of a sandy beach surrounded by rolling dunes and greenery, with gentle waves lapping at the shore.

Find out who you are and do it on purpose, with purpose.”

– Dolly Parton, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

Emily Irene Photo Co./Unsplash