If you’ve ever stood in front of the refrigerator at 5:45 on a Tuesday wondering what on earth you’re going to feed everyone, this one is for you.

As a physician, I spend a lot of time talking with patients about nutrition. And here’s what I’ve learned: almost nobody fails at feeding their family because they don’t know vegetables are good for them. They fail because the system around dinner breaks down — no time, no plan, everyone starving, and a drive-through on the way home.

So instead of another lecture about what to eat, here are the four rules I share with my own patients (and use in my own kitchen). None of them require cooking every night.

1. Batch cook on the weekends

One big pot of greens or beans on Sunday can carry your family through the whole week. That’s not a compromise — it’s a strategy. Beans and dark leafy greens are among the most nutrient-dense, budget-friendly foods you can buy, and they reheat beautifully. When the Tuesday scramble hits, you’re not starting from zero; you’re assembling, not cooking.

2. Practice Hara Hachi Bu

This is the ancient Japanese practice — famous from Okinawa, one of the world’s longevity hotspots — of eating until you’re just 80% full, then stopping. It takes your brain about 20 minutes to register fullness, so the pause matters. Teach it to your kids as “leaving a little room,” and you’ve given them a lifelong tool against overeating that never requires a diet.

3. Don’t forget the water

A large glass of water with your meal helps you feel fuller, sooner. It’s the simplest rule on this list and the one most families skip. Put water on the table before the food gets there — it’s a zero-cost, zero-effort assist for rule number two.

4. Eat mindfully

Mindfulness at the table — slowing down, noticing the food, eating without screens — curbs obsessive eating and lets you actually enjoy your meals. For families, this can be as simple as one screen-free dinner a day. The research on mindful eating keeps growing, but the practical version is old-fashioned: sit down together and pay attention.

The bigger picture

Each of these rules works because it changes the environment around eating rather than relying on willpower. That’s the heart of preventive medicine: make the healthy choice the easy choice, and repeat it until it’s just how your family operates.

Pick one rule to start this week. My vote? The pot of beans. It makes the other three easier.

What’s the one mealtime habit that changed how you feed your family? Hit reply or leave a comment — I read every one.

— Natalie Davis, MD Chief Medical Officer, PreventScripts www.nataliedavismd.com

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One of our remote monitoring patients had a number come through on the PreventScripts platform this morning that we hadn’t seen normalized — synced straight from the FDA-approved blood pressure cuff he uses at home, a real shift from his reading at last month’s remote session. The fix wasn’t a new medication, a new device, or a pep talk. It was his toothbrush.

The Problem: The Adherence Gap

Hypertension management has a dirty secret: it doesn’t usually fail because patients don’t know what to do. It fails because knowing and doing live in different parts of the brain. The clinical literature has put a number on this gap for decades — roughly half of patients with chronic disease don’t take their medications as prescribed (Osterberg & Blaschke, New England Journal of Medicine, 2005). Not because they don’t care. Not because we didn’t explain it clearly enough during the visit. Because we build care plans that depend on willpower and memory — two of the least reliable resources a busy, distracted human has on any given Tuesday. Our patient didn’t need a better reason to check his blood pressure. He needed a better trigger.

What’s Actually Happening: The Habit Stack

What he did, without ever using the term, is something behavioral scientists call a habit stack: pairing a new behavior onto a routine that’s already automatic. He moved his blood pressure cuff off a shelf and onto the bathroom counter, right next to his toothbrush. Brushing his teeth happens every day, twice a day, without him having to think about it. Now checking his blood pressure happens right alongside it — same cue, same location, same muscle memory.

This isn’t a lifehack. It’s implementation-intention research playing out in a bathroom. Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer’s decades of work on “if-then” planning found that anchoring a goal to a specific situational cue — not a general intention to “do better” — measurably increases the odds someone actually follows through. The cue does the remembering. The routine does the repeating. Willpower never has to show up.

Gollwitzer and fellow psychologist Paschal Sheeran put this to the test directly. Their 2006 meta-analysis, pooling dozens of independent studies across domains from medication adherence to exercise to recycling, found that people who formed a specific if-then plan were significantly more likely to follow through than people who only set a goal — a medium-to-large effect size, one of the more durable findings in behavioral psychology. The mechanism is mundane but powerful: forming the plan in advance creates a mental link between the cue and the action, so when the cue shows up, the behavior fires with little or no conscious deliberation. The decision gets made once, ahead of time, instead of being re-litigated every single day. That’s the difference between “I should check my blood pressure more” and “after I brush my teeth, I check my blood pressure” — one is a hope, the other is a trigger.

That’s exactly what happened here. No new prescription. Just a structural decision that made the right behavior the path of least resistance.

What This Means in Practice: Coaching Architecture, Not Willpower

At PreventScripts, this is the backbone of how we coach behavior change in our remote monitoring patients. We don’t tell someone to “eat healthier” or “check your readings more often” — instructions like that evaporate by Wednesday. We coach four specific moves:

Swap — trade an unhealthy habit for a healthier one in the same slot (candy → water, not candy → nothing).

Stack — pair the new habit onto a routine the patient already performs reliably (blood pressure cuff → toothbrush, medication → coffee maker).

Anchor to a cue, not to motivation — the cue has to fire whether or not the patient is having a good day.

Keep a trusted human in the loop — a clinician or health coach who checks in, notices when the stack breaks down, and helps rebuild it.

That fourth point matters as much as the first three. Habit stacks work until life gets disrupted — travel, illness, a new job. The structure holds up far better when someone is watching for the break and helping the patient re-anchor, rather than leaving them to rediscover the system alone.

The Path Forward: Prescribing the Architecture

If we want better outcomes in hypertension, diabetes, and obesity care, we have to stop prescribing intentions and start prescribing architecture. “Check your blood pressure daily” is an intention. “Check your blood pressure right after you brush your teeth, every morning” is architecture — specific, anchored, nearly automatic.

It’s a small shift in language with an outsized effect on behavior. It costs nothing to implement. It requires no new technology. It just requires clinicians to ask one more question during the visit: not “will you do this,” but “what will remind you to do this, every single day, without having to think about it.”

Our patient set his own “Habit Stack” in his coaching session. Imagine what happens when we build it into every care plan from the start.

Small, structural changes outperform big bursts of motivation — every time. The next frontier in chronic disease management isn’t a better device. It’s better design.

PreventScripts builds this kind of habit architecture directly into our remote monitoring programs — Swap, Stack, Anchor, and a human in the loop. If your organization wants to see what designed adherence looks like at scale, learn more at preventscripts.com.

Source: Osterberg L, Blaschke T. “Adherence to Medication.” N Engl J Med. 2005;353:487-497.

Healthcare runs on promises. A 2 AM call returned. Five patient phone numbers written on the back of your hand for the commute home. Arriving at a house call — on time, in traffic — because you said you would. I’ve been making and keeping these promises for 30 years. This morning, Andrew Schutzbank’s post on serial promises at Iora Health reminded me why: the companies that win in digital health are the ones that understand this in their bones.

Read his post. Then read this.

The Promise Architecture of Healthcare

Schutzbank’s insight is deceptively simple: every kept promise is an inflection point. Every broken one is a withdrawal. Over time, the accumulation of these micro-commitments — not your NPS score, not your DAU metrics — is what builds or destroys trust with patients.

I’ve lived this across three decades of pediatrics. The 2 AM fever call, returned. The five callbacks scrawled on my hand after a 40-patient clinic day, worked through on the drive home. Showing up to a house call exactly when I said I would, because arriving late to a patient’s home communicates something specific about how much you value their time.

These aren’t heroics. They’re the basic contract of medicine. And patients remember every single one.

What Gets Lost in Translation

Here’s where digital health gets complicated. When a company enters healthcare, they’re not making one promise. They’re making at least five simultaneously — and breaking any one of them can unravel the others.

There’s the platform promise: 99.99% uptime, features that work, a product that doesn’t crash when a patient needs it most. There’s the patient promise: the mobile app syncs, connected devices carry data through to the clinical team, and the experience doesn’t require a support call to navigate. There’s the legal promise: BAA agreements that mean something, and a team that follows through on every clause. There’s the AI promise: that clinical decision support works the same way every time, scoring surveys correctly and surfacing accurate information. And there’s the personalization promise: that the right notification reaches the right patient at the right moment — not a generic message written for no one.

Each of these promises has a failure mode. And in healthcare, every failure has a face.

What Accountability Actually Looks Like

At PreventScripts, we built our remote monitoring model around a principle that mirrors Schutzbank’s exactly: accountability is a clinical intervention, not a feature.

When we ask enrolled patients what keeps them engaged in their health goals, the answer isn’t the app. It isn’t the connected device. It’s the phone call. Knowing that someone is going to call — that a real clinician will check in on their progress, adjust their scripts, and hold them to what they said they wanted — is what moves the needle on outcomes.

That’s a promise. And we keep it, every month, for every patient.

This is what separates remote monitoring that produces outcomes from remote monitoring that produces data. The technology enables the promise. It doesn’t replace it.

The Path Forward

The digital health companies that will matter in ten years are the ones building what I’d call a promise architecture — a systematic approach to making and keeping commitments at every layer of the patient journey.

That means SLAs for human touchpoints, not just technical ones. Clinicians who call when they say they’ll call. Apps that work when patients need them. AI that performs consistently enough to be trusted with a clinical recommendation. It means treating every failed notification, every missed touchpoint, every crashed sync as a broken promise — because to the patient on the other end, that’s exactly what it is.

Schutzbank built Iora Health on this principle. The result was a model that routinely outperformed traditional primary care on outcomes and patient satisfaction. That’s not coincidence — it’s architecture.

The promise is the product. Everything else is infrastructure.

Does this resonate with what you're seeing — in your practice, your company, or your own care? Reply to this email. I read every response. And if you're building something in digital health or primary care, forward this to someone who needs to hear it. That's how we move the conversation.

I’ve been meaning to write my health stack post. Brian Johnson has his. The biohackers have theirs. Mine is considerably less photogenic: a refurbished Oura ring, 12,000 steps a day (I’m eyeing 15,000 after a conversation yesterday with a former aerospace engineer turned venture investor who apparently shares my particular brand of ambition), and the PreventScripts platform I use daily to keep my own health behaviors top of mind.

But I can’t write that post without writing this one first.

The Access Gap Is Not Abstract

Pick up the phone in zip code 42003 — Paducah, Kentucky — and try to make a primary care appointment on Medicaid. Tell them your insurance. You will almost certainly be turned away or offered an appointment a year from today. That is not hyperbole. That is Tuesday.

Now compare that to my morning: I walked five miles while dictating this article to my phone, tracking my sleep stages on a wearable that Stanford research — recently shared by Eric Topol, MD — suggests now rivals a formal clinical sleep study. I had access to my physician portal. I had a digital health platform tracking my metabolic health goals in real time.

Flexible schedule. Physician access. Technology within reach. The contrast is not subtle.

What the Science Actually Shows

Here is what’s remarkable: the technology gap is closing far faster than the access gap.

Topol recently highlighted Stanford research comparing four consumer wearables — Apple Watch, Fitbit Air, Oura, and Whoop — against formal polysomnography. The findings are striking. These devices, available new for $50–$300 or refurbished for even less, are producing sleep stage data that tracks closely with what a clinical sleep lab captures at many times the cost. A sleep study runs $1,000–$3,500 out of pocket for the uninsured. A used Oura ring on eBay: $100.

The technology is no longer the barrier. The access infrastructure is.

What the “Swap” Conversation Looks Like in Practice

At PreventScripts, when we work with enrolled patients navigating tight budgets — choosing between a drug copay and their deductible for a colonoscopy, between a bill and a biometric — we talk about swaps, not sacrifices.

Most of our patients already have a smartphone. The question is whether we can help them redirect $50 to $100 toward a refurbished wearable that gives them real-time feedback on the three things most predictive of metabolic risk: sleep quality, daily movement, and stress recovery.

Two packs of Oreos a month costs roughly what a used sleep tracker costs. I’m not here to lecture anyone about what they eat. I’m here to say the framing matters. Part of what we do as clinicians — and what platforms like PreventScripts enable at scale — is helping patients see affordable technology not as a luxury but as a clinical tool with a measurable return.

The Path Forward

I became a CMO after a career in pediatrics because I believe metabolic disease is won or lost in primary care — and right now we are losing, not because the tools don’t exist, but because their distribution follows the map of wealth and zip code.

Consumer wearables are becoming clinical-grade. Remote monitoring is reimbursable. The interventions exist. What’s missing is the distribution infrastructure and the clinical will to recommend a $100 refurbished device the same way we recommend a blood pressure cuff.

My Oura ring told me I got 6 hours and 22 minutes of sleep last night, with just over an hour of deep sleep. My patient in zip code 42003 doesn’t have that data. She also doesn’t have a doctor yet.

We can close one of those gaps faster than we think. The question is whether we’re willing to prioritize it.

If this landed for you, I'd love to hear it. Reply to this email — I read every response. And if you're a clinician, an employer, or a health system leader navigating this exact tension, forward it to someone who needs to see it. That's how we move the conversation.

You may notice a new name in your inbox. I’ve renamed this newsletter to What a Pediatrician Feeds Her Family to better reflect what it’s actually about: real food, evidence-based nutrition, and the same science-backed guidance I use for my own family.

Same me. Clearer mission.

I’ve also been quieter than I’d like this year, and I want to change that. Starting now, you’ll hear from me every week — practical, no-nonsense nutrition guidance rooted in the research, not the trends.

As a thank-you for sticking around, I want you to be the first to know about my new e-book: Evidence-Based Plant-Powered Plates: A Pediatrician’s Guide to Whole Food & Mediterranean Longevity.

It’s everything I wish every parent — and every patient — knew about eating for a longer, healthier life.

👉 Grab your copy HERE.

Thank you for being here. The best is coming.

With gratitude, Dr. Natalie Davis, MD Washington University-Trained Pediatrician | CMO, PreventScripts

As a physician and CMO of PreventScripts, I help people reverse metabolic risk every day — but I also live this work. The past few years of simple, plant-forward eating have moved my own labs in a direction I’m genuinely proud of.

Here’s what’s actually working for me:

✔ Batch cook 2–3 plant-based meals each week (this week: stuffed squash, white beans, black bean soup)

✔ Center every plate on beans, vegetables, and whole grains

✔ Follow a consistent eating window — I typically don’t eat until noon or 2 PM

✔ Let leftovers be lunch — I bring them to work instead of buying food

This approach has improved my labs, helped me maintain a healthy BMI, simplified my routine, AND reduced our food costs. No extremes. Just consistency and real food.

At PreventScripts, we help primary care physicians identify metabolic risk early and intervene before it becomes disease. The same principles that work in my kitchen are the ones we build care plans around.

What plant-based meal do you keep coming back to? Drop it below

Standard cholesterol panels miss two of the most important cardiovascular risk factors we have — and it’s costing patients their lives. My high school friend died suddenly from a “widow-maker” heart attack last month.

✔ Lp(a) is genetically determined and silently elevates heart disease risk, even with a “normal” LDL

✔ ApoB reveals the true count of dangerous atherogenic particles in your blood

✔ Elevated levels justify earlier, more intensive treatment — especially with diabetes or family history

✔ They explain why patients have cardiac events despite “controlled” cholesterol

At PreventScripts, we help primary care physicians identify exactly this kind of hidden metabolic and cardiovascular risk — before the event, not after.

These tests exist. They’re accessible. Ask for them. 👇

. . . #DrNatalieDavis #PreventScripts #CardiovascularRisk #LipidPanel #ApoB #LpA #HeartHealth #MetabolicHealth #PreventiveCardiology #PreventiveHealth #PrimaryCare #DigitalHealth #HealthTech #RemoteMonitoring #WomensHealth

In 2026 everyone is focused on the algorithms—the Large Language Models (LLMs) that can interpret complex patient notes and automate tasks. But if you’re a clinician or informatics leader planning an AI deployment, you need to understand the “80/20 rule” that governs real-world clinical AI success. We discovered his last year at PreventScripts as we rolled out three distinct LLM’s within our product for our eCKM and CKM enrolled patients in our programs.

This reminds me of the advice Esther Dyson gave us co-founders at PreventScripts back before LLM’s were a household name.

“Everyone has technology. It’s the IMPLEMENTATION of your technology that is the hard part, that’s where your focus should be”

A neat field Guide was developed around the experience of development and deployment of an agent called “irAE-Agent”, an automated system to detect immune-related adverse events from clinical notes at Mass General Brigham and here is the experience of the group of contributors!

Their experience deploying the irAE-Agent (an LLM system to detect immune-related adverse events at Mass General Brigham) revealed a critical truth: For every hour spent perfecting a model, expect roughly four hours to make it work in the real world.

This means the primary challenge in clinical AI isn’t the model itself, but the “unglamorous but essential” sociotechnical work of implementation.The True Cost: Sociotechnical Work

Less than 20% of their effort went into model development and prompt engineering. The vast majority—over 80%—was consumed by the hard work of implementation, which they distilled into five “heavy lifts”:

1. Data Integration: Aligning retrospective models with real-world EHR data access and governance.

2. Model Validation and Refinement: Continuous validation, including addressing new failure modes like hallucination and context loss.

3. Ensuring Economic Value: Demonstrating credible value through task-specific productivity, not just cost savings.

4. Managing Model and Data Drift: Developing new monitoring methods for generative LLMs, where drift manifests as hallucination rather than simple metric degradation.

5. Governance: Establishing ethics, accountability, and a multidisciplinary board to cover generative AI in patient care.

If you want your AI pilot to cross the “valley of death” and become routine clinical care, shift your focus. Your investment in infrastructure, governance, and workflow integration is what will ultimately determine your success.

My personal experience as Chief Medical Officer of PreventScripts requires DAILY testing and attention to our LLM’s and their function in our customer populations to refine our models and gather feedback from our patient users regularly. Each release brings with it potential pitfalls as we move from testing into production. We update our AI Governance policy quarterly as we roll out new features to move towards a truly agentic model that supports patients in the blind spot in between their visits with their physician. We must go beyond getting the right notification to the right patient at the right time into the realm of being there for our patients virtually when they need us.

Special thanks to the authors and Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Brown University Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, Brown University Health Cancer Institute, Providence,

Maastricht University, The Netherlands, Center for Biomedical Informatics & Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP), Boston Children’s Hospital

Sources:

• A field Guide to Deploying AI agents in Clinical Practice .pdf

As a self proclaimed health nut physician, I must follow lots of health content online, sign up for emails and generally maintain a high level of curiosity about nutrition. Therefore, I get bombarded with supplement emails and the like. One way I like to remind myself that nutrition is our most important factor in how our health evolves as we age is by using Dox GPT to remind me when I forget the importance of skipping many supplements in isolation and get my nutrition primarily from FOOD. I’ll be publishing my supplement stack on my website soon, just in case you want to follow along with me, but here is an abbreviated version of how to get Quercetin in your diet without the splurge of a supplement. I’ve removed all the references to Alcohol since we now know that is going to increase your risk of many cancers. For my non-technical friends, “Scavenging free radicals” is what you WANT to happen in your body to reduce inflammation, reduce cancer risk and improve your health with food.

Special thanks to Dox GPT for the quick breakdown!

Quercetin is a flavonol found in many fruits, vegetables, and beverages, with onions, apples, berries, and tea as the richest sources [1] [2]. Other notable sources include citrus fruits, grapes, broccoli, kale and tomatoes. [1] [2]. Quercetin content varies by variety, ripeness, and processing; raw onions and unpeeled apples are especially high, while cooking can reduce levels [3]. Typical dietary intake is 10–100 mg/day, with higher intakes linked to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits [4] [5].

Fruits rich in quercetin

Several fruits are particularly rich in quercetin, including:

• Apples: Especially with the skin on; a major dietary source [1] [2].

• Berries: Blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are high in quercetin [1] [2].

• Grapes: Red and black grapes, as well as raisins, contain significant amounts [1] [2].

• Citrus fruits: Oranges, grapefruits, and lemons provide moderate quercetin levels [1] [2].

• Cherries: Both sweet and tart cherries are good sources.

Vegetables rich in quercetin

Many vegetables are excellent sources of quercetin, particularly:

• Onions: Red and yellow onions are among the richest sources; raw onions contain more than cooked [1] [2].

• Leafy greens: Spinach, kale, and lettuce contain appreciable amounts [2] [6].

• Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are good sources [1] [2].

• Tomatoes: Raw tomatoes and tomato products contain quercetin [2] [6].

• Peppers: Both bell and chili peppers provide quercetin [2].

Beverages containing quercetin

Certain beverages are notable for their quercetin content, including:

• Tea: Green and black tea are significant sources; green tea generally contains more quercetin [1] [2].

• Coffee: Provides a modest amount of quercetin.

Herbs and spices

Several herbs and spices contain quercetin, including:

• Parsley: A rich source of quercetin [7].

• Dill: Contains appreciable amounts of quercetin [8].

• Capers: Particularly high in quercetin [1].

• Chives: Provide moderate levels of quercetin.

Factors influencing quercetin content in foods

The quercetin content in foods is influenced by several factors:

• Variety: Different cultivars of the same fruit or vegetable can have varying quercetin levels [3].

• Ripeness: Quercetin content may change as fruits and vegetables ripen.

• Processing: Cooking, especially boiling, can reduce quercetin content; raw or lightly cooked foods generally retain more.

• Storage: Prolonged storage may decrease quercetin levels.

Estimated dietary intake of quercetin

Typical dietary intake of quercetin varies by region and diet, but average daily intake is estimated to be between 10 and 100 mg. In the United States, average intake is approximately 20–40 mg/day, whereas in European countries, intake may be higher due to greater consumption of fruits, vegetables, and tea.

Health benefits associated with quercetin intake

Quercetin has been studied for its potential health benefits, including:

• Antioxidant properties: Quercetin scavenges free radicals, reducing oxidative stress [9].

• Anti-inflammatory effects: It may reduce inflammation by inhibiting inflammatory pathways [5].

• Cardiovascular health: Quercetin may lower blood pressure and improve endothelial function [1] [10].

• Immune modulation: It may enhance immune function and reduce the risk of infections [11].

• Neuroprotection: Quercetin may protect against neurodegenerative diseases by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation [12].

Quercetin is a flavonol found in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and beverages, with onions, apples, berries, and tea being particularly rich sources. Its content varies with variety, ripeness, and processing, and typical dietary intake ranges from 10–100 mg/day. Quercetin is associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular benefits, making it a valuable component of a healthy diet [1] [2].

Go eat some Quercetin today!

Sources:

1. Effects of quercetin on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2016

2. Change in habitual intakes of flavonoid-rich foods and mortality in US males and females. BMC Medicine, 2023

3. The role of metabolism (and the microbiome) in defining the clinical efficacy of dietary flavonoids. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017

4. Serum cytokine concentrations, flavonol intake and colorectal adenoma recurrence in the polyp prevention trial. British Journal of Cancer, 2010

5. Effects of supplementation with quercetin on plasma C-reactive protein concentrations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017

6. Antioxidant dietary approach in treatment of fatty liver: new insights and updates. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2017

7. Quercetin inhibits prostate cancer by attenuating cell survival and inhibiting anti-apoptotic pathways. World Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2018

8. Quercetin protects blood-brain barrier integrity and maintains microvascular permeability following traumatic brain injury. Neurocritical Care, 2025

9. Fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cellular oxidative damage. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003

10. Pure dietary flavonoids quercetin and (-)-epicatechin augment nitric oxide products and reduce endothelin-1 acutely in healthy men. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2008

11. Randomised clinical trial to determine the safety of quercetin supplementation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 2020

Association of dietary intake of flavonols with changes in global cognition and several cognitive abilities. Neurology, 2023

- Keep your music on. Music boosts motivation and activates brain pathways that make movement feel easier and more enjoyable. I always start my music before I leave the house while I am bundling up. No headphones though, just blast it from your phone so you can hear oncoming cars.

- Protect your eyes. Cold wind, glare, and blowing snow can irritate eyes and reduce visibility—consider sunglasses and 100% UV protection is a must. Glare from snow amplify harmful rays. I learned that the hard way back in 95’ when I skiied A-Basin at my first AAP meeting without eye protection.

- Bundle up with a face mask. Covering your nose and mouth helps warm the air you breathe and protects exposed skin.

- Watch your terrain. Ice—especially after an ice storm—is often more dangerous than snow and can be hard to see.

- Share your location with a loved one. Let them know when you are leaving and when you expect to return. I have been warning my 19 year old college student about the weather and the unique evening dangers for college students on campus. That’s a topic for another post.

Stay safe out there!

January is a great time to reset—but sustainable nutrition doesn’t require perfection. It requires simple systems you can repeat every week. Here are the strategies I use to reinforce healthy nutrition without decision fatigue.

1. Batch‑cook beans every week

Beans are my plant‑based anchor. Cook a big batch at the start of the week and you’ve set yourself up for success. They move easily from a hearty soup to a salad topper to beans on whole‑grain toast. One prep, multiple meals.

2. Roast vegetables—lots of them

Roasted veggies instantly upgrade any plate. They reheat well, add fiber and micronutrients, and make healthy meals feel satisfying rather than restrictive.

3. Don’t forget the soup

Hearty soups are underrated. They keep you full and naturally support hara hachi bu—eating until you’re satisfied, not stuffed. A good soup can anchor several meals and prevent grazing later in the day.

4. Experiment with fasting (if it fits your life)

I personally follow an 18‑hour fast with an 8‑hour eating window, but this isn’t one‑size‑fits‑all. Think of fasting as a tool, not a rule. Start where it feels sustainable.

5. End the day with hot herbal tea

Once dinner is done, a hot herbal tea helps me break the evening snack habit. I aim for at least three hours without food before bed, which consistently improves sleep quality.

Healthy nutrition isn’t about willpower—it’s about preparation. January is the perfect month to build these small, repeatable habits that carry you through the rest of the year.

To Your Best Health,

Natalie Davis, MD

At PreventScripts we are in the business of helping patients overcome their barriers to improving each of the important lifestyle pillars as described by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine or “Lifestyle Essential 8” as described by the American Heart Association. One of the most common barriers we see to our “Move More” My Plan from our enrolled patients is “ the weather” or “ its too cold” or some version of those.

Winter has a way of quietly sabotaging even the best exercise routines. Shorter days, colder temperatures, and busy schedules make it easy to default to staying inside. But over the years, I’ve learned that staying active in winter isn’t about willpower—it’s about strategy.

Here are the five things that consistently help me stay active, even in the colder months.

1. Watch the weather and plan accordingly

Winter doesn’t mean every day is miserable. You just have to look for the windows. Today in Kentucky, for example, we’re hitting a brisk but very workable 56 degrees. That’s prime outdoor time. I check the forecast, identify the best part of the day, and plan around it. When you expect perfection, you won’t go. When you plan for “good enough,” you will.

2. Get your gear right

Cold hands and ears can end a workout fast. Gloves and a hat matter more than people realize—your head and hands lose heat quickly, and keeping them warm helps your whole body stay comfortable. Layers are key. Dress so you can peel them off as you warm up. If you’re slightly cool when you step outside, you’ve probably dressed just right.

3. Use music as part of your training plan

One thing that tremendously helps me—especially during Zone 2 training—is music I genuinely look forward to. I build playlists that help me settle into a steady rhythm and stay there. Music becomes a signal to my brain: this is focused time, this is movement time, this is my zone—literally Zone 2.

4. Use your wearable to train with intention

This is where watches and wearables shine. Zone 2 training is one of the best ways to strengthen the heart muscle and improve metabolic fitness without overtraining. Tracking heart rate helps you stay in the right range—easy enough to sustain, hard enough to matter. It turns a walk or run into a purposeful training session. My current “wearable stack” consists of an Oura Ring and an Apple Watch, both of which I bought on e-bay for less than 120$ each.

5. Enjoy the high—and don’t rush past it

This step matters. That runner’s high is real, and it’s rooted in physiology. Sustained aerobic exercise stimulates the production of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a powerful growth factor released by muscles and the brain during movement. BDNF supports neuroplasticity—helping the brain form new connections, improve memory, regulate mood, and protect cognitive health over time.

For me, it takes about 20–25 minutes to feel that shift. My mood lifts. My thinking clears. My body feels strong instead of strained. When I commit to an hour session, I know at least half of it is going to feel really good—and that’s not by accident. That’s biology doing what it’s designed to do.

Your Call to Action

If winter has been slowing you down, don’t wait for motivation—design for it. Check the forecast. Lay out your gear the night before. Build a playlist you love. Commit to just one intentional Zone 2 session this week and give yourself at least 30 minutes before deciding how you feel.

Movement is one of the most powerful tools we have to protect both heart and brain health. Start small, stay consistent, and let the physiology work for you.

Your future brain—and your winter mood—will thank you.

Natalie Davis, MD

www.nataliedavismd.com

www.preventscripts.com

As a pediatrician and a parent, I know that nothing is more important than your baby’s safety. One of the most frightening risks for infants is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the unexpected and unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby, usually during sleep. While SIDS is rare, it remains a leading cause of death in infants under one year old. The good news is that research has identified several simple, evidence-based steps you can take to reduce your baby’s risk. I am going to leave off tobacco use, because that is the risk everyone knows about.

As a parent, you will have pressure to use all of the “cute things” that people have given you potentially well intended presents. Lots of vendors prey upon your fear to sell you unproven wedges, boppies, and generally unsafe stuff. Don’t fall for it. Return these items and put the money into your child’s college fund.

When Is SIDS Most Likely to Occur?

SIDS can happen at any time during the first year, but the risk is highest between 2 and 4 months of age. The risk gradually decreases after 6 months, but safe sleep practices should be followed for the entire first year.

Five Key Ways to Lower SIDS Risk

1. Breastfeeding Makes a Difference
   Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS. Studies show that babies who are breastfed, even for a short time, have a lower risk compared to those who are formula-fed. Breast milk provides vital nutrients and immune protection, and the act of breastfeeding itself may help babies arouse more easily from sleep.

2. Keep the Room Cool—Aim for 68°F
   Babies sleep safest in a cool room. While it might be tempting to keep the nursery warm and cozy, research shows that overheating increases the risk of SIDS. Set your thermostat to around 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20°C), not 72. Dress your baby in light sleep clothing, and avoid heavy blankets or layers.

3. No Hats for Bedtime
   While hats are adorable and useful for keeping babies warm outdoors, they are not safe for sleep. Babies can quickly overheat if they wear a hat indoors, especially while sleeping. Always put your baby to bed without a hat, and make sure their head and face remain uncovered.

4. Back to Sleep, Every Time
   The safest sleep position for babies is on their back. Since the “Back to Sleep” campaign began, SIDS rates have dropped dramatically. Always place your baby on their back for naps and nighttime sleep, even if they seem to prefer another position. Once your baby can roll over both ways on their own, you don’t need to reposition them, but always start sleep on the back.

5. Keep the Crib Bare—No Blankets, No Fluffy Stuff
   A safe sleep environment is a simple one. Use a firm, flat mattress with a fitted sheet. Do not use blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or bumper pads in the crib. These items can increase the risk of suffocation and SIDS. If you’re worried about your baby being cold, use a wearable sleep sack instead of a blanket.

Final Thoughts

SIDS is a terrifying thought for any parent, but you can take action to protect your baby. Breastfeed if you can, keep the room cool, skip the hat at bedtime, always put your baby on their back to sleep, and keep the crib free of loose bedding and soft objects. These steps are simple, but they save lives. Your vigilance and care make all the difference.

Further Reading:
For a comprehensive, evidence-based review of SIDS risk reduction and safe sleep practices, see the recent JAMA article:
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Safe Sleep: New Evidence and Updated Recommendations

If you are a mother, father, grandmother, sister or friend of a family with a baby, please forward this post and share with your network!

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As a pediatrician and founder at PreventScripts, I’ve spent over two decades helping families navigate the modern food environment. If you think willpower alone can protect you from unhealthy choices, think again—the deck is stacked against us in ways most people never realize. Here are the top four locations quietly sabotaging your health, and why rethinking how you access food could be a game-changer.

1. Grocery Stores: The Eye-Level Trap
Walk into any grocery store and you’ll notice a pattern: the most processed, sugar-laden foods are placed right at eye level. This isn’t an accident. Shelf space is sold to the highest bidder, and the most profitable (and least healthy) products get prime real estate. Even the most health-conscious shopper can be derailed by a last-minute impulse buy. That said, I want to applaud Mark Watkins and his team at Kroger for their color-coding system and genuine efforts to make healthy choices easier. But the battle is far from over.

2. Drug Stores: The Candy Gauntlet
Need to pick up a prescription? You’ll have to run the gauntlet of candy bars, chips, and sodas first. Drug stores have mastered the art of the impulse buy, with processed snacks at every turn. CVS is making strides to improve their offerings—kudos to them for taking steps in the right direction—but the environment still encourages unhealthy choices.

3. Gas Stations: Junk Food Central
If you’ve ever tried to find a healthy snack at a gas station, you know the struggle. Rows of ultra-processed snacks, energy drinks that can stop your heart, and lots of questionable supplements dominate the shelves. There are a few bright spots—like seeing Liquid Death water next to Red Bull—but overall, these are nutritional minefields. Plug your car in at your house.

4. Fast Food Corridors: The Ubiquitous Temptation
Many of us drive past clusters of fast food restaurants every day. These “fast food corridors” are designed for convenience, but they make it all too easy to default to unhealthy options. My advice? Alter your route, take the scenic way home, or use any strategy to avoid those golden arches and their competitors.

Why Food Delivery Makes Sense

Given these environmental traps, it’s no wonder so many of us struggle to make healthy choices. That’s why I rely on grocery pickup and delivery from places like Aldi and Amazon. By skipping the store, you avoid the engineered temptations and stick to your list—making it easier to build a healthy home food environment.

The Science: Habit Stacking and Food Addiction

Marketers are experts at “habit stacking”—pairing a bad habit with a good one to make unhealthy choices automatic. For example, grabbing a candy bar while you wait for your prescription, or picking up chips while fueling your car. Our brains are wired to seek out sugar, salt, and fat, and repeated exposure to processed foods can hijack our reward pathways, leading to true food addiction. Processed foods high in corn syrup and artificial ingredients are designed to keep you coming back for more.

Takeaway

The modern food environment is engineered for overconsumption. By understanding these traps and leveraging tools like delivery, you can reclaim control over your health. At PreventScripts, we’re committed to helping families build healthier habits—one small change at a time.

Question for You:

What’s the biggest “trap” you encounter in your daily routine—and how have you learned to avoid it?

Share your strategies in the comments!

If you found this helpful, please follow my page for more insights on lifestyle medicine, and share this post with a friend or colleague who could use a little extra support on their health journey. Together, we can outsmart the system and build a healthier future.

#LifestyleMedicine #PreventiveCare #FoodAddiction #HealthyHabits #PrimaryCareInnovation

BMJ, 2023: Ultra-processed foods high in carbohydrates and fats can be conceptualized as addictive substances, with implications for clinical care and public health policy (Gearhardt et al., PMID: 37813420).

Dr. Natalie A. Davis, MD
Chief Medical Officer, PreventScripts
Pediatrician | Primary Care Innovator
www.nataliedavismd.com | www.preventscripts.com

As a pediatrician with over two decades of experience—and as someone who’s seen firsthand how the holiday season can derail even the best health intentions—I know how challenging it is to maintain your health from Thanksgiving through New Year’s. The statistics are real: most Americans gain weight over the holidays, and it rarely comes off. But with a little planning and a few intentional habits, you can enjoy the season without sacrificing your well-being.

Here’s how I approach Thanksgiving weekend, so that when I step on the scale the Monday morning after I’m only a pound heavier—not five.

1. Move with Your Community

Every Thanksgiving, I lace up my running shoes and join my running club for our annual Turkey Trot. It’s not just about burning calories—it’s about connecting with friends and starting the day with energy and gratitude. If running isn’t your thing, walk the Turkey trot or gather your family for a morning stroll. There’s something powerful about moving together before the feasting begins.

2. Make Movement a Family Tradition

As a lifelong yogi, My local yoga studio True North has a yearly “Burn the Turkey” tradition. I go with my daughter and family on Friday. We do 100 sun salutations together—a challenge, especially for my shoulder, but one I’ve managed better in the recent year (thank you, estrogen and progesterone!). Whether it’s yoga, a family football game, or a neighborhood walk, make movement part of your holiday ritual.

3. Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Meals

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a carb overload. In our house, we’ve adapted our menu for both taste and health. Our corn-based stuffing is packed with vegetables—a recipe we perfected after my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. Turkey and vibrant vegetable sides are the stars of our table. Think green beans, colorful salads, and plenty of protein. If you’re looking for inspiration, I’m happy to share our tried-and-true recipes.

4. Make Family Time Active Time

After the meal, resist the urge to sink into the couch. Instead, gather your family for a walk around the neighborhood, a game of soccer, or even ultimate frisbee. Mixing up your activities keeps everyone engaged and helps balance out the indulgences.

5. Plan, Don’t Deprive

The goal isn’t to deprive yourself of holiday joy—it’s to be intentional. By planning your activities and meals, you can enjoy the best of the season without the regret come January.

Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy Thanksgiving! For recipes and more tips, visit my website at www.nataliedavismd.com

Last night, I found myself at a wedding, standing in a circle of new acquaintances, waiting for the cake to be cut. As often happens in these social settings, small talk turned to the challenges of daily life. One gentleman, a programmer, began sharing—unprompted—how difficult it was for him to exercise. He described his daily routine: up at 6 AM, working straight through the day, exhausted by noon, and desperately needing a nap by five. He lamented how busy he was, how little time he had for himself, and how exercise simply didn’t fit into his life.

As a pediatrician, I’m used to listening for the underlying story. I noticed his body habitus—likely a BMI in the mid-40s, with the classic “Pickwickian” look of someone with obesity hypoventilation syndrome. Without thinking, I blurted out, “You probably have sleep apnea.” His eyes widened in recognition. “I do, in fact, have sleep apnea,” he replied. “I’ve had it for a long time. I have the machine and the mask. It’s a pain to travel with, but I take it with me. Maybe the mask is a little ill-fitting and comes loose. Maybe I should have it checked.”

He went on to say that he has a good primary care doctor whom he likes and trusts. As we finally cut into the wedding cake and enjoyed a few sweet bites, I found myself reflecting on the interaction. Here was a man with significant health challenges—obesity, sleep apnea, likely metabolic syndrome—who was, by his own admission, exhausted, sedentary, and unable to make time for exercise. And yet, despite his awareness of his health issues, he was not ready to make a change.

This is the crux of one of the greatest challenges we face in primary care: understanding and respecting the “stage of change” a patient is in before attempting to intervene.

The Stages of Change: A Primer

The “Stages of Change” model, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, is a framework for understanding how people move through the process of changing behavior. The stages are:

1. Pre-contemplation: The patient is not considering change and may not see their behavior as a problem.

2. Contemplation: The patient is aware of the problem and is thinking about change, but not yet ready to act.

3. Preparation: The patient is getting ready to change and may be making small steps.

4. Action: The patient is actively making changes.

5. Maintenance: The patient is sustaining the change over time.

In my brief conversation with the gentleman at the wedding, it was clear he was in the pre-contemplative or perhaps contemplative stage. He knew he had sleep apnea. He knew he was tired and overweight. But he was not yet ready to take action—at least, not in the way that would lead to meaningful, sustained change.

Why Stage of Change Matters

As clinicians, it’s tempting to jump straight to advice-giving. We see the risks, the ticking time bomb of co-morbidities, and we want to help. But if we don’t first assess where the patient is in their readiness to change, our well-intentioned advice can fall flat—or worse, alienate the patient.

Imagine the typical primary care visit for a patient like this: The physician, pressed for time, reviews the chart, sees the BMI, the diagnosis of sleep apnea, perhaps elevated blood pressure or glucose. The conversation quickly turns to weight loss, exercise, and the risks of inaction. The patient, meanwhile, may feel overwhelmed, judged, or simply not ready to engage. The result? Frustration on both sides, and little progress made.

This was me and my patients in my rural and under-resourced practice in Benton, KY. I was the sole Medicaid provider in the county. During my visits with teens, their parents asked me if I would see them too. But I threw the kitchen sink at them, “Drink More Water” and “Eat more Vegetables”. I didn’t understand how behavior change works. This was the lightbulb moment that helped our team create PreventScripts in which we leverage knowledge of stage of change to connect patients with the “stage of change” appropriate intervention and work in the “blind spot” in between visits to normalize A1c, Blood Pressure and Weight.

Meeting Patients Where They Are

The key is to meet patients where they are—not where we wish they were. This means:

• Listening first: Understanding the patient’s perspective, their daily challenges, and their own sense of what is possible.

• Assessing readiness: Gently exploring whether the patient is thinking about change, and if so, what barriers they perceive.

• Supporting self-efficacy: Helping the patient build confidence in their ability to make small, achievable changes.

• Avoiding judgment: Recognizing that change is hard, and that patients may need time and repeated conversations before they are ready to act.

In the case of my wedding acquaintance, I realized that he wasn’t looking for advice from a pediatrician he’d just met. He was sharing his reality, perhaps looking for empathy or simply a listening ear. Rather than launching into a lecture about the dangers of untreated sleep apnea or the benefits of exercise, I simply shared that my husband had recently bought me a walking desk, and that I found it helpful for getting a bit more movement into my day. No pressure, no judgment—just a story.

The Power of Small Steps

Behavior change is rarely a dramatic, overnight transformation. More often, it’s a series of small steps, each building on the last. For some patients, the first step may simply be acknowledging that a problem exists. For others, it may be exploring options, or making a single, manageable change—like checking the fit of a CPAP mask, or taking a short walk during the workday.

As primary care providers, our role is to support our patients through these stages, offering guidance and encouragement tailored to where they are in the process. This requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to let the patient set the pace.

Conclusion

The encounter at the wedding was a reminder that, as much as we want to help, real change begins with understanding. By respecting the stage of change our patients are in, we can build trust, foster self-efficacy, and ultimately support them in making the choices that will improve their health—when they are ready.

So the next time you find yourself face-to-face with a patient who “knows what they should do” but isn’t doing it, pause. Listen. Ask. And remember: change is a journey, not a destination. Our job is to walk alongside our patients, one step at a time.

To Your Best Health,

Natalie Davis, MD

Let’s talk about why this scenario is not just “crazypants”—it’s a symptom of a system that’s fundamentally unsustainable.

The Unsustainable Math of American Healthcare

First, let’s put that $28,800 in context. The median household income in the U.S. is about $75,000. For many families, health insurance premiums alone are eating up more than a third of their take-home pay—before you even factor in deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket costs. For entrepreneurs, gig workers, and small business owners, the situation is even more dire. There’s no employer to subsidize premiums, and the options on the individual market are often limited, expensive, and confusing.

Why Are Costs So High?

1. Administrative Overhead:
The U.S. spends more on healthcare administration than any other country—by a wide margin. Billing complexity, insurance paperwork, and fragmented systems mean that up to 25% of every healthcare dollar goes to administration, not care. As a founder in digital health, I see firsthand how much time and money is wasted on non-clinical tasks that could be streamlined or automated.

2. Fee-for-Service Incentives:
Our system still largely rewards volume over value. Providers are paid for doing more—more tests, more procedures, more visits—not necessarily for keeping people healthy. This drives up costs without always improving outcomes.

3. Chronic Disease and Lack of Prevention:
70% of healthcare spending is on chronic conditions that are largely preventable—think diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and yes, NAFLD. Yet our system is reactive, not proactive. We wait for disease to develop, then throw expensive interventions at it. As someone who’s built a platform focused on upstream prevention in the rising risk, I know we can do better.

4. Drug and Device Prices:
The U.S. pays more for prescription drugs and medical devices than any other country. There’s little price transparency, and negotiating power is fragmented. Patients and small employers have almost no leverage.

5. Insurance Market Dynamics:
The “big five” payers—UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, and Humana—dominate the market. Their profits are soaring, but competition and innovation in the individual and small group markets lag behind. New entrants like Molli are trying to change the game, but it’s an uphill battle.

The Human Cost

What’s lost in all these numbers is the human toll. Families are delaying care, skipping medications, or going without insurance altogether. Entrepreneurs are making career decisions based on health coverage, not opportunity. And clinicians like me are burning out trying to navigate a system that too often puts paperwork and profit ahead of patient care.

What Can We Do?

• Embrace Prevention: We need to invest in platforms and care models that keep people healthy, not just treat them when they’re sick. This means integrating digital tools, remote monitoring, and proactive outreach into primary care.

• Demand Transparency: Patients and employers deserve to know what they’re paying for. Price transparency and simplified billing are essential.

• Support Innovation: New models—like direct primary care, health-sharing plans, and digital-first insurance—are emerging. We need to support and scale what works.

• Align Incentives: Payment reform that rewards outcomes, not just activity, is critical.

Until we address these root causes, stories like my friend’s will only become more common. I’d love to hear your solutions—what’s working for you, your family, or your business? Let’s crowdsource some sanity in a system that desperately needs it

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As a pediatrician and health tech innovator, I’m often asked how I personally leverage technology to stay healthy. I have been a lifelong health nut, but in recent years, menopause hit me hard and sent me into a state of hypercholesterolemia and pre-diabetes. I was not having it. I managed to claw it all back into normal over the past year, with a little help from my friends at Scrub Capital.

Over the years, I’ve curated a “health stack” of mobile apps and digital tools that support my physical, mental, and metabolic health. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the apps I use, how I integrate them into my daily routine, and what it all costs.

1. Planet Fitness Gym App
Purpose: My actual gym that I go to
How I use it: I schedule and check in for three weekly weight training sessions at my local Planet Fitness. I call it my “old lady workout” of RDLs, farmers carries, almost pull-ups, triceps dips, core, split squats, and squats on the Smith machine.
Cost: $9.99/month

2. Oura Ring
Purpose: Sleep and recovery tracking
How I use it: My Oura ring syncs with its app to provide detailed insights into my sleep quality, readiness, and activity levels. I review my sleep trends each morning and adjust my bedtime routine or workout intensity based on my recovery score.
Cost: $79.99/year
Ring Cost (Oura 3): $119 on eBay (2024)

3. PreventScripts
Purpose: Lifestyle medicine, weight, and blood sugar tracking
How I use it: As the co-founder, I use PreventScripts to log my weight, track blood sugar, and receive personalized tips for overcoming barriers to my health goals. The app’s goal-setting and progress features keep me motivated and on track. Since we track barriers to each lifestyle medicine goal (otherwise stated as the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8), I could understand that my barrier to eating less sugar was stress, which led me down the path of mindfulness and stress management.
Cost: Free (perk of being the founder!)

4. Nike Run Club
Purpose: Running and cardio
How I use it: I use Nike Run Club to log my runs, set distance goals, and join virtual challenges. The guided runs and community features help me stay consistent and push my limits.
Cost: Free

5. Athena Health
Purpose: Primary care portal
How I use it: I use Athena Health to access my medical records, message my primary care provider, and manage appointments. Having my health information at my fingertips streamlines communication and care coordination.
Cost: Free

6. Stelo
Purpose: Continuous glucose monitoring (short-term)
How I use it: Twice a year, I use Stelo for two-week periods to monitor my glucose trends, especially when making dietary changes. It integrates with my Oura data for a holistic view of my metabolic health.
Cost: $48 (purchased via eBay)

7. Headspace
Purpose: Mindfulness and stress management
How I use it: After PreventScripts identified stress as a major barrier to reducing my sugar intake, I incorporated Headspace into my daily routine. I use guided meditations and breathing exercises to manage stress and improve focus.
Cost: Free (through a partnership)

8. Nourish
Purpose: Nutrition counseling
How I use it: Nourish connects me with a registered dietitian for personalized nutrition advice. My sessions are covered by insurance, with a small copay. This support has been invaluable for making “swaps” or very small changes to my diet that are manageable over time.
Cost: $100/year (copays)

9. 5 Minute Journal
Purpose: Mood tracking and gratitude
How I use it: I start and end each day with the 5 Minute Journal app, reflecting on what I’m grateful for and setting intentions. This simple practice has a profound impact on my mood and resilience. I was recommended this by Steven Krein at Startup Health. As a transformer, we are building moonshot companies, which is not for the faint of heart. I noticed as I journaled this morning that I’ve been using it for the past eight years. It takes ten years to become an overnight success, after all.
Cost: $24.99/year

Total Annual Cost

• Planet Fitness: $119.88

• Oura Ring Membership: $79.99

• PreventScripts: $0

• Nike Run Club: $0

• Athena Health: $0

• Stelo: $48

• Headspace: $0

• Nourish: $100

• 5 Minute Journal: $24.99

Grand Total: $372.86 per year (about $1/day)

Why This Matters

Research consistently shows that mobile health apps can drive meaningful behavior change, improve health outcomes, and even reduce healthcare costs—especially when used consistently and in combination. My health stack isn’t just about tracking data; it’s about creating a feedback loop that helps me make better decisions, stay accountable, and address barriers as they arise. I managed to pull myself back from the brink of pre-diabetes just in time—a hypothetical cost reduction of 80% to our healthcare system. Of note, did you notice my health insurance is not on the list of value adds? Whether you’re a clinician, patient, or health tech enthusiast, building your own health stack can be a powerful step toward better health—one app at a time.

What’s in your health stack? Sound off in your comments below!