Hey readers 👋

We spent the year tracking what actually moved health forward.

Across 48 editions, the same ideas kept winning. Muscle mattered more than most people thought. GLP-1s rewired how we think about metabolism. Heart disease refused to be explained by “bad cholesterol” alone.

To close out 2025, we pulled together the 10 most impactful signals that will reshape health in the years ahead.

Starting with #10….

10. Muscle became medicine

Muscle had such a breakout year it made it to Congress. At a Senate hearing on longevity, experts warned that Americans are not just overfed, but under-muscled, and that's a problem quietly accelerating aging. Physical inactivity now carries a mortality risk on par with smoking, and grip strength predicts cardiovascular death better than blood pressure.

What changed this year was the framing. Muscle began to be treated as an endocrine and metabolic organ, not just tissue you lose with age. 2025 studies linked higher muscle mass to long-term survival, and backed up the idea that it is indeed better to be fat, but fit.

9. We moved from appointments to dashboards

Meet the post-human it-girl (and boy). Health is moving on from “wait until something breaks” toward always-on measurement. As testing gets more accessible and more affordable, people are tracking markers like ApoB, ferritin, glucose swings, sleep, and recovery in personal dashboards that show what actually changes their health.

The momentum is simple: fewer surprise diagnoses, more early signals. Instead of annual checkups and crossed fingers, it’s continuous feedback, faster course correction, and interventions before problems arise.

8. Psychedelics entered longevity science

Psychedelics are no longer just for Burning Man epiphanies and desert self-discovery. This year, psychedelic research crossed a line, shifting from psychological outcomes into measurable effects on cellular aging, inflammation, and resilience. Psilocybin’s active metabolite, psilocin, was shown to extend the lifespan of human cells, reduce oxidative stress, preserve telomeres, and delay cellular aging. In older mice, late-life dosing led to higher survival and visible improvements in health, suggesting effects that go well beyond mood.

At the same time, neuroscience studies clarified how psychedelics rapidly increase neuroplasticity by strengthening specific brain circuits involved in emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility, helping explain their long-lasting therapeutic impact. The evidence is early and far from clinical proof, but the shift is real: psychedelics are no longer just about perception. They are starting to look biologically consequential.

7. Supplement labels lied… and we caught them

Independent testing made one thing clear: supplement quality problems are widespread, not rare. Protein powders were a standout example. More than two-thirds of tested products (including some of the most popular brands) contained detectable lead, often exceeding daily exposure guidelines in a single serving, across plant-based, dairy-based, and organic options.

The same pattern showed up in popular longevity supplements. Lab testing found that over half of top-selling NAD+ products contained less than 1% of their claimed ingredient, with many containing none at all. Softgels and “liposomal” formulas were the worst offenders, and broader 2025 audits flagged poor labeling and unverifiable claims across the category.

The takeaway here is simple: don’t assume the label is true. Choose supplements that publish third-party test results, and buy directly from trusted sources or vetted platforms.

6. Red light stopped being a gimmick

This year, red light therapy moved beyond glowing face masks. Researchers clarified that specific red and near-infrared wavelengths interact with mitochondria by activating a key enzyme involved in energy production. The result is a short-term boost in how efficiently cells make ATP, the fuel that powers everything from muscles to neurons.

New studies also helped explain red light’s effects on blood flow. By reducing interference from nitric oxide, which tends to build up with stress and aging, red light may improve circulation and oxygen delivery to tissues. Importantly, red light does not “add energy.” Instead, it acts as a metabolic signal, and only works at the right dose. More light is not necessarily better.

5. The microbiome became measurable

In 2025, we uncovered new detail into the gut microbiome. Researchers showed that common drugs like metformin don’t just act on blood sugar; they actively reshape gut microbes in specific ways, changing how fats, bile acids, and glucose are processed, pathways directly tied to metabolism and inflammation. GLP-1 peptide therapies were also shown to shift gut bacteria, strengthening gut hormone signaling and the gut barrier itself.

At the same time, better mapping tools revealed how microbial byproducts and gene activity influence immune function, whole body metabolism, and even brain signaling. Together, these insights are turning the microbiome from a black box into something we can measure, understand, and link to real effects across the body, not just the gut.

4. Menopause got the treatment it deserved

For years, hormone replacement therapy was framed as high risk, leaving many women under treated during perimenopause and menopause. In 2025, guidelines were updated, warning labels binned, and longer-term data helped clarify that estrogen therapy, when started at the right time around menopause, is generally safe and may help protect bones, metabolism, heart health, and brain function.

Testosterone also re-entered the conversation. While still not routinely recommended, low-dose testosterone is now considered appropriate in select cases, reflecting a broader shift away from blanket avoidance and toward more personalized, physiology-informed hormone care.

3. Cancer started getting caught early

In 2025, early cancer detection jumped to the top of the agenda as cancer rates continued rising in younger adults. Blood-based tests designed to detect multiple cancers at once became more accessible, offering a way to spot cancers long before symptoms appear, including types with no routine screening. In large trials, the GRAIL Galleri test picked up signals from more than 50 cancer types, with over half caught early, while keeping ‘false alarms’ low.

At the same time, early wins in personalized cancer vaccines signaled a parallel shift. The goal is no longer just to find cancer sooner, but to train the immune system to respond with far greater precision once it is found.

2. GLP-1s revolutionized how we treat metabolism and weight loss

GLP-1 peptide drugs are becoming core tools for cardiometabolic care, not just diabetes treatment. Semaglutide set the standard for weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction, while tirzepatide, which targets both GIP and GLP-1, delivered even broader metabolic benefits. Early data on triple agonists like retatrutide (targeting GLP-1, GIP and Glucagon) showed that hitting multiple metabolic pathways at once can further improve weight, insulin resistance, and cholesterol and blood fats.

This was all underpinned with the discovery that GLP-1s are reducing inflammation in users. With inflammation being “the cause of all diseases,” this understanding has huge impact for aging.

1. Heart risk broke free from cholesterol

For years, heart prevention meant one thing: lower LDL. In 2025, this finally shifted. Risk started to be defined less by a single cholesterol number and more by genetics, particle burden, and inflammation.

ApoB improved prediction, but lipoprotein(a) stayed frustratingly untouchable. That changed this year. RNA-based therapies targeting Lp(a) delivered reductions north of 90%, turning what was once “bad genetic luck” into something you can actually act on.

Inflammation stopped being treated as a bystander. High-sensitivity CRP became officially recognized as an active driver of cardiovascular risk, even when LDL is controlled, exposing lingering risk that lipid-only models miss. Paired with genetics, it shifted heart disease from a single-number problem into something we can spot earlier and act on sooner.

If you made it this far, you are why we write this. Thank you for following along and hanging with us this year.

To an even healthier 2026 🥂

-Tash and Team Superpower