Go UnPro: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

Brent W. Laartz, MD
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Go Un-Pro with Dr. Brent W. Laartz, MD FIDSA: Living an Unprocessed Life for Longevity and Healthspan Have you ever known that something is SO good for you that you just can't wait, but life gets in front of you and prevents you from doing it? The inaction and procrastination could occur for a variety of reasons, and we will delve into my motivations and affirmations of a healthy life from this day forward.  I am starting this series of videos and articles so that I can be accountable to myself regarding the changes in my diet that I REALLY NEED to survive into my 90s without heart disease, dementia, and arthritis. And hopefully, as you follow along, you can make your own improvements that will extend your life and prevent the horrible illnesses that are heart disease, dementia, and arthritis.   Can I introduce myself? I'm Dr Brent W. Laartz, and I am an Infectious Diseases physician with a Master's in Neuroscience, author, creator, and entrepreneur.  I've been involved with medical education for almost all my life and have been sharing my knowledge, teaching students, patients, and other doctors as faculty of a medical school, in hospitals, and clinics around the world.  I’m ashamed to admit that I have lived a life of processed foods despite knowing the facts that are stacked against me if I continue living this way. My most recent research into longevity and its connection to our diet, exercise, sleep, and mental health, all with help from our microbiome, the bacteria living in our body, has me wanting to shout this information to the masses from the rooftops! This is so important that I am going to communicate what I have learned in every forum possible. Simply put, I am not going to do it anymore, and I am going to stay accountable to myself so that I follow through with it this time. Hence, the launch of this podcast, which I have been wanting to do for quite some time now. In addition, I am also launching publicly available Master courses that will delve incredibly deeply into the science behind diet and other interventions that will help me live well into my '90s and 100s, but not just live, but REALLY live! This is the concept of Healthspan. I know there are a lot of billionaires who are prominent in the media, trying to live forever, spending millions of dollars, but I am here to prove you can do it without spending a lot of money. The interventions I am doing will cost a little more money, but my budget is to only increase expenditures by a few $100 a month. 

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Week 25: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    Overview   Dr. Brent W. Laartz uses week 25 as a brief check-in across his five pillars — diet, movement, sleep, connection, and plastics — and names bedsheets as this week's new target: the eight-to-ten hours of skin contact he had overlooked while policing utensils, bottles, and clothes.   Next milestone**Week 26 — halfway recap**   Live events**Aspen · 12–18 (2026)**   PILLAR 01   Evolving; "every little bit" of unprocessed food is a deposit in the health plan when busy weeks derail the 100% goal.   PILLAR 02   Clearing out space for a home gym; bodyweight calisthenics as the no-equipment fallback.   PILLAR 03   Working on allergies — high eosinophils, high IgE, chronic cough — while resisting steroid treatment.   PILLAR 04   Building a community aiming for active, creative life at 100–110; subscriber meetups planned in Aspen.   PILLAR 05   Replacing old microfiber sheets with 100% cotton, high thread count — the overlooked 8–10 hours of nightly skin contact.   Exposure   Framing the problem as a question of exposure dose. Micro- and nanoplastics reach the body by three routes, and nanoparticles have been found in the brain. Seafood — otherwise recommended for omega-3s — is one ingestion pathway. He suspects the environmental load in water has passed a tipping point, so the actionable lever is what you control at home.   "We ingest, we inhale, and we absorb through the skin."03:37   His order of operations began in the kitchen (utensils, especially heated plastic), then food choices (ultra-processed items carry more plastic contact and more "forever chemicals" for preservation), then containers and bottles. Only after those are addressed does he reach less obvious items: wooden mouse and keyboard, clothing — and now bedsheets.   Hormonal system Metabolic / diabetes control Brain   Figure 2 · Pathways and systems as described by the host; particle-level claims are attributed to findings he cites, not measured in the episode.     The halfway-point recap is deferred: week 26 remains at home, week 27 moves to Aspen with live events, and the full recap will come then.13:42     Wine Women and Shoes — Sole Man for the Children's Cancer Center, Tampa   Laartz is raising money as a "Sole Man" for the Children's Cancer Center in Tampa, which he describes as a refuge where children with cancer (ages 2–18, with some returning as adult survivors) enjoy play, music, art, and family time alongside case managers, social workers, and entertainment coordinators, with an outdoor basketball court and playground.   Donation link in the show notes:  app.giveffect.com/participants/580513-brent-laartz . The main Wine Women and Shoes event is noted for November; tickets to that event may already be sold out, but other fundraising channels continue.   Host is matching donations dollar-for-dollar   The show exists as both audio and video. Laartz flags a visual cue for listeners: maroon artwork = audio podcast; a near-identical blue artwork = video podcast. Video is available on YouTube, Substack, Spotify, and GoUnpro.com; search by show name or by his surname.   Disclaimer (from the episode): This site and any information communicated within it are not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and no doctor–patient relationship is established. Consult your own physician, therapist, or nutritionist before applying any diet, exercise, or product discussed. Referral, affiliate, or advertising fees may be garnered by the site.

  2. Sep 27 ·  Video

    Week 24: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    Go Un Pro Podcast · Week 24 of 52   Game Day, Rewired   Dr. Brent W. Laartz frames Week 24 around a familiar American ritual — football season — and asks whether it has to arrive with beer, chips, gambling and the couch. His answer is to add the healthy things (local produce, a catch in the yard, an N/A beer, seven hours of sleep) until they crowd out what he wants to subtract, while keeping his five pillars — diet, movement, sleep, connection, plastics — moving in parallel.   Scene ·Solo podcast studio recap — Week 24 of a physician's 52-week unprocessed-living journey, opening football season   Game-day swap · Week 24 challenge   Default couch ritual   Beer with the game   Chips & store-bought dips   Sitting through all four quarters   Gambling adds stress to every play   Anger at the coach / the loss   Add-first game day   Zero-alcohol beer, invite a friend   Carrots, celery, homemade hummus   Move between plays / at halftime   Less gambling, less stress on the game   Backyard catch instead of watching   Rule of the season: “play the game, don't watch it”   Motivation   The Marginal Decade   Laartz opens by naming what he is trying to postpone: the “marginal decade” before death, the years when a person can no longer do what they want. The best case, he says, is to push that trough as far into the future as possible.   The urgency is clinical, not abstract. That day he had seen a 55-year-old patient — two years younger than himself — with a toe amputation (from trauma, not the disease) and congestive heart failure, whose father had had his first heart attack at 50 and died at 78. The patient had his own first heart attack at 50. Laartz's own parents, considered relatively healthy, had developed diabetes in their 60s.   Lartz's stated aim: “manifesting a healthy 100 years of age,” 110 as the stretch.   Two futures drawn from the same genetic starting point: the patient's early-collapse curve (clay) vs. the delayed-decline aim Laartz is working toward (green). The shaded valley is the “marginal decade.”   The plan   Five Pillars, Week 24   Each week Laartz nudges all five pillars at once rather than overhauling one. Week 24's dials, in his words:   Diet   Local + organic   Double down on local & organic produce; cut pasta and simple carbs; spaghetti squash instead of pasta.   Movement   Ease back in   Increase variety after a hard work week. Walk first, short run, ramp up. Strength at 12–20 reps to near failure — endurance over max load.   Sleep   7+ hrs · 5 days   Continue the seven-plus-hour challenge; at most two short nights per week; hold circadian rhythm — no 10–11 a.m. weekend catch-up.   Connection   Painting, solo   Continue the painting challenge — connecting with self also counts. One painting this week: his girlfriend's late dog, chasing a squirrel up a tree.   Plastics   Fiber swap   Continue a 1–2 month rotation to replace polyester clothing with cotton, hemp, bamboo, alpaca, wool — slowly, because it's expensive.   Farm→Local store→You   Vitamin retention higher   Laartz's argument for local: fruit picked pre-ripe and ripened over a 1–2 week transit is a “less effective way of getting vitamins to you,” with worse flavor and more contamination points along the way. Eating locally also aligns diet with the growing seasons.10:46   On dressings and dips, the same principle: he makes his own — or skips them — because packaged versions rely on cheap seed oils bought for price, not health. He is not condemning all seed oils, but notes that processed-food companies “are not looking to put the most healthy seed oil in your dressing.” Extra virgin olive oil is his preferred base.09:13   Movement gets an ease-in caveat: after several days off, don't jump straight to high-intensity intervals. He also flags what he sees at the gym — heavy kettlebell “elephant swings” done badly, and older lifters who look muscular but, he suspects, carry intramuscular fat — “their bicep would surely look like a prime rib.” The takeaway: moderate weight, 12–20 reps, muscular endurance, fewer injuries.   Weekly sleep pattern he's tracking   By the time a patient is angry about a heart-healthy tray at breakfast, he says, meaningful nutrition education is essentially gone for that moment. As an infectious-disease physician he isn't the ideal messenger about microbiome and diet, but he teaches whoever seems open to it.   Two voices Lartz heard this week   “Change my diet — I don't want this heart-healthy food. “Typical · heard 3–4 times last week   Add, Don't Subtract   Vision＋Action＝Direction·Add healthy→Auto-subtract unhealthy   Two lines recur across the episode. First: action without vision has no direction, so name why you want to be healthy — for a grandchild, for a son turning 18, for a future you want to reach. Second: the podcast's working adage — if you add healthy things, they automatically crowd out some of the unhealthy. Bring the carrots and hummus to the tailgate; the chips don't have to leave, they just get less shelf.   He closes by treating the week's small failures the same way. A brutal clinic week meant missed intentions and worse sleep scores; his instruction to himself is to notice them, track them, and refuse to dwell — “take the big wins, but take the few small losses and don't dwell on them.”34:03     12–20 reps, near failure at lower weight — less injury, longer runway.     Looks strong; Laartz suspects fat marbling and higher injury risk with heavy kettlebell swings.   Laartz's own metaphor, made visual: he wants muscle that looks like the plain cut on the left, not the marbled cut on the right — a preference for endurance-loaded, lower-weight strength work over ego lifts.   Next in the series: Week 25 (a Sunday Science episode), then a Week 26 half-year milestone that he plans to mark in Aspen.   Source's own disclaimer, retained: this content is not medical advice and does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. Consult your own physician, therapist, or nutritionist before applying any diet, exercise, or product discussed. Referral or affiliate fees may be received by the source's site.

  3. Sep 18 ·  Video

    Week 23: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    Week 23 · Overview     Grit Meets Situation   Lartz says he first read Grit twenty years ago while raising his kids. Grit remains what gets you across a hard threshold — but on its own it leaves you fighting your surroundings.   Duckworth's newer book,  Situations, gives him permission "to not feel guilty about making an easy path" — by choosing the people, environments, and objects around him.   He estimates the environment is half the battle, and that roughly half of the environment is the people you surround yourself with.   The Five Pillars, This Week   Each week, Lartz runs a fresh challenge across the same five pillars, adding good inputs so the bad ones get crowded out — "building consistency without the need for perfection."   Diet   Raw vegan, 7 days   Cauliflower rice, fermented cucumber, homemade oat-milk berry yogurt, bib-lettuce salads, hummus.   Movement   5K + resistance   Two-a-days after a busy week; rest day today; weekend beach recovery. Avoid injury above all.     Sleep   Less than  2 short nights   Aim for no more than two nights under 7 hours; blackouts, red light at night, early sunshine.   Connection   Charity + community   Serving as a "Sole Man" for Wine, Women & Shoes benefiting the Children's Cancer Center, Tampa.   https://www.giveffect.com/participants/580513-brent-laartz     Plastics   Swap the socks   Replacing athletic and dress socks with merino or alpaca wool; reading labels for plasticized fibers.   The Raw-Vegan Week   Copy   A seven-day plan Lartz says he did not hit at 100% — one day drifted because a friend wanted a movie — but succeeded on at "the 90% level."   The plan is a fabric of prepared, fermented, and travel-friendly foods; the movie-night gap is the point of the exercise.08:10   Reading Labels: The Sock Swap   Copy   Lartz is working through his wardrobe slowly — "you can't replace your whole wardrobe" at once. Business shirts, underwear, and some pants are done; socks are next. He warns that fibers marketed as natural can still be plasticized— chemically processed for stretch — so labels have to be read carefully.   "Natural" fibers chemically processed with oxidation for stretch     Merino wool (already moisture-wicking, some natural stretch)   Alpaca wool   Organic cotton   Merino wool shirts already in rotation   The Diet, In Principle   Underneath each week's specific challenge is a steady direction: raise antioxidants, polyphenols, and fiber; move toward mostly plant-based eating; and keep any fructose "paying its way" through polyphenol-rich berries.20:39   Connection — Children's Cancer Center   Wine, Women & Shoes — the Sole Man role   Lartz frames pediatric cancer plainly: "these kids didn't ask to get cancer… they were just being kids."13:55The Children's Cancer Center in the Tampa Bay area runs a non-hospital building where children with cancer can be with other children — including local high-school volunteers — and simply be kids.   He is now serving as a "Sole Man" for the fundraising event Wine, Women & Shoes, in which men support the women who raise the bulk of the donations. Lartz invites listeners to donate through him, through the Children's Cancer Center directly, or through a comparable local charity — and to give time as well as money.   Host's donation page www.giveffect.com / participants / 580513-Brent-Laartz   https://www.giveffect.com/participants/580513-brent-laartz   Disclaimer   Not medical advice   The site and its contents are not intended as medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Nothing here establishes a doctor–patient relationship. Before copying any diet, exercise, or product used on the show into your own practice, consult your own research, physician, therapist, or nutritionist. No warranties or claims are made about benefits or risks. Referral, affiliate, or advertising fees may be received.29:09   To Do List   [ ] 02 Bring homemade hummus on the trip to the 5K to avoid the processed vendor food (bars, plastic-packaged yogurts, sugar packs).   [ ] 03 Run the Saturday 5K, taking today as a rest day beforehand.   [ ] 04 Fit in some resistance training over the weekend to make up for a light week caused by 5K training   [ ] 05 Limit nights of under seven hours' sleep to no more than two per week.   [ ] 06 Search stores, Amazon, and other sites for merino- or alpaca-wool socks to replace the current plastic-fiber athletic and dress socks, reading labels to avoid plasticized fibers.   [ ] 07 Head to the beach on day 7 for R recovery after the Saturday 5K. 10:07   [ ] 08 Add more topsoil, plant the languishing hot pepper, and later install bigger raised beds at the new house to start growing his own food.

  4. Sep 14 ·  Video

    Week 22: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    Health & wellness podcast   Go Unpro · Week 22 of 52 Dr. Brent W. Laartz · A 52-Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life   The 7-Day Raw Food Road, and Why It Is Less Traveled   Framed by Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," this week trades ultra-processed convenience for a mostly raw, plant-based, whole-food challenge — layered with 5K training, a painting challenge, better sleep, and the next fabric swap.   The gamble: a dozen extra years of healthy life, and everyone who gets to see them.   The Unprocessed Road   Whole-food, mostly plant-based, 90/10   Resistance + cardio + 10–25k steps/day   Deep sleep, connection, generosity   Ditching plastics — fabrics next   +12 healthy years— the great-grandchild sees you active at 100.   +12healthy years is more than 10% of a life aimed at 110— the difference the road actually makes, not just a romanticized sigh.03:37   02 / WEEK PLAN Five pillars, one week   Week 22 stacks a food challenge on top of maintained work in movement, sleep, connection, and plastics. Addition, not subtraction — enjoyable healthy things naturally crowd out the rest.   Food   7-daywhole, uncooked, plant-based challenge for polyphenol density.   Cooked exceptions Beans · Oat-milk yogurt base   Movement   Final week of5K training— race is 8 days out, benefits a charity.   Daily steps10k → 25k12:41   Sleep   Target7.5 hr average; work on blackout & room temperature to lift deep sleep.   Sweet spot11 pm → 7–8 am13:35   Connection   7-day painting challenge— new easel, mix of emotional, nostalgic, landscape.   Target5–7 canvases16:01   Plastics   Shirts done; now research natural-fabric pants. Underwear, socks queued.   Focus this weekPants19:16   Five parallel tracks — each a small addition. Together they compose the road less traveled.   03 / THE CHALLENGE The 7-day raw food week, unpacked     — Dr. Brent W. Lartz10:58   04 / WARDROBE Plastic swap — the next front   Shirts have been largely converted to 100% cotton. This week the research moves to pants, which "are incredibly plastic, artificial." 🌱 Field trip next week — the backyard garden   Growing food starts as summer heat eases into Florida's rainier, milder season. A work in progress across the second half of the year.   Week 22 commitments to execute   To Do List   [ ] Run the 7-day whole, uncooked, plant-based food challenge (beans & oat-milk yogurt base cooked) 00:36   [ ] Complete the charity 5K — race in 8 days; finish the training taper this week 13:35   [ ] Buy a new easel and paints, then produce 5–7 paintings (emotional, nostalgic, landscape) and share on social 16:01   [ ] Hit a 7.5-hour average sleep and improve room blackout & temperature to lift deep sleep 13:35   [ ] Research and choose better natural-fabric pants to replace plastic-based ones 19:16   [ ] Shop Rolling Oats, Whole Foods, and Sprouts for the week's organic raw produce 22:21

  5. Sep 14 ·  Video

    Sunday Science 2026_09_13 Diet and Coronary Artery Disease

    Health & Medical Podcast Sunday Science · Dr. Brent W. Laartz   Can Diet Actually Reverse Heart Disease?   Three trials, one uncomfortable answer: the "standard American" advice given to most cardiac patients is not enough. Only intensive plant-based lifestyle change has been shown to shrink existing coronary plaque.   Ornish · Intensive   Vegetarian + Lifestyle   10% fat · exercise · stress mgmt   −7.9% Plaque change at 5 yrs (regression)   25 cardiac events Sustained 5 years   Henzel · DASH   DASH + Optimal Meds   mostly plant-based, lean meat OK     What "Intensive" Actually Meant   The Ornish arm was not a mild tweak. It rebuilt daily life on four pillars — and participants held the line for five years.   The Four Pillars   10% of calories from fat; dietary cholesterol markedly reduced.   Rose from 2.66 → ~5 sessions/week; still 4.34/wk at 5 years.   Meditation, relaxation, and group support built into weekly routine.   Adherence score more than doubled vs. baseline (0.62 increased  1.29 at 1 yr).     Three Trials, Compared Side-by-Side   Each study tests a different intensity of lifestyle change against usual care. The pattern is consistent: the deeper the change, the better the coronary anatomy behaves.   Study 01 · JAMA · 1998   Ornish — Lifestyle Heart Trial   Ornish et al., 5-year quantitative arteriography   Vegetarian, 10% fat, stress mgmt, exercise. 20/28 completed 5 yrs.   Study 02 · Circulation · 1994   Haskell — Stanford SCRIP   Multi-factor risk-reduction program   Low-fat/low-chol diet, exercise, weight loss, smoking cessation, lipid meds.   Study 03 · JACC · 2021   Henzel — DISCO Trial   CT angiography, n=92, non-obstructive CAD     The Host's Bottom Line   Dr. Laartz isn't demanding strict veganism — but he is arguing that the routine cardiology counseling most patients receive is dangerously understated.   If you already have coronary artery disease   Standard advice — "lower your cholesterol, exercise a little more" — allowed disease to progress and doubled cardiac events over 5 years. Intensive plant-forward change is currently the only lifestyle intervention shown to reverse plaque.   The host's personal target: mostly vegan, whole-food diet; when meat is eaten (a few times/week), only chicken, fish, or turkey — avoiding pork and beef.   Honest Caveats   Adherence is hard. The Ornish protocol has been criticized as difficult to sustain — though 20/28 did sustain it 5 years.   Not fully replicated at the same intensity in other trials.   Nutrient gaps on strict vegan diets:B12, vitamin D, omega-3. Supplements can close them without red meat.   Pescatarian diets have scored slightly better than pure vegetarian in prior mortality data — likely the omega-3 from fish.   Change gradually. Wholesale overnight diet swaps rarely stick; the host recommends a 52-week glide path.   Not medical advice .This summary reflects a podcast discussion of published studies. It does not create a doctor–patient relationship and is not diagnosis or treatment. Consult your own physician, therapist, or nutritionist before changing your diet, exercise, or medications.   Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA. 1998;280(23):2001–2007. doi:10.1001/jama.280.23.2001    Haskell WL, Alderman EL, Fair JM, Maron DJ, Mackey SF, Superko HR, Williams PT, Johnstone IM, Champagne MA, Krauss RM, et al. Effects of intensive multiple risk factor reduction on coronary atherosclerosis and clinical cardiac events in men and women with coronary artery disease. The Stanford Coronary Risk Intervention Project (SCRIP). Circulation. 1994 Mar;89(3):975-90. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.89.3.975. PMID: 8124838.    Henzel, J, Kępka, C, Kruk, M. et al. High-Risk Coronary Plaque Regression After Intensive Lifestyle Intervention in Nonobstructive Coronary Disease: A Randomized Study. J Am Coll Cardiol Img. 2021 Jun, 14 (6) 1192–1202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2020.10.019

  6. Sep 4 ·  Video

    Week 21: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    GO UNPRO · WEEK 21 / 52 Health & Wellness Podcast   Five Pillars, Twenty-Five Practices   Dr. Brent W. Laartz delineates every one of his five longevity pillars — diet, movement, sleep, connection, plastic-free living — now branches into five practices of its own. Week 21's focus lands squarely on a probiotic push paired with fermented meal prep, two-a-day workouts, and a wardrobe swap toward natural fibers.   1Diet   Whole food first   Mostly plant-based   Fish & beans as protein   Calorie restriction   No processed / fast food / alcohol   2Movement   Cardiovascular   Resistance training   Flexibility   Balance   Muscular endurance (12–24 reps)   3Sleep   Dark after 8 pm   Bright morning sunlight   Purpose & activity-driven day   Cool room + supportive diet   No alcohol / late food   4Connection   Family & friends   Creativity (art, music, writing)   Community & charity   Travel (not tour-resort)   Culture & history   5Plastic-Free   Cookware & storage   Work & electronics   Personal care items   Laundry & detergents   Clothes & fibers   5 pillars × 5 practices = 25 concrete levers reviewed each week for successes and failures.05:40   02   Week 21 — The Probiotic Push   The centerpiece this week is a coordinated microbiome experiment: powdered probiotic strains added to home-made oat-milk yogurt, layered on top of an ongoing fermentation push and a new two-a-day training pattern.   Diet   Probiotic Powders in Yogurt   Multiple strains stirred into homemade oat-milk yogurt for a daily microbial hit.   Movement   Two-a-Days, 1×/week   Training for a 5K in 2 weeks; buffers against forced rest days from work travel.   Plastics   Athletic Shirts Swap   Move toward linen, hemp, bamboo, Pima cotton — researching each fiber's real processing.   Inside the Probiotic Cascade   Why these strains, and why paired with fiber. Yogurt bacteria die in stomach acid and rarely colonize the gut — so the point is aconstant feedingthat reaches the colon and feeds the cells that feed you back.   The strain cascade — from lactose to fuel     plantarum   salivarius   acidophilus   rhamnosus   Bifidobacterium longum   Veillonella   Akkermansia   Feeds colonocytes   Short-chain fatty acids to muscle   Handles exercise-derived lactate   → colon & muscle fuel   The fiber rule.Because probiotics don't stick in the intestines, pair yogurt with oats, granola, or another fiber source so the bacteria and their fuel actually make it through.03:14   "Eat food, mostly plants, not too much."— Michael Pollan, quoted as the diet-pillar backbone09:04     Ferment chickpeasfirst, then cook & blend (cooking after fermenting kills the bacteria).       Bean · onion · tomato · pepper · cucumber · olives + fermented pickles.     Home oat-milk yogurt paired with oats or granola so probiotics reach the gut.   Rule:fermented + hummus + beans + yogurt-with-fiber— always in the same week.02:38     The Daily Operating System   Beneath the weekly push sits a stable rhythm — the daily defaults Dr. Lartz recaps each episode.   Hydration   25 oz water on the drive to work; another 25 oz at 11 am with psyllium-husk fiber.   Time-Restricted Feeding   Eating window closes 8–10 pm, opens noon–4 pm. Target 14–16 hours fasted daily.   Weekly Water Fast   One 36–48 hour water-only fast per week.   Daily Non-Negotiables   Berries, fermented foods, beans, leafy greens; 3+ fully vegan days per week.   Supplements   Acarbose, Ca + Vit D, B12, testosterone, vegan omega-3.   Sleep sits on the same rails: dark room after 8 pm, morning sunlight, cool bedroom, peppermint tea, lavender essential oil, 4-7-8 breath work, phone in another room, and screens set to amber and greyscale when they must be used.28:55   06   Connection & Culture, This Week   Connection isn't optional infrastructure — travel run clubs, a jazz club with family tonight, and cultural travel are all scheduled inputs.   1   Jazz club tonight with his daughter — a deliberate creativity + family + culture combo.   2   Travel run clubs wherever he lands; last week's example was Scottsdale, Arizona.   3   Purposeful travel ahead: potentially New Zealand this winter and Charleston, SC "in the books."   Travel-day survival tips   Steal the apple, orange, or nuts from the Marriott gym or Admirals Club — occasional jelly beans allowed. "It can't be all 100% draconian or monk life."   Hotel-room reality: tiny fridge, no stove — accept that whole-food prep will be harder and plan meals out at whole-food restaurants (last night: Lebanese).   Yesterday's travel day still delivered 8,000–9,000 steps. Small failures aren't the end — get back up.   07   The Wardrobe Swap   Week 21's plastic-free lever is athletic shirts. The broader pattern: replace plasticized fibers and cookware surfaces with natural materials — gradually, across all 52 weeks.     Plasticized athletic shirts & underwear   Fabric softeners & scented detergents   Non-stick pans, microwave cooking   Plastic phone cases & keyboards   Linen, hemp, bamboo, 100% Pima cotton   Minimal, unscented laundry care   Glass, steel, wood, copper cookware & storage   Wooden mouse, keyboard, phone case   Caveat: some "natural" fibers are actually processed into plastic — research each one before buying   What's Next   The upcoming Sunday Science, the training calendar, and the second-half format shift.   Scheduled next steps from this episode   Halfway through the 52-week experiment, the format shifts toward more field trips — kitchen, gym, home podcast studio, and travel destinations including a possible New Zealand winter trip and Charleston, SC.   The information herein is not intended as medical care, diagnosis, or treatment of any medical condition. No component of this content, including discussion or comments, shall be construed or implied as establishing a doctor-patient relationship. Before you translate or copy any of the information, diet, exercise, or products utilized herein to your own practice, consult your own research, physician, therapist, or nutritionist for your own health. Research any treatments, diet, exercise, or products thoroughly before trying for yourself.

  7. Aug 30 ·  Video

    Week 20: A Doctor’s 52 Week Journey to an Unprocessed Life

    Health & Longevity Podcast   Week 20: The economic case for living healthier, longer   Dr. Brent Laartz reframes lifestyle change as capital: an extra decade of healthspan is money, freedom, and national savings. This week is not new rules — it's a root-cause analysis of where the plan slips, and doubling down on what already works.   National scale   $38T economic benefit if every American lives 1 more healthy year   $40T current U.S. national debt   Less Medicare/Medicaid use, later Social Security draw, more productive work years — the aggregate savings roughly cancels the country's debt.02:26   Personal scale   Live 10 more healthy years   2Work & earn ~$100K/yr longer   3Defer retirement drawdown; boost top-35 Social Security average   $$1.3M  $1.5M extra lifetime capital   Figure: Longevity as a return-on-investment — altruistic to self and to country.   Root cause analysis: why the plan slips   Before adding anything new, sit quietly (meditate, journal, or with a counselor) and drill into three questions every time you cheat on diet, movement, or alcohol.   Question 1     Exhaustion, poor sleep, ghrelin up & leptin down after short sleep hungrier, and hungrier for bad food. Look for the limiting belief or self-sabotage underneath.   Host's trigger: being run-down after travel.   Question 2     Environment enables the lapse. Identify the physical location  work, kitchen, cafeteria, airport  where the wrong choice is convenient.   Host's trigger: the hospital doctors' lounge and its free food.   Question 3     Who enables the bad situation and, just as importantly, who is present when things go right? Alcohol norms belong here too.   Host's trigger: girlfriend is a baker butter & cream in the kitchen.   Figure: The Feeling  Place  People diagnostic loop.   The 20-week protocol, at a glance   Five pillars, kept boring on purpose. Week 20 is doubling down, not redesigning.     Time-restricted 8 pm to 12–4 pm   36–48 h fast weekly (Sun to Tue)   3+ vegan days; fish before chicken before cheese , no red meat   Berries, ferments, beans daily   Whole foods; minimize protein (mTOR)   Acarbose, Ca+ and vit D, B12, T, vegan omega-3   VO₂ max & endurance   Resistance training   Muscular endurance   Balance   Run, bike, court sports   Dark room after 8 pm   Early morning sunlight   Cold room; no screens late   Purposeful, exhausting days   Family, friends, charity   Culture, travel, creativity   Sailing, sea & mountains   Strava run clubs   Glass containers, steel cookware   100% cotton, natural fibers   Wood/copper/steel drinkware   Beware "plasticized" naturals   139,000 unstudied chemicals   Figure: The five-pillar operating system carried forward into week 20.   A typical day, on the clock   Fast / sleep 25 oz water (fiber at 11 am) Eating window   Once weekly: 36–48 h fast, Sunday afternoon → Tuesday afternoon.15:37   Figure: A single day mapped against the time-restricted eating window.   Doubling down: week 20 focus   No new pillars this week. Fix the leaks in the ones already in place.   Miss   50-vegetable challenge: only 29 counted Travel and beach days broke the shopping rhythm. Fix: return to meal-prep and a Sprouts run.   Goal   30-day step average  12,000 (target 14,000) Kill the 3,000- and 8,000-step days; hold the 15–17k days from last week.   Goal   Sleep: reach 7 hours consistently Install blackout curtain (still outstanding on year's goal list); add meditation.   Goal   Connection: sea & mountains Sailing returns; mountains again this week after last week's trip.   Focus   Plastics month: continue household audit~50% of house done. Now: clothing (100% cotton polo, cautious merino), pens, car, work items.   Aim   Aspirational healthspan: 110 yearsWhole-food diet + resistance training + less meat + connection + better sleep + fewer plastics.   Open commitments from this episode   Not medical advice.This summary reproduces information shared in the episode and is not intended as medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. No doctor–patient relationship is established. Consult your own physician, therapist, or nutritionist before adopting any diet, exercise, product, or supplement discussed. Referral or affiliate fees may apply to the source material.   To Do List    Fly out today — travel for connection, culture, and exercise at destination    Record & upload the (late) Sunday Science episode by tomorrow    Install blackout curtain in the bedroom (year-goal, still outstanding)    Shop at Sprouts; restart meal-prep (yogurts, hummus, veg variety) to recover the 50-veg challenge    Research natural-fiber athletic wear (merino, cotton) that is not heavily chemically processed 1

  8. Aug 24 ·  Video

    Sunday Science Marijuana and Longevity and Cancer 2026_08_23

    Sunday Science · Dr. Brent W. Laartz   Marijuana, Longevity & Cancer Medical Science Podcast Review   Fourteen studies, one honest verdict: on average, evidence points to accelerated biological aging and elevated hormone-sensitive cancer risk with chronic recreational cannabis — while therapeutic use in cancer care retains meaningful benefits. Read the balance, not the slogan.   Who is actually using — and how much   U.S. prevalence data (2021) shows cannabis use peaks in late adolescence and young adulthood, with roughly one in three high-school seniors and young adults reporting past-year use.   The Cancer Signal   Three converging lines of evidence — ecological trends, Mendelian randomization, and meta-analysis — point at hormone-sensitive cancers rising alongside cannabis legalization, particularly in younger people.   Incidence increases in legalized jurisdictions (2000–2019)   Mendelian randomization · Huang et al.   Causal signal   SNP-based causality analysis found  strong causal evidence  linking cannabis use to cervical, laryngeal, and breast cancer.     Biological Aging: three clocks, one direction   Independent aging biomarkers — phenotypic blood panels, alpha-Klotho protein, and epigenetic DNA-methylation clocks — all move in the same direction for current cannabis users.     Hormones: why testicular & breast cancer?   Two clinical hormone studies suggest a mechanism: cannabis appears to disrupt the estradiol-testosterone-prolactin axis, offering a biological bridge to the hormone-sensitive cancers seen in the ecological data.   Texera et al. — 316 infertile men   Reproductive review — Lo et al.   Cannabis crosses the placenta and enters breast milk, with reported effects on:   Menstrual cyclicity & erectile dysfunction   Abnormal spermatogenesis, testicular atrophy   Gestational age & preterm birth   Brain, Age & Cognition   Two studies from the same group — Thayer, and Stapolsky & Thayer — produce a nuanced picture: moderate older-adult use looks neutral, but long-term use (≥19 years) is associated with real cognitive deficits.     The Benefits — Not Glossed Over   The scientific case for cannabis in cancer care and symptom relief is real and should be weighed alongside the risk signals above.   Confounders to keep in mind   Every association study inherits complications. Before reading these numbers as destiny, consider what the studies cannot fully separate:    Synthetic warning from the ER: Synthetic cannabinoids seen daily in emergency medicine can be hundreds of times more potent than natural compounds and are strongly linked to acute psychosis. Do not treat them as equivalent to plant cannabis.   Reader follow-through    Disclaimer. This summary and the referenced podcast are not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. No content herein establishes a doctor–patient relationship. Consult your own physician, therapist, or nutritionist before applying anything discussed. No warranties are made regarding benefits or risks of any treatment, diet, exercise, or product referenced.   To Do List   Open the show-notes bibliography and read the 14 referenced studies yourself before forming a position 27:48   Weigh your own context — age, duration of use, therapeutic vs recreational purpose, family history of hormone-sensitive cancer 25:06   Consult your physician, therapist, or nutritionist before changing any use, treatment, or supplementation 28:46   Return next Sunday for the next Sunday Science expedition   Johnson, Rebecca H., et al. “Emerging Evidence Links Cannabis Use to Increased Risk of Breast and Testicular Cancer in Young Americans.” Academia Oncology, vol. 2, no. 2, Academia.edu Journals, 2025, doi:10.20935/AcadOnco7758.   Nargis N, Westmaas J, Orr E et al.Cancer risk and legalisation of access to cannabis in the USA: overview of the evidence.  The Lancet Public Health, 2024; 10, e160-e164.   https://www.cancer.org/cancer/supportive-care/integrative-medicine/cannabis.html Huang, P., Zhang, P. F., & Li, Q. (2023). Causal relationship between cannabis use and cancer: a genetically informed perspective. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 149(11), 8631–8638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-023-04807-x    Song, A., Myung, N. K., Bogumil, D., Ihenacho, U., Burg, M. L., & Cortessis, V. K. (2020). Incident testicular cancer in relation to using marijuana and smoking tobacco: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations, 38(7), 642.e1–642.e9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urolonc.2020.03.013    Nain S, Singh N, Schlag AK, Barnes M. The impact of cannabis use on ageing and longevity: a systematic review of research insights. J Cannabis Res. 2025 Jul 29;7(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s42238-025-00267-x. PMID: 40731362; PMCID: PMC12309070.    Wei K, Chen X. Current marijuana use is cross-sectionally associated with accelerated biological aging among U.S. adults: exploring mediating effect of blood cadmium. J Nutr Health Aging. 2026 Mar;30(3):100778. doi: 10.1016/j.jnha.2026.100778. Epub 2026 Jan 14. PMID: 41538955; PMCID: PMC12835599.    Wei K, Chen X. Current marijuana use is associated with lower circulating α-Klotho levels in US adults even after adjusting for tobacco use: A national cross-sectional analysis of NHANES. Tobacco Induced Diseases. 2025;23(July):104. doi:10.18332/tid/208001.    Meier M, Caspi A, Ambler A et al. Preparedness for healthy ageing and polysubstance use in long-term cannabis users: a population-representative longitudinal study. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 3, e703-e714   Hernandez Cordero, Ana I. et al. Cannabis smoking is associated with advanced epigenetic age. Eur Respir JVol 63(5).  2024/05/02   Teixeira TA, Iori I, Andrade G, Saldiva PHN, Drevet JR, Costa EMF, Hallak J. Marijuana Is Associated With a Hormonal Imbalance Among Several Habits Related to Male Infertility: A Retrospective Study. Front Reprod Health. 2022 Feb 17;4:820451. doi: 10.3389/frph.2022.820451. PMID: 36303626; PMCID: PMC9580681.    Galmiche, M., Meister, I., Zufferey, F. et al. Cannabis consumption is associated with altered steroid metabolism in young men. Commun Med 6, 224 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-026-01469-x    Lo JO, Hedges JC, Girardi G. Impact of cannabinoids on pregnancy, reproductive health, and offspring outcomes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Oct;227(4):571-581. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.05.056. Epub 2022 May 31. PMID: 35662548; PMCID: PMC9530020.    Reece AS, Hulse GK. Epigenomic and Other Evidence for Cannabis-Induced Aging Contextualized in a Synthetic Epidemiologic Overview of Cannabinoid-Related Teratogenesis and Cannabinoid-Related Carcinogenesis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 13;19(24):16721. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416721. PMID: 36554603; PMCID: PMC9778714.    Rachel E. Thayer, Sophie L. YorkWilliams, Kent E. Hutchison, Angela D. Bryan. Preliminary results from a pilot study examining brain structure in older adult cannabis users and nonusers, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Volume 285, 2019, 58-63, ISSN 0925-4927, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.02.001.   Stypulkowski K, Thayer RE. Long-Term Recreational Cannabis Use Is Associated With Lower Executive Function and Processing Speed in a Pilot Sample of Older Adults. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2022 Sep;35(5):740-746. doi: 10.1177/08919887211049130. Epub 2021 Sep 28. PMID: 34583547; PMCID: PMC8958184.

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About

Go Un-Pro with Dr. Brent W. Laartz, MD FIDSA: Living an Unprocessed Life for Longevity and Healthspan Have you ever known that something is SO good for you that you just can't wait, but life gets in front of you and prevents you from doing it? The inaction and procrastination could occur for a variety of reasons, and we will delve into my motivations and affirmations of a healthy life from this day forward.  I am starting this series of videos and articles so that I can be accountable to myself regarding the changes in my diet that I REALLY NEED to survive into my 90s without heart disease, dementia, and arthritis. And hopefully, as you follow along, you can make your own improvements that will extend your life and prevent the horrible illnesses that are heart disease, dementia, and arthritis.   Can I introduce myself? I'm Dr Brent W. Laartz, and I am an Infectious Diseases physician with a Master's in Neuroscience, author, creator, and entrepreneur.  I've been involved with medical education for almost all my life and have been sharing my knowledge, teaching students, patients, and other doctors as faculty of a medical school, in hospitals, and clinics around the world.  I’m ashamed to admit that I have lived a life of processed foods despite knowing the facts that are stacked against me if I continue living this way. My most recent research into longevity and its connection to our diet, exercise, sleep, and mental health, all with help from our microbiome, the bacteria living in our body, has me wanting to shout this information to the masses from the rooftops! This is so important that I am going to communicate what I have learned in every forum possible. Simply put, I am not going to do it anymore, and I am going to stay accountable to myself so that I follow through with it this time. Hence, the launch of this podcast, which I have been wanting to do for quite some time now. In addition, I am also launching publicly available Master courses that will delve incredibly deeply into the science behind diet and other interventions that will help me live well into my '90s and 100s, but not just live, but REALLY live! This is the concept of Healthspan. I know there are a lot of billionaires who are prominent in the media, trying to live forever, spending millions of dollars, but I am here to prove you can do it without spending a lot of money. The interventions I am doing will cost a little more money, but my budget is to only increase expenditures by a few $100 a month. 

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