you don’t have an immune system

+ breast milk ice cream

Good morning everyone.

Who's listening to Charlie Crocket’s new record this weekend?

Last night, I had dinner on the Puget Sound with my piano teacher Jennifer and my brother Rudy. Jennifer ordered the prawn fettuccine, I went for the sockeye salmon, and Rudy went with the mac and cheese that gave more Midwestern truck stop than PNW coastal chic. To each their own.

It was such a gift to catch up with Juilliard-grad Jennifer who somehow still carves out time for us lowly hacks.

She played an integral role in shaping me as both a thinker and a musician, and I’ll forever be grateful for her influence. Especially for indoctrinating teaching me to see that Bach is the greatest to ever do it.

What’s wild is that now I’m the one brainwashing her, but in the name of health and nutrition. First thing she says to me? She’s been eating loads of butter, upping her protein, and cutting out anyone who so much as glances at a fast food drive-thru. She caught her husband eating potato chips the other day and she’s now seriously considering divorce.

I had no idea my influence over the Buttercups ran that deep.

This is awesome.

Yesterday I got an email from Emily Sundberg with the subject line: where do you stand on breast milk ice cream?

Naturally, I envisioned a dairy farm of NorCal moms hooked up to pumps, churning out artisanal pints called something like Mother Nature’s Creamery. It felt like both a human rights violation and something that would absolutely get rave reviews on a Weston A. Price forum.

But unfortunately (fortunately), the ice cream doesn’t actually contain breast milk. “While it’s not actually made with human milk, we think our recipe tastes pretty close to the real deal,” the company says.

What my mildly disturbed brain now wants to know is: how do they know what “the real deal” tastes like? Was there a tasting panel?

I’m all for the natural ways. You guys know me. But this might be a line not worth crossing. Or maybe it’s just a Rudy’s Mac n Cheese moment: to each their own?

Let me know:

What to do with zucchini: It’s that time of year again when the Pacific Northwest turns into the land flowing with zucchini. I swear, you could plant a single seed and still end up with a pile large enough to supply FEMA.

Except zucchinis don’t store well. So let’s talk ways we can eat this nutrient-dense veggie that fights off cancer cells.

My first tip—passed down through generations of gardeners—is simple: pick your zucchinis before they get too big. The massive ones turn mushy and weird. The smaller ones are peak summer food.

Lately I’ve been slicing them into rounds and frying them in butter with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutritional yeast. Pair that with some eggs and you’ve got yourself a great breakfast.

You can also spiralize them into zoodles, or toss them into Shalane Flanagan’s superhero muffin recipe.

Don’t sleep on zucchinis. They really are great for you and delicious. Especially with butter.

The gut-brain axis: A new study from Duke University identified gut microbes that communicate with the brain about behavior, mood, and mental health. This adds to a growing body of evidence linking the gut microbiome to brain function.

What it means for us: Western medicine has taught us to think of the body as a collection of separate systems—respiratory, immune, nervous, etc. But this study is yet another reminder that the human body is one dynamic, interconnected whole.

You don’t have an immune system. You don’t have a respiratory system. You don’t have a nervous system.

You have a body.

And when you nourish that body holistically, it responds in ways that defy the siloed logic of modern medicine.

Most psychiatrists and psychologists, for example, would be stunned by the number of people who’ve experienced dramatic mental health improvements by trading processed foods for whole ones.

Steak? For mental health? That baffles the 2025 doctor’s brain.

• Lizzo’s on the cover of Women’s Health discussing the new definition of body positivity: “the radical act of daring to exist loudly and proudly in a society that told you shouldn’t exist.” This is what I tell myself when I step foot on the dance floor.

• Montana wants to be the destination state for not yet FDA approved treatments and biohacking therapies. Huberman bros are gonna buy up all of Big Sky.

• Screen time may be contributing to the rise of heart problems in kids. iPad babies, cardiometabolic diseased kids?

• The Gates Foundation is pledging $2.5 billion to women’s health by 2030. Here’s to hoping they take notes from health pioneer Lizzo.

• Machine Gun Kelly’s diet consists of water, sauerkraut, kimchi, bone broth, and cigarettes. MGK is a Buttercup.