#3: Simplifying superfoods

If you’re curious about superfoods, tempo runs, or the latest health and fitness drops (like a lightweight hydration vest), we got you!

In today’s issue:

• Racquet sports community builder Trisha Goyal shares her favorite health products

• Why you can’t “catch up on sleep” over the weekend

• Nike Run Club coach Jes Woods talks tempo running tips

• Plus, more from Kroma, Satisfy, Jot, and other brands we have our eye on

Dive into: Kroma 🍵

In one sentence: Kroma Wellness creates food and beverage products with nutrient-dense, sustainably-sourced superfood ingredients.

Company mission: To simplify superfoods by eliminating confusion and meeting people where they are. The key? Delivering great-tasting products that make you feel amazing. 

The pivot: Odenweller previously founded culinary-forward superfood cafes all over Southern California. On the bright side people were “obsessed”, Odenweller said, but reaching more people was a challenge.

“When I exited that company and sold it, I quickly pivoted to starting Kroma,” she told Wellworthy, adding that Kroma’s powder-based nutrition and superfood snacks can sit in your pantry and “go anywhere with you.”

“It’s available to you as you need it.”

The bigger picture: People don’t just want function and convenience, they want flavor. That's why more and more superfood brands are sourcing the best ingredients for both health benefits and taste.

Go deeper: Watch our interview with Kroma Founder and CEO Lisa Odenweller here.

Eat, Sleep, Move, Recover

Here’s what our team is reading this week:

EAT: Papaya. The tropical fruit is consumed in Blue zones (regions where people tend to live longer), and has been named a “longevity superfood.” (Read here)

SLEEP: Isn’t something you catch up on during the weekend. That’s actually a myth, according to a sleep psychologist, and doing so can confuse your body by disrupting its cues to produce cortisol and melatonin. Instead, stick to a routine and maintain a wake time within a two-hour window. (Read here)

MOVE: Down the slopes at 80. There’s a group of seniors called the Wild Old Bunch that meet every year in Utah to ski. One incentive? The Alta ski resort lets anyone over 80 ski for free, which is major as the sport has an increasingly costly barrier to entry. As for the safety of skiing into your 90s, an associate professor of sports medicine said “when done carefully and wisely, it can be a great way for them to stay healthy and be in community.” (Read here)

RECOVER: An industry-funded study has found that eating almonds may reduce feelings of muscle soreness during exercise recovery. Funded by the Almond Board of California, the research found that participants who ate almonds experienced an almost 25 percent reduction in muscle soreness when performing an explosive power exercise. “Our study suggests that snacking on almonds can be recommended to occasional exercisers as a go-to food to help fitness recovery after strenuous exercise,” said Dr. Oliver C. Witard, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition at Kings College London. (Read here)

Health Stack: Trisha Goyal 🎾

Welcome to our Health Stack series, where founders, operators, and experts share their favorite products, supplements, gear, apps, and routines…

This week, we’re joined by Trisha Goyal — the founder and CEO of racquet sport community Break Sports.

Trisha’s lifelong love for the outdoors, fitness, and community led her to create one of the largest purpose-driven social sports booking platforms. Find courts, connect with players, and access sports gear for racquet sports and, soon, golf.

Here’s Trisha’s Health Stack:

Mobot Foam Roller Bottle: “This bottle doubles as a foam roller and as a frequent traveler, is the most compact foam roller I have seen that actually works. I am able to use it for my neck and shoulders post a flight and if I want to foam roll my hamstrings before or after I am able to do it right on the spot in the gym or at a court with the water securely sealed inside.”

AG1: “I sometimes go through phases with AG1 but lately have been back into it for my gut, especially while I am traveling. The best part too, it’s now HSA eligible.”

• Pure Encapsulations Magnesium: “I always take a couple of these Magnesium pills in the evening before sleeping and it really helps with lowering stress and headaches helping me sleep after sometimes long back-to-back work days.”

• Keen Reno Waterproof Mid (Soft Toe) Hiking Boots: “During the pandemic, outside of racquet sports—I got into hiking on weekends to unplug from Zoom world and my Keen shoes really help provide me with ankle and toe support, yet they don’t feel heavy in any way like other hiking shoes sometimes feel.”

Check out Trisha’s full Health Stack here.

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Tempo runs with Jes Woods 🏃‍♀️

Jes Woods has a background in Materials Science Engineering and spent 8+ years in broadcast, but she left it behind to pursue her greatest passions: Running and coaching.

Today, Jes coaches for Nike Run Club, Brooklyn Track Club, and founded Brooklyn Trail Club. She’s coached new runners, marathoners, and even high-profile athletes like actress and singer Cynthia Erivo.

We recently caught up with Jes on all things tempo runs.

What exactly is a tempo run? Jes says you want to run right at the tipping point between aerobic running (your body has sufficient oxygen) and anaerobic running (your body does not have sufficient oxygen to create the energy you are demanding).

What are the benefits? It helps you become a more efficient runner both from a mental fitness standpoint and a physical one. “Improving your tempo pace or improving your lactate threshold is like improving your miles per gallon on your car,” Woods says. “You want to be able to travel (run) farther on the same tank of gas (the same energy).”

How can you set yourself up for success? Start small. Jes suggests breaking up your tempo run into tempo intervals, like 5 × 5:00 minutes at your tempo pace with 90 seconds rest after each. She says the “magic number” of tempo work you’re trying to hit is 20-30 minutes.

“Another tip, speaking candidly, is to embrace the suck and don’t try to fight it.”

Add to wishlist: Justice Cordura 5L Hydration Vest 💦

• Satisfy designs technical equipment for runners, and their spring collection features this 8-pocket hydration vest, sustainably dyed lilac using mineral pigments. Plus, it comes with two 500ml soft flasks that fit into the two front pockets (Shop here)

A few more drops:

• If you’re planning on watching the solar eclipse next month, do so safely with these Solar Eclipse Safety Glasses (Shop here)

• Dr. Muneeb Shah (or DermDoctor on TikTok) has 18M followers tuning in for his skincare advice. He just dropped his own skincare line, Remedy, with products targeting dark spots, pores, and dry lips (Shop here)

• Coffee concentrate brand Jot released an “extremely limited batch” of chocolate hazelnut (Shop here)

• If you’re looking for a cool curated pack of hydrogels to last you a week of training, Maurten has the aptly-named 1/52 Collection with gels, drink mixes, solids, and a 500ml bottle (Shop here)

Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Ash Read and Melanie Ehrenkranz.

P.S. We’d love to hear from you! Send us your favorite gear, personal health stack, or feedback on the newsletter.