Happy Halloween 🎃
In this ghoulishly fun issue of The Livelong Newsletter: 🧟♀️ Zombie cells; therapeutic Tarot cards; Draculean beauty, and a homemade candy recipe that is actually good for you.
Trick or treat. Let’s read. 🍂
Quick Poll
💫 Do you do alternative forms of healing?
Spooky Spotlight
How to prepare for a zombie (‘cell’) apocalypse
Flesh eaters, draugr, jiangshi…zombies. These mythical creatures sit in rotted limbo between the living and the dead. 💀
And while the CDC may (jokingly?) consider them a “real enough” threat, issuing a zombie apocalypse preparedness guide in 2011, there is a scarier and more pressing zombie threat to worry about: Cellular senescence.
Senescent ‘zombie’ cells are cells that no longer divide but refuse to die, secreting inflammatory toxins that damage tissue, speed up aging, and contribute to the development of age-related diseases like diabetes and dementia.
A review in the Biomedical Journal calls senescence a major threat to healthy aging, and identifies lifestyle factors that can help fight it.
Your zombie (cell) preparedness guide
🏋️♀️ Exercise:
Resistance training and vigorous physical activity can help maintain telomere length (a marker of longevity) and lower inflammation. But overtraining, in mouse studies, led to increased senescence.
⏳ Intermittent fasting:
Short bouts of calorie restriction without malnutrition can reduce inflammatory blood markers. While fasting is not ideal for everyone, especially for certain women, short-term fasting-mimicking diets in mice can lower zombie cell count.
🥦 Phytochemicals:
Plant compounds like Quercetin, piperlongumine, and fisetin are antioxidants that show promise in fighting zombie cells. A Mediterranean-style diet rich in colorful fruits and veggies can reduce oxidative stress and protect telomeres, authors write.
🦠 Prebiotics and probiotics:
A healthy gut supports healthy aging. Prebiotics (food for probiotics) reverse gut dysbiosis and obesity in mice, while probiotics may prevent the formation of zombie cells and reduce DNA damage.
😴 Sleep:
Chronic sleep deprivation can cause a chain of inflammatory processes and senescence, raising the risk of hypertension and age-related diseases.
Healthy aging, it turns out, might just be about surviving your own cellular zombie apocalypse. 🧟♀️✨
Coming Soon: The Livelong Women’s Health Summit
📍 San Francisco | 🗓️ April 2026
If you want science-backed ways to extend longevity, join us at The Livelong Women’s Health Summit. Bringing together 50 of the world’s top thoughts leaders, you’ll have endless opportunities to learn about longevity and connect with other women. Use code ERIN to get $50 off any ticket.
Witchy Wellness Watch
Therapeutic Tarot
Medieval meets mysticism in Tarot.
Tarot is a deck of cards with illustrated archetypes that is used for fortune-telling and self-discovery, says Tarot reader Keziah Gibbons in Insight Timer.
Many claims around the psychological benefits remain a mystery. Yet, despite the lack of clinical evidence, many people are interested in using Tarot as a projective therapeutic tool for self-reflection and empowerment.
“All the tarot does is mirror what we’re thinking and feeling and reveal potential paths that we’re going down,” according to The Tarot Professor.
🧠 The psychological benefits
In a 2025 essay, psycholgist Dr. Yiu Kwong Au-Yeung proposed that the cards act like “mirrors which reflect the unconscious …” 🪞
Similar to our subconscious, tarot helps us process information through images and symbols.
“Seeing your hopes and fears laid out in pictures, they become more obvious and less scary,” Cosmopolitan notes.
Tarot can:
Create comfort and order: A 2009 study found that Tarot provides stability during times of uncertainty.
Offer positive reinforcement: It encourages new perspectives that lead to healthy action.
Externalize problems: Visualization tools help you clarify what you really want, says Inna Semetsky of Columbia University in Cosmopolitan.
Examine beliefs: Unearthing negative thought patterns can lead to profound breakthroughs.
⚠️ Before you put all your faith into the cards…
Tarot is a tool for reflection, not prediction. Separate insights from facts, and beware of overuse as a coping mechanism. There is still limited research on the benefits, and ethical guidelines are sparse.
But used thoughtfully, Tarot may help you to better understand yourself.
Nightmarish News
The ‘Vampire Facial’: Beauty with a bite 🩸
🧛♂️ The social-media famous ‘Vampire Facelift,’ better known as PRP (platelet-rich plasma), uses your own blood to renew cells and rejuvenate skin. But beneath the bloody selfies, new research validates that PRP can be an effective way to promote skin rejuvenation.
Courtesy of Instagram.
In the meta-analysis, which pulled together data from 11 studies, PRP clinically reduced wrinkles and improves skin density, luminosity, and glow with minimal side effects. ✨
🧴💉 Since we start losing collagen at 25, starting PRP may keep skin firmer and healthier for longer, says Chelsie Rogers, of Skin Pharm Atlanta, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But results take more than one bite. Dermatologists recommend a minimum of three treatments to see more significant results.
Broomstick briefs
😱 I get those goosebumps…: Scary things raise the hairs of our arms. Why?
📱 Digital illusions: When the person texting you isn’t who they seem. What “chatfishing” reveals about dating, relationships, and connection.
🎃 “It’s the great(est) pumpkin Charlie Brown!” Two English brothers have grown the worlds largest pumpkin. How much do you think it weighs?
🍫 LONG-LEVITY
Healthy Halloween treat: No-bake Snickers Brownie Bites
Treat yourself this Halloween without the scary trans fats, preservatives, and artificial sweetener.
These no-bake Snickers Brownie Bites, adapted from Green Smoothie Gourmet and the Conscious Plant Kitchen, deliver the nutty, chocolatey satisfaction of the original, minus the scary ingredients. 👻🍬
Ingredients 🥜🍫
Base:
1 cup almond flour (or hazelnut flour)
¼ cup maple syrup (or agave)
2 tablespoons cocao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Caramel layer
¼ cup peanut butter (or roasted cashew butter; almond butter; sunflower seed butter)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ tsp (pinch!) of flaky sea salt
4 medjool dates
1 tbsp water
Add-ins: ½ cup peanuts
Topping: 1 cup dark chocolate chips (72–85%), 2 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
Line a small loaf pan with parchment.
Mix the base ingredients and press into the pan. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Caramel: Blend healthy caramel layer ingredients into a smooth and thick paste (add more water if needed) and spread over the base.
Add peanuts: Gently press into the caramel layer.
Chocolate: Melt chocolate and coconut oil, and pour over the top.
Freeze 20–30 min, and slice into bars.
This can be refrigerated for 4 days.
Longevity We’re Loving
FEMALE LONGEVITY: What really works. and what feels good? Read more.
SUPPLEMENT STACKING: How do you know which supplements work? Read more.
WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED: What is your favorite TV show or film about space?
*Hint: Space, the final frontier…. 🚀
That’s right! Star Trek is the winner. Some said it’s simply just the best space show ever. For others, the out-of-this-world cast makes it timeless. Star Wars took second place, a testament to the courage and resilience it takes to stand up for what’s right.
Thanks for reading!
The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.
