The Long View with: Therese Nadler, MS, RDN, LDN
This week, we're handing the newsletter over to Therese Nadler, MS, RDN, LDN, as part of our series The Long View, where leading voices in women's health share what they believe matters most for how we age.
Why does one woman develop Hashimoto's while another struggles with infertility? Why does someone else's first sign of trouble become psoriasis, while another develops insulin resistance, anxiety, or early heart disease?
We tend to think of these as completely different conditions. Different specialists. Different treatments. Different research. But what if we're missing something bigger?
🧠 The takeaway
Very different diagnoses (Hashimoto's, insulin resistance, psoriasis, anxiety, early heart disease) often trace back to a remarkably similar set of accumulated stressors: too little sleep, chronic stress, ultra-processed food, hormone transitions, and environmental exposures.
Science studies one variable at a time; bodies experience all of them at once.
Healthspan is about creating more capacity while reducing the overall burden, not just adding another supplement or protocol.
💡 In our last Long View with Dr. Vonda Wright: Why Skeletal Longevity is the Gateway to All Longevity.
Over the years, I've started to notice that many of the people I work with have very different diagnoses. But when you zoom out, the through line of their lives looks surprisingly similar: Sleeping too little, carrying too much stress, eating more ultra-processed food than they realize, navigating hormone shifts, and living in a world filled with environmental exposures and toxins our bodies were never designed to encounter.
One person might develop an autoimmune disease while another struggles with metabolic health, fertility, or chronic inflammation, but the root cause is the same.
Why do we see different responses across health concerns?
Part of the answer is genetics, part is timing, and part is resilience. But instead of asking, "What caused this disease?" we should be asking, "What factors slowly added up over many years to cause the body to reach its tipping point?"
That question has changed my view on healthspan.
Now, I think of the body as a bucket that's constantly being filled.
Every poor night's sleep, chronic stressor, ultra-processed meal, environmental exposure, infection, or hormonal transition creates stress.
On their own, none of these may be enough to cause disease. The human body is remarkably resilient, but the stressors add up. Over time, the body whispers before it screams: fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, weight gain, digestive problems, skin issues, and more. These are small signs that something is changing beneath the surface. If we ignore those whispers for long enough, the bucket eventually reaches capacity.
Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts
Science is incredibly good at studying one variable at a time:
One food additive
One medication
One environmental chemical
One lifestyle factor
But that's not how real life works. Our bodies experience all of these things at once.
Today, more than 10,000 chemicals are permitted in the U.S. food supply, including additives, preservatives, flavorings, colorings, and food packaging chemicals. While many have been evaluated for safety, some entered the food supply through the FDA's Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) pathway, which allows companies to determine an ingredient is safe without formal FDA approval. Researchers have raised concerns that the long-term effects of cumulative exposures remain incompletely understood.
What we still don't fully understand is what happens when hundreds of these exposures accumulate and interact (often, over decades) in the human body. To be clear, this doesn't mean every additive is harmful. But it does mean that "approved" and "fully understood" are not necessarily the same thing.
Once you layer on poor sleep, chronic stress, sedentary lifestyles, hormone changes, and environmental and chemical exposures, you have to ask what happens when they all stack together for twenty or thirty years?
The Diagnosis Isn't the Beginning
Often, the diagnosis isn't the beginning of the story. It's the point at which the bucket overflows. One person develops migraines. Another chronic digestive issues. Another eczema. Another depression. Same bucket. Different places where it spills over.
More Capacity. Less Burden.
When most people think about longevity, they think about what to add:
A new supplement
A new fitness routine
A new wearable
A cold plunge
A red light panel
A peptide
Another podcast recommendation
A new morning routine
Sometimes adding these things helps. But in my experience, longevity is about creating more capacity while also lessening burden. You do that by:
Protecting sleep
Eating fewer ultra-processed foods
Building more strength and adding more movement throughout the day
Managing stress
Maintaining meaningful relationships
Reducing unnecessary chemical exposures (where practical)
Not because we can control everything; we can't. But because every little bit creates more room in your bucket.
To me, that's what healthspan is really about. Preserving the body's remarkable ability to adapt for as long as possible. Disease isn't where the story begins. It's often the result of years of cumulative burden. The longer we can keep the bucket from overflowing, the longer we preserve health.
Three Questions to Ask Yourself This Week
1. What is one thing I can remove that would lessen my body's burden?
Examples:
Swap one ultra-processed snack for a whole-food option.
Reduce one unnecessary source of stress by setting a boundary or saying "no."
Replace one plastic food container or water bottle that you use with a glass or stainless steel option.
2. What is one habit I can strengthen that builds resilience instead of just treating symptoms?
Examples:
Go to bed 30 minutes earlier three nights this week.
Add a 15-minute walk after dinner five out of seven days this week.
Prioritize a protein-rich breakfast (30g- 40g) to better support energy levels throughout the day.
3. What small change could I realistically sustain for the next year, not just the next week?
Examples:
Cook one more meal at home each week.
Charge your phone outside of your bedroom at night.
Schedule one standing workout, walk, or family activity on your calendar each week.
What is one small change you can commit to this week
Would you like to be featured in a future edition of The Long View? Reach out to [email protected] to get the conversation started.
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Get involved with the Livelong Women’s community
Join us for our next Studio Session:
📍 Chronic Disease Isn't Inevitable: What Root-Cause Medicine Can Actually Do with Dr. Robin Berzin, founder and CEO of Parsley Health
📆 Wednesday, September 9, 11:00 AM PDT / 2:00 PM EDT
We’re looking for women’s health ambassadors
Livelong Ambassadors help us reach more women with science-backed health information and get exclusive perks for doing it. We’re looking for Ambassadors for New York’s Livelong Women’s Health Summit this September as well as our 2027 cities.
👀 In case you missed it:
4 science-backed ways to lift a “blah” day
Your gut bacteria might be eating you
Simple steps to build muscle and lasting habits
🤔 Plus: Ask LIV: Get personalized longevity insights with our updated AI feature.
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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.
