Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we help you make sense of the complex world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and providing quick tips designed to help you stay healthier in under 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Number you won’t forget
Why are PFAS in your kitchen?
Weekly wisdom
Stop chasing happiness (and why that’s a good thing)
A Little Wiser (In Less Than 10 Minutes)
Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast is a daily dose of wisdom and positivity. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Health
Number You Won’t Forget: 1 Mile
You don’t need to run marathons or spend hours in the gym to protect your heart.
Research suggests that walking 1 mile a day can lower the risk of cardiovascular death by up to 81 percent.
Researchers from the University of California followed more than 1,600 adults aged 50 to 90 for ten years (about 25 percent of 347 who had type 2 diabetes). After adjusting for factors like age, smoking, BMI, and other exercise habits, they found that walking one mile per day reduced the risk of death from any cause.
Most impressively, adults with diabetes who walked at least one mile daily were half as likely to die from any cause and five times less likely to die from non-coronary cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or heart failure compared to those who didn’t walk.
Walking helps regulate blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation, all of which reduce strain on the heart and blood vessels. It also boosts insulin sensitivity, meaning your body uses glucose more efficiently, a key factor for people with type 2 diabetes.
If you need a simple way to improve your health, it’s another reminder that you don’t need expensive hacks, a smartwatch, or perfect weather. Just 20 to 25 minutes of daily walking can dramatically cut your risk of cardiovascular death and help you live longer, stronger, and healthier.
Together With Our Place
What Are PFAS? (And Why Are They in Your Kitchen?)
You’ve probably heard the term “forever chemicals,” but most people don’t know what they are or where they might be hiding.
They’re called PFAS (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals made to resist heat, water, and oil. That’s why they’re used in things like nonstick pans, plastic containers, and food packaging.
The problem? The same durability that makes PFAS so convenient also makes them difficult to break down inside your body or in the environment.
The PFAS in your cookware don’t necessarily stay in your pan. They can migrate into your food, your body, and even your bloodstream.
Studies show that when specific nonstick coatings (like Teflon) are overheated, scratched, or worn down, they can release PFAS and microplastic particles that end up in the food you eat. These chemicals have been linked to hormone disruption, gut issues, and long-term health effects.
And it’s not just cooking. PFAS show up in water-resistant clothing, fast-food wrappers, and even tap water.
It's hard to eliminate PFAS completely (and you don’t need to), but you can dramatically reduce your exposure by making small swaps. Simple adjustments include using filtered water, avoiding hot food in plastic or coated takeout containers, and cooking with moderate heat. You can also make sure you rinse produce store food in glass, and replacing worn pans can make every meal a little cleaner and safer.
That’s why we recommend Our Place’s Titanium Cookware: pans designed without coatings, chemicals, or compromises. Just pure titanium: ultra-hardened, naturally nonstick, and built for life.
Zero PFAS: No coatings. No leaching. Just clean cooking.
Naturally Nonstick: A pure titanium surface that never breaks down.
Built to Last: 300% harder than stainless steel, safe for metal utensils, dishwashers, and open flames.
If you’re intentional about your health, this is one of the easiest upgrades you can make. Don’t just take control of what you eat, take control of how you prepare your food.
As a reader of Arnold’s Pump Club, get 10% OFF + free shipping and returns with code APC at checkout.
Mindset
Weekly Wisdom
We don’t control how much time we have. We do, however, control how we use it. And too often, we’re all guilty of letting time slip away.
Minutes lost scrolling, hours lost worrying, days lost waiting for the “right time.” Seneca’s point isn’t that time moves too quickly; it’s that we move through it unconsciously.
You’ll never “find” more time. You’ll only reclaim it by noticing where it’s slipping away and deciding to use it differently.
When you start treating time as a finite resource — not a renewable one — everything changes. You stop postponing the conversation, the trip, the workout, the project. You realize that the present moment is not a placeholder for something better. It is the thing.
Turn Wisdom Into Action
Today, perform a time audit: write down how you actually spend one full day. You can break it down by morning, afternoon, and evening, or get more specific and catalogue each hour. Do what’s best for you so that you can be honest about your time.
Then mark the moments that energized you versus those that drained you. Mark the things that were important to you and those that weren’t. Maybe most importantly, identify what you could’ve added to the day that would’ve meant something to you.
You’ll quickly see where your life is invested, where it’s being wasted, and where opportunities exist. The goal isn’t to fill every moment with productivity. Downtime isn’t all bad. Instead, this is about creating more moments of presence, importance, and purpose.
Better Questions, Better Solutions
How Chasing Happiness Can Leave You Feeling Emptier
Old Question: How can I be happier?
Better Question: What am I doing in pursuit of happiness that’s actually making me less happy?
We live in a culture that treats happiness like a finish line: something to win if you just optimize your habits, keep a gratitude journal, or make the right purchase.
But research on your brain’s tendency to quickly normalize joy (called hedonic adaptation) suggests that the high from positive experiences fades faster than we think. Scientists examined how quickly people adapt to pleasurable experiences, such as vacations, new purchases, or personal wins. While these moments create short bursts of joy, people quickly return to their emotional baseline.
It’s something many people stumble upon: the harder you chase happiness, the more likely it escapes your grasp.
To find what you desire, try reframing what you want from life’s experiences.
Instead of asking, “Will this make me happy?” start asking, “Will this make me grow?”
Activities rooted in growth, like learning, deep connection, or helping others build meaning, not just moments. And meaning lasts longer than mood.
True happiness might not look like you expected, but when you stop chasing and shift your focus, you'll likely find something that feels elusive for so many: a life that feels full even when it’s not perfect.
And that’s it for this week. Thank you for being a part of the positive corner of the internet, and we hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
Better Today
Take any of these tips from today’s email and put them into action:
Walking Just 1 Mile Daily Reduces Cardiovascular Death Risk by 81% in Adults Over 50: A 10-year study found that walking just one mile daily (20-25 minutes) reduced cardiovascular death risk, with diabetic participants showing 50% lower all-cause mortality and 5x lower stroke risk.
PFAS "Forever Chemicals" in Nonstick Cookware Can Get Into Food and Bloodstream When Overheated or Scratched: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals in nonstick coatings like Teflon that release into food when pans are overheated, scratched, or worn. You don’t need to panic because your body can tolerate low levels, but simple swaps like filtered water, glass food storage, PFAS-free titanium or stainless steel cookware can help reduce exposure.
Stop Chasing Happiness And Start Pursuing Meaning: Neuroscience research demonstrates that you don’t find happiness, it finds you when you seek out people and experiences that create lasting meaning through learning, deep connection, and fulfillment.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
