Together With
Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we make sense of the confusing world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and offering quick tips designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
Can fasting harm your hair?
The easy button for more protein
Win a home gym (no purchase necessary)
You’ll want to sleep on this nutrition trick
Arnold’s Podcast
Want more stories from Arnold? Every day, Arnold’s Pump Club Podcast opens with a story, perspective, and wisdom from Arnold that you won’t find in the newsletter. And, you’ll hear a recap of the day’s items. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
On Our Radar
Can Fasting Hurt Your Hair Growth?
You might have heard that intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, boost energy, and even improve longevity.
But there’s one side-effect you don’t often hear discussed: A brand new study suggests that skipping meals could prevent or limit hair growth.
Researchers wanted to understand how intermittent fasting (IF) influences hair follicle regeneration. Some animal studies suggest fasting influences metabolic and cellular processes that impact hair follicles, so scientists wanted to see if it applies to humans.
When you fast, your body prioritizes essential functions like maintaining energy balance, causing a domino effect. The changes caused by fasting suppress hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), which are responsible for regenerating hair during the growth phase.
Hair follicles are unique because they undergo growth, rest, and regeneration cycles. The team hypothesized that fasting could alter these cycles by triggering interorgan communication—how different organs "talk" to each other under stress.
Other organs like fat tissue and your nervous system also appear to play a role. This suggests that fasting doesn’t just affect one part of the body; it triggers a network of signals that can influence multiple systems.
While fasting might support more dietary control, it also puts your body in a state of conservation.
But you don’t have to abandon fasting. At this point, it’s hard to say how long you need to fast to see a difference or how much it could slow down growth. And if you don’t see any chances, it might not be a problem for you.
Even if you are worried, the effect appears to be reversible. Once you resume a regular feeding schedule, hair follicles can return to their usual growth cycles.
Together With Sweetgreen
Struggle Eating Enough Protein? Here’s Your Easy Button
Hitting your health goals just got easier—and more delicious.
Protein is essential for building muscle, boosting energy, managing and losing weight, and keeping you satisfied.
However, getting enough can feel like a challenge.
Sweetgreen launched a new limited-time January menu featuring protein-packed, seed oil-free menu items that make it easy to fuel your body while enjoying every bite. With bold flavors, real ingredients, and a lineup of new dishes, this menu is designed to help you start the year strong.
The Pump Club has two recommended favorites from the new January menu:
The BBQ Chicken + Ranch Plate combines blackened chicken, white rice, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, and pickled onions – covered in their ranch and BBQ dressings – and is loaded with 39 grams of protein. It’s a satisfying balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats to fuel you all day.
The Blackened Chicken + Ranch Bowl has 35 grams of protein from blackened chicken, quinoa, romaine, chickpeas, tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers, goat cheese, basil, and Sweetgreen’s creamy ranch.
Both options deliver the perfect balance of macronutrients and bold, satisfying flavors to crush your goals without gimmicks or shortcuts.
Ready to feel great and eat well? Get your protein from Sweetgreen today by ordering on their app or a location near you.
Fitness
Win A Home Gym
In the spirit of the new year, we will buy three members of the Pump Club a new home gym.
One winner will be sent a $1,000 home gym.
Another winner will get a $5,000 home gym.
And one more will win a $10,000 home gym.
To be clear, this is not a sponsored giveaway. We are buying these items and shipping them to the winners.
How To Win:
You don’t have to buy anything, just follow these two steps:
Step 1: Subscribe to Arnold’s Pump Club. If you’re getting this email, you should be covered. But if you unsubscribe, you’re no longer eligible.
Step 2: if you’re in the mood, spread the word on social media by tagging two friends on Arnold’s post about the giveaway.
We want to spread the gift of fitness, and what better way than to make it easier than ever to train at home?
Good luck! We’ll announce the winners in February.
Instant Health Boost
Sleep Your Way To Healthier Eating
Calories count. Exercise matters. Hormones play a role. But, sometimes, your trouble managing hunger and losing weight might start somewhere far from the kitchen or the gym.
Ending your nutrition frustrations might just require a little sleep training.
A Harvard study of over 68,000 people found that those who sleep less than 6 hours a night weigh 5 pounds more and are 15 percent more likely to be overweight than those sleeping more than 7 hours.
Why? Sleep deprivation lowers leptin (the hormone that curbs appetite) and boosts ghrelin (the hunger hormone), leaving you craving more food. According to research at the University of Chicago, this can lead to an extra 220 calories (or more!) a day.
If hunger is a problem, prioritize your sleep, and you’ll make it easier to stick to eating habits that support your goals.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
