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Today’s Health Upgrade
Does morning coffee help you eat less?
Comparing recovery techniques
5 ways to improve gut health (without probiotics)
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Nutrition
Can Your Morning Coffee Help Control Your Appetite?
We all know coffee gives you energy, but could it help you manage your hunger, too? New research took a closer look at how a little morning caffeine affects your appetite the rest of the day — and the results might surprise you.
Even though caffeine has long been associated with curbing appetite, scientists discovered that having coffee for breakfast did not reduce how much you eat in 24 hours.
The study was designed to determine not just how coffee reduces hunger in the morning but whether it impacts the total amount you eat in a day.
Participants rotated between two conditions: drinking about 2 cups of coffee or water with breakfast. The scientists assessed appetite, took blood samples before and after the meal, and monitored everything the participants ate.
Drinking coffee showed no additional benefit in the hormones influencing hunger, overall appetite, or calorie intake compared to water.
This caused us to dig a little deeper. While some studies suggest that caffeine could influence hunger, the research wasn’t as strong when you look at overall daily caloric intake. And that’s just part of the story.
Coffee’s impact on hunger appears to be influenced by gender, BMI, and dose. Specifically, men and people who are overweight seem to see more of a benefit. And, if you have three to four cups, it could do a better job of suppressing hunger.
If coffee helps you eat less, then there’s no need to change anything. But, at this point, anything that helps you hydrate (whether water or caffeinated beverage) could similarly impact appetite.
Together With Therabody
Fact Or Fiction: Is Ice Best For Recovery?
When it comes to recovery, many people swear that chilling your muscles slows inflammation and speeds healing. But is it the best way to bounce back after a hard workout?
Recent research compared different recovery techniques. If you want to improve muscle soreness and boost performance, research suggests a massage gun can give you the best of both worlds.
Scientists tested recovery responses after cold water immersion, relaxing in a chair, and percussive massage therapy (the technical term for what is provided by the latest generation of massage guns).
For three weeks, soccer players were put through challenging workouts. And then, they were randomly assigned to each of the recovery conditions.
While cold water and the massage gun equally reduced muscle soreness, there was one big difference: the massage gun improved muscle strength and performance.
The problem with cold water immersion (CWI) — other than being less convenient and comfortable — is that CWI decreases muscle temperature, increasing stiffness and hindering recovery. If you’re prone to tight or stiff muscles, this could work against your performance goals.
The study found that percussive therapy improved strength without compromising muscle contractions.
If you’re looking for the best way to use percussive massage, we tested all the options, and Theragun was the best value, backed by the most scientific research. By targeting deep tissue with pressure and vibration, Theragun effectively relieves soreness, promotes circulation, and supports recovery—all without any drawbacks.
Its ability to enhance performance while relieving aches makes it the ultimate tool for anyone serious about fitness or just feeling and moving better.
As a member of the positive corner of the internet, you get $100 OFF Theragun PRIME, which delivers deep muscle treatment within a slim frame, hardly any sound, and an affordable price. The Theragun is Pump Club-approved and an essential part of our recommended recovery routine.
Health
5 Ways To Improve Gut Health (Without Probiotics)
The microbiome continues to be one of the hottest areas of wellness research. While most people focus on pills and probiotics, there might be a better way to feed the health bacteria in your stomach.
Research suggests five healthy behaviors support better gut health and prevent digestive disorders.
A recent study followed 65,000 for 12 years and found that if you want to have a healthier stomach, your best bet is to focus on a few daily habits that could be doing a lot of damage.
The scientists found that five behaviors improve gut health the most: regular exercise, low alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, an average of 7 hours of sleep per night, and no smoking.
In fact, if you can do at least three of those behaviors, you reduce your risk of gut issues or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) by 42 percent.
If you want to start with diet changes, focus on eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. On the other hands, ultra-processed foods and high-fat diets were linked to an increased risk of stomach problems.
While there’s nothing wrong with taking probiotics or prebiotics, your gut health is more heavily influenced by your day-to-day behaviors. Start making those improvements, and once you do those consistently, you might see additional benefits from supplementation.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
