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
Number you won’t forget
Have we reached peak longevity?
Instant health boost
Weekly wisdom
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A fashionable way to sleep
Arnold’s Podcast
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Health
Number You Won’t Forget: 17 Percent
Ultra-processed foods have a bad reputation, but how much they affect your health depends on what foods you eat and how often you eat them.
A recent analysis found that your risk of type-2 diabetes increases by 17 percent for every 10 percent of your calories that come from ultra-processed “junk food.” However, the risk is tied to a few specific food categories.
The scientists reviewed survey data from more than 300,000 people and tracked their health status over ten years. The researchers found that certain foods — not all ultra-processed foods — appeared more closely connected to the increased risk. In particular, savory snacks, ready-to-eat meals, ultra-processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages were more closely linked to the disease.
On the other hand, lower consumption of other processed foods — such as breads and cereals — did not show the same link to type-2 diabetes.
It’s important to remember four points when considering your ultra-processed intake.
We don’t fully understand why, but ultra-processed foods — especially those that are softer and easier to chew — are associated with overeating. So, if you struggle with your appetite, limiting them in your diet can help with hunger.
Not all processing is bad. Remember, even healthy foods like olive oil require processing, so it’s important not to demonize all foods.
Not all ultra-processed foods are necessarily the same. Foods that have added amounts of salt, sugar, and fat — which can increase overall caloric consumption, lead to over-eating, and are more likely to contribute to weight gain — are more likely to be problematic than foods that might require some processing but are not harming the overall quality of your diet.
The poison is in the dose. The study found that the participants who consumed the most ultra-processed foods were in the highest-risk group. They consumed 25 percent of their total calories from ultra-processed foods, and nearly 40 percent were from sugar-sweetened beverages.
If you eat the occasional ultra-processed food, it’s likely not a problem. However, the amount and frequency will determine the risk.
What We’re Reading
Have We Reached Peak Longevity?
While some scientists are on a quest for mortality, others suggest they might be chasing a ghost.
New research suggests that despite technological advancements, we are nearing the limits of biological age and we won’t be able to extend life much longer.
Changes in diet, medicine, and overall quality of life led to life expectancy nearly doubling throughout the 20th century. But over the last 30 years, despite even more advancement, that rate has slowed, and some believe the maximum number of years people live appears to be nearing its capacity.
Researchers analyzed the longest-living populations in the world for the last 34 years, as well as Hong Kong and the United States. During that time, they found that life expectancy has increased an average of six and a half years — much less than what was expected when the research began in the 1990s.
Despite aging clocks suggesting that we’re turning back the time, scientists argue we are not actually reversing the process of biological aging. And that means the older you get, the more you encounter threats to your longevity.
As the lead researcher explains in this summary of his work, “As people live longer, it’s like playing a game of Whac-a-Mole. Each mole represents a different disease, and the longer people live, the more moles come up and the faster they come up.”
The researchers found that survival to age 100 is unlikely to exceed 15 percent for females and 5 percent for males.
Despite the research, their work is not a pessimistic take on longevity. Instead, it acknowledges that the human body likely has limitations on maximum age, but that doesn’t mean health span can’t be improved dramatically. They argue that instead of focusing on living as long as possible, it might be better to use resources and technology to improve quality of life and limit the problems and frustrations that tend to appear later in life.
Instant Health Boost
Laugh It Off
We’ve discussed longevity all week, but here’s one tip we didn’t mention that takes little effort, costs nothing, and could make a noticeable difference.
If you want a longer life, don’t forget to make time to laugh every day.
A 15-year review of more than 53,000 people found that laughter is associated with a 48 percent reduction in death from all causes, a 73 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, and an 83 percent lower risk of infection.
Research suggests that laughter boosts hormones that improve mood, reduces hormones (like cortisol) that increase stress, strengthens your immune system, diminishes pain, protects against depression and anxiety, and supports cardiovascular health.
Weekly Wisdom
On Our Radar
A Fashionable Way to Sleep
Do you struggle to fall asleep? Soon, there might be a new way to pass out faster.
A recent study at MIT found that wearing a headband that delivers “acoustic stimulation” helped people fall asleep up to 15 minutes faster.
The new technology is based on 15 years of research that focuses on how brainwaves can be altered to trigger different reactions in the brain. This is known as “brain lock stimulation,” which means using sounds or images can change brain activity.
Specifically, they found that they could deliver low levels sounds through a headband that can decrease alpha wave changes in your brain, which tend to increase in people suffering from insomnia.
But these new developments might support more than just sleep. Adjusting brain waves could also support everything from memory formation to reducing tremors and slowing the progression of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
More research is needed to confirm the findings with more diverse audiences and confirm the safety, but on the surface, it’s a noninvasive way that works with your brain chemistry to deliver the desired result without having to take any pills or powders that might have other side effects.
And that’s it for this week. Thank you all for being a part of the positive corner of the internet, and we hope you have a fantastic week!
-Arnold, Adam, and Daniel
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
