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
How screen time influences your diet
The “good foods” vs. “bad foods” narrative
A different perspective on extending lifespan
Happy gut, happy brain?
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Nutrition
Is Your Screen Making You Eat More?
We’ve all done it: scrolling through our phones or binge-watching a show while munching on a snack. But could this habit be affecting your diet more than you realize?
A new meta-analysis reveals the hidden ways screen time affects your food intake— and the findings could change how you think about eating while distracted.
Researchers reviewed 23 studies to explore the relationship between screen exposure (TV, phones, computers, etc.) and food consumption. The goal was to understand how screens affect eating during a meal and whether it affects how much you eat later.
The scientists found that distracted eating can cause you to eat about 10 to 15 percent more calories. And you’re likely to eat 10 to 12 percent more calories later in the day. That means you could eat an additional 150 to 200 calories when distracted.
Hunger is a sensory experience, dependent on the calories you consume and the signals you send your brain to trigger fullness. Screens divert attention from the eating experience, making it harder to recognize fullness cues — such as how much you’re eating or even the sweetness or flavor of foods — and can lead to overeating. Distracted eating can even make foods less enjoyable, leading to cravings that feel like they can’t be satisfied.
If you’re constantly hungry, try eating without screens and slowing down. It takes approximately 20 minutes for your stomach to send a signal to your brain that you’re full, so having longer meals has been shown to help reduce how much you eat.
Together With Sweetgreen
Changing The “Good Foods” vs. “Bad Foods” Narrative
When you’re focused on hitting your health goals, it can feel like you have to give up your favorite flavors—but what if you didn’t? Ranch dressing has been an American phenomenon for decades, and sauces are the guilty pleasure we can’t seem to resist. The problem? Most sauces are packed with hidden sugars, preservatives, and oils that make your marinade more caloric than the meal itself.
If you want to enjoy the foods you love without guilt, Sweetgreen offers a better way to indulge boldly.
Sweetgreen’s limited-time January menu is all about ranch, offering protein-packed and seed-oil-free menu items centered around its cult-favorite Green Goddess Ranch. Green Goddess Ranch, a twist on the classic dressing, is made with real ingredients and fresh herbs for a rich, creamy flavor, delivering all the flavor with none of the guilt.
At the Pump Club, we don’t believe in making you fear individual foods because we know there’s a time and place for everything. Sweetgreen makes it easy to start the year strong while enjoying every bite. Try new January menu items, including the BBQ Chicken + Ranch Protein Plate, featuring 39g of protein, and the Blackened Chicken + Ranch Bowl, with 35g of protein.
This isn’t about giving up what you love—it’s about redefining it. Ready to kick off your year with bold flavor? Find your Sweetgreen today.
Longevity
A Different Perspective On Extending Lifespan
We’ve all been told that losing weight is key to living longer. But it’s not just the number on the scale that matters.
New research found that even if you’re at a healthy weight, being “unfit” makes you more likely to die prematurely.
The scientists analyzed more than 400,000 people across 20 studies and separated health outcomes by weight (BMI) and fitness levels. Some of the results were as expected. Those who were obese and unfit were three times more likely to experience premature death than those with a normal BMI and average fitness.
However, the data showed that while obesity is a risk factor, so is a lack of fitness — even if you’re at a healthy weight.
The studies suggest that people of healthy, average weight with the lowest fitness levels were two times more likely to experience premature death than those who were obese but had higher levels of fitness.
In other words, whether participants were normal weight, overweight, or obese, higher fitness levels consistently reduced their risk of death.
While maintaining a healthy weight has benefits, improving your fitness through regular physical activity also influences longevity.
And, like so many other studies, the latest research shows that becoming fitter doesn’t start with a big commitment. Moving out of the “bottom 20 percent of fitness” only requires slow 30-minute walks several times weekly.
Fitness
On Our Radar
Happy Gut, Happy Brain?
We know gut health plays a role in digestion, but what if it could influence how you respond to sadness?
The last 10 years of research suggest that the bacteria in your gut could impact your mood and how you handle negative emotions.
A recent research review found that prebiotics and probiotics, the unsung heroes of gut health, could also play a critical role in improving mental well-being. If you’ve ever struggled with stress, low mood, or anxiety, these tiny but powerful tools might be just what you need to feel better naturally.
Another randomized controlled trial investigated whether probiotics could influence cognitive reactivity to sad mood—a factor linked to depression. Cognitive reactivity refers to how our thoughts and emotions respond to sadness, and people with heightened cognitive reactivity are more prone to negative thought patterns.
Participants in the probiotic group had significantly lower scores for rumination (repeatedly dwelling on negative thoughts), aggression, and emotional resilience, meaning they experienced fewer negative thoughts triggered by sadness.
More research is needed, but the researchers believe probiotics promote a healthier gut microbiome, which influences the gut-brain axis—a communication system between the gut and brain. By reducing inflammation and enhancing the production of mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin, probiotics may help stabilize emotions and reduce susceptibility to negative thinking.
If you’re looking for a low-risk, unexpected way to support your mental health, taking multi-species probiotics may help reduce negative thinking patterns associated with sadness, making it a simple tool to support your mental well-being. Out of the probiotics we’ve tested, our favorite is Seed’s daily synbiotic.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
