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
Look back, charge forward
How much protein can you absorb?
Why cutting carbs makes you angry
How to stop stress eating
Overrated/underrated
Arnold’s Podcast
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Arnold’s Corner
Look Back, Charge Forward
With just a few days left in 2024, I gave Adam and Daniel a special project: I wanted them to review the tips you found most helpful this year.
When we started this village two years ago, we had no idea what it would become. But as we get closer to one million daily readers, it’s helpful to share what you would most valuable and interesting. Even though some of you have been here since the beginning, more than 400,000 people joined this year. So many of you might have missed information that could help you from earlier in the year. Or, maybe you didn’t open an email or forgot something we shared.
Since there’s never a bad time to share good advice, for the rest of the week, you’ll be getting the highlights of the things you opened, read, and clicked the most. Today, we’re focusing on some of your favorite nutrition studies.
Fact Or Fiction
Can You Only Absorb 20 or 30 Grams Of Protein?
If you’ve been holding back on protein for fear that it would turn to waste, it’s time to fear no more.
New research found that your muscles can use a seemingly “limitless” amount of protein after a workout.
In the study, participants completed a workout and then had a post-workout meal consisting of no protein, 25 grams of protein, or 100 grams of protein.
Contrary to the idea that you can only manage 20 grams, eating 100 grams of protein increases protein synthesis (the ability to use protein) more than eating 25 grams. Just as important, protein synthesis was still elevated more than 12 hours after consuming the 100 grams of protein.
However, we don’t yet know what this means for long-term muscle growth or how your body will respond to different types of protein. The protein used in the study was milk protein, which is a slower-digesting protein.
This study is another example — and the strongest yet — about your body’s ability to digest and use higher amounts of protein, especially after a resistance training workout. And it suggests that how many meals you eat likely doesn’t matter too much.
Instead of worrying about how much protein per meal or how many meals per day, it’s better to understand how much protein you need in total for the day and work towards that goal. That means you can choose whether to have bigger or smaller meals.
If you want to eat more protein — especially after a workout — you can feel confident that your body will put that protein to good use. And if you’re worried about too much protein, remember: research suggests that high-protein diets do not cause kidney problems.
On Our Radar
Why Cutting Carbs Makes You Angry
You might think you dislike low-carb diets because they cut out favorites like pasta and dessert, but something might be happening on a deeper level.
Research suggests that diets that remove carbs create biological changes that can put you in a bad mood.
Scientists compared people on low-carb diets to low-fat diets, and they found that people who kept more carbs were happier and showed signs of being less hungry.
That might be because carbs help increase the production of serotonin, a chemical that boosts mood and helps suppress your appetite. Cutting carbs completely can disrupt mood regulation and make it harder to prevent overeating.
It’s why some research shows eating a high-protein, high-carb breakfast was more effective than a high-fat, high-protein diet at reducing appetite and increasing fullness. In the study, those who kept eating carbs continued to lose body fat, while the carb-restricted group regained the weight.
That’s not to say low-carb diets can’t or don’t work — they can! Personal preference plays a big role because whatever diet you maintain the longest will deliver the best results, whether keeping or cutting carbs.
The problem is understanding what type of plan will cause you to be consistent. If you cut carbs, you might end up craving them more, feeling a lower mood, and eventually straying from the plan. Or, if you eat the wrong type of carbs and too much of them — such as ultra-processed carbs with added sugar, fat, and salt — then you’ll have trouble controlling hunger, eating too much, and then gaining weight.
If you want to keep carbs in your diet, focus on eating less processed options such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats, and legumes (like beans and lentils).
Mindset
How To Stop Stress Eating
When you feel stressed, resisting foods loaded with fat and sugar might feel impossible. That’s because those foods trigger chemicals in your brain that make you feel better. Higher stress levels make it harder for you to feel full, making it easier to overeat. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A recent study suggests you can train your brain to crave healthier options and reduce your stress at the same time.
The scientists used Pavlovian conditioning, a trick that’s nearly 100 years old. They had participants practice a 6-minute relaxation technique that’s proven to reduce stress. During the middle of the stress reduction, they had participants eat a piece of fruit.
By training the mind to associate the two actions, the participants saw that eating fruit alone (without the relaxation technique) reduced stress and anxiety. Even better, once this happened, participants started to desire fruit during stressful times because they knew it would make them feel better.
Here’s how you can make it work for you.
Step 1: The next time you’re stressed, set a timer for 6 minutes (that’s all it takes). Practice tensing every single muscle in your body and then letting go and relaxing (this is called progressive muscle relaxation, and this video walks you through a sample). This can reduce anxiety and stress.
Step 2: About 5 minutes in, start eating fruit. Ideally, it will be something you don’t eat very often (so you don’t have prior associations). Keep tensing and relaxing as you eat the fruit. In the study, participants did this once per day for seven days and then saw a difference.
You can build this habit during the first week of the year and then help make sure that stress is less likely to derail your health.
Overrated Or Underrated
Why Fiber Is Under-Appreciated (And A Health-Booster)
You might associate fiber with being “irregular,” but it could be the one thing missing from your diet that significantly impacts overall health.
Research published in The Lancet from 58 clinical trials found that people who eat diets filled with more fiber-based carbs reduce their risk of diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease by up to 30 percent.
Those who saw the biggest health benefits ate about 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day. And if you’re keeping score at home, that’s about twice as much fiber as the average person typically consumes.
If you want to bump up your fiber, add the following to your diet:
Whole grains (which can include whole grain versions of bread and pasta with more than 4 grams of fiber per serving)
Fruit (high-fiber options include raspberries, blackberries, apples, avocado, kiwi, and pears)
Vegetables (broccoli, acorn squash, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, kale, beets, and potatoes)
Legumes (think beans and lentils)
Nuts and seeds
Oats
If you don’t love those foods, you can even supplement with Metamucil or a similar fiber supplement for a boost.
And the health bonuses are just the tip of the iceberg. Consuming more high-fiber carbs also helps support increased weight loss. It’s likely because fiber-loaded foods help keep you fuller for longer, which reduces cravings and overeating.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
