Lean red meat could support mental health as long as it’s part of an overall healthy diet, according to an exploratory new study.
Researchers at South Dakota State University (SDSU) analyzed data from the American Gut Project, a large, open-source microbiome initiative with over 11,000 participants.
The study, published as an abstract in May in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, examined 4,915 adults and grouped them by red-meat intake and diet quality based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which scores diets on a scale of 0 to 100.
Participants with higher HEI scores — regardless of red-meat intake — were less likely to report depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder.
But those who ate red meat as part of a high-quality diet showed additional benefits.
New research suggests that eating red meat as part of a high-quality diet may improve mental health.(iStock)
Those benefits include higher protein intake; better adequacy of key brain-supporting nutrients such as zinc, selenium, vitamin B-12 and choline, which help regulate memory, mood, muscle control and other functions; and a more diverse gut microbiota.
Previous studies have found that gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which are central to mood regulation, cognition and stress response and resilience.
“What was really compelling was the significant nutritional benefit we saw in healthy eaters who consumed red meat,” Samitinjaya Dhakal, assistant professor at SDSU’s School of Health and Human Sciences, said in a news release.
The preliminary findings, he added, support a “less rigid” approach to healthy eating that focuses on dietary patterns rather than cutting out certain foods altogether, like red meat, which previous research has linked to cardiovascular disease and cancer.
“This suggests the public health message shouldn’t be about complete elimination — but about building a high-quality diet into which lean red meat can fit,” Dhakal said.
Healthy, balanced diets showed lower odds of depression, PTSD and bipolar disorder in those who consumed them.(iStock)
Yet experts warn that other research has tied red and processed meat to poor physical and cognitive health outcomes.
A 2020 United Kingdom study of adults aged 37 to 73 linked higher red-meat consumption to weaker problem-solving, short-term memory and planning skills.
And a 10-year study of over 133,000 U.S. nurses found that eating red meat — particularly processed types like bacon and sausage — was tied to faster memory decline and a higher risk of dementia.
“This study makes the important distinction of assessing red meat in the context of a healthy diet.”
“It’s worth remembering that we still have decades of evidence linking processed and high-fat meats to things like heart disease and diabetes,” noted Jenny Shields, Ph.D., a clinical health psychologist based in The Woodlands, Texas.
“This study doesn’t erase that,” Shields told Fox News Digital. “What it does say is that, in the context of an already healthy diet, a moderate amount of lean red meat doesn’t seem to cause harm, and it may help fill gaps in nutrients like B-12 or zinc.”
A balanced diet can play a powerful part in the foundation for better focus, energy and mood, she said.
Long-term studies that directly compare diets with and without red meat would be needed to prove correlation instead of just causation, she added.
Lean red meat can deliver nutrients like vitamin B-12, zinc and choline, according to experts.(iStock)
“Our next phase of research will involve prospective and controlled interventional studies on how different dietary patterns and specific diet components influence nutrient adequacy and brain health,” Dhakal said.
Shalene McNeill, a registered dietitian nutritionist and executive director of nutrition research for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), based in Colorado — which provided funding for the research — told Fox News Digital that many studies that link red and processed meat to chronic disease evaluate meat intake as part of unhealthy dietary patterns and lifestyles.
Earlier this month, the wellness entrepreneur Calley Means delivered opening remarks at a symposium called “The Future of Farming: Exploring a Pro-Health, Pro-Farmer Agenda,” held in Washington, D.C., at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank. Means is prominent in Make America Healthy Again, the clean-eating, vaccine-skeptical movement that opposes corruption in the food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. He is also a top adviser to MAHA’s patron saint, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., now the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Means gave a brief, somewhat flustered speech that barely touched on farming. Instead, he rehashed various MAHA talking points: that the United States is “the sickest country in the world,” that we spend more money on worse health outcomes than any other developed nation, and that most of the diseases plaguing Americans are caused by the terrible ultra-processed food we eat.
Means also noted some “initial wins” on the food front during Kennedy’s first six months of leading H.H.S. A growing number of Big Food corporations are voluntarily removing artificial dyes from their products, for example. And a dozen states and counting have placed various restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to prohibit the purchase of soda, other sweetened beverages, and candy.
What Means didn’t address is how these relatively minor changes balance out against other, far more sweeping and consequential anti-MAHA measures taken by the ostensibly pro-MAHA Trump Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, is seeking reapproval for banned pesticides and has lowered standards on forever chemicals in air, water, and soil. The Department of Agriculture ended two programs, totalling almost a billion dollars in funding, that helped schools and food banks make purchases from local and organic farms. And although Means—who has no medical, nutrition, or public-health credentials—has said that he’d like to “fire every single nutrition scientist in the government,” some of the more moderate MAHA rank and file may also blanch at the DOGE-driven purging of U.S.D.A. scientists and food-safety inspectors, or at the National Institutes of Health cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants related to MAHA priorities such as nutrition, chronic disease, and mental health.
Means acknowledged that some MAHA adherents may be dismayed by the “pace of political change” thus far under the second Trump Administration. “I would suggest, as we’re frustrated, we don’t attack Secretary Kennedy and President Trump,” he advised. “They are fighting against a deep state that is unimaginable and entrenched economic interests and entrenched dysfunction that is impossible to comprehend, and they are our warriors here.” And yet, despite the shadowy forces aligned against the nation’s top health official and the President of the United States, the underdogs, he insisted, are winning: “We have achieved—the Trump Administration—I believe, the most significant food-policy reform in America.”
Critics of the MAHA movement, and of wellness culture writ large, often compare it to a cult, and this kind of rhetoric suggests why. The leader should not be criticized; a vast conspiracy threatens the movement; triumph is ongoing, even if the movement’s crusade against dangerous pesticides and heavy metals in the soil and drinking water has culminated in the election of a President who apparently loves all that stuff. The “MAHA moms,” who helped return Trump to the White House and lifted Kennedy into a Cabinet position, see a kind of messianic power in the Secretary—for some of them, he is, quite literally, their faith healer. “If Kennedy is able to do what he wants to do as the head of the H.H.S., we won’t even need health care,” Zen Honeycutt, the founder of the nonprofit Moms Across America, said in December. “I’m saying we won’t be going to the doctor’s because we won’t be sick.”
In recent weeks, however, the MAHA flock has experienced rapidly intensifying cognitive dissonance. On a recent episode of the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?,” Honeycutt, discussing the rollbacks on regulations concerning pesticides and heavy metals, said, “I’m horrified as a mother who is working constantly to try to reduce the toxic exposure to my children and to the children all across the country.” On another podcast, “Culture Apothecary,” its host, Alex Clark, an influencer who is affiliated with the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, asked, “Did President Trump just hand legal immunity to pesticide companies?” She was referring to Republican-backed legislation, currently pending in the House, that would shield pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits; Clark’s guest, the clean-farming advocate Kelly Ryerson, called the bill “the most enormous slap in the face to MAHA.”
It was probably not the last. On August 15th, the Timesobtained a draft of a forthcoming White House report on children’s health, “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy,” later published in full by Politico. The paper—a follow-up to a MAHA “assessment,” released in May, that was later found to have numerous made-up or garbled citations—mentions the scourge of ultra-processed foods only once, specifies virtually no concrete action on improving food safety and nutrition, and calls the E.P.A.’s existing regulatory process “robust.” The draft reads like a castration-by-bureaucracy of the MAHA revolution—multiple instances of “task force,” “initiative,” “framework,” “collaboration,” and, best of all, “harmonizing authorization processes.” Again and again, it proposes that more research is needed—just not the research that was under way before Kennedy came to H.H.S. (The new MAHA report repeats Kennedy’s vow that he will soon find the “root causes of autism”; according to ProPublica, the N.I.H. has terminated some forty million dollars in grants for autism-related research, including studies on the possible links between autism and exposure to pollution and forever chemicals.)
But the appeal of Kennedy was that he’d already done his own research, and that his conclusions were beyond doubt. “Pesticides, food additives, pharmaceutical drugs, and toxic waste permeate every cell of our bodies,” he said last year. “This assault on our children’s cells and hormones is unrelenting.” He promised a counter-assault, and the MAHA strategy report resembles an instrument of surrender.
During the 2024 election cycle, the top five PACs affiliated with agribusiness companies made more than seventy-one million dollars in campaign donations, almost all of which went to Republican candidates and groups. Trump’s 2024 reëlection PAC received ten million dollars from the multinational conglomerate British American Tobacco, which farms an especially polluting, soil-depleting, and pesticide-intensive crop, and which has been sued for profiting from child labor. (The case is pending trial.)
The simple political fact is that these corporate donors are more important to Trump than MAHA moms are. “If the Trump Administration went after agriculture and food companies, the ripple effects throughout Republican House districts, in particular, will be pretty major,” Christopher Bosso, a professor of public policy and political science at Northeastern University, told me. Republicans, he added, will likely have to wage their midterm campaigns without the support of a newly irate and activated MAHA coalition. “I doubt that MAHA has staying power within the Trump ecosystem,” Bosso said. “Unless Trump wants to expend serious political capital against one of his most loyal constituencies, I can’t see reforming the food system getting very far beyond the on-the-margins, performative kind of stuff.”
The most prominent of these marginal reforms has been the removal of some dyes from mass-produced foods, a development that Honeycutt, Ryerson, and other MAHA influencers have loudly celebrated. But “even if a Nutri-Grain bar doesn’t have food dyes, it’s still a Nutri-Grain bar,” Juliana Cohen, a professor of nutrition and director of the Center for Health Innovation, Research, and Policy at Merrimack College, told me. “It’s not like it’s no longer ultra-processed because they took out the Red 40.” (And, in any case, no self-respecting MAHA mom would let her kid anywhere near a Nutri-Grain bar in the first place.)
Swapping out one dye for another, Cohen went on, “is akin to placing a filter on a cigarette, when we should be thinking about policies that prevent kids from smoking in the first place. We have to think strategically about how to reduce ultra-processed foods and make nutritious foods more accessible and affordable for everyone.” One way not to do that—to take yet another example from this Administration—would be to end the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program, which started during President Barack Obama’s second term and came to a close in March, when the U.S.D.A. abolished it.
On “Culture Apothecary,” Ryerson speculated that Republican indifference to MAHA will hurt them in the 2026 midterm elections. “They are completely underestimating what this bloc of young conservatives want and expect out of our elected officials,” she said. But it may be more accurate to say that MAHA grossly overestimated the potential transformative power of Kennedy’s appointment to H.H.S.
If MAHA influencers are finally waking up to elected Republicans’ contempt for much of their project, they are also emphatic that they do not see Kennedy as complicit or culpable in how Congress, Trump, or other Cabinet officials have betrayed their promises to the movement. It’s as if Kennedy alone had been vaccinated against the corrupting virus that infects everyone around him. (Kennedy has undeniably delivered on behalf of MAHA’s anti-vaccine constituency, through acts such as dismissing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s entire vaccine-safety panel and scrapping half a billion dollars in funding for mRNA vaccine development.)
The moral firewall around Kennedy is illustrated by the case of glyphosate, an herbicide so singularly reviled by MAHA that, on social media, Ryerson goes by the Glyphosate Girl. Glyphosate is often categorized as carcinogenic and as an endocrine-disrupting chemical; for years, Kennedy contended that it causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and, in 2018, he was part of the legal team that won a two-hundred-and-eighty-nine-million-dollar settlement from Monsanto on behalf of a terminally ill man who was exposed to glyphosate in one of its products. Yet, in May, Kennedy indicated that the Administration would not move to restrict glyphosate in the U.S. “One hundred per cent of corn in this country relies on glyphosate,” he said. “We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model.” Few in MAHA appeared to raise any strong objections.
Of course, it’s the E.P.A. that decides how pesticides are regulated; it’s the U.S.D.A., now overseen by the self-proclaimed MAHA mom Brooke Rollins, that administers farm-to-school grants, soil-health initiatives, and other MAHA-friendly programs that have been pulverized during her brief tenure at the agency. These distinctions did not seem to matter much at the time Kennedy was nominated to lead H.H.S.—back when leading supporters, such as Vani Hari, a.k.a. the Food Babe, were suggesting that Kennedy could single-handedly reform and purify America’s food systems—but they appear to matter now. On “Why Should I Trust You?,” when Honeycutt expressed horror at MAHA’s fate under Trump, she took pains not to project that horror at Kennedy. Her belief in what she calls “the magic of Bobby Kennedy” is undimmed: “He is compassionate, he’s brilliant, he’s humble, and he’s collaborative.”
He is also, within the current MAHA narrative, surprisingly powerless on many issues. On August 16th, the nonprofit MAHA Action posted an upbeat news roundup to Instagram with the caption “Maha had some huge wins this week and we’re here to break it all down.” One of these supposed victories—that the government is “no longer bribing hospitals” to vaccinate their staff—appeared to be misstated; in fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services simply revoked a rule requiring hospitals to track COVID-19 vaccination rates among their workers. Among the other “wins,” according to MAHA Action: U.S. Customs officials seized three tons of suspicious meat from China, and Secretary Kennedy went to the gym. ♦
Most people aren’t getting enough of this key nutrient
(Photo: Recipes: Ashia Aubourg; Design: Ayana Underwood)
Published August 16, 2025 06:17AM
When I began my career reporting on nutrition, nobody could’ve prepared me for how many high-protein stories I’d end up writing. It seemed like everywhere I turned, whether it was an influencer on TikTok or newly released scientific research, the health world’s biggest recommendation was to load up our plates with protein-dense foods. While we need protein, fiber should get just as much of the spotlight.
I interviewed nutrition experts to learn why fiber is essential for overall health—and get their thoughts on some high-fiber recipes.
Fiber Keeps Glucose Levels in Check and Supports Gut Health
Fiber is a carb, and there are two types: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and, according to most studies, helps lower your glucose levels and cholesterol, says Rhyan Geiger, a registered dietitian based in Phoenix, Arizona. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, is the “roughage” found in plant-based foods that supports healthy digestion and bowel movements, she explains.
“You’ll find soluble fiber in foods like oats, lentils, apples, berries, and flaxseeds,” says Kerri Louati, a registered dietitian based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Insoluble fiber is especially abundant in foods like leafy greens, carrots, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.”
Why Aren’t People Eating Enough Fiber?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, most people eat only about half the recommended amount daily. There are a few reasons for this. One is accessibility—many Americans have greater access to processed foods, which tend to be more affordable and widely available than whole foods like fruits and vegetables, Louati says.
Another major factor is awareness: some people just don’t know which foods are high in fiber or how much they’re supposed to eat, she says. So if high-fiber foods aren’t easily visible or available, they’re often left off the plate.
How Much Fiber Should You Eat in a Day?
Rather than focusing on one type over the other, the goal is to eat a balance of both. That’s why, when it comes to the recommended daily intake, both insoluble and soluble fiber are lumped together, Geiger says.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should get between 22 and 34 grams of fiber per day.
4 Delicious High-Fiber Snack Recipes, Approved By Nutritionists
Geiger says that adding plant-based meals to your diet is a great way to meet your fiber intake goals. I kept that in mind while searching for recipes to try. After I made them and tried them for myself, I asked my experts if these recipes got the green light. Spoiler: they did.
Plus, these snacks are super easy to make and carry, so you’ll definitely want to bring them with you on your next outdoor adventure.
This recipe delivers a two-cup serving of smoothie and provides nearly 12 grams of fiber. (Follow along with me as I make this delectable smoothie in the video below.)
“Seeds are a fiber-rich food,” says Yvette Hill, a registered dietitian based in Boulder, Colorado. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, and even the tiny seeds in berries contribute a solid fiber boost, plus the addition of dates helps bump up your intake even more.
If you want an added fiber boost, Louati recommends using frozen raspberries as your berry base. Just one cup has over 11 grams of both soluble and insoluble fiber. So if you swapped out the mixed berries for raspberries, this recipe would deliver about 17 grams of fiber.
The Verdict: Filling, Creamy, and Naturally Sweet
This recipe doesn’t include any added sweeteners, so I was a little hesitant about the flavor at first. But after spending a few minutes blending it up and taking a sip, my doubts disappeared. The date and berries added a honey-like sweetness, and the texture came out creamy. I packed it in an insulated water bottle to keep it cold and sipped it as I powered through my hike.
2. No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites
I love any kind of sweet treat that comes in miniature form. So when I came across a TikTok recipe for fiber-rich no-bake chocolate peanut butter balls by @abyssiniawellness, I was all in. The video didn’t include exact measurements, but I got the gist of her recipe. (This recipe yields about ten bites.)
Snack-able balls made with oats, coconut flakes, ground flaxseed, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, maple syrup, protein powder, and cocoa nibs. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
Scoop about ten portions of the mixture and roll each one into a ball.
“Oats are rich in soluble fiber,” says Louati. “Flaxseeds are another fiber powerhouse, offering nearly four grams of mostly soluble fiber per tablespoon.” While the small amounts of coconut flakes and cacao nibs aren’t particularly high in fiber, they still add about five grams in total to the whole recipe and bring great texture to these bites.
Each chocolate peanut butter ball offers about four grams of fiber, and snacking on a few throughout the day can satisfy your sweet tooth and help you get closer to your daily fiber goals.
The Verdict: Chewy and Irresistible
These no-bake chocolate peanut butter bites took less than ten minutes to mix and roll. From there, you can let them firm up in the fridge, or, if you’re impatient like me, dig right in. I loved the chewy texture and cocoa-nutty flavor. I packed a few in a container, and whenever I needed a quick snack during my hike, they were easy to grab and surprisingly filling.
3. Crudités to Go
Recently, while hosting family, I planned a mountain trail outing for all of us. To get everyone ready, I packed a variety of snacks, including crudités (which, in French, means raw vegetables).
I found the recipe in The New York Times, and what I appreciate about this crudités idea is that it’s more of a guide than a strict formula, letting you mix and match based on what you have. For a personal-sized version with nearly 16 grams of fiber, I recommend filling a container with a range of veggies and add-ins.
A container filled with raw carrots, sweet peppers, and cucumbers, steamed broccoli and green beans, plus sides of kimchi and hummus. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
Ingredients:
½ cup baby carrots
2 small sweet peppers (whole)
½ cup cucumbers (sliced)
½ cup steamed broccoli
½ cup green beans
¼ cup kimchi
½ cup hummus
Recipe:
Place all of the washed and steamed vegetables in a container.
Then, add the sides like kimchi and hummus to the same container.
“A crudités platter is a beautiful and practical way to load up on fiber-packed vegetables,” says Louati. “Not only does it offer a vibrant display of colorful, nutrient-rich foods, but staples like broccoli, carrots, and kimchi deliver a generous dose of fiber.”
The Verdict: Refreshing and Satisfying
Getting more than half of the recommended daily fiber from a snack is always a huge perk in my book. Beyond the 15 grams of fiber in this personal crudités plate, I appreciated its light and refreshing taste. During a break on my hike, munching on crisp cucumbers and dipping cold carrots into cool hummus made for the ideal recharge. I also loved being able to use up leftover veggies from my fridge before they went to waste.
Pastelitos, or empanadas, are one of my favorite ways to sneak in veggies or legumes. So when I found this recipe from Fab Everyday, which fills flaky dough with a Puerto Rican-style lentil mixture, I was sold before I even tried it.
To make these pastelitos, use pre-made empanada dough to save time—or make your own using this recipe, which I’ve tested and am a fan of.
Pastelitos filled with lentils and potatoes, seasoned with sofrito, spices, and tomato sauce. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
In a pot over medium heat, combine one 15-ounce can of lentils (drained and rinsed), one-fourth cup of sofrito, three minced garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of oregano, half a teaspoon of salt, and one-fourth teaspoon of black pepper.
Sauté everything for about four minutes. Then stir in one cup of parboiled diced potatoes, one cup of tomato sauce, and half a cup of sliced pimento-stuffed green olives. Cook the mixture for another five minutes, then remove it from the heat and let the filling cool.
Heat about two inches of avocado oil in a frying pan. While the oil heats, place the empanada dough discs on a clean, lightly floured surface. Spoon about half of a cup of the lentil mixture onto one half of each disc in a half-moon shape. Fold the dough over the filling, pinch the edges to seal, and crimp with a fork. Repeat with the remaining dough discs and filling.
Using a thermometer, once the oil reaches 350°F, add the empanadas in a single layer, being careful not to overlap them. Fry the pastelitos until they turn golden brown on both sides.
“Empanadas aren’t usually thought of as a fiber-rich meal, but adding lentils changes that completely,” says Louati. “Lentils and other legumes are excellent ways to boost fiber.” The amount of fiber in 16 of these pastelitos is approximately 83 grams, and each empanada contains about 5 grams of fiber. If you have two or three of these, you’ll get between 10 and 15 grams of fiber.
The Verdict: I’m Obsessed.
I fried up a batch of these empanadas, wrapped them in aluminum foil, and brought them along on one of my favorite trails. Since it was around lunchtime, I found a comfy picnic table before starting the hike, ate about two pastelitos, and then set off. These handhelds weren’t just flavorful—I loved the aromatic sofrito, the savoriness of the tender lentils, and the buttery, flaky dough—they were also surprisingly filling. I managed to complete a three-hour walk, sipping water the whole time, without any sudden hunger pangs creeping in.
After digging into a bunch of fiber-rich recipes (and testing them outdoors!), I’ve found that loading up on this carb can be simple, satisfying, and pretty delicious, especially when you let plant-based ingredients take center stage. If you’ve been stuck in a wellness rut and are looking for small ways to nourish yourself, these recipes pack in the flavor and will help cement fiber into your daily routine.
Ashia Aubourg is a freelance food writer. She has years of experience working in kitchens, non-profits, tech companies, and farms. Ashia’s writing appears in Eater, The Kitchn, Cuisine Noir, Food & Wine, America’s Test Kitchen, Food52, and more. Before becoming a journalist, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Food Studies and Policy Studies from Syracuse University. Her hands-on background and fascinations involve outdoor cooking, foraging, and stewarding gardens.
A new study bolsters the claim that collagen supplements can help remodel your tendons and muscles
(Photo: MirageC/Getty)
Published August 11, 2025 03:23AM
It’s hard to claim that collagen is a “hot new supplement,” given that its health benefits were already being promoted by the twelfth-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen. In its modern form, collagen supplements have been hyped for decades for purposes ranging from joint pain to hair thickness, despite a general lack of convincing evidence that they work. But interest has spiked over the past few years thanks to a burst of new research, and the latest study on the topic bolsters the claim that collagen might help build springier tendons and muscles to enhance explosive strength.
Why Collagen Might Help
I first wrote about the new wave of collagen research back in 2019, and followed up with more in 2023. The traditional view is that collagen-rich connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilage are effectively inert, with very limited ability to grow or repair themselves after injury. What collagen proponents argue is that taking collagen supplements supplies the key building blocks—for example, an amino acid called proline—that trigger the synthesis of new connective tissue in the body.
The skeptical view is that collagen supplements are broken up into their constituent amino acids when you digest them, just like any other form of protein. As a result, they’re no more effective for building collagen in the body that, say, drinking a glass of milk (which also contains proline). There is, however, a bit of evidence that some collagen-specific peptides—short chains of amino acids—make it through the digestion process intact and show up in the bloodstream.
The evidence for these claims and counterclaims has been decidedly mixed. Part of the problem is that most of the studies use some combination of collagen and specific exercise protocols in an attempt to maximize the benefits, in the same way that protein supplements are most effective for building muscle when combined with strength training. This is a good idea, but it makes it tricky to interpret conflicting results. Did the study fail because collagen doesn’t work, or because the exercise protocol was too easy or too hard, or too weird?
The New Study
The latest study comes from researchers at Japan’s Juntendo University—working, it should be noted, with scientists from Morinaga & Co., which manufactures and sells health and sports “food products.” Their goal was to simplify the picture by studying the effects of 16 weeks of daily ten-gram collagen peptide supplements, with no other changes in exercise or diet. They recruited 50 volunteers, half of whom got the supplement while the other half got a placebo.
The specific hypothesis the researchers wanted to test was that collagen supplements would make tendons and muscles “stiffer,” in the sense that a stiff elastic band takes more force to stretch. This is what you’d expect if the collagen supplements trigger extra collagen formation in the tendons, which are primarily made of collagen fibers, and in the “extracellular matrix” that provides structural support to muscles.
Stiffer muscles and tendons should allow you to transfer force more efficiently from your muscles to your bones, making it possible to deliver force more rapidly. You’re not getting stronger, but you’re getting more explosive. This sort of explosive power is crucial both for athletic performance and for activities of daily living like getting out of a chair—and (as I wrote last fall) is also what we tend to lose most rapidly as we age.
What They Found
The results, which were published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, mostly support this hypothesis. They used MRI to measure the size of the Achilles tendon and part of the calf muscle; an ultrasound technique to measure the stiffness of the tendon and muscle; and a set of strength and power tests to see the functional effects of the supplementation.
Neither the tendon nor the muscle got any bigger, and the maximum calf strength didn’t change. But the elastic stiffness of both muscle and tendon increased in the collagen group, while staying unchanged in the placebo group. Here, for example, is the stiffness (as measured by how fast an ultrasound wave travels) for the collagen and placebo groups:
Collagen supplementation increased calf muscle stiffness. (Illustration: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
Perhaps more importantly, the collagen group also saw an increase in “rate of torque development,” which is a measure of explosive strength that quantifies how quickly you can apply force:
Collagen supplementation increased explosive strength. (Illustration: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
The final piece of the picture is that, for individual subjects, those who saw the biggest increases in muscle stiffness tended to see the biggest increases in explosive force. There wasn’t a clear connection between increases in tendon stiffness and increases in explosive force, but overall, the results support the chain of logic: more collagen -> stiffer muscles and tendons -> more explosive force.
What the Results Mean
You can make a much bigger argument on the basis of these results. Maybe you don’t care about tendons and explosive strength (though, honestly, you should). But if these results are true, then it suggests that there is something special about eating collagen—that it’s not just broken down into a potpourri of loose amino acids, and that it can trigger the remodelling of cartilage-based tissues. Maybe it really will thicken your hair; maybe it will repair your joints; maybe it will accelerate your recovery from ligament injuries.
These are big and as-yet-unproven claims, but if collagen works for tendon stiffness, then the other claims become a bit more plausible, at least in theory. I remain skeptical but intrigued. Given the mess of conflicting results produced by previous research, a single study funded by a supplement company—even with a robust sample size of 50—doesn’t settle the question either way. But it suggests that this is a line of research that’s very much worth pursuing, and that we should await further results with interest.
I’ve been writing Outside’s Sweat Science column since 2017. I’m a lifelong runner, a former physicist, and the author of the NYT bestseller Endure as well as a forthcoming (March 2025) book called The Explorer’s Gene. I live in Toronto.
Caring for a beloved companion involves more than just routine check-ups. Holistic animal care offers a perspective that emphasizes overall approach to the health and happiness of your furry friend. You have the power to enhance your furry friend’s quality of life.
Embracing Holistic Treatments
Holistic treatments provide a comprehensive approach to health. Acupuncture, for instance, promotes healing by stimulating specific points on the body. Many caregivers have reported remarkable improvements in their dog or cat’s mobility and energy levels after acupuncture sessions. Similarly, incorporating antioxidants into your furry friend’s diet can combat oxidative stress. This simple dietary adjustment supports overall health and boosts the immune system.
The Role of Emotional Well-Being
Don’t overlook emotional health. Stress can lead to behavioral issues and physical ailments. Create a calm environment by engaging in regular play, mindfulness exercises, and providing a safe space. Aromatherapy can also soothe anxiety. Essential oils like lavender offer comfort, promoting relaxation during stressful moments.
Nutrition as a Foundation
Nutrition serves as the cornerstone of holistic care. Transition to high-quality, balanced food rich in whole ingredients. Explore options that include omega-3 fatty acids, which support skin health and reduce inflammation. Regularly consult with a nutritionist to ensure dietary needs are met, especially as your furry companion ages.
Preventive Health Measures
Prevention is key to longevity. Schedule regular wellness exams to catch any potential issues early. Dental care, and parasite prevention should remain a priority. Incorporating regular exercise into your furry friend’s routine also strengthens muscles and promotes mental stimulation. Engage in activities like agility training or scent work to keep your furry companion active and happy.
Building a Community of Care
Sharing experiences fosters a supportive community. Connecting with others who embrace holistic animal care can provide fresh insights and encouragement. Online forums and local groups often share success stories, tips, and resources. This camaraderie enriches the journey of caring for your furry friend.
Holistic care transforms the way you approach your furry companion’s health. Blending traditional methods with alternative therapies paves the way for a longer, more fulfilling life. Take this opportunity to learn more about how you can better care for your darling furbeings. You can study on your own or enroll in courses. Your commitment will enhance your furry friend’s well-being.
Once again, TikTok has convinced me to try something that seems unappetizing. This time, that thing is: pickle lemonade.
It’s not just influencers hyping up the lemonade; big brands like Popeyes added the briny beverage to their menu. Athletes are fans, too, as pickle juice helps replenish electrolytes and reduce cramping during long periods of physical activity.
I still wasn’t entirely sure if it was worth the hype, so I consulted with a few experts and made a batch myself. I brought it along with me on a 10K incline hike on a day that ended up being a scorching 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
My Trail Runner Friend Swears By Pickle Juice
The first person I reached out to was my friend Rochelle Bilow, who is not only a trail runner but also a food editor and knows a thing or two about viral culinary trends. She told me that while running the Black Canyon 50K this past February, she accidentally forgot to pack electrolytes. Normally, she would have pushed through, but it was an extremely hot day in Arizona, which meant she was losing a lot of salt through her sweat.
“By mile 20, my legs were cramping and feeling completely fatigued. I knew it was because my body was losing too much salt,” Bilow shared with me.” So at the next aid station, I crammed like four pickles into my mouth to get as much salt as possible.”
Unfortunately, she was nearly at the finish line, so she didn’t experience that much of an energy boost. But she believes that if she had loaded up on pickles or pickle juice earlier, it could have made a big difference.
Pickles Are Electrolyte Powerhouses
Just half a cup of pickle juice has 720 milligrams of sodium. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, endurance athletes should aim to get about 300 to 600 milligrams of sodium per hour during long workouts.
For physically active people, consuming electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium is especially important because exercise causes them to be lost through sweat, says Alyssa Pacheco, a registered dietitian based in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Without enough electrolytes, you may underperform, recovery can slow, and the risk of cramps and fatigue can increase,” says Claire Rifkin, a registered dietitian based in New York City.
Pickle lemonade summer? Here’s how to make it: • 7 large organic lemons, at room temperature • ⅔ cup granulated sugar • 3 cups chilled, filtered water • 1 to 1¼ cups dill pickle juice (see Tip), plus pickle spears for garnish • Ice, for serving Thinly slice 1 lemon, discard the seeds, and set aside for garnish. Roll the remaining lemons firmly against your counter top before juicing them in order to extract as much juice as possible. Quarter the lemons, then squeeze enough of the lemons into a measuring cup to get 1 cup of lemon juice. (A citrus juicer may be helpful here, if you’ve got one.) Add the squeezed lemon peels and any unsqueezed lemon quarterspieces to a large jar, such as an 8-cup Mason jar, a wide pitcher or even a large bowl. Add the sugar to the lemon peel pieces in the jar and, using a wooden spoon or a muddler, muddle together until the sugar has mostly dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the jar, cover and shake vigorously (or stir, if your vessel doesn’t have a lid) to ensure the sugar has fully dissolved. Add the water, then add pickle juice to taste. Shake or stir to mix; then strain using a fine-mesh strainer. (To store, refrigerate up to 3 days.) To serve, pour into glasses over plenty of ice. Garnish with a lemon slice and a pickle spear. Tip: When choosing pickles for this recipe, look for refrigerated dill-flavored ones like Grillo’s, for brighter flavors. Sweet bread and butter pickles, or other pickles that use too much garlic or other seasonings, might overpower the balance of acidity (lemon), sweetness (sugar) and saltiness (pickle brine). Depending on your pickle choice, you may need to adjust the sugar and lemon ratios.
Beyond electrolytes, this sour drink offers other perks, too. “Lemons are a rich source of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that may improve your immune system,” says Pacheco. Plus, if you grab a jar of fermented pickles from the refrigerated section, you’ll also get a dose of probiotics, which support overall gut health, she says.
How to Get the Most Out of This Pickle Lemonade, According to Nutritionists
One easy way to boost the electrolytes in this drink even more is by swapping the water for coconut water, says Rifkin. Depending on the brand you purchase, coconut water contains varying amounts of sodium, manganese, and potassium.
Kelly Jones, a registered dietitian based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suggests reducing the sugar in this recipe, especially if you’re prediabetic or diabetic or if you aren’t engaging in high-intensity physical activities. “For an average active adult doing moderate activity for less than an hour, you can consider reducing the sugar to half or even a quarter of what’s in this recipe,” she says.
At this point, I felt like I had a pretty clear game plan for how to turn this pickle lemonade into a drink that would fuel me through my hike. I used this recipe as a base and swapped in coconut water for regular water, used fermented pickles instead of regular ones, and opted for agave syrup over sugar.
How to Make Pickle Lemonade
Servings: 5 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Duration: 10 minutes
Pickle Lemonade Ingredients
Recipe
Squeeze the juice from the lemons and pour it into a 32-ounce mason jar or a large pitcher.
Add the agave and use a whisk to combine everything.
Pour both the dill pickle juice and coconut water into the same mason jar or pitcher.
If you’re using a mason jar, seal it with a lid and give everything a good shake. If you’re using a pitcher, use a long wooden spoon to stir everything together.
Give it a quick taste and adjust the sweetener to your preference.
Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon or pickle slice. If you plan to take it on the go, chill it first. Then, pour it into an insulated water bottle to keep it cold during your adventure.
(Watch me make it in the video below!)
The Verdict: Refreshing, Tangy, and Surprisingly Fueling
After opening the weather app on my phone and seeing the temperatures climb to nearly one hundred degrees, I almost considered skipping my two-hour hike. But I was determined to see if this pickle lemonade would actually work, especially on a day when I knew I would be sweating profusely.
I loaded up two insulated water bottles: one with plain water and the other with ice-cold pickle lemonade. During the first 30 minutes of my hike, I consumed about one cup of pickle lemonade and saved the rest for after my hike. (FYI: I did sip water and ate a few snacks along the way.) Beads of sweat were falling from almost every crevice, but I refused to be deterred. While I was definitely sore when I got home, by the next morning, I was back to normal and ready to join my friends for a day at the lake.
As for the taste, let me preface by saying I absolutely love pickles, so I knew those flavors wouldn’t be an issue. The refreshing coconut water balanced out the sourness of the pickle and lemon juice, and the agave added just the right touch of sweetness to round it all out.
As someone who has a love-hate relationship with TikTok food trends, I was actually thankful this wonky pickle lemonade landed in front of me. It’s a fun, DIY route to load up on electrolytes without relying on a sugary sports drink.
While it’s definitely on the quirkier side, the recipe works—not only in terms of flavor but also as a nourishing way to keep you fueled during summer adventures.
Also, pickle lemonade is a lot more delicious than throwing back plain pickle juice or munching on whole pickles.
Everyone loves to hate on sugar. Do a quick internet search, and you’ll see reams of hostile indictments of sugar from health nuts, influencers, athletes, and the media. At times, that has included the media outlet you’re reading right now.
A few years ago, I wrote a DIY electrolyte drink recipe for a print issue of Backpacker. Not surprisingly, the recipe contained sugar, which facilitates the body’s uptake of water (and makes the otherwise salt-forward drink palatable). My editor’s feedback: “Isn’t sugar basically poison?”
I used to think so. For about a decade, I avoided sugar like the plague. I only drank black coffee and plain water, and I convinced myself I liked sour yogurt and pancakes without syrup. I thought this was the noble and correct thing to do. After all, my friends often prefaced a dessert order with, “I’m going to be bad today,” and a non-order with “I’m trying to be good.” Sugar-free products were marketed as “guilt-free.” There was a subtle, implied morality to not eating sugar. Then there were the not-so-subtle headlines. Reputable websites ran (and continue to run) stories saying that sugar causes cancer, rots your teeth, is linked to diabetes and heart disease, and is as addictive as cocaine.
So, I kept it out of my diet. I was convinced sugar would make me sick. But as it turned out, avoiding sugar made me sicker.
The Impact of Severe Sugar Restriction
Because I was restricting my sugar intake, I thought about sweets all the time. I had constant cravings. Whenever I did indulge, some switch flipped in my brain, and I lost all semblance of self-control. A slice of cake would turn into three. A single cookie would turn into the whole box. We call that binge eating.
For a while, I was convinced that sugar was again the root of the problem, and that I must suffer from sugar addiction. I told myself I was a junkie, and that if I could just have more willpower—if I could stop being so goddamned weak—I could go cold turkey and kick my “addiction” for good.
My diet got progressively stricter. Then it turned into an eating disorder.
The disorder—brought on partly by stress and partly by societally induced fears around food and weight gain—stuck with me for about a decade. I tried therapy. I exercised more, and then less. I experimented with different diets. I took vitamins and supplements. I tried everything I could think of, but the sugar obsession remained. At some point, I realized that maybe it wasn’t the sugar that was the problem—maybe it was the restriction of the sugar.
Human beings want what we can’t have. We’ve evolved to respond to scarcity with obsession. If your brain thinks something isn’t available to you, it’s wired to seek that thing out—especially when that thing is an energy-dense food. And, most of the time, your brain doesn’t know the difference between “I can’t have this because I’ve put myself on a diet,” and “I can’t have this because we’re in a famine, and this food is in critical shortage, and if I’m going to survive I need to find it right now.”
While most Americans do not have full-on eating disorders like I did (around nine percent of people in the U.S. struggle with one), many people, especially athletic types, are on the spectrum of disordered eating. Obsession over a specific food type, feeling like some foods are “safe foods” and others are evil or scary, constant low-level hunger, and irrepressible thoughts about what you just ate or what your next snack is going to be—i.e., “food noise”—are all symptoms of some kind of wonky relationship with food. My food problems were on the severe end of the spectrum, but these are patterns millions of people struggle with. And after ten years of trying various methods to get over them, there was only one thing that worked: I started eating tons of sugar.
The author, making a slow but lasting peace with strawberry ice cream. (Photo: Corey Buhay)
How Bad Is Sugar Really?
When I embarked upon the high-sugar diet, I thought it might cure my eating disorder. In theory, that would improve my stress, clear up my skin, make me less depressed, and help me live longer. But with all the anti-sugar research out there, it’s easy to wonder: Was I just digging myself a different grave with a new shovel?
Let’s start with the dental woes. It’s true that sugar can cause cavities. However, so can other simple carbohydrates, including cheese puffs, chips, crackers, and other ultra-processed foods. Also, my dentist told me that if I brush my teeth after I eat sugar, I can pretty much eat as much as I want without rotting my teeth. So that’s cool.
It’s also true that high sugar consumption has been linked to obesity and heart disease. However, it’s difficult to draw lines of causation there. That’s because high sugar consumption is also positively correlated with poverty, low socioeconomic status, and poor access to healthcare—and we know for a fact that all these things have a greater effect on health outcomes than any one feature of the diet.
Sugar is also linked to diabetes, but again indirectly: weight gain is a stronger predictor of the development of Type II diabetes, and weight gain is generally caused by higher caloric intake—not necessarily by the consumption of any one food. Plus, rates of sugar consumption in the U.S. have been dropping over the last decade, but rates of obesity are still going up. That means sugar intake and extreme weight gain may not be as tightly correlated as we thought.
There’s also no scientific evidence that sugar is physically addictive. Remember the “cocaine is as addictive as sugar” headline? That media storm was fueled by a handful of 2014 studies done on rats. Some of the rats did exhibit addiction-like behavior, but only when their access to sugar was intermittently restricted. When they were given as much sugar as they wanted, they didn’t care about it much. When they felt it was off-limits to them most of the time, they went nuts upon receiving a brief window of access. Sound familiar?
The other problem with dieting and restriction is that it causes a lot of stress. Calorie counting, worrying about what you just ate, worrying about what you’re going to eat next, and guilting yourself for falling off the bandwagon are all sources of chronic stress.
In one 50-year study of middle-class Finnish men, dubbed the Helsinki Businessman Study, hundreds of participants were given a health and fitness routine to stick to for decades, while hundreds of others were left to their own devices. The study examined all kinds of metrics about their health and wellness during this time. But the unignorable pattern in the data was this: Those who were given a health and fitness regime to stick to died earlier. The researchers were stunned. They ultimately concluded that the stress of sticking to such a regime—on top of maintaining family obligations and high-powered careers—was likely enough to impact the participants’ longevity.
So, where does this leave us? We can probably conclude that strict or restrictive diets aren’t good for most people. We can also say that sugar likely isn’t great for you, either. But we can’t say that it’s poison. The science is just too fuzzy. But if that’s the case, then why is there so much information out there demonizing sugar?
“Sugar is a big part of our celebrations,” Barylski says. (Photo: Unsplash)
Why We All Love to Hate Sugar
There’s been some level of societal repulsion around sugar ever since the Victorian days. Like dancing, parties, or premarital sex, sugar was seen as excessive and therefore sinful. So, there’s some of that prejudice lurking in the background. But also, it’s just having a bit of a moment, the same way dietary fat did a few decades ago.
“Dietary fat was the demonized nutrient of choice in the 90s,” says Katie Barylski, a Colorado-based registered dietitian. “When people started focusing on lowering their fat intake, they started eating a lot more sugar because they needed some way to flavor their food. That naturally led to an increased focus on sugar, which led to more research.” Sometimes, more research on a particular nutrient is a good thing. But not every study produces clear results with robust methodologies. Often, you get a sea of complex or not-so-significant findings, too, which sometimes get spun up into misleading headlines. That’s especially true when the topic is nutrition, an topic humans particularly love to obsess over.
“There’s a lot of fear-mongering around sugar now,” Barylski says. “Some of it is founded. But there’s also a lot we don’t know.”
My Box-of-Cookies-a-Day Diet
About three years ago, I got fed up with feeling insane around food. Cookies were a particular trigger. So, I decided to eat a box of cookies every day until they didn’t feel magical and forbidden anymore. It took a lot of cookies. No, it wasn’t that fun. Yes, I gained weight. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that I went into the experiment knowing I would do anything to feel sane again—including having to buy all new pants. At the end of the experiment, I did. But I also got what I wanted: I could eat a donut without wanting to eat the whole box. I could eat half a piece of cake without obsessing over it for the rest of the night. I could have a cookie and put the box back in the cupboard and completely forget it was there. More importantly, because food had become neutral, I could finally work out and take dance classes and play outside just because I wanted to—not because I felt like I had to burn off some “sin” from the night before.
I no longer eat a box of cookies every day. (It’s really not that fun after a while.) But I still eat much more than the FDA-recommended daily limit of 50 grams of sugar a day. I probably eat double that. And you know what? I’m happier and healthier than when I was on my black-coffee-and-plain-yogurt diet. I sleep better, I’m less stressed, and my energy levels are much higher. I haven’t binged in years, or packed my lunch to a party to avoid snacking, or white-knuckled my way through a friend-group dinner because I was afraid I’d give in to a craving. My athletic performance (as measured by ultramarathon times and UIAA Ice Climbing team rankings) has also improved.
But is my current sugar consumption healthy? I asked Barylski.
“If someone were worried about whether there’s an overrepresentation of added sugars in their diet, I would wonder about their energy levels over the course of the day,” she says. “Are they noticing significant dips in energy levels? What are their moods looking like?”
The immediate symptoms of eating too much sugar (for your particular body) are mood swings and energy slumps, which indicate that there might be some hormonal implications related to the blood-sugar spikes. But if those things aren’t happening, and the rest of the body is functioning pretty well, Barylski says, there’s not a ton of reason to worry about it.
“If you’re eating a diet that otherwise features a wide variety of different foods, we don’t really know what the long-term impacts of higher sugar intake are,” she says. “It’s really, really hard to isolate the impact of a single nutrient. Plus, how your sugar intake affects you is not going to be the same for every person eating that amount of sugar.”
Turns out waffles are much better with syrup. (Photo: Corey Buhay)
Are All Sugars Created Equal?
There is some current research demonstrating that certain types of sugars—like fructose, especially as it appears in high-fructose corn syrup—are metabolized by the body differently, and therefore could have more negative long-term impacts, particularly on the liver. But does that mean you should pore over nutrition labels and stress yourself out trying to avoid particular types of sugar? Barylski says, probably not.
“I think we are too stressed about sugar,” she says. “I don’t find it helpful to talk about the negative consequences of sugar and to solely recommend people focus on eliminating sugar from their diets. Sugar is a huge part of our celebrations and our experience as human beings. And, it’s not always bad for you. Period.”
Plus, active people can get away with eating significantly more sugar than the average person.
“Athletes metabolize sugar more efficiently,” Barylski says. “It’s part of the adaptations that occur to maintain and sustain certain levels of endurance activity. They usually need more sugar, and often need more sources of simple, straightforward sugars, particularly before, during, and after exercise.”
So, instead of focusing on sugar, which we don’t have a huge amount of conclusive evidence about, Barylski says it’s better to focus on the behaviors that we do have tons of research on:
“That’s eating fruits and vegetables, not smoking, drinking no more than a moderate amount of alcohol, and having a movement practice,” Barylski says. Do that, and you’re probably going to be just fine.
10 veterinary clinics signed up 65 pets to compete for over $10,000 in prizes and donate to 13 rescues.
MADISON, Wis., June 5, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– The 13th Annual Fit Pets for Rescues (FPR) Ideal Weight Challenge wrapped up its first international run with a powerful showing: more than $10,000 raised for rescue organizations across 8 U.S. states and Canada. This brings the event’s lifetime total to $37,000 raised in support of pet wellness and shelter support.
Now a year-round initiative, FPR continues to empower veterinary clinics and pet parents in their efforts to help pets reach a healthy weight. Through friendly competition, donations, and sponsor-provided prizes, the campaign fuels healthier homes and stronger rescues.
The spring 2025 8-Week Sign-Up Challenge marked a strong launch to the new year-round model:
65 pets enrolled
43 pets reported weight loss
10 clinics & 13 rescues participated
$10,000+ in prizes distributed
17+ industry sponsors participated
Major support came from Healthy Pet Connect (HPC), myBalto, Tiki Cat Veterinary Solutions, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, VEA Veterinary Exam Assistant, Chris Griffey Memorial Feline Foundation, and Voyce Vet. Their partnership helped amplify the impact, visibility, and reward system behind the event.
The campaign’s success was powered by pet parents, clinics, and rescue organizations who participated, promoted, and shared the mission on social media. This expanded visibility is especially important in 2025, the first year the program has gone national and digital-first.
Nearly ⅔ of pets in the US are obese or overweight which makes many health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and joint issues worse. With inflation and funding cuts, pet rescues need our support now more than ever.
Dr Ken Lambrecht Medical Director of FPR says “We are super excited to take our fundraiser nationwide powered by Healthy Pet Connect (HPC) and myBalto. The treatment and prevention of overweight pets is vital to allow them to live longer and healthier lives”
“Over 13 years our programs follow well established peer-reviewed guidelines and have a 100% safety record. We have gotten 100s of pets fitter (including Spudgie from 37lbs to 12lbs!). It’s not just about severely overweight pets, even 15% over ideal is too much as it is well established that ideal weight pets live longer. The use of technology like smart feeders, scales & activity/mood monitors was proven in our peer reviewed research to improve outcomes and were well tolerated”
Another Sign-Up Challenge is scheduled for September 2025, and sponsors, clinics or rescues interested in participating are encouraged to reach out. Pets can enroll at any time to an HPC clinic (clinic signup is free) and earn prizes by donating to rescues, marketplace purchases & app use.
Getting through a full workout is tough when you haven’t properly fueled up. If you find that you’re regularly struggling with energy levels, it’s fair to wonder if you’re eating at the right frequency for your needs.
Some swear by eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, while others say it’s better to stick with three meals that are more substantial. Dietitians say there isn’t one hard and fast strategy that applies to everyone, but there are several factors to consider when choosing an eating plan for yourself. Here’s what nutrition experts have to say.
How, Exactly, Does Food Help Athletic Performance?
“Food plays a crucial role in athletic performance by providing the necessary energy, nutrients, and support for optimal bodily functions during training, competition, and recovery,” says Kacie Vavrek, a registered dietitian and certified sports specialist in dietetics at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
But specific elements in foods make a difference, Vavrek says. They’re called macronutrients, and they’re the nutrients your body needs in larger amounts to function properly.
For optimal performance, Stephani Johnson, nutrition researcher and adjunct professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at Rutgers University, says your body relies on three major macronutrients: carbs, fats, and proteins.
Is It Better to Eat Throughout the Day or to Have a Few Big Meals?
The resounding answer from dietitians? “It depends.” Still, many are partial to a particular eating strategy. “From an athletic standpoint, eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day is generally better than consuming fewer large meals,” Johnson says.
Vavrek agrees. “Eating throughout the day helps maintain energy levels, optimize muscle recovery, improve performance, prevent muscle breakdown, and support overall health,” she says. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) also supports the practice of “nutrient timing,” which involves eating certain nutrients throughout the day to support exercise needs.
But Dana Ellis Hunnes, senior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, argues that your diet depends on what you’re training for. If you favor workouts that require short bursts of energy, like sprinting, Hunnes considers fueling throughout the day to be “completely unnecessary.” But she concedes that people who focus on endurance sports may do better with eating throughout the day to keep energy levels up and replenish glycogen stores.
Some may even benefit from a mix of both strategies. “I prefer a little bit of each: a few bigger meals, but having some snacks in between,” says Olivia Morgan, a Mass General Brigham registered dietitian and sports nutritionist, adding that athletes shouldn’t have gaps of more than four to five hours between eating times. Longer than that, and you run the risk of the body breaking down muscle, which will work against your athletic goals.
How to Eat Throughout the Day for Improved Athletic Performance
Eating throughout the day doesn’t necessarily mean constantly snacking—there is strategy involved. “It’s important to focus on nutrient timing and a balanced intake of macronutrients,” Vavrek says. She recommends aiming to eat every three to four hours to maintain energy levels, support muscle repair, and prevent long periods without nutrients.
Tailoring Your Daily Meals to Your Exercise Plans
Whether you’re eating smaller or larger meals, what you’re eating matters. “For athletes, meals should have a balance of all macronutrients,” says Vavrek. She recommends that the macronutrient breakdown of each meal should look as follows: 45 to 65 percent carbs, 15 to 35 percent protein, and 20 to 35 percent fats.
For Aerobic Exercise
The type of exercise you do is relevant, too. For intense aerobic exercise, Johnson suggests having a small, easily digestible snack with carbs to fuel your body during exercise, like a banana, dried fruit, or yogurt (if you can tolerate dairy close to a workout).
For Workouts Less Than 60 Minutes
If you’re exercising for under an hour, you should be fine just drinking water during your workout, says Johnson.
For Workouts That Exceed One Hour
If you’re doing higher-intensity workouts over 60 minutes, eating between 30 and 60 grams of carbohydrates an hour can help to keep your energy levels up. And for exercise longer than 90 minutes? Johnson recommends supplementing those carbs with electrolytes.
For After Your Workout
Post-workout, Johnson suggests a snack or meal that includes complex carbohydrates—longer chains of sugar molecules that digest slowly to give drawn-out energy and prevent blood sugar spikes—to help replenish glycogen stores and protein to promote muscle recovery. An apple with nut butter or a slice of turkey on a whole wheat tortilla are ideal menu items.
For Strength Training Days
For strength training sessions, Johnson suggests having 15 to 25 grams of protein one to three hours before your workout to help prevent muscle breakdown and support recovery. After you’ve completed your workout, consume 20 to 40 grams of protein within half an hour to two hours to boost muscle building, improve recovery, and reduce soreness.
For Easy Workout and Active Recovery Days
But if your workouts are more laid-back, you don’t necessarily need to be all that strategic about your eating. “Someone who is working out leisurely would not need to fuel throughout the day or necessarily change much about what they’re doing,” says Hunnes.
If You Prefer Eating Big Meals During the Day, Do This
If you prefer to have larger meals or it’s all that your schedule allows for, Vavrek says there is still strategy involved. “The goal is to consume the necessary macronutrients to fuel the body for training, support recovery, and optimize overall performance,” she says. “Try to avoid skipping meals and consume at least three meals a day to prevent going too long without eating.” Vavrek adds that all meals should still be balanced and include all macronutrients and food groups.
Timing is also essential. “Pre-workout meals should be consumed one to three hours before exercise,” Vavrek says, noting that pre-exercise meals should lean heavily into carbohydrates. “After a workout, aim for a balanced meal within one to two hours.”
Pro tip: You can also pre-load your meals if you have a race or event coming up. “Eating a lot of carbs the night before—healthy carbs such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables—and then perhaps a smaller pre-race meal of faster-digesting carbs, a banana, and a small amount of peanut butter,” can be helpful,” Hunnes says.
Signs You’re Not Fueling Yourself Correctly
You can feel wiped out fast when you’re not fueling the right way. “We call it ‘the bonk,’” Morgan says. “Your body kind of runs out of that fuel, and you get feelings of weakness, like you can’t go on any further.”
Hunnes says that soreness that lasts longer than normal and feeling unable to keep up your normal activity levels for days in a row are also signs you’re not getting the proper nutrition.
Experiencing mental and physical fatigue here and there can be a challenging annoyance, but attempting to muscle through energy depletion can take a toll on your body. “Chronic energy deficiency in athletes can lead to long-term health consequences such as low bone mineral density, nutrient deficiencies, and hormone dysfunction,” Vavrek says.
The International Olympic Committee has several printable fact sheets on proper fueling for athletes, each broken down by easy, moderate, and hard workout days to make the guidance even easier to follow. Morgan also suggests meeting with a sports dietitian if your budget and/or health insurance allow for it.
If the dietitian route isn’t an option, Morgan suggests taking a moment to think about when you’re hungry during the day and when you typically exercise. “Are you prioritizing fueling before your workouts?” she asks. “And how frequently are you eating throughout the day?”
While it’s generally recommended that you eat smaller meals throughout the day for athletic performance, dietitians acknowledge that this approach isn’t for everyone.
As Morgan succinctly puts it: “Everybody is different.”
With long weekends and warm weather rolling in, you’ll find me outdoors every chance I get. Honestly, I prefer glamping, but even that takes a little grit and planning. As the go-to foodie, I’m constantly tasked with prepping something hearty to energize myself and those I’m with through any planned outdoor activity. Over the years, I’ve become a massive fan of skewer recipes. They check all the boxes: protein, fats, carbs, and are easy to grill or cook over a campfire.
Beyond their nutritional value, skewers win on simplicity. You can literally put anything on a stick and create endless flavor combinations.
Why High-Protein Skewers Are an Outdoor Adventure Must-Have
Hiking, swimming, kayaking, and camping are exhilarating but exhausting. Increasing your protein intake has several benefits.
Immune Support
As great as being outdoors is, Mother Nature can expose you to some not-so-great things, such as tick-borne illnesses, disease-carrying mosquitoes, or rabid animals. “Protein can support the immune system (amino acids are essential for building immune proteins like cytokines and antibodies), helping protect you from whatever you may be exposed to outdoors,” says Parker Lane, a registered dietitian nutritionist based in Richmond, Virginia.
Faster Recovery
Even if you do everything possible to avoid injuries, being out in nature can be unpredictable. If you trip, twist an ankle, or get scraped up, eating high-protein skewers can help support your body’s recovery. “Physical activities such as hiking and camping exert stress on muscles,” says Jessica McAllister, a registered dietitian based in Honolulu, Hawaii. “Protein facilitates muscle repair and recovery, which is crucial for anyone engaging in these [physically] demanding activities.”
Lots of Energy
Eating meals high in protein provides a steady release of energy, says McAllister. “This helps maintain stamina during prolonged periods of exertion,” she says. You’ll benefit from having a high-protein skewer before kicking off your camping adventures—or even at dinner to help you recharge for the next day, she says.
4 Hearty, Protein-Dense Skewer Recipes
It’s easy to toss random fridge scraps on a stick and call it a skewer. But with a little intention, you can build flavorful combos that keep you full and fueled for every step of your adventure.
I’ve put together four skewer recipes that, aside from being utterly delicious, will help you meet your protein needs. I also checked in with nutrition pros to back up how these handhelds can help power you through your journeys outdoors.
The best part? You can prep them ahead of time. Just pack them in a cooler until you’re ready to cook them at your campsite or outdoor gathering.
Whisk together all the ingredients (except the chicken, butternut squash, zucchini, and red onion) in a small bowl until well combined.
Place the chicken, butternut squash, zucchini, and red onion in a gallon-sized storage bag or sealable container. Pour in half of the marinade, reserving the rest for later.
Let everything marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Once marinated, thread the chicken, squash, and red onion onto pre-soaked wooden or metal skewers, alternating between the ingredients.
Grill the kebabs over medium-high heat, turning occasionally and brushing with the remaining marinade, until thoroughly cooked and slightly charred—about 10 minutes on each side.
A Nutritionist’s Verdict: Protein-Rich and Full of Fiber
You’ll get around 23 grams of protein by filling your skewers with at least three ounces of chicken breast, says Mackenzie Burgess, registered dietitian nutritionist based in Denver, Colorado. And if you want to bump that protein intake up even further, you can pair it with a Greek yogurt dipping sauce, says Lane.
The veggies add even more nutritional perks, too, says Burgess. “The butternut squash adds fiber to support digestion and vitamin A to promote healthy vision and immune function, plus a hint of natural sweetness to round it all out.”
2. Citrus-Honey Glazed Halloumi, Tomato, and Zucchini Skewers
Halloumi, tomato, and zucchini skewers marinated in a citrus vinaigrette, cooking over a grill fire. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
Servings: 6 skewers
Duration: 15 min (plus 30 minutes of marinating)
Ingredients
16 ounces Halloumi cheese (cut into 1-inch cubes)
2 medium zucchinis (sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds)
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil
Recipe
In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, salt, mustard, and honey until everything is well blended.
Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking constantly, until the vinaigrette is smooth and fully combined.
Place the Halloumi, zucchini, and tomatoes in a gallon-sized storage bag or sealable container. Pour in half of the vinaigrette, reserving the rest for later.
Let everything marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Once marinated, thread the Halloumi (handle it gently so it doesn’t fall apart), zucchini, and tomatoes onto pre-soaked wooden or metal skewers, alternating the ingredients.
Grill the kebabs over medium heat, turning occasionally and brushing with the reserved vinaigrette. Cook for about five minutes per side, or until grill/char marks appear and the zucchini is tender.
A Nutritionist’s Verdict: Protein Powerhouse and Great for Immunity
Just one ounce of Halloumi provides seven grams of protein, says Burgess. Lane recommends adding three to four one-ounce pieces of Halloumi per skewer, which provides about 21 to 28 grams of protein per stick. “Halloumi provides protein for muscle repair and energy, along with calcium for bone and muscle health, which helps support physical activities like hiking and carrying gear,” says McAllister.
The vegetables also play a helpful role. Zucchini’s fiber supports digestion, says McAllister, while tomatoes contribute vitamin C and K to boost the immune system, she says.
(Click the video above to follow along as the writer makes the Halloumi, tomato, and zucchini skewers. Video by Ashia Aubourg)
3. Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Creamy Avocado Skewers
Sweet and spicy glazed shrimp and avocado skewers sizzling on the grill. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
Servings: 6 skewers
Duration: 15 min (plus 30 minutes of marinating)
Ingredients
1 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined)
3 avocados (cut into large chunks)
1 red onion (cut into large chunks)
2 limes (juiced)
3/4 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Recipe
Mix all the ingredients together (except the shrimp, avocado, and red onion) in a small bowl to create a marinade.
Place the shrimp, avocado, and red onion in a gallon-sized storage bag or sealable container. Pour in half of the marinade, reserving the rest for later.
Let everything marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Once marinated, place the shrimp, avocado, and red onion onto pre-soaked wooden or metal skewers, alternating the ingredients.
Grill the kebabs over medium heat, turning occasionally and brushing with the remaining marinade, until the shrimp is cooked and slightly charred—three minutes on each side.
A Nutritionist’s Verdict: Heaps of Protein and Loaded with Healthy Fats
Three ounces of shrimp pack nearly 20 grams of protein, says Burgess. “It’s a high-protein seafood that cooks fast,” says McAllister, perfect when you want quick, fire-ready ingredients.
Avocado brings even more to the table, says McAllister, offering healthy fats for lasting energy, fiber for digestion, and vitamin E to support immune health. Together, this skewer delivers big on flavor, nutrition, and fuel.
4. Sticky Maple Ginger Tofu and Pineapple Skewers
Grilled tofu and pineapple skewers with a sweet maple-ginger glaze. (Photo: Ashia Aubourg)
Mix all the ingredients together (except the tofu and pineapple) in a small bowl.
Place the tofu and pineapple in a gallon-sized storage bag or sealable container. Pour in half of the marinade, reserving the rest for later.
Let everything marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Once marinated, place the tofu and pineapple onto pre-soaked wooden or metal skewers, alternating the ingredients.
Grease the grill with oil to prevent sticking. Grill the kebabs over medium heat, turning occasionally and brushing with the remaining marinade, about seven minutes on each side.
A Nutritionist’s Verdict: An Excellent Source of Vegan Protein and Fiber
Hikers who follow plant-based diets should definitely try this recipe, says McAllister. “Tofu provides vegan protein (nearly 6 grams per ounce), calcium, and healthy fats, which support muscle and bone health,” she says. “Pineapple offers vitamin C for immunity and fiber for digestion.”
Ginger brings an added bonus, says McAllister, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce pain and swelling from physical activity. Lane recommends packing a container of cooked quinoa for an extra protein boost—one cup has about 8 grams—to serve on the side.
To help spread your protein intake throughout the day, nutritionists typically recommend aiming for 20 to 30 grams per meal, says Lane. On average, if you’re adding at least two ounces of meat or seafood per skewer, two skewers will get you into that range. He says you’ll usually need about three skewers per serving to hit that target for plant-based protein sources like tofu.
“Of course, everyone’s protein needs and hunger levels vary,” says Lane, “so feel free to adjust the protein-to-veggie ratio based on your preferences.”
Neue Theory’s DIGEST + DEBLOAT Now Available at www.NeueTheory.com
TORONTO, May 6, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– Neue Theory, the gut-first wellness brand founded by Registered Dietitian Abbey Sharp, is redefining self-care with the launch of its latest innovation: Digest + Debloat. This targeted digestive enzyme supplement tackles bloating at the source – before it starts – combining clinically backed enzymes with calming herbal extracts. It’s the second release in Neue Theory’s growing product line and a bold continuation of the brand’s belief that Gut Care is Self-Care.
“Your gut is the foundation of how you feel: physically, mentally, and emotionally,” said Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian, co-founder and CEO of Neue Theory. “As someone who’s lived with IBS for years, I created Digest + Debloat to be the supplement I wish I had: one that’s gentle and that actually works. It targets the various root causes of bloating and digestive discomfort with clinically backed ingredients I trust and use every day.”
With over 70% of women reporting frequent digestive discomfort and IBS affecting nearly twice as many women as men, Digest + Debloat was specifically designed with women’s needs in mind – but its science-backed formula makes it a great option for anyone looking to reduce bloating and improve digestion, regardless of gender. Digest + Debloat combines three potent digestive enzymes that target common IBS triggers, like dairy, beans, legumes and other common FODMAP foods, stopping gas, bloating and poor digestion before they start. These enzymes work synergistically with powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients including ginger, chamomile, DGL licorice, fennel seed and curcumin, that work to promote gentle motility, calm gut spasms, and reduce irritation for more comfortable digestion.
Digest + Debloat is available now in a 90-capsule bottle for a one-time purchase of $39 USD/$49 CAD or by subscription at 10% off with automatic delivery every 30 or 45 days.
Neue Theory launched in 2024 with its debut product: a 2-in-1 Probiotic Protein Powder that quickly earned rave reviews for its science-backed formulation, delicious flavor, and results you can feel. The plant-based powder delivers complete nutrition and gut support, combining pea and hemp protein, clinically studied probiotics (including Bacillus coagulans SNZ 1969 and OPTIBIOME® Bacillus subtilis BS50), and gut-loving extras like L-glutamine, digestive enzymes, ashwagandha, tart cherry, and MCTs. Fueled by strong customer demand and a fast-growing community that values transparency and trust, Neue Theory is building momentum with the launch of Digest + Debloat, solidifying its place as a go-to brand for women seeking smarter, science-first, gut health solutions.
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), award-winning author, founder of Abbey’s Kitchen, creator of the Hunger Crushing Combo™, co-founder of Neue Theory™, and mother of two. Blending science with sass, Abbey has established herself as a credible voice in the nutrition, health, and wellness space. Abbey’s core philosophy is that a pleasurable relationship with food, your body and yourself is the fundamental secret to good health. From delicious healthy recipes, digital video content, real mom truths and cheeky nutrition myth-busting, Abbey Sharp has become the go-to source for entertaining, informative, and inspirational lifestyle content to well over two million loyal followers.
ABOUT NEUE THEORY
Neue Theory is a wellness brand on a mission to bring clarity to the supplement aisle and gut health to the forefront. Co-founded by Registered Dietitian Abbey Sharp and entrepreneur Ginger Bertrand, Neue Theory creates dietitian-formulated, third-party tested supplements designed to deliver real results. With transparency, science, and self-care at its core, Neue Theory is redefining what it means to feel good from the inside out – because Gut Care is Self-Care.
A holistic approach to nutrition focuses on natural, unprocessed ingredients that work synergistically to promote overall health. A holistic diet plan with ancient grains for dogs is a great way to enhance their nutrition, ensuring they receive a balanced array of nutrients vital for well-being.
What Are Ancient Grains?
Ancient grains are cereals and seeds that have remained unchanged for centuries. Unlike modern grains, they are not genetically modified and are typically more nutrient-dense. Examples include quinoa, amaranth, millet, and spelt. These ancient grains offer a myriad of health benefits, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Nutritional Benefits of Ancient Grains
Ancient grains are rich in fiber, which aids in digestion and promotes a healthy gut. They also contain higher levels of protein compared to modern grains, crucial for muscle maintenance and overall strength. Additionally, the essential fatty acids in ancient grains support a shiny coat and healthy skin.
Balancing Ancient Grains in a Holistic Diet
To create a holistic diet plan with ancient grains for dogs, it’s important to balance them with other key food groups. Combine these grains with high quality protein sources like chicken, fish, or lentils to ensure your dog gets a complete protein profile. Adding fresh vegetables and fruits can provide additional vitamins and antioxidants.
Incorporating Ancient Grains into Daily Meals
Incorporating ancient grains into a dog’s daily meals can be both simple and rewarding. Start by cooking a batch of grains like quinoa or millet and mixing them with your dog’s regular food. Gradually increase the proportion of ancient grains while monitoring for any digestive changes.
Recipes to Try with Ancient Grains
Experimenting with recipes can make meal preparation enjoyable. One easy recipe is a quinoa and chicken bowl: combine cooked quinoa with shredded chicken, steamed carrots, and a dash of olive oil. Another favorite is a millet and fish mix: blend cooked millet with flaked fish, peas, and a sprinkle of parsley.
Health Monitoring and Adjustments
As with any dietary change, it’s important to monitor your dog’s health and behavior. Look for signs of improved energy levels, a shinier coat, and better digestion. If any adverse reactions occur, adjust the diet accordingly and consult with a veterinarian experienced in holistic nutrition.
Conclusion: The Path to Wholesome Health
Embracing a diet rich in ancient grains offers dogs a range of nutritional benefits that support their overall health and vitality. By thoughtfully incorporating these grains into their meals, you provide a natural, balanced diet that can enhance their well-being. Through careful planning and regular monitoring, the journey towards holistic nutrition can lead to a happier, healthier life for your beloved canine companion.
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
It’s Halloween, which means there’s an abundance of candy laying around. I have some sitting on my counter right now, in fact, for guests to munch on—only after I ate all the Almond Joys out of the bowl.
Most people would assume that there’s no Venn diagram where candy and running overlap, but “most people” wouldn’t know that ultrarunning GOAT Courtney Dauwalter occasionally munches on Pear-flavored jelly beans during races. She’s a candy fiend, also vocal about her affection for Mike and Ikes, Dots, and Sour Patch Kids. Leadville Trail 100 champ Clare Gallagher buys her mid-run Sour Patch Kids in bulk. But it’s not just ultrarunners who dip into the candy jar. Two-time Olympian and Boston Marathon champ Des Linden has also been known to snack on sweets before a race—let’s not talk about the time she startled the world when she absolutely mutilated—I mean, ate a Kit-Kat…in a totally…normal…way…
Suffice it to say, there are those who swear that popping a few gummy bears during a long run gives them the same energy boost as a gel. While I’ve tested how it feels to fuel with whole foods, I’ve never packed candy in my running vest. To me, it seems too far-fetched that sweet treats can help our running practice, but let’s look at the facts.
This review is based on my own personal taste and experience running on the roads. If Halloween candy is your jam, I highly recommend you test this fueling strategy out for yourself on whatever running surfaces you enjoy
Is All Sugar Created Equally?
American College of Sports Medicine recommends runners consume 30-60 grams of carbs per hour for any run lasting longer than 90 minutes. Popular gels Gu and Hüma both contain 100 calories and 22g of carbs, which isn’t too far off from many candies in my Halloween bucket.
Matthew Kadey, MS, is a Canada-based nutrition registered dietitian and author of Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sports+Adventure. He’s also an avid endurance athlete himself.
“Certainly the various types of candy can serve as an effective fuel source for exercise,” he says. “The sugar content can provide the same fast energy source as engineered sports products like gels. Besides, candy is typically much more enjoyable to eat and can help deal with palate fatigue. I think most of us will look more forward to stuffing in a fistful of gummy bears than sucking back a gel.”
Straight from the expert’s mouth. Candy = fuel, right? However, Kadey has some warnings to heed.
“The sugar content of candy varies widely, so you need to know how much you are getting,” he says. “Some candy will provide fewer carb calories than gels, so you need more to get the amount of simple carbs to have a performance benefit. Some candy may provide a dose of carbs that could be problematic to untrained guts that may lead to gastro issues.”
He adds that many products are also lower in sodium compared to sports nutrition products, so you need to make sure you’re getting those electrolytes somewhere else. And if you are going to eat candy on your run, he recommends feasting on candy that’s mostly pure carbs (sugar) like gummy bears, Twizzlers, and Sour Patch Kids.
Eric McIntyre, CPT and certified running coach based in Utah, agrees that sometimes gels and candy aren’t all that different.
“Your body’s preferred energy source is carbohydrates, and when you’re exercising and your body is under that kind of stress, it’s going to be looking for the most easily accessible fuel source, which is going to be simple carbs or sugars,” he says. “I love using candy in training, but in racing, having to eat something like four, five, or six pieces of candy in order to get the same amount of sugar or carbs from one gel is just not going to be convenient and easy.”
He adds that you’re also taking a risk that the additives in candy might mess with your stomach.
“In addition, some gels have a glucose and fructose mix which maximizes the amount of carbohydrates that your body can process.”
Below, I did a nutritional breakdown of a few fan-favorites, as well as my honest thoughts on how they tasted/performed during my long runs.
*Note: I’m not in an aggressive training block, therefore all “long” runs I tested these candies on ranged from 6-12 miles on the roads.
Hüma
Calories: 100
Carbs: 22g
Sugars: 13g
Sodium: 105mg
GU Energy Gels
100 calories
Carbs: 22g
Sugars: 7g
Sodium: 60mg
Swedish Fish
110 calories
Servings: 5 pieces
Carbs: 27g
Sugars: 23g
Sodium: 25mg
Swedish Fish are delicious, but I didn’t love the fact that I had to eat about six pieces to reach 30g of carbs. I want my fuel to be low volume, and it took me a bit to get through this school of snacks. Plus, I found they got stuck in my molars so my tongue was doing backflips for the rest of the run to get stuff unstuck. Maybe most of the candy was left behind in my teeth, because I didn’t feel as energized as I wanted to with these. One bonus: they’re coated in wax, so you can put them directly into your vest pocket without them gumming up and getting melty.
Twizzlers
Twizzlers were surprisingly easy to store in my running belt (just had to bend them up a little). (Photo: Mallory Arnold)
120 calories
Servings: 3 pieces
Carbs: 27g
Sugars: 14g
Sodium: 70mg
Twizzlers are another easy, seemingly unmeltable candy I can stick in my running vest. I had no problem chowing down on three strands of these, and they weren’t overly sweet, so I didn’t get that parched feeling after too much sugar. Plus, they have a decent amount of sodium, so a win for Twizzlers! Pro tip: I held all three in my hand and chomped down at the same time like one Twizzler banana.
Sour Patch Kids
110 calories
Servings: 12 pieces
Carbs: 27g
Sugars: 24g
Sodium: 25mg
Speaking of parched, I should have known Sour Patch Kids were going to be an issue. I’m not a sour-inclined person, so I was puckering up while mowing through 12 pieces. Plus, the little granules of sugar stuck to my sweaty fingers and got me all sticky, which I wasn’t a fan of. I definitely reaped the sugar buzz rewards, though, and felt great on my run.
Three Musketeers Fun Size
Two (slightly smushed) Three Musketeers Fun Size that didn’t agree with my stomach. (Photo: Mallory Arnold)
130 calories
Servings: 2 bars
Carbs: 23g
Sugars: 20g
Sodium: 55mg
Fat: 4g
I was so hoping some kind of chocolate would work for me, but fun size Three Musketeers didn’t provide much fun to my run. While the carb and sugar count line up with a gel, the chocolate itself didn’t sit well with my stomach. I got a cramp shortly after and felt some churning and burning. They were the easiest to eat, however, being perfect bite-sized pieces.
Starburst
120 calories
6 pieces
Carbs: 24g
Sugars: 16g
Fat: 2.5g
First and foremost—I only eat pink Starburst. Don’t ask me to trade for your yellow or red, I’m not interested. Secondly, these little squares were not great running fuel. You only have to eat six for 24g of carbs and 16g of sugar, but they’re hard. It took me forever to get through just one because I wanted to chew it really well—hello, eating something hard and running is a recipe for a disaster.
Mini Twix
150 calories
Servings: 3 pieces
Carbs: 20g
Sugars: 15g
Sodium: 60mg
Fat: 7g
Talk about scary—have you ever had Mini Twix bars melt in your running vest? Well, I did. It might’ve been due to the day’s heat, which is a factor out of my control, but each of these Mini Twix bars melted through their wrappers, so chocolate got all over my fingers. If they hadn’t melted, however, they would have been decent fuel. I enjoyed the layers of cookies over the nougat in the Three Musketeers, but still got some digestive distress.
Branch’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! (Photo: Mallory Arnold)
120 calories
Servings: 4 pieces
Carbs: 30g
Sugars: 24g
Sodium: 70mg
Full disclosure, I’m obsessed with this Halloween-specific candy. And I loved it even more out on my long run. Initially, I went to the store looking for Candy Corn, but stumbled upon these classic pumpkins instead. I only needed to eat four pieces to get all the carbs, calories, and sugar I need. And they’re delicious.
A Bittersweet Conclusion
There are a lot of reasons to eat Halloween candy, but in my opinion, for the purpose of fueling runs isn’t the best one. There are so many products out there that replicate exactly what we need, while candy just slightly misses the mark. As both experts in this article point out, candy isn’t always easy to consume, the volume isn’t ideal, and depending on the type, you’re not always going to get the right sugar and carb content that digests properly.
If I was going to continue using candy on my long runs, I’d opt for Mellowcreme Pumpkins (which, you’d be hard-pressed to find during a spring marathon training block) or Twizzlers. Both were easy enough to eat, gentle on my stomach, and gave me a heck of a sugar rush.
Every dog parent dreams of seeing their furry friend thrive for years to come. However, common canine diseases can significantly impact a dog’s quality of life and longevity. Understanding these health challenges is the first step toward prevention and effective management. From heartworm to obesity, being informed can save a life. Here are some common diseases to avoid in dogs.
Heartworm Disease
Heartworm disease is often overlooked but poses a serious threat to dogs. Transmitted by mosquitoes, this disease can lead to severe heart and lung damage. With early detection and proper treatment, an affected dog can be cured, which tells us regular veterinary check-ups are crucial. Preventive medications are available, making it easier for dog parents to shield their companions from this silent killer.
Obesity
Obesity is a common issue among dogs, leading to numerous health complications like diabetes and joint problems. Dogs can become lethargic and lose their playful spirit due to excess weight. Their transformation can begin with a balanced diet and regular exercise. This shows that small changes, like incorporating playtime or long walks, can dramatically improve health. Remember, a healthy dog is a happy dog!
The Importance of Core Vaccines
Core vaccines are a fundamental tool in combating infectious diseases. Diseases like parvovirus, distemper, and rabies can be fatal but are preventable through timely vaccinations. Staying updated on vaccinations or disease-related titers not only protects individual dogs but also helps control outbreaks in the community. The important thing is to avoid over-vaccination. To do that, you can have your vet check your dog’s titer values, which let you know whether or not you need to re-vaccinate.
Nutritional Deficiency
A nutritious diet is vital for preventing disease and promoting longevity. Choosing high quality dog food with appropriate ingredients can make a big difference. Dogs can thrive on a diet rich in proteins and Omega fatty acids, which improve coat condition and energy levels. Engaging with a veterinarian about the best dietary choices can help tailor nutrition to suit your dog’s specific needs and lifestyles.
Regular Veterinary Visits
Routine veterinary visits are essential for maintaining a dog’s health. These check-ups can catch potential issues early, such as dental disease or skin allergies, which may otherwise go unnoticed. For example, you may have a Beagle who seems perfectly fine until a routine visit reveals severe dental problems. After treatment, her energy returns, showcasing the importance of proactive healthcare. Regular visits ensure dogs stay on track for a long, healthy life.
Conclusion
The journey to ensuring a long, healthy life for your dog is filled with education, proactive measures, and love. By having the knowledge about common diseases to avoid in dogs , dog parents can foster an environment where their furry friends flourish.
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
As dogs age, they require special attention to maintain their health and happiness. Natural ways to help you canine often yield positive results. One way of naturally caring for your aging dog is to adopt a holistic approach. Holistic care focuses on naturally treating the whole dog—body, mind, and spirit—rather than just addressing specific symptoms. Here are some natural and holistic ways to support your senior dog as they navigate their golden years.
Nutrition
A balanced diet is crucial for senior dogs. As they age, their nutritional needs change, and it’s essential to provide food that supports their health. Look for high quality dog food that is rich in protein, low in fat, and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Consider incorporating:
Fresh fruits and vegetables: These provide antioxidants and fiber, which can aid digestion and boost the immune system.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Found in fish oil, these can help reduce inflammation and support joint health.
High quality protein sources: Lean meats and fish help maintain muscle mass, which can decline with age.
Regular Exercise
While senior dogs may not have the same energy levels as they did in their youth, regular exercise is still vital. Gentle activities like short walks, swimming, or interactive play can help maintain mobility and prevent obesity. Tailor the exercise routine to your dog’s abilities, and always consult with a veterinarian if you’re unsure about what’s appropriate.
Mental Stimulation
Just like physical activity, mental stimulation is essential for senior dogs. Engaging their minds can help prevent cognitive decline and keep them happy. Consider:
Puzzle toys: These can challenge your dog and keep them entertained.
Training sessions: Teaching new tricks or reinforcing old ones can provide mental exercise.
Interactive games: Hide-and-seek or scent games can stimulate your dog’s natural instincts and keep their minds sharp.
Exploring Holistic Options
Many holistic therapies can benefit senior dogs. Some popular options include:
Acupuncture: This ancient practice may help in caring for aging dogs by relieving pain and improving mobility.
Massage therapy: Regular massages can reduce muscle tension and improve circulation.
Chiropractic care: Adjustments may help alleviate discomfort and improve overall well-being.
Regular Veterinary Check-ups
Routine veterinary visits are crucial for monitoring your senior dog’s health. Regular check-ups can help catch potential issues early, allowing for timely intervention. Discuss any changes in behavior, appetite, or mobility with the veterinarian, as these can be signs of underlying health problems.
Conclusion: Embracing the Golden Years
Caring for aging dogs naturally involves a combination of proper nutrition, regular exercise, mental stimulation, and alternative therapies. By taking a holistic approach, you can enhance your dog’s quality of life and ensure they enjoy their golden years to the fullest. Remember to tailor your approach to fit your dog’s individual needs and preferences.
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
Depending on which corners of the internet you’ve been hanging around in lately, how much protein you eat is either the single most important factor determining your health and athletic performance, or an overhyped and overconsumed indulgence that’s driving you to an early grave. The truth is obviously somewhere in the middle—but where, exactly?
Last month, the University of Toronto’s Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport hosted a conference on high-performance sports science. Along with deep dives into esoteric topics like NBA motion-capture data, artificial intelligence in pro sports, and international rules about intersex and transgender athletes, attendees got a practical primer on the current state of knowledge about protein for athletes from University of Toronto professor Daniel Moore, one of the world’s leading experts on the topic.
Moore’s talk addressed a series of commonly circulated protein myths, misconceptions, and truths. Some of the points were ones that I’ve written about recently—most notably, the question of whether very-high-protein diets damage your kidneys, and the idea that you can only digest a certain amount of protein at a time. Others addressed longstanding debates about the what, when, why, and how much of protein. Here are some of the highlights I took from the talk.
Protein Isn’t Just About Muscle
The fundamental goal of training is to trigger a cycle of recovery and adaptation in your body so that it gets stronger. That recovery process involves refueling, rehydrating, and repairing the cellular damage done by your workout so your body can build back better.
We usually think about protein in the context of repair—and for good reason. On any given day, you’re breaking down 1 to 2 percent of the muscle in your body and rebuilding it. Hard training increases that number. Overall (as muscle physiologist Luc van Loon notes), that means you’re completely rebuilding your body every two to three months. The protein you eat provides the amino acids that serve as the building blocks for repairing existing muscle and adding new muscle.
But protein can also play a role in refueling and rehydrating. Moore points to research showing that downing a recovery drink containing carbohydrate and protein rather than just carbohydrate after a hard workout helps your muscles restock their glycogen—the form in which your muscles store carbohydrate—more rapidly. Similarly, there’s research showing that protein can increase fluid retention when you’re dehydrated, which is one of the reasons that milk is sometimes tipped as a good recovery beverage. There’s even research suggesting that protein helps you acclimatize to heat training more effectively.
It’s worth noting that the enhanced post-workout glycogen storage with protein seems to only matter if you’re taking in less-than-optimal amounts of carbohydrate. More generally, as long as you’re not trying to survive exclusively on sports drinks, you’re likely to get whatever protein you need for rehydration and heat acclimatization and so on from whatever food you eat. But these studies offer a useful reminder that protein isn’t just a set of inert building blocks for muscle: it plays numerous roles in your metabolism that are crucial for both health and athletic performance.
Endurance Athletes Need Protein Too
The cliché of the gym bro with his tub of protein powder is firmly entrenched. Endurance athletes are less interested in—and sometimes actively averse to—packing on muscle. But their protein needs might still be elevated. The repeated pounding of running generates muscle damage that requires extra amino acids to repair. And previous studies have found that endurance athletes can get 5 to 10 percent of the energy they need by burning excess protein rather than incorporating it into their muscles.
Last year, Moore and his team published a study in which endurance athletes completed a series of runs ranging from 5K to 20K over several days, then consumed a batch of amino acids tagged with a special molecular label to track their progress through the body. The method enables scientists to determine how much protein is being incorporated into muscles, and how much excess protein is being burned as fuel. By repeating the running protocol while consuming different levels of protein intake, they can determine how much protein is needed to meet the body’s muscle repair needs before you start simply burning the excess for energy.
On average, they found that the runners needed about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day to max out muscle-building and repair. The average value means that half the runners were meeting their needs and half weren’t; a safer threshold, where 95 percent of runners will max out their protein requirements, is 1.8 to 1.9 g/kg/day. In contrast, the RDA for protein is just 0.8 g/kg/day, and previous recommendations for endurance athletes were 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg/day.
The takeaway, then, is that yes, endurance athletes need more protein than the average person. But there’s one further wrinkle. Endurance athletes also need more calories overall than the average person. When you’re training hard, there’s a good chance you’ll eat so much that you get all the protein you need without any extra effort. One study of Dutch endurance athletes found that they were getting 1.5 g/kg/day, which is at least in the ballpark of Moore’s numbers. So you don’t need to go crazy on the protein.
Does More Protein Mean More Muscle?
It’s worth comparing those numbers to the latest data on what it takes to optimize strength and muscle growth. The best current evidence is summed up in a 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that pooled the results of 49 studies looking at protein supplementation and resistance training.
The key result is that consuming more protein led to bigger gains in muscle mass—up to a point. The breakpoint in their analysis was 1.6 g/kg/day, beyond which taking more protein didn’t produce bigger muscles. The data is messy, so I wouldn’t take that number as the absolute final word on the topic, but it’s notable that it’s roughly the same as the estimated need for endurance athletes. Taken as a whole, the evidence at this point doesn’t support the idea that mega-doses of protein—3 g/kg/day, say—are useful.
An interesting footnote: while the relationship between protein intake and muscle mass (up to 1.6 g/kg/day) was clear, the relationship between protein intake and strength was much weaker. There’s obviously a link between muscle mass and strength, but gains in strength also depend on neural adaptations and skill acquisition in the exercise that you’re testing. The positive spin on this is that it’s possible to get much stronger even if you’re not putting on a lot of new muscle.
Whey Isn’t the Only Way
The “leucine trigger” hypothesis is the idea that the synthesis of new muscle depends in part on the levels of one specific amino acid, leucine. Milk, and in particular whey protein from milk, happen to be particularly high in leucine and other essential amino acids. Here, from a 2018 study in the journal Amino Acids, are the leucine levels and total essential amino acid levels of various protein sources:
(Photo: adapted from Amino Acids)
You can see that whey is high in leucine and more generally in essential amino acids. But it’s not the only option: corn is surprisingly high in leucine, though its overall level of essential amino acids is lower, and there are lots of other reasonable options. A couple of studies published this year have put this idea to the test: one found that the synthesis of new muscle was the same after consuming corn or milk protein; another found that a blend of pea, brown rice, and canola protein matched the muscle-building performance of whey.
This doesn’t mean that all protein sources are created equal. But it does suggest that, with a little effort and attention, you can get all the muscle-building power you need from many different protein sources.
The Four Rules of Protein
It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of leucine levels and recommended intakes and optimal timings. Moore finished his talk with four pieces of practical advice for athletes looking to get the most out of their training:
Eat regularly spaced meals and snacks, three to five hours apart.
Aim for ~0.3 g/kg/day of protein each time.
Focus on real food when convenient.
Make sure to meet your overall daily energy and macronutrient needs.
These seem like solid—and attainable—guidelines to me. If you weigh 150 pounds, 0.3 g/kg/day works out to about 20 grams of protein per meal. A tuna sandwich will get you there; two eggs (each of which likely contains 6 or 7 grams of protein) won’t quite do it unless you add some toast and milk.
As I noted at the top, recent findings suggest that (contrary to the prevailing orthodoxy) you can make up for a low-protein or missed meal by getting extra protein at the next one. I don’t think we know enough to be too dogmatic one way or the other, but the big picture seems clear: at the end of the day, if you want to optimize health and maximize athletic performance, you need to ensure that you’ve taken in enough protein to fuel your training and recovery.
So overall, the weight loss we see from these high-quality studies is very small, and mostly with no change in body composition.
The studies included people with different diseases, and most were from the Middle East or the Indian subcontinent. So we can’t be certain we would see this effect in people with other health profiles and in other countries. They were also conducted over different lengths of time, from two to six months.
The supplements were different, depending on the study. Some had the active ingredient extracted from cinnamon, others used cinnamon powder. Doses varied from 0.36 g to 10 g per day.
They also used the two different types of cinnamon—but none of the studies used cinnamon from the grocery store.
How Could Cinnamon Result in Small Amounts of Weight Loss?
It appears to allow blood glucose (sugar) to enter the body’s cells more quickly. This lowers blood glucose levels and can make insulin work more effectively.
It also seems to improve the way we break down fat when we need it for energy.
Finally, it may make us feel fuller for longer by slowing down how quickly the food is released from our stomach into the small intestine.
What Are the Risks?
Cinnamon is generally regarded as safe when used as a spice in cooking and food.
However, in recent months the United States and Australia have issued health alerts about the level of lead and other heavy metals in some cinnamon preparations.
Lead enters as a contaminant during growth (from the environment) and in harvesting. In some cases, it has been suggested there may have been intentional contamination.
Some people can have side effects from cinnamon, including gastrointestinal pain and allergic reactions.
One of the active ingredients, coumarin, can be toxic for some people’s livers. This has prompted the European Food Authority to set a limit of 0.1 mg per kg of body weight.
Cassia cinnamon contains up to 1 percent of coumarin, and the Ceylon variety contains much less, 0.004 percent. So for people weighing above 60 kg, 2 teaspoons (6 g) of cassia cinnamon would bring them over the safe limit.
With all the misinformation circulating on social media, sometimes a good takedown is needed. From so-called hormone balancing and cortisol face to TikTok’s viral sugar pregnancy test, we love to see health and wellness myths debunked. But we have to draw the line when it comes to espresso martinis.
Recently, the internet’s favorite it-girl drink has been called into question due to concerns about its nutrition. In an anti-ode to the espresso martini, a 2022 article from the NY Post went so far as to say the drink is “ruining your sleep and heart health.” As much as it hurts to hear, is there any merit to these claims?
Espresso martinis are a lot of things. Highly caffeinated, annoying to make . . . but bad for your health? In our experience, this is the drink that wakes you up and gets you tipsy at the same time – kind of like a grown-up vodka redbull (if they tasted like dessert). Our take? Espresso martinis aren’t claiming to be a superfood. It’s no secret that they contain alcohol, caffeine, and sugar – all of which can eventually take a toll on your body. But in the short-term, are espresso martinis actually bad for you? Let’s investigate.
Experts Featured in This Article:
Maddie Pasquariello, MS, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Nutrition With Maddie.
Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian as well as the founder and director of Real Nutrition.
Paula Doebrich, RDN, MPH, is a registered dietitian, public health nutritionist, and the founder of Happea Nutrition.
Katie Tomaschko, MS, RDN, CDN, is a mindful eating registered dietitian nutritionist at Hint of Tabasco, LLC.
Holly Klamer, MS, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist with her master’s degrees in nutrition and exercise science.
Eric Ridenour is a former bartender and men’s health expert.
What’s in an Espresso Martini
A traditional espresso martini contains the following, according to Liquor.com:
The traditional recipe for an espresso martini uses just one shot (equal to one fluid ounce) of espresso, which contains about 63 mg of caffeine, according to the USDA. (Kahlúa contains just a few milligrams of caffeine per serving, so that’s pretty inconsequential.) For comparison, an eight-ounce cup of brewed coffee contains about 90 mg of caffeine, per the USDA – more than you’ll usually get in an espresso martini.
How Much Alcohol Is in an Espresso Martini?
As for alcohol, espresso martinis generally contain about two ounces of vodka (with 40 percent alcohol) as well as a half-ounce of Kahlúa (with 20 percent alcohol). That’s a little bit more than what the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism considers a single drink (1.5 ounces of a 40-percent-alcohol spirit). However, practically speaking, its alcohol content is about comparable with a heavy pour of wine (eight to nine ounces) and less than most other martinis, which tend to have at least 2.5 ounces of its main spirit alone.
Are Espresso Martinis Bad For You?
The answer is multi-faceted. Here are some of the biggest takeaways, according to experts.
Alcohol Consumption
“Naturally, consuming alcohol, even in moderation, isn’t the most health-promoting thing you can do,” explains Maddie Pasquariello, MS, RDN. Even in moderation, drinking can be very damaging to your health, she says, with links to cardiovascular and digestive health issues, increased risk of certain cancers, and dehydration (to name a few). Although we’ve collectively clung to occasional evidence supporting the benefits of drinking alcohol in moderation, the reality is that it’s just not good for us in any capacity (ugh). “Drinking any amount of alcohol poses a health risk,” Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, confirms. Indeed, a 2022 study found that any amount of drinking increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Caffeine
Caffeine is less of an issue in terms of long-term health implications. In fact, “consuming a few cups of black coffee a day can actually be beneficial to your health,” Pasquariello says, noting that it can fight inflammation, boost metabolism, speed up reaction times, and even improve short-term memory. While some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others (and you should absolutely listen if your doctor has suggested you avoid it entirely), most people can consume up to 400 milligrams per day (roughly four cups of brewed coffee) without any negative effects, says Paula Doebrich, RDN, MPH. That said, if you go over 400mg, you may experience symptoms like increased heart rate, high blood pressure, heartburn, and heart palpitations, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Sleep Disturbances
If you drink an espresso martini (or anything caffeinated, for that matter) later in the day, there’s also a chance it will mess with your sleep. For most people, the level of caffeine in your blood peaks about an hour after you consume it and stays at that level for several hours, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That said, plenty of people consume caffeine in the afternoons or evenings without a problem. “How much coffee affects you will depend on your personal tolerance, which often is genetic. Some people metabolize coffee faster than others,” Doebrich says.
An estimated 10 percent of people are genetically less sensitive to caffeine, meaning they can have caffeine in large amounts or late in the day without it keeping them awake. Plus, research shows that when you consume caffeine regularly, it’s less effective as a stimulant. So for those who drink a few cups of coffee every morning, the espresso in your martini may not do much because of the tolerance you’ve already built up.
The bad news is, even if you can handle the caffeine, alcohol also negatively impacts sleep. “Although alcohol is a depressant and can make you drowsy, it can cause sleep disruptions throughout the night,” says Katie Tomaschko, MS, RDN, CDN. Still, the alcohol in an espresso martini isn’t any more malicious than the alcohol in other cocktails, beer, or wine that you might drink in its place.
Perceived Intoxication
That magical mix of caffeine and alcohol can pose a risk when it comes to your perceived level of intoxication. “One of the biggest problems when mixing alcohol with caffeine is that it makes you feel less intoxicated than you actually are, so you may end up overindulging,” Doebrich says. “This is deceiving because caffeine only counteracts the drowsy effect of alcohol.” In other words, while you may feel less drunk, you’re just as drunk as you would be if you didn’t add the caffeine. Of course, espresso martinis aren’t the only cocktails that pose this risk. “Combining caffeine and alcohol is not a new thing,” Smith says – it’s just something to be mindful of.
Added Sugar
If you like to know the sugar in your drinks (totally fine if you don’t), you should know that espresso martinis have about 11 grams of sugar per cocktail, which can add up quickly, says Holly Klamer, MS, RDN. If you’re just having one espresso martini, don’t sweat it, but drinking lots of sugary drinks can eventually take a toll on your blood sugar and put you at a higher risk of heart disease, Tomaschko says.
Dehydration
As a final note: drinking water is more important than ever when you’re having espresso martinis. “Caffeine is a diuretic and so is alcohol so you run the risk of dehydration, which in itself is unhealthy and can lead to a hangover,” Shapiro says.
The Bottom Line
That might sound like a lot of bad news, but we promise we aren’t saying espresso martinis are the worst. Instead, think of these delicious cocktails as the perfect indulgence. As long as you’re not downing them every night, you’ll probably be just fine. “Is it unhealthy? Of course it is,” says Eric Ridenour – a former bartender himself. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t order one if you want it. “I see no reason why espresso martinis have to be blamed for the downfall of society,” Ridenour says, summing it up beautifully. “Like most everything else, overdoing it is the main concern.”
In the long term, an espresso martini poses similar risks to any other alcoholic drink. In the short-term, it might mess with your sleep (if you’re planning to go to bed, that is) or keep you from realizing exactly how tipsy or drunk you are. With that in mind, for most people, drinking espresso martinis occasionally and in moderation – like you should already be doing with both caffeine and alcohol – is certainly not going to “[ruin] your sleep and heart health” all on its own. “If consumed occasionally, these cocktails can be part of a balanced lifestyle,” Doebrich says.
– Additional reporting by Chandler Plante
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining PS, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for PS Health and Fitness. She has over four years of professional journalism experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she enjoys finding new ways to rock her 18(!) different eye patches, and making videos about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.
Explore the benefits of raw diets for pets and debunk common myths. Learn how to transition your dog or cat to a healthier, balanced diet.
Raw diets offer many nutritional benefits to our dogs and cats. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of myths surrounding this type of feeding. Recognizing the misinformation and confronting it is often the first step. The next is learning how to safely and successfully switch your dog or cat to a raw diet.
Top 6 myths about raw food for dogs and cats
1. “Raw meat diets are not balanced.”
False!A raw diet can provide balance over time by including the proportions of meat, bone, organs, and vegetation found in prey animals. It is not necessary that every single meal be scientifically manipulated; in fact, it can even be detrimental.
Most commercial raw diet analyses meet currently accepted standards, while recipes for home preparation can be formulated using nutritional calculators, or with the guidance of a boarded nutritionist or holistic veterinarian. Balancing your dog or cat’s diet using fresh, whole foods is preferable to balancing it with synthetic ingredients.
2. “Raw meat diets are unsafe due to bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli.”
False! There are three reasons why raw meat diets are typically safer than commercial diets when it comes to bacterial contamination:
The high-pressure pasteurization utilized by many raw diet manufacturers destroys pathogenic bacteria in the products while leaving nutrition intact.
The fermentation of raw food crowds out bad bacteria while highly desirable bacteria flourish.
Livestock raised in reduced stress environments shed less pathogenic bacteria. Small raw diet manufacturers are a conscientious group who try to provide happily-raised and fresh-slaughtered meat sources in their products. You will not see the term “meal” on raw food labels, because it refers to rendered rather than fresh-slaughtered meat.
False! Cats in particular are strict carnivores. They thrive best on meat which, when uncooked, contains taurine, a vital amino acid needed to prevent heart disease. Cooking meat destroys taurine. Interestingly, the heart muscle of a mouse contains among the highest levels of taurine.
In the same way, dogs will receive an abundance of taurine by eating uncooked meat, although they can also manufacture their own taurine by consuming methionine and cysteine. which is present in a variety of plants.
4. “Sick animals must eat veterinary prescription diets to recover and maintain health.”
False! Holistic veterinarians counsel their clients to provide a fresh species-appropriate diet, with alterations, to assist with disease management. In my practice, I teach how to implement a “nitrogen trap” consisting of cooked, blended, dark leafy greens and probiotics. This “grabs” the nitrogenous waste in the gut and removes it via the stool so it does not build up in the blood stream and cause distress to the liver or kidneys.
These same greens and probiotics are beneficial to the gut as antioxidants and immune system enhancement, and benefit patients compromised with autoimmune disease or cancer. Appropriate added vegetation also manipulates urinary pH and treats dogs and cats prone to crystalluria.
5. “Veterinarians know best what to feed your dog or cat, and do not recommend raw food.”
False!Conventional academia continues to provide veterinarians with limited short-sighted nutrition education. Allopathic doctors are unfamiliar with the benefits of feeding fresh food and continue to promote processed foods that contribute to health problems such as inflammatory bowel disease and urinary tract disease.
Holistic veterinarians seek nutritional education beyond what school offers. They travel the world to learn from experienced mentors and unconventional resources about why and how to implement raw feeding. These veterinarians do recommend fresh food diets, including frozen, freeze-dried, or balanced home-prepared diets. We can cite case after case of miraculous improvement in our patients when we changed a dog or cat’s diet from processed to raw.
6. “Feeding raw food causes diarrhea.”
False!Whenever new nutrients enter the digestive system, one can experience a “cleanse.” Indeed, health-minded people cleanse or detox on purpose. A dog or cat cleansing on your carpet can be objectionable, however, which is why we change diets slowly. I warn clients that a cleanse could occur when transitioning a dog or cat to any new diet.
Once you transition successfully, however, your companion will produce small, firm stools. That’s because there is little to no waste and often significant amounts of ground bone in raw diets. This is normal and desirable. If the stool is too firm and difficult to expel, you can add fiber such as pumpkin or green beans to each meal.
How to safely and effectively implement a raw diet
Select several brands of high quality frozen or freeze-dried raw foods, or learn how to home-prepare. If you’re going the latter route,make sure to seek the guidance of someone who is experienced with implementing balanced, home-prepared diet for dogs and cats. The most common home-prep error is creating a recipe that’s devoid of calcium and organs and repeating it over and over.
Do not cook the food — cooking meat creates heterocyclic amines that behave as carcinogens. It also destroys nutrients and causes a loss of balance from the initial prey-concept diet.
Add a probiotic/enzyme supplement to your dog or cat’s current food to aid with the transition. My favorite is a sprouted seed supplement that provides an amazing array of whole food-sourced vitamins, minerals, enzymes, Omega fatty acids, and millions of probiotics. Read ingredient labels to avoid synthetic additions such as mineral proteinates. These are hidden sources of soy protein, which is typically GMO and contains glyphosate, a potential carcinogen and antibiotic.
Clean bowls, work surfaces, and your hands after every meal. This is good common-sense practice.
To start, repeat a particular protein to assess for sensitivity, then include plenty of variety in your dog or cat’s meals. Variety helps avoid the unintentional repetition of an excess or deficiency of any particular nutritent/s. Keep in mind that no food is perfect unless a carnivore has access to its natural prey and is foraging in the wild. Do your research and choose a couple of trusted companies. Then choose two to four different proteins from each company, test each on your dog or cat, and then rotate frequently!
Add fiber as needed. An appropriate amount of pumpkin, green beans or other green blend can balance stool production and create a stool that is firm yet comfortable to pass, aids with proper anal gland expression, and is easy to pick up.
If your dog or cat has an existing illness, as discussed earlier, add warmed, blended greens and probiotics to create a “nitrogen trap” to replace vet-recommended prescription diets, especially for animals with liver or kidney issues, or cancer. Use added veggies to manipulate urinary pH as needed for animals prone to urinary crystal formation. Work with a holistic veterinarian who has experience using balanced, fresh, species-appropriate diets to manage disease.
The final step is to watch your dog or cat enjoy his or her food! Be prepared for energy levels to rise, and coat quality to improve. Have fun experimenting with different whole foods as treats to see what your animal loves the most — offer veggies, fruits, or freeze-dried organs, and learn how to incorporate raw bones. Just remember to avoid grapes, raisins, onions, macadamia nuts and chocolate, which are all toxic to dogs and cats. Also avoid starchy biscuits – the sugar in these products contributes to inflammation, poor oral health, obesity, diabetes, and cancer cell replication.
Once you’ve successfully transitioned your dog or cat to a raw diet, you can congratulate yourself for being an initiative-taking animal parent, and helping your best friend live a long, quality, natural life!
Making the switch to raw food
The time it takes to transition your dog or cat to a raw diet depends on their response to the new food.
If your dog or cat loves the food and there is no vomiting or diarrhea, the transition may occur in three to seven days.
If your companion is “addicted” to the carbohydrates in the existing processed food, suspicious of dietary change, or sensitive to a particular new protein, the transition may be more difficult. Finicky animals, especially cats, can take 21 days to convert. Be patient and persistent.
Monitor your dog or cat’s appetite and stool production.
Assure that adequate calories are consumed daily, especially by cats, who are prone to fatty liver disease.
Use nutritional “tools” to help with the switch, such as foods you know your animal likes. These may include toppers, mix-ins, or “people food” such as canned sardines, bone broth (with no onions), etc.
Add something hot to cold thawed food — freshly-caught prey animals are warm, not cold. Repetitive feeding of cold food damages “stomach Yin” from an Asian food therapy perspective.
Don’t make the food soupy as too much water can dilute stomach acids and impede proper digestion.
Do not feed too much at a time and prevent your dog or cat from eating too fast.
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Veterinarian Dr. Jodie Gruenstern graduated from UW-Madison in 1987. She is a veterinary acupuncturist and food therapist certified by the Chi Institute; vice president of the Veterinary Medical Aromatherapy Association; and a member of the AHVMA. Dr. Jodie owns the Animal Doctor Holistic Veterinary Complex, is a nationally renowned speaker, author, TV and radio personality, and authored the book Live with Your Pet in Mind (DrJodiesNaturalPets.com, AnimalDoctorHolistic.com, iPAWaid.com).
Understand aging in pets, ensuring your dog or cat’s health and quality of life are enhanced for comfortable and meaningful later years.
Aging is something every living being goes through, including our dogs and cats as well as ourselves. But what precisely is aging, and what are the different ways it can affect our animals? More importantly, understanding aging in pets can shift how we care for them and make the final stages of life less difficult and painful for both ourselves and our four-legged companions.
Every Animal’s Experience is Unique
Many of us associate aging with increased illness, weakness and debilitation, but advancing years do not, in and of themselves, lead to specific physical changes in every dog or cat. We’ve all seen animals in their upper teens with bright eyes and a joyful energy that seem to bely the number of birthdays they’ve had. Conversely, of course, many older animals are dealing with failing organs or other disease states. Common concerns in aging animals include difficulties with mobility, chronic pain and illness, personality changes, and cognitive decline. But are these issues really due to how old the dog or cat is?
Environmental chemicals contribute to “age related” issues
During my time as a veterinarian, the age of a “senior” dog or cat dropped from over 12 to below eight. This is certainly not due to a sudden epidemic of rapid aging in animals. A combination of nutritional and environmental stressors has led to a situation in which animals show symptoms we have defined as age related, when perhaps they are simply a sign of a reduced ability to manage the current conditions of life.
It is no secret that our environment exposes us to many more chemicals than it did 30 years ago. Some of these chemicals include agricultural residues, artificial scents in laundry soaps and body products, or flame retardants in our homes. No one can say for certain what the effects of this stew of chemicals are because each safety study focuses on a single chemical with a short exposure time, rather than a combination of chemicals with an exposure duration of years or a lifetime. Although the popular saying claims “correlation does not equal causation”, the number of chronic disease states continues to grow as more chemicals are introduced into home environments or as residues in diet.
Point to ponder: Perhaps we can combat aging by simplifying the chemicals used in the home, and choosing diets with ingredients sourced from organic farms, or those that use fewer agricultural chemicals.
Managing Aging in Pets for Better Quality of Life
But what about dogs and cats that have already lived a decade or so within the above parameters and are now facing health challenges? Understanding aging in pets can guide us in several ways to ease the aging process and the health problems that often (though not always!) accompany it.
1. Putting a plan in place
When a client comes to me well ahead of the actual deterioration of their dog or cat, I tell them to begin deciding on the right medical approach for their family. This can be driven by circumstances such as finances, religious beliefs, and the willingness of the dog or cat to be treated in the first place.
Point to ponder: Having a loose plan in place can help alleviate fear of the future and allows the focus to be redirected to your animal’s present needs.
2. Growing allopathic and alternative treatment options
The veterinary profession continues expanding to offer better medical options for the majority of disease states, and these come close to matching those offered by human medicine. They can help maintain an aging dog or cat’s well-being and quality of life much longer than in the past.
We have both allopathic and alternative options for pain and disease management, anxiety treatment, and mobility assistance at our disposal. Pharmaceutical, herbal, homeopathic, electromagnetic, vibrational, energetic and structural modalities are also available. Adhering too tightly to any single paradigm does not create the best outcome; using several different approaches often yields more complete results with fewer adverse effects.
Because it is virtually impossible to access every option from a single practitioner or hospital, having a team that includes your regular veterinarian, an integrative or holistic vet, boarded specialists, and rehabilitation practitioners creates wonderful outcomes for aging animals. Sometimes an animal parent will work simultaneously with several different modalities, or move from one to the next as their dog or cat’s needs change.
Point to ponder: While many treatments need to be done in the hospital or clinic setting, many can be done at home, thereby increasing treatment frequency while reducing overall cost of care.
Discussing what you envision for your aging animal’s care, and what options are available, starts with the veterinarian you see for routine physical exams. If they do not have the tools you are looking for, let them know you would like a team approach and ask for local referral options.
3. Euthanasia decisions for aging pets
When is enough enough? The answer is a moving target that’s different for every family and every animal. Euthanasia is an important option when the dog or cat is clearly suffering and there are no ways left to alleviate that suffering.
As a veterinary practitioner, I was taught we should always reach for humane euthanasia, almost as if a natural death was a terrible thing. However, I have had more than one client inform me they had no intention of euthanizing their dogs or cats, and wanted my assistance keeping the animals comfortable to the natural end of life. I was very judgmental with these first few clients, but after watching them graciously support their animals until they passed on their own, I gained a new appreciation of the particular gift that comes with caring for a dog or cat at the end of life. I was also surprised by how gentle and easy a natural death could be.
If you make a decision to euthanize your dog or cat, start by discussing it with your regular veterinarian. If they have had a years-long relationship with you and your animal, they will want to be a part of this final stage of the relationship.
Point to ponder: Some clinics offer in-home euthanasia, which can reduce the stress of a final car ride for animals that don’t like the car.
The senior years of your dog or cat’s life are a time to reflect on the wonderful experience you’ve shared with him. The journey through this end-of-life stage can be challenging, and ultimately painful when he passes – but it’s also full of love as you honor him with your caregiving efforts. Approaching an aging animal’s final phase of life with an open heart and mind can bring grace and comfort to both you and your beloved companion.
Changing your perspective on aging and death
The last years of a dog or cat’s life present particular concerns and challenges when it comes to healthcare and quality of life. But with an optimistic and appreciative approach, it can also be a time where your relationship with your companion animal deepens as he teaches you about end-of-life care.
Many people begin the process of grieving for their dogs or cats months to years before they are actually faced with either euthanasia or a natural death. This grief arises from a fear of what is to come, both in the lives of their animals, as well as in their own lives after the dog or cat has passed. I have encountered deep anxiety among my clients and colleagues about how long to support a dog or cat in advanced age, and what specific steps should be taken. I believe this anxiety stems from a fear of losing control over exactly how and when a beloved animal companion will pass. I have even seen clients and colleagues choose euthanasia at a point when the dog or cat was still clearly engaged in life, in order to be able to gain a sense of control over a disease state or condition.
But what if we approached the end of life as a joyous culmination of a beautiful relationship? Understanding aging in pets from this perspective can shift how we care for them and make the final stages of life less difficult and painful for both ourselves and our four-legged companions. I feel this perspective helps ease our fears and brings comfort as we honor the wonderful beings that shared their lives with us.
Culturally speaking we don’t like to look at death. Our senior relatives are often put elsewhere, such as nursing homes or hospitals, to live out their final months or years. We rationalize it by saying we don’t have the time, or capacity, to properly care for them — and this is absolutely true. But we have also created a society that fears death and does not want to engage with it.
In veterinary medicine, we often pride ourselves on being more humane because we have the legal ability to end suffering. Too often, however, I have noticed it’s the animal parent’s suffering that is being treated by the euthanasia as much as (if not more than) the animal’s. As a veterinarian, I do my best to guide animal parents in both the physical and emotional needs of their aging dogs and cats, but also towards an awareness of the emotional triggers that may be guiding their decision-making.
