Full script:
Well hello everyone! Welcome to Bite Sized, the first of a series of podcast episodes for paid subscribers of Forkful where we dive in and have bite-sized discussions about the latest nutrition news. We’ll essentially be talking about any new studies or research that comes out, trending topics of conversation, and debunking any of the myths we find along the way.
Before we get started, I also want you to know that I will be publishing the script each week as well. So if you prefer reading over listening, you can just do so.
Alright first, let’s talk about intermittent fasting.
We know there’s a lot to discuss when it comes to intermittent fasting, but for those who aren’t familiar, let me give a brief overview. IF is a style of dieting that has the consumer switching between windows of fasting and eating. There are different schedules that one can follow when it comes to IF, but the most popular cycles include the 16/8 method (16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of eating), the 5:2 method (eat normally for 5 days, restrict to only 600 calories for 2 days), the Eat Stop Eat (with a 24 hour fast once a week), alternate-day fasting (eat one day normally, the next day just one 500 calorie meal), other specific time-restricted windows.
Now, why would someone do this? Previous research has been published about the positive effects IF can have on losing weight and reducing inflammation, which in turn can lower the risk of chronic and neurological diseases. Yet there is much debate within the medical community whether it’s the actual act of fasting that causes these positive benefits, or the mere fact that people are just eating less—which for many means eating less inflammatory foods.
I, of course, am against such fasting measures. Of course, if fasting is connected with religious practices, I think that’s a much different story—I have fasted within my own religious practices as well. But fasting as an act of trying to lose weight is irksome and troubling, and recent research has finally proven that fasting isn’t the magical fix to weight loss after all. Shocker, right?
A study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Heart Association made it clear that the timing of when you eat your meals does not matter when it comes to losing weight. Instead, it’s still all about how many calories you consume in a day.
To find these results, researchers from John Hopkins University had 547 participants calculate their daily meals in an app for a six-month period to learn their eating habits, then evaluated their weight changes within a six-year period. They found that changing or restricting the timing of their meals made no difference in overall weight loss—even if a person decided to eat first thing in the morning or have a late-night snack before bed. Weight change was minimal for participants (1 to 2 pounds most), proving that timing really has nothing to do with it.
Now the researchers did conclude that eating smaller portions and keeping an eye on calories did help with weight loss, which isn’t news to us. At this point, we all know that if you eat more than your body is meant to, you gain weight and vice versa. That’s the science behind it. We also know that certain foods are better for our bodies than others and do more for our overall energy and well-being. For example, choosing a handful of nuts is certainly higher in calories compared to a small bag of chips, but the benefits it has to the body are much more profound. Plus, there’s even some debate on how high-quality, nutrient-dense foods like nuts can actually burn more calories when consumed. But the research is still early on that.
Intermittent fasting is just a method for trying to take in fewer calories. No, I’m not a fan of this outright. But, you could say that we all technically intermittently fast each day. I’ve had dietitians joke that we enter a state of fasting when we sleep (duh, that’s why we “break fast” in the morning), and I personally don’t feel great eating too late at night anyways (horrible sleep, heartburn, the works). But I don’t set that schedule of eating in order to try and lose weight, I do it because it works well for my body. And sure, prevents me from mindlessly snacking late at night.
The last thing I want to mention about this study is how researchers made another point about the sizes and frequency of meals. Their study outcome says that the “number of daily meals was positively associated with weight change over six years.” This brings us to this debate of eating three large meals versus six small meals a day, which some say that’s the key to weight loss. But again, that research is still up in the air, and medical experts still debate the validity of that statement relentlessly. Because it really all comes back down to how much you consume and the quality of what you consume. And then there’s the particular point that we all seem to constantly forget—that every body is different, and what works for you won’t work for me.
Next, hydration! This one is a bit more positive.
A writer friend of mine,
, recently wrote an in-depth look at another study on why hydration is important for our bodies.Again, this is not news to us! We know drinking enough fluids a day is important; it keeps all of our organs happy and functioning properly. And it doesn’t have to be just water—although water is important; other hydrating liquids like tea and coffee do count. The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that men should consume 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day, and women should have 11.5 cups (2.7 liters). The Dietary Reference Intake says that 35% to 54% should be coming from water.
Now the study, published ebioMedicine earlier this month, found that those who had higher than normal levels of sodium in their blood increases the risk of heart failure for middle-aged adults. Researchers also pointed out that higher sodium levels can even make adults appear “older” than they actually are, making them age even sooner than others with lower levels of sodium in the blood.
And what causes one to have lower levels of sodium in the blood? Regular, good ol’ hydration.
Now, we all know that we’re not supposed to go hard on sodium every day—the American Heart Association says to have no more than 2,300 milligrams in a day.
Yet I found this study to be kind of encouraging for why we push staying hydrated so much. It really is good for our health! And hey, if that means buying a new fancy water bottle to get you there, by all means. What’s stopping you?
Lastly, we’ve got another study proving to us that eating a non-restrictive diet with a focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods is the key to a longer life. Again, no surprise here.
I actually have an article coming out about this study soon, so once it does, I’ll share the link in our podcast notes. (Here it is!) But I kind of felt like it was worth mentioning.
The cohort study in the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal concluded that generally eating a healthy diet can reduce your risk of early death by 20%. They evaluated the eating patterns of a large number of males and females, honing in on four different healthy eating patterns—including the Mediterranean Diet. They concluded that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans—the government-issued guidelines that are evaluated, updated, and approved by medical experts every five years—was proven to be the most successful in reducing early mortality risk for numerous chronic diseases within a 36-year period.
Why was it successful? Because these guidelines are based on eating patterns that are not restrictive and time and time again prove to be the most successful. And, they are easier guidelines for adapting to other dietary preferences and cultural food traditions. The guidelines simply say to eat less of the inflammatory foods known to cause sickness when eaten in excess—items high in saturated fats, added sugars, alcohol, etc.—and to eat more of the real, whole, nutrient-dense foods.
Just another reason why a fad diet trend doesn’t work, and that trying to get healthy can look exactly how you want it based on your preferences and ways of life. Not a fasting window that some health guru tells you online to follow. A way of life that truly works for you.
I hope you enjoyed the first episode of Bite Sized! If you loved it, please tell all of your friends to subscribe and join us. A new episode will go live every other week here on Substack. And of course, if you have any thoughts about these topics, or have other nutrition news you’re seeing that you want me to tackle in the next episode, the comments are always open.
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