Welcome back to another episode of Bite Sized! A podcast for paid subscribers of Forkful where we have bite-sized discussions about the latest nutrition news. As you saw in my newsletter this past weekend, I am offering a 30% discount on all paid subscriptions for the rest of the month in honor of my 30th birthday, so if you have a friend or family member who you think would love this podcast, now is the time to share. I’ll put a link in the podcast notes so you can easily access it.
First, let’s talk about the ever-so-mysterious metabolism. We just love to blame it for all of our health problems. Gaining weight? Probably should blame it on your slowing metabolism, which will have you vigorously Googling all of the ways to “boost” it and speed it back up.
If metabolism is the reason I should blame my body for holding more weight than what is considered “normal,” then I should have been working on trying to boost it since I was 13. Don’t get me wrong, I love my body and I’ve worked hard to even be able to say those words. But my hips just like to hold on to a little more love, and if my slowing metabolism was to blame, then it’s been slowing down since I hit my teenage years. Which doesn’t make sense at all, right?
A recent study actually made me feel validated in all of this, proving to us that your metabolism doesn’t slow that much as you age—and really doesn’t even budge until you hit 60. The research shows that after we hit age 60, our metabolism slows by 1% each year, meaning the body’s ability to burn calories decreases slightly. To put this into perspective, 1% of a 1,700-calorie day is just 17 calories. Not a big difference.
Sure, while there are certain things you can do that help your metabolism—like exercise and gaining muscle—this idea that eating hot peppers and drinking green tea can boost it is a myth, as well as eating more smaller meals throughout the day or getting more sleep. So if you’re being advertised some kind of metabolism-boosting product that you need to lose fat and get skinny, it is most likely bogus. I say most likely because as a journalist I’m taught to not make absolute claims unless I’m 100% positive. So I will say this—it is 99.9999999% bogus. The metabolism isn’t some kind of mysterious thing we can fix. It’s just something the wellness industry loves to market.
So, I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of connecting food and cancer risk because I think there’s still a lot to learn from it. We know that cancer can show up in many forms, and it’s kind of hard to point the finger at particular things (like food) and say that they are the problem when we see young children being diagnosed. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we still have a lot to learn here, and we shouldn’t be fear-mongering around food content in an attempt to get people to eat healthier…or buy some kind of “healthy” product.
Nevertheless, there are at least some studies that do show us that certain foods can have a connection to the development of cancerous cells. Again, we have a lot to learn, but I found a study review in the news recently fascinating that I think is worth highlighting. The review took a look at observational studies and concluded that plant-eaters had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer compared to meat-eaters. And 60% of the studies showed that the prostate-specific antigen—a protein measured in the blood to determine cancer risk—increased at a much slower rate compared to meat eaters. With prostate cancer diagnoses on the rise (every 1 in 8 men is typically diagnosed), I think studies like these can be vital in helping us understand how our diet plays such a big role in our overall health.
And it’s just another incredible reason why eating plants is good for us. No, I’m not going to sit here and tell you to go vegan or vegetarian—although there’s nothing wrong with doing that, as long as you eat real foods and don’t fall for all of those influencer and mass wellness marketing schemes. But I am going to say that this is just another powerful reason why eating more plants is good for your body. They help you maintain a healthy weight, lower your disease risk, and increase your fiber intake (which feeds your gut and benefits your digestion).
And remember, plants don’t just mean the produce section—studies even show frozen foods can be just as nutritious, if not more nutritious given that they are frozen at peak freshness. Dried foods and canned foods are also great ways to get more plants into your diet at a much cheaper price point.
Okay so this last one isn’t exactly nutrition based, but I couldn’t help but cackle at a feature The New York Times recently published about couples that sleep in separate rooms. I found it amusing because if you know me at all, you know I’ve been toying with this idea for me and my husband for a while now. To the point where I even told him that we should consider it if we ever get a house someday. Maybe it’s separate rooms, or maybe just separate beds in the same room, but for some reason, I always feel like I sleep better when we’re in separate beds.
Is there any research to back this up? Oh, there’s research…but actually not in the way I was expecting. Apparently, I should be sleeping with my smelly husband because according to a recent study, it’s better for my health.
This is even coming from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, so you know it’s legit. In 2022, researchers from the University of Arizona found that those who share a bed with a partner or spouse sleep better than those who sleep alone. The study says they fell asleep faster, stayed asleep longer after falling asleep, and had less risk of sleep apnea. It’s important to mention that sleeping with kids had the complete opposite effect, but it sounds like sleeping with your partner can actually benefit your sleep routine. Which, I admit, is not what I was expecting.
The researchers also noted that partners who sleep together experience lower depression anxiety, and stress, as well as greater social support and satisfaction with their lives and relationships.
But don’t the researchers know that my husband likes to steal the covers and I wake up freezing at night? Was that part of the study? I guess I’ll have to wait and see where this research leads before I start mapping out my solo bedroom.
Also, for journalistic accuracy, my husband is in fact not smelly. He actually always smells good which, of course, is infuriating.
That’s a wrap on the latest episode of Bite Sized! Be sure to like and share this if you loved it, tell people they can subscribe at a great discount, and be sure to comment below and let me know if you think this sleep research is utterly bogus and if you are supportive of my endeavors to have my own bedroom.
Just a reminder that this weekend I will be taking a break from the usual essay (the not-so-smelly husband is taking me on a surprise trip!) so I’ll be back in your inboxes next weekend.
Bite Sized: Episode 3