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Bottom line: Junk food is still not a good choice, even with protein added
If you want protein on the go, you don’t have to look far. Grocery and convenience store shelves are lined with bars, cookies, brownies and other snack foods with “high protein” printed on the label.
But how do you suss out marketing from fact? It turns out there’s no particular metric manufacturers need to meet in order to advertise a product as “high protein.” For instance, a candy with 1 gram of protein may have a high-protein marketing claim on the front of the package, which admittedly is a lot more than most candy, says physiologist Stefan Pasiakos, but clearly doesn’t make it healthy.
One quick rule of thumb to assess protein claims is to check the percentage of the daily value of protein on the Nutrition Facts label on the package. Anything 20% or above can be seen as high protein, according to the FDA.
And even if they are high protein, packaged snacks can also be high in calories, sugar, or processed ingredients. You’ll do better to get protein from whole foods like yogurt or during meals, say nutritionists.
That being said, protein snacks can be a convenient way to reduce muscle soreness after a workout. |
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Bottom line: Weighted vests won't hurt but there better ways to build muscles
Is striding around in a weighted vest a great workout that marries strengthening, weight loss, and cardio with fresh air and sunshine – or are wearers merely projecting a fitness-y image to their neighbors?
Weighted vests are often marketed to women in their 40s, looking to increase muscle and bone growth to mitigate the effects of decreasing estrogen. But the evidence that wearing them works for that is particularly scant.
One small study compared people walking with weighted vests with those who walked without them and found no significant difference in bone health. Another study did find some benefits for people who wore weighted vests while engaging in resistance workouts, but the study doesn't make clear whether the vests or the exercises were the cause of healthy bone growth.
If you want a science-backed way to build muscle or replace bone density lost during perimenopause and menopause, experts like exercise scientist Lauren Colenso-Semple recommend resistance training.
Weighted vests may have some benefits for cardiovascular health, says Roger Fielding, who studies exercise science at Tufts University. Plus walking the same distance with more weight will burn more calories. (Just don’t expect us to do choreo, ok?!) |
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Bottom line: Continuous glucose monitors can be helpful, but take them with a grain of salt
Motivation is a tricky business for people looking to get leaner or eat healthier. The reward of fitting into a dress for a wedding that’s months away, or logging lower blood sugar at your next physical is uncertain and remote – but that rum cake will provide the jolt of satisfaction you crave right now. So could real-time data shift the calculus?
That’s the promise behind wearing a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, a small device that implants sticks to the back of the arm. Every few minutes it sends a signal to your phone estimating the concentration of sugar in your blood. The tech has been a game-changer for some people with diabetes, providing a more user-friendly alternative to finger prick tests.
For people without diabetes, the theory is, a wearable glucose monitor can show you which snacks or meals make your blood sugar spike too high, and you can modify your diet accordingly.
According to the research, CGMs have helped some people lower their blood sugar or lose weight – others not so much.
There was a lot of personal variation in the results of two recent studies, says Collin Popp, a researcher at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who helped lead one of the studies. "We had individuals coming back and saying, 'You changed my life. I lost 30 pounds and I feel great.' Other people in the study put on weight,” he says.
If you try a CGM, you may want to take the data with a grain of salt. One recent study found that the same meal eaten on two different days gave very different readings. Another small study found that the continuous glucose monitor overestimated people's blood sugar levels compared with measuring it in a blood test.
There’s a lot of nuance to this one, so if CGMs pique your interest, be sure to read the full story by Michaeleen Ducleff. |
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Getty Images/Illustration Andrea D'Aquino for NPR |
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Bottom line: You’re turning your tongue blue for no reason
Here's a weird one. Wellness influencers have been singing the praises of a synthetic dye that stains their tongues blue, which they claim offers a host of benefits. Methylene blue dye is far from new. Formulated as a textile dye in the 19th century, it’s since been prescribed as a treatment for malaria, cyanide poisoning, and methemoglobinemia, a rare blood disorder.
Biohackers claim that methylene blue improves the function of the cells’ mitochondria, thereby slowing aging, improving mood and cognition, among other benefits.
Studies in rodents have shown methylene blue does improve mitochondrial function and reduce inflammation. But in preliminary human studies, the results haven't shown significant benefit in healthy people, says Lorne Hofseth, a researcher at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.
And there are risks, including serotonin toxicity – a drug reaction that can cause elevated blood pressure, diarrhea, seizures and even death. And like other supplements, methylene dye isn’t tested for safety before it goes to market. It can be hard to know what you’re really getting. |
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Bottom line: Not so fast.
This March, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sat down at a fast food burger joint with Fox News host Sean Hannity, to talk about obesity and metabolic disease. The two were at a Steak N’ Shake in honor of the chain’s switch from vegetable oil to tallow, or rendered beef fat, to cook French fries.
Tallow was phased out of fast food chains decades ago, but Kennedy says it’s a healthier alternative to seed oils (aka vegetable oils), which he claimed in a post on X are “one of the driving forces of the obesity epidemic.”
So are fries cooked in beef tallow any healthier?
"People should eat fewer French fries, whatever they're deep fried in," says nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner.
Beef tallow and other saturated fats can lead to clogged arteries and high blood pressure, he notes. And as a threat to health, seed oils have been unfairly villainized, says cardiologist. Dariush Mozaffarian, at Tufts University.
The real health villains in junk food are excessive amounts of refined grains, starches, and sugars, as well as salt and other preservatives, chemical additives, he says.
Meanwhile skincare products made from beef tallow were trending this year, too. It’s all part of a cultural moment where people are skeptical of synthetic ingredients, says Jennifer Reich, a sociologist at the University of Colorado Denver. As a sort of shortcut to healthier choices, Reich says people opt for things like beef tallow that seem natural because it ostensibly comes from a farm instead of an overseas factory supply chain. |
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Bottom line: These might actually be pretty helpful, but don’t skip the gym
Wellness influencer Bobby Parish declared creatine the “supplement of the year” in a promotional TikTok post. It’s a compound made from three amino acids that your muscles use as a source of energy. Long a favorite of body-building gym bros, it’s another product that enthusiasts now credit with multiple benefits, including brain function and regulating blood sugar.
The evidence still isn’t strong for those two claims, but when it comes to adding lean muscle mass, the evidence for creatine supplements is "overwhelming,” says Jose Antonio, a professor of exercise and sports science at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. It can also help provide energy to keep at your workout longer.
But one big caveat here: Taking supplements isn’t enough to see strength gains – you actually have to get your butt to the gym and work out. A review of 35 studies found that when creatine supplements were combined with resistance training, adult men added around 2 to 3 pounds of lean body mass.
For safety precautions and some basic guidance on how to dose if you’d like to try creatine, check out the report by NPR’s Maria Godoy.
Have you tried any of this year’s wellness trends? Got a story to share? Let us know at shots@npr.org, and your comment may be in a future newsletter. |
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Thanks for sticking with NPR and this newsletter in 2025.
Happy New Year and all our best,
Andrea Muraskin and your NPR health editors |
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