Ben Greenfield Weekly Update: May 22

This Week in Health & Performance: What the latest research says

🌙🍽️ Eat Before Bed—Not So Bad?: A new study suggests that eating closer to bedtime may not hurt sleep as much as we thought, but context matters. The comparison was between stopping eating 4.5 vs. 2.5 hours before bed and not snacking late at night in bed. For most people, it is What and How many that disrupts sleep, not just time (full study here).

🦠🥔 Butter & Metabolism Booster: Emerging research suggests that butyrate, a compound produced by fermentation of plant fiber, may enhance the effects of calorie restriction by improving metabolism and regulating appetite and blood sugar. Consider resistant starches like green bananas, frozen potatoes, rice, and peas (read the study).

🧠⚡ Testosterone and brain tumors: A surprising NIH-supported study shows that testosterone can actually suppress brain tumor growth in men, highlighting a complex and often misunderstood role of hormones in disease progression.full study).

🏋️🔥 Lift Heavy, Reap Heat Benefits: You don’t need a sauna or a hot climate to activate heat shock proteins. Intense resistance training, such as heavy squats at 85%+, can stimulate similar cellular stress responses that support recovery and endurance (read more).

Key Takeaway: From meal timing and gut-derived metabolites to hormones and exercise intensity, this week’s research reinforces a key idea: context matters. It’s not just what you do, but how, when and in what environment you do it that shapes your results.

Want to dive deeper? Click on the links above to explore the survey and click here to follow me on X for all the latest health and performance news, hot off the press!

Product of the Week

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Podcasts I’m recording this week:

Gas, bloating, fatigue and other issues after meals? Discover the NEW Autoimmune Protocol with Mickey Trescott

Light Engineering That Makes You Look Younger (& Beauty Lasers Vs Face Mask!) With Lucy Goff of LYMA