Welcome to Stronger Weekly, brought to you by Purist Nutrition. I'm your host, Jesse Karajat. It's Friday, January 23rd. Let's jump into your health and fitness news for the week. First up, a new study reveals it's not just how much you exercise, it's how many ways you move. So a new study published Tuesday in BMG Medicine found that people who engage in a variety of exercise types, not just one, have a significantly lower risk of premature death. And here's the kicker. This benefit holds true even when total exercise time is the same. So researchers from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data for more than 111,000 adults tracked over 30 years through the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The results? participants who engaged in the highest variety of exercise had a 19% lower risk of dying early compared to those who stuck with just one type of workout. Yang Hu, a research scientist at Harvard and the study's corresponding author, put it this way, quote, when deciding how to exercise, keep in mind that there may be extra health benefits to engaging in multiple types of physical activity rather than relying on a single source alone. So what does this mean for you listening? What is the takeaway? If you are someone who say only runs, great, good for you. Keep running. However, please consider adding in maybe a couple of days of strength training. And if you strength train all the time and that's your thing, make sure to throw in some cardiovascular exercise such as walks, swimming, jogging, cycling, all those things. The science is clear here, folks. variety isn't just the spice of life. It's literally extending your life. Your next headline, U.S. measles cases hit its highest level in over 30 years and 2026 could be even worse. This one's definitely a little bit of a public health alarm. So the United States recorded more than 2,200 confirmed measles cases in the year of 2025, the highest annual total since 1992 before doctors routinely recommended two doses of the MMR vaccine. And as of mid-January 2026, this month, we've already logged an additional 171 cases across nine states. So according to the CDC, there were 49 separate outbreaks last year with 89% of cases linked to those outbreaks. Major clusters continue spreading in South Carolina along the Arizona-Utah border, and health officials say the trajectory is not slowing down. Three unvaccinated people died from measles in 2025, two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, matching the total number of U.S. measles deaths from the previous two and a half decades combined. Here's the context. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in the year 2000, meaning no sustained transmission had lasted longer than 12 months. But now the Pan American Health Organization is evaluating whether the U.S. will keep that status. Canada already lost their status in November Dr Linda Bell South Carolina state epidemiologist said the state currently has nearly 300 people in quarantine right now and transmission continues through households, schools, and churches. What's driving this? Vaccination rates. Like that update or not, a record share of U.S. kindergartners had an exemption from required vaccines last school year. National MMR coverage among kindergartners has dropped below the 95% target needed for, quote, herd immunity. And in some communities, it's even lower. So the bottom line, the MMR vaccine is 97% effective with two doses. This is a preventable disease, and the numbers we're seeing are a direct result of declining vaccination rates amongst youths. You cannot deny that. If you have children or if you're uncertain about your own vaccine status or schedule for your kids, now is the time to check with your doctor and please consider your community. Your next headline, a new study links vitamin D deficiency to higher risk of hospitalization from respiratory infections. A study published this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people with severe vitamin D deficiency were 33% more likely to be hospitalized with respiratory infections like flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Researchers analyzed data from 36,000 adults in the UK and found a clear dose-dependent relationship. For every 10 nanomoles per liter increase in blood vitamin D levels, hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses dropped by 4%. Those with severe vitamin D deficiencies, so blood concentrations below 15 nanomoles per liter, don't worry, you don't have to know what that means, face the highest risk. Meanwhile, those with optimal levels above 75 nanomoles, that word again, per liter, had the best protection. So lead author Abby Burnout from the University of Surrey explained that vitamin D appears to have both antibacterial and antiviral properties, helping reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections. Study author Dr. Andrea Darling added, quote, respiratory infections are a major threat to public health, eating vitamin D fortified foods could reduce the risk and reduce pressure on health services. So here's your takeaway. During winter months, especially, many people are deficient in vitamin D, which of course comes from sunlight. It's often called the sunshine vitamin because our bodies produce it from sunlight. Good dietary sources include oily fish like salmon, egg yolks, and fortified foods like milk and cereals. If you're concerned about your levels, The simple blood test can tell you where you stand, talk to your doctor for guidance, and if you're open to it, there are some great supplements out there to help make sure you have adequate vitamin D in your body. All right, let's be honest. You're probably not a professional athlete with a personal chef and unlimited recovery time. If you're like me, you're hitting the gym at 5 a.m. before work or squeezing in training between meetings, just trying to stay consistent while life keeps throwing you curveballs. That's exactly who Purist Nutrition was made for. Purist keeps it simple. NSF certified supplements with minimal clean ingredients that actually taste good No artificial ingredients and no proprietary blends where you guessing what you taking Just premium actives like Creapure the purest creatine on the planet whey isolate protein that is US sourced and easy on the stomach, and hydration that keeps you going without all the extra sugar or sodium. Whether you're a parent juggling kids in training, or just someone who refuses to compromise on quality, purist nutrition fits your routine. built for tomorrow, science-backed, tested and trusted by athletes, and most importantly, effective. Visit puristnutrition.com to see the full lineup of quality supplements. That's puristnutrition.com because your nutrition should work as hard as you do. All right. Every so often, we just like to cover stories that aren't necessarily news, but we just think they're helpful and practical for our audience. And this one is definitely a reality check for all of us. So a new article in The Conversation by Dr. Jennifer Huberty, a professor of public health, dives into a paradox that many Americans face. We're trying harder than ever to practice self-care, yet our mental health keeps getting worse as individuals and societally. Roughly one-third of U.S. adults report feeling overwhelmed most days. And when people try to unwind, the most common thing they reach for is a screen, streaming TV, scrolling social media, doom scrolling, as they say, and even bed rotting, which is spending extended periods in bed while scrolling before sleep. And here's what the research shows. Digital platforms are engineered to maximize engagement. And I would even say to make us addicted, often by prioritizing emotionally arousing content. Things like anger, anxiety, outrage. These emotions drive clicks and keep you scrolling, but they also keep your brain in a heightened state. You feel like you're relaxing, but your nervous system is still working overtime, responding to the stimuli that you're exposing it to. So Dr. Huberty makes a key distinction here. There's a difference between feeling like you're unwinding and actually allowing your brain, body, and nervous system to recover. So what should you do instead of relying on digital media and technology? The article that she wrote recommends what she calls, quote, analog or low novelty activities, end quote. Things like reading an actual physical book, journaling, gentle movement, or taking a walk Key here, without your phone. All of these activities, according to the author, engage your mind without overloading it. The CDC reports that 6 in 10 U.S. adults now live with at least one chronic condition, and chronic stress is a known contributor to conditions like heart disease and diabetes, meaning your stress is linked to your physical health. So this is not just about feeling better subjectively. it's about long-term health and health span so take away if you're listening and following here next time you reach for your phone to decompress whether you realize you're doing it or not ask yourself is this actually helping me recover and feel better or am i just distracting myself from feeling tired stressed burned out etc So true rest means putting the screen away entirely and relying on something that's more analog, old school and healthy for you. All right, and let's just end on a fun one just because we can the science behind your gym playlist, what you're listening to while you work out. So if you've ever felt like certain songs give you almost a superhuman energy or an extra boost during a workout, you are not imagining it. Research consistently shows that music can serve as what scientists call a quote, ergogenic aid, basically a performance enhancer. You're not making it up. It's really working. So a study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that listening to high tempo music, which is, if you ask, around 130 to 140 beats per minute during exercise reduced perceived exertion and increased heart rate, meaning you work harder while it feels easier. That'd be really helpful. In high intensity cycling tests, participants listening to 130 beats per minute music exercise 10.7% longer than those who simply exercised in silence. Another study from Psychology Today reviewed decades of research and found that the sweet spot for familiar songs with lyrics is between 120 and 140 beats per minute. So why does this even work? Music activates brain circuits tied to emotion and focus, essentially shifting your mindset before and during a workout. It can also help you synchronize your movements. Researchers call this entrainment, which improves efficiency and reduced wasted energy. Research from Feed.fm, which streams over 750 million tracks annually to fitness apps found that curated music experiences lead to significantly longer workouts. In one example, rowing app users exercise five and a half times longer on average when listening to their personalized music stations. So here's the practical application. Match your playlist to your workout phases. For warmups, aim for slower music, 90 to 110 beats per minute for steady state cardio, shoot for 120 to 140 beats per minute for high intensity stuff and interval training, sprints, things like that, crank it up 150 beats per minute or higher. And don't underestimate familiarity. Don't seek out novelty. Find songs that you know, because it's pretty clear here by the research that familiarity in songs has an even more powerful and potent effect on your rate of perceived exertion and your performance in the workout. So your playlist is not just background noise. It's a legitimate training tool. Be thoughtful, turn off the podcast, pump up the tracks and have some fun with it. And that's it for your health and fitness news of the week. Tune in every Friday for your weekly news roundup and join us Tuesday for in-depth interviews and deep dives on the health and fitness topics that matter most. If you haven't already, we would love it. If you would like, follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And if you found this episode helpful, share it with a friend who's working on their own health and fitness. So thank you so much for listening to the Stronger Weekly podcast. Have a great week and we will see you next time.
