5 Research Topics That Changed How I Think About Health

Ben explains that the 2026 BMJ study scored participants on 13+ activity types. He contrasts triathlon (swim, bike, run) with Spartan racing (carrying, crawling, climbing, hauling) and his current eclectic mix. This variety not only reduces death risk but also keeps the brain young because learning new skills forces neural adaptation. The takeaway is additive: keep what you love, but constantly insert new physical challenges.

A new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared barefoot, shod, and control groups. Both training groups increased toe flexor strength, but the barefoot group had the largest gain in standing toe strength. Ben explains that this strength is crucial for push‑off, single‑leg stability, and deceleration, and that weak toe muscles force the plantar fascia to take over, driving plantar fasciitis. He also emphasizes that big‑toe strength is the single best predictor of falling in older adults. Simple exercises (marble pickups, isometric toe press with a strap, foot doming, eccentric toe drops on stairs, towel scrunches) can supplement barefoot training, but just doing your normal lifts barefoot already provides significant benefit.

Ben outlines several simple exercises: picking up marbles or stones with the toes; using a yoga strap around the big toe and pressing into the ground isometrically for 3‑5 seconds; ‘foot doming’ (pulling the ball of the foot toward the heel and releasing); eccentric toe drops on a stair (lowering toes below the step then curling up); and towel scrunches (scrunching a towel toward you with your toes, then flattening and repeating). He notes these can be done passively while watching TV. He also mentions that wearing a weighted vest during eccentric toe drops can increase the load. These supplements complement barefoot training but can also be used if you cannot go barefoot regularly.

Ben presents a nuanced evolution of his position. Initially, he criticized only heated/fried seed oils, citing a systematic review suggesting canola, flax, and sesame oils improve lipid profiles. After a detailed rebuttal using a Lancet RCT on carotid plaque biopsies and James DiNicolantonio’s mechanistic explanation, he now concludes that specific high‑linoleic‑acid seed oils are dangerous regardless of heating, because they directly alter plaque stability. The plaque data showed thinner caps, more rupture, and less stable calcification with sunflower oil vs. fish oil. He stresses that blood markers can look good while arterial plaque worsens. The practical takeaway is to strictly avoid the six named oils, especially in fried or repeatedly heated forms, but not to panic about all seed oils (e.g., cold‑pressed canola or flaxseed).

Ben distinguishes CBN from THC and CBD. THC is a strong CB1 agonist that gets you high, alters cognition, and may cause mitochondrial damage with long‑term use. CBD is an inverse CB1 agonist that mitigates THC’s psychoactivity and is anti‑inflammatory but not strongly sedating. CBN sits in the middle — mildly sedating, non‑psychoactive. The latest study showed 300 mg was effective; a 2023 study had found 20 mg reduced nighttime awakenings. Ben notes that some individuals have used CBN to wean off Valium. He personally uses a THC+CBN gummy (Element Health) when traveling but dislikes the high; he just ordered pure CBN from CILA Organics to try. He recommends addressing all other sleep hygiene factors first.

Ben contextualizes his use amid the GLP‑1 muscle‑loss controversy. The recent data show that lean mass loss seen on DEXA during high‑dose GLP‑1 therapy is mostly liver glycogen, intrahepatic fat, and intramuscular triglycerides — not contractile protein. His 0.25 mg dose is 24‑ to 48‑fold lower than the 6‑12 mg used in obesity trials, and he uses it only twice a month. He says it helps him avoid eating poor‑quality airport food when his gut is sensitive and he’s sedentary. He stocked up when high‑purity retatrutide was accessible and keeps it in the freezer. He does not recommend this for anyone else without careful consideration and medical supervision, particularly for those prone to disordered eating or who are not lifting and eating enough protein.

Ben describes his elaborate weekly routine: He uses a VASPER machine (combining blood flow restriction, cold plates, grounding, and full‑body exercise) for 21 minutes, then does focused work on lagging muscles (glute medius, piriformis, psoas, balance, big toe flexors) for 20 minutes, and finishes with 20 minutes of stretching as hot as he can stand in his custom‑built Western Soul sauna. The sauna is grounded, built with thermally‑pressed aspen wood (low VOCs, no chemicals), and designed so the heat rises from the bottom, making it inescapable. He calls this his “bastardized version of yoga flow.” He does this once a week, lately twice as he emphasizes recovery over additional weight training.

The study scored over 111,000 adult men and women on activity variety (walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, calisthenics, tennis, weight lifting, yoga, stretching, outdoor work, climbing stairs) and followed them for more than 30 years. After accounting for intensity, the highest-variety group had a 19% lower risk of premature death. Ben relates his own journey from triathlon (swim, bike, run plus a little weights) to obstacle-course racing, where he added carrying, crawling, climbing, and hauling, dramatically increasing movement variety and achieving his best fitness. He also ties in neuroscientist Tommy Wood’s argument that constantly learning new physical skills keeps the brain young — comfort and routine, not biological aging, drive cognitive decline. The takeaway is not to abandon activities you enjoy, but to persistently add new sports and exercises; even small additions (pickleball, tennis, golf, kettlebell swings) accumulate protective benefits.

The study compared three groups of healthy adults: barefoot training, shod (shoe-wearing) training, and a non‑training control. Both training groups increased relative toe flexor strength, but the barefoot group had the highest gain — especially in standing toe strength. Ben explains that the flexor hallucis longus (big‑toe muscle) is critical for maintaining the medial longitudinal arch, distributing force, and generating push‑off power. Weakness here forces the plantar fascia to absorb extra load, linking it to widespread plantar fasciitis. He then connects toe strength to fall prevention: it is the single best predictor of falling in older adults. For athletes, it translates directly to sprint push-off, single-leg stability, deceleration, and dynamic balance. The practical takeaway is that even without dedicated foot exercises, going barefoot or wearing five‑toe shoes during regular lifting can substantially improve foot function.

Ben describes a randomized controlled trial of 162 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. They received fish oil (omega‑3), sunflower oil (omega‑6 linoleic acid), or a control blend for 42 days before surgery. Direct plaque analysis showed the fish oil group had 66% thick protective caps vs. 53% in sunflower oil; thin vulnerable caps were 15% vs. 29%; plaque rupture was 3.8% vs. 5.6%; and stable fibrocalcific plaque was 5.7% vs. 1.9%. He then explains the mechanism via James DiNicolantonio: linoleic acid is polyunsaturated with two vulnerable double bonds, gets incorporated into LDL particles, oxidizes inside the arterial subendothelium (not the bloodstream, which is why blood oxidized‑LDL markers may look fine), generates lipid peroxides and aldehydes, and triggers foam cell formation — the building blocks of atherosclerotic plaque. The core argument is that seed oils can improve a blood lipid panel while simultaneously making actual plaque more fragile and rupture‑prone. Ben’s refined position: the real risk lies with high‑linoleic‑acid seed oils (sunflower, soybean, corn, safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed), especially when heated or repeatedly used for frying, not all seed oils as a single category.

The study gave 20 adults with doctor‑diagnosed insomnia either 30 mg CBN, 300 mg CBN, or placebo. The 30 mg dose did little, but the 300 mg dose significantly increased non‑REM stage 2 sleep, improved subjective sleep quality, and shortened sleep onset latency. Ben contrasts CBN with THC (strong CB1 agonist, psychoactive, can cause mitochondrial damage and memory issues) and CBD (inverse agonist at CB1, non‑psychoactive, anti‑inflammatory but not strong for sleep). He shares that some people anecdotally use CBN to wean off Valium. He emphasizes that he follows all normal sleep hygiene (cold, dark, noise control) but as a naturally light sleeper, he occasionally uses a THC‑plus‑CBN gummy from Element Health when traveling, though he doesn’t like the feeling of being high. He specifically ordered a pure CBN product from CILA Organics to try after reading this study.

Ben describes the study: mice on GLP‑1 drugs lost lean mass on DEXA, but tissue analysis showed the loss was predominantly liver mass, glycogen, intrahepatic fat, and intramuscular triglyceride — not contractile muscle protein. The liver can weigh over a kilogram more than its lean baseline in obesity or NAFLD; clearing that plus glycogen and intramuscular fat registers as ‘lean mass loss’ but is desirable. Absolute muscle mass did decrease slightly, but relative muscle mass and strength improved — the mice were lighter yet proportionally stronger. The muscle proteome also changed differently than with simple calorie restriction, indicating the drug wasn’t starving muscle. For humans, this means the ‘muscle loss’ panic was a measurement artifact. However, vulnerable populations (older adults, sarcopenic individuals, those not eating enough protein or lifting) still need monitoring. Ben shares that he personally uses a tiny 0.25 mg dose of retatrutide (far below the 6–12 mg studied) only twice a month on travel days to avoid discomfort from airport/plane food and sedentary sitting.