The HACK YOU MUST KNOW For Making Ultra Processed Foods Less Unhealthy

Greenfield describes noticing a marked drop in his appetite for his usual post‑workout smoothie after starting this regimen. He attributes the effect to the systemic, ‘pleotropic’ actions of retatrutide on cardiovascular health, cognition, Alzheimer’s risk, satiety, and lipid management. He contrasts his microdose with the standard 1‑2 mg/week prescribed for weight loss, arguing that the tiny dose avoids the nausea, diarrhea, and mood suppression reported at higher levels while still altering hunger signaling. The peptide is sourced from Pepsul, which mandates a teleconsult with a physician and uses only US‑ or German‑made, screened peptides. Greenfield reconstitutes a 10 mg vial with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water and draws 12.5 units for each injection—a markedly lower volume than therapeutic protocols—and reports sustained results with no desire to increase the dose.

Greenfield builds his case with a cascade of studies: a 2024 trial showing that 4‑minute walks after aerobic exercise lower non‑HDL cholesterol; a 2016 meta‑analysis of over a million people concluding that an hour of moderate activity can erase the mortality risk of 8 hours of sitting but that sitting harm persists if exercise drops below 60 minutes; a 2024 study where swapping 10 minutes of sitting for activity lifted mood; a 2009 accelerometer study linking sedentary time to higher fasting insulin independent of training; a 2022 review documenting that ‘exercise snacks’ (stair climbing, jumping jacks) improve fitness and glucose control beyond a single gym workout; and a 2019 cohort connecting sedentary time to cardiovascular risk in older women regardless of exercise. The unifying message: ‘you have to move’ all day, not just for an hour, to truly protect metabolism, cognition, and lipid health.

Greenfield describes his shift from doing one big scary thing per quarter to pursuing a small daily novelty. He references Sahil Bloom’s book ‘The Five Types of Wealth’, which argues that identical daily rhythms cause time to feel faster, and that injecting novelty can ‘expand’ time. For his part, he now ensures every day includes something new—playing a new board game with family, cooking a novel meal, modifying his body‑split workout, playing pickleball with a foam ball and new people, learning a new guitar song that forces him to strum differently—and asks himself each evening whether he had any novelty that day. This practice, he says, not only enriches life but also ties into the open‑skill exercise framework that enhances executive function.

Greenfield presents studies comparing open‑skill vs closed‑skill sports: basketball outperformed running on cognitive flexibility; open‑skill athletes had superior reaction time, working memory, and visual search due to higher neural efficiency. Brain imaging confirms that these sports activate attention and self‑regulation networks more robustly. He adds that outdoor open‑skill activity (e.g., outdoor basketball compared to indoor) yields even greater memory and attention improvements, and that outdoor running raises alpha‑wave activity indicative of divergent thinking. Longevity data further cement the case: racket sports lead all activities in mortality reduction (47%), dwarfing running or cycling. Consequently, he recommends everyone pick up a racket sport and exercise outdoors whenever possible.

Greenfield walks through an 8‑week experiment in which one subject ate a normal Western diet for 2 weeks, switched to only wild‑foraged/game foods for 4 weeks, then returned to the normal diet for 2 weeks. Daily stool analysis showed a dramatic microbial shift: anti‑inflammatory Bloutia surged, dairy‑associated Bifidobacterium plummeted, diversity spiked, and Akkermansia (associated with gut barrier strength) remained elevated after the wild phase. However, many ancient ‘old friend’ bacteria barely appeared, and the microbiome didn’t fully transform to a true hunter‑gatherer profile. The researchers concluded that while a wild food diet rapidly and powerfully influences gut health, durable microbiome restructuring likely takes far longer. Greenfield speculates that just as fat‑adaptation on a low‑carb diet can take a year, microbiome rewilding could demand months or years, especially for those with lifelong ultraprocessed food exposure.

Greenfield describes a study in which young adults ate a diet rich in ultraprocessed items where some were specially formulated with added protein (whey, soy, pea) alongside industrial additives. The high-protein, low‑carb versions led to reduced calorie intake and increased energy expenditure. He explains that protein has a higher thermic effect (more calories burned during digestion) and greater satiety, making it harder to overeat even when the food matrix is still artificial. He then translates the finding into practical ‘gas station’ recommendations—Quest bars, Core Power shakes, Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt, low-sodium beef jerky, and tuna packets—while acknowledging they remain ultraprocessed and can cause digestive side effects like gas.

Greenfield details a Scientific Reports paper that followed one participant. After two weeks of a standard Western-style diet, the subject consumed only wild foods (no dairy, grains, added salt, or processed items) for four weeks, then returned to the normal diet for two more weeks. Daily stool samples revealed a marked shift: anti-inflammatory Bloutia spiked, dairy-associated Bifidobacterium dropped, overall diversity surged, and the beneficial bacterium Akkermansia (linked to gut barrier strength) remained elevated after the wild phase ended. However, many ‘old friend’ microbes common in tribal societies barely appeared. The researchers concluded that short-term wild food intake can reshape the gut but that sustained dietary change over much longer periods—perhaps a year or more, drawing parallels to metabolic adaptation to low-carb eating—is needed for durable re-inoculation. Greenfield notes that wild game meat may also contain fewer problematic amyloid plaques, referencing past guest Dr. Car Terry Cochran.

Greenfield cites a study demonstrating that 4‑minute walks each hour after aerobic exercise lowered non‑HDL cholesterol compared to prolonged sitting. He then weaves in multiple supporting findings: a 2016 meta‑analysis that an hour of moderate activity eliminates the mortality risk of 8 hours of sitting, but anything less does not; a 2024 study in which reallocating just 10 minutes from sitting to activity improved mood; a 2009 accelerometer study linking sedentary time to higher fasting insulin independent of exercise; a 2022 review on ‘exercise snacks’ (brief intermittent bouts of stair climbing or jumping jacks) enhancing fitness and glucose control beyond structured workouts; and a 2019 study showing sedentary time independently raised cardiovascular risk in older women. The overarching message is that even daily exercisers must stand up and move every hour to reap full metabolic and cognitive rewards.

Greenfield cites a recent study comparing open‑skill vs closed‑skill sports in kids and notes that meta‑analyses and brain‑imaging studies extend the finding to adults. Basketball vs running yielded better cognitive flexibility; open‑skill athletes show enhanced reaction time, working memory, and visual search abilities due to greater neural efficiency (measured by EEG/fMRI). He explains that open‑skill sports acutely increase BDNF, IGF‑1, and IL‑6—factors linked to neural health. He also reports that outdoor, unpredictable exercise amplifies benefits (e.g., outdoor basketball improved working memory and attention beyond indoor play), and outdoor running increased alpha brainwave activity tied to creativity and flow. Turning to longevity data, he notes that racket sports topped all activities with a 47% mortality reduction, followed by swimming (28%), aerobics (27%), and cycling (15%). This drives his advice to favor racket sports and to inject daily novelty—doing something mildly scary or outside the normal routine—to expand perceived time and boost brain function.