5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including the best protein bar and measuring food noise

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When I was younger, I had a ton of food noise. 

For those who’ve followed my weight loss journey, you know I was a big kid growing up. Back then, I didn’t have anything to compare it to (or really even a word for it). It wasn’t until I started microdosing GLP-1s earlier this year that I finally experienced what daily life felt like without the noise. It was amazing. And I learned how much space it was taking up in my head 🙉.

“Food noise” is basically that voice in your head that asks, 🗣“What’s for dinner?” when you’re trying to focus on something else. Or 🗣“What little treats do I have in the pantry?” when you should be opening your inbox, not your cabinets. Some people have more of it, some less. And soon, we might actually be able to determine exactly how much.

Earlier this week, Ro announced they’re trying to measure it. Pretty dang cool if you ask me! 👏 They collaborated with a team of experts to validate a clinical scale for measuring food noise called the RAID-FN scale. A new scientific paper in Appetite introduces and validates the tool, while a Nutrition & Diabetes article defines the concept itself and outlines how future research could help explain or reduce it. One goal of this new measurement is to assess how treatments (like GLP-1s) can “quiet” that internal chatter.

From personal experience, the difference is wild. I actually tapered off GLP-1s a few months ago, buuut I disliked the return of the noise so much that I actually decided to get back on. I’m taking even less than before (let’s call it nanodosing?), but even a little bit seems to quiet my food noise and help me feel more at peace and way less distracted. My experience is food noise (and weight loss in general) isn’t about willpower. Some people are just wired this way. I certainly am.

Ro is already using this new scale with their patients (though it’s not something you can just access)—and even licensing it out to pharma companies for clinical trials. Thinking ahead, I wonder if the future of nutrition is more about tracking this noise and less about tracking calories. And if we can measure it, maybe we can learn new ways to turn the volume down ⬇️ for everyone.

Lots of parents dread Halloween. There’s like a zillion ways to trick your kids into not eating as much candy as they’d like, from the “Switch Witch” (trading out all the candy they collected for a toy) to eating them all yourself (just me?).

So far, my two little mermaids 🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️ (that’s their costume this year) will eat a bunch and then move onto other things pretty quickly. I think part of it is we don’t make a huge deal of it—it’s one night. You can only eat so much candy when you’re distracted doing other things, and then we’re clear candy is “something special” for other occasions.

So, yes, we give out regular candy (Nerd Clusters this year, love those) to trick or treaters. After all, no one likes the “healthy house” on Halloween—not even me. 😂

Another thing I used to do when I was younger was notoriously keep pans with scratches on them (which is no good). Thankfully, I’ve done a lot of growing up since then (annnd I mostly have my wife to thank for that) 😅. These days, we stick to high-quality cookware and actually take care of our kitchen equipment. (Yes, that means no more cheap plastic spatulas.)

In upgrading our kitchen stuff, I’ve learned that investing in quality cookware makes for healthier cooking—especially when it’s PTFE- and forever chemical-free like HexClad’s. Because their pans are non-reactive, they don’t release harmful chemicals when heated. And when you invest in the good stuff, you want them to last. At least I do! Which is why I’ve been figuring out how to be diligent about caring for my cookware. 

Here’s what that care looks like with my new fry pans:

Look, we’re all human—and lazy dish days happen. (I definitely have them.) The good news is HexClad’s hybrid cookware is made to last and comes with a lifetime warranty you can count on. But, if you’re like me and have advanced from cheap pans, it feels good to channel your inner Mr. Clean to keep your quality stuff in quality shape. 

Oh, and, ICYMI, 5HT readers get up to 30% off select products from HexClad! Get in on the deal before it’s gone.

I’ve been teasing my protein bar challenge for weeks, maybe months? Buuut I’ve finally tallied up all the scores and I’m ready to share the results. Basically, I ate 25+ protein bars all in the name of research. My taste buds 😋 (and jaw 😆) have been through a lot in this experiment—from bars that tasted like dirt to dessert—and I’m excited to share what I learned.

Each bar was selected based on my experience, your suggestions (!!), web searches, and market popularity. I tried each and every one… unless I couldn’t stomach it in the first round (which did happen). I even developed an official scoring formula. Yes, this got very nerdy 🤓, very fast, and I’m not sorry.

My full recap (I’m talking in-depth reviews and 8K words on everything from protein efficiency to texture, a debrief of my scoring methodology, and how I balanced subjectivity) is here for your viewing (or tasting!) pleasure. To give you a sample, I’ll let you in on the winning bars. I say “bars” because, after lotsss of chewy deliberation, I couldn’t pick a single winner. Buuut, there were five standouts—each “best” for a different reason. 

Find out what made these five rise to the top, which others didn’t do it for me (including one that tasted like earth with a hint of tahini), annnd a few protein bar alternatives that were surprisingly delicious! Get your gains 👇

After my last dental cleaning, I learned I've got minor gingivitis ☹️. I also learned flossing is not supposed to hurt even a little bit—which was news to me 😅. Sooo, I’ve been on a mini oral-health crusade. As a part of that, I purchased Flaus (reminder product links are usually affiliate links, but I made exactly $34.47 from Amazon last month so don’t get too excited), a buzzy electric flosser with a fun name. 

Imagine if your disposable floss, er, vibrated. That’s basically what this is. The device (which, fun fact, got a big deal on Shark Tank last year) is sleek looking, rechargeable, and has an eco-friendly angle. The replaceable “Flaus Heads” claim to use 30% less plastic than floss picks—and you can send them back for recycling after use.

But after a few weeks of testing, it’s a pass for me. While I love my electric toothbrush (I use Oral B’s Pro 100 automatic toothbrush with David’s fluoride-free toothpaste), Flaus didn’t feel like it was doing much 😬. Plus, the science on vibration plus flossing looks pretty slim. At most, a 2007 study found electric flossers removed more “interproximal plaque” than manual floss “in molar, premolar and anterior teeth.” I guessthe longer handle did make it easier to reach these tough spots, but the charging, expensive head replacements, and constant tearing swayed me the other way. 

I’m back to my trusty disposable flossers—and my oral health crusade continues. Next up: antimicrobial mouth wash! Will report back. 😁🦷

Okay, you now know what I’m curious about—but here’s what everyone else is Googling, according to a few trusty platforms.

👋 Who are you again? I’m Derek Flanzraich—founder of two venture-backed startups in Greatist (👍) and Ness (👎). I’ve worked with brands like GoodRx, Parsley, Midi, Ro, NOCD, and Peloton. I now run Healthyish Content, a premium health content & SEO agency (among other things).

Every Thursday, I share 5 health things I feel strongly about so you can live healthyish. (Disclaimer: I’m more your friend with health benefits. None of this is medical advice.) 

And oh, you also feel strongly about some health things? Hit reply—I’d love to hear it.