Puvema

06/01/2026

"Commercially processed foods can negatively affect your mental health."

"When university and medical school researchers from North and South America set out to explore the theory that processed foods contribute to poor mental health, they found ultra-processed foods (UPF) to be the worst offenders. Ultra-processed foods are commercially prepared convenience food products that contain little to no whole food ingredients, often lack essential nutrients, and often contain additives, such as flavorings, colorings, and other products that make the food more appealing to consumers. In other words, they in no way resemble the original food sources from which they are made."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cravings/202208/8-foods-that-can-contribute-to-anxiety-and-depression

Processed foods not only affect your physical health, but your mental health as well.

05/31/2026

If you enjoy our posts and you’re challenged by emotional eating, we invite you to check out our special report:

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How to Permanently Overcome Emotional Eating

https://puvema.com/report/how-to-permanently-overcome-emotional-eating/

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This special report gets to the bottom of emotional eating.

05/29/2026

The messed-up way:

"Just do it."

The Puvema Way:

People successfully make lifestyle improvements when they use evidence-based approaches to lasting behavior improvement and positive habit formation.

People successfully make lifestyle improvements when they have robust accountability, guidance, and support.

The difference that makes the difference:

Unfortunately, there are a lot of pervasive pop-psychology myths going around.

At Puvema, we rely on evidence-based approaches to lasting behavior improvement and positive habit formation, and we never go it alone. We go it together. Because wellness starts with "we".

05/27/2026

"The constant instruction to stop eating bad foods in order to be healthy is not only stressful, but it also doesn't work. As nutritional guidelines have doubled down on instructing us about what not to eat, we have also doubled down on our obesity rates."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/warn-dieters-how-unhealth_b_9144668

Few foods are always bad or always good; it's fine to indulge in dessert sometimes, of course. So the researchers were curious: Would a more balanced message reduce that backfire effect of the negative messages?

05/25/2026

"What can you do to improve your physical conditioning for s*x? Plenty. Experts say losing as few as 10 pounds can often free up testosterone and almost immediately give a boost to your love life."

https://www.webmd.com/s*x-relationships/features/s*x-and-weight

Being overweight does affect your libido. But small changes can jump-start your s*x drive.

05/25/2026

Hot off the press!

We invite you to check out our latest article:

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Don’t Buy Yourself Flowers

https://puvema.com/dont-buy-yourself-flowers/

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“Data across 308,849 individuals, followed for an average of 7.5 years, indicate that individuals with adequate social relationships have a 50% greater likelihood of survival compared to those with poor or insufficient social relationships. The magnitude of this effect is comparable with quitting ...

05/24/2026

If you enjoy our posts and you’re challenged by yo-yo dieting, we invite you to check out our special report:

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How to Permanently Overcome Yo-Yo Dieting

https://puvema.com/report/how-to-permanently-overcome-yo-yo-dieting/

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This special report gets to the bottom of yo-yo dieting.

05/22/2026

"As the paradigm of healthcare’s response to chronic diseases continues to shift, a door is swinging wide open for health coaches to gain opportunities to integrate into wellness teams."

"A systematic review of 13 studies indicates that health coaching produces positive effects on patients' physiological, behavioral and psychological conditions and on their social life. In particular, statistically significant results revealed better weight management, increased physical activity and improved physical and mental health status."

"Amy Meister, chief executive of UnitedHealth Group’s Level2 digital platform, which supports members with Type 2 diabetes, is a strong advocate of health coaching. Meister, who is a physician, told The Washington Post, 'Doctors aren’t trained in motivational interviewing. Health coaches are. Coaches introduce a new level of expertise into the health-care system, and they work closely with our clinical team.'"

https://www.acefitness.org/resources/pros/expert-articles/7781/what-does-the-future-of-health-coaching-look-like/

Learn why the future looks increasingly bright for health coaches in 2021 and beyond.

05/20/2026

"Later, as habits strengthen, the decision parts of the brain no longer need to kick in to initiate the action. The habit is now activated in memory and considered automatic: The neural circuits can perform the habit without conscious thought. In other words, you don’t need to choose to perform the action any more."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/health/brain-how-habits-form-wellness-partner/index.html

Understanding what the brain does when you’re trying to change your behavior can help you stick with new habits — or kick old ones to the curb.

05/18/2026

"Just 10 extra pounds add 40 pounds of pressure on your knees and other lower body joints. That can wear them out quicker. Extra fat can also cause inflammation--when chemicals in your body damage your own tissues over time, including your joints. Losing even a little weight can ease these effects. If you keep it off, you’re much less likely to get arthritis later in life."

"One study showed that older women who lost at least 5% of their body weight lowered their chances of breast cancer by 12%. There’s no such clear proof that losing weight protects you from other types, but some changes that happen when you shed pounds hint that it might. For example, overweight people who slim down have lower levels of some hormones linked to cancer, like estrogens, insulin, and androgens."

"People who are overweight gain extra tissue in the back of their throats. When your body relaxes when you sleep, that tissue can drop down and block your airway. It makes you stop breathing over and over all night, which causes all kinds of health problems, especially for your heart. Slimming down a little can often help with sleep apnea--sometimes enough that you can stop using the bulky breathing devices that treat it."

"Weight loss may help chase your blues away. Scientists are still trying to work out why, but better body image and improved sleep may be part of the reason. In one study, depressed people who were very overweight felt better after they lost an average of 8% of their body weight. Other research shows you’ll continue to feel better, even after 2 years--as long as you keep the weight off."

https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-five-percent-weight-loss

Losing a little weight goes a long way. Find out the benefits you could get if you shed just 5% to 10% of your body weight.