52 Weeks to Better Mental Health – by Dr. Tina Tessina
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We’ve written before about the health benefits of journaling, but how to get started, and how to make it a habit, and what even to write about?
Dr. Tessina presents a year’s worth of journaling prompts with explanations and exercises, and no, they’re not your standard CBT flowchart things, either. Rather, they not only prompt genuine introspection, but also are crafted to be consistently uplifting—yes, even if you are usually the most disinclined to such positivity, and approach such exercises with cynicism.
There’s an element of guidance beyond that, too, and as such, this book is as much a therapist-in-a-book as you might find. Of course, no book can ever replace a competent and compatible therapist, but then, competent and compatible therapists are often harder to find and can’t usually be ordered for a few dollars with next-day shipping.
Bottom line: if undertaken with seriousness, this book will be an excellent investment in your mental health and general wellbeing.
Click here to check out 52 Weeks to Better Mental Health, and get on the best path for you!
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4 ways to cut down on meat when dining out – and still make healthy choices
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Many of us are looking for ways to eat a healthier and more sustainable diet. And one way to do this is by reducing the amount of meat we eat.
That doesn’t mean you need to become a vegan or vegetarian. Our recent research shows even small changes to cut down on meat consumption could help improve health and wellbeing.
But not all plant-based options are created equal and some are ultra-processed. Navigating what’s available when eating out – including options like tofu and fake meats – can be a challenge.
So what are your best options at a cafe or restaurant? Here are some guiding principles to keep in mind when cutting down on meat.
Mikhaylovskiy/Shutterstock Health benefits to cutting down
Small amounts of lean meat can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. But the majority of Australians still eat more meat than recommended.
Only a small percentage of Australians (10%) are vegetarian or vegan. But an increasing number opt for a flexitarian diet. Flexitarians eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, while still enjoying small amounts of meat, dairy, eggs and fish.
Our recent research looked at whether the average Australian diet would improve if we swapped meat and dairy for plant-based alternatives, and the results were promising.
The study found health benefits when people halved the amount of meat and dairy they ate and replaced them with healthy plant-based foods, like tofu or legumes. On average, their dietary fibre intake – which helps with feeling fuller for longer and digestive health – went up. Saturated fats – which increase our blood cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease – went down.
Including more fibre and less saturated fat helps reduce the risk of heart disease.
Achieving these health benefits may be as simple as swapping ham for baked beans in a toastie for lunch, or substituting half of the mince in your bolognese for lentils at dinner.
Filling your plate with fibre-rich foods can help lower cholesterol. Wally Pruss/Shutterstock How it’s made matters
For a long time we’ve known processed meats – such as ham, bacon and sausages – are bad for your health. Eating high amounts of these foods is associated with poor heart health and some forms of cancer.
But the same can be true of many processed meat alternatives.
Plant-based alternatives designed to mimic meat, such as sausages and burgers, have become readily available in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants. These products are ultra-processed and can be high in salt and saturated fat.
Our study found when people replaced meat and dairy with ultra-processed meat alternatives – such as plant-based burgers or sausages – they ate more salt and less calcium, compared to eating meat or healthy plant-based options.
So if you’re cutting down on meat for health reasons, it’s important to think about what you’re replacing it with. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend eggs, legumes/beans, tofu, nuts and seeds.
Tofu can be a great option. But we recommend flavouring plain tofu with herbs and spices yourself, as pre-marinated products are often ultra-processed and can be high in salt.
What about when dining out?
When you’re making your own food, it’s easier to adapt recipes or reduce the amount of meat. But when faced with a menu, it can be difficult to work out what is the best option.
Eating a range of colours is one way to ensure variety. Mikhail Nilov/Pexels Here are our four ways to make healthy choices when you eat out:
1. Fill half your plate with vegetables
When cutting down on meat, aim for half your plate to be vegetables. Try to also eat a variety of colours, such as leafy green spinach, red capsicum and pumpkin.
When you’re out, this might look like choosing a vegetable-based entree, a stir-fry or ordering a side salad to have with your meal.
2. Avoid the deep fryer
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting deep fried foods to once a week or less. When dining out, choose plant-based options that are sautéed, grilled, baked, steamed, boiled or poached – instead of those that are crumbed or battered before deep frying.
This could mean choosing vegetarian dumplings that are steamed not fried, or poached eggs at brunch instead of fried. Ordering a side of roast vegetables instead of hot chips is also a great option.
3. Pick wholegrains
Scan the menu for wholegrain options such as brown rice, wholemeal pizza or pasta, barley, quinoa or wholemeal burger buns. Not only are they good sources of protein, but they also provide more dietary fibre than refined grains, which help keep you fuller for longer.
4. If you do pick meat – choose less processed kinds
You may not always want, or be able, to make a vegetarian choice when eating out and with other people. If you do opt for meat, it’s better to steer clear of processed options like bacon or sausages.
If sharing dishes with other people, you could try adding unprocessed plant-based options into the mix. For example, a curry with lentils or chickpeas, or a vegetable-based pizza instead of one with ham or salami. If that’s not an option, try choose meat that’s a lean cut, such as chicken breast, or options which are grilled rather than fried.
Laura Marchese, PhD candidate at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University and Katherine Livingstone, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Are Collagen Molecules Too Big To Be Absorbed?
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small 😎
❝I read your article about collagen, but I heard collagen molecules are too large to be absorbed, so supplementing with collagen is basically useless, have I been misled?❞
Great question! And the answer is… Nuanced.
Firstly let’s note: absorbed where? The gut (oral supplementation), or the skin (topical application)?
You said “supplementing”, so probably you’re thinking about the gut; we’ll give good attention to that, but for the sake of being methodical, let’s briefly talk about the skin and products with topical collagen that’s applied externally:
Yes, collagen molecules are absolutely huge and cannot be absorbed by the skin. Not only that, but the epidermis (the outer part of your skin) is not where collagen synthesis happens, so this is a bit like trying to fix a structural problem in your house by flinging mud at it from the outside. The mud may have the same minerals that are needed, but it’s just going to sit on the outside of your house until it gets washed off.
So it is with topical collagen creams, masks, etc. They can give a brief “filler” effect at best, but they’re not doing anything for your actual skin and will just get washed off when you wash.
Now, about hydrolysed collagen peptides
This term means that the huge collagen molecules have been broken down into little bits. These now are are small enough to get absorbed.
When it comes to topical treatments, there is currently no good science that we could find to show that they actually help, though, perhaps because while they’re small enough to get absorbed, most aren’t. We can’t know for sure yet though, as studies that do exists are usually not only funded by the beauty company making the tropical product, but also, tiny and often methodologically weak.
Here’s an example; it’s a tiny (n=22) study, funded by the beauty company whose product is being tested, with no control group, the main outcomes were subjective satisfaction, skin roughness measurement (that would be affected by anything physically smoothing over the top of the skin), and then more technical measures that while cited as improvements, have numbers that look like:
❝Furthermore, the skin surface elasticity (total recovery/total elongation; gross elasticity (R2)) increased from 0.81 ± 0.03 to 0.83 ± 0.03❞
Read in full: Effect of a Topical Collagen Tripeptide on Antiaging and Inhibition of Glycation of the Skin: A Pilot Study
Perhaps better, more conclusive studies will be conducted and their results will vindicate the use of topical collagen treatments, but the current state of science is, if being honest about things, “we don’t know”.
About that “subjective satisfaction” thing though—it’s worth noting that that there are no known adverse side effects (beyond rare adverse reactions, usually to some other ingredient), so if you have a topical collagen treatment that you enjoy using, don’t let us stop you.
Now, about the gut
Collagen molecules are, once again, far too large to be absorbed by the gut, too. Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are, once again, the answer.
And this time, not only are they small enough to be absorbed, but also, there is a lot of science to indicate that it really does meaningfully improve bone density, alleviate symptoms of arthritis, and so forth.
And as for its benefits for the skin from the inside, it’s hard to know whether it’s getting there or not, but what we can know is that collagen synthesis is increased systemwide in people who take hydrolysed collagen peptide supplements in the recommended dosage range of 5–20g/day, and that many measurable signs of skin aging are meaningfully reversed (much more so than the paltry numbers in the topical treatment study we linked above):
This is what we wrote about in the article you read, which for convenience we’ll link again here: We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of ← we also link to where you can get good quality hydrolyzed collagen peptides.
Vegan/Vegetarian?
At present, only animals make collagen. We say “at present” not because it’s likely that plants or fungi are likely to start doing it soon, but rather, because lab-made stuff is often around the corner.
For now, however, all sources of collagen are from animals.
So, what to do if vegan/vegetarian?
The best thing to do is to simply do like those animals did, and include in your diet plenty of the ingredients required for your body to make collagen internally.
As for what they are, check out: The Best Foods For Collagen Production
Enjoy!
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Cut Back Pain Risk By 24% With This Norwegian Habit
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Back pain is quite a pain. However, a team of Norwegian researchers (Dr. Anne Nordstoga et al.) have investigated the effect of a popular Norwegian pastime:
Spasetur.
Or rusletur.
Or if you’re feeling extra casual about it, maybe slentrende rusler.
Or perhaps just simply vandring.
Or in plain English: walking!
Here be science
Lest that seem unduly built-up with dramatic tension for something so simple as walking, don’t worry, there is more to be said too, because the research shone light on what the most important aspect of walking is, when it comes not just to health in general, but also the reduction of back pain incidence specifically.
- Is it about distance?
- Time spent walking?
- Walking speed?
- Weight carried?
- Something else?
This study focused on amount and intensity, including taking both factors into account at once.
For example, perhaps one person walks quickly but for less time, while another takes longer to do the same walk. Whose walk was best for their back? The person who walked more briskly, or the one who walked for more time?
Dr. Nordstoga and her team found that walking more and at a higher average intensity both lowered the risk of developing chronic low back pain, but that the most impactful factor was time spent walking, even when adjustments were made for “metabolic equivalent time” (MET), i.e. taking into account that a person walking quickly enough to get attain a higher percentage of their maximum heartrate is doing the metabolic equivalent of walking for longer. Not even this could make walking more quickly compare positively to simply walking more.
Looking at data from 11,194 people participating in the Trøndelag Health Study, they found, category by category,
Walking volume: compared to people walking less than 78 minutes per day:
- 78–100 minutes daily: 13% lower risk
- 101–124 minutes daily: 23% lower risk
- 125+ minutes daily: 24% lower risk
Walking intensity: compared to people walking at less than 3.00 MET per minute (very easy pace):
- 3.00–3.11 MET/min: 15% lower risk
- 3.12–3.26 MET/min: 18% lower risk
- 3.27+ MET/min: 18% lower risk
Adjusted results: even when accounting for both volume and intensity together, walking volume remained strongly protective, while intensity mattered less
You can find the study itself, here: Volume and Intensity of Walking and Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain
You may be wondering: “I thought we were supposed to get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week; who has time for 125+ minutes of walking per day?”
And the answer is: “moderate” exercise isn’t what’s being counted here, as (per the paper), what was counted was slow, moderate, or brisk walking. In other words, the “slow” counted too, and your accelerometer (i.e. the device measuring your walking habits) neither knows nor cares whether you were only walking around your house doing housework, it’ll add it to the total.
In summary: if you’d like to reduce your lower back pain risk by 24%, then not only should you get walking if you reasonably can, but also, when you do, it can be good to take your time strolling casually!
Want to learn more?
Some extra things you might want to bear in mind:
- How To Walk Away From Alzheimer’s
- Can “Light Activity” Really Help Against Osteoporosis?
- What Your Fitness Tracker Is Best & Worst At
Enjoy!
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Topping Up Testosterone?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
The Testosterone Drop
Testosterone levels decline amongst men over a certain age. Exactly when depends on the individual and also how we measure it, but the age of 45 is a commonly-given waypoint for the start of this decline.
(the actual start is usually more like 20, but it’s a very small decline then, and speeds up a couple of decades later)
This has been called “the male menopause”, or “the andropause”.
Both terms are a little misleading, but for lack of a better term, “andropause” is perhaps not terrible.
Why “the male menopause” is misleading:
To call it “the male menopause” suggests that this is when men’s menstruation stops. Which for cis men at the very least, is simply not a thing they ever had in the first place, to stop (and for trans men it’s complicated, depending on age, hormones, surgeries, etc).
Why “the andropause” is misleading:
It’s not a pause, and unlike the menopause, it’s not even a stop. It’s just a decline. It’s more of an andro-pitter-patter-puttering-petering-out.
Is there a better clinical term?
Objectively, there is “late-onset hypogonadism” but that is unlikely to be taken up for cultural reasons—people stigmatize what they see as a loss of virility.
Terms aside, what are the symptoms?
❝Andropause or late-onset hypogonadism is a common disorder which increases in prevalence with advancing age. Diagnosis of late-onset of hypogonadism is based on presence of symptoms suggestive of testosterone deficiency – prominent among them are sexual symptoms like…❞
…and there we’d like to continue the quotation, but if we list the symptoms here, it won’t get past a lot of filters because of the words used. So instead, please feel free to click through:
Source: Andropause: Current concepts
Can it be safely ignored?
If you don’t mind the sexual symptoms, then mostly, yes!
However, there are a few symptoms we can mention here that are not so subjective in their potential for harm:
- Depression
- Loss of muscle mass
- Increased body fat
Depression kills, so this does need to be taken seriously. See also:
The Mental Health First-Aid That You’ll Hopefully Never Need
(the above is a guide to managing depression, in yourself or a loved one)
Loss of muscle mass means being less robust against knocks and falls later in life
Loss of muscle mass also means weaker bones (because the body won’t make bones stronger than it thinks they need to be, so bone will follow muscle in this regard—in either direction)
See also:
- Resistance Is Useful! (Especially As We Get Older)
- Protein vs Sarcopenia
- Fall Special (How to Proof Yourself Against Falls)
Increased body fat means increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, as a general rule of thumb, amongst other problems.
Will testosterone therapy help?
That’s something to discuss with your endocrinologist, but for most men whose testosterone levels are lower than is ideal for them, then yes, taking testosterone to bring them [back] to “normal” levels can make you happier and healthier (though it’s certainly not a cure-all).
See for example:
Testosterone Therapy Improves […] and […] in Hypogonadal Men
(Sorry, we’re not trying to be clickbaity, there are just some words we can’t use without encountering software problems)
Here’s a more comprehensive study that looked at 790 men aged 65 or older, with testosterone levels below a certain level. It looked at the things we can’t mention here, as well as physical function and general vitality:
❝The increase in testosterone levels was associated with significantly increased […] activity, as assessed by the Psychosexual Daily Questionnaire (P<0.001), as well as significantly increased […] desire and […] function.
The percentage of men who had an increase of at least 50 m in the 6-minute walking distance did not differ significantly between the two study groups in the Physical Function Trial but did differ significantly when men in all three trials were included (20.5% of men who received testosterone vs. 12.6% of men who received placebo, P=0.003).
Testosterone had no significant benefit with respect to vitality, as assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Fatigue scale, but men who received testosterone reported slightly better mood and lower severity of depressive symptoms than those who received placebo❞
Source: Effects of Testosterone Treatment in Older Men
We strongly recommend, by the way, when a topic is of interest to you to read the paper itself, because even the extract above contains some subjectivity, for example what is “slightly better”, and what is “no significant benefit”.
That “slightly better mood and lower severity of depressive symptoms”, for example, has a P value of 0.004 in their data, which is an order of magnitude more significant than the usual baseline for significance (P<0.05).
And furthermore, that “no significant benefit with respect to vitality” is only looking at either the primary outcome aggregated goal or the secondary FACIT score whose secondary outcome had a P value of 0.06, which just missed the cut-off for significance, and neglects to mention that all the other secondary outcome metrics for men involved in the vitality trial were very significant (ranging from P=0.04 to P=0.001)
Click here to see the results table for the vitality trial
Will it turn me into a musclebound angry ragey ‘roidmonster?
Were you that kind of person before your testosterone levels declined? If not, then no.
Testosterone therapy seeks only to return your testosterone levels to where they were, and this is done through careful monitoring and adjustment. It’d take a lot more than (responsible) endocrinologist-guided hormonal therapy to turn you into Marvel’s “Wolverine”.
Is testosterone therapy safe?
A question to take to your endocrinologist because everyone’s physiology is different, but a lot of studies do support its general safety for most people who are prescribed it.
As with anything, there are risks to be aware of, though. Perhaps the most critical risk is prostate cancer, and…
❝In a large meta-analysis of 18 prospective studies that included over 3500 men, there was no association between serum androgen levels and the risk of prostate cancer development
For men with untreated prostate cancer on active surveillance, TRT remains controversial. However, several studies have shown that TRT is not associated with progression of prostate cancer as evidenced by either PSA progression or gleason grade upstaging on repeat biopsy.
Men on TRT should have frequent PSA monitoring; any major change in PSA (>1 ng/mL) within the first 3-6 months may reflect the presence of a pre-existing cancer and warrants cessation of therapy❞
Those are some select extracts, but any of this may apply to you or your loved one, we recommend to read in full about this and other risks:
Risks of testosterone replacement therapy in men
See also: Prostate Health: What You Should Know
Beyond that… If you are prone to baldness, then taking testosterone will increase that tendency. If that’s a problem for you, then it’s something to know about. There are other things you can take/use for that in turn, so maybe we’ll do a feature on those one of these days!
For now, take care!
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Mango vs Guava – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing mango to guava, we picked the guava.
Why?
Looking at macros first, these two fruits are about equal on carbs (nominally mango has more, but it’s by a truly tiny margin), while guava has more than 3x the protein and more than 3x the fiber. A clear win for guava.
In terms of vitamins, mango has more of vitamins A, E, and K, while guava has more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, B9, and C. Another win for guava.
In the category of minerals, mango is not higher in any minerals, while guava is higher in calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
In short, enjoy both; both are healthy. But if you’re choosing one, there’s a clear winner here, and it’s guava.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
Take care!
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Banana vs Peach – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing banana to peach, we picked the banana.
Why?
In terms of macros, bananas have more fiber, carbs, and protein, making them the more nutrient-dense option in this category.
In the category of vitamins, bananas have more of vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B7, B9, C, and choline, while peaches have more of vitamins A, B3, E, and K. An 8:4 win for bananas here, though peaches are still good too.
Looking at minerals, bananas have more copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while peaches have more calcium and zinc. An easy win for bananas.
When it comes to phytochemicals, both have their merits, but peaches have some anticancer properties that bananas don’t—see link below. So that’s a point in peaches’ favor.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for bananas, but by all means enjoy either both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Top 8 Fruits That Prevent & Kill Cancer
Enjoy!
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