6 Signs Of A Heart Attack… A Month In Advance
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Many people know the signs of a heart attack when it’s happening, but how about before it’s too late to avoid it?
The signs
- Unusual fatigue: persistent tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest
- Shortness of breath: unexplained breathlessness during light activities or rest, which can be caused by fluid buildup in the lungs (because the heart isn’t circulating blood as well as it should)
- Chest discomfort: pain, pressure, tightness, or aching in the chest due to reduced blood flow to the heart muscle—often occurring during physical exertion or emotional stress
- Frequent indigestion: means that heartburn could be heart-related! This is about persistently reoccurring discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen
- Sleep disturbances: difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up abruptly
- Excessive sweating: unexplained cold sweats or sudden sweating without physical exertion or excessive heat, can be a response to the decreased oxygen levels caused by less efficient blood flow
Note: this is a list of warning signs, not a diagnostic tool. Any or even all of these could be caused by something else. Just, don’t ignore the signs and do get yourself checked out.
For more details on each of these, enjoy:
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Mythbusting The Big O
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“Early To Bed…”
In yesterday’s newsletter, we asked you for your (health-related) views on orgasms.
But what does the science say?
Orgasms are essential to good health: True or False?
False, in the most literal sense. One certainly won’t die without them. Anorgasmia (the inability to orgasm) is a condition that affects many postmenopausal women, some younger women, and some men. And importantly, it isn’t fatal—just generally considered unfortunate:
Anorgasmia Might Explain Why You’re Not Orgasming When You Want To
That article focuses on women; here’s a paper focusing on men:
Orgasms are good for the health, but marginally: True or False?
True! They have a wide array of benefits, depending on various factors (including, of course, one’s own sex). That said, the benefits are so marginal that we don’t have a flock of studies to cite, and are reduced to pop-science sources that verbally cite studies that are, alas, nowhere to be found, for example:
- For women: 9 Orgasm Benefits That Might Surprise You
- For men: 9 Ways Orgasms May Benefit Your Health
Doubtlessly the studies do exist, but are sparse enough that finding them is a nightmare as the keywords for them will bring up a lot of studies about orgasms and health that aren’t answering the above question (usually: health’s affect on orgasms, rather than the other way around).
There is some good science for post-menopausal women, though! Here it is:
Misconceptions About Sexual Health in Older Women
(if you have the time to read this, this also covers many very avoidable things that can disrupt sexual function, in ways that people will errantly chalk up to old age, not knowing that they are missing out needlessly)
Orgasms are good or bad, depending on being male or female: True or False
False, broadly. The health benefits are extant and marginal for almost everyone, as indicated above.
What’s that “almost” about, then?
There are a very few* people (usually men) for whom it doesn’t go well. In such cases, they have a chronic and lifelong problem whereby orgasm is followed by 2–7 days of flu-like and allergic symptoms. Little is known about it, but it appears to be some sort of autoimmune disorder.
Read more: Post-orgasmic illness syndrome: history and current perspectives
*It’s hard to say for sure how few though, as it is surely under-reported and thus under-diagnosed; likely even misdiagnosed if the patient doesn’t realize that orgasms are the trigger for such episodes, and the doctor doesn’t think to ask. Instead, they will be busy trying to eliminate foods from the diet, things like that, while missing this cause.
Orgasms are better avoided for optimal health: True or False?
Aside from the above, False. There is a common myth for men of health benefits of “semen retention”, but it is not based in science, just tradition. You can read a little about it here:
The short version is: do it if you want; don’t if you don’t; the body will compensate either way so it won’t make a meaningful difference to anything for most people, healthwise.
Small counterpoint: while withholding orgasm (and ejaculation) is not harmful to health, what does physiologically need draining sometimes is prostate fluid. But that can also be achieved mechanically through prostate milking, or left to fend for itself (as it will in nocturnal emissions, popularly called wet dreams). However, if you have problems with an enlarged prostate, it may not be a bad idea to take matters into your own hands, so to speak. As ever, do check with your doctor if you have (or think you may have) a condition that might affect this.
One final word…
We’re done with mythbusting for today, but we wanted to share this study that we came across (so to speak) while researching, as it’s very interesting:
On which note: if you haven’t already, consider getting a “magic wand” style vibe; you can thank us later (this writer’s opinion: everyone should have one!).
Top tip: do get the kind that plugs into the wall, not rechargeable. The plug-into-the-wall kind are more powerful, and last much longer (both “in the moment”, and in terms of how long the device itself lasts).
Enjoy!
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Scarcity Brain – by Michael Easter
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After a brief overview of theevolutionary psychology underpinnings of the scarcity brain, the author grounds the rest of this book firmly in the present. He explains how the scarcity loop hooks us and why we crave more, and what factors can increase or lessen its hold over us.
As for what things we are wired to consider “potentially scarce any time now” no matter how saturated we are in them, he looks at an array of categories, each with their nuances. From the obvious such as “food” and “stuff“, to understandable “information” and “happiness“, to abstractions like “influence“, he goes to many sources—experts of various kinds from around the world—to explore how we can know “how much is enough”, and—which can be harder—act accordingly.
The key, he argues, is not in simply wanting less, but in understanding why we crave more in the first place, get rid of our worst habits, and use what we already have, better.
Bottom line: if you feel a gnawing sense of needing more “to be on the safe side”, this book can help you to be a little more strategic (and at the same time, less stressed!) about that.
Click here to check out Scarcity Brain, and manage yours more mindfully!
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The Cancer Code − by Dr. William Fung
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We have previously reviewed, by the same author, “The Obesity Code” and “The Diabetes Code”, so, what does this one offer that’s new?
Mostly, it’s just a new focus, because the dietary approach is basically the same (because all three are fundamentally metabolism-related), with some small tweaks for cancer-specificity. If you’ve read one or more of the other books, you can probably comfortably get away with skipping this one, unless you or a loved one presently has cancer and you’re doing your best to squeeze out any extra 1% of anticancer potential.
Indeed, the former two books assumed that you are affected by obesity or diabetes, respectively, and this one assumes you are at least particularly concerned by cancer—he doesn’t assume you have it (although he does cover that too); he assumes however that you perhaps have a known risk factor or some other similar reason to be focusing on this.
To oversimplify a lot, the dietary approach recommended involves practising intermittent fasting, and also adjusting one’s diet to reduce fasting blood sugar levels and postprandial (after eating) blood sugar and insulin levels. Shocking nobody, he advocates for a lot of plants; he does however recommend a moderately low-carb diet (e.g. legumes are fine but maybe skip the fries).
The style is on the hard end of pop-science, while still quite readable provided one takes one’s time, and there are more than 30 pages of scientific references.
Bottom line: if you’d like to make your diet as anticancer as possible, this book will show you how.
Click there to check out The Cancer Code, and eat to beat cancer!
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Instead Of Chasing 10,000 Steps…
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There is a better way:
Make it count
Fun fact: the widely promoted goal originated from a 1964 Japanese pedometer called the “Manpo-kei” (“10,000 steps meter”) as a marketing decision rather than from clinical research, largely because the Japanese kanji for 10,000 looks a bit like a walking person: 万
Walking is indeed very beneficial for many aspects of health (really: most aspects of health), and health benefits rise sharply when increasing from about 2,000 to 4,000 daily steps and continue improving up to 7,000–8,000 steps, after which additional benefits increase more gradually with diminishing returns; for example, although walking 15,000 steps is indeed generally better than 8,000, the extra health gains beyond about 8,000 steps are relatively small compared with the gains achieved at lower step counts.
For this reason, if you’re regularly getting in step counts in the 6,000–8,000 range, chances are you’re already getting most of the benefits.
So, what’s the promised “instead”?
Walking intensity matters: for most of us, how briskly we walk has a greater effect on health than just increasing the number of steps. For example, a leisurely stroll (lovely as it may be) provides fewer cardiovascular, metabolic, and balance benefits than a brisk walk walked at a moderate intensity.
So: instead of simply walking farther, aim to increase your walking pace to make your exercise more effective. A good goal is to try to accumulate 30 minutes of brisk walking each day, be it as one 30-minute walk, two 15-minute walks, or three 10-minute walks.
And if you really want to get optimal, then the best time to do it is after eating, as this greatly improves blood sugar control and digestion.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
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Don’t Love Needles? New Oral GLP-1 Med Works Just As Well!
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…and other items from this week’s health news:
GLP-1, easier
Orforglipron may sound like the name of a demon, or perhaps an elf, but in fact it’s the new GLP-1 drug in oral form, offering the benefits of other GLP-1 receptor agonists, but without having to do injections (and also without the resultant mountain of plastic waste from the disposable subcutaneous injection pens!).
It was tested in a 72-week, double-blind placebo-controlled trial across 136 sites in 10 countries, enrolling 1,613 adults with type 2 diabetes. Doses were escalated from 1 mg to 6 mg, 12 mg, or 36 mg.
There was a slight difference from many such studies though; whereas similar trials often prescribe a fixed 500-calorie deficit, participants were encouraged to use portion control, avoid skipping meals, prioritize protein- and fiber-rich foods, limit saturated fats, added sugar, and salt, and complete at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week. So, there’s a distinct diet-and-lifestyle element here too.
Still, the diet and lifestyle can’t take all the credit, as average weight reductions after 72 weeks were 5.5% (6 mg), 7.8% (12 mg), 10.5% (36 mg), and 2.2% (placebo).
It’s also worth noting that the medication improved blood sugar control, and produced only mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects comparable to standard injectable GLP-1 therapies:
Read in full: Oral GLP-1 pill shows strong weight loss and blood sugar benefits in adults with diabetes
Related: 1 in 5 US Women Aged 50–64 Has Used GLP-1 RAs: What We’ve Learned
Good news for hot tub lovers this winter
No sauna available? The good news is that a hot tub outperforms them anyway. And, that doesn’t mean that it has to be a fancy one—a regular hot bath will work too.
The reason it has extra benefits is because hot tubs raise core temperature more strongly than saunas, producing greater cardiovascular, immune, and acute inflammatory responses.
As for why it does that even at the same temperatures, it’s because immersion limits your body’s ability to dissipate heat, so your core temperature rises more, boosting the blood flow and vascular stress that supports cardiovascular health.
Furthermore, when tested head-to-head, only hot-water immersion increased inflammatory cytokines and similar immune cell populations, indicating a measurable acute immune response (that’s good).
Read in full: New research shows hot tubs trigger surprising health benefits saunas don’t
Related: How Useful Is Hydrotherapy?
The DAMP harbingers of stroke
After an ischemic stroke, the brain launches an inflammatory “fire drill” that can either protect it or accidentally make things worse.
Specifically: when brain cells die, they spill distress molecules that kick the immune system into action, raising the inflammatory biomarkers IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. In the short term, this can breach the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and worsen injury. But when calmer signals like IL-10 and TGF-β take over, the brain finally gets a chance to rebuild blood vessels and repair tissue.
If measured, this can give doctors important clues about what’s going on (and thus how to treat it). For example:
- Early-rising markers help confirm a stroke sooner
- High CRP, IL-6, and MMP-9 levels predict slower recovery and higher complications
- Simple ratios such as NLR and SII give fast insight into risks like pneumonia and long-term disability
- Markers including SII, NLR, FAR, and CCR7+ T cells can even guide thrombectomy decisions
Based on these things, new therapies aim to calm harmful inflammation without shutting down the good kind. These include IL-1β-blocking antibodies, drugs that tune microglia towards healing modes, MMP inhibitors, and experimental miRNA-based treatments.
In other words: personalized treatment flowcharts guided by each patient’s biomarker profile (rather than guessing and hoping).
Read in full: Inflammatory biomarkers offer new insights for precision medicine in ischemic stroke
Related: Reduce Your Stroke Risk
Take care!
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What Are “Adaptogens” Anyway? (And Other Questions Answered)
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!
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 tried to use your calculator for heart health, and was unable to enter in my height or weight. Is there another way to calculate? Why will that field not populate?❞
(this is in reference to yesterday’s main feature “How Are You, Really? And How Old Is Your Heart?“)
How strange! We tested it in several desktop browsers and several mobile browsers, and were unable to find any version that didn’t work. That includes switching between metric and imperial units, per preference; both appear to work fine. Do be aware that it’ll only take numerical imput, though.
Did anyone else have this problem? Let us know! (You can reply to this email, or use the handy feedback widget at the bototm)
❝I may have missed it, but how much black pepper provides benefits?❞
So, for any new subscribers joining us today, this is about two recent main features:
As for a daily dosage of black pepper, it varies depending on the benefit you’re looking for, but:
- 5–20mg of piperine is the dosage range used in most scientific studies we looked at
- 10mg is a very common dosage found in many popular supplements
- That’s the mass of piperine though, so if taking it as actual black pepper rather than as an extract, ½ teaspoon is considered sufficient to enjoy benefits.
❝I loved the health benefits of pepper. I do not like pepper. Where can I get it as a supplement?❞
You can simply buy whole black peppercorns and take a few with water as though they were tablets. Your stomach acid will do the rest. Black pepper is also good for digestion, so taking it with a meal is best.
You can buy piperine (black pepper extract) by itself as a supplement in powder form, but if you don’t like black pepper, you will probably not like this powder either. We couldn’t find it readily in capsule form.
You can buy piperine (black pepper extract) as an adjunct to other supplements, with perhaps the most common/popular being turmeric capsules that also contain 10mg (or more) piperine per capsule. Shop around if you like, but here’s one that has 15mg piperine* per capsule, for example.
*They call it “Bioperine®” but that is literally just piperine. Same goes if you see “Absorbagen™”, it’s still just piperine.
❝What do you mean when you say that something is adaptogenic?❞
Simple version: it means it helps the body adapt to stress, by adjusting the body’s natural responses. Thus, adaptogenic supplements can be contrasted with tranquilizing drugs that mask stress by brute force, for example.
Technical version: adaptogenic activity refers to improving physiological stress resilience, such as by moderating and modulating hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis signaling, and/or by regulating levels of endogenic compounds involved in the cellular stress response.
Read more (technical version):
Read more (simple version):
European Medicines Agency’s Reflection Paper On The Adaptogenic Concept
Enjoy!
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