For many of us, our creative minds aren’t their absolute best first thing in the morning, and it’s easy to reach for what’s available, if we haven’t planned ahead.

So here’s some inspiration for the coming week! If you’re a regular coffee-and-toast person, at least consider alternating some of these with that:

• Oatmeal with fresh fruit: fiber, energy, protein, vitamins and minerals (10almonds tip: we recommend making it as overnight oats! Same nutrients, lower glycemic index)
• Greek yogurt parfait: probiotic gut benefits, along with all the goodness of fruit
• Avocado toast: so many nutrients; most famous for the healthy fats, but there’s lots more in there too!
• Egg + vegetable scramble: protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, fiber
• Smoothie bowl: many nutrients—But be aware that blending will reduce fiber and make the sugar quicker to enter your bloodstream. Still not bad as an occasional feature for the sake of variety, though!
• Wholegrain pancakes: energy, fiber, and whatever your toppings! Fresh fruit is a top-tier choice; the video suggests maple syrup; we however invite you to try aged balsamic vinegar instead (sounds unlikely, we know, but try it and you’ll see; it is so delicious and your blood sugars will thank you too!)
• Chia pudding: so many nutrients in this one; chia seeds are incredible!
• Quinoa breakfast bowl: the healthy grains are a great start to the day, and contain a fair bit of protein too, and served with nuts, seeds, and diced fruit, many more nutrients get added to the mix. Unclear why the video-makers want to put honey or maple syrup on everything.
• Berries: lots of vitamins, fiber, hydration, and very many polyphenols

For a quick visual overview, and a quick-start preparation guide for the ones that aren’t just “berries” or similar, enjoy this short (3:11) video:

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_{PS: They said 10, and we only counted 9. Where is the tenth one? Who would say “10 things” and then ostensibly only have 9? Who would do such a thing?!}

About that chia pudding…

It’s a great way to get a healthy dose of protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, and a lot of other benefits for the heart and brain:

The Tiniest Seeds With The Most Value

Enjoy!

This is one that affects mostly women, with 43% of American women reporting such issues at some point. There’s a distribution curve to this, with higher incidence in younger and older women; younger while first figuring things out, and older with menopause-related body changes. But, it can happen at any time (and often not for obvious reasons!), so here’s what OB/GYN Dr. Jennifer Lincoln advises:

Many possibilities, but easily narrowed down

Common causes include:

• vaginal dryness, which itself can have many causes (half of which are “low estrogen levels” for various different reasons)
• muscular issues, which can be in response to anxiety, pain, and occur as a result of pelvic floor muscle tightening
• vulvar issues, ranging from skin disorders (e.g. lichen sclerosis or lichen planus) to nerve disorders (e.g. vestibulitis or vestibulodynia)
• uterine issues, including endometriosis, fibroids, or scar tissue if you had a surgery
• infections, of the STI variety, but bear in mind that some STIs such as herpes do not necessarily require direct sexual contact per se, and yeast infections definitely don’t. Some STIs are more serious than others, so getting things checked out is a good idea (don’t worry, clinics are discreet about this sort of thing)
• bowel issues, notwithstanding that we have been talking about vaginal sex here, it can’t be happy if its anatomical neighbors aren’t happy—so things like IBS, Crohn’s, or even just constipation, aren’t irrelevant
• trauma, of various kinds, affecting sexual experiences

That’s a lot of possibilities, so if there’s not something standing out as “yes, now that you mention it, it’s obviously that”, Dr. Lincoln recommends a full health evaluation and examination of medical history, as well as a targeted physical exam. That may not be fun, but at least, once it’s done, it’s done.

Treatments vary depending on the cause, of course, and there are many kinds of physical and psychological therapies, as well as surgeries for the uterine issues we mentioned.

Happily, many of the above things can be addressed with simpler and less invasive methods, including learning more about the relevant anatomy and physiology and how to use it (be not ashamed; most people never got meaningful education about this!)*, vulvar skin care (“gentle” is the watchword here), the difference a good lube can make, and estrogen supplementation—which if you’re not up for general HRT, can be a topical estrogen cream that alleviates sexual function issues without raising blood serum estradiol levels.

*10almonds tip: check out the recommended book “Come As You Are” in our links below; it has 400 pages of stuff most people never knew about anatomy and physiology down there; you can thank us later!

Meanwhile, for more on each of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Water-based Lubricant vs Silicon-based Lubricant – Which is Healthier? (counterintuitively, it’s the silicon! But do give it a quick read, because here be science)
• How To Avoid Urinary Tract Infections (may be relevant; always good to know)
• Come As You Are – by Dr. Emily Nagoski (book; if we could only recommend one book on responsible vagina ownership, this would be the one)

Take care!

Arterial plaque is a big deal, and statistically it’s more of a risk as we get older, often coming to a head around age 72 for women and 65 for men—these are the median ages at which people who are going to get heart attacks, get them. Or get it, because sometimes one is all it takes.

The Ankle-Brachial Index Test

Dr. Brewer recommends a home test for detecting arterial plaque called the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI), which uses a blood pressure monitor. The test involves measuring blood pressure in both the arms and ankles, then calculating the ratio of these measurements:

• A healthy ABI score is between 1.0 and 1.4; anything outside this range may indicate arterial problems.
• Low ABI scores (below 0.8) suggest plaque is likely obstructing blood flow
• High ABI scores (above 1.4) may indicate artery hardening

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), associated with poor ABI results (be they high or low), can cause a whole lot of problems that are definitely better tackled sooner rather than later—remember that atherosclerosis is a self-worsening thing once it gets going, because narrower walls means it’s even easier for more stuff to get stuck in there (and thus, the new stuff that got stuck also becomes part of the walls, and the problem gets worse).

If you need a blood pressure monitor, by the way, here’s an example product on Amazon.

Do note also that yes, if you have plaque obstructing blood flow and hardened arteries, your scores may cancel out and give you a “healthy” score, despite your arteries being very much not healthy. For this reason, this test can be used to raise the alarm, but not to give the “all clear”.

For more on all of the above, plus a demonstration and more in-depth explanation of the test, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Dietary Changes for Artery Health
• What Matters Most For Your Heart?

Take care!