I Will Make You Passionate About Exercise – by Bevan Eyles
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What this isn’t: a “just do it!” motivational pep-talk.
What this is:a compassionate and thoughtful approach to help non-exercisers become regular exercisers, by looking at the real life factors of what holds people back (learning from his own early failures as a coach, by paying attention now to things he inadvertently neglected back then), both in the material/practical and in the psychological/emotional.
Further, he gives a 10-step method, for those who would like to be walked through it by the hand, making the transition to exercising regularly (and as a leisure habit, rather than as a chore) as frictionless as possible.
The style is friendly and energetic, and very easy-reading throughout.
Bottom line: if you are someone who finds exercising to be a chore, this book can definitely help you “get from here to there” in terms of finding joy in it, and finding exercise even easier than not exercising. Yes, really.
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The Modern Art and Science of Mobility – by Aurélien Broussal-Derval
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We’ve reviewed mobility books before, so what makes this one stand out?
We’ll be honest: the illustrations are lovely.
The science, the information, the exercises, the routines, the programs… All these things are excellent too, but these can be found in many a book.
What can’t usually be found is very beautiful (yet no less clear) watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches as anatomical illustrations.
There are photos too (also of high quality), but the artistry of the paintings and sketches is what makes the reader want to spend time perusing the books.
At least, that’s what this reviewer found! Because it’s all very well having access to a lot of information (and indeed, I read so much), but making it enjoyable increases the chances of rereading it much more often.
As for the rest of the content, the book’s information is divided in categories:
- Pain (what causes it, what it means, and how to manage it)
- Breathing (yes, a whole section devoted to this, and it is aligned heavily to posture also, as well as psychological state and the effect of stress on tension, inflammation, and more)
- Movement (this is mostly about kinds of movement and ranges of movement)
- Mobility (this is about aggregating movements as a fully mobile human)
So, each builds on from the previous because any pain needs addressing before anything else, breathing (and with it, posture) comes next, then we learn about movement, then we bring it all together for mobility.
Bottom line: this is a beautiful and comprehensive book that will make learning a joy
Click here to check out The Modern Art and Science of Mobility, and learn and thrive!
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Getting Things Done – by David Allen
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Our “to-do” lists are usually hopelessly tangled:
“To do thing x needs thing y doing first but that can only be done with information that I must get by doing thing z”, and so on.
Suddenly that two-minute task is looking like half an hour, which is making our overall to-do list look gargantuan. Tackling tiny parts of tasks seems useless; tackling large tasks seems overwhelming. What a headache!
Getting Things Done (“GTD”, to its friends) shows us how to gather all our to-dos, and then use the quickest ways to break down a task (in reality, often a mini-project) into its constituent parts and which things can be done next, and what order to do them in (or defer, or delegate, or ditch).
In a nutshell: The GTD system aims to make all your tasks comprehensible and manageable, for stress-free productivity. No need to strategize everything every time; you have a system now, and always know where to begin.
And by popular accounts, it delivers—many put this book in the “life-changing” category.
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Shredded Wheat vs Organic Crunch – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing Shredded Wheat to Organic Crunch, we picked the Shredded Wheat.
Why?
In this battle of the cereals, it comes down to the ingredients:
- The Shredded Wheat cereal has two ingredients: wheat (shredded), and BHT. The latter is a phenolic compound and antioxidant.
- The Organic Crunch cereal has lots of ingredients, of which the first two are wheat flour, and sugar.
This means that, per serving…
- The Shredded Wheat cereal has 7g fiber and 0g sugar
- The Organic Crunch cereal has 3g fiber and 12g sugar
Quite a difference! Sometimes, the “Organic Crunch” of a product comes from crunchy sugar.
You can check them out side-by-side here:
Shredded Wheat | Organic Crunch
Want to know more?
There’s a popular view that the only way to get fiber is to eat things that look (and potentially taste) like cardboard. Not so! There are delicious options:
Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)
Enjoy!
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A Therapeutic Journey – by Alain de Botton
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We’ve often featured The School of Life’s videos here on 10almonds, and most of those are written by (and often voiced by) Alain de Botton.
This book lays out the case for mental health being also just health, that no person is perfectly healthy all the time, and sometimes we all need a little help. While he does suggest seeking help from reliable outside sources, he also tells a lot about how we can improve things for ourselves along the way, whether by what we can control in our environment, or just what’s between our ears.
In the category of limitations, the book is written with the assumption that you are in a position to have access to a therapist of your choice, and in a sufficiently safe and stable life situation that there is a limit to how bad things can get.
The style is… Alain de Botton’s usual style. Well-written, clear, decisive, instructive, compassionate, insightful, thought-provoking.
Bottom line: this isn’t a book for absolutely everyone, but if your problems are moderate and your resources are comfortable, then this book has a lot of insights that can make your life more easy-going and joyful, without dropping the seriousness when appropriate.
Click here to check out A Therapeutic Journey, and perhaps begin one of your own!
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Red Lentils vs Green Lentils – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing red lentils to green lentils, we picked the green.
Why?
Yes, they’re both great. But there are some clear distinctions!
First, know: red lentils are, secretly, hulled brown lentils. Brown lentils are similar to green lentils, just a little less popular and with (very) slightly lower nutritional values, as a rule.
By hulling the lentils, the first thing that needs mentioning is that they lose some of their fiber, since this is what was removed. While we’re talking macros, this does mean that red lentils have proportionally more protein, because of the fiber weight lost. However, because green lentils are still a good source of protein, we think the fat that green lentils have much more fiber is a point in their favor.
In terms of micronutrients, they’re quite similar in vitamins (mostly B-vitamins, of which, mostly folate / vitamin B9), and when it comes to minerals, they’re similarly good sources of iron, but green lentils contain more magnesium and potassium.
Green lentils also contain more antixoidants.
All in all, they both continue to be very respectable parts of anyone’s diet—but in a head-to-head, green lentils do come out on top (unless you want to prioritize slightly higher protein above everything else, in which case, red).
Want to get some in? Here are the specific products we featured today:
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
- Why You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Fiber (And How To Fix It)
- Eat More (Of This) For Lower Blood Pressure ← incidentally, the potassium content of green lentils also helps minimize the harm done by sodium in one’s diet
Take care!
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The “Love Drug”
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Get PEA-Brained!
Today we’ll be looking at phenylethylamine, or PEA, to its friends.
Not to be mistaken for the related amino acid phenylalanine! Both ultimately have effects on the dopaminergic system, but the process and benefits are mostly quite different.
We thought we’d do this one in the week of Valentine’s Day, because of its popular association with love:
❝Phenylethylamine (PEA), an amphetamine-like substance that has been alluringly labeled the “chemical of love,” makes the best case for the love-chocolate connection since it has been shown that people in love may actually have higher levels of PEA in their brain, as surmised from the fact that their urine is richer in a metabolite of this compound. In other words, people thrashing around in the throes of love pee differently from others.❞
Source: Office for Science and Society | The Chemical of Love
What is it?
It’s an amino acid. Because we are mammals, we can synthesize it inside our bodies, so it’s not considered an “essential amino acid”, i.e. one that we need to get from our diet. It is found in some foods, though, including:
- Other animals, especially other mammals
- Various beans, legumes, nuts, seeds. In particular almonds, soybeans, lentils, and chickpeas score highly
- Fermented foods
- Chocolate (popular lore holds this to be a good source of PEA; science finds it to be a fair option, but not in the same ballpark as the other items)
Fun fact: the reason Marvel’s Venom has a penchant for eating humans and chocolate is (according to the comics) because phenylethylamine is an essential amino acid for it.
What does it do for us?
It’s a Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulant, and also helps us synthesize critical neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine (adrenaline) and serotonin:
It works similarly, but not identically, to amphetamines:
Is it safe?
We normally do this after the benefits, but “it works similarly to amphetamines” may raise an eyebrow or two, so let’s do it here:
- It is recommended to take no more than 500mg/day, with 100mg–500mg being typical doses
- It is not recommended to take it at all if you have, or have a predisposition to, any kind of psychotic disorder (especially schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder wherein you sometimes experience mania)
- This isn’t a risk for most people, but if you fall into the above category, the elevated dopamine levels could nudge you into a psychotic/manic episode that you probably don’t want.
See for example: Does phenylethylamine cause schizophrenia?
There are other contraindications too, so speak with your doctor/pharmacist before trying it.
On the other hand, if you are considering ADHD medication, then phenylethylamine could be a safer thing to try first, to see if it helps, before going to the heavy guns of actual amphetamines (as are commonly prescribed for ADHD). Same goes for depression and antidepressants.
What can I expect from PEA?
More dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Mostly the former two. Which means, you can expect stimulation.
For focus and attention, it’s so effective that it has been suggested (as we mentioned above) as a safer alternative to ADHD meds:
β-phenylethylamine, a small molecule with a large impact
…and may give similar benefits to people without ADHD, namely improved focus, attention, and mental stamina:
It also improves mood:
❝Phenylethylamine (PEA), an endogenous neuroamine, increases attention and activity in animals and has been shown to relieve depression in 60% of depressed patients. It has been proposed that PEA deficit may be the cause of a common form of depressive illness.
Effective dosage did not change with time. There were no apparent side effects. PEA produces sustained relief of depression in a significant number of patients, including some unresponsive to the standard treatments. PEA improves mood as rapidly as amphetamine but does not produce tolerance.❞
Source: Sustained antidepressant effect of PEA replacement
Where can I get it?
We don’t sell it, but here is an example product on Amazon for your convenience 😎
Enjoy!
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