Oh, Honey

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The Bee’s Knees?

If you’d like to pre-empt that runny nose, some say that local honey is the answer. The rationale is that bees visiting the local sources of pollen and making honey will introduce the same allergens to you in a non allergy-inducing fashion (the honey). The result? Inoculation against the allergens in question.

But does it work?

Researching this, we found a lot of articles saying there was no science to back it up.

And then! We found one solitary study from 2013, and the title was promising:

Ingestion of honey improves the symptoms of allergic rhinitis: evidence from a randomized placebo-controlled trial

But we don’t stop at titles; that’s not the kind of newsletter we are. We pride ourselves on giving good information!

And it turned out, upon reading the method and the results, that:

  • Both the control and test groups also took loratadine for the first 4 weeks of the study
  • The test group additionally took 1g/kg bodyweight of honey, daily—so for example if you’re 165lb (75kg), that’s about 4 tablespoons per day
  • The control group took the equivalent amount of honey-flavored syrup
  • Both groups showed equal improvements by week 4
  • The test group only showed continued improvements (over the control group) by week 8

The researchers concluded from this:

❝Honey ingestion at a high dose improves the overall and individual symptoms of AR, and it could serve as a complementary therapy for AR.❞

We at 10almonds concluded from this:

❝That’s a lot of honey to eat every day for months!❞

We couldn’t base an article on one study from a decade ago, though! Fortunately, we found a veritable honeypot of more recent research, in the form of this systematic review:

Read: The Potential Use Of Honey As A Remedy For Allergic Diseases

…which examines 13 key studies and 43 scientific papers over the course of 21 years. That’s more like it! This was the jumping-off point we needed into more useful knowledge.

We’re not going to cite all those here—we’re a health and productivity newsletter, not an academic journal of pharmacology, but we did sift through them so that you don’t have to, and:

The researchers (of that review) concluded:

❝Although there is limited evidence, some studies showed remarkable improvements against certain types of allergic illnesses and support that honey is an effective anti-allergic agent.

Our (10almonds team) further observations included:

  • The research review notes that a lot of studies did not confirm which phytochemical compounds specifically are responsible for causing allergic reactions and/or alleviating such (so: didn’t always control for what we’d like to know, i.e. the mechanism of action)
  • Some studies showed results radically different from the rest. The reviewers put this down to differences that were not controlled-for between studies, for example:
    • Some studies used very different methods to others. There may be an important difference between a human eating a tablespoon of honey, and a rat having aerosolized honey shot up its nose, for instance. We put more weight to human studies than rat studies!
    • Some kinds of honey (such as manuka) contain higher quantities of gallic acid which itself can relieve allergies by chemically inhibiting the release of histamine. In other words, never mind pollen-based inoculations… it’s literally an antihistamine.
    • Certain honeys (such as tualang, manuka and gelam) contain higher quantities of quercetin. What’s quercetin? It’s a plant flavonoid that a recent study has shown significantly relieves symptoms of seasonal allergies. So again, it works, just not for the reason people say!

In summary:

The “inoculation by local honey” thing specifically may indeed remain “based on traditional use only” for now.

But! Honey as a remedy for allergies, especially manuka honey, has a growing body of scientific evidence behind it.

Bottom line:

If you like honey, go for it (manuka seems best)! It may well relieve your symptoms.

If you don’t, off-the-shelf antihistamines remain a perfectly respectable option.

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  • The Fiber Fueled Cookbook – by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    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.

    We’ve previously reviewed Dr. Bulsiewicz’s book “Fiber Fuelled” (which is great), but this one is more than just a cookbook with the previous book in mind. Indeed, this is even a great stand-alone book by itself, since it explains the core principles well enough already, and then adds to it.

    It’s also about a lot more than just “please eat more fiber”, though. It looks at FODMAPs, purine, histamine intolerance, celiac disease, altered gallbladder function, acid reflux, and more.

    He offers a five-part strategy:

    Genesis (what is the etiology of your problem)

    1. Restrict (cut things out to address that first)
    2. Observe (keep a food/symptom diary)
    3. Work things back in (re-add potential triggers one by one, see how it goes)
    4. Train your gut (your microbiome does not exist in a vacuum, and communication is two-way)
    5. Holistic healing (beyond the gut itself, looking at other relevant factors and aiming for synergistic support)

    As for the recipes themselves, there are more than a hundred of them and they are good, so no more “how can I possibly cook [favorite dish] without [removed ingredient]?”

    Bottom line: if you’d like better gut health, this book is a top-tier option for fixing existing complaints, and enjoying plain-sailing henceforth.

    Click here to check out The Fiber Fueled Cookbook; your gut will thank you later!

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  • Why are my muscles sore after exercise? Hint: it’s nothing to do with lactic acid

    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.

    As many of us hit the gym or go for a run to recover from the silly season, you might notice a bit of extra muscle soreness.

    This is especially true if it has been a while between workouts.

    A common misunderstanding is that such soreness is due to lactic acid build-up in the muscles.

    Research, however, shows lactic acid has nothing to do with it. The truth is far more interesting, but also a bit more complex.

    It’s not lactic acid

    We’ve known for decades that lactic acid has nothing to do with muscle soreness after exercise.

    In fact, as one of us (Robert Andrew Robergs) has long argued, cells produce lactate, not lactic acid. This process actually opposes not causes the build-up of acid in the muscles and bloodstream.

    Unfortunately, historical inertia means people still use the term “lactic acid” in relation to exercise.

    Lactate doesn’t cause major problems for the muscles you use when you exercise. You’d probably be worse off without it due to other benefits to your working muscles.

    Lactate isn’t the reason you’re sore a few days after upping your weights or exercising after a long break.

    So, if it’s not lactic acid and it’s not lactate, what is causing all that muscle soreness?

    Muscle pain during and after exercise

    When you exercise, a lot of chemical reactions occur in your muscle cells. All these chemical reactions accumulate products and by-products which cause water to enter into the cells.

    That causes the pressure inside and between muscle cells to increase.

    This pressure, combined with the movement of molecules from the muscle cells can stimulate nerve endings and cause discomfort during exercise.

    The pain and discomfort you sometimes feel hours to days after an unfamiliar type or amount of exercise has a different list of causes.

    If you exercise beyond your usual level or routine, you can cause microscopic damage to your muscles and their connections to tendons.

    Such damage causes the release of ions and other molecules from the muscles, causing localised swelling and stimulation of nerve endings.

    This is sometimes known as “delayed onset muscle soreness” or DOMS.

    While the damage occurs during the exercise, the resulting response to the injury builds over the next one to two days (longer if the damage is severe). This can sometimes cause pain and difficulty with normal movement.

    The upshot

    Research is clear; the discomfort from delayed onset muscle soreness has nothing to do with lactate or lactic acid.

    The good news, though, is that your muscles adapt rapidly to the activity that would initially cause delayed onset muscle soreness.

    So, assuming you don’t wait too long (more than roughly two weeks) before being active again, the next time you do the same activity there will be much less damage and discomfort.

    If you have an exercise goal (such as doing a particular hike or completing a half-marathon), ensure it is realistic and that you can work up to it by training over several months.

    Such training will gradually build the muscle adaptations necessary to prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. And being less wrecked by exercise makes it more enjoyable and more easy to stick to a routine or habit.

    Finally, remove “lactic acid” from your exercise vocabulary. Its supposed role in muscle soreness is a myth that’s hung around far too long already.The Conversation

    Robert Andrew Robergs, Associate Professor – Exercise Physiology, Queensland University of Technology and Samuel L. Torrens, PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Curious Kids: what are the main factors in forming someone’s personality?

    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.

    “What are the main factors in forming someone’s personality?” – Emma, age 10, from Shanghai

    Hello Emma, and thank you for this very interesting question!

    Let’s start by exploring what we mean by personality. Have you noticed no two people are completely alike? We all see, experience, and understand the world in different ways.

    For example, some people love spending time with friends and being the centre of attention, whereas other people are more shy and enjoy having time to themselves.

    Your unique personality is shaped by your genes as well as various influences in your environment. And your personality plays an important role in how you interact with the world.

    The big five

    Did you know there are scientists who spend time researching personality? Their research is concerned with describing the ways people differ from each other, and understanding how these differences could be important for other parts of life such as our health and how well we do in school or at work.

    There are many different perspectives on personality. A widely accepted viewpoint based on a lot of research is called the five factor model or the “big five”. According to this theory, a great deal of a person’s personality can be summarised in terms of where they sit on five dimensions, called traits:

    1. the introversion-extraversion trait refers to how much someone is outgoing and social (extroverted) or prefers being with smaller groups of friends or focusing on their own thoughts (introverted)
    2. agreeableness captures how much someone tends to be cooperative and helps others
    3. openness to experience refers to how much a person is creative and enjoys experiencing new things
    4. neuroticism describes a person’s tendency to experience negative feelings, like worrying about things that could go wrong
    5. conscientiousness encompasses how much a person is organised, responsible, and dedicated to things that are important to them, like schoolwork or training for a sports team.

    A person can have high, low, or moderate levels of each of these traits. And understanding whether someone has higher or lower levels of the big five can tell us a lot about how we might expect them to behave in different situations.

    So what shapes our personalities?

    A number of factors shape our personalities, including our genes and social environment.

    Our bodies are made up of many very small structures called cells. Within these cells are genes. We inherit genes from our parents, and they carry the information needed to make our bodies and personalities. So, your personality may be a bit like your parents’ personalities. For example, if you’re an outgoing sort of person who loves to meet new people, perhaps one or both of your parents are very social too.

    A mother getting her son ready, fastening his backpack.
    Our personalities are influenced by the genes we get from our parents.
    KieferPix/Shutterstock

    Personalities are also affected by our environment, such as our experiences and our relationships with family and friends. For example, some research has shown our relationships with our parents can influence our personality. If we have loving and warm relationships, we may be more agreeable and open. But if our relationships are hurtful or stressful, this may increase our neuroticism.

    Another study showed that, over time, young children who were more physically active were less introverted (less shy) and less likely to get very upset when things don’t go their way, compared to children who were less physically active. Although we don’t know why this is for sure, one possible explanation is that playing sport leads to reduced shyness because it introduces children to different people.

    While we’re learning more about personality development all the time, research in this area presents quite a few challenges. Many different biological, cultural and environmental influences shape our development, and these factors can interact with each other in complex ways.

    Is our personality fixed once we become adults?

    Although we develop most of our personality when we are young, and people’s personalities tend to become more stable as they get older, it is possible for aspects of a person’s personality to change, even when they are fully grown.

    A good example of this can be seen among people who seek treatment for conditions like anxiety or depression. People who respond well to working with a psychologist can show decreases in neuroticism, indicating they become less likely to worry a lot or feel strong negative feelings when something stressful happens.

    Hello, Curious Kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to mailto:[email protected]The Conversation

    Tim Windsor, Professor, Director, Generations Research Initiative, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University and Natalie Goulter, Lecturer, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Healthiest-Three-Nut Butter

    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.

    We’re often telling you to “diversify your nuts”, so here’s a great way to get in three at once with no added sugar, palm oil, or preservatives, and only the salt you choose to put in. We’ve picked three of the healthiest nuts around, but if you happen to be allergic, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered too.

    You will need

    • 1 cup almonds (if allergic, substitute a seed, e.g. chia, and make it ½ cup)
    • 1 cup walnuts (if allergic, substitute a seed, e.g. pumpkin, and make it ½ cup)
    • 1 cup pistachios (if allergic, substitute a seed, e.g. poppy, and make it ½ cup)
    • 1 tbsp almond oil (if allergic, substitute extra virgin olive oil) (if you prefer sweet nut butter, substitute 1 tbsp maple syrup; the role here is to emulsify the nuts, and this will do the same job)
    • Optional: ¼ tsp MSG or ½ tsp low-sodium salt

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1a) If using nuts, heat your oven to 350℉ / 180℃. Place the nuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and bake/roast for about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on it to ensure the nuts don’t burn, and jiggle them if necessary to ensure they toast evenly. Once done, allow to cool.

    1b) If using seeds, you can either omit that step, or do the same for 5 minutes if you want to, but really it’s not necessary.

    2) Blend all ingredients (nuts/seeds, oil, MSG/salt) in a high-speed blender. Note: this will take about 10 minutes in total, and we recommend you do it in 30-second bursts so as to not overheat the motor. You also may need to periodically scrape the mixture down the side of the blender, to ensure a smooth consistency.

    3) Transfer to a clean jar, and enjoy at your leisure:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Biohack Your Way to Healthy Skin – by Jennifer Sun

    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 author, an aesthetician with a biotech background, explains about the overlap of skin health and skin beauty, making it better from the inside first (diet and other lifestyle factors), and then tweaking things as desired from the outside.

    We previous reviewed another book of hers, “Unleashing Your Best Skin”, and this time the focus is on things you can do at home—not requiring expensive salon treatments (the other book covers both approaches; this one simply skips the clinic work and instead has a lot more detail in the at-home category).

    As for what she covers, it comes in categories:

    • Gadgets to consider investing in, how to pick good ones, and what gadgets to avoid
    • Basic skincare knowledge and practice; here we’re talking cleaners, tonics, moisturizers, and so forth
    • Best topical and oral ingredients for the skin (and in contrast, ingredients to be wary of)
    • Nutrition for skincare; not just “your skin needs these ingredients”, but also…
    • Gut health for skincare, which gets a whole chapter just for that
    • Biohacking hormones for skincare, including in the cases of various common hormone imbalances (e.g. menopause, PCOS, etc) and other complications not generally thought of in terms of skincare, such as diabetes and hypo-/hyperthyroidism.
    • Circulatory health for skincare (blood and lymph)
    • Mental health techniques for skincare (including improving sleep, managing stress, supplements to consider, etc).

    As with her other book that we reviewed, the book is broadly aimed at women, and the section on sex-hormonal considerations is completely aimed at women, but as for the rest of the book, there’s no pressing reason why this book couldn’t benefit men too. It also addresses considerations when it comes to darker skintones, something that a lot of similar books overlook.

    The style is directly instructional, albeit light and conversational in tone, and still with 20+ pages of scientific references to show that she does indeed know her stuff.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to improve your skin health, and/but aren’t a fan of going to the salon, then this book will be an invaluable resource.

    Click here to check out Biohack Your Way To Healthy Skin, and biohack your way to healthy skin!

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  • Too Much Or Too Little 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.

    One Man’s Saw Palmetto Is Another Woman’s Serenoa Repens…

    Today we’re going to look at saw palmetto. So, first:

    What is it?

    Saw palmetto is a type of palm native to the southeastern United States. Its scientific name is “Serenoa repens”, so if that name appears in studies we cite, it’s the same thing. By whichever name, it’s widely enjoyed as a herbal supplement.

    Why do people take it?

    Here’s where it gets interesting, because people take it for some completely opposite reasons…

    Indeed, searching for it on the Internet will cause Google to suggest “…for men” and “…for women” as the top suggestions.

    That’s because it works on testosterone, and testosterone can be a bit of a double-edged sword, so some people want to increase or decrease certain testosterone-related effects on their body.

    And it works for both! Here be science:

    • Testosterone (henceforth, “T”) is produced in the human body.
      • Yes, all human bodies, to some extent.
    • An enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase converts T in to DHT (dihydrogen testosterone)
    • DHT is a much more potent androgen (masculinizing agent) than T alone, such that its effects are often unwanted, including:
      • Enlarged prostate (if you have one)
      • Hair loss (especially in men)
      • New facial hair growth (usually unwanted by women)
        • Women are more likely to get this due to PCOS and/or the menopause

    To avoid those effects, you really want less of your T to be converted into DHT.

    Saw palmetto is a 5α-reductase inhibitor, so if you take it, you’ll have less DHT, and you’ll consequently lose less hair, have fewer prostate problems, etc.

    Read: Determination of the potency of a novel saw palmetto supercritical CO2 extract (SPSE) for 5α-reductase isoform II inhibition using a cell-free in vitro test system

    ^The above study showed that saw palmetto extract performed comparably to finasteride. Finasteride is the world’s main go-to prescription drug for treating enlarged prostate and/or hair loss.

    See also: Natural Hair Supplement: Friend or Foe? Saw Palmetto, a Systematic Review in Alopecia

    Hair today… Growing tomorrow!

    So, what was that about increasing T levels?

    Men usually suffer declining T levels as they get older, with a marked drop around the age of 45. With lower T comes lower energy, lower mood, lower libido, erectile dysfunction, etc.

    Guess what… It’s T that’s needed for those things, not DHT. So if you block the conversion of T to DHT, you’ll have higher blood serum T levels, higher energy, higher mood, higher libido, and all that.

    Read: Standardized Saw Palmetto Extract Directly and Indirectly Affects Testosterone Biosynthesis and Spermatogenesis

    (the above assumes you have testicles, without which, your T levels will certainly not increase)

    Saw Palmetto Against Enlarged Prostate?

    With higher DHT levels in mid-late life, prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperlasia) can become a problem for many men. The size of that problem ranges from urinary inconvenience (common, when the prostate presses against the bladder) to prostate cancer (less common, much more serious). Saw palmetto, like other 5α-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride, may be used to prevent or treat this.

    Wondering how safe/reliable it is? We found a very high-quality fifteen-year longitudinal observational study of the use of saw palmetto, and it found:

    ❝The 15 years’ study results suggest that taking S. repens plant extract continuously at a daily dose of 320 mg is an effective and safe way to prevent the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia.❞

    Read: 15 years’ survey of safety and efficacy of Serenoa repens extract in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients with risk of progression

    Want a second opinion? We also found a 10-year study (by different researchers with different people taking it), which reached the same conclusion:

    ❝The results of study showed the absence of progression, both on subjective criteria (IPSS, and QoL scores), and objective criteria (prostate volume, the rate of urination, residual urine volume). Furthermore, patients had no undesirable effects directly related to the use of this drug.❞

    • IPSS = International Prostate Symptom Score
    • QoL = Quality of Life

    Read: The results of the 10-year study of efficacy and safety of Serenoa repens extract in patients at risk of progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia

    But wait a minute; I, a man over the age of 45 with potentially declining T levels but a fabulous beard, remember that you said just a minute ago that saw palmetto is used by women to avoid having facial hair; I don’t want to lose mine!

    You won’t. Once your facial hair follicles were fully developed and activated during puberty, they’ll carry on doing what they do for life. That’s no longer regulated by hormones once they’re up and running.

    The use of saw palmetto can only be used to limit facial hair if caught early—so it’s more useful at the onset of menopause, for those who have (or will have) such, or else upon the arrival of PCOS symptoms or hirsuitism from some other cause.

    Take The Test!

    Do you have a prostate, and would like to know your IPSS score, and what that means for your prostate health?

    Take The Test Here!

    (takes 1 minute, no need to pee or go probing for anything)

    Bottom Line on Saw Palmetto

    • It blocks the conversion of T into DHT
    • It will increase blood serum T levels, thus boosting mood, energy, libido, etc in men (who typically have more T, but whose T levels decline with age)
    • It will decrease DHT levels, thus limiting hair loss (especially in men) and later-life new facial hair growth (especially in women).
    • It can be used to prevent or treat prostate enlargement
    • Bonus: it’s a potent antioxidant and thus reduces general inflammation (in everyone)

    Want To Try Saw Palmetto?

    We don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience…

    Click here to check out saw palmetto on Amazon!

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