Are You Flourishing? (There’s a Scale)

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What does it mean, to flourish? And how can you do it more?

In 2009, psychologists Diener et al developed the “Flourishing Scale”, or as it was more prosaically called originally, “Subjective Wellness Scale”. The name was changed later, as it was noted that it went beyond what was typically considered mere “wellness”.

This scale was so useful, that colleagues scrambled to see if they could improve on it, such as with PERMA (2012), which looked at:

  • Positive emotion
  • Engagement
  • positive Relationships
  • Meaning
  • Accomplishment/Achievement

While popular (despite the tenuous acronym, it is a very good list of things to foster in your life), this was studied and measured scientifically and found to not be an improvement on the Flourishing Scale / SWS, so we’re going to stick to the original version for now.

We couldn’t find an interactive online quiz for the scale though (apart from this NY Times one, which is paywalled for NYT subscribers, so enjoy if you’re a NYT subscriber!), so here’s the source material, still hosted on the website of the (now deceased, as of a couple of years ago) author:

Flourishing Scale (FS) ← it’s an eight-question, ranked choice scale

How did you score? And…

What are the keys to flourishing more?

According to Jeffrey Davis M.A., of Tracking Wonder, there are five key attributes that we must develop and/or maintain:

The ability to direct and re-direct your attention

This isn’t just a task-related thing.This is about your mind itself. For example, the ability to recognize what your emotions are telling you, thank them for the message, and then set them aside. Or the ability to cut through negative thought spirals! How often have you worried about future events that didn’t transpire, or twisted yourself in knots over a past event that you can’t change?

Action: check out our previous article “The Off-Button For Your Brain← this is a technique for switching off racing thoughts, and it’s really good

Want more? We also did this:

Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body: A Whole Scientific Toolbox Of Tips And Tricks For Psychological Wellbeing

The tendency to shape your time with intention and for impact

Time is an incredibly precious asset. How you use it is a very personal choice. You don’t have to maximize productivity (though you can if you want), but for example there’s a difference between:

  • Deciding to spend an hour watching a TV show you really enjoy
  • Wondering what’s on TV, browsing aimlessly, watching listlessly, just a distraction

In the former case, you are enjoying your time. Literally: you are experiencing joy during your time.

In the latter case, to borrow from Jim Steinman, “you were only killing time and it’ll kill you right back”!

Action: do a time audit for a week, and see where your time really goes, rather than where you expect or hope for it to go. Use this information to plan your next week more intentionally. Repeat as and when it seems like it might be useful!

The practice of constant improvement

Fun fact: you are good enough already. And you can also improve. You don’t have to, but improving in the areas that are meaningful to you can really add up over time. This could be becoming excellent at something for which already have a passion… It could also be brushing up something that you feel might be holding you back.

Action: do a quick SWOT* self-assessment. Then plan your next step from there!

*Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. What are yours?

The ability to communicate and listen to others

A lot of this is about feedback. Giving and receiving feedback are often amongst the hardest things we do in the category of communication… Especially if the feedback is negative. How to decide what to disregard as baseless criticism, and what to take on board (and try not to take it personally), or the other way around, how to present negative feedback in a way that won’t trigger defensiveness.

Action: check out our previous article “Save Time With Better Communication” for some tips that really make relationships (of any kind) so much easier.

The commitment to positive experiences

Many things in life are not fun. Often, we know in advance that they will not be fun. The key here is the ability to make the most of a bad situation, and seek out better situations by your actions. Not like a lost person in a desert seeks water, but like a chess player who employs a general strategy to make tactical advantages more likely to appear.

Action: think about something you have to do but don’t want to. How could it be made more fun? Or failing that, how could it be made at least more comfortable?

See also: Working Smarter < Working Brighter!

Want to read more?

Check out: What Is Flourishing in Positive Psychology? (+8 Tips & PDF)

Don’t Forget…

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  • The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners – by Dorothy Calimeris and Lulu Cook

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    First, about the authors: notwithstanding the names, Calimeris is the cook, and Cook is the nutritionist (and an RDN at that).

    As for the book: we get a good primer on the science of inflammation, what it is, why it happens, what things are known to cause/trigger it, and what things are known to fight it. They do also go outside of nutrition a bit for this, speaking briefly on other lifestyle factors too, but the main focus is of course nutrition.

    As for the recipes: while distinctly plants-forward (as one might expect of an anti-inflammatory eating book), it’s not outright vegan or even vegetarian, indeed, in the category of main dishes, there are sections for:

    • Vegetarian and vegan
    • Fish and shellfish
    • Poultry and meat

    …as well as, before and after those, sections for breakfast and brunch and snacks and sweets. As well as a not-to-be-underestimated section, for sauces, condiments, and dressings. This is important, because those are quite often the most inflammatory parts of an otherwise healthy meal! So being able to make anti-inflammatory versions is a real boon.

    The recipes are mostly not illustrated, but the steps are very clearly described and easy to follow.

    Bottom line: if inflammation is currently on your to-tackle list, this book will be an excellent companion in the kitchen.

    Click here to check out The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Beginners, and give your immune system some care!

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  • I’ve recovered from a cold but I still have a hoarse voice. What should I do?

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    Cold, flu, COVID and RSV have been circulating across Australia this winter. Many of us have caught and recovered from one of these common upper respiratory tract infections.

    But for some people their impact is ongoing. Even if your throat isn’t sore anymore, your voice may still be hoarse or croaky.

    So what happens to the voice when we get a virus? And what happens after?

    Here’s what you should know if your voice is still hoarse for days – or even weeks – after your other symptoms have resolved.

    Why does my voice get croaky during a cold?

    A healthy voice is normally clear and strong. It’s powered by the lungs, which push air past the vocal cords to make them vibrate. These vibrations are amplified in the throat and mouth, creating the voice we hear.

    The vocal cords are two elastic muscles situated in your throat, around the level of your laryngeal prominence, or Adam’s apple. (Although everyone has one, it tends to be more pronounced in males.) The vocal cords are small and delicate – around the size of your fingernail. Any small change in their structure will affect how the voice sounds.

    When the vocal cords become inflamed – known as laryngitis – your voice will sound different. Laryngitis is a common part of upper respiratory tract infections, but can also be caused through misuse.

    Two drawn circles comparing normal vocal cords with inflamed, red vocal cords.
    Viruses such as the common cold can inflame the vocal cords. Pepermpron/Shutterstock

    Catching a virus triggers the body’s defence mechanisms. White blood cells are recruited to kill the virus and heal the tissues in the vocal cords. They become inflamed, but also stiffer. It’s harder for them to vibrate, so the voice comes out hoarse and croaky.

    In some instances, you may find it hard to speak in a loud voice or have a reduced pitch range, meaning you can’t go as high or loud as normal. You may even “lose” your voice altogether.

    Coughing can also make things worse. It is the body’s way of trying to clear the airways of irritation, including your own mucus dripping onto your throat (post-nasal drip). But coughing slams the vocal cords together with force.

    Chronic coughing can lead to persistent inflammation and even thicken the vocal cords. This thickening is the body trying to protect itself, similar to developing a callus when a pair of new shoes rubs.

    Thickening on your vocal cords can lead to physical changes in the vocal cords – such as developing a growth or “nodule” – and further deterioration of your voice quality.

    Diagram compares healthy vocal cords with cords that have nodules, two small bumps.
    Coughing and exertion can cause inflamed vocal cords to thicken and develop nodules. Pepermpron/Shutterstock

    How can you care for your voice during infection?

    People who use their voices a lot professionally – such as teachers, call centre workers and singers – are often desperate to resume their vocal activities. They are more at risk of forcing their voice before it’s ready.

    The good news is most viral infections resolve themselves. Your voice is usually restored within five to ten days of recovering from a cold.

    Occasionally, your pharmacist or doctor may prescribe cough suppressants to limit additional damage to the vocal cords (among other reasons) or mucolytics, which break down mucus. But the most effective treatments for viral upper respiratory tract infections are hydration and rest.

    Drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol and exposure to cigarette smoke. Inhaling steam by making yourself a cup of hot water will also help clear blocked noses and hydrate your vocal cords.

    Rest your voice by talking as little as possible. If you do need to talk, don’t whisper – this strains the muscles.

    Instead, consider using “confidential voice”. This is a soft voice – not a whisper – that gently vibrates your vocal cords but puts less strain on your voice than normal speech. Think of the voice you use when communicating with someone close by.

    During the first five to ten days of your infection, it is important not to push through. Exerting the voice by talking a lot or loudly will only exacerbate the situation. Once you’ve recovered from your cold, you can speak as you would normally.

    What should you do if your voice is still hoarse after recovery?

    If your voice hasn’t returned to normal after two to three weeks, you should seek medical attention from your doctor, who may refer you to an ear nose and throat specialist.

    If you’ve developed a nodule, the specialist would likely refer you to a speech pathologist who will show you how to take care of your voice. Many nodules can be treated with voice therapy and don’t require surgery.

    You may have also developed a habit of straining your vocal cords, if you forced yourself to speak or sing while they were inflamed. This can be a reason why some people continue to have a hoarse voice even when they’ve recovered from the cold.

    In those cases, a speech pathologist may play a valuable role. They may teach you to exercises that make voicing more efficient. For example, lip trills (blowing raspberries) are a fun and easy way you can learn to relax the voice. This can help break the habit of straining your voice you may have developed during infection.

    Yeptain Leung, Postdoctoral Research and Lecturer of Speech Pathology, School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne

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

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  • The Dark Side Of Memory (And How To Make Your Life Better)

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    How To Stop Revisiting Those Memories

    We’ve talked before about putting the brakes on negative thought spirals (and that’s a really useful technique, so if you weren’t with us yet for that one, we do recommend hopping back and reading it!).

    We’ve also talked about optimizing memory, to include making moments unforgettable.

    But what about the moments we’d rather forget?

    First, a quick note: we have no pressing wish or need to re-traumatize any readers, so if you’ve a pressing reason to think your memories you’d rather forget are beyond the scope of a few hundred words “one quick trick” in a newsletter, feel free to skip this section today.

    One more quick note: it is generally not considered healthy to repress important memories. Some things are best worked through consciously in therapy with a competent professional.

    Today’s technique is more for things in the category of “do you really need to keep remembering that one time you did something embarrassing 20 years ago?”

    That said… sometimes, even when it does come to the management of serious PTSD, therapy can (intentionally, reasonably) throw in the towel on processing all of something big, and instead seek to simply look at minimizing its effect on ongoing life. Again, that’s best undertaken with a well-trained professional, however.

    For more trivial annoyances, meanwhile…

    Two Steps To Forgetting

    The first step:

    You may remember that memories are tied to the senses, and the more senses are involved, the more easily and fully we remember a thing. To remember something, therefore, we make sure to pay full attention to all the sensory experience of the memory, bringing in all 5 senses if possible.

    To forget, the reverse is true. Drain the memory of color, make it black and white, fuzzier, blurrier, smaller, further away, sterile, silent, gone.

    You can make a habit of doing this automatically whenever your unwanted memory resurfaces.

    The second missing step:

    This is the second step, but it’s going to be a missing step. Memories, like paths in a forest, are easier to access the more often we access them. A memory we visit every day will have a well-worn path, easy to follow. A memory we haven’t visited for decades will have an overgrown, sometimes nearly impossible-to-find path.

    To labor the metaphor a little: if your memory has literal steps leading to it, we’re going to remove one of the steps now, to make it very difficult to access accidentally. Don’t worry, you can always put the step back later if you want to.

    Let’s say you want to forget something that happened once upon a time in a certain workplace. Rather than wait for the memory in question to come up, we’re going to apply the first step that we just learned, to the entire workplace.

    So, in this example, you’d make the memory of that workplace drained of color, made black and white, fuzzier, blurrier, smaller, further away, sterile, silent, gone.

    Then, you’d make a habit of doing that whenever that workplace nearly comes to mind.

    The result? You’re unlikely to accidentally access a memory that occurred in that workplace, if even mentally wandering to the workplace itself causes it to shrivel up and disappear like paper in fire.

    Important reminder

    The above psychological technique is to psychological trauma what painkillers are to physical pain. It can ease the symptom, while masking the cause. If it’s something serious, we recommend enlisting the help of a professional, rather than “self-medicating” in this fashion.

    If it’s just a small annoying thing, though, sometimes it’s easier to just be able to refrain from prodding and poking it daily, forget about it, and enjoy life.

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Related Posts

  • Beating Toxic Positivity
  • Olfactory Training, Better

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    Anosmia, by any other name…

    The loss of the sense of smell (anosmia) is these days well-associated with COVID and Long-COVID, but also can simply come with age:

    National Institute of Aging | How Smell & Taste Change With Age

    …although it can also be something else entirely:

    ❝Another possibility is a problem with part of the nervous system responsible for smell.

    Some studies have suggested that loss of smell could be an early sign of a neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

    However, a recent study of 1,430 people (average age about 80) showed that 76% of people with anosmia had normal cognitive function at the study’s end.❞

    Read more: Harvard Health | Is it normal to lose my sense of smell as I age?

    We’d love to look at and cite the paper that they cite, but they didn’t actually provide a source. We did find some others, though:

    ❝Olfactory capacity declines with aging, but increasing evidence shows that smell dysfunction is one of the early signs of prodromal neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

    The loss of smell is considered a clinical sign of early-stage disease and a marker of the disease’s progression and cognitive impairment.❞

    ~ Dr. Irene Fatuzzo et al.

    Read more: Neurons, Nose, and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Olfactory Function and Cognitive Impairment

    What’s clear is the association; what’s not clear is whether one worsens the other, and what causal role each might play. However, the researchers conclude that both ways are possible, including when there is another, third, underlying potential causal factor:

    ❝Ongoing studies on COVID-19 anosmia could reveal new molecular aspects unexplored in olfactory impairments due to neurodegenerative diseases, shedding a light on the validity of smell test predictivity of cognitive dementia.

    The neuroepithelium might become a new translational research target (Neurons, Nose, and Neurodegenerative diseases) to investigate alternative approaches for intranasal therapy and the treatment of brain disorders. ❞

    ~ Ibid.

    Another study explored the possible mechanisms of action, and found…

    ❝Olfactory impairment was significantly associated with increased likelihoods of MCI, amnestic MCI, and non-amnestic MCI.

    In the subsamples, anosmia was significantly associated with higher plasma total tau and NfL concentrations, smaller hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes, and greater WMH volume, and marginally with lower AD-signature cortical thickness.

    These results suggest that cerebral neurodegenerative and microvascular lesions are common neuropathologies linking anosmia with MCI in older adults❞

    ~ Dr. Yi Dong et al.

    • MCI = Mild Cognitive Impairment
    • NfL = Neurofilament Light [Chain]
    • WMH = White Matter Hyperintensity
    • AD =Alzheimer’s Disease

    Read more: Anosmia, mild cognitive impairment, and biomarkers of brain aging in older adults

    How to act on this information

    You may be wondering, “this is fascinating and maybe even a little bit frightening, but how is this Saturday’s Life Hacks?”

    We wanted to set up the “why” before getting to the “how”, because with a big enough “why”, it’s much easier to find the motivation to act on the “how”.

    Test yourself

    Or more conveniently, you and a partner/friend/relative can test each other.

    Simply do like a “blind taste testing”, but for smell. Ideally these will be a range of simple and complex odors, and commercially available smell test kits will provide these, if you don’t want to make do with random items from your kitchen.

    If you’d like to use a clinical diagnostic tool, you can check out:

    Clinical assessment of patients with smell and taste disorders

    …and especially, this really handy diagnostic flowchart:

    Algorithm of evaluation of a patient who has olfactory loss

    Train yourself

    “Olfactory training” has been the got-to for helping people to regain their sense of smell after losing it due to COVID.

    In simple terms, this means simply trying to smell things that “should” have a distinctive odor, and gradually working up one’s repertoire of what one can smell.

    You can get some great tips here:

    AbScent | Useful Insights Into Smell Training

    Hack your training

    An extra trick was researched deeply in a recent study which found that multisensory integration helped a) initially regain the ability to smell things and b) maintain that ability later without the cross-sensory input.

    What that means: you will more likely be able to smell lemon while viewing the color yellow, and most likely of all to be able to smell lemon while actually holding and looking at a slice of lemon. Having done this, you’re more likely to be able to smell (and distinguish) the odor of lemon later in a blind smell test.

    In other words: with this method, you may be able to cut out many months of frustration of trying and failing to smell something, and skip straight to the “re-adding specific smells to my brain’s olfactory database” bit.

    Read the study: Olfactory training: effects of multisensory integration, attention towards odors and physical activity

    Or if you prefer, here’s a pop-science article based on that:

    One in twenty people has no sense of smell—here’s how they might get it back

    Take care!

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  • No-Exercise Exercise!

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    Do you love to go to the gym?

    If so, today’s article might not be for you so much. Or maybe it will, because let’s face it, exercise is fun!

    At least… It can be, and should be 😎

    So without further ado, here’s a slew of no-exercise exercise ideas; we’re willing to bet that somewhere in the list there’s at least some you haven’t tried before, and probably some you haven’t done in a while but might enjoy making a reprise!

    Walking

    No surprises here: walking is great. Hopefully you have some green spaces near you, but if you don’t, [almost] any walking is better than no walking. So unless there’s some sort of environmental disaster going on outside, lace up and get stepping.

    If you struggle to “walk for walking’s sake” give yourself a little mission. Walk to the shop to buy one item. Walk to the park and find a flower to photograph. Walk to the library and take out a book. Whatever works for you!

    See also: The Doctor Who Wants Us To Exercise Less, And Move More

    Take the stairs

    This one doesn’t need many words, just: make it a habit.

    Treat the elevators as though they aren’t there!

    See also: How To Really Pick Up (And Keep!) Those Habits

    Dance

    Dance is amazing! Any kind of dance, whatever suits your tastes. This writer loves salsa and tango, but no matter whether for you it’s zouk or zumba, breakdancing or line dancing, whatever gets you moving is going to be great for you.

    If you don’t know how, online tutorials abound, and best of all is to attend local classes if you can, because they’re always a fun social experience too.

    Make music

    Not something often thought of as an exercise, but it is! Most instruments require that we be standing or siting with good posture, focusing intently on our movements, and often as not, breathing very mindfully too. And yes, it’s great for the brain as well!

    Check out: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession – by Dr. Daniel Levitin

    Take a stand

    If you spend a lot of time at a desk, please consider investing in a standing desk; they can be truly life-changing. Not only is it so much better for your back, hips, neck, and internal organs, but also it burns hundreds more calories than sitting, due to the no-exercise exercise that is keeping your body constantly stabilized while on your feet.

    (or, if you’re like this writer: on your foot. I do have two feet, I just spend an inordinate amount of time at my desk standing on one leg at a time; I’m a bit of a flamingo like that)

    See also: Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World – by Kelly Starrett and Glen Cordoza

    Sit, but…

    Sit in a sitting squat! Sometimes called a Slav squat, or an Asian squat, or a resting squat, or various other names:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Alternatively, sitting in seiza (the traditional Japanese sitting position) is also excellent, but watch out! While it’s great once your body is accustomed to it, if you haven’t previously sat this way much, you may cut off your own circulation, hurt your knees, and (temporarily) lose feeling in your feet. So if you don’t already sit in seiza often, gradually work up the time period you spend sitting in seiza, so that your vasculature can adapt and improve, which honestly, is a very good thing for your legs and feet to have.

    Breathe

    Perhaps the absolute most “no-exercise exercise” there is. And yes, of course you are (hopefully) breathing all the time, but how you are breathing matters a lot:

    The Inside Job Of Fixing Our Breathing: Exercises That Can Fix Sinus Problems (And More)

    Clean

    This doesn’t have to mean scrubbing floors like a sailor—even merely giving your house the Marie Kondo treatment counts, because while you’re distracted with all the objects, you’re going to be going back and forth, getting up and down, etc, clocking up lots of exercise that you barely even notice!

    PS, check out: The Life-Changing Manga Of Tidying Up – by Marie Kondo

    Garden

    As with the above, it’s lots of activity that doesn’t necessarily feel like it (assuming you’re doing more pruning and weeding etc, and less digging ditches etc), and as a bonus, there are a stack of mental health benefits to being in a green natural environment and interacting with soil:

    Read more: The Antidepressant In Your Garden

    Climb

    Depending on where you live, this might mean an indoor climbing wall, but give it a go! They have color-coded climbs from beginner to advanced, so don’t worry about being out of your depth.

    And the best thing is, the beginner climbs will be as much a workout to a beginner as the advanced climbs will be to an advanced climber, because at the end of the day, you’re still clinging on for dear life, no matter whether it’s a sizeable handhold not far from the ground, or the impression of a fingernail crack in an overhang 100ft in the air.

    Video games (but…)

    Less in the category of Stardew Valley, and more in the category of Wii Fit.

    So, dust off that old controller (or treat yourself to one if you didn’t have one already), and get doing a hundred sports and other physical activities in the comfort of your living room, with a surprisingly addictive gaming system!

    Sex!

    You probably don’t need instructions here, and if you do, well honestly, we’re running out of space today. But the answer to “does xyz count?” is “did it get your heart racing?” because if so, it counts

    Take care!

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  • Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal

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    Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)

    Piperine, a compound found in Piper nigrum (black pepper, to its friends), has many health benefits. It’s included as a minor ingredient in some other supplements, because it boosts bioavailability. In its form as a kitchen spice, it’s definitely a superfood.

    What does it do?

    First, three things that generally go together:

    These things often go together for the simple reason that oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer often go together. In each case, it’s a matter of cellular wear-and-tear, and what can mitigate that.

    For what it’s worth, there’s generally a fourth pillar: anti-aging. This is again for the same reason. That said, black pepper hasn’t (so far as we could find) been studied specifically for its anti-aging properties, so we can’t cite that here as an evidence-based claim.

    Nevertheless, it’s a reasonable inference that something that fights oxidation, inflammation, and cancer, will often also slow aging.

    Special note on the anti-cancer properties

    We noticed two very interesting things while researching piperine’s anti-cancer properties. It’s not just that it reduces cancer risk and slows tumor growth in extant cancers (as we might expect from the above-discussed properties). Let’s spotlight some studies:

    It is selectively cytotoxic (that’s a good thing)

    Piperine was found to be selectively cytotoxic to cancerous cells, while not being cytotoxic to non-cancerous cells. To this end, it’s a very promising cancer-sniper:

    Piperine as a Potential Anti-cancer Agent: A Review on Preclinical Studies

    It can reverse multi-drug resistance in cancer cells

    P-glycoprotein, found in our body, is a drug-transporter that is known for “washing out” chemotherapeutic drugs from cancer cells. To date, no drug has been approved to inhibit P-glycoprotein, but piperine has been found to do the job:

    Targeting P-glycoprotein: Investigation of piperine analogs for overcoming drug resistance in cancer

    What’s this about piperine analogs, though? Basically the researchers found a way to “tweak” piperine to make it even more effective. They called this tweaked version “Pip1”, because calling it by its chemical name,

    ((2E,4E)-5-(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-1-(6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1 H)-yl)penta-2,4-dien-1-one)

    …got a bit unwieldy.

    The upshot is: Pip1 is better, but piperine itself is also good.

    Other benefits

    Piperine does have other benefits too, but the above is what we were most excited to talk about today. Its other benefits include:

    Enjoy!

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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