Barley Malt Flour vs chickpea flour – Which is Healthier?
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.
Our Verdict
When comparing barley malt flour to chickpea flour, we picked the chickpea.
Why?
First, some notes:
About chickpea flour: this is also called besan flour, gram flour, and garbanzo bean flour; they are all literally the same thing by different names, and are all flour made from ground chickpeas.
About barley malt flour: barley is a true grain, and does contain gluten. We’re not going to factor that into today’s decision, but if you are avoiding gluten, avoid barley. As for “malt”; malting grains means putting them in an environment (with appropriate temperature and humidity) that they can begin germination, and then drying them with hot air to stop the germination process from continuing, so that we still have grains to make flour out of, and not little green sprouting plants. It improves the nutritional qualities and, subjectively, the flavor.
To avoid repetition, we’re just going to write “barley” instead of “barley malt” now, but it’s still malted.
Now, let’s begin:
Looking at the macros first, chickpea flour has 2x the protein and also more fiber, while barley flour has more carbs. An easy win for chickpea flour.
In the category of vitamins, chickpea flour has more of vitamins A, B1, B5, B9, E, and K, while barley flour has more of vitamins B2, B3, B6, and C. A modest 6:4 victory for chickpea flour.
When it comes to minerals, things are much more one-sided; chickpea flour has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, while barley flour has more selenium. An overwhelming win for chickpea flour.
Adding up these three wins for chickpea flour makes for a convincing story in favor of using that where reasonably possible as a flour! It has a slight nutty taste, so you might not want to use it in everything, but it is good for a lot of things.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
- Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?
- Gluten: What’s The Truth?
- Sprout Your Seeds, Grains, Beans, Etc
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Recommended
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
-
Bone on Bone – by Dr. Meredith Warner
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 this is not: a book about one specific condition, injury, or surgery.
What this is: a guide to dealing with the common factors of many musculoskeletal conditions, inflammatory diseases, and their consequences.
Dr. Warner takes the opportunity to address the whole patient—presumably: the reader, though it could equally be a reader’s loved one, or even a reader’s patient, insofar as this book will probably be read by doctors also.
She takes an “inside-out and outside-in” approach; that is to say, addressing the problem from as many vectors as reasonably possible—including supplements, diet, dietary habits (things like intermittent fasting etc), exercise, and even sleep. And yes, she knows how difficult those latter items can be, and addresses them not merely with a “but it’s important” but also with practical advice.
As an orthopedic surgeon, she’s not a fan of surgery, and counsels the reader to avoid that if reasonably possible. She also talks about how many people in the US are encouraged to have MRI scans for financial reasons (as in, they can be profitable for the doctor/institution), and then any abnormality is used as justification for surgery, to backwards-justify the use of the MRI, even if the abnormality is not actually the cause of the pain.
Noteworthily, humans in general are a typically a pile of abnormalities in a trenchcoat. Our propensity to mutation has made us one of the most adaptable species on the planet, yet many would have us pretend that the insides of people look like they do in textbooks, or else are wrong. The reality is not so, and Dr. Warner rightly shows this for what it is.
Bottom line: if you or a loved one are suffering from, or at risk of, musculoskeletal and/or inflammatory conditions, this is a top-tier book for having a much easier time of it.
Share This Post
-
Do Breathe – by Michael Williams
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.
Have you ever felt you could get everything in your life in order, if you could just get a little breathing room first?
Notwithstanding the title, this is mostly not a book about breathing exercises. It does cover that too, but there’s a lot more.
The author’s advices draw from a variety of high quality sources. Well-read readers will certainly recognise sections that are straight from David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”, and Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi’s “Flow”, for example, as well as Francesco Cirillo’s “Pomodoro Technique”, and James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”.
We also learn about how even simple yoga can help us, and good sleep, and a healthy diet.
In short, if you’ve been reading 10almonds for a while, you might not actually learn much new! But it’s very nice to have all these things in one book, for sure, and it’s a pleasant, easy read too.
Bottom line: if you’d like to streamline your life and not have to buy a whole stack of different books to do it, this book is a great composite that will enable you to get the job done efficiently.
Share This Post
-
Can Saturated Fats Be Healthy?
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.
Saturated Fat: What’s The Truth?
We asked you for your health-related opinion of saturated fat, and got the above-pictured, below-described, set of results.
- Most recorded votes were for “Saturated fat is good, but only some sources, and/or in moderation”
- This is an easy one to vote for, because of the “and/or in moderation” part, which tends to be a “safe bet” for most things.
- Next most popular was “Saturated fat is terrible for the health and should be avoided”
- About half as many recorded votes were for “I’m not actually sure what makes saturated fat different”, which is a very laudable option to click. Admitting when we don’t know things (and none of us know everything) is a very good first step to learning about them!
- Fewest recorded votes were for “Saturated fat is the best source of energy; we should get plenty”.
So, what does the science say?
First, a bit of physics, chemistry, and biology
You may be wondering what, exactly, saturated fats are “saturated” with. That’s a fair question, so…
All fats have a molecular structure made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Saturated fats are saturated with hydrogen, and thus have only single bonds between carbon atoms (unsaturated fats have at least one double-bond between carbon atoms).
The observable effect this has on them, is that fats that are saturated with hydrogen are solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Their different properties also make for different interactions inside the human body, including how likely or not they are to (for example) clog arteries.
See also: Could fat in your bloodstream cause blood clots?
Saturated fat is the best source of energy; we should get plenty: True or False?
False, in any reasonable interpretation, anyway. That is to say, if your idea of “plenty” is under 13g (e.g: two tablespoons of butter, and no saturated fat from other sources, e.g. meat) per day, then yes, by all means feel free to eat plenty. More than that, though, and you might want to consider trimming it down a bit.
The American Heart Association has this to say:
❝When you hear about the latest “diet of the day” or a new or odd-sounding theory about food, consider the source.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats, which are found in butter, cheese, red meat and other animal-based foods, and tropical oils.
Decades of sound science has proven it can raise your “bad” cholesterol and put you at higher risk for heart disease.❞
Source: The American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations on Saturated Fat
The British Heart Foundation has a similar statement:
❝Despite what you read in the media, our advice is clear: replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats and avoid trans fats. Saturated fat is the kind of fat found in butter, lard, ghee, fatty meats and cheese. This is linked to an increased risk of heart and circulatory disease❞
Source: British Heart Foundation: What does fat do and what is saturated fat?
As for the World Health Organization:
❝1. WHO strongly recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake
2. WHO suggests further reducing saturated fatty acid intake to less than 10% of total energy intake
3. WHO strongly recommends replacing saturated fatty acids in the diet with polyunsaturated fatty acids; monounsaturated fatty acids from plant sources; or carbohydrates from foods containing naturally occurring dietary fibre, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits and pulses.❞
Source: Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline
Please note, organizations such as the AHA, the BHF, and the WHO are not trying to sell us anything, and just would like us to not die of heart disease, the world’s #1 killer.
As for “the best source of energy”…
We evolved to eat (much like our nearest primate cousins) a diet consisting mostly of fruits and other edible plants, with a small supplementary amount of animal-source protein and fats.
That’s not to say that because we evolved that way we have to eat that way—we are versatile omnivores. But for example, we are certainly not complete carnivores, and would quickly sicken and die if we tried to live on only meat and animal fat (we need more fiber, more carbohydrates, and many micronutrients that we usually get from plants)
The closest that humans tend to come to doing such is the ketogenic diet, which focuses on a high fat, low carbohydrate imbalance, to promote ketosis, in which the body burns fat for energy.
The ketogenic diet does work, and/but can cause a lot of health problems if a lot of care is not taken to avoid them.
See for example: 7 Keto Risks To Keep In Mind
Saturated fat is terrible for the health and should be avoided: True or False?
False, if we are talking about “completely”.
Firstly, it’s practically impossible to cut out all saturated fats, given that most dietary sources of fat are a mix of saturated, unsaturated (mono- and poly-), and trans fats (which are by far the worst, but beyond the scope of today’s main feature).
Secondly, a lot of research has been conducted and found insignificant or inconclusive results, in cases where saturated fat intake was already within acceptable levels (per the recommendations we mentioned earlier), and then cut down further.
Rather than fill up the newsletter with individual studies of this kind here’s a high-quality research review, looking at 19 meta-analyses, each of those meta-analyses having looked at many studies:
Dietary saturated fat and heart disease: a narrative review
Saturated fat is good, but only some sources, and/or in moderation: True or False?
True! The moderation part is easy to guess, so let’s take a look at the “but only some sources”.
We were not able to find any convincing science to argue for health-based reasons to favor plant- or animal-sourced saturated fat. However…
Not all saturated fats are created equal (there are many kinds), and also many of the foods containing them have additional nutrients, or harmful compounds, that make a big difference to overall health, when compared gram-for-gram in terms of containing the same amount of saturated fat.
For example:
- Palm oil’s saturated fat contains a disproportionate amount of palmitic acid, which raises LDL (“bad” cholesterol) without affecting HDL (“good” cholesterol), thus having an overall heart-harmful effect.
- Most animal fats contain a disproportionate amount of stearic acid, which has statistically insignificant effects on LDL and HDL levels, and thus is broadly considered “heart neutral” (in moderation!)
- Coconut oil’s saturated fat contains a disproportionate amount of lauric acid, which raises total cholesterol, but mostly HDL without affecting LDL, thus having an overall heart-beneficial effect (in moderation!)
Do you know what’s in the food you eat?
Test your knowledge with the BHF’s saturated fat quiz!
Enjoy!
Share This Post
- Most recorded votes were for “Saturated fat is good, but only some sources, and/or in moderation”
Related Posts
-
The Well-Lived Life – by Dr. Gladys McGarey
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 often hear from two kinds of people about healthy longevity: doctors, and supercentenarians. The former don’t usually have the lived experience of it, and the latter don’t usually have the medical understanding of it. This author has both!
You might imagine that the six secrets begin diet, exercise, sleep, etc etc, but no. Those things are important, of course, but Dr. McGarey assumes that we are already in the know when it comes to those things, and focuses instead on things easily forgotten. Specifically, things her own patients have sometimes forgotten, and things she has made a very long career out of reminding people about.
So instead, we learn about the importance of one’s zest for life, finding one’s purpose, giving and receiving love, making and maintaining healthy human connections, learning from everything we can in life, how to “spend your energy wisely”. Note that the latter truly is about spending it wisely—not about storing it up like a miser, but really, about wisely spending it.
Indeed, we might have expected no less from the woman largely credited as being “the mother of holistic medicine”.
The style is… So very human. If you’re as soft-hearted as this reviewer, you will cry. But you’ll also learn, you’ll also reawaken, and you’ll live. Which is what it’s all about.
Bottom line: sometimes, healthy longevity is not all about telomeres and c-reactive proteins. This book explores what truly matters in life, and also what truly matters to life, the better to live it more healthily and happily at every age.
Click here to check out The Well-Lived Life, and live life well!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
-
How To Reduce Knee Pain After Sitting
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.
Sitting is bad for the health, and doubly so if you have arthritis, as a lack of regular movement can cause joints to “seize up”. So, what to do about it if you have to sit for an extended time?
Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis specialist, explains:
Movement remains key
The trick is to continue periodically moving, notwithstanding that you may need to remain seated. So…
- Heel slides
- Straighten and bend your leg by sliding or lifting your heel.
- Promotes blood flow and reduces fluid buildup in the knee.
- Helps lubricate the joint, making standing up easier.
- Heel lifts
- Lift your heels up and down while keeping feet on the ground.
- This one’s ideal for tight spaces, such as when riding in a car or airplane.
- Improves blood circulation and can reduce ankle swelling and leg heaviness.
Do 20–30 repetitions every now and again, to keep your joints moving.
Note: if you are a wheelchair user whose legs lack the strength and/or motor function to do this, in this case it’s the movement of the leg that counts, not where that movement originated from. So, if you use one hand to lift your leg slightly and the other to push it like a swing, that will also be sufficient to give the joint the periodic movement it needs.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
Stand Up For Your Health (Or Don’t) ← our main feature on this also includes more things you can do if you must sit, to make sitting less bad!
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
- Heel slides
-
What is mantle cell lymphoma? Magda Szubanski’s ‘rare and fast-moving’ cancer, explained
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.
Beloved Australian actor, Magda Szubanski, has revealed she’s been diagnosed with a “very rare, very aggressive, very serious” blood cancer called mantle cell lymphoma.
In a post on social media on Thursday, Szubanski said she would be starting treatment in a few weeks for the stage 4 cancer, which she called “one of the nasty ones, unfortunately”.
So, what is mantle cell lymphoma? And how is it treated?
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty What is mantle cell lymphoma?
There are more than 100 subtypes of blood cancers, but they are commonly divided into one of two groups. These are based on where they originate: leukaemias develop in the bone marrow, and lymphomas develop in the lymphatic system.
Lymphomas develop from white blood cells (lymphocytes), which circulate in the blood and lymphatic system and help fight infection.
You may not have heard of the lymphatic system, but it plays a key role in your immune response.
The lymphatic circulatory system is responsible for transporting fluids (lymph) around your body. Lymph comes from blood plasma, and helps remove waste from your tissues.
As part of the lymphatic system, tissues like the spleen and thymus help produce many of the immune cells you use to fight infections.
These cells are then housed in specialised organs called lymph nodes – small pea-sized glands located throughout your body.
The lymphatic system plays a key role in your body’s immune response. Clash_Gene/Shutterstock Lymph nodes are kind of like the “war room” of your immune system.
Your body contains hundreds of lymph nodes, and each contains millions of lymphocytes. These include the T and B cells – the main fighting cells in adaptive immunity.
If B cells in an area of the lymph node known as the “mantle zone” become cancerous, it is called mantle cell lymphoma.
How rare is it?
In 2020, there were 330 cases of mantle cell lymphoma diagnosed in Australia, accounting for a small fraction (5%) of lymphoma cases.
Overall, lymphomas account for around one in twenty new cancer diagnoses. This makes mantle cell lymphoma quite rare.
Mantle cell lymphoma is about three times more common in men than in women, and mostly affects people over the age of 60.
Is there a cure?
Unfortunately, mantle cell lymphoma is largely considered incurable with the therapies currently available.
Like many cancers, mantle cell lymphoma can vary in how quickly it develops and its severity.
As Szubanski’s cancer has been described as “fast-moving” and is already stage 4, it appears that it is a more serious case.
Stage 4 is the most advanced stage – meaning the cancer has spread (metastasised) to other tissues.
Treatment at this stage can be more complicated than when the cancer is caught earlier. But treatment can still help people go on to live for many years.
What does treatment involve?
In her social media post, Szubanski said she will be receiving “one of the best treatments available (the Nordic protocol)”.
This is one of the most common treatments for an aggressive lymphoma.
The main component is “R-CHOP” – a combination therapy. It involves a mixture of different drugs, including chemotherapy, to attack the cancer from multiple angles at the same time.
Different strengths of the drugs can be used (the maximum strength is sometimes called R-maxi-CHOP).
A stem cell transplantation may also be included in the regimen.
How effective this treatment is will depend on many different factors, including the type and stage of the lymphoma.
The aim is to kill as many cancer cells as possible, and therefore extend a patient’s life for as long as possible.
Therapy also focuses on providing a high quality-of-life for patients.
How is it diagnosed?
Szubanski’s mantle cell lymphoma was detected during a breast cancer screen where, she says, “they found my lymph nodes were up”.
Imaging techniques, such as a mammogram or MRI, may detect tell-tale signs of lymphoma, such as swollen lymph nodes.
However a biopsy – a small sample of tissue from the affected area – would then be required to confirm the presence of cancer cells and identify what type.
Blood cancer symptoms can be vague, but it’s good to know what to look for.
As well as swollen lymph nodes, symptoms of lymphoma include nausea, tiredness, loss of appetite, fevers, gastrointestinal issues, unexplained weight loss, and night sweats.
If you have any concerns, you should consult a doctor.
John (Eddie) La Marca, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) and Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
