Black Olives vs Green Olives – Which is Healthier
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Our Verdict
When comparing black olives to green olives, we picked the black olives.
Why?
First know this: they are the same plant, just at different stages of ripening (green olives are, as you might expect, less ripe).
Next: the nutritional values of both, from macros down to the phytochemicals, are mostly very similar, but there are a few things that stand out:
• Black olives usually have more calories per serving, average about 25% more. But these are from healthy fats, so unless you’re on a calorie-restricted diet, this is probably not a consideration.
• Green olives are almost always “cured” for longer, which results in a much higher sodium content often around 200% that of black olives. Black olives are often not “cured” at all.
Hence, we chose the black olives!
You may be wondering: do green olives have anything going for them that black olives don’t?
And the answer has a clue in the taste: green olives generally have a stronger, more bitter/pungent taste. And remember what we said about things that have a stronger, more bitter/pungent taste:
Tasty Polyphenols: Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain
That’s right, green olives are a little higher in polyphenols than black olives.
But! If you want to enjoy the polyphenol content of green olives without the sodium content, the best way to do that is not olives, but olive oil—which is usually made from green olives.
For more about olive oil, check out:
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Fight Diabetes With Vitamins & Antioxidants – by Dr. Kedar Prasad
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You may be wondering what vitamins and antioxidants have to do with diabetes, which is primarily a metabolic disorder, and usually controlled (including: avoided/reversed) by macronutrient considerations, especially by adjusting the amounts of various kinds of carbs, fiber, and fats, and/or the patterns of eating those things.
Dr. Prasad makes the case that the proper combinations of vitamin and antioxidant supplements can greatly increase the effectiveness of standard medical treatments, to halt and reverse the progression of not only type 2 diabetes, but type 1, too.
Which is not to say that in the latter case your pancreas will perk up and stop fighting itself and start producing meaningful quantities of insulin—you’ll still need your insulin pump or injections—but it is to say that you can enjoy much more stable blood sugars and higher insulin sensitivity, which are of course both important things to have.
To demonstrate this, he reviews a lot of scientific literature for us, so much in fact that if you don’t love reading hard science, this book might be quite offputting for you, because the style is very academic, and while published to the wider public, most of the book reads like an extended scientific paper in book form, and indeed there are 23 pages of bibliography, which is quite a lot for a 240-page book.
While, as we say, most of the book is given over to hard science, on a practical note he does also give simple direct recommendations of how much to take of various supplements—and he does recommend supplementation, not relying on diet alone.
Bottom line: if you’d like a fresh take on diabetes avoidance/management that you probably haven’t read elsewhere, this book can provide that.
Click here to check out Fight Diabetes With Vitamins & Antioxidants, and do exactly that!
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Gooseberries vs Lemon – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing gooseberries to lemons, we picked the gooseberries.
Why?
Both have their merits, but ultimately, it wasn’t close:
In terms of macros, gooseberries have notably more fiber, for about the same carbs and protein, winning this round.
In the category of vitamins, gooseberries have more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B5, and E, while lemons have more of vitamins B9 and C, yielding a 5:2 win for gooseberries.
Looking at minerals, gooseberries have more copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while lemons have more iron, so that’s a clear 7:1 victory for gooseberries here.
In other considerations, gooseberries have more polyphenols, so that’s another point in their favor.
Adding up the sections makes for an overwhelming overall win for gooseberries, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Enjoy!
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The Exercise Every Woman Needs To Learn To Do
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If you haven’t already, of course.
So… Have you?
Pull yourself up by your…
There are a good number of reasons to do pull-ups, for example:
- They build functional longevity-linked strength: this movement develops grip, back, and core strength—all of which are key predictors of healthy aging, independence, and reduced mortality risk.
- Grip strength specifically is an important biomarker: studies (cited in the video, but there are plenty more out there too) show grip strength reflects overall muscle strength, bone density, fall risk, cognitive health, depression, diabetes, and even all-cause mortality.
- We’ve written about this latter from time to time at 10almonds, by the way!
- Posture and pain prevention is a very good reason too: improving scapular control through pull-up work helps correct poor posture and prevents neck, back, shoulder, and other joint pains that otherwise become increasingly common with age.
As for how, here are 5 ways to work your way up to it:
- Active dead hangs: hang from a bar and draw your shoulder blades down and together without bending your elbows to activate your upper back and grip.
- Top pull-up holds: hold your chin above the bar with your shoulders down and chest lifted to strengthen your grip, back, abs, and arms; you can use a band or foot-push to help if needed.
- Weighted back shrugs: hinge forwards holding dumbbells and pinch your shoulder blades together without bending your elbows, to target your mid and lower traps and rhomboids.
- Peanut rolling: lie with a peanut* roller along your spine and alternate crunching and extending over it to relax your spinal muscles and improve thoracic extension.
- Active foam roller star stretch: with one knee on a roller, rotate your upper body open and closed to mobilize your spine, chest, and shoulders for better scapular control.
*this refers to the distinctive shape, it’s one of these.
For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Hanging Exercises For Complete Beginners & Older Adults ← for more detail on that first one, in case you’d like to try those dead hangs first; they’re great too, in slightly-overlapping, slightly-different ways!
Take care!
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Tilapia vs Cod – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing tilapia to cod, we picked the tilapia.
Why?
Another case of “that which is more expensive is not necessarily the healthier”!
In terms of macros, tilapia has more protein and fats, as well as more omega-3 (and omega-6). On the downside, tilapia does have relatively more saturated fat, but at 0.94g/100g, it’s not exactly butter.
The vitamins category sees that tilapia has more of vitamins B1, B3, B5, B12, D, and K, while cod has more of vitamins B6, B9, and choline. A moderate win for tilapia.
When it comes to minerals, things are most divided; tilapia has more copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, and selenium, while cod has more magnesium and zinc. An easy win for tilapia.
One other thing to note is that both of these fish contain mercury these days (and it’s worth noting: cod has nearly 10x more mercury). Mercury is, of course, not exactly a health food.
So, excessive consumption of either is not recommended, but out of the two, tilapia is definitely the one to pick.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Farmed Fish vs Wild Caught: Know The Health Differences
Take care!
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3 Things Everyone Over 50 Must Do Daily for Healthy Feet
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Will Harlow, the over-50s specialist physio, wants you to be on a good footing:
Daily steps in the right direction
The three daily exercises recommended in the video are:
Exercise 1: Towel Scrunch
The towel scrunch exercise strengthens the flexor muscles in the feet, improving balance and improving contact with the ground. To do this exercise, sit on a chair with a towel placed on the floor beneath your toes while keeping your heels on the ground. Use only your toes to pull the towel toward your heel, scrunching it up as much as possible. This movement strengthens the arch of the foot and can help alleviate symptoms of flat feet. For best results, practice this exercise for 2–3 minutes once or twice daily. Once you’ve got the hand of doing it sitting, do it while standing.
Exercise 2: Big Toe Extension
Big toe extension is an essential exercise for maintaining foot mobility and improving walking kinesthetics by preventing stiffness in the big toe. To do this exercise, keep your foot flat on the floor and try to lift only your big toe while keeping the four other toes firmly pressed down. To be clear, we mean under its own power; not using your hands to help. Many people find this difficult initially, but it’s due to a loss of neural connection rather than muscle strength, so with practice, the ability to isolate the movement improves quite quickly. Perform 10 repetitions in a row, three times per day, for optimal benefits. Once you’ve got the hand of doing it sitting, do it while standing.
Exercise 3: Calf Stretch
The calf stretch is an important exercise for maintaining foot health by preventing tight calves, which can contribute to issues like plantar fasciitis and Morton’s neuroma. To do this stretch, place your hands against a wall for support and extend one leg straight behind you while keeping your other heel firmly on the floor. The front knee should be bent while the back leg remains straight, creating a stretch in the calf. Hold this position for 30 seconds (building up to that, if necessary). Since the effectiveness of stretching comes from frequency rather than duration, this stretch should be performed three to four times per day for the best results.
For more on each of these, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
Steps For Keeping Your Feet A Healthy Foundation ← this one’s about general habits, not exercises
Take care!
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Pinch Of Nom, Everyday Light – by Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson
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One of the biggest problems with “light”, “lean” or “under this many calories” cookbooks tends to be the portion sizes perhaps had sparrows in mind. Not so, here!
Nor do they go for the other usual trick, which is giving us something that’s clearly not a complete meal. All of these recipes are for complete meals, or else come with a suggestion of a simple accompaniment that will still keep the dish under 400kcal.
The recipes are packed with vegetables and protein, perfect for keeping lean while also making sure you’re full until the next meal.
Best of all, they are indeed rich and tasty meals—there’s only so many times one wants salmon with salad, after all. There are healthy-edition junk food options, too! Sausage and egg muffins, fish and chips, pizza-loaded fries, sloppy dogs, firecracker prawns, and more!
Most of the meals are quite quick and easy to make, and use common ingredients.
Nearly half are vegetarian, and gluten-free options involve only direct simple GF substitutions. Similarly, turning a vegetarian meal into a vegan meal is usually not rocket science! Again, quick and easy substitutions, à la “or the plant-based milk of your choice”.
Recipes are presented in the format: ingredients, method, photo. Super simple (and no “chef’s nostalgic anecdote storytime” introductions that take more than, say, a sentence to tell).
All in all, a fabulous addition to anyone’s home kitchen!
Get your copy of “Pinch of Nom—Everyday Light” from Amazon today!
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