Body Language (In The Real World)

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Forget What You Think You Know About Body Language

…unless it’s about a specific person whose habits and mannerisms you know intimately, in which case, you probably have enough personal data stored up to actually recognize patterns à la “when my spouse does this, then…”, and probably do know what’s going on.

For everyone else… our body language can be as unique as our idiolect

What’s an idiolect? It’s any one given person’s way of speaking/writing, in their natural state (i.e. without having to adjust their style for some reason, for example in a public-facing role at work, where style often becomes much narrower and more consciously-chosen).

Extreme example first

To give an extreme example of how non-verbal communication can be very different than a person thinks, there’s an anecdote floating around the web of someone whose non-verbal autistic kid would, when he liked someone who was visiting the house, hide their shoes when they were about to leave, to cause them to stay longer. Then one day some relative visited and when she suggested that she “should be going sometime soon”, he hurried to bring her her shoes. She left, happy that the kid liked her (he did not).

The above misunderstanding happened because the visitor had the previous life experience of “a person who brings me things is being helpful, and if they do it of their own free will, it’s because they like me”.

In other words…

Generalizations are often sound… In general

…which does not help us when dealing with individuals, which as it turns out, everyone is.

Clenched fists = tense and angry… Except when it’s just what’s comfortable for someone, or they have circulation issues, or this, or that, or the other.

Pacing = agitated… Except when it’s just someone who finds the body in motion more comfortable

Relaxed arms and hands = at ease and unthreatening… Unless it’s a practitioner of various martial arts for whom that is their default ready-for-action state.

Folded arms = closed-off, cold, distant… Or it was just somewhere to put one’s hands.

Lack of eye contact = deceitful, hiding something… Unless it’s actually for any one of a wide number of reasons, which brings us to our next section:

A liar’s “tells”

Again, if you know someone intimately and know what signs are associated with deceit in them, then great, that’s a thing you know. But for people in general…

A lot of what is repeated about “how to know if someone is lying” has seeped into public consciousness from “what police use to justify their belief that someone is lying”.

This is why many of the traditional “this person is lying” signs are based around behaviors that show up when in fact “this person is afraid, under pressure, and talking to an authority figure who has the power to ruin their life”:

Research on Non-verbal Signs of Lies and Deceit: A Blind Alley

But what about eye-accessing cues? They have science to them, right?

For any unfamiliar: this is about the theory that when we are accessing different parts of our mind (such as memory or creativity, thus truthfulness or lying), our eyes move one way or another according to what faculty we’re accessing.

Does it work? No

But, if you carefully calibrate it for a specific person, such as by asking them questions along the lines of “describe your front door” or “describe your ideal holiday”, to see which ways they look for recall or creativity… Then also no:

The Eyes Don’t Have It: Lie Detection and Neuro-Linguistic Programming

How can we know what non-verbal communication means, then?

With strangers? We can’t, simply. It’s on us to be open-minded, with a healthy balance of optimism and wariness.

With people we know? We can build up a picture over time, learn the person’s patterns. Best of all, we can ask them. In the moment, and in general.

For more on optimizing interpersonal communication, check out:

Save Time With Better Communication

…and the flipside of that:

The Problem With Active Listening (And How To Do It Better)

Take care!

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  • Bulgarian Split Squats: How To Get The Best Glute Strength & Size

    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.

    Even without considering aesthetics, the glutes are very important muscles (you absolutely cannot have a healthy back and hips without strong glutes).

    Bulgarian split squats have a name that makes them sound complicated; they’re actually very simple, but there are mistakes that people make that sabotage their progress.

    Professional coach Elisi Wolf explains in this video:

    Mistakes most people make

    There are quite a few, but bear with us, as they really do come together—and once you understand them, you’ll have it for life;

    1. Lack of neural pathway establishment: most people skip the step of building a mind-muscle connection before adding weight. Focus on bodyweight movements first until you can feel your glutes working.
    2. Not focusing on glute contraction: avoid counting reps; it distracts the brain. Don’t use weights too soon, as they can prevent neural pathway development. Focus on time under tension and feeling the glutes before adding resistance.
    3. Not lowering slowly enough: slow, controlled movements give the brain time to activate the glutes. This increases time under tension and improves neural pathway formation.
    4. Not wearing knee sleeves: knee sleeves stabilize the joint, allowing the brain to recruit the glutes more efficiently.
    5. Not leaning over to the working side: staying upright distributes weight to the back leg instead of the glute, whereas leaning over the working side maximizes glute activation.
    6. Holding two dumbbells instead of one: two dumbbells force your body to stay level, reducing glute activation. Instead, hold a single dumbbell on the opposite side to improve balance and allow for a greater lean. You can even rest it on your thigh if you like; you’re not here for an arm workout, after all, and allowing the body to focus on one task is better.
    7. Not pushing out the working knee: pushing the knee outward mimics a sprinting motion, engaging the glutes more effectively.
    8. Allowing the pelvis to tilt down: if the pelvis tilts as you lower, the glutes disengage. Keeping the pelvis level ensures the glute medius stays activated.

    For more on all of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like:

    Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body – by Bret Contreras & Kellie Davis

    Take care!

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  • The Core Program: – by Peggy Brill

    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, a specialist women’s physiotherapist, has produced not only an exercise program, but also an explanation of various body-related matters can be easily neglected—but also, with the right knowledge and a small daily commitment of practice, easily addressed.

    Thus, thus subtitular claim of “15 minutes a day that can change your life” is referring to a daily 15-minute exercise session, that’s very Pilates-like in its functional strength and mobility focus with little or no equipment, without actually being Pilates.

    After some introductory chapters discussing the things we need to know in order to implement the program with full understanding, she gets into the program itself, which consists of three progressive parts:

    1. a foundation to get going
    2. an intermediate level to get things truly into good shape, and
    3. an advanced level for if one wants to take things further.

    She also provides extra advice on maintaining what one gained, taking the program forwards for life.

    The program is optimized for women, but there’s nothing truly exclusive to women here, just, occasional “this affects women more” things to include.

    The style is a little dated (the book being published in 2003), but this does not meaningfully affect the content, as the information itself is timeless.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to get into good condition without overcomplicating things and without needing a lot of resources, this book is quite a comprehensive course!

    Click here to check out The Core Program, and get into shape sustainably!

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  • Coffee & Your Gut

    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.

    Coffee, in moderation, is generally considered a healthful drink—speaking for the drink itself, at least! Because the same cannot be said for added sugar, various sorts of creamers, or iced caramelatte mocha frappucino dessert-style drinks:

    The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?)

    Caffeine, too, broadly has more pros than cons (again, in moderation):

    Caffeine: Cognitive Enhancer Or Brain-Wrecker?

    Some people will be concerned about coffee and the heart. Assuming you don’t have a caffeine sensitivity (or you do but you drink decaf), it is heart-neutral in moderation, though there are some ways of preparing it that are better than others:

    Make Your Coffee Heart-Healthier!

    So, what about coffee and the gut?

    The bacteria who enjoy a good coffee

    Amongst our trillions of tiny friends, allies, associates, and enemies-on-the-inside, which ones like coffee, and what kind of coffee do they prefer?

    A big (n=35,214) international multicohort analysis examined the associations between coffee consumption and very many different gut microbial species, and found:

    115 species were positively associated with coffee consumption, mostly of the kind considered “friendly”, including ones often included in probiotic supplements, such as various Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species.

    The kind that was most strongly associated with coffee consumption, however, was Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, a helpful little beast who converts chlorogenic acid (one of the main polyphenols in coffee) into caffeic acid, quinic acid, and various other metabolites that we can use.

    More specifically: moderate coffee-drinkers, defined as drinking 1–3 cups per day, enjoyed a 300–400% increase in L. asaccharolyticus, while high coffee-drinkers (no, not that kind of high), defined as drinking 4 or more cups of coffee per day, enjoyed a 400–800% increase, compared to “never/rarely” coffee-drinkers (defined as drinking 2 or fewer cups per month).

    Click here to see more data from the study, in a helpful infographic

    Things that did not affect the outcome:

    • The coffee-making method—it seems the bacteria are not fussy in this regard, as espresso or brewed, and even instant, yielded the same gut microbiome benefits
    • The caffeine content—as both caffeinated and decaffeinated yielded the same gut microbiome benefits

    You can read the paper itself in full for here:

    Coffee consumption is associated with intestinal Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus abundance and prevalence across multiple cohorts

    Want to enjoy coffee, but not keen on the effects of caffeine or the taste of decaffeinated?

    Taking l-theanine alongside coffee flattens the curve of caffeine metabolism, and means one can get the benefits without unwanted jitteriness:

    The Magic Of L-Theanine

    Enjoy!

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  • How to Vary Breakfast for Digestion?

    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.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    ❝Would appreciate your thoughts on how best to promote good digestion. For years, my breakfast has consisted of flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds – all well ground up – eaten with a generous amount of kefir. This works a treat as far as my digestion is concerned. But I sometimes wonder whether it would be better for my health if I varied or supplemented this breakfast. How might I do this without jeopardising my good digestion?❞

    Sounds like you’re already doing great! Those ingredients are all very nutrient-dense, and grinding them up improves digestion greatly, to the point that you’re getting nutrients your body couldn’t get at otherwise. And the kefir, of course, is a top-tier probiotic.

    Also, you’re getting plenty of protein and healthy fats in with your carbs, which results in the smoothest blood sugar curve.

    As for variety…

    Variety is good in diet, but variety within a theme. Our gut microbiota change according to what we eat, so sudden changes in diet are often met with heavy resistance from our gut.

    • For example, people who take up a 100% plant-based diet overnight often spend the next day in the bathroom, and wonder what happened.
    • Conversely, a long-time vegan who (whether by accident or design) consumes meat or dairy will likely find themself quickly feeling very unwell, because their gut microbiota have no idea what to do with this.

    So, variety yes, but within a theme, and make any changes gradual for the easiest transition.

    All in all, the only obvious suggestion for improvement is to consider adding some berries. These can be fresh, dried, or frozen, and will confer many health benefits (most notably a lot of antioxidant activity).

    Enjoy!

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  • NADᐩ Against Aging

    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.

    Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or “NAD” to its friends, is a coenzyme produced in the human body (amongst other places), and it is critical for cellular energy metabolism, but there’s more to it than that.

    Today we’ll be looking mostly at NAD+, of which the + indicates the positive formal charge of one of its nitrogen atoms. We won’t get too much into the chemistry of this, but we will mention that it’s a cofactor with NADH—the former accepting electrons and the latter donating electrons.

    Both NAD+ and NADH are critical to good health, but we’re going to focus on NAD+ for the simple reason that it gets depleted with aging.

    Note: it gets depleted with aging.

    Chronological age is not so important here, but there is a direct relationship between biological aging and NAD+ depletion.

    For example, healthy centenarians tend not to have depleted NAD+ levels. Further, its depletion (in those in whom it is depleted) is then a causal factor for many age-related diseases:

    ❝Remarkably, ageing is accompanied by a gradual decline in tissue and cellular NAD+ levels in multiple model organisms, including rodents and humans.

    This decline in NAD+ levels is linked causally to numerous ageing-associated diseases, including cognitive decline, cancer, metabolic disease, sarcopenia and frailty.

    Many of these ageing-associated diseases can be slowed down and even reversed by restoring NAD+ levels.❞

    ~ Dr. Rosalba Perrone et al.

    Read in full: NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing

    As for restoring those NADᐩ levels, that does help in interventional trials, whether by supplementing directly, or with NAD precursors*:

    ❝NAD+ levels steadily decline with age, resulting in altered metabolism and increased disease susceptibility.

    Restoration of NAD+ levels in old or diseased animals can promote health and extend lifespan, prompting a search for safe and efficacious NAD-boosting molecules that hold the promise of increasing the body’s resilience, not just to one disease, but to many, thereby extending healthy human lifespan.❞

    ~ Dr. David Sinclair et al.

    Read more: Therapeutic Potential of NAD-Boosting Molecules: The In Vivo Evidence

    *There are actually also other NAD-boosting molecules besides NAD itself and its precursors. For example, the liver will not produce NADᐩ unless it has aminocarboxymuconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase (or “ACMSD”, to its friends), which limits the production of NADᐩ. Why, you ask? The theory is that it is a kind of evolutionary conservativism, much like not lighting a fire without the ability to put it out. In any case, taking ACMSD-blockers will thus result in an increased endogenous production of NADᐩ.

    You can read about this here:

    De novo NAD+ synthesis enhances mitochondrial function and improves health

    Nor is taking supplements or drugs the only way to get more of it; there’s an enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (“NAMPT”, to its friends) involved in the synthesis of NADᐩ, and exercise boosts levels by 127% (i.e., it more than doubles the levels), based on a modest three-week exercise bike regimen:

    Skeletal muscle NAMPT is induced by exercise in humans

    And to underline that point, another study found that resistance training (so, a different kind of exercise from that of the previous study) boosts levels of NADᐩ itself by the same 127%:

    Resistance training increases muscle NAD+ and NADH concentrations as well as NAMPT protein levels and global sirtuin activity in middle-aged, overweight, untrained individuals

    One way to get more out of NADᐩ

    We’ll get straight to the point: it works very well paired with a senolytic agent, i.e. something that kills aging cells so that they get recycled sooner:

    NAD+, Senolytics, or Pyruvate for Healthy Aging?

    To read more about senolytics, check out:

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    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon 😎

    Enjoy!

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  • Fennel vs Artichoke – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing fennel to artichoke, we picked the artichoke.

    Why?

    Both are great! But artichoke wins on nutritional density.

    In terms of macros, artichoke has more protein and more fiber, for only slightly more carbs.

    Vitamins are another win for artichoke, boasting more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and choline. Meanwhile, fennel has more of vitamins A, E, and K, which is also very respectable but does allow artichoke a 6:3 lead.

    In the category of minerals, artichoke has a lot more copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus, while fennel has a little more calcium, potassium, and selenium.

    One other relevant factor is that fennel is a moderate appetite suppressant, which may be good or bad depending on your food-related goals.

    All in all though, we say the artichoke wins by virtue of its greater abundance of nutrients!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    What Matters Most For Your Heart? ← appropriately enough, with fennel hearts and artichoke hearts!

    Take care!

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