When Your Brain’s “Get-Up-And-Go” Has Got Up And Gone…
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Sometimes, there are days when the body feels heavy, the brain feels sluggish, and even the smallest tasks feel Herculean.
When these days stack up, this is usually a sign of depression, and needs attention. Unfortunately, when one is in such a state, taking action about it is almost impossible.
Almost, but not quite, as we wrote about previously:
The Mental Health First-Aid You’ll Hopefully Never Need ← this is about as close to true mental health bootstrapping as actually works
Today though, we’re going to assume it’s just an off-day or such. So, what to do about it?
Try turning it off and on again
Sometimes, a reboot is all that’s needed, and if napping is an option, it’s worth considering. However, if you don’t do it right, you can end up groggy and worse off than before, so do check out:
How To Be An Expert Nap-Artist (No More “Sleep Hangovers”!)
If your exhaustion is nevertheless accompanied by stresses that are keeping you from resting, then there’s another “turn it off and on again” process for that:
Fuel in the tank
Our brain is an energy-intensive organ, and cannot run on empty for long. Thus, lacking energy can sometimes simply be a matter of needing to supply some energy. Simple, no? Except, a lot of energy-giving foods can cause a paradoxical slump in energy, so here’s how to avoid that:
Eating For Energy (In Ways That Actually Work)
There are occasions when exhausted, when preparing food seems like too much work. If you’re not in a position to have someone else do it for you, how can you get “most for least” in terms of nutrition for effort?
Many of the above-linked items can help (a bowl of nuts and/or dried fruit is probably not going to break the energy-bank, for instance), but beyond that, there are other considerations too:
How To Eat To Beat Chronic Fatigue (While Chronically Fatigued) ← as the title tells, this is about chronic fatigue, but the advice therein definitely goes for acute fatigue also.
The lights aren’t on
Sometimes it may be that your body is actually fine, but your brain is working in a clunky fashion at best. Assuming there is no more drastic underlying cause for this, a lack of motivation is often as simple as a lack of appropriate dopamine response. When that’s the case…
Lacking Motivation? Science Has The Answer
If, instead, the issue is more serotonin-based than dopamine based, then green places with blue skies are ideal. Depending on geography and season, those things may be in short supply, but the brain is easily tricked with artificial plants and artificial sunlight. Is it as good as a walk in the park on a pleasant summer morning? Probably not, but it’s many times better than nothing, so get those juices flowing:
Neurotransmitter Cheatsheet ← four for the price of one, here!
Schedule time for rest, or your body/brain will schedule it for you
There’s a saying in the field of engineering that “if you don’t schedule time for maintenance, your equipment will schedule it for you”, and the same is true of our body/brain. If you’re struggling to get good quantity, here’s how to at least get good quality:
How To Rest More Efficiently (Yes, Really)
And, importantly,
7 Kinds Of Rest When Sleep Is Not Enough
Take care!
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Beat Sugar Addiction Now! – by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum & Chrystle Fiedler
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.
Sugar isn’t often thought of as an addiction in the same category as alcohol or nicotine, but it’s actually very similar in some ways…
A bold claim, but: in each case, it has to do with dopamine responses to something that has:
- an adverse effect on our health,
- a quickly developed tolerance to same,
- and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when quitting.
However, not all sugar addictions are created equal, and Dr. Teitelbaum lays four different types of sugar addiction out for us:
- Most related to “I need to perform and I need to perform now”
- Most related to “I just need something to get me through one more stressful day, again, just like every day before it”
- Most related to “ate too much sugar because of the above, and now a gut overgrowth of C. albicans is at the wheel”
- Most related to “ate too much sugar because of the above, and now insulin resistance is a problem that perpetuates itself too”
Of course, these may overlap, and indeed, they tend to stack cumulatively as time goes by.
However, Dr. Teitelbaum notes that as readers we may recognize ourselves as being at a particular point in the above, and there are different advices for each of them.
You thought it was just going to be about going cold turkey? Nope!
Instead, a multi-vector approach is recommended, including adjustments to sleep, nutrition, immune health, hormonal health, and more.
In short: if you’ve been trying to to kick the “White Death” habit as Gloria Swanson called it (sugar, that is, not the WW2 Finnish sniper of the same name—we can’t help you with that one), then this book is really much more helpful than others that take the “well, just don’t eat it, then” approach!
Pick up your copy of Beat Sugar Addiction Now from Amazon, and start your journey!
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Elderberries vs Cranberries – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing elderberries to cranberries, we picked the elderberries.
Why?
In terms of macros, elderberry has slightly more carbs and 2x the fiber, the ratio of which gives elderberries the lower glycemic index also. A win for elderberries, then.
Looking at the vitamins, elderberries have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, and C, while cranberries have more vitamin B5. An easy win for elderberries in this category.
In the category of minerals, we see a similar story: elderberries have more calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while cranberries have (barely) more magnesium. Another clear win for elderberries.
Both of these fruits have additional “special” properties, and it’s worth noting that:
- elderberries’ bonus properties include that they significantly hasten recovery from upper respiratory tract viral infections.
- cranberries’ bonus properties (including: famously very good at reducing UTI risk) come with some warnings, including that they may increase the risk of kidney stones if you are prone to such, and also that cranberries have anti-clotting effects, which are great for heart health but can be a risk of you’re on blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder.
You can read about both of these fruits’ special properties in more detail below:
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
- Herbs for Evidence-Based Health & Healing ← elderberry is in the list. We haven’t, at time of writing, done a main feature just on elderberry. Maybe soon!
- Health Benefits Of Cranberries (But: You’d Better Watch Out)
Enjoy!
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10 Mistakes To Sabotage Your Ozempic Progress
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Ozempic has a good reputation for getting reliable results, but there are ways to mess it up:
It’s not just inject-and-go
We’ll not keep the 10 ways a secret; they are:
- Increasing the dose too quickly: avoid cranking doses up too high too quickly, to prevent severe nausea, appetite suppression, and muscle loss. It’s worth being aware that high doses without proper management can lead to metabolic health disasters.
- Pushing through side effects: severe nausea or vomiting means you probably have an unhelpfully high dose; consult your prescribing doctor—it’s easy to feel “more is better; I don’t want to have less!”, but there really is a sweet spot, and if you’re not in it, then adjustments are needed in order to find it.
- Eating nutritionally scant food: reducing the quantity of unhealthy food isn’t enough—please prioritize nutrient-rich foods instead. Remember, “it’s not the calories in your food; it’s the food in your calories”.
- Consuming fried food and refined carbs: their general metabolic woes aside, fried foods and ultra-refined carbs can exacerbate nausea and other side effects, so it really is best to skip them. The good news is that Ozempic will help overcome those cravings more easily.
- Neglecting muscle protection: especially women, especially middle-aged or older, are at higher risk of osteoporosis and should maintain muscle mass (strong muscles and strong bones go together, by necessity). So, eat protein and do resistance training!
- Assuming it’s a monotherapy: GLP-1 drugs work best as part of a holistic protocol, including proper nutrition, strength training, and hormone therapy if appropriate.
- Not addressing metabolic health first: GLP-1 drugs are less effective in people with poor baseline metabolic health, so there’s a bit of a catch-22 here, but it’s important to be aware of. Fortunately, Ozempic and adopting a healthy lifestyle will each make the other work better.
- Neglecting comprehensive treatment plans: in other words, going through the motions of a holistic protocol and then expecting Ozempic to do all the work.
- Upping doses to overcome plateaus: plateaus often signal other issues (e.g. lack of protein, no strength training), so do address these before increasing dosage.
- Lack of collaboration with doctors: the human body is complex, and what’s going on metabolically is complex too, so there’s a lot a layperson can easily miss. For that matter, there’s a lot that doctors can easily miss too, but more heads are better than one.
For more on all of these, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
5 Ways To Naturally Boost The Ozempic Effect
Take care!
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Accidentally Overweight – by Dr. Libby Weaver
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This book’s main premise is that for most people who become overweight especially in midlife or later, if there wasn’t an obvious lifestyle change to precipitate this (e.g. started living on fast food for some reason), then in most cases, what’s needed is not drastic action, so much as some metabolic tweaks to correct things that have gone off-piste a little in our physiology.
The book covers nine factors that make an impact, and how each can be managed. They are:
- Insulin
- Stress hormones
- Calories
- Thyroid function
- Nervous system
- Emotions
- Sex hormones
- Liver function
- Gut bacteria
Some will be obvious, but as Dr. Weaver explains, are relative trivial compared to the others; “calories” in one such example of this “yes, it’s a factor, but very overrated” category.
Others are things that most people don’t think too much about, like liver function. And yet, it is indeed very much critical, and a major player in metabolism and adiposity.
The style is on the very light end of pop-science, but she does bring her professional knowledge to bear on topic (her doctorate is a PhD in biochemistry, so a lot of explanations come from that angle).
Bottom line: if you’ve found yourself “accidentally overweight”, and would like to tip the scales back in the other direction without doing anything extreme, then this book provides the tweaks that no amount of cardio or restrictive dieting will.
Click here to check out Accidentally Overweight, and re-adjust it back the other way!
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Brazil Nuts vs Cashews – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing Brazil nuts to cashews, we picked the cashews.
Why?
Looking at the macros first, Brazil nuts have more fat and fiber, while cashews have more carbs and protein. So, it really comes down to what you want to prioritize. We’d generally consider fiber the tie-breaker, making this category a subjective marginal win for Brazil nuts—and especially marginal since they are both low glycemic index foods in any case.
When it comes to vitamins, Brazil nuts have more of vitamins C, E, and choline, while cashews have more of vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and K, so while both are great, this category is a clear by-the-numbers win for cashews.
The category of minerals is an interesting one. Brazil nuts have more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium, while cashews have more copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. That would be a 4:4 tie, but let’s take a closer look at those selenium levels:
- A cup of cashews contains 109% of the RDA of selenium. Your hair will be luscious and shiny.
- A cup of Brazil nuts contains 10,456% of the RDA of selenium. This is way past the point of selenium toxicity, and your (luscious, shiny) hair will fall out.
For this reason, it’s recommended to eat no more than 3–4 Brazil nuts per day.
We consider that a point against Brazil nuts.
Adding up the section makes for a win for cashews. Of course, enjoy Brazil nuts too if you will, but in careful moderation please!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts
Take care!
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Knee Pain Relief In Just Two Minutes
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It’s not “two minutes and fixed forever”, but it is “two minutes for relief, and repeat daily”.
Dr. Jason Won shows us how:
You will need a towel
Now, with your towel at the ready…
- Quad ladders: this one’s a towel-supported quad-activation drill to improve your knee extension. Sit with a towel under your knee, bend the opposite leg, and place your hands behind you. Pull your toes towards your nose, press your knee into the towel, and lift your heel while gradually increasing, then decreasing, your contraction effort. This restores activation through your quadriceps to ease knee discomfort.
- Knee flexion mobilization: this one’s a towel-assisted hinge movement to improve your knee bending. Kneel and pack a towel firmly into the back of your knee, then lean forwards so it stays in place hands-free. Guide your knee forwards over your toes so the towel gently gaps the joint, improving comfort and bending range for daily tasks like going downstairs or squatting.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
For a much deeper understanding of treating knee pain, here’s a great book that we reviewed a little while back:
Treat Your Own Knee – by Robin McKenzie ← he’s a physiotherapist and not a doctor, but with 40 years of practice to his name and 33 letters after his name (CNZM OBE FCSP (Hon) FNZSP (Hon) Dip MDT Dip MT), he seems to know his stuff. His work is very well-respected, and almost any English-speaking physiotherapist will have read his books.
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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