Stop Cancer 20 Years Ago

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Get Abreast And Keep Abreast

This is Dr. Jenn Simmons. Her specialization is integrative oncology, as she—then a breast cancer surgeon—got breast cancer, decided the system wasn’t nearly as good from the patients’ side of things as from the doctors’ side, and took to educate herself, and now others, on how things can be better.

What does she want us to know?

Start now

If you have breast cancer, the best time to start adjusting your lifestyle might be 20 years ago, but the second-best time is now. We realize our readers with breast cancer (or a history thereof) probably have indeed started already—all strength to you.

What this means for those of us without breast cancer (or a history therof) is: start now

Even if you don’t have a genetic risk factor, even if there’s no history of it in your family, there’s just no reason not to start now.

Start what, you ask? Taking away its roots. And how?

Inflammation as the root of cancer

To oversimplify: cancer occurs because an accidentally immortal cell replicates and replicates and replicates and takes any nearby resources to keep on going. While science doesn’t know all the details of how this happens, it is a factor of genetic mutation (itself a normal process, without which evolution would be impossible), something which in turn is accelerated by damage to the DNA. The damage to the DNA? That occurs (often as not) as a result of cellular oxidation. Cellular oxidation is far from the only genotoxic thing out there, and a lot of non-food “this thing causes cancer” warnings are usually about other kinds of genotoxicity. But cellular oxidation is a big one, and it’s one that we can fight vigorously with our lifestyle.

Because cellular oxidation and inflammation go hand-in-hand, reducing one tends to reduce the other. That’s why so often you’ll see in our Research Review Monday features, a line that goes something like:

“and now for those things that usually come together: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anti-aging”

So, fight inflammation now, and have a reduced risk of a lot of other woes later.

See: How to Prevent (or Reduce) Inflammation

Don’t settle for “normal”

People are told, correctly but not always helpfully, such things as:

  • It’s normal to have less energy at your age
  • It’s normal to have a weaker immune system at your age
  • It’s normal to be at a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, etc

…and many more. And these things are true! But that doesn’t mean we have to settle for them.

We can be all the way over on the healthy end of the distribution curve. We can do that!

(so can everyone else, given sufficient opportunity and resources, because health is not a zero-sum game)

If we’re going to get a cancer diagnosis, then our 60s are the decade where we’re most likely to get it. Earlier than that and the risk is extant but lower; later than that and technically the risk increases, but we probably got it already in our 60s.

So, if we be younger than 60, then now’s a good time to prepare to hit the ground running when we get there. And if we missed that chance, then again, the second-best time is now:

See: Focusing On Health In Our Sixties

Fast to live

Of course, anything can happen to anyone at any age (alas), but this is about the benefits of living a fasting lifestyle—that is to say, not just fasting for a 4-week health kick or something, but making it one’s “new normal” and just continuing it for life.

This doesn’t mean “never eat”, of course, but it does mean “practice intermittent fasting, if you can”—something that Dr. Simmons strongly advocates.

See: Intermittent Fasting: We Sort The Science From The Hype

While this calls back to the previous “fight inflammation”, it deserves its own mention here as a very specific way of fighting it.

It’s never too late

All of the advices that go before a cancer diagnosis, continue to stand afterwards too. There is no point of “well, I already have cancer, so what’s the harm in…?”

The harm in it after a diagnosis will be the same as the harm before. When it comes to lifestyle, preventing a cancer and preventing it from spreading are very much the same thing, which is also the same as shrinking it. Basically, if it’s anticancer, it’s anticancer, no matter whether it’s before, during, or after.

Dr. Simmons has seen too many patients get a diagnosis, and place their lives squarely in the hands of doctors, when doctors can only do so much.

Instead, Dr. Simmons recommends taking charge of your health as best you are able, today and onwards, no matter what. And that means two things:

  1. Knowing stuff
  2. Doing stuff

So it becomes our responsibility (and our lifeline) to educate ourselves, and take action accordingly.

Want to know more?

We recently reviewed her book, and heartily recommend it:

The Smart Woman’s Guide to Breast Cancer – by Dr. Jenn Simmons

Enjoy!

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  • AI: The Doctor That Never Tires?
    AI in healthcare: a valuable tool that speeds up research, improves diagnosis, and reduces errors. It’s not about humans vs machines, but rather collaboration for more informed decisions.

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  • Feta or Parmesan – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing feta to parmesan, we picked the parmesan.

    Why?

    It’s close! Looking at the macros, parmesan has more protein and slightly less fat. Of the fat content, parmesan also has slightly less saturated fat, but neither of them are doing great in this category. Still, a relative win for parmesan.

    In the category of vitamins, feta is a veritable vitamin-B-fest with more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B9. On the other hand, parmesan has more of vitamins A, B12, and choline. By strength of numbers, this is a win for feta.

    Minerals tell a different story; parmesan has a lot more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. Meanwhile, feta is not higher in any minerals. A clear win for parmesan.

    Both cheeses offer gut-healthy benefits (if consumed regularly in small portions), while neither are great for the heart.

    On balance, we say parmesan wins the day.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Feta Cheese vs Mozzarella – Which is Healthier?

    Take care!

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  • When “Normal” Health Is Not What You Want

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    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

    ❝When going to sleep, I try to breathe through my nose (since everyone says that’s best). But when I wake I often find that I am breathing through my mouth. Is that normal, or should I have my nose checked out?❞

    It is quite normal, but when it comes to health, “normal” does not always mean “optimal”.

    • Good news: it is correctable!
    • Bad news: it is correctable by what may be considered rather an extreme practice that comes with its own inconveniences and health risks.

    Some people correct this by using medical tape to keep their mouth closed at night, ensuring nose-breathing. Advocates of this say that after using it for a while, nose-breathing in sleep will become automatic.

    We know of no hard science to confirm this, and cannot even offer a personal anecdote on this one. Here are some pop-sci articles that do link to the (very few) studies that have been conducted:

    This writer’s personal approach is simply to do breathing exercises when going to sleep and first thing upon awakening, and settle for imperfection in this regard while asleep.

    Meanwhile, take care!

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  • The Aesthetic Brain – by Dr. Anjan Chatterjee

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    Dr. Anjan Chatterjee (not to be mistaken for Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, whose books we have also sometimes reviewed before) is a neurologist.

    A lot about aesthetics is easy enough to understand. We like physical features in humans that suggest a healthy mate, and we like lush and/or colorful plants that reassure us that we will have plenty to eat.

    But what about a beautiful building, or a charcoal drawing of some captivatingly eldritch horror? And what, neurologically speaking, is the difference between a bowl of fruit and a painting of a bowl of fruit? And what, if anything, does appreciation of such do for us?

    In this very readable pop-science book, we learn about these things and many more, from the perspective of an experienced neurologist who explains things simply but with plenty of science.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to understand how and why your brain does more things than just process tasks necessary for survival, this book will give you plenty of insight.

    Click here to check out The Aesthetic Brain, and learn more about yours!

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Related Posts

  • Peripheral Neuropathy: How To Avoid It, Manage It, Treat It

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    Peripheral neuropathy (and what can be done about it)

    Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage, usually of the extremities. It can be caused by such things as:

    • Diabetes
    • Alcoholism
    • Infection
    • Injury

    The manifestations can be different:

    • In the case of diabetes, it’s also called diabetic neuropathy, and almost always affects the feet first.
    • In the case of alcoholism, it is more generalized, but tends towards affecting the extremities first.
    • In the case of infection, a lot depends on the nature of the infection and the body’s response.
    • In the case of injury, it’ll naturally be the injured part, or a little “downstream” of the injured part.
      • This could be the case of a single traumatic injury (e.g. hand got trapped in a slammed door)

    This could be the case of a repetitive injury (carpal tunnel syndrome is a kind of peripheral neuropathy, and is usually caused by consistent misalignment of the carpal tunnel, the aperture through which a bundle of nerves make their way from the forearm to the hand)

    Prevention is better than cure

    If you already have peripheral neuropathy, don’t worry, we’ll get to that. But, if you can, prevention is better than cure. This means:

    • Diabetes: if you can, avoid. This may seem like no-brainer advice, but it’s often something people don’t think about until hitting a pre-diabetic stage. Obviously, if you are Type 1 Diabetic, you don’t have this luxury. But in any case, whatever your current status, take care of your blood sugars as best you can, so that your blood can take care of you (and your nerves) in turn. You might want to check out our previous main feature about this:
    • Alcoholism: obviously avoid, if you can. You might like this previous edition of 10almonds addressing this:
    • Infection: this is so varied that one-liner advice is really just “try to look after your immune health”.
      • We’ll do a main feature on this soon!
    • Injury: obviously, try to be careful. But that goes for the more insidious version too! For example, if you spend a lot of time at your computer, consider an ergonomic mouse and keyboard.

    Writer’s note: as you might guess, I spend a lot of time at my computer, and a lot of that time, writing. I additionally spend a lot of time reading. I also have assorted old injuries from my more exciting life long ago. Because of this, it’s been an investment in my health to have:

    A standing desk

    A vertical ergonomic mouse

    An ergonomic split keyboard

    A Kindle*

    *Far lighter and more ergonomic than paper books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing to you from a room that also contains about a thousand paper books and I dearly love those too, but more often than not, I read on my e-reader for comfort and ease.

    If you already have peripheral neuropathy

    Most advice popular on the Internet is just about pain management, but what if we want to treat the cause rather than the symptom?

    Let’s look at the things commonly suggested: try ice, try heat, try acupuncture, try spicy rubs (from brand names like Tiger Balm, to home-made chilli ointments), try meditation, try a warm bath, try massage.

    And, all of these are good options; do you see what they have in common?

    It’s about blood flow. And that’s why they can help even in the case of peripheral neuropathy that’s not painful (it can also manifest as numbness, and/or tingling sensations).

    By getting the blood flowing nicely through the affected body part, the blood can nourish the nerves and help them function correctly. This is, in effect, the opposite of what the causes of peripheral neuropathy do.

    But also don’t forget: rest

    • Put your feet up (literally! But we’re talking horizontal here, not elevated past the height of your heart)
    • Rest that weary wrist that has carpal tunnel syndrome (again, resting it flat, so your hand position is aligned with your forearm, so the nerves between are not kinked)
    • Use a brace if necessary to help the affected part stay aligned correctly
      • You can get made-for-purpose wrist and ankle braces—you can also get versions that are made for administering hot/cold therapy, too. That’s just an example product linked that we can recommend; by all means read reviews and choose for yourself, though. Try them and see what helps.

    One more top tip

    We did a feature not long back on lion’s mane mushroom, and it’s single most well-established, well-researched, well-evidenced, completely uncontested benefit is that it aids peripheral neurogenesis, that is to say, the regrowth and healing of the peripheral nervous system.

    So you might want to check that out:

    What Does Lion’s Mane Actually Do, Anyway?

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  • Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US. Why does that matter?

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    The United States Department of Agriculture last week reported that a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon was infected with bird flu.

    As the bird flu situation has evolved, we’ve heard about the A/H5N1 strain of the virus infecting a range of animals, including a variety of birds, wild animals and dairy cattle.

    Fortunately, we haven’t seen any sustained spread between humans at this stage. But the detection of the virus in a pig marks a worrying development in the trajectory of this virus.

    David MG/Shutterstock

    How did we get here?

    The most concerning type of bird flu currently circulating is clade 2.3.4.4b of A/H5N1, a strain of influenza A.

    Since 2020, A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b has spread to a vast range of birds, wild animals and farm animals that have never been infected with bird flu before.

    While Europe is a hotspot for A/H5N1, attention is currently focused on the US. Dairy cattle were infected for the first time in 2024, with more than 400 herds affected across at least 14 US states.

    Bird flu has enormous impacts on farming and commercial food production, because infected poultry flocks have to be culled, and infected cows can result in contaminated diary products. That said, pasteurisation should make milk safe to drink.

    While farmers have suffered major losses due to H5N1 bird flu, it also has the potential to mutate to cause a human pandemic.

    Birds and humans have different types of receptors in their respiratory tract that flu viruses attach to, like a lock (receptors) and key (virus). The attachment of the virus allows it to invade a cell and the body and cause illness. Avian flu viruses are adapted to birds, and spread easily among birds, but not in humans.

    So far, human cases have mainly occurred in people who have been in close contact with infected farm animals or birds. In the US, most have been farm workers.

    The concern is that the virus will mutate and adapt to humans. One of the key steps for this to happen would be a shift in the virus’ affinity from the bird receptors to those found in the human respiratory tract. In other words, if the virus’ “key” mutated to better fit with the human “lock”.

    A recent study of a sample of A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b from an infected human had worrying findings, identifying mutations in the virus with the potential to increase transmission between human hosts.

    Why are pigs a problem?

    A human pandemic strain of influenza can arise in several ways. One involves close contact between humans and animals infected with their own specific flu viruses, creating opportunities for genetic mixing between avian and human viruses.

    Pigs are the ideal genetic mixing vessel to generate a human pandemic influenza strain, because they have receptors in their respiratory tracts which both avian and human flu viruses can bind to.

    This means pigs can be infected with a bird flu virus and a human flu virus at the same time. These viruses can exchange genetic material to mutate and become easily transmissible in humans.

    The Conversation, CC BY-SA

    Interestingly, in the past pigs were less susceptible to A/H5N1 viruses. However, the virus has recently mutated to infect pigs more readily.

    In the recent case in Oregon, A/H5N1 was detected in a pig on a non-commercial farm after an outbreak occurred among the poultry housed on the same farm. This strain of A/H5N1 was from wild birds, not the one that is widespread in US dairy cows.

    The infection of a pig is a warning. If the virus enters commercial piggeries, it would create a far greater level of risk of a pandemic, especially as the US goes into winter, when human seasonal flu starts to rise.

    How can we mitigate the risk?

    Surveillance is key to early detection of a possible pandemic. This includes comprehensive testing and reporting of infections in birds and animals, alongside financial compensation and support measures for farmers to encourage timely reporting.

    Strengthening global influenza surveillance is crucial, as unusual spikes in pneumonia and severe respiratory illnesses could signal a human pandemic. Our EPIWATCH system looks for early warnings of such activity, which can speed up vaccine development.

    If a cluster of human cases occurs, and influenza A is detected, further testing (called subtyping) is essential to ascertain whether it’s a seasonal strain, an avian strain from a spillover event, or a novel pandemic strain.

    Early identification can prevent a pandemic. Any delay in identifying an emerging pandemic strain enables the virus to spread widely across international borders.

    Australia’s first human case of A/H5N1 occurred in a child who acquired the infection while travelling in India, and was hospitalised with illness in March 2024. At the time, testing revealed Influenza A (which could be seasonal flu or avian flu), but subtyping to identify A/H5N1 was delayed.

    This kind of delay can be costly if a human-transmissible A/H5N1 arises and is assumed to be seasonal flu because the test is positive for influenza A. Only about 5% of tests positive for influenza A are subtyped further in Australia and most countries.

    In light of the current situation, there should be a low threshold for subtyping influenza A strains in humans. Rapid tests which can distinguish between seasonal and H5 influenza A are emerging, and should form part of governments’ pandemic preparedness.

    A higher risk than ever before

    The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the current risk posed by H5N1 to the general public remains low.

    But with H5N1 now able to infect pigs, and showing worrying mutations for human adaptation, the level of risk has increased. Given the virus is so widespread in animals and birds, the statistical probability of a pandemic arising is higher than ever before.

    The good news is, we are better prepared for an influenza pandemic than other pandemics, because vaccines can be made in the same way as seasonal flu vaccines. As soon as the genome of a pandemic influenza virus is known, the vaccines can be updated to match it.

    Partially matched vaccines are already available, and some countries such as Finland are vaccinating high-risk farm workers.

    C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC L3 Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney and Haley Stone, Research Associate, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute & CRUISE lab, Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Sydney

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

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  • How To Improve Your Heart Rate Variability

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    How’s your heart rate variability?

    The hallmarks of a good, strong cardiovascular system include a medium-to-low resting heart rate (for adults: under 60 beats per minute is good; under 50 is typical of athletes), and healthy blood pressure (for adults: under 120/80, while still above 90/60, is generally considered good).

    Less talked-about is heart rate variability, but it’s important too…

    What is heart rate variability?

    Heart rate variability is a measure of how quickly and easily your heart responds to changes in demands placed upon it. For example:

    • If you’re at rest and then start running your fastest (be it for leisure or survival or anything in between), your heart rate should be able to jump from its resting rate to about 180% of that as quickly as possible
    • When you stop, your heart rate should be able to shift gears back to your resting rate as quickly as possible

    The same goes, to a commensurately lesser extent, to changes in activity between low and moderate, or between moderate and high.

    • When your heart can change gears quickly, that’s called a high heart rate variability
    • When your heart is sluggish to get going and then takes a while to return to normal after exertion, that’s called a low heart rate variability.

    The rate of change (i.e., the variability) is measured in microseconds per beat, and the actual numbers will vary depending on a lot of factors, but for everyone, higher is better than lower.

    Aside from quick response to crises, why does it matter?

    If heart rate variability is low, it means the sympathetic nervous system is dominating the parasympathetic nervous system, which means, in lay terms, your fight-or-flight response is overriding your ability to relax.

    See for example: Stress and Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature

    This has a lot of knock-on effects for both physical and mental health! Your heart and brain will take the worst of this damage, so it’s good to improve things for them impossible.

    This Saturday’s Life Hacks: how to improve your HRV!

    Firstly, the Usual Five Things™:

    1. A good diet (that avoids processed foods)
    2. Good exercise (that includes daily physical activity—more often is more important than more intense!)
    3. Good sleep (7–9 hours of good quality sleep per night)
    4. Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption (this is dose-dependent; any reduction is an improvement)
    5. Don’t smoke (just don’t)

    Additional regular habits that help a lot:

    • Breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation
    • Therapy, especially CBT and DBT
    • Stress-avoidance strategies, for example:
      • Get (and maintain) your finances in good order
      • Get (and maintain) your relationship(s) in good order
      • Get (and maintain) your working* life in good order

    *Whatever this means to you. If you’re perhaps retired, or otherwise a home-maker, or even a student, the things you “need to do” on a daily basis are your working life, for these purposes.

    In terms of simple, quick-fix, physical tweaks to focus on if you’re already broadly leading a good life, two great ones are:

    • Exercise: get moving! Walk to the store even if you buy nothing but a snack or drink to enjoy while walking back. If you drove, make more trips with the shopping bags rather than fewer. If you like to watch TV, consider an exercise bike or treadmill to use while watching. If you have a partner, double-up and make it a thing you do together! Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Take the scenic route when walking someplace. Go to the bathroom that’s further away. Every little helps!
    • Breathe: even just a couple of times a day, practice mindful breathing. Start with even just a minute a day, to get the habit going. What breathing exercise you do isn’t so important as that you do it. Notice your breathing; count how long each breath takes. Don’t worry about “doing it right”—you’re doing great, just observe, just notice, just slowly count. We promise that regular practice of this will have you feeling amazing

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