Brussels Sprouts vs Dandelion Greens – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing Brussels sprouts to dandelions, we picked the dandelions.
Why?
Both are great, and it’s such a strong pairing that we’re surprised we haven’t done this one before! But there is a winner, on balance:
In terms of macros, the sprouts have more fiber and protein, while the dandelions have more carbs, and/but all the numbers are quite close, so this is either a tie or the slenderest of nominal wins to dandelions.
In the category of vitamins, Brussels sprouts have more of vitamins B5, B9, and C, while dandelion greens have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, E, and K, winning easily by a large margin.
Looking at minerals, the sprouts have more selenium, while dandelions have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, winning convincingly again.
In other considerations, Brussels sprouts have sulforaphane while dandelion greens have more polyphenols, so this round’s either a tie or a nominal win to dandelions (because those are admittedly a lot of polyphenols).
Either way, adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for dandelion greens, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as Brussels sprouts are certainly a top-tier food too!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
- Broccoli Sprouts & Sulforaphane ← this is written about Broccoli, but all Brassica oleracea sprouts have this, and that includes Brussels sprouts
- How Dandelions Can Protect Your Brain
Enjoy!
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Celery vs Chard – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing celery to chard, we picked the chard.
Why?
In terms of macros, chard has more fiber, carbs, and protein, making it the more nutrient-dense option and thus the winner of the macros category.
In the category of vitamins, celery has more of vitamins B5 and B9, while chard has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E, K, and choline—another win for chard.
When it comes to minerals, celery is not higher in any minerals, while chard has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. One more very clear win for chard!
Looking at polyphenols, celery has very little to boast, about 3mg/100g furanocoumarins and nothing else, while chard has an impressive array of polyphenols, with 9mg/100g kaempferol and 7.5mg/100g quercetin atop the list of 12 polyphenols. Yet another win for chard.
Adding up the sections is not difficult arithmetic today: chard sweeps every category. But by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen ← the “dozen” in question includes getting a good amount of of leafy greens per day
Enjoy!
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Optimism Seriously Increases Longevity!
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Always look on the bright side for life
❝I’m not a pessimist; I’m a realist!❞
~ every pessimist ever
To believe self-reports, the world is divided between optimists and realists. But how does your outlook measure up, really?
Below, we’ve included a link to a test, and like most free online tests, this is offered “as-is” with the usual caveats about not being a clinical diagnostic tool, this one actually has a fair amount of scientific weight behind it:
❝Empirical testing has indicated the validity of the Optimism Pessimism Instrument as published in the scientific journal Current Psychology: Research and Reviews.
The IDRlabs Optimism/Pessimism Test (IDR-OPT) was developed by IDRlabs. The IDR-OPT is based on the Optimism/Pessimism Instrument (OPI) developed by Dr. William Dember, Dr. Stephanie Martin, Dr. Mary Hummer, Dr. Steven Howe, and Dr. Richard Melton, at the University of Cincinnati.❞
Take This Short (1–2 mins) Test
How did you score? And what could you do to improve on that score?
We said before that we’d do a main feature on this sometime, and today’s the day! Fits with the theme of Easter too, as for those who observe, this is a time for a celebration of hope, new beginnings, and life stepping out of the shadows.
On which note, before we go any further, let’s look at a very big “why” of optimism…
There have been many studies done regards optimism and health, and they generally come to the same conclusion: optimism is simply good for the health.
Here’s an example. It’s a longitudinal study, and it followed 121,700 women (what a sample size!) for eight years. It controlled for all kinds of other lifestyle factors (especially smoking, drinking, diet, and exercise habits, as well as pre-existing medical conditions), so this wasn’t a case of “people who are healthy are more optimistic as a result. And, in the researchers’ own words…
❝We found strong and statistically significant associations of increasing levels of optimism with decreasing risks of mortality, including mortality due each major cause of death, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and infection.
Importantly, findings were maintained after close control for potential confounding factors, including sociodemographic characteristics and depression❞
Read: Optimism and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study
So that’s the why. Now for the how…
Positive thinking is not what you think it is
A lot of people think of “think positive thoughts” as a very wishy-washy platitude, but positive thinking isn’t about ignoring what’s wrong, or burying every negative emotion.
Rather, it is taking advantage of the basic CBT, DBT, and, for that matter, NLP principles:
- Our feelings are driven by our thoughts
- Our thoughts can be changed by how we frame things
This is a lot like the idea that “there’s not such thing as bad weather; only the wrong clothes”. Clearly written by someone who’s never been in a hurricane, but by and large, the principle stands true.
For example…
- Most problems can be reframed as opportunities
- Replace “I have to…” with “I get to…”
- Will the task be arduous? It’ll be all the better looking back on it.
- Did you fail abjectly? Be proud that you lived true to your values anyway.
A lot of this is about focusing on what you can control. If you live your life by your values (first figure out what they are, if you haven’t already), then that will become a reassuring thing that you can always count on, no matter what.
Practice positive self-talk (eliminate the negative)
We often learn, usually as children, to be self deprecatory so as to not appear immodest. While modesty certainly has its place, we don’t have to trash ourselves to do that!
There are various approaches to this, for example:
- Replacing a self-criticism (whether it was true or not) with a neutral or positive statement that you know is true. “I suck at xyz” is just putting yourself down, “Xyz is a challenge for me” asks the question, how will you rise to it?
- Replacing a self-criticism with irony. It doesn’t matter how dripping with sarcasm your inner voice is, the words will still be better. “Glamorous as ever!” after accidentally putting mascara in your eye. “So elegant and graceful!” after walking into furniture. And so on.
Practice radical acceptance
This evokes the “optimistic nihilism” approach to life. It’s perhaps not best in all scenarios, but if you’re consciously and rationally pretty sure something is going to be terrible (and/or know it’s completely outside of your control), acknowledging that possibility (or even, likelihood) cheerfully. Borrowing from the last tip, this can be done with as much irony as you find necessary. For example:
Facing a surgery the recovery from which you know categorically will be very painful: with a big smile “Yep, I am going to be in a lot of pain, so that’s going to be fun!” (fun fact: psychological misery will not make the physical pain any less painful, so you might as well see the funny side) ← see link for additional benefits laughter can add to health-related quality of life)
Plan for the future with love
You know the whole “planting trees in whose shade you’ll never sit”, thing, but: actually for yourself too. Plan (and act!) now, out of love and compassion for your future self.
Simple example: preparing (or semi-preparing, if appropriate) breakfast for yourself the night before, when you know in the morning you’ll be tired, hungry, and/or pressed for time. You’ll wake up, remember that you did that, and…
Tip: at moments like that, take a moment to think “Thanks, past me”. (Or call yourself by your name, whatever works for you. For example I, your writer here, might say to myself “Thanks, past Nastja!”)
This helps to build a habit of gratitude for your past self and love for your future self.
This goes for little things like the above, but it also goes for things whereby there’s much longer-term delayed gratification, such as:
- Healthy lifestyle changes (usually these see slow, cumulative progress)
- Good financial strategies (usually these see slow, cumulative progress)
- Long educational courses (usually these see slow, cumulative progress)
Basically: pay it forward to your future self, and thank yourself later!
Some quick ideas of systems and apps that go hard on the “long slow cumulative progress” approach that you can look back on with pride:
- Noom—nutritional program with a psychology-based approach to help you attain and maintain your goals, long term
- You Need A Budget—we’ve recommended it before and we’ll recommend it again. This is so good. If you click through, you can see a short explanation of what makes it so different to other budgeting apps.
- Duolingo—the famously persistence-motivational language learning app
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Your Brain on Art – by Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross
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The notion of art therapy is popularly considered a little wishy-washy. As it turns out, however, there are thousands of studies showing its effectiveness.
Nor is this just a matter of self-expression. As authors Magsamen and Ross explore, different kinds of engagement with art can convey different benefits.
That’s one of the greatest strengths of this book: “this form of engagement with art will give these benefits, according to these studies”
With benefits ranging from reducing stress and anxiety, to overcoming psychological trauma or physical pain, there’s a lot to be said for art!
And because the book covers many kinds of art, if you can’t imagine yourself taking paintbrush to canvas, that’s fine too. We learn of the very specific cognitive benefits of coloring in mandalas (yes, really), of sculpting something terrible in clay, or even just of repainting the kitchen, and more. Each thing has its set of benefits.
The book’s main goal is to encourage the reader to cultivate what the authors call an aesthetic mindset, which involves four key attributes:
- a high level of curiosity
- a love of playful, open-ended exploration
- a keen sensory awareness
- a drive to engage in creative activities
And, that latter? It’s as a maker and/or a beholder. We learn about what we can gain just by engaging with art that someone else made, too.
Bottom line: come for the evidence-based cognitive benefits; stay for the childlike wonder of the universe. If you already love art, or have thought it’s just “not for you”, then this book is for you.
Click here to check out Your Brain On Art, and open up whole new worlds of experience!
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The Facial Massage That Keeps Dementia At Bay
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That’s a bold claim for a title, but it has to do with lymphatic drainage and brain waste clearance, such as beta-amyloid and alpha-synuclein clearance, to avoid Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, respectively.
We’ve written about the lymphatic system before:
The Lymphatic System Against Cancer & More
Everything in its place
Because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that keeps the astonishingly sensitive brain as safe as it can from unwanted things, there are many aspects of our physiology that only happen inside the brain, or only happen outside of it, as the compounds in question may be too large to get through the BBB.
The lymphatic system is, in and of itself, an entirely outside-of-the-brain affair. So, how does stuff get cleaned out from the brain? That’s the job of the glymphatic system (a portmanteau of glial cells doing the job of the lymphatic system), which is the brain’s own cleanup crew, and we wrote about it here:
How To Clean Your Brain (Glymphatic Health Primer)
However! There is no drainage port directly from the brain to the outside world, so once the glymphatic system has got the detritus out of the brain, it’s the job of the lymphatic system, and then the general circulation, to take it the rest of the way for eventual detoxification and/or excretion.
We wrote more about that, here:
Take Care Of Your Lymphatic System To Beat Cognitive Decline
In that article, after our explanations, we concluded that the practical things to do are:
- For the lymphatic system: do lymphatic massage, exercise with a focus on maximizing movement, and eat an anti-inflammatory diet
- For the glymphatic system: do vagal massage (Vagal! Not vaginal, which will not help! Or rather: it won’t help the glymphatic system, anyway), exercise and/but also rest well (good quality sleep, ideally on the right-hand side, but at the very least side-sleeping, not on your back*), and eat omega-3 fatty acids
*See: Goodnight, Glymphatic System: How Your Sleep Position Changes Dementia Risk
So… How about that massage?
First, some backstory:
Last year, a South Korean research team (Dr. Jin-Hui Yoon et al.) identified a distinct lymphatic network at the back of the nose—the nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus (NPLP)—which plays a key role in draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brain to the deep cervical lymph nodes.
This is important, because as we made a nod to up top today, efficient CSF drainage is critical for removing waste from the brain. In contrast, poor clearance typically leads to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Especially noteworthy was that these lymphatics remained functional in aging mice*, suggesting they could be targeted to treat impaired CSF outflow in neurodegenerative diseases.
*This was a transgenic mouse study, by the way. If you remember when Donald Trump said that scientists were spending millions to make transgender mice, well, that’s not a thing scientists are actually doing, but transgenic mice are a real thing often-used in a lot of important studies like this one (transgenic = “we changed their genes”). In this case, transgenic mice with fluorescent lymphatics allowing for the use of advanced imaging to map these lymphatic pathways. The NPLP showed distinct anatomical features such as unique valves and short lymphangions, as well as three major drainage routes:
- Near the pituitary and cavernous sinus,
- Along the basolateral dura near the middle meningeal artery,
- Near the cribriform plate into the olfactory mucosa—all converging at the NPLP.
We’re aware that’s a lot of big words, but fear not, the paper itself has pictures/diagrams: Nasopharyngeal lymphatic plexus is a hub for cerebrospinal fluid drainage
More recently (published today, at time of writing; let it never be said we don’t give you hot-off-the-press science news), a larger team of researchers, many of whom from the first group, investigated how well this knowledge could be used to improve drainage, first in mice as per the first study, and then in monkeys.
They found, by the way, that the mapped lymphatics also continued to work in aging monkeys, despite other drainage routes often failing, the ones near the skin of the face were still functional—which means they almost certainly will be still functional in aging humans, too.
A handheld massage device applying controlled light pressure to the facial skin of aged mice significantly restored CSF drainage to youthful levels without disrupting natural lymphatic rhythms.
Of course, this technique offers a safer alternative to drugs or surgery. As such, the researchers are now exploring clinical applications, such as wearable devices, and studying the method’s effectiveness in diseases like Alzheimer’s.
You can read the paper in its entirety (again, with images and diagrams, which may be more useful than the previous ones, as this time there are monkeys, not just mice), here:
Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics
Want to learn more?
You might like this book we reviewed a little while ago:
The Book of Lymph – by Lisa Levitt Gainsely ← includes how to manually do lymphatic massage of the sort done by the handheld massage device in the study we talked about today
Take care!
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Knee Pain Going Down Stairs? Probably Reversible (Here’s How)
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It’s probably not arthritis. Even if you have arthritis, then if you’re getting pain going downstairs and not up, then it’s probably actually this:
Getting eccentric
Why downstairs hurts but upstairs does not: walking downstairs loads your quadriceps eccentrically—your muscles are lengthening under load—which is harder to control than the concentric work used going upstairs, and weakness here commonly shows up as pain at the front of your knee.
The reason that this is so common is because daily life mostly trains concentric muscle action, and with more sitting and less movement over time, overall quadriceps strength—especially eccentric control—declines.
Fun fact: one head of your quadriceps crosses your hip, so prolonged sitting can make it tight and less effective, often causing stiffness or ache in the front of your hip, and reducing your ability to control your knee when stepping down.
This means that if your hip muscles are not working well, your knee may drift inward when you step down—called a valgus force—which increases stress on your kneecap, and causes that familiar pain at the front of your knee.
How to test it: when walking downstairs, hold a handrail and watch whether your knee collapses inwards as you load it.
How to fix it: you can restore proper hip movement with mobility work and strengthening your hip abductors—the muscles on the side of your hip—to keep your knee aligned and reduce patellar compression (see the “learn more” below for more details on an excellent exercise for that, that doesn’t even require any equipment, nor getting on the floor).
For more on all of this meanwhile, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
The Only Exercise You Need To Strengthen Every Hip Muscle (Ages 50+)
Take care!
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Why won’t my cough go away?
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A persistent cough can be embarrassing, especially if people think you have COVID.
Coughing frequently can also make you physically tired, interfere with sleep and trigger urinary incontinence. As a GP, I have even treated patients whose repetitive forceful coughing has caused stress fractures in their ribs.
So, why do some coughs linger so long? Here are some of the most common causes – and signs you should get checked for something more serious.
Mladen Zivkovic/Shutterstock Why do we cough?
The cough reflex is an important protective mechanism. Forcefully expelling air helps clear our lungs and keep them safe from irritants, infections and the risk of choking.
Some people who have long-term conditions, such as chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis, have to cough frequently. This is because the lung’s cilia – tiny hair-like structures that move mucus, debris and germs – no longer work to clear the lungs.
A wet or “productive” cough means coughing up a lot of mucus.
A cough can also be dry or “unproductive”. This happens when the cough receptors in the airways, throat and upper oesophagus have become overly sensitised, triggering a cough even when there’s no mucus to clear.
Causes of a chronic cough
A cough is considered chronic when it lasts longer than eight weeks in adults, or four weeks in children.
The three most common causes are:
- post-nasal drip (where mucus drips from the back of the nose into the throat)
- asthma
- acid reflux from the stomach.
These often go together. One study found 23% of people with chronic cough had two of these conditions, and 3% had all three.
This makes sense – people prone to airway allergies are more likely to develop both asthma and hayfever (allergic rhinitis). Hayfever is probably the main cause of persistent post-nasal drip.
Meanwhile, prolonged, vigorous coughing can also cause reflux, possibly triggering further coughing.
Chronic cough is the primary symptom of two other conditions, although these can be more challenging to diagnose: cough-variant asthma and eosinophilic bronchitis. Both conditions inflame the airways. However, they don’t rapidly improve with ventolin (the standard clinic test to diagnose asthma).
Allergies can cause inflammation that triggers a chronic cough. Kmpzzz/Shutterstock Coughs after respiratory infections
Coughs can also persist long after a viral or bacterial infection. In children with colds, one systematic review found it took 25 days for more than 90% to be free of their cough.
After an infection, cough hypersensitivity may develop thanks to inflamed airways and over-responsive cough receptors. Even minor irritants will then trigger the coughing reflex.
The body’s response to infection makes the mucus more sticky – and more difficult for the overworked, recovering cilia to clear. Allergens in the air can also more easily penetrate the upper airway’s damaged lining.
This can trigger an unhelpful feedback loop that slows the body’s recovery after an infection. Excessive and unhelpful coughing tends to further fatigue the recovering cilia and irritate the airway lining.
Could I still have an infection?
When a cough persists, a common concern is whether a secondary bacterial infection has followed the first viral infection, requiring antibiotics.
Simply coughing up yellow or green phlegm is not enough to tell.
To diagnose a serious chest infection, your doctor will consider the whole picture of your symptoms. For example, whether you also have shortness of breath, worsening fever or your lungs make abnormal sounds through a stethoscope.
The possibility you have undiagnosed asthma or allergies should also be considered.
What treats a persistent cough?
People with a persistent cough who are otherwise healthy may request and be prescribed antibiotics. But these rarely shorten how long your cough lasts, as irritation – not infection – is the primary cause of cough.
The most effective treatments for shifting sticky mucus from the airways are simple ones: saline nose sprays and washes, steam inhalation and medicated sore throat sprays.
Honey has also been shown to reduce throat irritation and the need to cough.
The effectiveness of cough syrup is less clear. As these mixtures have potential side effects, they should be used with care.
The most effective treatments are simple ones, including steam inhalation. New Africa/Shutterstock Signs of something more serious
Sometimes, a cough that won’t go away could be the sign of a serious condition, including lung cancer or unusual infections. Fortunately, these aren’t common.
To rule them out, Australia’s chronic cough guidelines recommend a chest x-ray and spirometry (which tests lung volume and flow) for anyone presenting to their doctor with a chronic cough.
You should seek prompt medical attention if, in addition to your cough, you:
- cough up blood
- produce a lot of phlegm
- are very short of breath, especially when resting or at night
- have difficulty swallowing
- lose weight or have a fever
- have recurring pneumonia
- are a smoker older than 45, with a new or changed cough.
What if there’s no clear cause?
Very occasionally, despite thorough testing and treatment, a cough persists. This is called refractory chronic cough.
When no cause can be identified, it’s known as unexplained chronic cough. In the past, unexplained cough may have been diagnosed as a “psychogenic” or “habit” cough, a term which has fallen from favour.
We now understand that cough hypersensitivity makes a person cough out of proportion to the trigger, and that both the peripheral and central nervous systems play a role in this. But our understanding of the relationship between hypersensitivity and chronic cough remains incomplete.
These are disabling conditions and should be referred to a respiratory clinic or a chronic cough specialist. Speech pathology treatments may also be effective for refractory and unexplained coughs.
There are a class of new medications in the pipeline that block cough receptors, and seem promising for persisting, troublesome coughs.
David King, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, The University of Queensland
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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