Chia vs Sesame – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing chia to sesame, we picked the chia.
Why?
This might not be a shocking decision; after all, chia has an awesome reputation, and it’s well deserved. But sesame seeds are great too, and definitely have their strengths!
In terms of macros, chia seeds have more than 3x the fiber (which is lots) for a little over 1.5x the carbs (giving it the lower glycemic index), and about equal protein. The matter of fats is also interesting: sesame seeds have nearly 2x the fat, but chia seeds have the better fats profile, with less saturated fat and more omega-3s. All in all, a sound win for chia in this category!
In the category of vitamins, chia seeds have more of vitamins B3, C, E, and choline, while sesame seeds have more of vitamins B1, B2, and B9. A more marginal win for chia here.
When it comes to minerals, chia seeds have more phosphorus, manganese, and selenium, while sesame seeds have more calcium, copper, iron, and zinc, making it a marginal win for sesame seeds this time!
Adding up the sections make for an overall win for chia (especially if we were to consider the macros category for its full weight, given the importance of those components, but it’s still a 2:1 win for chia even if we pay no attention to that), but by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
The Tiniest Seeds With The Most Value: If You’re Not Taking Chia, You’re Missing Out
Enjoy!
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Cucumber vs Grapes – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing cucumber to grapes, we picked the grapes.
Why?
Both have their merits!
In terms of macros, grapes have more fiber and carbs for the same (negligible) protein, making them the “more food per food” option in this round.
In the category of vitamins, cucumber has more of vitamins B5, B7, B9, and K, while grapes have more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, C, and E, winning.
Looking at minerals, cucumber has more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, while grapes have more manganese and potassium, yielding to cucumber a 5:2 win in this round.
In other considerations, cucumber extract is particularly potent as an anti-inflammatory (see the link in the “learn more” section below), but that’s as an extract—you’d have to eat a remarkable number of cucumbers to get that benefit from the food alone. Meanwhile, grapes are much higher in polyphenols, so this round’s another win for grapes.
Adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for grapes, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
- Cucumber Extract Beats Glucosamine & Chondroitin… At 1/135th Of The Dose?!
- Can We Drink To Good Health? ← while there are polyphenols such as resveratrol that makes it through the process of turning into red wine that per se would boost heart health, there’s so little per glass that you may need 100–1000 glasses per day to get the dosage that provides benefits in mouse studies*.
*If you’re not a mouse, you might even need more than that!
To this end, many people prefer resveratrol supplementation ← link is to an example product on Amazon, but there are plenty more so feel free to shop around 😎
Enjoy!
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The Biggest Lie About Arthritis
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Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis specialist, wishes more people knew this common belief isn’t true:
Move on from this myth
Contrary to popular belief, movement does not worsen arthritis—avoiding movement does. Inactivity reduces what your body is capable of, and accelerates stiffness, weakness, and pain.
In fact, by the science, exercise ranks as the most effective arthritis treatment, matching or exceeding popular drug-based pain relief, without the side effects. And as for ibuprofen and friends, a 2024 study found regular use of NSAIDs (like ibuprofen) was linked to worse symptoms and a threefold increase in total knee replacement risk:
The biggest problem is that medications mask pain, but don’t address the underlying problem, and so deterioration can be accelerated by wear and tear while the body isn’t paying attention.
But, doesn’t movement make the wear and tear worse?
It can, if you overdo it and/or do it very wrong. However, done gently and correctly, movement actually helps, because cartilage behaves like a sponge—moving a joint compresses and releases it, allowing nutrients to circulate. Without movement, cartilage is underfed, increasing irritation, inflammation, and pain.
Three strategies for getting it right:
- Start simple: focus on two or three exercises at a time, rather than trying to do everything at once.
- Warm up: give your body time to prepare before walking, stairs, sports, or lifting. Warm-ups are not just for intentional exercise sessions! They’re useful before any change in physical activity.
- Adapt rather than quitting: modify movements instead of abandoning them. For example, you could raise a chair for squats, use your arms to assist you, change how you use the stairs, or briefly reset your movement during a walk.
Lastly, Dr. Kuhn wants us to know that arthritis is not a binary of “can” or “can’t.”
The more useful question is: “how can I do this differently right now?”
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
For a much more comprehensive guide to ideal exercises, consider:
Yoga Therapy for Arthritis – by Dr. Steffany Moonaz & Erin Byron
…which is a particularly good book, much better than most of its kind, because:
- One of the problems with arthritis and exercise is that arthritis can often impede exercise.
- Another of the problems with arthritis and exercise is that some kinds of exercise can exacerbate arthritis.
This book deals with both of those issues, by providing yoga specifically tailored to living with arthritis. Indeed, the first-listed author’s PhD in public health was the result of 8 years of study developing an evidence-based yoga program for people with arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The authors take the view that arthritis is a whole-person disease (i.e. it affects all parts of you), and so addressing it requires a whole-person approach, which is what this book delivers, and so that’s why we highly recommend it.
Take care!
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Indistractable – by Nir Eyal
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Have you ever felt that you could accomplish anything you wanted/needed, if only you didn’t get distracted?
This book lays out a series of psychological interventions for precisely that aim, and it goes a lot beyond the usual “download/delete these apps to help you stop checking social media every 47 seconds”.
Some you’ll have heard of before, some you won’t have, and if even one method works for you, it’ll have been well worth your while reading this book. This reviewer, for example, enjoyed the call to identity-based strength, e.g. adopting an “I am indistractable*” perspective going into tasks. This is akin to the strength of, for example, “I don’t drink” over “I am a recovering alcoholic”.
*the usual spelling of this, by the way, is “undistractable”, but we use the author’s version here for consistency. It’s a great marketing gimmick, as all searches for the word “indistractable” will bring up his book.
Nor is the book just about maximizing productivity to the detriment of everything else; this is not about having a 25 hours per day “grindset”. Rather, it even makes sure to cover such things as focusing on one’s loved ones, for instance.
Bottom line: if you’ve tried blocking out the distractions but still find you can’t focus, this book offers next-level solutions
Click here to check out Indistractible, and become indeed indistractable!
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Why You Don’t Need 8 Glasses Of Water Per Day
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 idea that you need to drink eight glasses of water daily is a myth. For most people most of the time, this practice will not make your skin brighter, improve mental clarity, or boost energy levels. All that will happen as a result of drinking beyond your thirst, is that you’ll pee more.
A self-regulating system
Our kidneys regulate hydration by monitoring blood volume and salt levels. When blood becomes slightly saltier or its volume drops, such as through sweating, the kidneys absorb more water into the bloodstream. If needed, the body triggers thirst signals to encourage fluid intake.
In most cases, you can rely on your body’s natural thirst cues to manage hydration. Thirst is a reliable indicator of when you need to drink water, making constant monitoring of water intake unnecessary for most people.
There are some exceptions, though! Some people, such as those with kidney stones, especially older adults, or those with specific medical considerations and resultant advice from your doctor, may need to pay closer attention to their water intake.
Nor does hydration have to be a matter of “drinking water”: many foods and drinks, such as fruit, coffee, soups, etc, contribute to your daily water intake and (because the body processes it more slowly) are often more hydrating than plain water (which can just pass straight through if you take more than a certain amount at once). If you listen to your body’s thirst signals, there’s no need to rigidly count eight glasses of water each day.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
Hydration Mythbusting ← this also covers why urine color is not as good a guide as your thirst
Take care!
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What To Do If Having A Stroke Alone?
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
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 😎
❝Thank you for the video about what to do if you have a heart attack alone, what about what to do if you have a stroke alone?❞
(for anyone who missed that video, here it is)
That’s a good question, especially as stroke risk is rising in the industrialized world in general, and the US in particular.
However, let’s start with the caveat that if you are having a stroke, there’s a good chance you will forget what we are about to say, what with the immediate effects it has on the brain. That said…
The general advice when it comes to looking after someone else who is experiencing a stroke, is, “don’t”.
In other words, call emergency services, and don’t do anything else, e.g:
- don’t give them anything to eat or drink
- don’t give them any medications
- don’t let them go to sleep
- don’t let them talk you out of calling emergency services
- don’t let them drive themselves to hospital
- don’t drive them to hospital yourself either*
*This is for two reasons:
- an ambulance crew has skills and resources that you don’t, and can begin treatment en-route, and also,
- not all hospitals have appropriate resources to treat stroke, so the ambulance crew will know to drive to one that does, instead of driving to a random hospital and hoping for the best
So, flipping this for if it’s you having the stroke, and you’re cognizant enough to remember this:
- do call an ambulance; stay on the line and don’t do anything else unless instructed by the emergency services.
In order to do that, of course it’s important to recognize the symptoms; you probably know these but just in case, the mnemonic is “FAST”:
- Face: is there weakness on one side of their face?
- Arms: if they raise both arms, does one drift downwards?
- Speech: if they speak, is their speech slurred or otherwise unusual?
- Time: to call emergency services
It’s great to not get caught out by surprise, so you might also want to check out:
6 Signs Of Stroke (One Month In Advance)
Take care!
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Figs vs Pineapple – Which is Healthier?
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.
Our Verdict
When comparing figs to pineapple, we picked the figs.
Why?
Both have their merits! But…
In terms of macros, figs have 2x the fiber as well as more carbs and protein, making them the nutritionally denser option in the macros category.
In the category of vitamins, figs have more of vitamins A, B2, B5, E, and K, while pineapple has more of vitamins B1, B3, B9, C, and choline—so, a tie in this round.
Looking at minerals, figs have more calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while pineapple has more copper and manganese; a clear win for figs here.
When it comes to phytochemicals, figs have slightly more polyphenols, but pineapple has bromelain—we’ll call this round a tie, though an argument could be made for a subjective win for pineapple, given bromelain’s potency (see link below).
Either way, adding up the sections makes for an overall win for figs, but by all means enjoy either or both, as they both have great things to offer!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Bromelain vs Inflammation & Much More
Enjoy!
Don’t Forget…
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