Children with traumatic experiences have a higher risk of obesity – but this can be turned around
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Children with traumatic experiences in their early lives have a higher risk of obesity. But as our new research shows, this risk can be reduced through positive experiences.
Childhood traumatic experiences are alarmingly common. Our analysis of data from nearly 5,000 children in the Growing Up in New Zealand study revealed almost nine out of ten (87%) faced at least one significant source of trauma by the time they were eight years old. Multiple adverse experiences were also prevalent, with one in three children (32%) experiencing at least three traumatic events.
Childhood trauma includes a range of experiences such as physical and emotional abuse, peer bullying and exposure to domestic violence. It also includes parental substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, separation or divorce and ethnic discrimination.
We found children from financially disadvantaged households and Māori and Pasifika had the highest prevalence of nearly all types of adverse experiences, as well as higher overall numbers of adversities.
The consequences of these experiences were far-reaching. Children who experienced at least one adverse event were twice as likely to be obese by age eight. The risk increased with the number of traumatic experiences. Children with four or more adverse experiences were nearly three times more likely to be obese.
Notably, certain traumatic experiences (including physical abuse and parental domestic violence) related more strongly to obesity than others. This highlights the strong connection between early-life adversity and physical health outcomes.
Connecting trauma to obesity
One potential explanation could be that the accumulation of early stress in children’s family, school and social environments is associated with greater psychological distress. This in turn makes children more likely to adopt unhealthy weight-related behaviours.
This includes consuming excessive high-calorie “comfort” foods such as fast food and sugary drinks, inadequate intake of nutritious foods, poor sleep, excessive screen time and physical inactivity. In our research, children who experienced adverse events were more likely to adopt these unhealthy behaviours. These, in turn, were associated with a higher risk of obesity.
Despite these challenges, our research also explored a promising area: the protective and mitigating effects of positive experiences.
We defined positive experiences as:
- parents in a committed relationship
- mothers interacting well with their children
- mothers involved in social groups
- children engaged in enriching experiences and activities such as visiting libraries or museums and participating in sports and community events
- children living in households with routines and rules, including those regulating bedtime, screen time and mealtimes
- children attending effective early childhood education.
The findings were encouraging. Children with more positive experiences were significantly less likely to be obese by age eight.
For example, those with five or six positive experiences were 60% less likely to be overweight or obese compared to children with zero or one positive experience. Even two positive experiences reduced the likelihood by 25%.
How positive experiences counteract trauma
Positive experiences can help mitigate the negative effects of childhood trauma. But a minimum of four positive experiences was required to significantly counteract the impact of adverse events.
While nearly half (48%) of the study participants had at least four positive experiences, a concerning proportion (more than one in ten children) reported zero or only one positive experience.
The implications are clear. Traditional weight-loss programmes focused solely on changing behaviours are not enough to tackle childhood obesity. To create lasting change, we must also address the social environments, life experiences and emotional scars of early trauma shaping children’s lives.
Fostering positive experiences is a vital part of this holistic approach. These experiences not only help protect children from the harmful effects of adversity but also promote their overall physical and mental wellbeing. This isn’t just about preventing obesity – it’s about giving children the foundation to thrive and reach their full potential.
Creating supportive environments for vulnerable children
Policymakers, schools and families all have a role to play. Community-based programmes, such as after-school activities, healthy relationship initiatives and mental health services should be prioritised to support vulnerable families.
Trauma-informed care is crucial, particularly for children from disadvantaged households who face higher levels of adversity and fewer positive experiences. Trauma-informed approaches are especially crucial for addressing the effects of domestic violence and other adverse childhood experiences.
Comprehensive strategies should prioritise both safety and emotional healing by equipping families with tools to create safe, nurturing environments and providing access to mental health services and community support initiatives.
At the family level, parents can establish stable routines, participate in social networks and engage children in enriching activities. Schools and early-childhood education providers also play a key role in fostering supportive environments that help children build resilience and recover from trauma.
Policymakers should invest in resources that promote positive experiences across communities, addressing inequalities that leave some children more vulnerable than others. By creating nurturing environments, we can counterbalance the impacts of trauma and help children lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.
When positive experiences outweigh negative ones, children have a far greater chance of thriving – physically, emotionally and socially.
Ladan Hashemi, Senior Research Fellow in Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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What to Know About Stillbirths
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Series: Stillbirths:When Babies Die Before Taking Their First Breath
The U.S. has not prioritized stillbirth prevention, and American parents are losing babies even as other countries make larger strides to reduce deaths late in pregnancy.
Every year, more than 20,000 pregnancies in the U.S. end in a stillbirth, the death of an expected child at 20 weeks or more of pregnancy. Research shows as many as 1 in 4 stillbirths may be preventable. We interviewed dozens of parents of stillborn children who said their health care providers did not tell them about risk factors or explain what to watch for while pregnant. They said they felt blindsided by what followed. They did not have the information needed to make critical decisions about what happened with their baby’s body, about what additional testing could have been done to help determine what caused the stillbirth, or about how to navigate the process of requesting important stillbirth documents.
This guide is meant to help fill the void of information on stillbirths. It’s based on more than 150 conversations with parents, health care providers, researchers and other medical experts.
Whether you’re trying to better prepare for a pregnancy or grieving a loss, we hope this will help you and your family. This guide does not provide medical advice. We encourage you to seek out other reliable resources and consult with providers you trust.
We welcome your thoughts and questions at mailto:[email protected]. You can share your experience with stillbirth with us. If you are a health care provider interested in distributing this guide, let us know if we can help.
Table of contents:
- What Is Stillbirth?
- Are Stillbirths Preventable?
- What to Expect After a Stillbirth.
- Grieving After a Stillbirth.
- What You Might Say and Do After a Loved One Experiences a Stillbirth.
What Is Stillbirth?
Many people told us that the first time they heard the term stillbirth was after they delivered their stillborn baby. In many cases, the lack of information and awareness beforehand contributed to their heartache and guilt afterward.
Stillbirth is defined in the U.S. as the death of a baby in the womb at 20 weeks or more of pregnancy. Depending on when it happens, stillbirth is considered:
- Early: 20-27 weeks of pregnancy.
- Late: 28-36 weeks of pregnancy.
- Term: 37 or more weeks of pregnancy.
About half of all stillbirths in the U.S. occur at 28 weeks or later.
What is the difference between a stillbirth and a miscarriage?
Both terms describe pregnancy loss. The distinction is when the loss occurs. A miscarriage is typically defined as a loss before the 20th week of pregnancy, while stillbirth is after that point.
How common is stillbirth?
Each year, about 1 in 175 deliveries in the U.S. are stillbirths — that’s about 60 stillborn babies every day — making it one of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes, but it is rarely discussed.
If you are surprised by that fact, you are not alone. Many people we spoke to did not know how common stillbirths are. Leandria Lee of Texas said she spent her 2021 pregnancy unaware that her daughter, Zuri Armoni, could die in the last phase of her pregnancy.
“If I was prepared to know that something could happen, I don’t think it would have been as bad. But to not know and then it happens, it affects you,” she said of her stillbirth at 35 weeks.
Some doctors have told us they don’t introduce the possibility of a stillbirth because they don’t want to create additional anxiety for patients.
Other doctors say withholding information leaves patients unprepared.
“We have this idea that we can’t scare the patient, which to me is very paternalistic,” said Dr. Heather Florescue, an OB-GYN near Rochester, New York, who works to inform doctors and patients about stillbirth prevention.
What causes stillbirths?
There is a lot we don’t know about stillbirths because there hasn’t been enough research. The cause of the stillbirth is unknown in about 1 in 3 cases.
What we do know is that a number of factors may cause or increase the risk of a stillbirth, including:
- The baby not growing as expected.
- Placental abnormalities or problems with the umbilical cord.
- Genetic or structural disorders that cause developmental issues.
- High blood pressure before pregnancy or preeclampsia, a potentially fatal complication that usually appears late in pregnancy and causes high blood pressure.
- Diabetes before or during pregnancy.
- An infection in the fetus, the placenta or the pregnant person.
- Smoking.
- Being 35 or older.
- Obesity.
- Being pregnant with more than one baby.
But not all doctors, hospitals or health departments perform tests to identify the potential cause of a stillbirth or determine if it could have been prevented. Even when a cause is identified, fetal death records are rarely updated. This means data is sometimes inaccurate. Researchers strongly encourage doctors to perform a stillbirth evaluation, which includes an examination of the placenta and umbilical cord, a fetal autopsy and genetic testing.
If your hospital or doctor does not proactively offer one or more of these exams, you can ask them to conduct the tests. Research shows that placental exams may help establish a cause of death or exclude a suspected one in about 65% of stillbirths, while autopsies were similarly useful in more than 40% of cases.
Are Stillbirths Preventable?
Not all stillbirths are preventable, but some are. For pregnancies that last 37 weeks or more, one study found that nearly half of stillbirths are potentially preventable.
Dr. Joanne Stone, who last year was president of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, leads the country’s first Rainbow Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The clinic is modeled on similar facilities in the United Kingdom that care for people who want to conceive again after a stillbirth. She said many doctors used to think there was nothing they could do to prevent stillbirth.
“People just looked at it like, ‘Oh, it was an accident, couldn’t have been prevented,’” said Stone, who also is the system chair of the obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science department at the Icahn School of Medicine. “But we know now there are things that we can do to try to prevent that from happening.”
She said doctors can:
- More closely monitor patients with certain risk factors, like high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.
- Ask about prior infant loss or other obstetrical trauma.
- Carefully assess whether a baby’s growth is normal.
- Work to diagnose genetic anomalies.
- Teach patients how to track their baby’s movements and encourage them to speak up if they notice activity has slowed or stopped.
- Deliver at or before 39 weeks if there are concerns.
What are the risks of stillbirth over the course of a pregnancy?
The risk of a stillbirth increases significantly toward the end of pregnancy, especially after 39 weeks. The risk is higher for people who get pregnant at 35 or older. The risk begins to climb even earlier, around 36 weeks, for people pregnant with twins.
What you and your doctor can do to reduce the risk of stillbirth.
While federal agencies in the U.S. have yet to come up with a checklist that may help reduce the risk of stillbirth, the Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence in Australia has adopted a Safer Baby Bundle that lists five recommendations:
- Stop smoking.
- Regularly monitor growth to reduce the risk of fetal growth restriction, when the fetus is not growing as expected.
- Understand the importance of acting quickly if fetal movement decreases.
- Sleep on your side after 28 weeks.
- Talk to your doctor about when to deliver. Depending on your situation, it may be before your due date.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has compiled a list of tests and techniques doctors can use to try to reduce the risk of a stillbirth. They include:
- A risk assessment to identify prenatal needs.
- A nonstresstest, which checks the fetus’s heart rate and how it changes as the fetus moves.
- A biophysical profile, which is done with an ultrasound to measure body movement, muscle tone and breathing, along with amniotic fluid volume.
The group stressed that there is no test that can guarantee a stillbirth won’t happen and that individual circumstances should determine what tests are run.
Are some people at higher risk for stillbirth?
Black women are more than twice as likely to have a stillbirth as white women. There are a number of possible explanations for that disparity, including institutional bias and structural racism, and a patient’s pre-pregnancy health, socioeconomic status and access to health care. In addition, research shows that Black women are more likely than white women to experience multiple stressful life events while pregnant and have their concerns ignored by their health care provider. Similar racial disparities drive the country’s high rate of maternal mortality.
How to find a provider you trust.
Finding a doctor to care for you during your pregnancy can be a daunting process. Medical experts and parents suggest interviewing prospective providers before you decide on the right one.
Here is a short list of questions you might want to ask a potential OB-GYN:
- What is the best way to contact you if I have questions or concerns?
- How do you manage inquiries after hours and on weekends? Do you see walk-ins?
- How do you manage prenatal risk assessments?
- What should I know about the risks of a miscarriage or stillbirth?
- How do you decide when a patient should be induced?
If a provider doesn’t answer your questions to your satisfaction, don’t be reluctant to move on. Dr. Ashanda Saint Jean, chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at HealthAlliance Hospitals of the Hudson Valley in New York, said she encourages her patients to find the provider that meets their needs.
“Seek out someone that is like-minded,” said Saint Jean “It doesn’t have to be that they’re the same ethnicity or the same race, but like-minded in terms of the goals of what that patient desires for their own health and prosperity.”
What to know in the last trimester.
The last trimester can be an uncomfortable and challenging time as the fetus grows and you get increasingly tired. During this critical time, your provider should talk to you about the following topics:
- Whether you need a nonstress test to determine if the fetus is getting enough oxygen.
- The best way to track fetal movements.
- What to do if your baby stops moving.
- Whether you are at risk for preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.
Rachel Foran’s child, Eoin Francis, was stillborn at 41 weeks and two days. Foran, who lives in New York, said she believes that if her doctor had tracked her placenta, and if she had understood the importance of fetal movement, she and her husband might have decided to deliver sooner.
She remembers that her son was “very active” until the day before he was stillborn.
“I would have gone in earlier if someone had told me, ‘You’re doing this because the baby could die,’” she said of tracking fetal movement. “That would have been really helpful to know.”
Researchers are looking at the best way to measure the health, blood flow and size of the placenta, but studies are still in their early stages.
“If someone had been doing that with my son’s,” Foran said, “my son would be alive.”
A placental exam and an autopsy showed that a small placenta contributed to Foran’s stillbirth.
How often should you feel movement?
Every baby and each pregnancy are different, so it is important to get to know what levels of activity are normal for you. You might feel movement around 20 weeks. You’re more likely to feel movement when you’re sitting or lying down. Paying attention to movement during the third trimester is particularly important because research shows that changes, including decreased movement or bursts of excessive activity, are associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. Most of the time, it’s nothing. But sometimes it can be a sign that your baby is in distress. If you’re worried, don’t rely on a home fetal doppler to reassure you. Reach out to your doctor.
Saint Jean offers a tip to track movement: “I still tell patients each day to lay on their left side after dinner and record how many times their baby moves, because then that will give you an idea of what’s normal for your baby,” she said.
Other groups recommend using the Count the Kicks app as a way of tracking fetal movements and establishing what is normal for that pregnancy. Although there is no scientific consensus that counting kicks can prevent stillbirths, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups recommend that patients be aware of fetal movement patterns.
Dr. Karen Gibbins is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Oregon Health & Science University who in 2018 had stillborn son named Sebastian. She said the idea that babies don’t move as much at the end of pregnancy is a dangerous myth.
“You might hear that babies slow down at the end,” she said. “They don’t slow down. They just have a little less space. So their movements are a little different, but they should be as strong and as frequent.”
What to Expect After a Stillbirth
What might happen at the hospital?
Parents are often asked to make several important decisions while they are still reeling from the shock and devastation of their loss. It’s completely understandable if you need to take some time to consider them.
Some other things you can ask for (if medical personnel don’t offer them) are:
- Blood work, a placental exam, an autopsy and genetic testing.
- A social worker or counselor, bereavement resources and religious or chaplain support.
- The option to be isolated from the labor rooms.
- Someone to take photos of you and your baby, typically either a nurse or an outside group.
- A small cooling cot that allows parents to spend more time with their babies after a stillbirth. If one is not available, you can ask for ice packs to put in the swaddle or the bassinet.
- A mold of your baby’s hands and feet.
- Information about burial or cremation services.
- Guidance on what to do if your milk comes in.
Getting an autopsy after a stillbirth.
Whether to have an autopsy is a personal decision. It may not reveal a cause of death, but it might provide important information about your stillbirth and contribute to broader stillbirth research. Autopsies can be useful if you are considering another pregnancy in the future. Families also told us that an autopsy can help parents feel they did everything they could to try to understand why their baby died.
But several families told us their health care providers didn’t provide them with the right information to help with that decision. Some aren’t trained in the advantages of conducting an autopsy after a stillbirth, or in when and how to sensitively communicate with parents about it. Some, for example, don’t explain that patients can still have an open-casket funeral or other service after an autopsy because the incisions can easily be covered by clothing. Others may not encourage an autopsy because they think they already know what caused the stillbirth or don’t believe anything could have been done to prevent it. In addition, not all hospitals have the capacity to do an autopsy, but there may be private autopsy providers that can perform one at an additional cost.
You can read more about autopsies in our reporting.
Paying for an autopsy after a stillbirth.
If you decide you want an autopsy, you may wonder whether you need to pay out-of-pocket for it. Several families told us their providers gave them incomplete or incorrect information. Many larger or academic hospitals offer autopsies at no cost to patients. Some insurance companies also cover the cost of an autopsy after a stillbirth.
When hospitals don’t provide an autopsy, they may give you names of private providers. That was the case for Rachel Foran. The hospital gave her and her husband a list of numbers to call if they wanted to pay for an autopsy themselves. The process, she said, shocked her.
“I had just delivered and we had to figure out what to do with his body,” Foran said. “It felt totally insane that that was what we had to do and that we had to figure it out on our own.”
An independent autopsy, records show, cost them $5,000.
What is a certificate of stillbirth and how do I get one?
A fetal death certificate is the official legal document that records the death. This is the document used to gather data on and track the number of stillbirths in the country. Many states also issue a certificate of stillbirth or a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth, which acknowledge the baby’s birth. Families told us they appreciated having that document, since typical birth certificates are not issued for stillbirths. You can usually request a certificate from the vital records office.
Grieving After a Stillbirth
What are the effects of stillbirths on parents and families?
Over and over, families told us the effects of losing a baby can reverberate for a lifetime.
Bereavement support groups may help provide a space to share experiences and resources. Hospitals and birth centers may suggest a local grief group.
We talked with Anna Calix, a maternal health expert who became active in perinatal loss prevention after her son Liam was stillborn on his due date in 2016. Calix leads grief support groups for people of color in English and Spanish.
She suggested rededicating the time you would have spent taking care of a new baby to the grief process.
“You can do that by addressing your own thoughts and feelings and really experiencing those feelings,” Calix said. “We like to push those feelings away or try to do something to distract and avoid, but no matter what we do, the feelings are there.”
It’s important, she said, to give yourself permission to grow your connection with your child and work through thoughts of guilt or blame.
What You Might Say and Do After a Loved One Experiences a Stillbirth
Finding the right words can be difficult. The following are a few suggestions from parents who went through a stillbirth.
Helpful:
- Acknowledge the loss and offer condolences.
- Ask if the baby was named and use the name.
- Allow space for the family to talk about their baby.
Unhelpful:
- Avoid talking about the baby.
- Minimize the loss or compare experiences.
- Start statements with “at least.”
Suggested phrases to avoid:
- “You’re young. You can have more kids.”
- “At least you have other children.”
- “These things just happen.”
- “Your baby is in a better place now.”
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Some women start menopause after surgery or medical treatment. Here’s how it’s different
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For most women, menopause occurs naturally around the age of 49. In the lead up to menopause, the quality and quantity of eggs declines over time. Then the ovaries stop releasing eggs completely.
At this time, the ovaries also stop producing the sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone. This causes menstrual periods to end. When you clock 12 months of no periods, you’re in menopause.
But some women will start menopause quickly after having their ovaries removed in surgery. Others will transition to menopause over a longer timeframe if medical treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, damage their ovaries.
So what can you expect from menopause due to surgery or medical treatments?
MomentoJpeg/Getty Images What treatments can cause menopause?
Surgical menopause occurs when women have their ovaries removed to treat conditions such as ovarian cancer.
Some women with a genetic predisposition to ovarian and breast cancer, such as those like Angelina Jolie who carry the BRCA1 gene, may also have their ovaries removed to stop the production of oestrogen. This reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancers, which are considered oestrogen-dependent cancers.
Other pelvic surgery can damage the ovaries and trigger menopause, such as removal of ovarian cysts or treatment for endometriosis.
Medical treatments that severely damage or are toxic to the ovaries can also trigger menopause. These include chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer, and treatment for rheumatological conditions such as lupus.
Whether you become menopausal after medical treatment will depend on your age, underlying ovarian reserve, as well as the type and dose of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Younger women generally have greater ovarian stores so can withstand more damage.
When does it happen? How is it diagnosed?
Menopause due to medical treatment may occur earlier than the typical age of natural menopause. When menopause occurs between 40 and 45 years, it’s called early menopause. Around 12% of women will have early menopause.
Before 40, early menopause is called “premature ovarian insufficiency”. This is because for women whose periods spontaneously stop, there’s still a chance of their ovarian function returning. But this is less likely if periods stop due to the effect of medical treatments. And it’s impossible after surgical menopause. Around 4% of women have premature ovarian insufficiency.
The diagnosis of surgical menopause is clear. But making a diagnosis of menopause after medical treatments can be more difficult. The diagnosis is based on four months or more of no or irregular menstrual periods, plus a high follicle-stimulating hormone level, which is determined using a blood test.
What are the symptoms? How do they differ?
Symptoms of oestrogen deficiency, such as hot flushes, usually start quickly after surgical menopause. Other symptoms such as vaginal dryness may develop more slowly. Symptoms of surgical menopause are often more severe than natural menopause.
But every person’s experience is different. And symptoms can vary within and between people. It can also be hard to tell what symptoms are due to menopause and what are due to the underlying health problem or treatment, such as the effects of chemotherapy on cognition.
Low oestrogen from premature ovarian insufficiency can cause vaginal dryness, reduced libido, muscle decline and bone loss, and may also impair brain function. It can also increase risk risk of heart disease and stroke, with a higher risk after surgical menopause than spontaneous premature menopause.
Premature ovarian insufficiency can can also result in poorer mental health and quality of life, and can impact your ability to work.
Women with surgical menopause cannot become pregnant, while women with premature ovarian insufficiency are unlikely to fall pregnant naturally.
How is it treated?
Our previous research has shown women with early menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency often receive poor health care. There is a large variation of quality between health providers.
To assist health-care professionals provide best-practice care, in 2024 we updated the evidence-based guidelines with 145 recommendations to treat early menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency.
Hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), which replaces the missing oestrogen (plus progesterone if you still have your uterus), is the mainstay of treatment for women with premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause.
Women who have undergone surgical menopause or are experiencing premature ovarian insufficiency can consider HRT for symptom relief and bone protection.
However, HRT cannot be used if you have certain health conditions such as hormone-sensitive breast cancers.
It’s important you talk to you health-care provider about the pros and cons of HRT in your situation.
Other treatment options include:
- vaginal oestrogen, which can be helpful for vaginal dryness
- cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which be helpful for managing hot flushes, sleep and mood.
Although Chinese herbal medicine may alleviate menopausal symptoms in some women, overall there isn’t enough scientific evidence that complementary therapies can effectively manage premature ovarian insufficiency.
Health practitioners should talk to patients about the likely symptoms and risks of surgical menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency before starting any treatments that can cause these conditions.
Options to minimise these risks and preserve fertility should also be discussed and may require a referral to a specialist.
Carolyn Ee, Associate Professor, Cancer Survivorship and Primary Care, Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University; Western Sydney University and Amanda Vincent, Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor and Endocrinologist, Monash University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Fight Inflammation & Protect Your Brain, With Quercetin
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Querying Quercetin
Quercetin is a flavonoid (and thus, antioxidant) pigment found in many plants. Capers, radishes, and coriander/cilantro score highly, but the list is large:
USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods
Indeed,
❝Their regular consumption is associated with reduced risk of a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and neurodegenerative disorders❞
~ Dr. Aleksandra Kozłpwsla & Dr. Dorota Szostak-Wegierek
Read more: Flavonoids—food sources and health benefits
For this reason, quercetin is often sold/consumed as a supplement on the strength of its health-giving properties.
But what does the science say?
Quercetin and inflammation
In short, it helps:
❝500 mg per day quercetin supplementation for 8 weeks resulted in significant improvements in clinical symptoms, disease activity, hs-TNFα, and Health Assessment Questionnaire scores in women with rheumatoid athritis❞
Quercetin and blood pressure
It works, if antihypertensive (i.e., blood pressure lowering) effect is what you want/need:
❝…significant effect of quercetin supplementation in the reduction of BP, possibly limited to, or greater with dosages of >500 mg/day.❞
~ Dr. Maria-Corina Serban et al.
Quercetin and diabetes
We’re less confident to claim this one, because (almost?) all of the research so far as been in non-human animals or in vitro. As one team of researchers put it:
❝Despite the wealth of in animal research results suggesting the anti-diabetic and its complications potential of quercetin, its efficacy in diabetic human subjects is yet to be explored❞
Quercetin and neuroprotection
Research has been done into the effect of quercetin on the risk of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and they found…
❝The data indicate that quercetin is the major neuroprotective component in coffee against Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease❞
Read more: Quercetin, not caffeine, is a major neuroprotective component in coffee
Summary
Quercetin is a wonderful flavonoid that can be enjoyed as part of one’s diet and by supplementation. In terms of its popular health claims:
- It has been found very effective for lowering inflammation
- It has a moderate blood pressure lowering effect
- It may have anti-diabetes potential, but the science is young
- It has been found to have a potent neuroprotective effect
Want to get some?
We don’t sell it, but for your convenience, here’s an example product on Amazon
Enjoy!
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3 Mobility Mistakes That Ruin Your Progress
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Don’t sabotage yourself:
As easy as 1, 2, 3
We’ll get straight into it:
- The first mistake is lack of time in the stretch: relying only on dynamic drills keeps mobility at a maintenance level because brief end-range exposure is not enough to drive adaptation.
- How to fix it: combine dynamic mobility with static stretching, holding stretches for up to two minutes, longer if you’re older, to meaningfully increase your range of motion.
- The second mistake is lack of consistency: constantly changing exercises prioritizes novelty over volume and prevents your body from adapting to any single movement.
- How to fix it: commit to a small selection of effective mobility drills or follow a structured program so you repeat the same movements often enough to improve.
- The third mistake is no progression: repeating a drill with the same range and difficulty each doesn’t challenge your body, which stalls mobility gains, as your body sees no reason to adapt.
- How to fix it: apply progressive overload to mobility by increasing your range of motion, adding a weight, or using props so the drill gradually becomes harder.
In other words: repeat the same mobility drills consistently, but do not repeat them at the same difficulty week after week without progression.
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:
Why Stretching Doesn’t Work After 50 (Unless You Fix These 3 Mistakes) ← for a physiotherapist’s insights on the same topic
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
- The first mistake is lack of time in the stretch: relying only on dynamic drills keeps mobility at a maintenance level because brief end-range exposure is not enough to drive adaptation.
-
Eat to Beat Disease – by Dr. William Li
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.
Dr. William Li asks the important question: is your diet feeding disease, or defeating it?
Because everything we put in our bodies makes our health just a little better—or just a little worse. Ok, sometimes a lot worse.
But for most people, when it comes to diet, it’s a death of a thousand cuts of unhealthy food. And that’s what he looks to fix with this book.
The good news: Dr. Li (while not advocating for unhealthy eating, of course), focuses less on what to restrict, and more on what to include. This book covers hundreds of such healthy foods, and ideas (practical, useful ones!) on incorporating them daily, including dozens of recipes.
He mainly looks at five ways our food can help us with…
- Angiogenesis (blood vessel replacement)
- Regeneration (of various bodily organs and systems)
- Microbiome health (and all of its knock-on effects)
- DNA protection (and thus slower cellular aging)
- Immunity (defending the body while also reducing autoimmune problems)
The style is simple and explanatory; Dr. Li is a great educator. Reading this isn’t a difficult read, but you’ll come out of it feeling like you just did a short course in health science.
Bottom line: if you’d like an easy way to improve your health in an ongoing and sustainable way, then this book can help you do just that.
Click here to check out Eat To Beat Disease, and eat to beat disease!
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Tasty Tofu Scramble
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If you’re trying to eat more plant-based, this is a great way to enjoy a culinary experience that hits the same notes as scrambled egg, with many similar nutritional benefits too, and some of its own!
You will need
- 1 cup (10oz) silken tofu
- ¼ bulb garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 2 tsp dried thyme, or 1 tsp fresh thyme, stripped (i.e. pulled off the stalks)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- ½ tsp MSG, or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
- Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Heat a skillet with olive oil in it; if you want a low-calorie option, you can use quite little oil here; the tofu is a lot more forgiving than egg in this regard and is almost impossible to burn unless you actively try. If you don’t want a low-calorie option, feel free to be generous with the oil if you prefer; it’ll go into the tofu and make it fattier, much like egg.
2) Add the tofu. You can just drop it (carefully) straight in; you don’t need to press it or anything.
3) Scramble it with a spatula, just the same as you would if it were egg.
4) Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing them in as you continue to scramble it, until it reaches the desired consistency.
5) Serve! Serving it on wholegrain toast is a great option—but this dish can also be enjoyed any other way you might use scrambled eggs (including for making
egg-friedtofu-fried rice; just stir it into our Tasty Versatile Rice recipe!)
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Plant vs Animal Protein: Head to Head
- Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal
- Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation
- The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic
- Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
- If You’re Not Taking Chia, You’re Missing Out
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
