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

❝What effect does refrigeration have on the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables??❞

It’s difficult to give a single definitive answer, because naturally there are a lot of different fruits and vegetables, and a lot of different climates. The answer may be different for tomatoes in Alaska vs bananas in Arizona!

However, we can still generalize at least somewhat

Refrigeration will generally slow down any degradation process, and in the case of fruit and vegetables, that can mean slowing down their “ripening” too, as applicable.

However…

Refrigeration will also impede helpful bioactivity too, and that includes quite a list of things.

Here’s a good study that’s quite illustrative; we’d summarize the conclusions but the rather long title already does that nicely:

Storage of Fruits and Vegetables in Refrigerator Increases their Phenolic Acids but Decreases the Total Phenolics, Anthocyanins and Vitamin C with Subsequent Loss of their Antioxidant Capacity

So, this really is a case of “there are pros and cons, but probably more cons on balance”.

In practical terms, a good take-away from this can be twofold:

1. don’t keep fruit and veg in the fridge unless the ambient temperature really requires it
2. if the ambient temperature does require it, it’s best to get the produce in fresh each day if that’s feasible, to minimize time spent in the fridge

An extra thing not included there: often when it comes to the spoilage of fruit and veg, the problem is that it respires and oxidizes; reducing the temperature does lower the rate of those, but often a far better way is to remove the oxygen. So for example, if you get carried away and chop too many carrot batons for your hummus night, then putting them in a sealed container can go a long way to keeping them fresh.

See also: How Does the Nutritional Value of Fruits and Vegetables Change Over Time?

Enjoy!

Questions and Answers 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!

This newsletter has been growing a lot lately, and so have the questions/requests, and we love that! 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

I have a question: what are the pros and cons of older people (60+) taking creatine every day?

It depends what else you’re doing, as creatine mostly helps the muscles recover after exercise. So:

• iff you’re doing resistance training (such as weights or bodyweight training), or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), then creatine monohydrate may help you keep at that and keep doing well.
• if you’re just doing light-to-moderate exercises, you might not get much benefit from creatine!

The topic merits diving deeper though, so we’ll queue that for one of our “Research Review Monday” days!

I wanted to ask if you think marine collagen is decent to take. I’ve heard a lot of bad press about it

We don’t know what you’ve heard, but generally speaking it’s been found to be very beneficial to bones, joints, and skin! We wrote about it quite recently on a “Research Review Monday”:

See: We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

Natural alternatives to medication for depression?

Great question! We did a mean feature a while back, but we definitely have much more to say! We’ll do another main feature soon, but in the meantime, here’s what we previously wrote:

See: The Mental Health First-Aid That You’ll Hopefully Never Need

^This covers not just the obvious, but also why the most common advice is not helpful, and practical tips to actually make manageable steps back to wellness, on days when “literally just survive the day” is one’s default goal.

I am now in the “aging” population. A great concern for me is Alzheimers. My father had it and I am so worried. What is the latest research on prevention?

One good thing to note is that while Alzheimer’s has a genetic component, it doesn’t appear to be hereditary per se. Still, good to be on top of these things, and it’s never too early to start with preventive measures!

You might like a main feature we did on this recently:

See: How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk

Side effects of statins, are they worth it? Depression, are antidepressants worth it?

About statins, that depends a lot on you, your circumstances, and—as it happens—your gender. We covered this in a main feature recently, but a short answer is: for most people, they may not be the best first choice, and could even make things worse. For some people, however, they really are just what’s needed.

• Factors that make them more likely better for you: being a man, or having atherosclerosis
• Factors that make them more likely worse for you: being a woman in general

Check out the main feature we did: Statins: His & Hers?

As for antidepressants? That depends a lot on you, your physiology, your depression, your circumstances, and more. We’ll definitely do a main feature on that sometime soon, as there’s a lot that most people don’t know!

I am interested in the following: Aging, Exercise, Diet, Relationships, Purpose, Lowering Stress

You’re going to love our Psychology Sunday editions of 10almonds!

You may particularly like some of these:

• Seriously Useful Communication Skills! ← this is about relationship stuff
• Lower Your Cortisol! (Here’s Why & How) ← about “the stress hormone”
• How To Set Your Anxiety Aside ← these methods work for stress too

(This coming Psychology Sunday will have a feature specifically on stress, so do make sure to read that when it comes out!)

Hair growth strategies for men combing caffeine and minoxidil?

Well, the strategy for that is to use caffeine and minoxidil! Some more specific tips, though:

• Both of those things need to be massaged (gently!) into your scalp especially around your hairline.
  • In the case of caffeine, that boosts hair growth. No extra thought or care needed for that one.
  • In the case of minoxidil, it reboots the hair growth cycle, so if you’ve only recently started, don’t be surprised (or worried) if you see more shedding in the first three months. It’s jettisoning your old hairs because new ones were just prompted (by the minoxidil) to start growing behind them. So: it will get briefly worse before it gets better, but then it’ll stay better… provided you keep using it.
• If you’d like other options besides minoxidil, finasteride is a commonly prescribed oral drug that blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which latter is what tells your hairline to recede.
• If you’d like other options besides prescription drugs, saw palmetto performs comparably to finasteride (and works the same way).
  • You may also want to consider biotin supplementation if you don’t already enjoy that
• Consider also using a dermaroller on your scalp. If you’re unfamiliar, this is a device that looks like a tiny lawn aerator, with many tiny needles, and you roll it gently across your skin.
  • It can be used for promoting hair growth, as well as for reducing wrinkles and (more slowly) healing scars.
  • It works by breaking up the sebum that may be blocking new hair growth, and also makes the skin healthier by stimulating production of collagen and elastin (in response to the thousands of microscopic wounds that the needles make).
  • Sounds drastic, but it doesn’t hurt and doesn’t leave any visible marks—the needles are that tiny. Still, practise good sterilization and ensure your skin is clean when using it.

See: How To Use A Dermaroller ← also explains more of the science of it

PS: this question was asked in the context of men, but the information goes the same for women suffering from androgenic alepoceia—which is a lot more common than most people think!

How to get to sleep at night as fast and as naturally as possible? Thank you!

We’ll definitely write more on that! You might like these articles we wrote already, meanwhile:

• Beating The Insomnia Blues ← this one is general advice and tips
• Time For Some Pillow Talk ← this one compares and reviews some popular sleep apps
• Insomnia? High Blood Pressure? Try these! ← this one tackles the matter from a dietary angle

Q: How to be your best self after 60: Self motivation / Avoiding or limiting salt, sugar & alcohol: Alternatives / Ways to sneak in more movements/exercise

…and, from a different subscriber…

Q: Inflammation & over 60 weight loss. Thanks!

Here are some of our greatest hits on those topics:

• Where Nutrition Meets Habits ← focusing on food that’s all three of: healthy + easy + cheap
• How To Keep On Keeping On ← exercise tips for when the motivation wanes
• Keep Inflammation At Bay ← science-based tips and advice

Also, while we’ve recommended a couple of books on stopping (or reducing) drinking, we’ve not done a main feature on that, so we definitely will one of these days!