Clean – by Dr. James Hamblin

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Our skin is our largest organ, and it’s easy to forget that, and how much it does for us. All things considered, it’s good to take good care of it! But what if we sometimes take too much “care” of it?

Dr. James Hamblin, a medical doctor-turned-writer, has explored this a lot both personally and in research. Through such, he has come to the conclusion there’s definitely a “sweet spot” of personal hygiene:

  • Too little, and the Bubonic plague sweeps through Europe, or other plagues sweep through other places when European invaders came.
  • Too much, and we strip our skin of one of its greatest qualities: the ability to protect us.

Dr. Hamblin asks (and answers) such questions as:

  • What is good hygiene, and what is neurotically doing ourselves multiple levels of harm because advertising companies shamed us into doing so?
  • Is it good or bad to use a series of products, each to undo the problem caused by the previous?
  • What the difference between a 5-step skincare routine, and a series of gratuitous iatrogenic damage?
  • Which products clean us most helpfully, and which clean us most harmfully?
  • How often should we bathe/shower, really?

If the book has a weak point, it’s that it’s written mostly with his body in mind. That makes a difference when it comes to hairwashing, for example. He’s a white guy with short hair. If you’re black and/or have long hair, for example, your haircare needs will be quite different. Similarly, many women engage in shaving/depilation in places that most men don’t, and the consequences of that choice (and implications for any extra washing needs/harms) aren’t covered.

Bottom line: notwithstanding the aforementioned blind-spots, this book will help readers reduce the amount of harm we are doing to our bodies with our washing routines, without sacrificing actual hygiene.

Click here to check out Clean and help your skin to help you!

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Recommended

  • Sciatica Exercises & Home Treatment – by Dr. George Best
  • The Dental Diet – by Dr. Steven Lin
    Healthy teeth go beyond sugar-cuts and calcium—The Dental Diet rethinks oral health with fat-soluble vitamins, an oral microbiome focus, and a 40-day meal plan.

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  • Junk Food Turns Public Villain as Power Shifts in Washington

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    The new Trump administration could be coming for your snacks.

    For years, the federal government has steered clear of regulating junk food, fast food, and ultra-processed food.

    Now attitudes are changing. Some members of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle are gearing up to battle “Big Food,” or the companies that make most of the food and beverages consumed in the United States. Nominees for top health agencies are taking aim at ultra-processed foods that account for an estimated 70% of the nation’s food supply. Based on recent statements, a variety of potential politically charged policy options to regulate ultra-processed food may land on the Trump team menu, including warning labels, changes to agribusiness subsidies, and limits on which products consumers can buy with government food aid.

    The push to reform the American diet is being driven largely by conservatives who have taken up the cause that has long been a darling of the left. Trump supporters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose controversial nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services still faces Senate confirmation, are embracing a concept that champions natural foods and alternative medicine. It’s a movement they’ve dubbed “MAHA,” or Make America Healthy Again. Their interest has created momentum because their goals have fairly broad bipartisan support even amid a bitterly divided Congress in which lawmakers from both sides of the aisle focused on the issue last year.

    It’s likely to be a pitched battle because the food industry wields immense political influence and has successfully thwarted previous efforts to regulate its products or marketing. The category of “food processing and sales companies,” which includes Tyson Foods and Nestle SA, tallied $26.7 million in spending on lobbying in 2024, according to OpenSecrets. That’s up from almost $10 million in 1998.

    “They have been absolutely instrumental and highly, highly successful at delaying any regulatory effectiveness in America,” said Laura Schmidt, a health policy professor at the University of California-San Francisco. “It really does feel like there needs to be a moment of reckoning here where people start asking the question, ‘Why do we have to live like this?’”

    Ultra-processed food” is a widely used term that means different things to different people and is used to describe items ranging from sodas to many frozen meals. These products often contain added fats, starches, and sugars, among other things. Researchers say consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked — in varying levels of intensity — to chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, mental health problems, and early death.

    Nutrition and health leaders are optimistic that a reckoning is already underway. Kennedy has pledged to remove processed foods from school lunches, restrict certain food additives such as dyes in cereal, and shift federal agricultural subsidies away from commodity crops widely used in ultra-processed foods.

    The intensifying focus in Washington has triggered a new level of interest on the legal front as lawyers explore cases to take on major foodmakers for selling products they say result in chronic disease.

    Bryce Martinez, now 18, filed a lawsuit in December against almost a dozen foodmakers such as Kraft Heinz, The Coca-Cola Co., and Nestle USA. He developed diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by age 16, and is seeking to hold them accountable for his illnesses. According to the suit, filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the companies knew or should have known ultra-processed foods were harmful and addictive.

    The lawsuit noted that Martinez grew up eating heavily advertised, brand-name foods that are staples of the American diet — sugary soft drinks, Cheerios and Lucky Charms, Skittles and Snickers, frozen and packaged dinners, just to name a few.

    Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Kraft Heinz didn’t return emails seeking comment for this article. The Consumer Brands Association, a trade association for makers of consumer packaged goods, disputed the allegations.

    “Attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities,” said Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy, in a statement.

    Other law firms are on the hunt for children or adults who believe they were harmed by consuming ultra-processed foods, increasing the likelihood of lawsuits.

    One Indiana personal injury firm says on its website that “we are actively investigating ultra processed food (UPF) cases.” Trial attorneys in Texas also are looking into possible legal action against the federal regulators they say have failed to police ultra-processed foods.

    “If you or your child have suffered health problems that your doctor has linked directly to the consumption of ultra-processed foods, we want to hear your story,” they say on their website.

    Meanwhile, the FDA on Jan. 14 announced it is proposing to require a front-of-package label to appear on most packaged foods to make information about a food’s saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar content easily visible to consumers.

    And on Capitol Hill, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) are sounding the alarm over ultra-processed food. Sanders introduced legislation in 2024 that could lead to a federal ban on junk food advertising to children, a national education campaign, and labels on ultra-processed foods that say the products aren’t recommended for children. Booker cosigned the legislation along with Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).

    The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a December hearing examining links between ultra-processed food and chronic disease during which FDA Commissioner Robert Califf called for more funding for research.

    Food companies have tapped into “the same neural circuits that are involved in opioid addiction,” Califf said at the hearing.

    Sanders, who presided over the hearing, said there’s “growing evidence” that “these foods are deliberately designed to be addictive,” and he asserted that ultra-processed foods have driven epidemics of diabetes and obesity, and hundreds of billions of dollars in medical expenses.

    Research on food and addiction “has accumulated to the point where it’s reached a critical mass,” said Kelly Brownell, an emeritus professor at Stanford who is one of the editors of a scholarly handbook on the subject.

    Attacks from three sides — lawyers, Congress, and the incoming Trump administration, all seemingly interested in taking up the fight — could lead to enough pressure to challenge Big Food and possibly spur better health outcomes in the U.S., which has the lowest life expectancy among high-income countries.

    “Maybe getting rid of highly processed foods in some things could actually flip the switch pretty quickly in changing the percentage of the American public that are obese,” said Robert Redfield, a virologist who led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the previous Trump administration, in remarks at a December event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

    Claims that Big Food knowingly manufactured and sold addictive and harmful products resemble the claims leveled against Big Tobacco before the landmark $206 billion settlement was reached in 1998.

    “These companies allegedly use the tobacco industry’s playbook to target children, especially Black and Hispanic children, with integrated marketing tie-ins with cartoons, toys, and games, along with social media advertising,” Rene Rocha, one of the lawyers at Morgan & Morgan representing Martinez, told KFF Health News.

    The 148-page Martinez lawsuit against foodmakers draws from documents made public in litigation against tobacco companies that owned some of the biggest brands in the food industry.

    Similar allegations were made against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers before they agreed to pay tens of billions of dollars in a 2021 settlement with states.

    The FDA ultimately put restrictions on the labeling and marketing of tobacco, and the opioid epidemic led to legislation that increased access to lifesaving medications to treat addiction.

    But the Trump administration’s zeal in taking on Big Food may face unique challenges.

    The ability of the FDA to impose regulation is hampered in part by funding. While the agency’s drug division collects industry user fees, its division of food relies on a more limited budget determined by Congress.

    Change can take time because the agency moves at what some critics call a glacial pace. Last year, the FDA revoked a regulation allowing brominated vegetable oil in food products. The agency determined in 1970 that the additive was not generally recognized as safe.

    Efforts to curtail the marketing of ultra-processed food could spur lawsuits alleging that any restrictions violate commercial speech protected by the First Amendment. And Kennedy — if he is confirmed as HHS secretary — may struggle to get support from a Republican-led Congress that champions less federal regulation and a president-elect who during his previous term served fast food in the White House.

    “The question is, will RFK be able to make a difference?” said David L. Katz, a doctor who founded True Health Initiative, a nonprofit group that combats public health misinformation. “No prior administration has done much in this space, and RFK is linked to a particularly anti-regulatory administration.”

    Meanwhile, the U.S. population is recognized as among the most obese in the world and has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions among high-income countries.

    “There is a big grassroots effort out there because of how sick we are,” said Jerold Mande, who served as deputy undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture from 2009 to 2011. “A big part of it is people shouldn’t be this sick this young in their lives. You’re lucky if you get to 18 without a chronic disease. It’s remarkable.”

    KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

    Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

    This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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  • How to Use Topical Estrogen Cream For Aging Skin

    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. Sam Ellis, dermatologist, explains:

    Tackling the cause

    Estrogen is important for very many aspects of health beyond the sexual aspects. When it comes to skin, a drop in estrogen (usually because of menopause) leads to changes like collagen loss, dryness, reduced elasticity, and slower wound healing. Applying estrogen creams to the skin can reverse these changes.

    If your estrogen levels are already within normal pre-menopausal female ranges, by the way, there isn’t so much science to indicate its benefit when used topically. If you are already on systemic HRT (i.e., you take estrogen already to raise your blood estrogen levels and affect your body in its entirety), you may or may not gain extra benefits from the topical cream, depending on factors such as your estrogen dose, your route of administration, your cardiovascular health, and other factors.

    For those with lower estrogen and not currently on HRT, you may be wondering: can topical estrogen cream affect systemic estrogen levels? And the answer is that it mostly depends on the dose. In other words: it’s definitely possible, but for most people it’s unlikely.

    As ever, if thinking of taking up any hormonal treatment, do consult an endocrinologist and/or gynecologist, and if you have an increased breast cancer risk (for example genetically or prior history), then an oncologist too, just to be safe.

    That sounds like a lot of scary things, but mostly it’s just to be on the safe side. The dose of estrogen is very low in topical creams, and even then, only a tiny amount is used per 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:

    Take care!

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  • What is ‘double pneumonia’, the condition that’s put Pope Francis in hospital?

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    Pope Francis has been in hospital for more than a week with what some media reports are now calling “double pneumonia”.

    The Vatican released a statement on Tuesday evening saying

    laboratory tests, chest X-rays, and the clinical condition of the Holy Father continue to present a complex picture.

    The 88-year-old Catholic leader has a long history of respiratory illness.

    So, what makes this bout of pneumonia – a severe lung infection – so “complex”? And how will it be treated?

    Marco Iaccobucci Epp/Shutterstock

    What is double pneumonia?

    Pneumonia is a serious infection that fills the lungs with liquid or pus and can make it difficult to breathe. People may also have chest pain, cough up green mucus and have a fever.

    “Double pneumonia” is not an official medical term. It may be being used to describe two different aspects of Pope Francis’s condition.

    1. A bilateral infection

    Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs. This is known as “bilateral pneumonia”.

    An infection in both lungs doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more severe, but location is important. It can make a difference which parts of the lung are affected.

    When just one part of the lung or one lung is affected, the person can continue to breathe using the other lung while their body fights the infection.

    However when both lungs are compromised, the person will be receiving very little oxygen.

    2. A polymicrobial infection

    The Vatican has also said the infection affecting Pope Francis’s lungs is “polymicrobial”.

    This means the infection is being caused by more than one kind of microorganism (or “pathogen”).

    So, the cause could be two (or more) different kinds of bacteria, or any combination of bacteria, virus and fungus. It’s vital to know what’s causing the infection to effectively treat it.

    How is it diagnosed?

    Usually, when someone presents with suspected pneumonia the hospital will sample their lungs with a sputum test or swab.

    They will often also undergo an X-ray, usually to confirm which parts of the lung are involved.

    Healthy lungs look “empty” on an X-ray, because they are filled with air. But pneumonia fills the lungs with fluid.

    This means it’s usually very easy to see where pneumonia is affecting them, because the infection shows up as solid white mass on the scan.

    A doctor inspects an x-ray of a lung.
    Lungs infected with pneumonia will have solid white areas on an X-ray. Komsan Loonprom/Shutterstock

    How is it treated?

    The sputum or swab helps detect what is causing the infection and determine treatment. For example, a specific antibiotic will be used to target a certain bacterium.

    Usually this works well. But if the infection is polymicrobial, the normal treatment might not be effective.

    For example, the antibiotics may work on the bacteria. But if there’s also a virus – which can’t be treated with antibiotics – it may become the dominant pathogen driving the infection.

    As a result, the patient may initially respond well to medication and then begin deteriorating again.

    If the infection is caused by multiple bacteria, the patient might be given a broad-spectrum antibiotic rather than a single targeted drug.

    A viral infection is harder to treat, as the anti-viral drugs that are available aren’t very effective or targeted.

    In severe cases, a patient will also need to be in intensive care on a breathing machine because they can’t breathe alone. This helps make sure they receive enough oxygen while their body fights the infection.

    Who is most susceptible?

    It’s possible to recover, even from severe infections. However having pneumonia can damage the lungs, and this can make a repeat infection more likely.

    Most people will never have a severe infection from these same pathogens. They may only experience a minor cold or flu, because their immune system can adequately fight the infection.

    However, certain groups are much more vulnerable to developing a serious case of pneumonia.

    Risk factors include:

    • age: babies under two, whose immune systems are still developing, and adults over 65, who tend to have weakened immune systems
    • lung damage: previous infections can cause scarring
    • lung disease: for example, if you have emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
    • being a smoker
    • immunosuppression: if your immune system is weakened, for example by medication you take after a transplant or during cancer treatment.

    Pope Francis has a number of these risk factors. The pontiff is 88 years old and has a history of respiratory illness.

    He also had pleurisy (a condition that inflames the lungs) as a young adult. As a result, he had part of one lung removed, making him susceptible to lung infections.

    On Tuesday, the Vatican said Pope Francis remains “in good spirits” while he receives medical care and is grateful for the support he has received.

    Brian Oliver, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney and Min Feng, PhD Candidate in Respiratory Disease, University of Technology Sydney

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

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Related Posts

  • Sciatica Exercises & Home Treatment – by Dr. George Best
  • How Intermittent Fasting Reduces Heart Attack Risk (Directly, Not Via Weight Control!)

    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.

    We’ve written before about the benefits of intermittent fasting, such as:

    Intermittent fasting is mostly enjoyed for its metabolic benefits, such as How To Prevent And Reverse Type 2 Diabetes.

    We also covered a very related topic, with intermittent fasting once again being on the suggestions list:

    Improve Your Insulin Sensitivity! ← this is actually more important even that blood sugar control itself, important as that latter is!

    So, how does it work to reduce heart attack risk?

    While intermittent fasting can be used as a weight loss tool (it also doesn’t have to be—it depends on what you eat and what you’re doing in terms of exercise, amongst other factors), this isn’t about that.

    Although it is also worth mentioning that intermittent fasting does reduce the risks associated with diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and more, as well as generally improving cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin resistance, amongst other metrics.

    However, this is about platelet aggregation. Or in whole: platelet activation, aggregation, and thrombosis.

    A team of scientists, Dr. Shimo Dai et al., investigated the effects of alternate-day intermittent fasting on platelets and thrombosis, in two quite different, but both important, demographics:

    • Humans with coronary artery disease
    • Mice with the ApoE gene (the Alzheimer’s risk gene)

    Why the mice? Because they wanted to check the level of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (the damage that occurs after a stroke), and no ethics board will let scientists slice up human participants brains at will.

    In both cases, the intermittent fasting group enjoyed protective effects that the control group (ad libitum eating) did not.

    Specifically, reduced platelet activation, as well as reduced platelet aggregation. Just to be clear:

    • Platelet activation = platelets getting deployed
    • Platelet aggregation = platelets sticking together

    Both are required for thrombosis, which occurs when the platelets, having been activated and aggregated (which is their job, for example to stop bleeding in the case of an injury), block one or more blood vessels.

    A healthy level of platelet activation and aggregation rests in the sweet spot wherefrom it can stop bleeding, without stopping blood circulation.

    This was found to be associated with increased levels of indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), which is created by certain gut bacteria (C. sporogenes), who proliferate enthusiastically during intermittent fasting.

    In few words:

    • intermittent fasting triggers the C. sporogenes to proliferate,
    • which increases IPA levels,
    • which reduces platelet activation and aggregation,
    • which reduces the risk of thrombosis,
    • and thus reduces the risk of heart attack.

    We may hypothesize that this may be a reason to not do intermittent fasting if you have a bleeding disorder, and consult your doctor if you’re on blood thinners.

    For everyone else, this is one more thing that makes intermittent fasting a very healthful practice!

    You can find the paper itself here:

    Intermittent fasting inhibits platelet activation and thrombosis through the intestinal metabolite indole-3-propionate

    And here’s a pop-science article that gets more technical than we have, if you’d like a middle-ground in terms of complexity:

    Intermittent fasting cuts heart attack risk by preventing dangerous blood clots

    Want to try intermittent fasting, but it sounds hard?

    Check out this:

    Hack Your Hunger

    Enjoy!

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • Senior Meetup Groups Combating Loneliness

    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.

    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

    “I would like to read more on loneliness, meetup group’s for seniors. Thank you”

    Well, 10almonds is an international newsletter, so it’s hard for us to advise about (necessarily: local) meetup groups!

    But a very popular resource for connecting to your local community is Nextdoor, which operates throughout the US, Canada, Australia, and large parts of Europe including the UK.

    In their own words:

    Get the most out of your neighborhood with Nextdoor

    It’s where communities come together to greet newcomers, exchange recommendations, and read the latest local news. Where neighbors support local businesses and get updates from public agencies. Where neighbors borrow tools and sell couches. It’s how to get the most out of everything nearby. Welcome, neighbor.

    Curious? Click here to check it out and see if it’s of interest to you

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  • The Twenty-Four Hour Mind – by Dr. Rosalind Cartwright

    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.

    We’ve reviewed books about sleep before, and even about dreaming, so what does this one have to offer that’s new?

    Quite a lot, actually! Before Dr. Cartwright, there were mainly two models of sleep and dreaming:

    • The “top-down” model of psychoanalysts: our minds shape our dreams which in turn reveal things about us as people
    • The “bottom-up” model of neuroscientists: our brains need to go through regular maintaince cycles, of which vivid hallucinations are a quirky side-effect.

    And now, as Dr. Cartwright puts it:

    ❝I will lay out a new [horizontal] psychological model of the twenty-four hour mind; that is, how the predominantly conscious (waking) and unconscious (sleeping) forms of mental behavior interact through the brain’s regular, but differently organized, states of waking, sleeping, and dreaming.❞

    This she does in the exploratory style of a 224-page lecture, which sounds like it might be tedious, but is actually attention-grabbing and engaging throughout. This book is more of a page-turner than soporific bedtime reading!

    Bottom line: if you’d like to know more about the effect your waking and sleeping brain have on each other (to include getting in between those and making adjutments as appropriate), this is very much an elucidating read!

    Click here to check out The Twenty-Four Hour Mind, and learn more about yours!

    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

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