Do We Need Animal Products To Be Healthy?
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We asked you for your (health-related) perspective on plant-based vs anima-based foods, and got the above-pictured spread of answers.
“Some or all of us may need small amounts of animal products” came out on top with more votes than the two more meat-eatery options combined, and the second most popular option was the hard-line “We can all live healthily and happily on just plants”.
Based on these answers, it seems our readership has quite a lot of vegans, vegetarians, and perhaps “flexitarians” who just have a little of animal products here and there.
Perhaps we should have seen this coming; the newsletter is “10almonds”, not “10 rashers of bacon”, after all.
But what does the science say?
We are carnivores and are best eating plenty of meat: True or False?
False. Let’s just rip the band-aid off for this one.
In terms of our anatomy and physiology, we are neither carnivores nor herbivores:
- We have a mid-length digestive tract (unlike carnivores and herbivores who have short and long ones, respectively)
- We have a mouthful of an assortment of teeth; molars and premolars for getting through plants from hard nuts to tough fibrous tubers, and we have incisors for cutting into flesh and (vestigial, but they’re there) canines that really serve us no purpose now but would have been a vicious bite when they were bigger, like some other modern-day primates.
- If we look at our closest living relatives, the other great apes, they are mostly frugivores (fruit-eaters) who supplement their fruity diet with a small quantity of insects and sometimes other small animals—of which they’ll often eat only the fatty organ meat and discard the rest.
And then, there’s the health risks associated with meat. We’ll not linger on this as we’ve talked about it before, but for example:
- Processed Meat Consumption and the Risk of Cancer: A Critical Evaluation of the Constraints of Current Evidence from Epidemiological Studies
- Red Meat Consumption (Heme Iron Intake) and Risk for Diabetes and Comorbidities?
- Health Risks Associated with Meat Consumption: A Review of Epidemiological Studies
- Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry, or Fish Intake With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality
- Meat consumption: Which are the current global risks? A review of recent (2010-2020) evidences
If we avoid processed and/or red meat, that’s good enough: True or False?
True… Ish.
Really this one depends on one’s criteria for “good enough”. The above-linked studies, and plenty more like them, give the following broad picture:
- Red and/or processed meats are unequivocally terrible for the health in general
- Other mammalian meats, such as from pigs, are really not much better
- Poultry, on the other hand, the science is less clear on; the results are mixed, and thus so are the conclusions. The results are often barely statistically significant. In other words, when it comes to poultry, in the matter of health, the general consensus is that you can take it or leave it and will be fine. Some studies have found firmly for or against it, but the consensus is a collective scientific shrug.
- Fish, meanwhile, has almost universally been found to be healthful in moderation. You may have other reasons for wanting to avoid it (ethics, environmentalism, personal taste) but those things are beyond the scope of this article.
Some or all of us may need small amounts of animal products: True or False?
True! With nuances.
Let’s divide this into “some” and “all”. Firstly, some people may have health conditions and/or other mitigating circumstances that make an entirely plant-based diet untenable.
We’re going light on quotations from subscriber comments today because otherwise this article will get a bit long, but here’s a great example that’s worth quoting, from a subscriber who voted for this option:
❝I have a rare genetic disease called hereditary fructose intolerance. It means I lack the enzyme, Aldolase B, to process fructose. Eating fruits and veggies thus gives me severe hypoglycemia. I also have anemia caused by two autoimmune diseases, so I have to eat meat for the iron it supplies. I also supplement with iron pills but the pills alone can’t fix the problem entirely.❞
And, there’s the thing. Popular vegan talking-points are very good at saying “if you have this problem, this will address it; if you have that problem, that will address it”, etc. For every health-related objection to a fully plant-based diet there’s a refutation… Individually.
But actual real-world health doesn’t work like that; co-morbidities are very common, and in some cases, like our subscriber above, one problem undermines the solution to another. Add a third problem and by now you really just have to do what you need to do to survive.
For this reason, even the Vegan Society’s definition of veganism includes the clause “so far as is possible and practicable”.
Now, as for the rest of us “all”.
What if we’re really healthy and are living in optimal circumstances (easy access to a wide variety of choice of food), can we live healthily and happily just on plants?
No—on a technicality.
Vegans famously need to supplement vitamin B12, which is not found in plants. Ironically, much of the B12 in animal products comes from the animals themselves being given supplements, but that’s another matter. However, B12 can also be enjoyed from yeast. Popular options include the use of yeast extract (e.g. Marmite) and/or nutritional yeast in cooking.
Yeast is a single-celled microorganism that’s taxonomically classified as a fungus, even though in many ways it behaves like an animal (which series of words may conjure an amusing image, but we mean, biologically speaking).
However, it’s also not technically a plant, hence the “No—on a technicality”
Bottom line:
By nature, humans are quite versatile generalists when it comes to diet:
- Most of us can live healthily and happily on just plants if we so choose.
- Some people cannot, and will require varying kinds (and quantities) of animal products.
- As for red and/or processed meats, we’re not the boss of you, but from a health perspective, the science is clear: unless you have a circumstance that really necessitates it, just don’t.
- Same goes for pork, which isn’t red and may not be processed, but metabolically it’s associated with the same problems.
- The jury is out on poultry, but it strongly appears to be optional, healthwise, without making much of a difference either way
- Fish is roundly considered healthful in moderation. Enjoy it if you want, don’t if you don’t.
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I Contain Multitudes – by Ed Yong
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A little while back we reviewed a book (Planet of Viruses) about the role of viruses in our lives, beyond the obvious. Today’s book gives the same treatment to microbes in general—mostly bacteria.
We all know about pathogens, and we all know about gut microbiota and that some (hopefully the majority) there are good for our health. This book covers those things too, but also much more.
Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong takes a big picture view (albeit, of some very small things) and looks at the many ways microbes keep us alive, directly or indirectly. From the microbes that convert certain proteins in breast milk into a form that babies can digest (yes, this means we produce nutrients in breast milk that have been evolved solely to feed that bacterium), to those without which agriculture would simply not work, we’re brought to realize how much our continued existence is contingent on our trillions of tiny friends.
The style throughout is easy-reading pop-science, very accessible. There’s also plenty in terms of practical take-away value, when it comes to adjusting our modern lives to better optimize the benefits we get from microbes—inside and out.
Bottom line: if you’d like to learn about the role of microbes in our life beyond “these ones are pathogens” and “these ones help our digestion”, this is the book for you.
Click here to check out I Contain Multitudes, and learn more about yours and those around you!
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How to spot and prevent a concussion
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What you need to know
- A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain jerks or twists in your skull, injuring nerves and blood vessels.
- Short-term symptoms may include headache, nausea and vomiting, memory problems, and more. Some people experience longer-term symptoms that may impact mental health.
- You can prevent a concussion by wearing a helmet during high-impact activities, buckling your seatbelt, and exercising to improve balance.
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that occurs when you hit your head or body, causing your brain to jerk or twist in your skull. While symptoms typically resolve on their own, some people may experience lingering problems that impact brain function, mental health, and more.
Experts estimate that 3.8 million people in the United States experience a concussion every year because of a sport or recreational activity, and up to 50 percent of those concussions are unreported.
Read on to learn the signs of a concussion, how they impact mental health, and how to prevent them.
What causes a concussion, and what are the signs?
Concussions can happen if you hit your head during a fall, car accident, or sports game. Sometimes a hit to the body that causes your head to jerk back and forth can also cause a concussion.
People at increased risk of a concussion include older adults, young children, teens, and people who work physically demanding jobs or play contact sports.
A concussion injures the nerves and blood vessels in your brain, which can lead to symptoms like:
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Ringing in the ears
- Drowsiness
- Blurry vision
- Confusion
- Dizziness
Concussions can also cause memory loss, so it’s important to watch for symptoms after any type of accident, even if you’re not sure if you hit your head.
Some symptoms may not appear for days after a concussion. Those may include:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Insomnia
- Irritatability
- Depression
- Changes in taste and smell
If you experience any of these symptoms after a potential head injury or you notice them in someone else, consult a health care provider right away.
How is a concussion diagnosed?
A health care provider will first perform a physical exam and ask questions about your symptoms. However, there is “not one test that says this was definitely a concussion,” said Dr. Daniel Torres, a neurologist at Northwell Health in New York, in a 2023 CBS News article.
Some people may need brain imaging to see if there is bleeding or swelling in the skull, especially if they’re having severe symptoms.
How are concussions treated?
If your health care provider determines that you have a concussion, they’ll likely tell you to rest so your brain can recover on its own. Especially during the first two days after a concussion, you may need to avoid stimulating activities like:
- Using screens, including your phone, computer, and TV
- Reading
- Working
- Heavy exercising or all physical activity, depending on your health care provider’s recommendation
Your health provider will tell you how long you should plan to rest before resuming normal activities.
During your recovery, avoid taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, since these medications can increase the risk of bleeding. If you need pain management, talk to your health care provider about which medications are safe for you to take.
If you’re caring for a young child who is recovering from a concussion, maintain their usual routine while avoiding high-impact activities that could lead to reinjury, plus any activities that seem to worsen the child’s symptoms.
About 80 percent of people who get a concussion recover within a month.
Is it safe to sleep when you’re recovering from a concussion?
Yes. The idea that you shouldn’t sleep while recovering from a concussion is a myth. In fact, sleep is an important part of the recovery process.
“Once your healthcare provider has ruled out serious injury, aim for eight to 10 hours of sleep in 24 hours,” said Dr. Beth McQuiston, a neuroscientist and medical director of Abbott’s diagnostics business, in a Women’s Health article.
Children recovering from a concussion should sleep as usual and maintain a consistent bedtime.
What long-term complications can concussions cause?
Concussions can sometimes cause symptoms that last for months after the injury, like headaches, dizziness, and trouble thinking. These prolonged symptoms can lead to depression and anxiety.
“Unlike a broken leg, for example, where you put a cast on it and it should typically heal in a certain amount of time, concussions often follow no specific timeline,” said Matthew Sacco, a health and sports performance psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, in a 2024 Cleveland Clinic article. “And it can be hard for people to maintain hope when every day starts to feel the same. A lot of emotions can bubble to the surface.”
Repeated concussions have been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease that causes the brain’s nerve cells to die. CTE can lead to changes in mood and behavior that can increase the risk of suicide.
CTE can only be diagnosed with autopsy, and it has primarily been found in the brains of people who played football and other contact sports, like boxing.
How can I prevent concussions?
Accidents can happen any time, but you can reduce your risk of a concussion by:
- Wearing a well-fitting helmet while playing contact sports like football, biking, motorcycling, or participating in other higher-risk athletic or recreational activities, like skateboarding and horseback riding
- Buckling your seatbelt during car rides
- Ensuring that the floors in your home are free of anything that could cause you to trip
- Closely watching children in your home, blocking stairwells, and installing window guards
- Exercising regularly to improve balance and prevent falls
If you think you may have a concussion or are experiencing lingering concussion symptoms, talk to your health care provider.
If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm or is anxious, depressed, or upset or needs to talk, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741. For international resources, here is a good place to begin.
This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Dark Calories – by Dr. Catherine Shanahan
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You may be wondering: do we really need a 416-page book to say “don’t use vegetable oils”?
The author, who was a biochemist before becoming a family physician, takes a lot of care to explain in ways the non-chemists amongst us can understand (with molecular diagrams very well-labelled), exactly why certain seed/vegetable oils (both of those names being imprecise and unhelpful as umbrella terms) cause metabolic problems for us, when in contrast olive oil, avocado oil, and even peanut oil, do not.
Understanding is, for many, the root foundation of compliance. We are more likely to abide by rules we understand the logic behind, than seemingly arbitrary “thou shalt not…” proclamations.
So that’s an important strength of the book, demystifying various fats and how our body responds to them on a biochemical level, not just “is associated with such-and-such, based on observational population studies”. This kind of explanation clears up why, for example, seed oils correlate with obesity more than calories, sugar, wheat, or beef—having as it does to do with affecting our body’s ability to generate and use energy.
She also offers practical tips/reminders throughout, such as how “organic” does not necessarily mean “healthy” (indeed, many poisonous plants can be grown “organically”), and nor does “organic” mean “unrefined”, it speaks only for the conditions in which the raw product was first made, before other things were done to it later.
We learn a lot, too, about the processes of oxidation, the biochemistry behind that (more diagrams!), and of course the inflammatory response to same (an important factor in most if not all chronic disease).
The style is mostly very easy-to-read pop-science, though if you’re not a chemist, you’ll probably need to slow down for the biochemistry explanations (this reviewer certainly did).
Bottom line: this is more than just a litany against vegetable oils; it’s a ground-upwards education in metabolic biochemistry for the layperson, and what that means for us in terms of chronic disease risks.
Click here to check out Dark Calories, and learn what’s going on with these oils!
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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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CBOs share their tools and tactics for better vaccine outcomes
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Amidst deep federal program cuts, and the third measles death in just three months, it’s been a difficult week for public health. Health workers are striving to keep the importance of vaccination top of mind in their communities: Vaccination is the most effective way to protect themselves and their loved ones from vaccine preventable diseases like measles, whooping cough, COVID-19, RSV, and the flu.
But with vaccination rates in decline, especially for children, everyone is at greater risk of getting sick.
Over the last few months, community-based organizations working to get more people vaccinated shared with PGN the tactics and tools they use to continue their work.
Here are some important takeaways from those discussions:
Invest in deeper listening.
How often does your CBO hold listening sessions with the people you serve? Whether it’s through polling, sitting down with parent groups, or monitoring your organization’s social media channels—our conversations with health workers from Autism Society of Minnesota, the Somali Parents Autism Network, and the Idaho Immunization Coalition cited the importance of listening as much as possible to understand vaccine sentiment and define what cultural approaches they may need to use.
“We consistently hold listening sessions. We do them in English and Spanish if we need to, and we go around—and I’m talking about the southern part of the state—and bring people together,” said Karen Jachimowski Sharpnack, executive director of the Idaho Immunization Coalition.
“We’ll bring eight or 10 people together, and we’ll spend a couple of hours with them. We feed them and we also pay them to be there. We say, ‘We want to hear from you about what you’re hearing about vaccines, what your views are if you’re vaccinated.’ And these sessions are extremely informational. For one, we learn about the misinformation that goes out there, like immediately. And two, we’re able to then focus [on how to respond]. If we’re hearing this, what kind of media campaign do we need to get together?”
Ask yourself how can your work be more inclusive?
Alex Wood, a doula from Michigan who focuses on helping families who are disabled, have chronic illnesses, or have compromised immune systems, emphasized the importance of centering high-risk groups to ensure vaccine equity and easier access for everybody.
“The marginalized group that I don’t hear talked about enough are disabled and immunocompromised people, and their access to vaccines. The hesitancy I see in this group is not, ‘Do I get the vaccine?’ but, ‘How do I access it safely?’ she said.
“The idea that someone with little to no immune system is expected to sit in close quarters while someone sits right there, breathing in their face and refusing to mask, poses a real question for people. Is it worth the risk of getting the disease [from exposure at the appointment] that I’m trying to mitigate harm from by vaccinating? The biggest problem I see is that when people directly ask for access, for support, they’re turned down.”
Consider your CBO’s role in vaccine advocacy.
For many CBOs, vaccine outreach in their communities is second nature, but knowing how or if to advocate for vaccine policy change in their state may feel scary. But Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer at The Immunization Partnership, says it doesn’t have to be.
“[Health workers] advocate on an everyday basis, and so there really is no mystery to it,” she said. “From a childhood vaccination standpoint, I don’t want us going down a road where all the amazing work everyone has done over the last 50, 60, 70 years supporting public health—you know, supporting families to get their kids vaccinated—to see that completely undone and done in vain. That’s why we all have to really work together and put up a united front that enough is enough.”
This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Reading At Night: Good Or Bad For Sleep? And Other Questions
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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
❝Would be interested in your views about “reading yourself to sleep”. I find that current affairs magazines and even modern novels do exactly the opposite. But Dickens – ones like David Copperfield and Great Expectations – I find wonderfully effective. It’s like entering a parallel universe where none of your own concerns matter. Any thoughts on the science that may explain this?!❞
Anecdotally: this writer is (like most writers) a prolific reader, and finds reading some fiction last thing at night is a good way to create a buffer between the affairs of the day and the dreams of night—but I could never fall asleep that way, unless I were truly sleep-deprived. The only danger is if I “one more chapter” my way deep into the night! For what it’s worth, bedtime reading for me means a Kindle self-backlit with low, soft lighting.
Scientifically: this hasn’t been a hugely researched area, but there are studies to work from. But there are two questions at hand (at least) here:
- one is about reading, and
- the other is about reading from electronic devices with or without blue light filters.
Here’s a study that didn’t ask the medium of the book, and concluded that reading a book in bed before going to sleep improved sleep quality, compared to not reading a book in bed:
Here’s a study that concluded that reading on an iPad (with no blue light filter) that found no difference in any metrics except EEG (so, there was no difference on time spent in different sleep states or sleep onset latency), but advised against it anyway because of the EEG readings (which showed slow wave activity being delayed by approximately 30 minutes, which is consistent with melatonin production mechanics):
Here’s another study that didn’t take EEG readings, and/but otherwise confirmed no differences being found:
We’re aware this goes against general “sleep hygiene” advice in two different ways:
- General advice is to avoid electronic devices before bedtime
- General advice is to not do activities besides sleep (and sex) in bed
…but, we’re committed to reporting the science as we find it!
Enjoy!
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