Do You Have A Personalized Health Plan? (Here’s How)

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“Good health” is quite a broad umbrella, and while we all have a general idea of what “healthy” looks like, it’s easy to focus on some areas and overlook others.

Of course, how much one does this will still depend on one’s level of interest in health, which can change over the course of life, and (barring serious midlife health-related curveballs such as a cancer diagnosis or something) often looks like an inverse bell curve:

  • As small kids, we probably barely thought about health
  • As teenagers, we probably had a narrow view of health (often related to whatever is considered sexually attractive at the time)
  • In our 20s, may have a bit of a health kick in which we learn and apply a lot… Which often then gets to later take a bit of a back seat to work responsibilities and so forth
  • This is commonly followed by a few decades of just trying to make it to Friday by any means necessary (definite risk factor for substance abuse of various kinds), double if we have kids, triple if we have work, kids, and are also solely responsible for managing the household.
  • Then just as suddenly as it is predictably, we are ambushed when approaching retirement age by a cluster of age-related increased health risks that we now get to do our best to mitigate—the focus here is “not dying early”. A lot of health education occurs at this time.
  • Finally, upon retirement, we actually get the time to truly focus on our health again, and now it’s easier to learn about all aspects of health, even if now there’s a need to juggle many health issues all at once, most of which affect the others.

See also: How Likely Are You To Live To 100? ← in which we can also see a graph of 10almonds subscribers’ ages, consistent with the above

So, let’s recap, and personalize our health plan

There are often things we wish we could have focused on sooner, so now’s the time to figure out what future-you in your next decade (or later!) is going to thank you for having done now.

So, while 20-year-old us might have been focusing on fat levels or athletic performance, how much does that really help us now? (With apologies to any readers in their 20s, but also, with the bonus for you: now’s the perfect time to plan ahead!)

At 10almonds, while we cover very many health topics, we often especially focus on:

  • Brain health
  • Heart health
  • Gut health

…because they affect everything else so much. We’ve listed them there in the order they appear in the body, but in fact it can be useful to view them upside down, because:

  • Gut health is critical for good metabolic health (a happy efficient gut allows us to process nutrients, including energy, efficiently)
  • Metabolic health is critical for good heart health (a nicely ticking metabolism will not strain our heart)
  • Heart health is critical for good brain health (a strong heart will nourish the brain with well-oxygenated blood and the nutrients it also carries)

So, this isn’t a catch-22 at all! There is a clear starting point:

Stop Sabotaging Your Gut

“How do I do the other bits, though?”

We have you covered here: Your Health Audit, From Head To Toe

“Wait, where’s the personalization?”

This comes once you’ve got those above things in order.

Hopefully you know what particular health risks you have—as in, particular to you.

First, you will have any current diagnoses, and a plan for treating those. Many chronic illnesses can be reversed or at least lessened with lifestyle changes, in particular, if we reduce chronic inflammation, which is implicated in countless chronic illnesses, and exacerbates most of the rest.

So: How to Prevent (or Reduce) Inflammation

The same goes for any heightened risks you have as a result of those current diagnoses.

Next, you will have any genetic health risks—so here’s where genetic testing is a good one-shot tool, to get a lot of information all in one go.

Learn more: The Real Benefit Of Genetic Testing

…and then, of course, take appropriate steps to avoid suffering the things of which you are at increased genetic risk.

Finally, you will have any personal concerns or goals—in other words, what do you want to still be able to do, later in life? It’s easy to say “everything”, but what’s most important?

This writer’s example: I want to remain mobile, free from pain, and sharp of mind.

That doesn’t mean I’ll neglect the rest of my health, but it does mean that I will regularly weigh my choices against whether they are consistent with those three things.

As for how to plan for that?

Check out: Train For The Event Of Your Life! ← this one is mostly about the mobility aspect; staying free from pain is in large part a matter of avoiding inflammation which we already discussed, and staying sharp of mind relies on the gut-heart-brain pipeline we also covered.

You can also, of course, personalize your diet per which areas of health are the most important for you:

Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean (most anti-inflammatory, gut-healthiest, heart-healthiest, brain-healthiest)

Take care!

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  • Anti-Cholesterol Cardamom & Pistachio Porridge

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    This tasty breakfast’s beta-glucan content binds to cholesterol and carries it out of the body; there are lots of other nutritional benefits too!

    You will need

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    • 6 cardamom pods, crushed
    • 1 tsp rose water or 4 drops edible rose essential oil
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  • Younger Next Year – by Chris Crowley & Dr. Henry Lodge

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    Is it diet and exercise? Well, of course that’s a component. Specific kinds of exercise, too. But, as usual when we feature a book, there’s more:

    In this case, strong throughout is the notion of life being a marathon not a sprint—and training for it accordingly.

    Doing the things now that you’ll really wish you’d started doing sooner, and finding ways to build them into daily life.

    Not just that, though! The authors take a holistic approach to life and health, and thus also cover work life, social life, and so forth. Now, you may be thinking “I’m already in the 80 and beyond category; I don’t work” and well, the authors advise that you do indeed work. You don’t have to revamp your career, but science strongly suggests that people who work longer, live longer.

    Of course that doesn’t have to mean going full-throttle like a 20-year-old determined to make their mark on the world (you can if you want, though). It could be volunteering for a charity, or otherwise just finding a socially-engaging “work-like” activity that gives you purpose.

    About the blend of motivational pep talk and science—this book is heavily weighted towards the former. It has, however, enough science to keep it on the right track throughout. Hence the two authors! Crowley for motivational pep, and Dr. Lodge for the science (with extra input from brain surgeon Dr. Hamilton, too).

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    Click here to check out “Younger Next Year” and get de-aging!

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  • The Metabolism Reset Diet – by Alan Christianson

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    The liver is an incredible organ that does a very important job, but what’s not generally talked about is how we can help it… Beyond the obvious “try to not poison it too much with alcohol, tobacco, etc”. But what can we do that’s actually positive for it?

    That’s what Alan Christianson offers in this book.

    Now, usually when someone speaks of a “four week cleanse” as this book advertises on its front cover, it’s a lot of bunk. The liver cleanses itself, and the liver and kidneys between them (along with some other organs and processes) detoxify your body for you. No amount of celery juice will do that. However, this book does better than that:

    What it’s about, is not really about trying to do a “detox” at all, so much as supporting your liver function by:

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    • Not over-taxing your liver while it does so

    The liver is a self-regenerating organ (the mythological story of Prometheus aside, here in real life it can regenerate up to 80% of itself, given the opportunity), so whatever the current state of your liver, it’s probably not too late to fix it.

    Maybe you’ve been drinking a little too much, or maybe you’ve been taking some meds that have hobbled it a bit (some medications strain the liver rather), or maybe your diet hasn’t been great. Christianson invites you to draw a line under that, and move forwards:

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    Christianson also provides meal ideas and recipes. If we’re honest (and we always are), the science/principles part of the book are worth a lot more than the meal-plan part of the book, though.

    In short: a great book for understanding how the liver works and how we can help it do its job effectively.

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  • Cherries vs Grapes – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing cherries to grapes, we picked the cherries.

    Why?

    First, let’s mention: we are looking at sour cherries and Californian grapes. Even those will of course vary in quality, but the nutritional values here are quite reliable averages.

    In terms of macros you might have guessed this one: cherries have nearly 2x the fiber and grapes have about 50% more carbs. So, while neither fruit is bad and they are both low glycemic index foods, cherry is the winner in this category.

    When it comes to vitamins, cherries have more of vitamins A, B3, B5, B9, C, and choline, while grapes have more of vitamins B1, B2, B6, E, and K. That’s a 6:5 win for cherries, and the respective margins of difference bear that out too.

    In the category of minerals, cherries have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc, while grapes have more manganese and potassium. An easy 6:2 win for cherries.

    You might be wondering about polyphenols: both are very abundant in very many polyphenols; so much and so many, in fact, that we couldn’t possibly try to adjudicate between them without doing some complex statistical modeling (especially given how much this can vary from one sample to another, much more so than the micro-and macronutrient values discussed above), so we’ll call it a tie on these.

    Adding up the section makes for a clear win for cherries, but of course, enjoy either or both!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

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  • How Intermittent Fasting Reduces Heart Attack Risk (Directly, Not Via Weight Control!)

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    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:

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    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!

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • Are Electrolyte Supplements Worth It?

    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.

    When To Take Electrolytes (And When We Shouldn’t!)

    Any sports nutrition outlet will sell electrolyte supplements. Sometimes in the form of sports drinks that claim to be more hydrating than water, or tablets that can be dissolved in water to make the same. How do they work, and should we be drinking them?

    What are electrolytes?

    They’re called “electrolytes” because they are ionized particles (so, they have a positive or negative electrical charge, depending on which kind of ion they are) that are usually combined in the form of salts.

    The “first halves” of the salts include:

    • Sodium
    • Potassium
    • Calcium
    • Magnesium

    The “second halves” of the salts include:

    • Chloride
    • Phosphate
    • Bicarbonate
    • Nitrate

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    If we live in a temperate climate with a moderate lifestyle and a balanced diet, and have healthy working kidneys, usually our kidneys will keep them all in balance.

    Why might we need to supplement?

    Firstly, of course, you might have a dietary deficiency. Magnesium deficiency in particular is very common in North America, as people simply do not eat as much greenery as they ideally would.

    But, also, you might sweat out your electrolytes, in which case, you will need to replace them.

    In particular, endurance training and High Intensity Interval Training are likely to prompt this.

    However… Are you in a rush? Because if not, you might just want to recover more slowly:

    ❝Vigorous exercise and warm/hot temperatures induce sweat production, which loses both water and electrolytes. Both water and sodium need to be replaced to re-establish “normal” total body water (euhydration).

    This replacement can be by normal eating and drinking practices if there is no urgency for recovery.

    But if rapid recovery (<24 h) is desired or severe hypohydration (>5% body mass) is encountered, aggressive drinking of fluids and consuming electrolytes should be encouraged to facilitate recovery❞

    Source: Fluid and electrolyte needs for training, competition, and recovery

    Should we just supplement anyway, as a “catch-all” to be sure?

    Probably not. In particular, it is easy to get too much sodium in one’s diet, let alone by supplementation.And, oversupplementation of calcium is very common, and causes its own health problems. See:

    To look directly to the science on this one, we see a general consensus amongst research reviews: “this is complicated and can go either way depending on what else people are doing”:

    Well, that’s not helpful. Any clearer pointers?

    Yes! Researchers Latzka and Mountain put together a very practical list of tips. Rather, they didn’t put it as a list, but the following bullet points are information extracted directly from their abstract, though we’ve also linked the full article below:

    • It is recommended that individuals begin exercise when adequately hydrated.
      • This can be facilitated by drinking 400 mL to 600 mL of fluid 2 hours before beginning exercise and drinking sufficient fluid during exercise to prevent dehydration from exceeding 2% body weight.
    • A practical recommendation is to drink small amounts of fluid (150-300 mL) every 15 to 20 minutes of exercise, varying the volume depending on sweating rate.
      • During exercise lasting less than 90 minutes, water alone is sufficient for fluid replacement
      • During prolonged exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes, commercially available carbohydrate electrolyte beverages should be considered to provide an exogenous carbohydrate source to sustain carbohydrate oxidation and endurance performance.
    • Electrolyte supplementation is generally not necessary because dietary intake is adequate to offset electrolytes lost in sweat and urine; however, during initial days of hot-weather training or when meals are not calorically adequate, supplemental salt intake may be indicated to sustain sodium balance.

    Source: Water and electrolyte requirements for exercise

    Bonus tip:

    We’ve talked before about the specific age-related benefits of creatine supplementation, but if you’re doing endurance training or HIIT, you might also want to consider a creatine-electrolyte combination sports drink (even if you make it yourself):

    Creatine-electrolyte supplementation improves repeated sprint cycling performance: a double-blind randomized control study

    Where can I get electrolyte supplements?

    They’re easy to find in any sports nutrition store, or you can buy them online; here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience

    You can also opt for natural and/or homemade electrolyte drinks:

    Healthline | 8 Healthy Drinks Rich in Electrolytes

    Enjoy!

    Don’t Forget…

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