Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen
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Give Us This Day Our Daily Dozen
This is Dr. Michael Greger. He’s a physician-turned-author-educator, and we’ve featured him and his work occasionally over the past year or so:
- Brain Food? The Eyes Have It! ← this is about dark leafy greens, lutein, & avoiding Alzheimer’s
- Twenty-One, No Wait, Twenty Tweaks For Better Health ← he says 21, but we say one of them is very skippable. Check it out and decide what you think!
- Dr. Greger’s Anti-Aging Eight ← his top well-evidenced interventions specifically for slowing aging
But what we’ve not covered, astonishingly, is one of the things for which he’s most famous, which is…
Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen
Based on the research in the very information-dense tome that his his magnum opus How Not To Die (while it doesn’t confer immortality, it does help avoid the most common causes of death), Dr. Greger recommends that we take care to enjoy each of the following things per day:
Beans
- Servings: 3 per day
- Examples: ½ cup cooked beans, ¼ cup hummus
Greens
- Servings: 2 per day
- Examples: 1 cup raw, ½ cup cooked
Cruciferous vegetables
- Servings: 1 per day
- Examples: ½ cup chopped, 1 tablespoon horseradish
Other vegetables
- Servings: 2 per day
- Examples: ½ cup non-leafy vegetables
Whole grains
- Servings: 3 per day
- Examples: ½ cup hot cereal, 1 slice of bread
Berries
- Servings: 1 per day
- Examples: ½ cup fresh or frozen, ¼ cup dried
Other fruits
- Servings: 3 per day
- Examples: 1 medium fruit, ¼ cup dried fruit
Flaxseed
- Servings: 1 per day
- Examples: 1 tablespoon ground
Nuts & (other) seeds
- Servings: 1 per day
- Examples: ¼ cup nuts, 2 tablespoons nut butter
Herbs & spices
- Servings: 1 per day
- Examples: ¼ teaspoon turmeric
Hydrating drinks
- Servings: 60 oz per day
- Examples: Water, green tea, hibiscus tea
Exercise
- Servings: Once per day
- Examples: 90 minutes moderate or 40 minutes vigorous
Superficially it seems an interesting choice to, after listing 11 foods and drinks, have the 12th item as exercise but not add a 13th one of sleep—but perhaps he quite reasonably expects that people get a dose of sleep with more consistency than people get a dose of exercise. After all, exercise is mostly optional, whereas if we try to skip sleep for too long, our body will force the matter for us.
Further 10almonds notes:
- We’d consider chia superior to flax, but you do you. Flax is a fine choice also.
- We recommend trying to get each of these top 5 most health-giving spices in daily if you can.
Enjoy!
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Strong – by Jacqueline Hooton
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The author, herself in her 60s, knows her stuff when it comes to fitness (female fitness in particular) and aging (or: ageing, as you’ll see in this book, with its British English).
She starts by laying out the idea of comprehensive fitness, that is to say, the many ways in which this can be measured, and that some of them may be more (or less) important to use as individuals than others—but that whatever aspect(s) we choose to focus upon, we should endeavor to be at least “good” in all categories.
So for example, when it comes to: body composition, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular endurance, strength, agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, and speed.
Some of these may at first glance seem to be different words for the same thing, but she defines each of them carefully, as you read you’ll understand their distinctions.
Then she sets about imparting the knowledge of how to improve each of those things (and more), in the context of aging, and in particular, in the context of female aging.
The tools, of course, are diet and exercise, but these things she presents in the form of a plan, and the broad field of “exercise” also encompasses such things as rehab exercises, stretches, and so forth.
The style is a skillful balance of professional and personal; enough (well-sourced) science to lend confidence on that side of things, and enough personal touches to also lend confidence that indeed, she speaks from experience—as a personal trainer in her 60s who began in her 40s.
Bottom line: this is a very comprehensive and helpful book, and much better put-together than a lot of books of its kind. By this we don’t mean the binding, but rather: it’s not just advice for the sake of filling a book; it’s a carefully tailored, well-planned, customizable guide that covers more bases than many such books even acknowledge exist.
Click here to check out Strong, and age well in all respects!
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DVT Risk Management Beyond The Socks
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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
❝I know I am at higher risk of DVT after having hip surgery, any advice beside compression stockings?❞
First of all, a swift and easy recovery to you!
Surgery indeed increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis (henceforth: DVT), and hip or knee surgery especially so, for obvious reasons.
There are other risk factors you can’t control, like genetics (family history of DVT as an indicator) and age, but there are some that you can, including:
- smoking (so, ideally don’t; do speak to your doctor before quitting though, in case withdrawal might be temporarily worse for you than smoking)
- obesity (so, losing weight is good if overweight, but if this is going to happen, it’ll mostly happen in the kitchen not the gym, which may be a relief as you’re probably not the very most up for exercise at present)
- See also: Lose Weight, But Healthily
- sedentariness (so, while you’re probably not running marathons right now, please do try to keep moving, even if only gently)
Beyond that, yes compression socks, but also frequent gentle massage can help a lot to avoid clots forming.
Also, no surprises, a healthy diet will help, especially one that’s good for general heart health. Check out for example the Mediterranean DASH diet:
Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean Diet
Also, obviously, speak with your doctor/pharmacist if you haven’t already about possible medications, including checking whether any of your current medications increase the risk and could be swapped for something that doesn’t.
Take care!
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Mango vs Papaya – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing mango to papaya, we picked the mango.
Why?
Both are great! But there are some things to set them apart:
In terms of macros, this one’s not so big of a difference. They are equal in fiber, while mango has more protein and slightly more carbs. They are both low glycemic index, so we’ll call this one a tie, or the slenderest nominal win for papaya.
When it comes to vitamins, mango has more of vitamins A, B1, B3, B5, B7, B9, E, and K, while papaya has more vitamin C. However, a cup of mango already gives the RDA of vitamin C, so at this point, it’s not even really much of a bonus that papaya has more. In any case, a clear and overwhelming win in the vitamins category for mango.
Looking at minerals, this one’s closer; mango has more copper, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc, while papaya has more calcium, iron, and magnesium. Still, a 4:3 win for mango.
In other considerations, both of these fruits interact with warfarin and many other anticoagulants. So if you’re taking those, you might want to skip these, or at least consult with your doctor/pharmacist for input on your personal situation.
Adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for mango, but by all means enjoy either or both (unless taking an anticoagulant), as diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
5 Ways To Make Your Smoothie Blood Sugar Friendly (Avoid the Spike!)
Take care!
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Fast. Feast. Repeat – by Dr. Gin Stephens
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We’ve reviewed intermittent fasting books before, so what makes this one different?
The title “Fast. Feast. Repeat.” doesn’t give much away; after all, we already know that that’s what intermittent fasting is.
After taking the reader though the basics of how intermittent fasting works and what it does for the body, much of the rest of the book is given over to improvements.
That’s what the real strength of this book is: ways to make intermittent fasting more efficient, including how to avoid plateaus. After all, sometimes it can seem like the only way to push further with intermittent fasting is to restrict the eating window further. Not so!
Instead, Dr. Stephens gives us ways to keep confusing our metabolism (in a good way) if, for example, we had a weight loss goal we haven’t met yet.
Best of all, this comes without actually having to eat less.
Bottom line: if you want to be in good physical health, and/but also believe that life is for living and you enjoy eating food, then this book can resolve that age-old dilemma!
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The Menopause Brain – by Dr. Lisa Mosconi
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With her PhD in neuroscience and nuclear medicine (a branch of radiology, used for certain types of brain scans, amongst other purposes), whereas many authors will mention “brain fog” as a symptom of menopause, Dr. Mosconi can (and will) point to a shadowy patch on a brain scan and say “that’s the brain fog, there”.
And so on for many other symptoms of menopause that are commonly dismissed as “all in your head”, notwithstanding that “in your head” is the worst place for a problem to be. You keep almost your entire self in there!
Dr. Mosconi covers how hormones influence not just our moods in a superficial way, but also change the structure of our brain over time.
Importantly, she also gives an outline of how to stay on the ball; what things to watch out for when your doctor probably won’t, and what things to ask for when your doctor probably won’t suggest them.
Bottom line: if menopause is a thing in your life (or honestly, even if it isn’t but you are running on estrogen rather than testosterone), then this is a book for you.
Click here to check out The Menopause Brain, and look after yours!
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Peanuts vs Walnuts – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing peanuts to walnuts, we picked the peanuts.
Why?
What heresy is this?!
“But walnuts are more expensive!”, we hear you cry. “They have omega-3s! They look like little brains!”
And, we must confess, all of these things are true. However…
In terms of macros, peanuts have much more protein, and a little more fiber, while walnuts have more fat. And yes, those fats are healthy, and yes, the omega-3 content of walnuts is worth noting. However, while walnuts are higher in total and polyunsaturated fats, peanuts are higher in monounsaturated fats, which are also beneficial. All in all, we’re calling it either a tie on macros, or a win for peanuts, as it really is a lot more protein, and we always consider fiber of top importance.
In the category of vitamins, peanuts have (a lot) more of vitamins B1, B3, B5, B9, E, and choline, while walnuts have a (very) little more of vitamins B2 and B6. So, a clear win for peanuts here, and that’s without considering that in terms of margins of difference, peanuts have 11x the vitamin E, for example.
Looking at minerals, peanuts have more iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while walnuts have more calcium, copper, and manganese. Another clear win for peanuts.
When it comes to polyphenols, peanuts have more diverse polyphenols, while walnuts have a greater total mass of polyphenols. A tie here, or possibly a subjective win for walnuts.
In short, both are great and both have their merits, but by the numbers, and adding up the sections, peanuts take the win today. Still (assuming no allergy), by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts
Enjoy!
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