Heart Attack: His & Hers (Be Prepared!)
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Heart attack symptoms vary by sex. This is governed by hormones, so if you are for example a postmenopausal woman and not on HRT, your symptoms might be nearer that of men.
The following symptom list is intended as a rough “most likely” guide. You may not get all of the symptoms you “should”. You could get symptoms from the “wrong” category. So don’t sweat the minutiae, but do be aware of…
Symptoms for everyone:
- Jaw, neck, and/or back pain
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling of impending doom ← heart attack survivors assure us that you’ll know this one if you experience it
Additional symptoms (mostly) just for men:
- Pressure and/or pain in the upper chest
- Discomfort and/or tingling in the arms
- Sudden cold sweat
Additional symptoms (mostly) just for women:
- Pressure and/or pain in the lower chest and/or abdomen
- Feeling of fullness and/or indigestion
- Fatigue, dizziness, possibly fainting
In the event of experiencing symptoms…
Call 911 or your local equivalent.This is not the time to wait to see if it goes away by itself. If unsure, call. Better safe than sorry/dead.
If you are not alone, or if it is someone with you who is having the suspected heart attack, it may be quicker to go to the Emergency Room by car, than wait for an ambulance.
Even if you choose to do that, you should still call 911 anyway, as the responder will be able to instruct you in real-time, not something we can do in a newsletter.
Note that if available, this means three people in the car is ideal:
Driver, patient, and third person on the phone giving information and following instructions.
Emergency situations rarely go entirely by-the-book, but with a little foreknowledge and at least one person with a calm head, preventable deaths can be avoided.
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Xylitol vs Erythritol – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing xylitol to erythritol, we picked the xylitol.
Why?
They’re both sugar alcohols, which so far as the body is concerned are neither sugars nor alcohols in the way those words are commonly understood; it’s just a chemical term. The sugars aren’t processed as such by the body and are passed as dietary fiber, and nor is there any intoxicating effect as one might expect from an alcohol.
In terms of macronutrients, while technically they both have carbs, for all functional purposes they don’t and just have a little fiber.
In terms of micronutrients, they don’t have any.
The one thing that sets them apart is their respective safety profiles. Xylitol is prothrombotic and associated with major adverse cardiac events (CI=95, adjusted hazard ratio=1.57, range=1.12-2.21), while erythritol is also prothrombotic and more strongly associated with major adverse cardiac events (CI=95, adjusted hazard ratio=2.21, range=1.20-4.07).
So, xylitol is bad and erythritol is worse, which means the relatively “healthier” is xylitol. We don’t recommend either, though.
Studies for both:
- Xylitol is prothrombotic and associated with cardiovascular risk
- The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk
Links for the specific products we compared, in case our assessment hasn’t put you off them:
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
- The WHO’s New View On Sugar-Free Sweeteners ← the WHO’s advice is “don’t”
- Stevia vs Acesulfame Potassium – Which is Healthier? ← stevia’s pretty much the healthiest artificial sweetener around, though, if you’re going to use one
- The Fascinating Truth About Aspartame, Cancer, & Neurotoxicity ← under the cold light of science, aspartame isn’t actually as bad as it was painted a few decades ago, mostly by a viral hoax letter. Per the WHO’s advice, it’s still good to avoid sweeteners in general, however.
Take care!
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Peas vs Broad Beans – Which is Healthier?
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.
Our Verdict
When comparing peas to broad beans, we picked the peas.
Why?
Both are great of course, but…
Looking at the macros to start with, peas have more protein and more fiber. The differences aren’t huge, but they are clear.
In terms of vitamins, peas have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, E, K, and choline (some with very large margins, some with small), while broad beans contain a little more vitamin C (the margin is quite narrow though).
When it comes to minerals, peas have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while broad beans have more sodium. So this category wasn’t close.
Adding up the win from each of the categories makes for a clear triple-win for peas.
Easy-peasy!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Take care!
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How to Eat 30 Plants a Week – by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
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.
If you’re used to eating the same two fruits and three vegetables in rotation, the “gold standard” evidence-based advice to “eat 30 different plants per week” can seem a little daunting.
Where this book excels is in reminding the reader to use a lot of diverse plants that are readily available in any well-stocked supermarket, but often get forgotten just because “we don’t buy that”, so it becomes invisible on the shelf.
It’s not just a recipe book (though yes, there are plenty of recipes here); it’s also advice about stocking up and maintaining that stock, advice on reframing certain choices to inject a little diversity into every meal without it become onerous, meal-planning rotation advice, and a lot of recipes that are easy but plant-rich, for example “this soup that has these six plants in it”, etc.
He also gives, for those eager to get started, “10 x 3 recipes per week to guarantee your 30”, in other words, 10 sets of 3 recipes, wherein each set of 3 recipes uses >30 different plants between them, such that if we have each of these set-of-three meals over the course of the week, then what we do in the other 4–18 meals (depending on how many meals per day you like to have) is all just a bonus.
The latter is what makes this book an incredibly stress-free approach to more plant-diverse eating for life.
Bottom line: if you want to be able to answer “do you get your five-a-day?” with “you mean breakfast?” because you’ve already hit five by breakfast each day, then this is the book for you.
Click here to check out How To Eat 30 Plants A Week, and indeed eat 30+ different plants per week!
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The Connection Cure – by Julia Hotz
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.
You may recognize some of the things in the subtitle as being notable elements of the Blue Zones supercentenarians’ lifestyles, but this book looks at numerous quite diverse countries, and people from many walks of life.
What they have in common—and this is mostly a very person-centered book, relying a lot on case studies, with additional references coming from wider sociological data—is social prescribing.
What is social prescribing? That’s what the author (a journalist by general profession) answers comprehensively here, and it’s about looking at the ways medical problems can often have nonmedical solutions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that walking will cure your cancer or art will cure your diabetes, but it does mean that very often a key part of an unhealthy lifestyle is fundamentally something that can be fixed by one or more of: movement, nature, art, service, and belonging.
She looks at social prescribing in its birthplace (the UK, where cheap solutions that are nevertheless evidence-based are very much prioritized), in big countries like Canada and Australia, in aging countries like Singapore and South Korea, and yes, also in the #1 country of pill prescribing, the US.
The structure of the book is interesting, we first have 5 person-centered chapters addressing each of the social prescribing aspects and how they helped in two example case studies for each one, then 5 country-by-country epidemiological chapters looking at the big picture, then 5 person-centered chapters again, this time looking at personalizing social prescribing for oneself (this section of the book being headed “Social Prescribing For You And Me”), looking at what is going on in one’s life and health, which of the 5 elements might be missing, and what tangible goal-oriented benefits can—according to the evidence—be obtained by tending to what one actually needs in terms of social prescribing.
The style is narrative and journalistic, with very little hard science, but very little that’s wishy-washy either. It is, in short, a pleasant and informative read that helps the reader really understand social prescribing, the better to implement it in our own lives.
Bottom line: if you like having extra nonmedical approaches to avoid or alleviate medical problems, then this book will really help you achieve that.
Click here to check out The Connection Cure, and get social prescribing!
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Celeriac vs Celery – Which is Healthier?
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.
Our Verdict
When comparing celeriac to celery, we picked the celeriac.
Why?
Yes, these are essentially the same plant, but there are important nutritional differences:
In terms of macros, celeriac has more than 2x the protein, and slightly more carbs and fiber. Both are very low glycemic index, so the higher protein and fiber makes celeriac the winner in this category.
In the category of vitamins, celeriac has more of vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, C, E, K, and choline, while celery has more of vitamins A and B9. An easy win for celeriac.
When it comes to minerals, celeriac has more copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while celery is not higher in any minerals. Another obvious win for celeriac.
Adding these sections up makes for a clear overall win for celeriac, but by all means enjoy either or both!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
Take care!
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Avocado vs Goji Berries – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing avocado to goji berries, we picked the avocado.
Why?
It takes a special non-dried food to beat a dried food for nutritional density, but avocado manages it!
In terms of macros, avocados have more (famously health) fat; mostly monounsaturated with some polyunsaturated and a little bit of saturated, with some omega-3 and omega-6, in a healthy ratio. Meanwhile, goji berries have more fiber, carbs, and protein. As for glycemic indices, avocados are low GI (40), but goji berries are zero-GI, or, functionally, a negative glycemic index as (notwithstanding their sugar content!) they have an overall lowering effect on blood sugars. In short, both of these fruits have very different things to offer in the macros category, so we’re declaring this round a tie.
In the category of vitamins, avocados have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, E, K, and choline, while goji berries have more vitamin C. A clear win for avocados!
When it comes to minerals, avocados have more copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while goji berries have more calcium and iron. Another win for avocados!
In short, enjoy either or both (diversity is good), but for overall nutritional density, avocados win this superfood showdown today.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
Enjoy!
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