Egg Noodles vs Rice Noodles – Which is Healthier?

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Our Verdict

When comparing egg noodles to rice noodles, we picked the egg noodles.

Why?

It was close—these are both quite mediocre foods. They’re neither amazing for the health nor appalling for the health (in moderation). They are both relatively low in nutrients, but they are also low in anti-nutrients, i.e. things that have a negative effect on the health.

Their mineral profiles are similar; both are a source of selenium, manganese, phosphorus, copper, and iron. Not as good as many sources, but not devoid of nutrients either.

Their vitamin profiles are both pitiful; rice noodles have trace amounts of various vitamins, and egg noodles have only slightly more. While eggs themselves are nutritious, the processing has robbed them of much of their value.

In terms of macros, egg noodles have a little more fat (but the fats are healthier) and rice noodles have a lot more carbs, so this is the main differentiator, and is the main reason we chose the egg noodles over the rice noodles. Both have a comparable (small) amount of protein.

In short:

  • They’re comparable on minerals, and vitamins here are barely worth speaking about (though egg noodles do have marginally more)
  • Egg noodles have a little more fat (but the fats are healthier)
  • Rice noodles have a lot more carbs (with a moderately high glycemic index, which is relatively worse—if you eat them with vegetables and fats, then that’ll offset this, but we’re judging the two items on merit, not your meal)

Learn more

You might like this previous main feature of ours:

Should You Go Light Or Heavy On Carbs?

Take care!

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  • Debate over tongue tie procedures in babies continues. Here’s why it can be beneficial for some infants

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    There is increasing media interest about surgical procedures on new babies for tongue tie. Some hail it as a miracle cure, others view it as barbaric treatment, though adverse outcomes are rare.

    Tongue tie occurs when the tissue under the tongue is attached to the lower gum or floor of the mouth in a way that can restrict the movement or range of the tongue. This can impact early breastfeeding in babies. It affects an estimated 8% of children under one year of age.

    While there has been an increase in tongue tie releases (also called division or frenotomy), it’s important to keep this in perspective relative to the increase in breastfeeding rates.

    The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with breastfeeding recommended into the second year of life and beyond for the health of mother and baby as well as optimal growth. Global rates of breastfeeding infants for the first six months have increased from 38% to 48% over the past decade. So, it is not surprising there is also an increase in the number of babies being referred globally with breastfeeding challenges and potential tongue tie.

    An Australian study published in 2023 showed that despite a 25% increase in referrals for tongue tie division between 2014 and 2018, there was no increase in the number of tongue tie divisions performed. Tongue tie surgery rates increased in Australia in the decade from 2006 to 2016 (from 1.22 per 1,000 population to 6.35) for 0 to 4 year olds. There is no data on surgery rates in Australia over the last eight years.

    Tongue tie division isn’t always appropriate but it can make a big difference to the babies who need it. More referrals doesn’t necessarily mean more procedures are performed.

    chomplearn/Shutterstock

    How tongue tie can affect babies

    When tongue tie (ankyloglossia) restricts the movement of the tongue, it can make it more difficult for a baby to latch onto the mother’s breast and painlessly breastfeed.

    Earlier this month, the International Consortium of oral Ankylofrenula Professionals released a tongue tie position statement and practice guideline. Written by a range of health professionals, the guidelines define tongue tie as a functional diagnosis that can impact breastfeeding, eating, drinking and speech. The guidelines provide health professionals and families with information on the assessment and management of tongue tie.

    Tongue tie release has been shown to improve latch during breastfeeding, reduce nipple pain and improve breast and bottle feeding. Early assessment and treatment are important to help mothers breastfeed for longer and address any potential functional problems.

    baby with open mouth shows tongue tie under tongue
    The frenulum is a band of tissue under the tongue that is attached to the gumline base of the mouth. Akkalak Aiempradit/Shutterstock

    Where to get advice

    If feeding isn’t going well, it may cause pain for the mother or there may be signs the baby isn’t attaching properly to the breast or not getting enough milk. Parents can seek skilled help and assessment from a certified lactation consultant or International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant who can be found via online registry.

    Alternatively, a health professional with training and skills in tongue tie assessment and division can assist families. This may include a doctor, midwife, speech pathologist or dentist with extended skills, training and experience in treating babies with tongue tie.

    When access to advice or treatment is delayed, it can lead to unnecessary supplementation with bottle feeds, early weaning from breastfeeding and increased parental anxiety.

    Getting a tongue tie assessment

    During assessment, a qualified health professional will collect a thorough case history, including pregnancy and birth details, do a structural and functional assessment, and conduct a comprehensive breastfeeding or feeding assessment.

    They will view and thoroughly examine the mouth, including the tongue’s movement and lift. The appearance of where the tissue attaches to the underside of the tongue, the ability of the tongue to move and how the baby can suck also needs to be properly assessed.

    Treatment decisions should focus on the concerns of the mother and baby and the impact of current feeding issues. Tongue tie division as a baby is not recommended for the sole purpose of avoiding speech problems in later life if there are no feeding concerns for the baby.

    baby breastfeeding and holding mother's finger
    A properly qualified lactation consultant can help with positioning and attachment. HarryKiiM Stock/Shutterstock

    Treatment options

    The Australian Dental Association’s 2020 guidelines provide a management pathway for babies diagnosed with tongue tie.

    Once feeding issues are identified and if a tongue tie is diagnosed, non-surgical management to optimise positioning, latch and education for parents should be the first-line approach.

    If feeding issues persist during follow-up assessment after non-surgical management, a tongue tie division may be considered. Tongue tie release may be one option to address functional challenges associated with breastfeeding problems in babies.

    There are risks associated with any procedure, including tongue tie release, such as bleeding. These risks should be discussed with the treating practitioner before conducting any laser, scissor or scalpel tongue tie procedure.

    Post-release support by a certified lactation consultant or feeding specialist is necessary after a tongue tie division. A post-release treatment plan should be developed by a team of health professionals including advice and support for breastfeeding to address both the mother and baby’s individual needs.

    We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Raymond J. Tseng, DDS, PhD, (Paediatric Dentist) to the writing of this article.

    Sharon Smart, Lecturer and Researcher (Speech Pathology) – School of Allied Health, Curtin University; David Todd, Associate Professor, Neonatology, ANU Medical School, Australian National University, and Monica J. Hogan, PhD student, ANU School of Medicine and Psychology, Australian National University

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

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  • How Old Is Too Old For HRT?

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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 think you guys do a great job. Wondering if I can suggest a topic? Older women who were not offered hormone replacement therepy because of a long term study that was misread. Now, we need science to tell us if we are too old to benefit from begininng to take HRT. Not sure how old your readers are on average but it would be a great topic for older woman. Thanks❞

    ‌Thank you for the kind words, and the topic suggestion!

    About the menopause and older age thereafter

    We’ve talked a bit before about the menopause, for example:

    What You Should Have Been Told About The Menopause Beforehand

    And we’ve even discussed the unfortunate social phenomenon of post-menopausal women thinking “well, that’s over and done with now, time to forget about that”, because spoiler, it will never be over and done with—your body is always changing every day, and will continue to do so until you no longer have a body to change.

    This means, therefore, that since changes are going to happen no matter what, the onus is on us to make the changes as positive (rather than negative) as possible:

    Menopause, & When Not To Let Your Guard Down

    About cancer risk

    It sounds like you know this one, but for any who were unaware: indeed, there was an incredibly overblown and misrepresented study, and even that was about older forms of HRT (being conjugated equine estrogens, instead of bioidentical estradiol):

    HRT: A Tale Of Two Approaches

    As for those who have previously had breast cancer or similar, there is also:

    The Hormone Therapy That Reduces Breast Cancer Risk & More

    Is it too late?

    Fortunately, there is a quick and easy test to know whether you are too old to benefit:

    First, find your pulse, by touching the first two fingers of one hand, against the wrist of the other. If you’re unfamiliar with where to find the pulse at the wrist, here’s a quick explainer.

    Or if you prefer a video:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Did you find it?

    Good; in that case, it’s not too late!

    Scientists have tackled this question, looking at women of various ages, and finding that when comparing age groups taking HRT, disease risk changes do not generally vary much by age i.e., someone at 80 gets the same relative benefit from HRT as someone at 50, with no extra risks from the HRT. For example, if taking HRT at 50 reduces a risk by n% compared to an otherwise similar 50-year-old not on HRT, then doing so at 80 reduces the same risk by approximately the same percentage, compared to an otherwise similar 80-year-old not on HRT.

    There are a couple of exceptions, such as in the case of already having advanced atherosclerotic lesions (in which specific case HRT could increase inflammation; not something it usually does), or in the case of using conjugated equine estrogens instead of modern bioidentical estradiol (as we talked about before).

    Thus, for the most part, HRT is considered safe and effective regardless of age:

    How old is too old for hormone therapy?

    👆 that’s from 2015 though, so how about a new study, from 2024?

    ❝Compared with never use or discontinuation of menopausal hormone therapy after age 65 years, the use of estrogen monotherapy beyond age 65 years was associated with significant risk reductions in mortality (19% or adjusted hazards ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.79-0.82), breast cancer (16%), lung cancer (13%), colorectal cancer (12%), congestive heart failure (CHF) (5%), venous thromboembolism (3%), atrial fibrillation (4%), acute myocardial infarction (11%), and dementia (2%).❞

    ❝Among senior Medicare women, the implications of menopausal hormone therapy use beyond age 65 years vary by types, routes, and strengths. In general, risk reductions appear to be greater with low rather than medium or high doses, vaginal or transdermal rather than oral preparations, and with estradiol rather than conjugated estrogen.

    Read in full: Use of menopausal hormone therapy beyond age 65 years and its effects on women’s health outcomes by types, routes, and doses

    As for more immediately-enjoyable benefits (improved mood, healthier skin, better sexual function, etc), yes, those also are benefits that people enjoy at least into their eighth decade:

    See: Use of hormone therapy in Swedish women aged 80 years or older

    What about…

    Statistically speaking, most people who take HRT have a great time with it and consider it life-changing in a good way. However, nothing is perfect; sometimes going on HRT can have a shaky start, and for those people, there may be some things that need addressing. So for that, check out:

    HRT Side Effects & Troubleshooting

    And also, while estrogen monotherapy is very common, it is absolutely worthwhile to consider also taking progesterone alongside it:

    Progesterone Menopausal HRT: When, Why, And How To Benefit

    Enjoy!

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  • The No-Nonsense Meditation Book – by Dr. Steven Laureys

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    We’ve reviewed books about meditation before, and when we review books, we try to pick ones that have something that make them stand out from the others. So, what stands out in this case?

    The author is a medical doctor and neurologist, with decades of experience focusing on neuronal plasticity and multimodel neural imaging. So, a little beyond “think happy thoughts”-style woo.

    The style of the book is pop-science in tone, but with a lot of hard clinical science underpinning it and referenced throughout, as one would expect of a scientist of Dr. Laurey’s stature (with hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in top-level journals).

    You may be wondering: is this a “how-to” book or a “why-to” book or a “what-happens” book? It’s all three.

    The “how-to” is also, as the title suggests, no-nonsense. We are talking maximum results for minimum mystery here.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to be able to take up a meditative practice and know exactly what it’s doing to your brain (quietening these parts, stimulating and physically growing those parts, etc) then this is the book for you.

    Click here to check out The No-Nonsense Meditation Book, and re-light the less glowy bits of your brain!

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Related Posts

  • Hazelnuts vs Pistachios – Which is Healthier?
  • Lemon Balm For Stressful Times And More

    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.

    Balm For The Mind: In More Ways Than One!

    Lemon balm(Melissa officinalis) is quite unrelated to lemons, and is actually a closer relative to mint. It does have a lemony fragrance, though!

    You’ll find it in a lot of relaxing/sleepy preparations, so…

    What does the science say?

    Relaxation

    Lemon balm has indeed been found to be a potent anti-stress herb. Laboratories that need to test anything to do with stress generally create that stress in one of two main ways:

    • If it’s not humans: a forced swimming test that’s a lot like waterboarding
    • If it is humans: cognitive tests completed under time-pressure while multitasking

    Consequently, studies that have set out to examine lemon balm’s anti-stress potential in humans, have often ended up also highlighting its potential as a cognitive enhancer, like this one in which…

    ❝Both active lemon balm treatments were generally associated with improvements in mood and/or cognitive performance❞

    ~ Dr. Anastasia Ossoukhova et al.

    Read in full: Anti-Stress Effects of Lemon Balm-Containing Foods

    And this one, which found…

    ❝The results showed that the 600-mg dose of Melissa ameliorated the negative mood effects of the DISS, with significantly increased self-ratings of calmness and reduced self-ratings of alertness.

    In addition, a significant increase in the speed of mathematical processing, with no reduction in accuracy, was observed after ingestion of the 300-mg dose.❞

    ~ Dr. Wendy Little et al.

    The appropriately named “DISS” is the Defined Intensity Stress Simulation we talked about.

    Read more: Attenuation of laboratory-induced stress in humans after acute administration of Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm)

    Sleep

    There’s a lot less research for lemon balm’s properties in this regard than for stress/anxiety, and it’s probably because sleep studies are much more expensive than stress studies.

    It’s not for a lack of popular academic interest—for example, typing “Melissa officinalis” into PubMed (the vast library of studies we often cite from) autosuggests “Melissa officinalis sleep”. But alas, autosuggestions do not Randomized Controlled Trials make.

    There are some, but they’re often small, old, and combined with other things, like this one:

    A combination of valerian and lemon balm is effective in the treatment of restlessness and dyssomnia in children

    This is interesting, because generally speaking there is little to no evidence that valerian actually helps sleep, so if this mixture worked, we might reasonably assume it was because of the lemon balm—but there’s an outside chance it could be that it only works in the presence of valerian (unlikely, but in science we must consider all possibilities).

    Beyond that, we just have meta-reviews to work from, like this one that noted:

    ❝M. officinalis contains several phytochemicals such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and many others at the basis of its pharmacological activities. Indeed, the plant can have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, antinociceptive effects.

    Given its consolidated use, M. officinalis has also been experimented with clinical settings, demonstrating interesting properties against different human diseases, such as anxiety, sleeping difficulties, palpitation, hypertension, depression, dementia, infantile colic, bruxism, metabolic problems, Alzheimer’s disease, and sexual disorders. ❞

    ~ Dr. Cristina Quispe et al.

    You see why we don’t try to cover everything here, by the way!

    But if you want to read this one in full, you can, at:

    An Updated Review on The Properties of Melissa officinalis L.: Not Exclusively Anti-anxiety

    Is it safe?

    Lemon balm is generally recognized as safe, and/but please check with your doctor/pharmacist in case of any contraindications due to medicines you may be on or conditions you may have.

    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon

    Want to know your other options?

    You might like our previous main features:

    What Teas To Drink Before Bed (By Science!)

    and

    Safe Effective Sleep Aids For Seniors

    Enjoy!

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – by Haemin Sunim

    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.

    First, what this one’s not about: noticing raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

    That’s great too, though. This writer particularly loves the cute faces of baby jumping spiders. Sounds unlikely, but have you seen them?

    What it’s rather about: noticing what’s between your ears, and paying closer attention to that, so that we can go about our business more mindfully.

    This is, fundamentally, a book about living a happier life, whatever the potentially crazy circumstances of the hustle and bustle around us. Not because of disinterest; quite the opposite. Sunim bids us ask the question of ourselves, what are we really doing and why?

    The writing style is very light and easy, while being heavy-hitting in terms of the ideas it brings. Little wonder that this one is so highly-rated on Amazon, with more than 5,000 ratings.

    Bottom line: if sometimes you feel like the world is a little hectic and all that is around you is out of your control, this is a great book for you.

    Click here to check out The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, and live life on your own terms!

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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  • Goji Berries: Which Benefits Do They Really Have?

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    Are Goji Berries Really A Superfood?

    Goji berries are popularly considered a superfood, and sold for everything from anti-aging effects, to exciting benefits* that would get this email directed to your spam folder if we described them.

    *We searched so you don’t have to: there doesn’t seem to be much research to back [that claim that we can’t mention], but we did find one paper on its “invigorating” benefits for elderly male rats. We prefer to stick to human studies where we can!

    So how does the science stack up for the more mainstream claims?

    Antioxidant effects

    First and most obvious for this fruit that’s full of helpful polysaccharides, carotenoids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids, yes, they really do have strong antioxidant properties:

    Goji Berries as a Potential Natural Antioxidant Medicine: An Insight into Their Molecular Mechanisms of Action

    Immune benefits

    Things that are antioxidant are generally also anti-inflammatory, and often have knock-on benefits for the immune system. That appears to be the case here.

    For example, in this small-but-statistically-significant study (n=60) in healthy adults (aged 55–72 years)

    ❝The GoChi group showed a statistically significant increase in the number of lymphocytes and levels of interleukin-2 and immunoglobulin G compared to pre-intervention and the placebo group, whereas the number of CD4, CD8, and natural killer cells or levels of interleukin-4 and immunoglobulin A were not significantly altered. The placebo group showed no significant changes in any immune measures.

    Whereas the GoChi group showed a significant increase in general feelings of well-being, such as fatigue and sleep, and showed a tendency for increased short-term memory and focus between pre- and post-intervention, the placebo group showed no significant positive changes in these measures.❞

    “GoChi” here is a brand name for goji berries, and it’s not clear from the abstract whether the company funded the study:

    Source: Immunomodulatory effects of a standardized Lycium barbarum fruit juice in Chinese older healthy human subjects

    Here’s another study, this time n=150, and ages 65–70 years old. This time it’s with a different brand (“Lacto-Wolfberry”, a milk-with-goji supplement drink) and it’s also unclear whether the company funded the study. However, taking the data at face value:

    ❝In conclusion, long-term dietary supplementation with Lacto-Wolfberry in elderly subjects enhances their capacity to respond to antigenic challenge without overaffecting their immune system, supporting a contribution to reinforcing immune defense in this population. ❞

    In other words: it allowed those who took it to get measurably more benefit from the flu vaccinations that they received, without any ill effects.

    Source: Immunomodulatory effects of dietary supplementation with a milk-based wolfberry formulation in healthy elderly: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

    Anticancer potential

    This one’s less contentious (the immune benefits seemed very credible; we’d just like to see more transparent research to say for sure), so in the more clearly-evidenced case against cancer we’ll just drop a few quick studies, clipped for brevity:

    You get the idea: it helps!

    Bonus benefit for the eyes

    Goji berries also help against age-related macular degeneration. The research for this is in large part secondary, i.e. goji berries contain things x, y, and z, and then separate studies say that those things help against age-related macular degeneration.

    We did find some goji-specific studies though! One of them was for our old friends the “Lacto-Wolfberry” people and again, wasn’t very transparent, so we’ll not take up extra time/space with that one here.

    Instead, here’s a much clearer, transparent, and well-referenced study with no conflicts of interest, that found:

    ❝Overall, daily supplementation with Goji berry for 90d improves MPOD by increasing serum Z levels rather than serum L levels in early AMD patients. Goji berry may be an effective therapeutic intervention for preventing the progression of early AMD.❞

    • MPOD = Macular Pigment Optical Density, a standard diagnostic tool for age-related macular degeneration
    • AMD = Age-related Macular Degeneration

    Source: Macular pigment and serum zeaxanthin levels with Goji berry supplement in early age-related macular degeneration

    (that whole paper is very compelling reading, if you have time)

    If you want a quicker read, we offer:

    How To Avoid Age-Related Macular Degeneration

    and also…

    Brain Food? The Eyes Have It!

    Where to get goji berries?

    You can probably find them at your local health food store, if not the supermarket. However, if you’d like to buy them online, here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience

    Enjoy!

    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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