Elderly loss of energy

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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

❝Please please give some information on elderly loss of energy and how it can be corrected. Please!❞

A lot of that is the metabolic slump described above! While we certainly wouldn’t describe 60 as elderly, and the health impacts from those changes at 45–55 get a gentler curve from 60 onwards… that curve is only going in one direction if we don’t take exceptionally good care of ourselves.

And of course, there’s also a degree of genetic lottery, and external factors we can’t entirely control (e.g. injuries etc).

One factor that gets overlooked a lot, though, is really easy to fix: B-vitamins.

In particular, vitamins B1, B5, B6, and B12. Of those, especially vitamins B1 and B12.

(Vitamins B5 and B6 are critical to health too, but relatively few people are deficient in those, while many are deficient in B1 and/or B12, especially as we get older)

Without going so detailed as to make this a main feature: these vitamins are essential for energy conversion from food, and they will make a big big difference.

You might especially want to consider taking sulbutiamine, which is a synthetic version of thiamin (vitamin B1), and instead of being water-soluble, it’s fat-soluble, and it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, which is a big deal.

As ever, always check with your doctor because your needs/risks may be different. Also, there can be a lot of reasons for fatigue and you wouldn’t want to overlook something important.

You might also want to check out yesterday’s sponsor, as they offer personalized at-home health testing to check exactly this sort of thing.

❝What are natural ways to lose weight after 60? Taking into account bad knees or ankles, walking may be out as an exercise, running certainly is.❞

Losing weight is generally something that comes more from the kitchen than the gym, as most forms of exercise (except HIIT; see below) cause the metabolism to slow afterwards to compensate.

However, exercise is still very important, and swimming is a fine option if that’s available to you.

A word to the wise: people will often say “gentle activities, like tai chi or yoga”, and… These things are not the same.

Tai chi and yoga both focus on stability and suppleness, which are great, but:

  • Yoga is based around mostly static self-support, often on the floor
  • Tai chi will have you very often putting most of your weight on one slowly-increasingly bent knee at a time, and if you have bad knees, we’ll bet you winced while reading that.

So, maybe skip tai chi, or at least keep it to standing meditations and the like, not dynamic routines. Qigong, the same breathing exercises used in tai chi, is also an excellent way to improve your metabolism, by the way.

Ok, back onto HIIT:

You might like our previous article: How To Do HIIT* (Without Wrecking Your Body)

*High-Intensity Interval Training (the article also explains what this is and why you want to do it)

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  • Children with traumatic experiences have a higher risk of obesity – but this can be turned around

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    Children with traumatic experiences in their early lives have a higher risk of obesity. But as our new research shows, this risk can be reduced through positive experiences.

    Childhood traumatic experiences are alarmingly common. Our analysis of data from nearly 5,000 children in the Growing Up in New Zealand study revealed almost nine out of ten (87%) faced at least one significant source of trauma by the time they were eight years old. Multiple adverse experiences were also prevalent, with one in three children (32%) experiencing at least three traumatic events.

    Childhood trauma includes a range of experiences such as physical and emotional abuse, peer bullying and exposure to domestic violence. It also includes parental substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, separation or divorce and ethnic discrimination.

    We found children from financially disadvantaged households and Māori and Pasifika had the highest prevalence of nearly all types of adverse experiences, as well as higher overall numbers of adversities.

    The consequences of these experiences were far-reaching. Children who experienced at least one adverse event were twice as likely to be obese by age eight. The risk increased with the number of traumatic experiences. Children with four or more adverse experiences were nearly three times more likely to be obese.

    Notably, certain traumatic experiences (including physical abuse and parental domestic violence) related more strongly to obesity than others. This highlights the strong connection between early-life adversity and physical health outcomes.

    PickPik, CC BY-SA

    Connecting trauma to obesity

    One potential explanation could be that the accumulation of early stress in children’s family, school and social environments is associated with greater psychological distress. This in turn makes children more likely to adopt unhealthy weight-related behaviours.

    This includes consuming excessive high-calorie “comfort” foods such as fast food and sugary drinks, inadequate intake of nutritious foods, poor sleep, excessive screen time and physical inactivity. In our research, children who experienced adverse events were more likely to adopt these unhealthy behaviours. These, in turn, were associated with a higher risk of obesity.

    Despite these challenges, our research also explored a promising area: the protective and mitigating effects of positive experiences.

    We defined positive experiences as:

    • parents in a committed relationship
    • mothers interacting well with their children
    • mothers involved in social groups
    • children engaged in enriching experiences and activities such as visiting libraries or museums and participating in sports and community events
    • children living in households with routines and rules, including those regulating bedtime, screen time and mealtimes
    • children attending effective early childhood education.

    The findings were encouraging. Children with more positive experiences were significantly less likely to be obese by age eight.

    For example, those with five or six positive experiences were 60% less likely to be overweight or obese compared to children with zero or one positive experience. Even two positive experiences reduced the likelihood by 25%.

    Children playing with basketballs
    Positive childhood experiences such as playing sports or visiting libraries can lower the risk of obesity. Getty Images

    How positive experiences counteract trauma

    Positive experiences can help mitigate the negative effects of childhood trauma. But a minimum of four positive experiences was required to significantly counteract the impact of adverse events.

    While nearly half (48%) of the study participants had at least four positive experiences, a concerning proportion (more than one in ten children) reported zero or only one positive experience.

    The implications are clear. Traditional weight-loss programmes focused solely on changing behaviours are not enough to tackle childhood obesity. To create lasting change, we must also address the social environments, life experiences and emotional scars of early trauma shaping children’s lives.

    Fostering positive experiences is a vital part of this holistic approach. These experiences not only help protect children from the harmful effects of adversity but also promote their overall physical and mental wellbeing. This isn’t just about preventing obesity – it’s about giving children the foundation to thrive and reach their full potential.

    Creating supportive environments for vulnerable children

    Policymakers, schools and families all have a role to play. Community-based programmes, such as after-school activities, healthy relationship initiatives and mental health services should be prioritised to support vulnerable families.

    Trauma-informed care is crucial, particularly for children from disadvantaged households who face higher levels of adversity and fewer positive experiences. Trauma-informed approaches are especially crucial for addressing the effects of domestic violence and other adverse childhood experiences.

    Comprehensive strategies should prioritise both safety and emotional healing by equipping families with tools to create safe, nurturing environments and providing access to mental health services and community support initiatives.

    At the family level, parents can establish stable routines, participate in social networks and engage children in enriching activities. Schools and early-childhood education providers also play a key role in fostering supportive environments that help children build resilience and recover from trauma.

    Policymakers should invest in resources that promote positive experiences across communities, addressing inequalities that leave some children more vulnerable than others. By creating nurturing environments, we can counterbalance the impacts of trauma and help children lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.

    When positive experiences outweigh negative ones, children have a far greater chance of thriving – physically, emotionally and socially.

    Ladan Hashemi, Senior Research Fellow in Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

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

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  • Slow-Cooker Moroccan Tagine

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    Tagine (طاجين) (tā-jīn) is a traditional dish named after, well, the traditional dish that it’s cooked in. Here’s an example tagine pot on Amazon. It’s a very nifty bit of kit, and while it’s often used for cooking over charcoal, one of its features is that if you have a hot sunny day, you can just leave it out in the sun and it will cook the contents nicely. Today though, we’re going to assume you don’t have one of these, and are going to give instructions for cooking a tagine-style dish with a slow cooker, which we’re going to assume you do have.

    You will need

    • 2 large red onions, finely chopped
    • 2 large red peppers, cut into 1″ chunks
    • 2 large zucchini, cut into ½” chunks
    • 1 large eggplant, cut into ½” chunks
    • 3 cups tomato passata
    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
    • 16 pitted Medjool dates, chopped
    • ½ bulb garlic, finely chopped
    • 1 tbsp ras el-hanout
    • A little extra virgin olive oil

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Let your slow cooker heat up while you chop the things that need chopping

    2) Add a splash of olive oil to the slow cooker; ensure the base is coated and there’s a little oil spare in there too; a thin coat to the base plus a couple of tbsp should do it nicely.

    3) Add the onions and garlic, and leave for an hour.

    4) Add the passata, dates, ras el-hanout, stir it and leave for an hour.

    5) Add the chickpeas, peppers, and eggplant; stir it and leave for an hour.

    6) Add the zucchini, stir it and leave for an hour.

    7) Serve—it goes great with its traditional pairing of wholegrain couscous, but if you prefer, you can use our tasty versatile rice. In broader culinary terms, serving it with any carb is fine.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Elderberries vs Cranberries – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing elderberries to cranberries, we picked the elderberries.

    Why?

    In terms of macros, elderberry has slightly more carbs and 2x the fiber, the ratio of which gives elderberries the lower glycemic index also. A win for elderberries, then.

    Looking at the vitamins, elderberries have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, and C, while cranberries have more vitamin B5. An easy win for elderberries in this category.

    In the category of minerals, we see a similar story: elderberries have more calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while cranberries have (barely) more magnesium. Another clear win for elderberries.

    Both of these fruits have additional “special” properties, and it’s worth noting that:

    • elderberries’ bonus properties include that they significantly hasten recovery from upper respiratory tract viral infections.
    • cranberries’ bonus properties (including: famously very good at reducing UTI risk) come with some warnings, including that they may increase the risk of kidney stones if you are prone to such, and also that cranberries have anti-clotting effects, which are great for heart health but can be a risk of you’re on blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder.

    You can read about both of these fruits’ special properties in more detail below:

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Enjoy!

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  • Kale vs Watercress – 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 kale to watercress, we picked the kale.

    Why?

    It was very close! If ever we’ve been tempted to call something a tie, this has been the closest so far.

    Their macros are close; watercress has a tiny amount more protein and slightly lower carbs, but these numbers are tiny, so it’s not really a factor. Nevertheless, on macros alone we’d call this a slight nominal win for watercress.

    In terms of vitamins, they’re even. Watercress has higher vitamin E and choline (sometimes considered a vitamin), as well as being higher in some B vitamins. Kale has higher vitamins A and K, as well as being higher in some other B vitamins.

    In the category of minerals, watercress has higher calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, while kale has higher copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. The margins are slightly wider for kale’s more plentiful minerals though, so we’ll call this section a marginal win for kale.

    When it comes to polyphenols, kale takes and maintains the lead here, with around 2x the quercetin and 27x the kaempferol. Watercress does have some lignans that kale doesn’t, but ultimately, kale’s strong flavonoid content keeps it in the lead.

    So of course: enjoy both if both are available! But if we must pick one, it’s kale.

    Want to learn more?

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    Take care!

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  • Butter vs Plant Oils: What The Latest Evidence Shows

    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.

    We’ve done some relevant head-to-head comparisons before in our “This or That” section:

    We also did a deeper-dive into butter vs margarine:

    Butter vs Margarine – Mythbusting Edition ← this one clears up a lot of misinformation about both butter and margarine

    As well as: Saturated Fats: What’s The Truth? Can Saturated Fats Be Healthy?

    So, we’re not coming into this one today unawares, and/but it’s an interesting comparison we haven’t directly written about before: butter vs plant oils in general

    The Study

    It was a JAMA Internal Medicine cohort study, which followed 221,054 adults (average age 56 at the start of the study, with a standard deviation of 7 years from that age) for up to 33 years.

    Why “up to”? Because not everybody survived the study.

    Specifically, 50,932 deaths were recorded, including 12,241 from cancer and 11,240 from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

    Participants were categorized into quartiles based on butter or plant-based oil intake, and…

    • The highest quartile (i.e. the 25% of people who consumed the most) butter intake linked to a 15% higher total mortality.
    • The highest quartile (i.e. the 25% of people who consumed the most) plant-based oil intake linked to a 16% lower total mortality.

    But, if those are the opposite ends of the spectrum, what about smaller differences?

    Every 10g/day increase in consumption of plant-based oils yielded…

    • 11% lower cancer mortality.
    • 6% lower CVD mortality.

    Meanwhile, 10g/day increase in butter consumption yielded…

    • 12% higher cancer mortality.
    • 17% higher CVD mortality.

    These benefits must have a cap (after all, one cannot just drink liters of olive oil per day for for a 3400% decrease in mortality), but that cap was not ascertained, because there was no group drinking liters of plant oils per day, not even for science.

    However, in the realm of small changes, substituting even 10g/intake of total butter with an equivalent amount of plant-based oils yielded 17% lower total mortality.

    You can read the study in full, here: Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality

    “So, what about the surely great difference between seed oils and olive oil?”

    Compared the the vast gaping statistical chasm that lay between the results of butter and the results of plant oils, which plant oil one chooses doesn’t make a huge difference, iff one isn’t consuming a large amount—the important thing was skipping butter in favor of a plant oil of some kind.

    Note also that, for example, deep-frying a starchy food like potatoes will cause the resultant fries (or such), even if not visibly oily, to now have about 10–15% of their original weight in water, replaced with oil. So, 100g (about 3oz) of fries may have around 10-15g oil. Obviously, this does depend on the cut and other factors, but that’s a ballpark figure.

    Here’s a lengthier discussion about seed oils than we have room for today:

    If you’re worried about inflammation, stop stressing about seed oils and focus on the basics ← in other words, yes it counts, but there are other things that count a lot more, such that if you’re paying attention to the other things, the fact that you sprayed your wok with a little canola oil before stir-frying those vegetables isn’t going to make a meaningful difference.

    An as for olive oil? It’s a famously healthy oil, and certainly a candidate for the top spot along with avocado oil*:

    All About Olive Oil ← we talk lipids, polyphenols, virginity, and more!

    *…and it’s worth noting that these two oils’ (excellent) lipids profiles are very similar, meaning that the main factor between them is that olive oil usually retains vitamins that avocado oil doesn’t.

    Take care!

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  • Superfood Broccoli Pesto

    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.

    Cruciferous vegetables have many health benefits of their own (especially: a lot of anticancer benefits). But, it can be hard to include them in every day’s menu, so this is just one more way that’ll broaden your options! It’s delicious mixed into pasta, or served as a dip, or even on toast.

    You will need

    • 4 cups small broccoli florets
    • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • ¼ bulb garlic
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
    • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Steam the broccoli for 3–5 minutes. Allow to cool.

    2) Blend the pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast.

    3) Add the broccoli, basil, olive oil, black pepper, red pepper, and MSG or salt, and blend in the food processor again until well-combined.

    4) Serve:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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