Lyme Disease At-A-Glance

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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

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

❝Good info as always…was wondering if you have any recommendations for fighting Lyme disease naturally along wDr advice? Dr’s aren’t real keen on alternatives so always interested. Thanks❞

That depends on whether we’re looking at prevention or cure!

Prevention:

  • Try not to get bitten by Lyme-disease-carrying ticks. Boots and long socks are your friends. As are long-gauntletted gloves for gardening.
  • If you are in a high-risk area and/or engage in high-risk activities, check your body daily.
    • This is because it usually takes 36–48 hours of being attached for a tick to cause an infection
    • Obviously best if you can get a partner or close friend to help you with this, unless you have mastered some advanced pretzel positions of yoga.
  • Contrary to many folk remedies, the safest way to remove a tick is with tweezers (carefully!).
  • If you find and remove a tick, or otherwise suspect you have developed symptoms, go to your doctor immediately (not next week; today; time really counts for this).

Cure:

  • No. Sorry. Regretfully, antibiotics are the only known effective treatment.

However! As with almost any kind of recovery, getting good rest, including good quality sleep, will hasten things. Also sensible is reducing stress if possible, and anything that could worsen inflammation.

Read: Beyond Supplements: The Real Immune-Boosters!

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  • What to Eat When – by Drs. Michael Roizen and Michael Crupain

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    Here at 10almonds, we cover a lot of the “what to eat”, but tend to only sometimes touch on the “when”—and indeed, this is a reflection of a popular focus. But what if we were to pay a little more attention to that “when”; what would it get us?

    According to Drs. Roizen and Crupain… Quite a bit!

    In this work, they take into account the various factors affecting the benefit (or harm!) of what we eat when:

    • in the context of our circadian rhythm
    • in the context of our insulin responses
    • in the context of intermittent fasting

    The style throughout is very focused on practical actionable advice. For example, amongst other lifestyle-adjustment suggestions, the authors make the case for front-loading various kinds of food earlier in the day, and eating more attentively and mindfully when we do eat.

    They also offer a lot of “quick tips” of the kind we love here at 10almonds! Ranging from “how about this breakfast idea” to “roasting chickpeas like this makes a great snack” to “this dessert is three healthy foods disguised as a sundae”

    All in all, if you’d like a stack of small tweaks that can add up to a big difference in your overall health, this is a book for you.

    Click here to get “What To Eat When” from Amazon today!

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  • Heart Smarter for Women – by Dr. Jennifer Mieres

    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.

    Dr. Mieres takes us through understanding our own heart disease risks as individuals rather than as averages. As the title suggests, she does assume a female readership, so if you are a man and have no female loved ones, this might not be the book for you. But aside from that, she walks us through examining risk in the context of age, other health conditions, lifestyle factors, and so forth—including not turning a blind eye to factors that might intersect, such as for example if a physical condition reduces how much we can exercise, or if there’s some reason we can’t follow the usual gold standard of heart-healthy diet.

    On which note, she does offer dietary advice, including information around recipes, meal-planning, and what things to always have in stock, as well as what things matter the most when it comes to what and how we eat.

    It’s not all lifestyle medicine though; Dr. Mieres gives due attention to many of the medications available for heart health issues—and the pros and cons of these.

    The style of the book is very simple and readable pop-science, without undue jargon, and with a generous glossary. As with many books of this genre, it does rely on (presumably apocryphal) anecdotes, though an interesting choice for this book is that it keeps a standing cast of four recurring characters, each to represent a set of circumstances and illustrate how certain things can go differently for different people, with different things then being needed and/or possible. Hopefully, any given reader will find themself represented at least moderately well somewhere in or between these four characters.

    Bottom line: this is a very informative and accessible book, that demystifies a lot of common confusions around heart health.

    Click here to check out Heart Smarter For Women, and take control of your health!

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  • Aging Well: Exercise, Diet, Relationships

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    Questions and Answers at 10almonds

    Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

    This newsletter has been growing a lot lately, and so have the questions/requests, and we love that! 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 am interested in the following: Aging, Exercise, Diet, Relationships, Purpose, Lowering Stress

    You’re going to love our Psychology Sunday editions of 10almonds!

    You may particularly like some of these:

    (This coming Psychology Sunday will have a feature specifically on stress, so do make sure to read that when it comes out!)

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  • Ashwagandha: The Root of All Even-Mindedness?

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    Ashwagandha: The Root Of All Even-Mindedness?

    In the past few years, Ashwagandha root has been enjoying popular use in consumer products ranging from specialist nootropic supplement stacks, to supermarket teas and hot chocolates.

    This herb is considered to have a calming effect, but the science goes a lot deeper than that. Let’s take a look!

    Last summer, a systematic review was conducted, that asked the question:

    Does Ashwagandha supplementation have a beneficial effect on the management of anxiety and stress?

    While they broadly found the answer was “yes”, they expressed low confidence, and even went so far as to say there was contradictory evidence. We (10almonds) were not able to find any contradictory evidence, and their own full article had been made inaccessible to the public, so we couldn’t double-check theirs.

    We promptly did our own research review, and we found many studies this year supporting Ashwaghanda’s use for the management of anxiety and stress, amongst other benefits.

    First, know: Ashwagandha’s scientific name is “Withania somnifera”, so if you see that (or a derivative of it) mentioned in a paper or extract, it’s the same thing.

    Onto the benefits…

    A study from the same summer investigated “the efficacy of Withania somnifera supplementation on adults’ cognition and mood”, and declared that:

    “in conclusion, Ashwagandha supplementation may improve the physiological, cognitive, and psychological effects of stress.”

    We notice the legalistic “may improve”, but the data itself seems more compelling than that, because the study showed that it in fact “did improve” those things. Specifically, Ashwagandha out-performed placebo in most things they measured, and most (statistically) significantly, reduced cortisol output measurably. Cortisol, for any unfamiliar, is “the stress hormone”.

    Another study that looked into its anti-stress properties is this one:

    Ashwagandha Modulates Stress, Sleep Dynamics, and Mental Clarity

    This study showed that Ashwagandha significantly outperformed placebo in many ways, including:

    • sleep quality
    • cognitive function
    • energy, and
    • perceptions of stress management.

    Ashwagandha is popular among students, because it alleviates stress while also promising benefits to memory, attention, and thinking. So, this study on students caught our eye:

    The Perceived Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, Energy, and Mental Clarity for College Students: Qualitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomized Control Trial

    Their findings demonstrated that Ashwagandha increased college students’ perceived well-being through supporting sustained energy, heightened mental clarity, and enhanced sleep quality.

    That was about perceived well-being and based on self-reports, though

    So: what about hard science?

    A later study (in September) found supplementation with 400 mg of Ashwagandha improved executive function, helped sustain attention, and increased short-term/working memory.

    Read the study: Effects of Acute Ashwagandha Ingestion on Cognitive Function

    ❝But aside from the benefits regarding stress, anxiety, sleep quality, cognitive function, energy levels, attention, executive function, and memory, what has Ashwagandha ever done for us?

    Well, there have been studies investigating its worth against depression, like this one:

    Can Traditional Treatment Such as Ashwagandha Be Beneficial in Treating Depression?

    Their broad answer: Ashwagandha works against depression, but they don’t know how it works.

    They did add: “Studies also show that ashwagandha may bolster the immune system, increase stamina, fight inflammation and infection, combat tumors*, reduce stress, revive the libido, protect the liver and soothe jangled nerves.

    That’s quite a lot, including a lot of physical benefits we’ve not explored in this research review which was more about Ashwagandha’s use as a nootropic!

    We’ve been focusing on the more mainstream, well-studied benefits, but for any interested in Ashwagandha’s anti-cancer potential, here’s an example:

    Evaluating anticancer properties of [Ashwagandha Extract]-a potent phytochemical

    In summary:

    There is a huge weight of evidence (of which we’ve barely skimmed the surface here in this newsletter, but there’s only so much we can include, so we try to whittle it down to the highest quality most recent most relevant research) to indicate that Ashwagandha is effective…

    • Against stress
    • Against anxiety
    • Against depression
    • For sleep quality
    • For memory (working, short-term, and long-term)
    • For mental clarity
    • For attention
    • For stamina
    • For energy levels
    • For libido
    • For immune response
    • Against inflammation
    • Against cancer
    • And more*

    *(seriously, this is not hyperbole… We didn’t even look at its liver-protective functions, for instance)

    Bottom line:

    You’d probably like some Ashwagandha now, right? We know we would.

    We don’t sell it (or anything else, for that matter), but happily the Internet does:

    Try Out Ashwagandha For Yourself Here!

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  • Too Much Or Too Little Testosterone?

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    One Man’s Saw Palmetto Is Another Woman’s Serenoa Repens…

    Today we’re going to look at saw palmetto. So, first:

    What is it?

    Saw palmetto is a type of palm native to the southeastern United States. Its scientific name is “Serenoa repens”, so if that name appears in studies we cite, it’s the same thing. By whichever name, it’s widely enjoyed as a herbal supplement.

    Why do people take it?

    Here’s where it gets interesting, because people take it for some completely opposite reasons…

    Indeed, searching for it on the Internet will cause Google to suggest “…for men” and “…for women” as the top suggestions.

    That’s because it works on testosterone, and testosterone can be a bit of a double-edged sword, so some people want to increase or decrease certain testosterone-related effects on their body.

    And it works for both! Here be science:

    • Testosterone (henceforth, “T”) is produced in the human body.
      • Yes, all human bodies, to some extent.
    • An enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase converts T in to DHT (dihydrogen testosterone)
    • DHT is a much more potent androgen (masculinizing agent) than T alone, such that its effects are often unwanted, including:
      • Enlarged prostate (if you have one)
      • Hair loss (especially in men)
      • New facial hair growth (usually unwanted by women)
        • Women are more likely to get this due to PCOS and/or the menopause

    To avoid those effects, you really want less of your T to be converted into DHT.

    Saw palmetto is a 5α-reductase inhibitor, so if you take it, you’ll have less DHT, and you’ll consequently lose less hair, have fewer prostate problems, etc.

    Read: Determination of the potency of a novel saw palmetto supercritical CO2 extract (SPSE) for 5α-reductase isoform II inhibition using a cell-free in vitro test system

    ^The above study showed that saw palmetto extract performed comparably to finasteride. Finasteride is the world’s main go-to prescription drug for treating enlarged prostate and/or hair loss.

    See also: Natural Hair Supplement: Friend or Foe? Saw Palmetto, a Systematic Review in Alopecia

    Hair today… Growing tomorrow!

    So, what was that about increasing T levels?

    Men usually suffer declining T levels as they get older, with a marked drop around the age of 45. With lower T comes lower energy, lower mood, lower libido, erectile dysfunction, etc.

    Guess what… It’s T that’s needed for those things, not DHT. So if you block the conversion of T to DHT, you’ll have higher blood serum T levels, higher energy, higher mood, higher libido, and all that.

    Read: Standardized Saw Palmetto Extract Directly and Indirectly Affects Testosterone Biosynthesis and Spermatogenesis

    (the above assumes you have testicles, without which, your T levels will certainly not increase)

    Saw Palmetto Against Enlarged Prostate?

    With higher DHT levels in mid-late life, prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperlasia) can become a problem for many men. The size of that problem ranges from urinary inconvenience (common, when the prostate presses against the bladder) to prostate cancer (less common, much more serious). Saw palmetto, like other 5α-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride, may be used to prevent or treat this.

    Wondering how safe/reliable it is? We found a very high-quality fifteen-year longitudinal observational study of the use of saw palmetto, and it found:

    ❝The 15 years’ study results suggest that taking S. repens plant extract continuously at a daily dose of 320 mg is an effective and safe way to prevent the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia.❞

    Read: 15 years’ survey of safety and efficacy of Serenoa repens extract in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients with risk of progression

    Want a second opinion? We also found a 10-year study (by different researchers with different people taking it), which reached the same conclusion:

    ❝The results of study showed the absence of progression, both on subjective criteria (IPSS, and QoL scores), and objective criteria (prostate volume, the rate of urination, residual urine volume). Furthermore, patients had no undesirable effects directly related to the use of this drug.❞

    • IPSS = International Prostate Symptom Score
    • QoL = Quality of Life

    Read: The results of the 10-year study of efficacy and safety of Serenoa repens extract in patients at risk of progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia

    But wait a minute; I, a man over the age of 45 with potentially declining T levels but a fabulous beard, remember that you said just a minute ago that saw palmetto is used by women to avoid having facial hair; I don’t want to lose mine!

    You won’t. Once your facial hair follicles were fully developed and activated during puberty, they’ll carry on doing what they do for life. That’s no longer regulated by hormones once they’re up and running.

    The use of saw palmetto can only be used to limit facial hair if caught early—so it’s more useful at the onset of menopause, for those who have (or will have) such, or else upon the arrival of PCOS symptoms or hirsuitism from some other cause.

    Take The Test!

    Do you have a prostate, and would like to know your IPSS score, and what that means for your prostate health?

    Take The Test Here!

    (takes 1 minute, no need to pee or go probing for anything)

    Bottom Line on Saw Palmetto

    • It blocks the conversion of T into DHT
    • It will increase blood serum T levels, thus boosting mood, energy, libido, etc in men (who typically have more T, but whose T levels decline with age)
    • It will decrease DHT levels, thus limiting hair loss (especially in men) and later-life new facial hair growth (especially in women).
    • It can be used to prevent or treat prostate enlargement
    • Bonus: it’s a potent antioxidant and thus reduces general inflammation (in everyone)

    Want To Try Saw Palmetto?

    We don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience…

    Click here to check out saw palmetto on Amazon!

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  • The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?)

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    The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?)

    Yesterday, we asked you for your (health-related) views on coffee. The results were clear: if we assume the responses to be representative, we’re a large group of coffee-enthusiasts!

    One subscriber who voted for “Coffee is a healthy stimulant, hydrating, and full of antioxidants” wrote:

    ❝Not so sure about how hydrating it is! Like most food and drink, moderation is key. More than 2 or 3 cups make me buzz! Just too much.❞

    And that fine point brings us to our first potential myth:

    Coffee is dehydrating: True or False?

    False. With caveats…

    Coffee, in whatever form we drink it, is wet. This may not come as a startling revelation, but it’s an important starting point. It’s mostly water. Water itself is not dehydrating.

    Caffeine, however, is a diuretic—meaning you will tend to pee more. It achieves its diuretic effect by increasing blood flow to your kidneys, which prompts them to release more water through urination.

    See: Effect of caffeine on bladder function in patients with overactive bladder symptoms

    How much caffeine is required to have a diuretic effect? About 4.5 mg/kg.

    What this means in practical terms: if you weigh 70kg (a little over 150lbs), 4.5×70 gives us 315.

    315mg is about how much caffeine might be in six shots of espresso. We say “might” because while dosage calculations are an exact science, the actual amount in your shot of espresso can vary depending on many factors, including:

    • The kind of coffee bean
    • How and when it was roasted
    • How and when it was ground
    • The water used to make the espresso
    • The pressure and temperature of the water

    …and that’s all without looking at the most obvious factor: “is the coffee decaffeinated?”

    If it doesn’t contain caffeine, it’s not diuretic. Decaffeinated coffee does usually contain tiny amounts of caffeine still, but with nearer 3mg than 300mg, it’s orders of magnitude away from having a diuretic effect.

    If it does contain caffeine, then the next question becomes: “and how much water?”

    For example, an Americano (espresso, with hot water added to make it a long drink) will be more hydrating than a ristretto (espresso, stopped halfway through pushing, meaning it is shorter and stronger than a normal espresso).

    A subscriber who voted for “Coffee messes with sleep, creates dependency, is bad for the heart and gut, and is dehydrating too” wrote:

    ❝Coffee causes tachycardia for me so staying away is best. People with colon cancer are urged to stay away from coffee completely.❞

    These are great points! It brings us to our next potential myth:

    Coffee is bad for the heart: True or False?

    False… For most people.

    Some people, like our subscriber above, have an adverse reaction to caffeine, such as tachycardia. An important reason (beyond basic decency) for anyone providing coffee to honor requests for decaff.

    For most people, caffeine is “heart neutral”. It doesn’t provide direct benefits or cause direct harm, provided it is enjoyed in moderation.

    See also: Can you overdose on caffeine?

    Some quick extra notes…

    That’s all we have time for in myth-busting, but it’s worth noting before we close that coffee has a lot of health benefits; we didn’t cover them today because they’re not contentious, but they are interesting nevertheless:

    Enjoy!

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