Metabolic Health Roadmap – by Brenda Wollenberg

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The term “roadmap” is often used in informative books, but in this case, Wollenberg (a nutritionist with decades of experience) really does deliver what can very reasonably be described as a roadmap:

She provides chapters in the form of legs of a journey [to better metabolic health], and those legs are broadly divided into an “information center” to deliver new information, a “rest stop” for reflection, “roadwork” to guide the reader through implementing the information we just learned, in a practical fashion, and finally “traveller assistance” to give additional support / resources, as well as any potential troubleshooting, etc.

The information and guidance within are all based on very good science; a lot is what you will have read already about blood sugar management (generally the lynchpin of metabolic health in general), but there’s also a lot about leveraging epigenetics for our benefit, rather than being sabotaged by such.

There’s a little guidance that falls outside of nutrition (sleep, exercise, etc), but for the most part, Wollenberg stays within her own field of expertise, nutrition.

The style is idiosyncratic; it’s very clear that her goal is providing the promised roadmap, and not living up to any editor’s wish or publisher’s hope of living up to industry standard norms of book formatting. However, this pays off, because her delivery is clear and helpful while remaining personable and yet still bringing just as much actual science, and this makes for a very pleasant and informative read.

Bottom line: if you’d like to improve your metabolic health, as well as get held-by-the-hand through your health-improvement journey by a charming guide, this is very much the book for you!

Click here to check out the Metabolic Health Roadmap, and start taking steps!

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    Dr. Faye Bate shares realistic, maintainable advice for healthy living beyond New Year’s resolutions – emphasizing balance, sustainable habits, and personal enjoyment.

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  • Unprocessed 10th Anniversary Edition – by Abbie Jay

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    The main premise of this book is cooking…

    • With nutritious whole foods
    • Without salt, oil, sugar (“SOS”)

    It additionally does it without animal products and without gluten, and (per “nutritious whole foods”), and, as the title suggests, avoiding anything that’s more than very minimally processed. Remember, for example, that if something is fermented, then that fermentation is a process, so the food has been processed—just, minimally.

    This is a revised edition, and it’s been adjusted to, for example, strip some of the previous “no salt” low-sodium options (such as tamari with 233mg/tsp sodium, compared to salt’s 2,300mg/tsp sodium).

    You may be wondering: what’s left? Tasty, well-seasoned, plant-based food, that leans towards the “comfort food” culinary niche.

    Enough to sate the author, after her own battles with anorexia and obesity (in that order) and finally, after various hospital trips, getting her diet where it needed to be for the healthy lifestyle that she lives now, while still getting to eat such dishes as “Chef AJ’s Disappearing Lasagna” and peanut butter fudge truffles and 151 more.

    Bottom line: if you want whole-food plant-based comfort-food cooking that’s healthy in general and especially heart-healthy, this book has plenty of that.

    Click here to check out Unprocessed: 10th Anniversary Edition, and… Enjoy!

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  • Infections, Heart Failure, & 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.

    Some health news to round off the week:

    The Infection That Leads To Heart Failure

    It’s long been held that, for example, flossing reduces heart disease risk, with the hypothesis being that if plaque bacteria enter the blood stream, well, that’s an even worse place for plaque bacteria to be. Now, with much more data, attention has turned to

    1. actual infections, and
    2. actual heart failure

    Way to up the ante! And, it holds true regardless of what kind of infection. So, you might think that a UTI, for example, is surely “downstream” and should not affect the heart, but it does. Because of this, researchers currently believe that it is not the infection itself, so much as the body’s inflammation response to infection, that leads to the heart failure. Which is reasonable, because, for example, atherosclerosis is made mostly not of cholesterol itself, but rather mostly of dead immune cells that got stuck in the cholesterol.

    Moreover, it’s not so much about the acute inflammatory response (which is almost always a good thing, circumstantially), but rather that after cases where an infection managed to take hold, the immune system can then often stay on high alert for many years alter. Long COVID is an obvious recent example of this, but it’s hardly a new phenomenon; see for example post-polio syndrome, and consider how many more such post-infection maladies are likely to exist that never got a name because they flew under the radar or got diagnosed as fibromyalgia or something (fibromyalgia is a common diagnosis doctors give when they acknowledge something’s wrong, and it causes pain and exhaustion, but they don’t know what, and it appears to be stable—so while it can be helpful to put a name to the collection of symptoms, it’s a non-diagnosis diagnosis on the doctors’ part. It’s saying “I diagnose you with hurty tiredness”).

    The take-away from all this? Avoid infections, for your heart’s sake, and if you do get an infection, take it seriously even if it’s minor. The safe amount of infection is “no infection”.

    Read in full: Study uncovers new link between infections and heart failure

    Related: What’s the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest? One’s about plumbing, the other wiring

    Cold Water Immersion: Hot Or Not?

    The evidence is clear for some benefits; for others, not so much:

    • It’s great (if you’re already in fair health, and definitely not if you have a heart condition) to improve circulation and stress response
    • There may be some benefits to immune function, but however reasonable the hypothesis, actual evidence is thin on the ground
    • The oft-hyped mood benefits are a) marginal b) short-lived, with benefits fading after 3 months of regular cold baths/showers/etc

    Read in full: The big chill: Is cold-water immersion good for our health?

    Related: Ice Baths: To Dip Or Not To Dip?

    The Unspoken Trials Of Going To The Gym (While Being A Woman)

    Public health decision-makers often think that getting people to go to the gym more is a matter of public information, or perhaps branding. Some who have their thinking heads on might even realize that there may be economic factors for many. But for women, there’s an additional factor—or rather, an additionally prominent factor. The study we’ll link started with this observation (please read it in the voice of your favorite nature documentary narrator):

    ❝Despite an increase in gym memberships, women are less active than men and little is known about the barriers women face when navigating gym spaces.❞

    What then, of these shy, elusive creatures that make up a mere 51% of the world’s population?

    A medium-sized (n=279) study of women, of whom 84% being current gym-goers, reported often feeling “judged for their appearance or performance, as well as having to fight for space in the gym and to be taken seriously, while navigating harassment and unsolicited comments from men”

    Even gym attire becomes an issue:

    ❝Aligning with previous literature, women often chose attire based on comfort and functionality. However, their choices were also influenced by comparisons with others or fear of judgement for wearing non-branded attire or looking too put together. Many women also chose gym attire to hide perceived problem areas or avoid appearance concerns, including visible sweat stains.❞

    …which main seem silly; you’re at the gym, of course you’re going to sweat, but if you’re the only one with visible sweat stains, then there can be social consequences (bad ones).

    Similarly, there’s a “damned if you do; damned if you don’t” when it comes to working out while fat—on the one hand, society conflates fatness with laziness; on the other, it can be extra intimidating to be the only fat person in a gym full of people who look like they’re going to audition for a superhero movie.

    ❝In the gym, just like in other areas of life, women often feel stuck between being seen as ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’, dealing with judgement about how they look, how they perform, and even how much space they take up. Even though the pressure to be super thin is decreasing, the growing focus on being muscular and athletic is creating new challenges. It is pushing unrealistic standards that can negatively affect women’s body image and overall well-being.❞

    Writer’s note: I live a few minutes walk from my nearest gym, and I work out at home instead. This way, if I want to do yoga in my pajamas, I can. If I want to use my treadmill naked and watch my T+A bounce in the mirror, I can. If I want to lift weights in the dress I happened to be wearing, I can. Alas that I can’t swim at home!

    Read in full: Women face multiple barriers while exercising in gyms

    Related: Body Image Dissatisfaction/Appreciation Across The Ages

    Take care!

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  • Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease – by Dr. Dean Ornish

    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 previously reviewed Dr. Ornish’s “Undo It!” which is about reversing many kinds of chronic diseases (not all, alas, but quite a few) by undercutting their common etiologies, such as inflammation, insulin resistance, and so forth.

    This book is entirely consistent with that one, but the focus here is (as the title says) specifically on reversing heart disease.

    Of course, it does not require you to already have heart disease—if you do, well, getting onto this is better sooner than later. If you don’t, and are “merely” in a risk zone, or even just want to be proactive about your heart health, then this book will stand you in good stead.

    The book covers all the lifestyle things you’d expect it to (especially diet, but also exercise, and not just “quit smoking” but also how, things like that), and possibly some things you might not expect (chapters on more psychological factors that have a big impact on heart health).

    There are recipes (157 pages of them; they are plant-based and good) and there is a 21-day meal plan to get you going.

    The style is a little dated (written in the 90s), but the content doesn’t suffer for it, having been updated over the years in any case.

    Bottom line: if you want a holistic approach to taking care of your heart that’s not extreme and/but is very effective, then well, you’ve found it.

    Click here to check out Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease, and reverse heart disease!

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  • Hawthorn For The Heart (& 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.

    Hawthorn, The Heart-Healthy Helper

    Hawthorn, a berry of the genus Crataegus (there are many species, but they seem to give more or less the same benefits), has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, if not thousands, as a herbal remedy for many ailments, mostly of the cardiovascular, digestive, and/or endocrine systems:

    Crataegus pinnatifida: Chemical Constituents, Pharmacology, and Potential Applications

    Antioxidant & Anti-inflammatory

    Like most berries, it’s full of helpful polyphenols, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Indeed, as Dr. Nabavi et al. wrote,

    Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (hawthorn) is one of the most important edible plants of the Rosaceae family and is also used in traditional medicine.

    Growing evidence has shown that this plant has various interesting physiological and pharmacological activities due to the presence of different bioactive natural compounds.

    In addition, scientific evidence suggests that the toxicity of hawthorn is negligible. ❞

    ~ Dr. Nabavi et al.

    Read in full: Polyphenolic Composition of Crataegus monogyna Jacq.: From Chemistry to Medical Applications

    While “the toxicity of hawthorn is negligible” may be reasonably considered a baseline for recommending an edible plant, it’s still important as just that: a baseline. It’s good to know that berries are safe, after all!

    More positively, about those antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties:

    Polyphenols from hawthorn peels and fleshes differently mitigate dyslipidemia, inflammation and oxidative stress

    This one was a mouse study, but it’s important as it about modulating liver injury after being fed a high fructose diet.

    In other words: it a) helps undo the biggest cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, b) logically, likely guards against diabetes also (by the same mechanism)

    Anti-Diabetes Potential

    Curious about that latter point, we looked for studies, and found, for example:

    Noteworthily, those studies are from the past couple of years, which is probably why we’re not seeing many human trials for this yet—everything has to be done in order, and there’s a lengthy process between each.

    We did find some human trials with hawthorn in diabetes patients, for example:

    Hypotensive effects of hawthorn for patients with diabetes taking prescription drugs: a randomised controlled trial

    …but as you see, that’s testing not its antidiabetic potential, so far demonstrated only in mice and rats (so far as we could find), but rather its blood pressure lowering effects, using diabetic patients as a sample.

    Blood pressure benefits

    Hawthorn has been studied specifically for its hypotensive effect, for example:

    Promising hypotensive effect of hawthorn extract: a randomized double-blind pilot study of mild, essential hypertension

    As an extra bonus, did you notice in the conclusion,

    ❝Furthermore, a trend towards a reduction in anxiety (p = 0.094) was also observed in those taking hawthorn compared with the other groups.

    These findings warrant further study, particularly in view of the low dose of hawthorn extract used.❞

    ~ Dr. Ann Walker et al.

    …it seems that not a lot more study has been done yet, but that is promising too!

    Other blood metrics

    So, it has antidiabetic and antihypertensive benefits, what of blood lipids?

    Hawthorn Fruit Extract Elevates Expression of Nrf2/HO-1 and Improves Lipid Profiles

    And as for arterial plaque?

    Clinical study on treatment of carotid atherosclerosis with extraction of polygoni cuspidati rhizoma et radix and crataegi fructus: a randomized controlled trial

    here it was tested alongside another herb, and performed well (also against placebo).

    In summary…

    Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) is…

    • a potent berry containing many polyphenols with good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
    • looking promising against diabetes, but research for this is still in early stages
    • found to have other cardioprotective effects (antihypertensive, improves lipid profiles), too
    • considered to have negligible toxicity

    Where can I get it?

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

    Enjoy!

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  • Passion Fruit vs Blueberries – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing passion fruit to blueberries, we picked the passion fruit.

    Why?

    It wasn’t close!

    In terms of macros, the passion fruit has 3x the protein, 1.5x the carbs, and more than 4x the fiber. An easy win for passion fruit!

    In the category of vitamins, passion fruit has more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, C, and choline, while blueberries have more of vitamins B1, E, and K. So, blueberries are not without their merits, but all in all, another win for passion fruit here.

    When it comes to minerals, passion fruit has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while blueberries have slightly more zinc.

    Looking at polyphenols, this is one category where blueberry wins, and by a fair margin. We think that’s a great reason to enjoy blueberries, but not enough to reverse the win for passion fruit based on all the other categories!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?

    Enjoy!

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  • Apples vs Bananas – 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 apples to bananas, we picked the bananas.

    Why?

    Both apples and bananas contain lots of vitamins, but bananas contain far more of Vitamins A, B, and C.

    Apples beat bananas only for vitamins E and K.

    This may seem like “well that’s 2 vs 3; that’s pretty close” until one remembers that vitamin B is actually eight vitamins in a trenchcoat. Bananas have more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B9.

    If you’re wondering about the other numbers: neither fruit contains vitamins B7 (biotin) or B12 (cobalamins of various kinds). Vitamins B4, B8, B10, and B11 do not exist as such (due to changes in how vitamins are classified).

    Both apples and bananas contain lots of minerals, but bananas contain far more of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.

    Apples beat bananas only for calcium (and then, only very marginally)

    Both apples and bananas have plenty of fiber.

    Apples have marginally less sugar, but given the fiber content, this is pretty much moot when it comes to health considerations, and apples are higher in fructose in any case.

    In short, both are wonderful fruits (and we encourage you to enjoy both!), and/but bananas beat apples healthwise in almost all measures.

    PS: top tip if you find it challenging to get bananas at the right level of ripeness for eating… Try sun-dried! Not those hard chip kinds (those are mechanically and/or chemically dried, and usually have added sugar and preservatives), but sun-dried.

    Here’s an example product on Amazon

    Warning: since there aren’t many sun-dried bananas available on Amazon, double-check you haven’t been redirected to mechanically/chemically dried ones, as Amazon will try that sometimes!

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