Military Secrets (Ssh!)
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Can you keep a secret?
When actor Christopher Lee was asked about his time as a British special forces operative, he would look furtively around, and ask “can you keep a secret?” Upon getting a yes, he would reply:
“So can I”
We can’t, though! We just can’t help sharing cool, useful information that changes people’s lives. Never is that more critical than now, as the end of January has been called the most depressing time of year, according to Dr. Cliff Arnall at the University of Cardiff. It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, though:
Today we’re going to share a trick… It’s called the “secret of eternal happiness” (yes, we know… we didn’t come up with the name!) and is taught to soldiers to fend off the worst kinds of despair.
The soldiers would be ordered to take a moment to reflect on the sheer helplessness of their situation, the ridiculous impossibility of the odds against them, all and any physical pain they might suffer, the weakness of their faltering body… and just when everything feels as bad is it can possibly feel, they’re told to say out loud—as sadly as possible—this single word:
“Boop”
It all but guarantees to result in cracking a smile, no matter the situation.
Now this knowledge is yours too! Keep it secret! Or don’t. Sharing is caring.
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Cherries vs Grapes – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing cherries to grapes, we picked the cherries.
Why?
First, let’s mention: we are looking at sour cherries and Californian grapes. Even those will of course vary in quality, but the nutritional values here are quite reliable averages.
In terms of macros you might have guessed this one: cherries have nearly 2x the fiber and grapes have about 50% more carbs. So, while neither fruit is bad and they are both low glycemic index foods, cherry is the winner in this category.
When it comes to vitamins, cherries have more of vitamins A, B3, B5, B9, C, and choline, while grapes have more of vitamins B1, B2, B6, E, and K. That’s a 6:5 win for cherries, and the respective margins of difference bear that out too.
In the category of minerals, cherries have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc, while grapes have more manganese and potassium. An easy 6:2 win for cherries.
You might be wondering about polyphenols: both are very abundant in very many polyphenols; so much and so many, in fact, that we couldn’t possibly try to adjudicate between them without doing some complex statistical modeling (especially given how much this can vary from one sample to another, much more so than the micro-and macronutrient values discussed above), so we’ll call it a tie on these.
Adding up the section makes for a clear win for cherries, but of course, enjoy either or both!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Cherries’ Very Healthy Wealth Of Benefits!
Resveratrol & Healthy AgingTake care!
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Exercises That Help You Walk Farther Without Pain
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Dr. Alyssa Kuhn shows us how:
At the seat of the problem
Glutes are critical to walking, because they not only help push your body push forwards, but also stabilize your pelvis to prevent limping or a waddling gait.
For this reason, weak glutes can (and often do) lead to joint pain, poor balance, quicker fatigue, due to increased stress on your hips, knees, and back—which in turn can lead to osteoarthritis, usually of the knee(s), in the first instance.
So, how to avoid that:
- Step-ups: step onto a step with one leg and step back down with the same leg to strengthen the glutes that drive you forwards. You can increase the height of a step or add weight to make the movement more challenging.
- Banded lateral steps: place a resistance band around your shins and step one leg out to the side while the other stabilizes your pelvis. Keep the tension on, and avoid letting your body sway side to side. You can also anchor a band to a stable object and move one leg against resistance, if maintaining balance is difficult at first. But if you do that, do try to progress to the main version when you can, because you need that balance too!
- Single-leg balance taps: a great one for training that balance, as well as training glute stability; simply stand on one leg and tap the other foot heel-toe on the floor. Keep your body upright, while your glutes stabilize your pelvis during movement.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
5 Proven Tips To Walk Longer Without Pain Or Discomfort
Take care!
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Mango vs Peach – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing mango to peach, we picked the mango.
Why?
Both have their merits:
In terms of macros, mango has slightly more carbs, and the other macros are too close to call. Since the carbs difference also isn’t very big, we’re calling this round a tie, but you could call it a small nominal win if you like.
In the category of vitamins, mango has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, C, E, K, and choline, while peaches are not higher in any vitamins. An easy win for mangos.
Looking at minerals, mango has more calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and selenium, while peaches have more iron, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. A marginal 5:4 win for mangos, though it’s worth noting that mango did also have the wider margins of difference (thus setting it a little further ahead if we want to count that).
In other considerations, peaches do have more polyphenols, as well as some anticancer properties that aren’t known of mangos. So that’s a point in peaches’ favor.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for mangos, but it’s close, since as we say, both have their merits.
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Top 8 Fruits That Prevent & Kill Cancer
Enjoy!
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Daily Activity Levels & The Measurable Difference They Make To Brain Health
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Most studies into the difference that exercise makes to cognitive decline are retrospective, i.e. they look backwards in time, asking participants what their exercise habits were like in the past [so many] years, and tallying that against their cognitive health in the present.
Some studies are interventional, and those are most often 3, 6, or 12 months, depending on funding. In those cases, they make a hypothesis (e.g. this intervention will boost this measure of brain health) and then test it.
However, humans aren’t generally great at making short term decisions for long term gains. In other words: if it’s rainy out, or you’re a little pushed for time, you’re likely to take the car over walking regardless of what data point this adjusts in an overarching pattern that will affect your brain’s amyloid-β clean-up rates in 5–20 years time.
Nine days
The study we’re going to look at today was a 9-day observational study, using smartphone-based tracking with check-ins every 3½ hours, with participants reporting their physical activity as light, moderate, or intense (these terms were defined and exemplified, so that everyone involved was singing from the same songsheet in terms of what activities constitute what intensity).
The sample size was reasonable (n=204) and was generally heterogenous sample (i.e. varied in terms of sex, racial background, and fitness level) of New Yorkers aged 40–65.
So, the input variable was activity level, and the output variable was cognitive fitness.
As to how they measured the output, two brain games assessed:
- cognitive processing speed, and
- working memory (a proxy for executive function).
What they found:
- participants active within the last 3½ hours had faster processing speed, equivalent to being four years younger
- response times in the working memory (for: executive function) task reflected similar processing speed improvements, for participants active in the last 3½ hours
And, which is important to note,
❝This benefit was observed regardless of whether the activities they reported were higher intensity (e.g., running/jogging) or lower intensity (e.g., walking, chores).❞
Source: Cognitive Health Benefits of Everyday Physical Activity in a Diverse Sample of Middle-Aged Adults
Practical take-away:
Move more often! At least every couple of hours (when not sleeping)!
The benefits will benefit you in the now, as well as down the line.
See also:
The Doctor Who Wants Us To Exercise Less, & Move More
and, for that matter:
Do You Love To Go To The Gym? No? Enjoy These “No-Exercise Exercises”!
Take care!
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No More Restrictions In This Diet Against Thyroid Disease?
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Thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) is a common risk, especially from our 40s onwards.
Often this is approached from the perspective of “can we fix it with diet?”, and indeed, there are prevailing methods for at least managing the condition, for example:
But what if it could be simpler?
Positive dieting
We’ve talked about this concept sometimes before—putting the focus more on what we put into our diet than what we exclude from it. The idea is simple; most people find restrictive diets hard to follow, and if not well-managed, they can lead to nutrient deficiencies. In contrast, if we focus on ensuring we get good, nutritionally-dense, varied foods, plants-centric and minimally-processed, then generally speaking, it’s hard to go far wrong.
Researchers (Dr. Rosaria Maddalena Ruggeri et al.) did an extensive research review, and found that yes, diet clearly influences thyroid health, but not through extreme restrictions. In other words, overall dietary patterns matter more than single foods or the latest trend.
As for iodine specifically, yes iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production, but both too little and too much can disrupt function and increase risks like hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or autoimmune thyroiditis.
For more on those two, see:
In other words: by trying to micromanage things to hit the sweet spot from the right direction (depending on whether the main threat is hypo- or hyperthyroidism), it’s very easy to overcorrect and swing the other way. The body, intuitive organism that it is, can then try to save you from your overcorrections, but itself can also overcorrect, putting you back where you started.
So, where should the focus be?
The team found that selenium, iron, and zinc support hormone production and enzyme activity, while vitamin D and B12 support immune function, and deficiencies in these are linked to higher risk of thyroid disorders.
However! Supplementation (especially selenium, vitamin B12, or vitamin D) doesn’t consistently help unless you’re actually deficient.
The good news: the Mediterranean diet is very consistently associated with lower inflammation, better thyroid markers, and fewer autoimmune antibodies.
The researchers also note that soy and cruciferous vegetables are generally safe in normal amounts if iodine intake is adequate, even though they’re often wrongly blamed for thyroid problems.
In short: a balanced, nutrient-dense diet—especially a Mediterranean pattern—is more effective and evidence-based for supporting thyroid health than restrictive or fad diets.
You can read the paper in full, here: The role of nutrition on thyroid health and disease: myths and facts
And if you want to get directly to enjoying a Mediterranean diet, we outlined it in a previous main feature, so here it is for your convenience:
The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It Good For? ← also covers which foods actually go into it, and which don’t 😎
Want to learn more?
You might like this book we reviewed a while back:
The Thyroid Connection – by Dr. Amy Meyers
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight – by Dr. Neal Barnard
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We previously reviewed Dr. Barnard’s “The Power Foods Diet”, and this time his work is about weight loss.
This time there are more recipes (which take up most of the book, so this one could be reasonably described as a cookbook), but not until after nearly a hundred pages of concepts, principles, and tips.
The recipes themselves are again very respectable, even if some may be a little redundant (e.g. the double-page recipe for blueberry muffins is followed by a double-page recipe for banana and date muffins, instead of just saying “or substitute this”—things like that) and run the gamut from salad dressings to hearty main meals.
A strength of the book is that it’s about what you eat, not how much of it you eat, so if you love eating (which is a very healthy trait to have in general), then you’ll enjoy that aspect.
Bottom line: if you’d like to eat more and weigh less, then this is a top-tier book for you.
Click here to check out “Foods That Cause You To Lose Weight”, and enjoy eating!
Don’t Forget…
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